Flue
Stopping
"They're late, aren't they?"
The one-legged Sheeda Highborn Lord Caeryg turns as fast as he can, but between his injury and the surprise that's nothing like fast enough to stop me stabbing him. Fortunately for
him, that isn't my intention. But he sees my sword and Artemis's bow. And probably Buddug the Zombherd's stave, though I imagine that he discounts it.
"And with time travel, that shouldn't be possible.
Unless…"
He
grimaces, and I can
feel him drawing magic into himself. "The Queen will return when she returns, Child of Spring."
I smile, eyebrows raised. "Apokolips as
spring. There's a simile I haven't heard before."
I-.
No. That's that… Needless confrontation thing again.
I sigh.
"Okay, so there are two ways this can go. One, we mock each other for a little while until you've gathered enough magic power to fight us or call your guards, then we fight and the winner takes all. I'm not
sure that the two of us can fight your entire civilisation, but I
do know that we can kill
you. The other way is that we come to terms which let us cooperate at least until the Queen returns, and while that does risk you getting in trouble with her, it also gives you an out just in case she
doesn't."
"What do you
mean?"
"You harvest the past. But if you can't, your civilisation breaks down due to whatever… Weirdness is going on. My God-Name drives me to dominate, but it also drives me to shepherd civilisation. I don't much like you or your people, but this…" I gesture out over the balcony towards the fog-shrouded city. "Is my future as well. I have an investment in fixing it."
"You escaped the Harrowing."
"We were both there when Sivana killed the Queen." His face remains still. "Sivana? Short, bald human? Spent some time here? The Queen sent a Huntsman to kill him?"
There's…
Something in his eyes that suggests that he knows who I'm talking about.
"I know of him."
"I don't know exactly what happened with the Harrowing fleet, but the Castle Revolving was
toast. Which means that the rest can't return. So unless another time traveller pays you a visit, we're the only help you're going to get."
He regards us both for a moment, clearly not enthusiastic.
"I could..? Probably build you a new leg?"
"My leg was taken as punishment for being slow in bowing to the Queen. Any Highborn could do something as simple as replacing a missing limb. And if the Queen is not returning and I am consorting with her enemies, I would do so."
Artemis tightens the string on her bow slightly. "You gunna help or not?"
He narrows his eyes slightly. "What would you require?"
"Access to your archival records. Everything you're got on how Earth became-" I nod at the city. "-
this. We'll also need to know how your civilisation works
now. We know about the Harrowing, but aside from
that it's all a blank."
Artemis nods. "Everything we had which wasn't New God tech fell apart. What's
doing that?"
"Our bane. Our… God. The Vampire Sun. All that does not live, dies."
"What about your clothes?"
Lord Caeryg's eyes finally alight on Buddug, and she pulls at the neck of her robe… Showing the proboscis plugged into her neck artery. Huh.
Artemis keeps staring even after Buddug releases it and the needle slides back inside of her.
"
Everything's alive? What about the walls?"
"The material is barely alive, but it lives. In a manner of speaking. The same stone that is the upper layers of our world." He contemplates the matter. "You wish to see our archives?"
I nod. "It seems the most expedient way to learn. Once we have a better idea of what is going on, we can talk more about the next step." I smile. "And if the Queen returns from another era or somehow survived, you can always claim that you were detaining us to be destroyed at her pleasure."
"And after you have seen our archives, what then?"
"Locate problem, study problem, fix problem." I shrug. "Or wait for the world to die around us, one or the other."
"In Melmoth's era this 'problem' was studied in exhausting detail."
I smile. "Then we'd better start
there. Lead the way!"
"Perhaps I will. Perhaps you will be our salvation. Or perhaps you will be meat, or a gift for the Queen." He smiles. "Or perhaps the knowledge will break your minds and I will gain some amusement from it. I see little harm in indulging you like this."
Something occurs to him.
"Have you eaten, since you arrived here?"
Artemis raises her eyebrows at me for a moment. I look away, and she shakes her head.
"No. Didn't look like there was much to eat around."
"And you say that you are… New Gods?" I nod, cautiously. "We have entertained New Gods as guests before. I will have something sent down to you presently."
The magic he gathered… Fades somewhat, glyphs forming on his right index and middle fingers and then floating over to Artemis and me.
"These will allow you access to our archives without my personal presence. As.. I recall, our previous New God visitors had no facility for the form of magic which we use."
"Thank you." I lift Mother Box off my belt and tap it against the sigil, and it is swiftly absorbed into her structure. Artemis taps the one offered to her with her right hand and it fades into her skin.
"And… You." He looks directly at Buddug, who wilts slightly at the attention. He then crafts another sigil and sends it to her, where it burns itself into her forehead. "You will serve as their equerry."
Buddug
winces, but tries to control her reaction. Guess it's more painful for Sheeda? "
Y-yes, my lord."
"I will summon a servant to show you the way."
He.. waits-?
I smile and nod. "By all means."
He taps the butt of his spear against he floor, and I feel the pulse of magic move through the apparently living structure.
"Hey." Artemis frowns. "What did you mean '
previous' New Gods?"
He smiles warmly. Oh dear. "Their visit was the foundation of our society. We learned a great deal from them on many subjects."
"Does that include biotech?"
"No, our records say that was our own distant forebears. But… Our archivists can explain it better than I. Would you like to examine the artefacts of the other New Gods as well?"
Artemis looks at me, and I nod.
"Can't hurt."
"I suspect that you are mistaken… But... Very well."
Oh, wait...
