Crossroads: An Artifactor x Deepwoods Short Story Read online

  On Grydon’s heels came Kip, looking somewhat mussed, hat missing, scarf barely hanging onto his shoulders, and leaves stuck to his coat and in his hair. Ah, he must have been coming up to see her when Baby bounced on him from behind. It explained why he’d arrived so quickly. Even Baby needed more time than that to go into the village and back again. Kip took exactly one step inside and stopped dead, eyes taking in the full room even as he absently tried to knock the leaves out of his thick, black curls. “Oh, have we clients?”

  Sevana grinned at him. “We do indeed. Everyone, this is my business partner, Morgan. I call him Kip for reasons I’ll be happy to share with you later.”

  Pained, Kip tried to protest. “Sev—”

  She steamrolled over him and continued, “Kip, this is the Deepwoods Guild. They’re an escorting guild from Goldschmidt.”

  Kip’s brows wrinkled upwards in puzzlement. “Where?”

  “Another world,” Sevana explained with relish.

  For the fifth time in their lives, Kip lost all of his composure. His mouth dropped, and he kept making croaking noises, like a strangled frog. “Wha?”

  Impishly, she requested with a bat of her brown eyes, every word dripping honey sweetness, “Do help me settle them in, won’t you?”

  Chapter Two

  Siobhan had been in strange situations during her lifetime. In fact, too many to count. Buying a dark guildsman off a slave block, rescuing an assassin and turning him into a brother, starting a guild at the tender age of eighteen, experiencing a multi-continental war, all of that had been beyond strange. This? This took the figurative cake to a whole other level. Arriving here had been alarming enough. Siobhan couldn’t claim to know every inch of the world she lived on, but still, she knew enough to be familiar with things. And stepping onto an open path only to wind up inside a mountain, when there wasn’t a single mountain on that route? It made her dizzy with anxiety, as she’d no idea where the failed path had thrown them.

  It grew stranger still when their hostess appeared. She’d looked obviously foreign, her clothes a different design, features sharper than any Siobhan had seen. When she drew out that polished stick and colored light started swirling around them, Siobhan’s heart about leapt out of her throat. Even when it failed to do anything painful or alarming to them, her heart still beat a frantic tempo. What eventually convinced her to not panic was Sevana herself—she’d looked nonplussed at finding strangers in her home, but not alarmed. She’d taken their arrival in stride, even with a sardonic sense of humor, and Siobhan firmly believed that if you could still joke, the situation wasn’t truly dire yet.

  She might not know where she was, how exactly they’d gotten here, or how they’d manage to return, but they could still joke, so they’d manage. One way or another.

  Siobhan followed the directions of the talking mountain (because of course when on another world, mountains could bloody talk), to a rather nice room further down the hall from the living room and that volatile workroom. It held a single bed, a chest for clothes, a wash stand, and a thick rug to keep the cold out. Siobhan felt heartily glad to see things that she could recognize, and knew how to use. At least she had that going for her.

  A hand she knew well settled on her shoulder as Wolf came to stand at her back. “Big, it’s a fine room, no mistake, but can we switch out the beds? Siobhan and I are married, see.”

  Ah, the mountain sighed in understanding. Yes. Leave room, please.

  “He has to switch things out and doesn’t want you accidentally in the way,” Morgan (should she call him Kip?) explained as he passed by their room. “For that matter, any other couples in this group?”

  “One more,” Siobhan answered, coming out to the cool hallway once more. “Sylvie and Markl. Denny and Rune are engaged, but separate’s fine for them.”

  “Got all that, Big?” Morgan gave a grunt of understanding as the mountain sighed an assent. The man possessed an easy-going charm, which strangely made her think of Sylvie, as he had that same disarming air to him. He likely also got wicked steals at the market. “It’s a fascinating story, how you came here. I’m sorry for the apprehension, you must be thoroughly alarmed, but you’ve magically ended up in exactly the right place. Sevana’s a prodigy, one of the best Artifactors in the world. She routinely gets called in for curse breaking or magical problem solving. This situation is right up her alley.”

