Chapter 8

The Blockade

“What exactly is in it for you?”

“Time-based magic?”

Terrill and Krysta’s simultaneous questions were not ones Floyd had planned to hear. That much was obvious from the way his nonchalant pose slipped, his mouth agape. The more Terrill watched, the more he knew the boy had thought himself in control of the situation. Their skepticism had proved just the opposite.

“What’s-” Floyd grit his teeth, restraining whatever groan he was going to give. Just after, he sidled between the two, slinging his arms around them with a pained grin. “I just told you what’s in it for me. And there’s no way you can get through the blockade without me. The guards will be too on alert for anyone trying to interrupt their operations.”

“Funny. The way I heard it, you need us more than we need you, especially if we no longer need to get into the mayor’s manor.”

“Crap, you have a point.” Floyd retracted now, tapping his foot. His mind raced to come up with an answer to his new predicament. In the end, it appeared that he chose to stick with an old answer instead. “Well, maybe you don’t need to get into the mayor’s manor, but like I said, there’s a blockade. What are you gonna do about that?”

“What are you going to do about that? The only thing I’ve seen you try to break into nearly tore a hole through your midsection.”

“That was a fluke!” Floyd argued. He was closer to Terrill now, the two in each other’s faces over this current tussle. Krysta looked rather nonplussed about it all, content with letting them negotiate the terms of…whatever this was. Terrill couldn’t say. “If you’ve heard of me, it means I’m good at something and can get you somewhere.”

“Then again, why do you really need our help?”

“Well, hmm…that is to say…the mayor…might not want to…” Floyd scratched at his chin, tousling his hair every couple of paces. “I might be a bit…unwanted, when it comes to the mayor and his guard.”

“But you’re going there to see this Torry, right? I’m sure she’d let you to see him if you needed to,” Krysta said. Floyd coughed at the mention of the girl’s name.

“Torry’s, uh…yeah, not an option.” Floyd stopped pacing, this time leveling a glare at the two of them. “You know, you two are a real handful.”

“Says you. You still haven’t answered the question.”

“Which one?” His irksome grin informed Terrill he had hardly forgotten the question at all, but he tacked a belabored sigh at the end to show he was done arguing about the hows and whys. “Look, Torry and me have a project going, looking into the source of different types of magic. It’s intended to be a graduation thesis of sorts, but her dad keeps her under his thumb a lot, afraid of people using her against him, so he keeps her close. I’ve been handling the legwork, but for the first time, I’m stuck back here sneaking in for information, and what the director has is a game-changer she needs to know.”

“But you can’t get close to the mayor on your own because the soldiers know you, is that it?”

“Nailed it in one, Terrill, buddy.”

“Don’t do that,” Terrill snapped, pushing off the boy. He wasn’t fooled by the schmaltzy act. “Okay, so you need us to get to see your research partner because the mayor hates you. You’ve yet to tell us why you’ll be an asset to this.”

“Like I said, time-based magic. How do you think I stopped you from grabbing me earlier?’ To offer an example, he snapped his fingers and a flame appeared at their tips. It was snuffed out mere moments later. “I use the power of fire, and through it, I can heat or cool the surrounding air. The latter tends to slow down the time around us, but it’s tricky. Not a mastered art in any sense, but I created it. No one else can do it, and if the guards won’t let us through, well…you wanted me to get into the mayor’s house for a reason.”

The cockiness was back.

Terrill turned to Krysta, the two travelers locking eyes before he put the obvious question forth. “Should we bring along the liability?”

“Hey!”

“Might not be a bad idea. He might have bad rapport with the mayor, but if we can get our foot in the door, perhaps his relationship with Torry would be useful.”

“That’s rather conniving of you.”

Krysta laughed at his implication. “We don’t have time to wait around for the niceties. Besides, source of all Earth Magic? Might help you with yours, yeah? I see no harm in bringing along someone who is researching all of this.”

“Ah, cool, you use Earth Magic!” Floyd said, his face leaping with joy at the fortuitous circumstances. “It’s like we were meant to meet, you and I. This would be perfect for Torry running her experiments!”

“I’m not running an experiment for you, Floyd. I’m meeting the mayor, finding the woman and figuring-”

“Yeah, yeah, I get it. So, let’s talk-”

A wind filled the room, gusting through their hair and making any loose document rise up and scatter. The sudden phenomenon made Terrill go for his sword, but Floyd stopped him before he could, facing in the direction of the door Krysta had entered through. It took a moment, but he could soon hear footsteps, and with them, voices.

