The Chimney: The Merc Papers Read online

  Reluctantly, she climbed into the back of the jitney.

  The interior was covered in a light brown cloth while the seats were wrapped in leather. Mounted in front of her was a small picture of a sour-faced man. It bore a striking resemblance to the driver. Under the picture was the name David Ward, followed by a long number. Brian slid in beside her and pulled the door closed. They waited as the driver counted the strange pieces of paper. When he was satisfied, he dropped the sum into a small box, then stowed it under the front seat.

  “Hold on back there,” he said in a gruff voice before pulling one of the levers.

  Closing her eyes, Emily braced herself—but there was no reason to. The jitney slowly pulled away from the curb and moved quietly down the street. If it wasn’t for the gentle rocking, she wouldn’t even know they were moving. Releasing her grip on the seat, she slowly opened her eyes.

  Brian was watching her.

  “What’s wrong with you?” he asked.

  “How does this thing move?”

  Her questions seemed to take him by surprise, and he started to laugh. She felt foolish.

  “Don’t you have any mana technology where you come from?”

  She had never even heard the word mana before coming to New Doral.

  “Nothing like this,” she answered.

  “Seriously?” He was no longer laughing. “Where exactly do you come from?”

  “I’m from—no place special.”

  “You don’t like talking about yourself, do you?”

  “There isn’t much to say.”

  “Oh, I doubt that. I think you have a lot to say. You’re just not very trusting.”

  “Beware the naked man who offers you his shirt.”

  “I’m sorry?”

  “It’s something my father used to tell me.”

  “Wise man, your father?”