  Siobhan put a hand over her thumping heart, trying to still its harried beating. She’d been a nervous wreck for the past half hour, ever since landing here, and she appreciated Morgan trying to settle her nerves. “I’m glad to hear it, Master Morgan.”

  “Oh no, please, Morgan is fine,” he assured her with that charming smile of his that revealed perfect white teeth. “Tell me a little more about your group. I think it’ll take more than a few days for our experts to figure out what went wrong, and how to send you back. I don’t want you bored or stuck inside Big while waiting. It seems an outright pity, in fact. You’ve come all the way to a foreign land, might as well explore and go home with amazing stories.”

  “You speak rightly, Morgan,” Wolf agreed with an eager nod. “We’re travelers ourselves because we like to see the world. Ours is an escorting guild. We guide and guard caravans, travelers, and the like from one destination to another.”

  Proving that Morgan could put the dots together quickly enough, he pointed a finger to the living room behind him. “Ah, hence your Pathmakers? Yes, I imagine travel is much faster with those two. Alright, well, would it interest you to go into the nearest village, perhaps do some shopping?”

  Sylvie, hearing the magical word, instantly popped her head out of her room. “Did I hear shopping?”

  “Sylvie,” Siobhan explained with a quick, affection grin at the other woman, “is our trader. She adores shopping and I can imagine she wouldn’t want to miss the chance. It’s a kind offer, Morgan, but we’ve no coin on us that will match this world’s currency. Although I suppose window shopping itself would be interesting in its own right.”

  To the three of them, Morgan waved this concern off with a flick of the fingers. “Perish the thought. I can take some of the currency you have on you, get Sevana to validate it as foreign currency, and make a mint from it from collectors. It won’t even take much haggling.”

  Siobhan turned this over in her mind, but couldn’t see a fault in the logic, and truthfully she was dying to see what this world was like. How was it similar? Different? “Well, if you’re sure?”

  “Quite positive. Do we have a deal? Brilliant.” He paused, caught his bottom lip between his teeth, then admitted, “I do need to notify someone that you’re here. He’ll be fascinated and want to meet you in person, I have no doubt.”

  It was about time that someone brought up notifying a superior. Siobhan gathered the impression that Sevana wasn’t the type of woman who catered to others or thought overmuch about silly things like permissions. Bit of a rebel, that one. “Yes, of course. Who?”

  “Bel. Ah, that is, Prince Bellomi Dragonmanovich.”

  Siobhan blinked at him, as it was so odd to hear the word ‘prince’ out of someone’s mouth when they referenced a living person. She shared a glance with Wolf, and found the same expression on his face as was no doubt on hers. “You have a prince?”

  “King, prince, princess, counsellors, the whole kit and caboodle.” Morgan’s head canted to the side. “You don’t?”

  “Our world did, once.” Fei drifted up to join the conversation, his slanted eyes sharp on Morgan’s face. “But no longer. Our world is entirely ruled by guilds and trade agreements. This prince, you called him by nickname first. You know him well?”

  “Yes, quite well,” Morgan confirmed, shifting his body so that he could face all four people more easily. “Bel was cursed for a decade, you see, until just recently. Hmm, I think it’s been about a year now? Sevana went into the palace and broke him out, brought him here, and then lifted the curse from him after a few months. We had the dev
il of a time getting his throne back—it was actually harder than breaking the curse—and we all became rather good friends because of it. He drops in as he can, checks on Sevana and requests things from her professionally. He’ll be very anxious to meet all of you. He’s a curious one.”

  Siobhan imagined anyone would be interested to meet outlanders in this situation. And this prince didn’t sound stuck up, from that description, but more like good people. “I see. Well, I certainly don’t mind it.” And judging from that expression on Fei’s face, he was more than intrigued with the idea of meeting a foreign prince. Siobhan predicted many an interesting conversation with the two men, if circumstances allowed it.

  Big sighed, Beds switched.

  Patting the nearest wall, Morgan said, “Thanks, Big. Look, I’m heading into the village now to send up groceries this way. Let me take what currency you’d like to part with now, give me a chance to sell some of it down there today, and relax, alright? There’s a natural hot spring inside Big if you want to take a soak.”