“I’m certain that I heard voices inside the director’s study!”

“Fine pickle this is,” Floyd sighed. He was leaving them, heading for the door. The steps weren’t yet too close, allowing him to poke his head out and gauge how much time they had left before they were discovered. Once he had, the redhead threw his voice back into the room. “Looks like we’re having company, so let’s finish this. Do we have a deal or not?”

“For now,” Terrill relented. He wasn’t convinced he was making the right choice to allow Floyd with them on this little trip, but the pressure of the moment wasn’t one to make him argue.

“Excellent. I’ll buy you time. Go out through the window and we’ll meet at the southern exit from the city in an hour. Later.” Floyd was giving them no room for argument. No sooner had he shot them another of his trademarked smirks than he’d slipped out the door and let it lock shut. Voices emanated from the hallway but a few seconds later, and both Terrill and Krysta took that as their cue to leave.

“Floyd! Were you trying to break into the director’s office again?”

“What can I say, I’m persistent!”

That was the last snippet that Terrill heard of Floyd’s conversation with the Academy staff that had come to call. He and Krysta had exited through the window right after, making sure to close it. It began to glimmer with that same magical property once it had clicked shut. The two remained careful nonetheless, sneaking away through the grassy alley before the bell could ring to signal the end of the current classes.

“How much do you think we can trust Floyd?” Krysta asked when they’d found themselves on the front lawn. It was still empty, save for a straggler here and there, and neither found any need to worry about their discussion being overheard.

“Not at all, probably, but I don’t think he’d take no for an answer. Better to keep him close so he doesn’t mess things up,” Terrill said. Krysta found no fault with the logic, and Terrill was glad she didn’t argue. This whole pursuit was becoming far more complicated than it should have been. “And besides, from our brief moment of getting to know him, I’m almost certain he’d try something stupid that would get himself killed. I’d like to prevent that if possible.”

Krysta mused on that as they headed away from the Academy and into the city. Already, Terrill could tell by the fresh ringing bell that afternoon classes were finished, and the sun was hanging a little lower in the sky. The marketplace and other city squares were less packed than he would have thought them, with some shop vendors done selling for the day or just having little in the way of customers. Terrill ignored it all, heading down the hill that formed Serotin, and in the direction of one of the gates. He wondered if they could have used the same magical transportation device they had earlier, but when he remembered the sickening sensation he’d felt upon using it, that thought disappeared in a flash.

“You’re worried he’d encounter the woman if he goes alone, aren’t you?” Krysta said when they were a few blocks shy of their appointed meeting spot.

“I hadn’t really thought about it, to be honest,” Terrill said. Krysta’s eyes were doubtful, and she never removed them from him as they approached the south gate, which Terrill now realized a river wended itself around. “But I suppose you’re right. If the woman is calling people to Luster Mines, there’s no telling what’ll happen if that moron goes it alone.”

“Glad to see where I stand in the equation.” Floyd’s voice made Terrill’s mouth twitch. He didn’t even need to feel the boy leaning on his shoulder to know he wanted to take another crack at strangling him. “Either way, this ‘moron’ is the one that’s gonna lead you to Point Harbor, if you’ll let him. I know Sagitta like the back of my hand, and I’ll get us there fast.”

“I thought you said you’d be waiting at the gate,” Krysta said, all in a huff. “This is not the gate.”

“I got tired of waiting.” Floyd now dragged Krysta over, pulling the two close like he wanted to hug them. He pushed them closer and closer to the gate, and Terrill realized how slow everything else around him was moving. It flickered in and out, ephemeral in its nature, but Terrill knew they were in the sphere of influence from Floyd’s magic. The boy gave a grin, as if to say, “See? I told you I’d be useful”.

To that, Terrill shook his head.

Floyd was a moron, yet Terrill couldn’t help but find him amiable. It would be a most interesting journey to Point Harbor, he thought, and the trio took their first step out of Serotin, to the wider plains of Sagitta.

It was less than a two-day journey to Point Harbor on foot, Terrill learned after they’d set off. With no map but the one inside Floyd’s head and the dirt road that appeared to connect the hub of the capital to the southern port, they had no choice but to trust the thief that led their way down the path.

If only he could shut up.

