“Let them try,” Xenir replied with a snarl. “They might fight well on the surface, under their open sky, but get them in the tunnels and we’ll see who the truly superior warriors are.”
“There’s no contest, brother.”
Placating Xenir took much longer than Zarfensis would have liked. After much argument, the Warleader finally accepted the warriors that the High Priest chose to accompany him on his mission. Zarfensis also brought a shaman and a cleric, bringing the number of the entire party to seven.
By the time they left the Warrens, it was well after sunset. Although Zarfensis could have done without Xenir’s mothering, nightfall was the preferred time of day for travel. The Xarundi’s enhanced senses gave them a distinct advantage over the other races while traveling in darkness. Not that they had a very long journey to make. The ancient gate stones stood in a grove not too far distant from the western entrance to the Chosen’s territory.
Checking to ensure the map was safe and secure under the flap of his travel pack, Zarfensis dropped to all fours and loped out into the dark night.
* * *
“Do what you’re told, when you’re told, especially after we arrive in Overwatch. Now take my hands.”
Faxon was relieved when both the young people took his hands without bickering, quarreling, or challenging his authority. The rest of the morning in Ethergate had been long and difficult to tolerate. After afternoon had progressed into evening, their accord had begun to reassert itself. Now that they were finally in the gate room and ready to embark, Faxon sincerely hoped that the worst of their foolishness was behind them.
As the quintessentialist began speaking the words to activate the gate, Tiadaria understood why it was taught to masters of the order and no one else. It was an incredibly complicated and elaborate ritual, with several iterations of invocation that got progressively more complex. Faxon completed the ritual and Tiadaria had half a second to wonder if he hadn’t performed it correctly when there was a brilliant flash of blue-white light and she had passed into the Quintessential Sphere.
This was unlike anything she had ever experienced. Slipping into the sphere while she was fighting was a transition of consciousness. Her soul, her essence, was split between the physical realm and the sphere. The gate had pulled her entire body into the sphere and she felt a terrifying disassociation from the Solendrea she knew. Shadowy mountains and rivers flashed by them incredibly fast. Some were nearly tangible. Others were faint and shimmering, ancient memories of things that had long passed from the surface of the world. Tia closed her eyes, but it didn’t help the sensation. Her mind, her body, and the sphere were inexorably linked.
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.