  “Wise enough.”

  ~~~***~~~

  As the jitney bounced its way through the streets of New Doral, Emily was fascinated by every sight and sound. It was like the first time she entered the temple, back when she was a wide-eyed young child. She wanted to learn everything she could in the shortest amount of time. She wanted to see it all, and wherever she looked there was something new to see. Tall buildings rose up on either side. Lights in every window. People crowded the sidewalks. Men in black uniforms stood on the corners. Mana-driven carriages passed them in the streets. This wasn’t so much a city as a living, breathing entity.

  “Here we are,” the driver announced as the jitney pulled up to the curb.

  Brian pushed open the door and climbed out onto the sidewalk. “Come on,” he said, pointing across the street. “The transit station will take us to tier eleven.”

  It wasn’t difficult to figure out which building he was pointing at. It was hard to miss, seeing as the words “Transit station eight” were written across the front in large bold letters. The entrance was flanked by two stone columns in the shapes of giant men. In their hands were glowing blue orbs, which they held over their heads. The building itself was unremarkable. Although it was tall enough to touch the underside of the plate above, there were no windows. It looked like a large stone monolith.

  They waited until the traffic cleared before crossing the street. Emily had never seen so many vehicles, mana driven or otherwise, in one place before. They weren’t all as crude-looking as the jitney she’d arrived in. Some were quite elegant with their barrel-shaped tops and golden-trimmed exteriors. The only thing they all had in common was mana technology. None were being pulled by any team of animals; they were simply zipping along on their own power.

  When it was safe to cross, Brian took the lead. He bounded up the three steps to the entrance of the transit station, where he held open the door and waited for her to catch up.

  “This way, milady,” he said with a mocking tone and sweeping bow.

  He was really pushing his luck.

  The inside was a little more ornate than the exterior. Thick columns of white marble held up an arched ceiling. Suspended overhead were brass chandeliers, surrounded with shimmering crystals, the light from which sparked on the tile floor, creating a sense of depth and movement. There was even a large mural painted on the back wall—an image of what the Eryona region must have of looked like before the Dusting. It showed rolling green hills beneath a deep blue sky with purple mountains in the background. The painting may have been simplistic, but it added a sense of warmth to an otherwise cold environment.

  Emily stayed close to Brian as they made their way through the crowd. She had no idea where they were supposed to go or what they were supposed to do. Most of the people were standing in lines, waiting to pass through large iron gates. At the front of each line, short men in gray uniforms collected some type of currency.

  “This is the one we want,” Brian said before taking his place at the end of one of the lines.

  She wasn’t sure how he knew which one to stand in. They all looked the same. The only difference she could see was the number fourteen skillfully crafted in the wrought iron scrollwork just above the gate. It was a good thing she took him up on his offer to take her to Robin’s Square; otherwise, she might have stepped into the wrong line. Then again, she would have asked for directions, but she would have also been on her way to tier six by now.

  When they started moving, she noticed one of the short men in the gray uniforms standing at the front of their line. She tugged on the sleeve of Brian’s shirt.

  “How much will this cost?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Cost. How much is this going to cost? I’m afraid I don’t have much money on me.”

  “It doesn’t cost anything.”

  She looked around the lobby at the other gates. “But those people over there. They appear to be paying.”

  “Oh, that,” Brian said. “You don’t have to worry about that. It doesn’t cost anything to go down, only up.”

  “Seriously?”

  He laughed, and she had a feeling his laughter was more mocking than good-natured. He was the sophisticated city dweller, while she was the naive outsider.

  “Look, it’s like this,” he said. “The top two tiers belong to the imperial family, while the next seven are mostly for the wealthy or the well-to-do. Together, they make up what we call the upper nine. If you want to go up there, you need the proper permits, and anytime you want to go up a level on the tube, you need a ticket. Going down is always free. Nobody cares how far you go down the Chimney. They only care how far you go up.”

  It didn’t seem fair, and it didn’t make sense, but she wasn’t going to press the matter. She had a feeling her questions were starting to annoy Brian. As they moved closer to the gate, she glanced over at the man in the gray uniform. He may have been short, shorter than she was, but he looked intimidating. Wide shoulders. Broad chest. Thick arms and a face that looked as hard as the rest of the stone in the city. These were not people to trifle with.

  She smiled at him. “Good evening.”

  The man turned and gave her a strange look. She couldn’t tell if he was angry or confused.

  “Evening,” he answered in a gravelly voice.

  Brian grabbed her by the arm and pulled her through the gate. Emily quickly broke free. First tenet, she reminded herself. She still needed him to show her the way to Robin’s Square. After that, he could go his own way and she’d be more than happy to go hers.

  “What are you doing?” he asked.

  “What?”

  “Why are you talking to him?”

  “Why not? It doesn’t hurt to wish someone a good evening.”

  Brain shook his head in disgust. “But that’s a dower.”

  “A what?”

  “A dower. Don’t tell me you’ve never heard of dowers.”

  Emily looked back at the short man in the gray uniform as if she would suddenly recognize him now that she knew what he was—but she didn’t.

  “So, what’s wrong with the do
wer?”

  “Well… you know,” Brian stammered.

  “No. I don’t know. If I did, I wouldn’t be asking.”

  “Dowers are… laborers. They work in the tunnels and maintain the city structures.”

  “Isn’t that a good thing?”

  “Yeah, I guess, but still, they’re dowers.”

  “I still don’t see the problem of wishing him a good evening.”

  “Look, I don’t have anything against them. It’s just that there’s a certain hierarchy in the Chimney, and for everything to work smoothly, certain… races have to know their place.”

  Emily suddenly saw the slight flaw hidden within the utopia.

  “Oh, I see,” she said. “And us being vir, we’re naturally on the top.”

  “Now you get it. Stick with our kind and you’ll be fine.”

  After passing through the gate, they followed the line down a dimly lit corridor until it opened into a larger chamber. In the center was a long metal tube nearly forty feet long and ten feet in diameter. The word Mana-Tech was printed along the side in large blue letters followed by what appeared to be the image of a crystal surrounded by lightning bolts. The whole thing was suspended from a single rail that ran from a hole in one wall into a hole in the other. The ends of the tube were open and people were queuing up to get inside. Once inside, it was simply a matter of finding a place to sit down. There were two rows of seats that ran the length of the tube. A network of vertical poles divided them into sections.

  Emily took the seat next to Brian. Across from her, a man in a brown suit sat down and hid his face behind a newspaper. She could just make out the headlines. The article on the front page had something to do with someone named Rakgu, but she couldn’t read the rest of the story. The print was too small and she was too far away. On the wall, above the man’s head, was a large picture of a bird smoking a pipe. It seemed to be advertising tobacco—but why would a bird be smoking? She was beginning to think nothing in this city made sense.