  Since Siobhan had been tramping about outside on the road for several days straight, a hot bath sounded heavenly. “That sounds amazing. Thank you, Morgan.”

  Sylvie was already digging through her purse. “What coins do you have? We should give him a selection if we can.”

  Agreeable, as it was a smart idea, Siobhan dug out her purse as well and gave him two of each coin that she had on her. Sylvie had a few of the smaller denominations, as did Fei, and between the three of them, they were able to give Morgan currency from three of the major guilds, which totaled up to twenty-eight coins altogether.

  Morgan looked quite satisfied by this, and Siobhan had to trust that the man had their best interests at heart, as she didn’t have enough of a working knowledge to know otherwise. She sent him off with mixed feelings, hoping for the best, then went inside their guest room once more. The bed had been switched out from the single to a massive thing that even someone of Wolf’s stature would have no trouble fitting in. Her husband patted the mattress with his flesh hand before smiling in approval. “Good and firm. Wifey, let’s find a change of clothes and get into that hot spring.”

  “Sounds heavenly,” Siobhan admitted. Thankfully everyone had had their own packs on them this trip instead of loading things into the cart. The caravan escort had been massive, so large that even with them splitting up three ways, it had taxed the paths. They’d chosen to pack light and keep their packs on them. If they hadn’t, if they’d taken their reinmal and cart, would it have made it? They’d also thankfully done this experiment on the way home, not on the trip down. The idea of a full caravan of people being lost with them was a nightmare she didn’t care to dwell on. Siobhan thanked every star and deity she knew that they hadn’t lost anyone on that whirlwind of a ride as it was. Just remembering how the path had broken, swirling dark and light, so completely unlike every other experience on an open path, gave her chills. She’d likely have nightmares about it for some time.

  They gathered up a change of clothes, and Siobhan spread the word about the hot springs to the others, not surprised when everyone decided this was a grand idea and where did they need to go? Big assured her that he could separate the springs out so that people could have private baths, if they wanted, although the two married couples opted to share with their spouses.

  She never thought she’d be glad for a mountain’s excellent hosting skills.

  The hot spring wasn’t far from them, perhaps two tunnels away, although it was hard keeping her bearings with the way everything turned. Big thoughtfully added doors, and when she pushed through the simple wood panel, she found a cavernous space inside. The ceiling stretched far above head, rough and asymmetrical, the stone a reddish-brown with streaks of white. The hot spring itself was enclosed in a white rim with streaks of algae along the outsides, steam gracefully rising from the water. Dipping a finger in, she found it borderline too-hot, which was perfect for her.

  Neither of them lost any time shucking clothes and settling in with a blissful sigh. Wolf didn’t remove his iron hand, but let it rest on the edge, carefully out of the water. Siobhan relaxed against the edge, propping her thighs over one of his, groaning. “Thank you, Big. This is perfect.”

  It was hard to tell with the gusty, windy way he spoke, but the mountain sounded pleased. Welcome.

  “Wifey,” Wolf looked relaxed, his eyes closed, head tipped back against the side, but he sounded stressed. “I vote Grae and Rune can’t experiment anymore.”

  “May I remind you that it was Grae experimenting that helped him invent the one pattern that lets us take caravans? Although I do rather see your point.”

  He ran a hand over his face, and only then did she see the strain he was under. “For a moment…just a moment, I lost all track of everyone. I’ve never been that terrified, or powerless, as there wasn’t a benighted thing I could have done.”

  Sympathetic, she pressed in closer to give him a firm hug around the chest. Siobhan herself still reeled from everything, her mind balking like a dog skittering away from a bath whenever she tried to wrap her head around being on a different planet. She could sympathize with her husband all too well right now. “I know, dearest. For that matter, I think we all felt that way, even Grae and Rune. In the future, they’re going to be far more cautious about attempting the impossible. I do think we’re banning any more experiments involving crossing water.”

