THE TWINNED CITIES

TEOLNIS

Ah, here we are. I’m sure these must be the Twinned Cities before us.

COLRED

Yes, but which is Jargolamis? I have no desire to divide the team to figure it out.

TEOLNIS

Then perhaps we ask the stranger approaching?

COLRED

What stranger?

TEOLNIS

Look in the other direction. On the aneen.

COLRED

Perfect.

(calling out)

Excuse me, sir…

MOLOUM

Yes, what can I do for you?

COLRED

Would you be so kind as to tell us which of these cities is Jargolamis?

MOLOUM

Of course. That is Jargolamis over there.

TEOLNIS

Thank you, sir. Shall we?

COLRED

Hold on… I have another question for this gentlemen. Would you mind sparing another moment of your time, er…

MOLOUM

Moloum.

COLRED

Thank you, Moloum. I am Colred, this is Teolnis. The rest are our assistants and guards.

MOLOUM

It is a pleasure. How may I be of service?

COLRED

I’m curious if by chance you encountered a man that goes by the name of Januae? A little more than average height, dark skinned?

MOLOUM

As a matter of fact, I have. A few months ago, not far from where we stand.

COLRED

Is that right? I’m assuming he went to Jargolamis?

MOLOUM

Yes. He also went to Luigolamis.

COLRED

Which city did he go to first?

MOLOUM

They parted ways and went to both.

COLRED

Yes, well I’m specifically interested in where Januae went.

MOLOUM

That’s just it. There were two of them. Doubles!

COLRED

Doubles? Teolnis, you looked into his family background. Did you find any mention of a twin?

TEOLNIS

I did not. He is the second of four siblings. None of them is his twin.

MOLOUM

I don’t think you understand. They were more than just twins They were doubles, as in duplicates. They both introduced themselves by that name, Januae. In fact, they argued over who was the true Januae.

COLRED

Interesting. Well would you happen to know what business they were attending to in Jargolamis and the other city?

MOLOUM

Luigolamis? Yes. They were going to see the Reverent Shoum and the Paramount Selm.

COLRED

For?

MOLOUM

Well, something to do with a condition they spoke of having, and something to do with the Amber Pope.

COLRED

And what would this Reverent and this Paramount have to offer them?

MOLOUM

They went to see the Reverent regarding the condition, and the Paramount regarding a political issue they were embroiled in.

COLRED

Which of them would they see if they wanted access to a teleportation device?

MOLOUM

A teleportation device?

COLRED

Let me put it this way… who would you go see if you wanted to try to teleport somewhere?

MOLOUM

As one well versed in traveling to different dimensions, I suppose I would go to see Reverent Shoum. But I’m not aware of any teleportation-

COLRED

And you are certain one of them went to see this Reverent?

MOLOUM

I feel pretty certain. They seemed pretty determined to get some assistance regarding their issues. In fact, I was the one who recommended one go see the Reverent and the other go see the Paramount. They had asked me to accompany them but I found them quite confusing and disagreeable and frankly, a bit annoying, if I’m to be perfectly honest.

COLRED

Yes, I couldn’t agree more. Well, you’ve been quite helpful, Moloum. Thank you for your time.

MOLOUM

Glad I could be of some help. Oh, by the way, the Reverent and the Paramount each looks to be a nine year old girl but they have the mind of a middle aged woman.

COLRED

Interesting. Someone who has stopped the aging process. May be worth studying someday.

MOLOUM

Yes, well good day to you, and good luck in your pursuits.

MOLOUM departs

TEOLNIS

Sir, what do you make of that? Two Januaes?

COLRED

Hmph. I figure it to be some sort of trick, meant to throw off anyone looking for him. Who knows what esoteries he’s capable of.

TEOLNIS

There are many strange things in this world. It’s not entirely impossible that he could have a duplicate.

COLRED

A ruse to confuse, I’m sure. But that doesn’t really concern us or our mission at this time. Let’s pay a visit to this Reverent and see if she can tell us where we can find this teleportation device he must have been using.

SOMEWHERE IN MALEVICH

JANUAE

One day shy of a week I’ve been a “guest” of Polele and his bandits. As promised, I have many liberties around the camp and these ruffians are surprisingly accommodating. They have not skimped on my share of food and water, have been willing to engage in casual conversations with me, and even invited me to sparring sessions, which I welcomed, as I can always use the combat practice. I’d been presented with numenera to identify from a raid that occurred on my second day with the bandits which I of course did not participate in. As cordial as they have been with me I watched them pillage a small town mercilessly, sparing or taking the lives of the townsfolk with a discretion I could not make sense of.

Leaving the group of raiders by way of jaunting was impossible. Without the dream inducing bracer I could not simply slip into the mental state needed to jaunt. Nor did I have the opportunity to take advantage of the quiet of nighttime. This was when the bandits on night watch engaged in raucous gambling and hand-to-hand combat exercises. Others seemed to sleep rather easily through the belligerent shouts and scuffles, but I could not focus to save my life, or more so, escape with it.