  As more people boarded and found their seats, the noise in the tube grew louder. The small space, the metal walls, the close proximity of the other passengers all contributed to the din. With everyone talking at the same time, the combined voices sounded like a dull hum. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath and tried to shut out the noise, but when all the voices suddenly stopped, she opened them again.

  It didn’t take long to figure out what caused the silence.

  There was an orc standing in the aisle.

  He was tall and sinewy, with ash-gray skin and a long narrow face. Crooked nose, wide mouth, and small yellow eyes. He was dressed in gray coveralls and appeared to be some type of maintenance worker. Personally, she had no experience with orcs, but she had heard about them, although most of what she heard was not all that pleasant. They were supposed to be a savage race of warlike creatures. Cruel and vicious. In other words, the embodiment of evil. However, this one appeared to be more nervous than anything else. It wasn’t difficult to see why. All she had to do was look at the other passengers. Some were uneasy by his presence, others seemed afraid, but most looked at him with disgust. It would appear orcs were further down the hierarchy of New Doral than the dower.

  Emily slid over and motioned for him to sit down. It was clear he wasn’t going to get any other offers. Reluctantly, he took the seat beside her. Clasping his hands in his lap, he looked down at his feet.

  “Thank you,” he mumbled.

  “No problem,” she said. “The name is Emily. Emily Doyle.”

  He hesitated before looking up and seemed unsure of how to respond.

  “Gujjab.”

  “Well, it’s nice to meet you, Gujjab.”

  The orc quickly glanced at the other passengers then down at his feet again.

  “You’d be the only one,” he answered.

  Brian elbowed her in the side. When she turned to look at him, he leaned in closer.

  “What do you think you’re doing?” he whispered. “Why are you talking to that? Didn’t you hear anything that I said?” Although he was trying to keep his voice down, he was loud enough for Gujjab to hear.

  “What is your problem now?” Emily asked. “Clearly he is not a dower.”

  “I know that, but he’s a sl… an orc.”

  “I hadn’t noticed,” she replied sarcastically.

  “Look, I don’t have anything—”

  “I know, I know, you don’t have anything against orcs.”

  “Well, I don’t. But if other people see you talking to it—I mean him, it might give them the wrong idea.”

  She glanced over at the other passengers. Sure enough, they were all staring at her with the same amount of disgust as they had shown the orc. Clearly she was now guilty by association, although she wasn’t sure what she was guilty of.

  Brian was about to say something more when the dower from the gate appeared. He stood in the opening, on the very edge of the tube, and waited for everyone to settle down. When all movement stopped, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small silver flute. Grabbing one of the vertical rods, the dower held the flute up to his lips and blew three long notes followed by three short ones. No sooner did the last note leave the flute, the transit tube lurched forward. Emily realized too late what the vertical rods were for and fell on Gujjab. The orc barely managed to catch her before she landed on the floor. Grabbing the vertical post, she pulled herself up.

  “Thanks.” She laughed nervously. “My first time on one of these things.”

  The orc never looked up and continued to stare down at his feet.

  “No problem,” he mumbled.

  She wanted to speak with him further in spite of the nasty looks she was getting. She’d never had the opportunity to speak to an orc before; but as the transit tube entered the tunnel, everything went black.

  For a while, they sat in total darkness until a light flared up at the opening of the tube. The dower held a lantern aloft in one hand while holding firm to a vertical post with the other. As the transit tube bumped its way along the rail and the passengers were jostled back and forth, the dower remained motionless. With the heels of his feet at the very edge of the opening, a single unexpected bump could hurl him back into the darkness, and yet he showed no sign of concern. His face remained stoic.

  All through the ride, Emily watched as the dower performed his assignment without complaint or emotion. She was amazed at the commitment he had toward this simple task and felt humbled in his presence.

  Without warning, the dower extinguished the lantern and the darkness returned, but it wasn’t for long. The tube was filled with the light from the transit station as they exited the tunnel and entered a chamber, not unlike the one they left. When they came to a stop, the dower jumped off the back. Emily was on her feet and quickly followed.

  “Wait, where are you going?” Brian shouted.

  She ignored him and followed the dower as he started up the corridor.

  “Excuse me, sir,” she called out.

  He stopped and turned around.

  “Is there a problem?” he asked.

  He looked surprised, probably because vir don’t speak to dowers, or at least that’s the impression she was getting.

  Emily hesitated. Here was someone who clearly walked the path, something she had spent her life trying to follow. What was she supposed to say to him? Clasping her hands together, she closed her eyes and bowed.

  “Atta, I am lost.”

  The dower looked at her for a moment and smiled.

  “Natamora and greetings, child. What is your name?”

  “Emily. Emily Doyle.”

  He nodded slowly.

  “Only when you stop searching, will you find the path you seek.”

  “But how will I know if it is the right path, Atta?”

  “The Way that can be spoken of is not the true Way.”

  He was definitely a walker of the path since he sounded exactly like her father. He never made any sense eithe
r. She also knew that was the best answer she was going to get from him.

  “I… I think I understand.”

  “Do not fear, child. You will know when you find your Way.”

  He turned to leave, but she called out to him again.

  “May I know your name, Atta?”

  “I am Matue of the Lurfic dower clan.”

  Emily stood and watched as the dower continued up the corridor. She did not expect to find followers of the Way in New Doral.

  “Where were you running off to?” Brian asked when he finally caught up to her.

  She was going to tell him, but remembering his earlier attitude toward the dower, she didn’t think he would understand.

  “It doesn’t matter,” she said. “Let’s get to Robin’s Square.”

  They proceeded up the corridor with the rest of the passengers. Emily looked around for Gujjab, but she didn’t see the orc anywhere. It wouldn’t surprise her if he waited behind until everyone else was gone. It was clear orcs were not welcome in New Doral.

  The lobby of the transit station looked exactly like the one she’d left behind, right down to the mural painted on the wall. Did the tube really descend down through the levels, or did it complete one large circle and take them back to where they started? She was almost ready to believe that was the case until she stepped out onto the city streets.

  It was hard to believe it was the same city.

  It was like stepping into a whole new world. For starters, there were hardly any people. The city seemed deserted, but Emily knew that wasn’t true. She sensed eyes watching her from behind every darkened window. There was a feeling of dread in the air; it was so strong it was almost palpable.

  “This way,” Brian said. “We’ll walk the rest of the way. It’s not far.”

  It wasn’t as if they had much of a choice. She didn’t think they were going to find a jitney to take them where they needed to go. Not in this part of the city.

  Brian walked three steps ahead of her and appeared in a hurry to get to their destination. Almost as if he wanted to get rid of her sooner than later. He was no longer the shy young man on the airship trying to impress her. His attitude toward her had changed. Was it because she had the audacity to speak to an orc? She couldn’t believe he was that close-minded. Maybe it was because he couldn’t see any desirable outcome from her company.