  Snorting, he deadpanned, “Yes, this rather proved that a bad idea, didn’t it?” His good arm closed around her shoulders, fingers idly rubbing along her upper arm in a gentle caress. “What think you of our hosts?”

  “Sevana Warren is just what she appears to be—an eccentric, brilliant person who thinks rules are questionable things that can be ignored when suitable. But the way she took us on so readily speaks of a good heart, and I’m inclined to trust her as she was quite comfortable with Pete and Pyper. Her business partner, Morgan, seems much like our Sylvie.”

  “He did strike me as the male version of her,” Wolf agreed, some of his tension easing. “I came to the same conclusions, although of course we’ll keep a sharp eye on things. Wouldn’t do to let our guard down too much.”

  Siobhan thought the same. It wasn’t wise to blindly trust. Still, instinct said that she didn’t need the caution here. “It’s all so very strange, how we ended up here. But I hope it will be a grand adventure, something to tell the kids and grandkids, and nothing more.”

  “If we’re fortunate, I think it will be just that.” Wolf paused, ruminating, before tacking on thoughtfully, “I hope we’ll be able to go home soon, but it’s good that we landed here, with Sevana. If she’s like our Grae, a genius in her field, then surely the two of them can figure things out.”

  Siobhan certainly hoped so. If not, then who could? “Even if we can’t manage it, I don’t think we’ve landed in a bad place. There’s so much…so much magic here that we have no understanding of, so it might be premature of me to say that. But we’ve been treated kindly by strangers, and if this world can offer us a haven like this, I can’t think it’s a bad place.”

  “You think we’ll be able to live here, if we can’t find a way to return?” Wolf sounded pensive and he hugged her closer to him. “I hope it doesn’t come to that, we’ve family and friends that I’ll miss dearly.”

  “I know,” Siobhan murmured. She didn’t know what else to say, so left it at that.

  They lingered for some time in the bath, but eventually hunger drove them out. The hot water had eased much of her tension but Siobhan couldn’t say it was blithely gone. It would be strange if she were relaxed, all things considered, as they had no sure means of getting home again. Still, she felt better for the bath, and hoped she’d be able to enjoy her stay here in this strange and remarkable land without nagging worry ruining the experience.

  With dirty clothes bundled under their arms, she and Wolf headed back for their rooms, only to nearly bump into Conli coming the other direction with a plate
in hand. On seeing them, he swallowed what was in his mouth before saying, “Morgan’s brought dinner up for us. It’s quite good. There’s a kitchen further up and to your left.”

  “Good, as I’m half-starved.” Wolf plucked the clothes out of her hand and marched ahead to toss them into their room.

  Letting him go, Siobhan asked quietly, “Did he mention anything about the coins?”

  “He did. Said he sold about six, and for quite a deal, and said he’d wait until he had you with him to sell the rest. Something about shopping tomorrow at the market?” Conli looked hopeful, mouth lifting up in an expectant smile. “Do you think I can have a little, perhaps see what medicines they sell here?”

  Of course he wanted to play too. Siobhan should have expected that. “Let’s see how much we can get. If there’s enough to pay for everyone’s food for the next few weeks, I think we can give people a little money to play with. It would be a shame to go back without a few souvenirs, although mind the weight. I don’t want to strain Grae or Rune on the way back.”

  Conli nodded along, likely expecting most of that, and agreeable to it. It was common sense, after all. “Shi, one thing, though. Morgan said something about a prince coming tomorrow and wanting to meet us. Do you know anything about that?”

  “I do, or at least he’d mentioned that he needed to report us to the prince over this land, and he expected the man to want to met us himself. But tomorrow?” Siobhan frowned thoughtfully, tapping a finger to her chin. “Is he that close, that he can make it tomorrow? How big is this country, anyway?”

  Not close, Big denied on a sigh. Fly.

  Startled, Siobhan’s head came up. “Fly? The prince will fly here?”

  Yes.

  Her eyes met startled blue as she and Conli shared a bemused look. Conli rubbed at the back of his head and offered, “Well, they have talking mountains on this world. Why not flying princes too?”