Call of the Abyss [Book 2 Complete]

Julia floated through a cosmic current of light and memory and time. All around her were incomprehensible sights: twisting, looping time, nonsensical geometry, and sensations disjointed from past and present that assaulted from every direction at once.

She was in the Rift.

Or, one of the streams of time within the Rift, at least. She thought the sight strange—she'd seen what these streams looked like from the outside: glowing rivers of light, beautiful and ethereal in equal measure. Within the streams, though, it was a different story.

Julia had only been within the streams once, really. Technically, she'd joined one of the streams while fleeing Gohlmer, but that was just to return to the world (dimension?) she was used to. The only real time she'd been in the streams was…actually, it was also while fleeing from Gohlmer, now that she thought of it.

It had been frightening and disorienting back then. It still was, but without the urgency of escaping near-death, she found the presence of mind to consider things calmly. And there was much to consider, though she wasn't sure it would have been the case before her last evolution.

Now, the more she examined, the more she realized this place wasn't what it seemed, which was…was that saying a lot or a little? It already defied comprehension, but what Julia discovered was that it had layers. She wasn't sure if they were spacetime layers or—it was probably folly trying to cram the incomprehensibility into the framework of what she knew.

Regardless, if she concentrated her senses, she could almost see into the layers. Not literally, of course—it was more a feeling than vision. It was like when she concentrated on a specific spot, the overlapping layers would reveal themselves like opening the cover of a book: they sort of unfolded.

That's what Julia was practicing right now. She was casting her senses out, attempting to better perceive the layers around her, as well as what lay within them. She could get vague sorts of outlines. She thought she could just about sense the landscapes around her, equivalent to where she was in the real world—well, the 'normal' world that she was used to.

It—much like everything in this space—was strange. She could sense vague directions and landscapes, but two overlapping 'pages' might be several journeys from each other, despite appearing to occupy the same space.

It was as if each page of a book were lined up so they looked to be stacked on top of each other from one angle, but if you were to move to the side just a little, you would see that they were actually great distances from each other—they only looked to be in the same space from a certain perspective.

Julia smiled as she latched onto something she recognized.

"AH—Julia! Mother's leaves, woman," Talnîr exclaimed, startled by the fwomp of Julia's sudden arrival.

"Sorry, I literally can't even describe to you how difficult it is to appear where I want with any degree of accuracy," Julia chuckled.

"You are just in time. We are nearing the first village," Sahira remarked, walking a few strides ahead.

The Thornalûn were leading on foot. The group had traveled down the Crushing River—Julia smoothing the water to make travel easier—until it diverged south. They proceeded on foot through the plains, aiming for this exact point. This was the limit of where the Thornalûn had roamed in the past.

Apparently, the Thornalûn family—other than Selûneth, who was a Weaver—were sort of mercenaries, although that label wasn't wholly accurate. It wasn't like they were hired blades who would throw their craft wherever the coin was highest. They were simply combat personnel within Veshari that weren't part of the formal military.

Actually, it might be more accurate to call them adventurers. They would accept jobs from the military or Zal'Nadir or anyone that needed assistance. They were warriors that hadn't pledged their allegiance to any single entity.

Julia had heard the family casually mention that they often acquired negative monikers like "faithless" or "wastrels." However, they never seemed bothered by it, usually using such pejoratives for humor. And indeed, Julia couldn't complain about their lack of allegiance. That freedom allowed them to join her squad in the battle against the Nashiin.

Talnîr, Sahira, and Nadhem had personally been as far as Vazreth's outlying villages. They never ventured into what could firmly be called its "territory," but they had spied the outskirts. Apparently, it wouldn't be difficult to find the actual city itself once they started encountering its villages. While it claimed territory around the city, Vazreth was essentially a city-state, so the actual land it claimed was not expansive. Just seeing its villages meant the city must be close.

That said, it would be foolish to simply head off without a firm heading when there were people around to ask.