As I had been compelled to stay with this band of raiders and ruffians I took the opportunity to reinforce the notion of how dangerous a crusade to the Spiritlands would be. This was a crew of bravado and boastfulness, never passing on the chance to express their lack of fear of any dangerous situation. I highlighted the hazards that lay wait for anyone foolish enough to venture into the Cloudcrystal Skyfields.

Polole’s band decided to target Heilting next, a town with a population of nearly two hundred about eighty kilometers to the northwest. After two days travel the band stopped to reevaluate their strategy. To the west a green rainstorm could be seen in the distance, threatening to pass between us and Heilting. As Polele’s crew explained it to me, the green rain left a bright glow on the ground that made everything visible in the dark. To be caught in the rain would mean the band of ruffians would be seen approaching the town in the dead of night all aglow, tipping off the townsfolk as to their presence. Best to wait until the storm passes, take advantage of how green rain always leaves a strange phenomenon in its wake, completely deadening all sound in the area for several hours.

The other issue to be taken into account was the fact that we were in sathosh country. Sathosh are vile abhumans, emaciated looking humanoids in tattered loin cloths bearing basic weapons such as swords, spears, knives, darts and such. The most distinct aspect of these abhumans are their complete lack of facial features, no hair, ears, eyes, nose… where their face would be is instead a long prehensile tentacle nearly three-quarters the length of their body. It is through this tentacle that they consume the blood of those they’ve slain. Polele’s people did not seem too worried about it though, as they normally outnumber a sathosh pack three-to-one, and they were especially excited to eliminate this particular type of abhuman.

The tribe of bandits followed a dry riverbed that meandered north to an embankment about ten kilometers away from Heilting where we would wait out the storm. Campfires were lit and tents were erected, with a cordon of guards creating a semicircle around the area. The embankment not only served to protect us from any rear attacks, it also concealed the light from our campfires that could potentially alert any wanderers of our presence. Once the darkness had set upon us I had assumed the bandits would settle in to quietly rest, perhaps giving me an opportunity to try my hand at jaunting out of here in the still of the night. Instead I had to withstand the singing and dancing of the night watch. I couldn’t be sure, but it was almost as if they were hoping to attract the sathosh to the encampment for a late night fight.

Morning came without event. A few of Polele’s group followed the riverbed’s ascent to higher ground to get a glimpse of the storm’s progress. The news they brought back was not good! The wind must have changed direction, bringing the green rain our way! Suggestions were shouted to pack up the encampment and move out of the path of the storm as quickly as possible. Polele subscribed to the suggestion of taking shelter in our tents, minimizing the number of people on guard, and waiting out the rain. We would do our best to turn our gear inside-out to hide the glow the rain leaves behind, and the people on watch would have to change out of their clothes, though any part of their skin that happened to get wet would yield that glowing green. We would just have to minimize it as much as possible.

We took to our tents and the storm came. The hissing of the campfires being extinguished were drowned out by the drumming of the rain on the tents. There was no singing or dancing, no shouts of bravado, no scrimmages, just the pounding of the storm’s water above and around us. The storm continued on for nearly two hours, then the pelting of rain softened into a patter, slowing down until all that remained were the sound of rivulets running down the sides of the tents. Moments later, there was complete and utter silence.

As I emerged from our tent I could see others in the band coming out as well, but I could hear nothing. I saw lips move, I saw boots treading on wet ground, I watched people slapping and shaking tents to drive the glowing wetness off the material, but none of these actions made a sound. We found ourselves in the wake of silence that always followed the green rain. And it was very disconcerting.

The unnerving feeling only lasted a few moments. It gave way to the instant surge of adrenaline as nearly two dozen sathosh suddenly came down from atop the embankment. The silence made everything seem like it was moving in slow motion. The abhumans took full advantage of not only the element of surprise, but of the inability of Polele’s group to organize. Orders were being shouted but none were heard. It was every bandit for themselves. The sathosh moved in amazingly coordinated attacks, communicating in whatever means they seemed to employ which did not depend on sound, like a mental link of sorts. I even witnessed a pair of sathosh somehow cause a small group of bandits intense pain without even raising a weapon to them. Polele’s band was not outnumbered, but outmaneuvered and outwitted by their inability to communicate in the deafening wake of the storm. And the sathosh would feast heavily on the result of the bandits’ mistake.

It was in this moment I realized that in this great misfortune of Polele and his tribe was a great opportunity for me. I quickly stole away into the tent farthest from the battle, took several deep breaths, closed my eyes, and let the silence that enveloped everything shroud my thoughts as well, and I focused on only one thing… letting the jaunt take me as far away from this place as I could get.