It wasn’t too noticeable, not at first. The first leg of their journey had plenty of people and visitors heading for Serotin. Whether they were merchants, sailors from the east and west, or even just those coming to visit the Academy, the constant stream of people necessitated greetings to those along the road. This was further impacted by Floyd’s friendly nature, saying hello to everyone. Unlike those at the Academy, they didn’t know him, or laugh at him, and greeted him in turn.

Only when night fell, and the trio decided to set up camp near a plain with many rocks, did it become obvious how much Floyd loved to talk. It could be about anything, and still he would not shut up.

Krysta listened to his tales with wide, interested eyes, as if she’d never heard such stories in her life, while Terrill made sure to keep the fire stoked and be on the lookout for any monsters. He hadn’t heard any since they’d left Sayn, but it made him no less on edge.

“So, we tried to take a trip north to test for Water Magic, but there were some pirates there on land,” Floyd was explaining, his laugh becoming infectious to Krysta. Terrill glanced back at the two, making not a single sound. His lookout continued as Floyd’s story did. “I know, pirates on land seems weird, but it was near enough to their base at Devil’s Haven. Obviously, we’re Academy students, so these guys think we’re easy pickings. Oh no. See, you don’t mess with Torry when she has her eye on something, and she froze them in just a couple seconds flat.”

“Torry sounds like a very skilled mage,” Krysta said, leaning back as she smiled to their newest companion. Terrill listened closely to her voice, finding the tremors that showed she was as worried about their destination as he was, but that she was still feeling better since they’d left the Academy.

“Best there is at the Academy! Proud to know her.”

“Seems like you’re a little more than proud.”

For the first time in hours, there was beautiful, glorious silence. All it came at the cost of was Floyd clamming up about his reasons for doing any of this. Not that Terrill couldn’t infer. Floyd cleared his throat.

“So, Terrill, Earth Magic, huh? Not often one sees that, even at the Academy.”

“It can’t be that rare,” Terrill said. He didn’t look back, his eyes trained forward despite the attempt to engage in conversation.

“Mm, not rare, but it’s been uncommon lately,” Floyd said. He was more pensive, and not the chatterbox he’d been the last many hours. It actually managed to draw Terrill into the conversation, but not enough to make him tear his sight away from their path to the south, where it looked to be misting with rain. “I find we get plenty of fire-users from Sagitta, along with water, and those who use wind come from the west. Earth has been one of the uncommon ones. Supposedly there used to be more, before the war. It’s what led us to hypothesize that Silicias might be the source of all Earth Magic.”

“And that’s why you’re studying that?” Krysta said.

“It’s the great mystery of our time. What makes our world tick? What blesses us with magic?” Floyd’s question drew an uncomfortable silence from Krysta, but he didn’t feel it the way Terrill did, continuing to blather on. “What determines what magic each individual develops? Is it something that’s predetermined from birth? Location? Or is it chance? No one has ever found the truth at the core of the world, and we wanna find it.”

“Don’t you think there are some things better left undiscovered…?”

“Maybe,” Floyd agreed. He flopped back, indicated by the sound hitting the bed of grass beneath him. “But the more you know, the less mistakes you can make. Then maybe we wouldn’t have another war. Then, maybe…”

Floyd didn’t finish his thought, and moments later he was asleep. It took quite a while longer for Krysta to do the same, and even longer for Terrill to cease his watch to join them. It was a restless sleep, in any case.

He was positive that he’d seen smoke on the horizon that night.

The mist had turned to a drizzle when they awoke, snuffing out their fire and making their destination invisible to the naked eye. Their road had turned muddy, though not difficult to traverse. Today, Floyd was more reticent. Terrill guessed that he was focusing on their path, slowing the rate at which the rain would fall to make sure they were still on target.

Around midday, their progression was rewarded. The plains on either side had narrowed, funneling into a coastal path leading ever further south. Up above, the rain was beginning to stop, leaving an overhang of clouds in the sky that made it appear yet more dreary, if drier all the same.

The blockade of soldiers and barricades that stretched all across added to the dreariness.

They weren’t the only ones to have arrived there, either, with a man on a horse hoping to get in, and a merchant with a carriage of goods arguing with the soldiers dressed in the garb of Serotin.

“I’m sorry, no one is allowed through. Point Harbor is not deemed as safe by order of the mayor.”

