Martin Hengst - The Darkest Hour

Just as Tia was certain that she was going to completely lose her grip on reality, another blue-white flash heralded their arrival. The afterimage of the flash left her partially blind. She could barely make out a similar ring of stones to what was erected in Ethergate. Someone grabbed her by the arm and pushed something hard and round into her hands.

“Take this,” a voice said in her ear. “You’re going to need it.” Tia heard other voices offering similar advice to Wynn and Faxon. It took her a moment to realize that the object in her hands was a metal bucket. She managed a single step forward before a wave of nausea dropped her to her knees. Drenched in beads of cold sweat, she made use of the bucket she had been given. She heard retching behind her and knew that Wynn and Faxon were having an equally difficult time with the adjustment.

Powerful hands lifted her from under her arms and helped her walk to a cot along the wall. She was laid down and Tia had never been so thankful for a flat surface. She wasn’t sure if she laid there for minutes or hours, but eventually the horrible feeling of unreality passed and the sickness with it.

When she opened her eyes, she found Faxon standing over her, offering her a caramel from the pocket of his robes. She groaned and he gave her a half-smile.

“Trust me, the sugar will help.” He waited until she took the sweet and moved on to the next cot, offering Wynn a confection.

Tia unwrapped the caramel and chewed on it, trying not to focus on the roiling of her stomach. Within a few moments, she was feeling better enough to sit up, though standing was still out of the question. She pushed herself up on the cot, leaning against the wall. Faxon leaned against the wall between their cots and slid to the floor, drawing his knees up nearly to his chest.

“A little warning would have been nice,” Tia said. She wanted desperately to be angry with Faxon, but she didn’t have the energy.

“Sorry,” he replied, sounding just as tired and wrung out as she felt. “I was afraid that if I warned you about it, you’d have balked at coming. Or thought I was trying to scare you.”

“That was certainly not what I expected,” Wynn said weakly. He had managed to sit up, but was still looking extremely ill. Tia would tease him about practically anything, but not this.

“Be that as it may, we are in Overwatch now. The worst of it is over.” Faxon leaned his head back against the wall and closed his eyes.

“Well, if nothing else, it answers a question I’ve had since I learned about the gate,” Tia said, trying to find a positive thought to cling to.

“What’s that?” Faxon asked, without opening his eyes.

“Why the gate couldn’t be used to stage an attack. If that kind of reaction is universal…”

“It is,” Faxon assured her. “The only creatures on Solendrea not affected by gate sickness are the Pheen and they probably aren’t affected because they don’t need the gate to travel through the Quintessential Sphere. They can do it by innate ability.”

“What’s a Pheen?”

“Wynn?” Faxon passed the question off to his apprentice.

“The Pheen are an extraordinarily powerful race of magic users. They are bipedal, twelve to fourteen inches high, have wings, and two rows of teeth.”

“Tell her the rest,” Faxon said. Wynn wrinkled his nose.

“The rest is rumor and conjecture. The Pheen claim that they created Solendrea and every living thing on it. They claim that they remain as impartial observers. I think it's a load of horse apples. There are those, however, who take the sprites at their word.”

Tiadaria was not at all surprised that he took issue with the claim of world-building. For someone as eminently logical and rational as Wynn, the very thought of coexisting with the creators of the world must be about as natural as an eight-legged horse. In this particular instance, she was inclined to agree. She had a hard time believing that any race capable of preventing the Xarundi’s unstoppable thirst for violence would let them continue unchecked.

Faxon finally opened his eyes and struggled to his feet. “If you two can manage, we really need to get moving. We don’t have much time and we have a lot to do while we’re here in Overwatch.”

Tiadaria got experimentally to her feet. She was still a little wobbly, but it was manageable. Wynn was less than steady as well, but it seemed like they were ready to leave the gate room. The gate keepers sent them on with a nod and a wave toward the door. Tiadaria suspected that they needed to prepare for the next arrivals. Her next thought was wondering how much they got paid for performing this service. Whatever it was, it probably wasn’t nearly enough. Faxon led them down a short corridor and into the streets of Overwatch.

Tiadaria was used to Dragonfell, Blackbeach, and even Ethergate, where life in the cities slowed down greatly after sunset. If the activity in the streets of Overwatch was any indication, this city didn’t come to life until after the sun left the sky. The streets were packed with throngs of people in the most outlandish dress Tia had ever seen. Those first few moments of their stay in Overwatch reminded Tia that she had a lot to learn about the world she lived in.

It seemed that everywhere she turned, there was some creature, food, or thing that she had never seen before. She even caught sight of a Xarundi through the open door of a tavern, standing at the bar shoulder to shoulder with humans and at least one dwarf. She bridled at the sight and would have waded into the packed establishment ready for a fight if Faxon hadn’t restrained her.

“This isn’t the Imperium,” he shouted in her ear. He had to. The din in the street was nearly deafening. “The rules are different here.”

Different rules or not, Tiadaria wanted to get into that tavern. Faxon prevented her from causing a scene by taking her by the arm and guiding her, somewhat forcefully, through the crowded streets. She managed to catch a glimpse of Wynn trailing behind them. He looked absolutely terrified. Tia wasn’t sure if he had seen the Xarundi, or if this was just his natural reaction to the insanity unraveling around them.

They turned down a side street that was slightly less crowded than the main avenue leading from Overwatch’s gate room. Now that they had a little more room to move, Tia wrenched her arm free of Faxon’s grasp. Getting back to the tavern now would be an exercise in futility. She’d have to bide her time, but she would find that Xarundi and ensure that it didn’t leave Overwatch. She was furious with Faxon and this time she wasn’t just going to let it slide. There was no reason for one of those creatures to be allowed to live…and sitting with humans as if it belonged there, no less!

There was little she could do about it now, so as she followed Faxon through the twisting streets and alleys, she focused on the myriad of details that was assaulting her every sense. Brightly colored enchanted lanterns were strung on strings across the streets, throwing circles of light in all directions and casting weird shadows that seemed to have a life of their own.

The din was constant, the noises of a hundred taverns, bars, way houses, and brothels all combining to form a low and constant drone that made it difficult to think, much less hold a conversation. Several times they passed doorways and caught fragments of shouted conversations between patrons. More often than not, these fragments weren’t fit for polite company.

The trio ascended a flight of stone steps so long that by the time they reached the top, Tia’s thighs were burning and both she and Wynn were out of breath. As Faxon let them pause a moment at the top to rest, Tiadaria realized that the noise had faded with their long ascent. She peered over the wall, delighted to find that the entire lower city was laid out for her to see, its bright colors and noisy revelry easily observed from this distance.