The group crested the hill right as Nadhem appeared, having been scouting ahead. He nodded to them and fell in line—apparently everything seemed normal.

Julia hid her armor, not wanting to draw too much attention. This had been a subject of some internal debate. Being in a village didn't guarantee safety—being around people didn't. However, she also didn't want to walk into a village wearing armor that could be sold for enough gold to start a new city-state.

Even the well-to-do might be tempted by such a fortune, let alone whatever state of destitute these villagers were in. Julia's only real impression of villages came from the ones that surrounded Striton, so she had an image of good people struggling to get by, living under the oppressive thumb of the city they belonged to. She realized it was probably foolish to base her entire perception on what she'd seen in one city, but still—she couldn't shake it.

As the group approached the village, Julia was noting the surroundings. There were large fields with what looked like wheat and…some kind of vined plant. There were also fields that seemed to be growing wildly, with animals grazing in them. That must be some kind of crop rotation, though she knew next to nothing about farming, so it was just a guess.

Regardless, the roughly 20 homes clustered together seemed in decent repair. Thatch roofs with wattle and daub walls sat atop stone foundations, with well-maintained paths from the front doors to the packed-earth roads that crisscrossed the town. There didn't seem to be any obviously disheveled structures or hints of abandonment, which suggested the villagers' lives were at least relatively stable.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

As they neared the first of the houses, Julia heard the gentle bustle of the workday. Children yelled—either playing or helping with work off in the distance. A hammer pounded an anvil, and the muted drone of distant conversations peppered the air. Julia smiled a little, enjoying the nostalgic atmosphere of a small village—it had been a while.

Julia turned suddenly, taking the lead toward what was likely the center of town. If there was one thing she knew about small towns, it was to find the well. Lots of talk was exchanged while drawing water, and it often took long enough that a line would form, so that was a good place to find people willing to share a few words.

She marched forward confidently, but she began to notice eyes trailing the group—that was not unusual. Strangers wandering into town would undoubtedly draw attention, but there was…something about the looks they were getting that made her uncomfortable, that set her teeth on edge.

She noticed that the clamor had died down quite a bit—most conspicuously was the absence of the hammering that had been in the background. Its absence was the most noticeable, but voices were also quieting. It seemed as though all the background noise near them had stopped, only the sounds from farther away continuing unabated.

Julia saw people standing on porches, peeking through windows, and standing around along the path, staring at them. These were not the stares of idle curiosity that she would expect. They were…she didn't know for sure, but she did know that they were uncomfortable.

Her pace quickened in response to her discomfort, and a few quick glances confirmed the elves had picked up on the rising tension as well.

They came upon the well at last, and two women who were chatting and laughing with each other abruptly stopped, adopting serious looks as they turned toward the new arrivals.

A wide-eyed child ran out, as if to run up to Julia and her companions, but an adult nearby snatched his arm and held him in place. The child's confused face sat in Julia's mind, directly juxtaposed with the adult's, which was set and stern.

There was some kind of social dynamic at play here, obviously, but it must be something new that children hadn't had time to internalize, something hidden from them, or something complicated enough that they didn't understand it.

Julia shifted the thoughts to the back of her mind to ponder later and adopted a friendly smile, approaching the two women, whose pitchers and buckets sat in various states of filled next to the well. They both crossed their arms over their chests in a posture that looked guarded and defensive to Julia, but she spoke kindly regardless.

"Hi, sorry to bother you. My friends and I were just passing through, and I was hoping we could get some directions."

One of the women opened her mouth to speak, but a booming voice from behind caused Julia to turn.

"Ya got somethin' t' say t' ma wife?" a tall, burly man called. He wore a thick apron, his sleeves rolled up, and his head completely devoid of hair but for his thick brows, which sat heavily upon his dark eyes.

"Not specifically, no. We were just hoping to get some directions to Vazreth. We have the general heading, but we've never been there, so something a little more specific than 'west' would be helpful," Julia replied, still attempting politeness.