“How do you expect any of us to get business done if you’re blocking the road?!”

“This is for your own safety.”

“Well, look at that, Floyd,” Terrill said, not even bothering to suppress his chuckle, “you weren’t lying after all.”

“I’m a troublemaker, not a liar. There’s a very distinct difference.” Floyd prided himself on that. Terrill snorted, while Krysta restrained the twitch of her lips.

“Floyd?” one of the standing soldiers said, having heard their conversation. “Don’t tell me that’s you, Floyd Margrove.”

“Hey, if it isn’t…uh… What’s your name again? You soldiers all look alike to me.” Again at the head of their group, Floyd brought the trio forward to engage with the soldier that had addressed him. The other soldier had a displeased expression, which made the man he was dealing with all the surlier.

“It’s Bartholomew! You know that! I threw you out of the mayor’s just two weeks ago!”

“Oh, right…Barty.” Floyd didn’t appear to actually remember the man at all. “Speaking of the mayor, is he in the harbor? With Torry?”

“We’re not letting you near the harbor, Floyd.” This came from the other soldier, more cross than his companion and having finally been successful at turning away the merchant from earlier. He thumped his spear on the ground. “No one’s allowed to Point Harbor, by order of the mayor, himself.”

“So, he is there?”

“Are you even listening?!”

Floyd looked to have the matter entirely in hand, if the way he was aggravating the soldiers was any indication. With them partially distracted, Terrill brought himself closer to the fences that separated them from their ultimate destination. It wasn’t far down the path, allowing Terrill to see the harbor. The spray of the sea shrouded any further details from his eyes, though he thought he could see a boat. It looked to barely be floating, but with the remnants of the rain from that morning, there was no way to know without examining it up close, or at least waiting for the sun to arrive. Another dark shape, or multiple dark shapes, were floating around the town, and Terrill began to squint his eyes before he finally saw what confirmed his fears and made his stomach drop.

It wasn’t the plume that it had been last night, but there was a trail of smoke rising from the harbor. Terrill’s body clenched. All the moreso when a hand was on his shoulder.

“Don’t think it.” The soldier that had first spoken to Floyd had noticed him staring, spinning him away from the spiked fences. As his body turned, Terrill got a better idea of the blockade they were up against, with just a small gap for any relief carts to pass through. If they hoped to bust through, there was very little room for error, and the need for a distraction that Floyd had proven he couldn’t provide.

“Aw come on, Barry, let us through. It’s for a work study at Luster Mines.” It wasn’t technically a lie, Terrill figured, and he nodded to keep up with Floyd’s version of the story. “These two are helping me out. Torry asked for me to bring some test subjects.”

“Test subjects?!” Terrill said, throwing the soldier’s hand off and stomping over to Floyd. The gleam in the boy’s eyes screamed that he had intended for exactly this kind of reaction from him. Terrill threw himself into the act. “You never said anything about that you lying piece of-”

“Boys, don’t make a scene,” Krysta said, seeking to chastise them. She, too, had caught on to Floyd’s plan.

“Oh, no. I’m not about to be some test subject in Floyd’s little experiment and game. We agreed to come with you for-”

“Should’ve thought more about that deal. Not my fault you’ve got rocks for brains. I was interested in your magic, and that made it obvious.” Terrill curled his hand into a fist with Floyd’s words, and he flicked his eyes over to the now bemused guards. Everything slowed around them, the air chilled as Floyd readied for their distraction to bear fruit. They both readied themselves to punch, when a voice from outside the sphere of influence broke through. The spell was canceled, and Krysta backed up.

“We need more hands at the harbor! We need help now!” The voice was joined with some clanking of a soldier’s greaves as he dashed up the hill for the blockade. Floyd cursed under his breath, steam rising from his body as he watched the soldier approach. The other soldiers became fixated on their comrade in an instant, catching him before he could collapse, out of breath. “The ship at the harbor…arrived from Luster Mines…we’ve got scores of wounded.”

“Luster Mines?! But that’s where the mayor-”

“Call some soldiers from both east and west side, and any relief and medical supplies we can,” the cross soldier commanded of Bartholomew. The soldier saluted and ran for a distant part of the blockade. “This is the third ship to come out of Luster Mines with wounded miners since the mayor got that message. Do we have any word on him?”

“He’s not on the ship, so we can only hope…”

“Was it a pirate attack?”