"Whatchu wanna go there fer?" the man said, resting his right arm on a powerful-looking hammer that hung from his waist—the blacksmith, then.

"We're adventurers. Going to the Guild there," Julia said, still attempting to be friendly and biting down her knee-jerk response, which was that it was none of his damn business.

The man was silent for a couple seconds, scratching under his chin.

"Y'all goin' there together, then? You an' all yer…friends?" he asked, motioning to Julia and the elves.

She narrowed her eyes.

"Yeah, my friends and I are going there together. Something wrong with that?" she asked, her hackles starting to rise.

"Depends who ya ask," the blacksmith replied casually, never taking his eyes off Julia or her group.

"I'm asking you," she challenged.

She felt a hand on her shoulder, and Ithshar stepped forward with a friendly smile.

"We simply seek directions. We will be on our way afterward. We are not looking for a place to stay, nor are we trying to linger longer than it takes to get our bearings," she said placatingly.

The blacksmith stared at her for several long seconds before shrugging and motioning vaguely to Julia's right.

"That way," he said simply.

Ithshar nodded, and the elves began to walk that direction before Julia held up a hand to stop them. She squinted, utilizing the technique she'd been refining in the rift to peer through different spatial layers. It was considerably easier out here—it felt as though there were fewer layers, and they were less scattered.

She saw vague shapes and outlines of plains before they gave way to what was unmistakably some kind of bog.

Julia turned back to the man, staring him straight in the eyes.

"I don't recall Vazreth being near a bog. Am I perhaps misremembering?" she asked testily.

The man's eyes widened noticeably before he schooled his expression. He opened his mouth to respond, but a woman behind Julia—his wife, apparently—spoke first.

"It's that way," she said, pointing to her left. "The elevation begins to rise, and Vazreth is built atop a huge crater. You'll see it after just a few hours of walking—it's hard to miss."

The man and the woman exchanged looks, which Julia interpreted to mean something akin to 'We'll discuss this when we get home.'

Julia peered in that direction, attempting the same piercing of spatial layers, but she encountered a wall of some kind. Something was blocking her ability to peer any closer. That in and of itself was a solid indicator that it was the correct direction, but she also noted a distinct climb in elevation.

"Thank you very much for your assistance. We'll be on our way," Julia said, nodding to the woman and setting off in that direction.

As the group continued through town, the same disquieting looks followed them. Ambient noise would quiet noticeably around them before resuming after they'd passed.

When they were far enough outside of town that its noises had faded completely, Ithshar strode up to match Julia's pace.

"You are young, and there is fire in your blood. This is good, but do not waste it on trivialities, Julia. The things we have suffered for the past few years…well, vague insults like those may as well be sweet anodyne: experiencing mild unpleasantness from everyday people reminds us that life continues regardless of our own conflicts," she chuckled.

Julia nodded—she knew she was on the verge of losing her cool. She had been remembering the incident where she punched a kid in Rockyknoll. It played over and over again in her head as the town faded behind them. Braden had said something afterward that amounted to picking her battles, and she thought she needed to better internalize that message.

She was no longer the little girl she'd been back in the boonies. She was Level 75—she'd faced an undead who had stolen a thousand souls! A moment of anger from her, even if she didn't act on it, could have a profound effect on others.

She tried to imagine what it would feel like to be that same little girl in Rockyknoll—tried to imagine how she'd feel if someone above the final Level threshold directed their anger at her.

It didn't feel good.

"Want me to bully him a little? Cause rain to fall wherever he is? Make lightning fall from a clear-blue sky and hit right next to him a couple times?" Lumenfall offered into Julia's mind.

She was up in the air, flying around lazily. She planned to use literally every single second of freedom she had before she became a ferret again to enter the city.

"Thanks for the offer, but there's no need to look back when there's so much ahead of us," Julia replied with a smile.

Still, what was that guy's problem?! Hopefully this wasn't indicative of how things would go in Vazreth. She didn't need her newfound resolve for patience and serenity tested immediately.