“Unclear…”

Krysta grabbed hold of Terrill’s jerkin, pulling him back to whisper in his ear while the soldiers conversed. “This could be our chance, Terrill. We can offer my healing magic for relief services. No more sneaking around, right?”

“We definitely need to get there fast.”

“Hey, uh, guys, I don’t know what you two are talking about and all,” Floyd said, cutting across them with an apologetic grin that made Terrill’s stomach drop, “but I can’t stop this thing.”

“Stop what thing?” Terrill asked. Krysta backed away, disturbed by the grin that Floyd was now giving off.

“My spell. Hold on, and uh…get ready to bust on through.”

“Floyd!”

Terrill’s shout alerted the soldiers that something was taking place, and they reached for their weapons.

They were too slow.

Or perhaps, it was that Floyd was too fast.

Steam rose from his body in copious amounts, his grin looking demonic as he bent low. His entire body looked heated up, and his fingers were twitching at a rate that Terrill never would have thought possible. The soldiers moved towards him, only for the boy to disappear. He reappeared behind Terrill and Krysta, grabbing hold of them.

“Hope you two can handle speed.” Floyd didn’t give them much of a choice. With them in hand, the boy blasted forward, his body barreling at an inhuman speed for the spiked barricade. At the speed they were moving, Terrill was sure that it would rip them apart, something Krysta observed as well. Her free hand, the one not pinned by Floyd’s body, outstretched with a grinding of her teeth, and the familiar honeycomb shield formed around their rampaging group.

“Damn, that’s pretty cool. Never seen that kind of magic before!” Floyd’s voice was ragged, the steam pouring from his mouth. Terrill braced for impact, the sound of the soldiers shouting for them lost in the rush of wind blowing past them.

They continued forward without stopping, ripping right into the barricade and coming out the other side unharmed. Floyd didn’t stop, continuing with his forward momentum down the hill towards town. It now became clear what he had meant about being unable to stop his spell once it had begun, and Terrill feared they would go straight through the town into the ocean if he was unable to cease his spell.

His worry was unfounded, as he discovered when they were halfway down the path. Floyd’s body began to sputter, the steam dissipating, and their speed experienced a sharp drop that caused Floyd to trip. All three of them tumbled down the hill, rolling along until they were nearly at the foot of the harbor’s entrance, near the outer buildings. Terrill was the first to stand.

“What the hell, Floyd?!” he roared, hoisting the boy up. He looked exhausted, as though he’d emptied out his entire body. “What was that?”

“I knew it… Still not perfected… Way too much of a drain on my magic and body.”

“Floyd! Answer me, dumbass!”

Krysta coughed next to them, being the slowest to stand. Her eyes weren’t bothered by Terrill and Floyd’s newest argument, and he saw her step towards the harbor, hoping to see the state of the place inside. Terrill demanded answers.

“My magic, I told you. But hey, we made it.”

“And now those soldiers will be coming right for us to arrest us, idiot!”

“Had to act fast. What can I say?” Floyd’s nonchalant shrug was enough to piss Terrill off, and he wondered if he could use his saved fist from the soldiers on the boy.

Or he would have, if applause didn’t ring from the buildings closest to the harbor’s entrance. It echoed on the wind, and Terrill could feel goosebumps erupting on Floyd’s skin. He let go of him, casting his gaze in every direction he could find. The soldiers from earlier were running down the hill, still at a distance, and the harbor, from his small glimpses, looked to be having trouble. Terrill’s eyes, however, eventually found the rooftops, and moments after, his hand had found his sword.

“Very impressive, if inelegant,” she said, her callous voice cutting into Terrill and causing Floyd to fall back on his knees. “Now that’s the kind of show I’ve been waiting for. Not these namby-pamby children without a clue of what magic and combat is really like.”

“Get down here! Show yourself!” Terrill said, stepping forward. Krysta looked back, her eyes wide with worry as the entire ground trembled from Terrill’s simple action.

The wind rose up, not enough to create a gale, but it heralded their arrival. A gust erupted from the rooftop, a person striding out of it as though the wind had summoned them there. Terrill’s sword came right out of its sheath, and Krysta drew back against him while he held his blade out.

“Well, hey there, Mr. Hero,” the voice mocked him, its owner jumping from the rooftops and landing without a scratch, “been a while. The wind tells me you’ve been looking for me. Here I am.”

He had found her: the woman.