Ashfall: City of Shade (UNDER EDITING)

Chapter 2 | Worms

One of the hospice keepers moves closer to the bed. She lifts up Greta's foot and starts pushing a needle through it. Greta does not flinch, but I do.

"Stop," I order. "Tell me what you need so you can fix her and I will give it to you!"

"This happens to many children," Mirth's monotone voice comes from beside me. I jump, not having heard her or Brommy enter. "She is malnutritioned. I'm not sure what illness has fallen over her."

"You said she was healthy!" Brommy argues.

Mirth glares at him. "I thought so!" she defends. "What a tiny little body," she says with worry watching Greta cough. She and a few of the old women pull the covers up over the krexbin's body. They fuss over Greta and then force me, the emperor, to leave with Brommy so they can say their worthless prayers to my horrendous father.

Outside the room now, we wait.

"I am the emperor! They can't tell me what to do! Let's go back in. Who knows what they will try next on her-"

"We may just be in the way. I know nothing of healing people. Do you, Emperor?" Brommy asks tiredly.

"No."

For a long time, we wait until their prayers eventually end. I can hear them walking around and shuffling things across the floor. I tap my foot. Brommy counts the coins in his satchel.

"What do you know of the krexbin?" I ask him curiously.

"That despite what was once popular belief, females of her species aren't extinct."

"Obviously, they aren't extinct. I am talking about her disease, Brometheous. What could be wrong with her? This illness is so sudden."

He closes his satchel.

"You know, they used to say such demons of our race living in the desert spawn with their brothers and sisters. Best not to think much of her upbringing. I will say she has strength despite her stature and Adler as we all know...his strength is ferocious. You should have gone into the ranks, Enoch. You have such mite yourself."

"I prefer to plan the battle rather than fight it."

Greta's coughing comes from inside the chamber. One of the hospice keepers walks out to address me.

"Emperor, Enoch, we request a herbal remedy. Eldest sister believes she has worms. Stomach worms, of which, have entered her lungs. A strong enough oil treatment on the skin will ward away such parasites lying beneath."

What a relief. I'll head to the market first thing.

"Which herbs do you need to make the treatment?"

"Mektir and weitor root. Ten pounds of each so she has a year's supply. Our god only knows if it will work in such time. We are hoping quickly."

Mektir is scarce in the market. I've never even heard of weitor root. Does anyone grow the plant here?

She gives me a torn piece of parchment with the necessary herbs written down. Mirth exits the room joining her side. She hands me the wooden plack containing Greta's health check summary.

Her face is stern. "My husband tells me our god sensed such disease in Greta before leaving. Why have you kept it secret, Emperor?" she sneers with open scorn.

Brommy looks at the floor.

"I did not know," I defend.

With a scoff, Mirth yanks the plack from my hands and returns to the room leaving us with the old wrinkly woman in charge.

"You will find the herbs only through trade. We recommend leaving now and checking the port by the dockyard."

Brommy sighs. "They do not sell either item in such quantity as you are requesting."

"Then go find some place that does," I tell him incredulously.

The sister looks between us. She folds her hands as if in prayer.

"Perchance you go now, and find your father, more luck will be to you. His knowledge outweighs all our own."

"He is too far away by now," Brommy says.

We'll have to host a meeting this evening. No one is going to be here to make the night or day if I go. I do not want Brommy leaving either. Chelk is inexperienced. The others I am not close with, but Shulor might not mind going.

He doesn't do much around here anyway now that Urdmin is dead. I'll ask Lucas to go with him.

I really don't want to leave Greta here, but the more I think about it, the more help they are going to need to find Adler in the middle of the sea and make good time of it. No one's going to really notice if I'm gone for so long. The map should be of great help. Its value is beyond the walls of our city. Such a precious item could have only been carefully crafted in the Harlong Kingdom.

It's made of stardust just like the bed I ordered from them was supposed to be. I'm still salty about that.

The swirls of splattered twinkling lights evolve in real-time with the stars of our sky. I won't need a telescope or have to go digging in the library for a map of the seas. Adler was an idiot to give Greta something so priceless.

In the wrong hands, it would make a great tool of terror. I will be using it for a fairly simple task. There are not many star maps in existence, but they do exist, and my father carries his own personal one. I wonder if he intended to give this one to me? Or could this be his very own?

Two little yellow orbs cluster around our star's sphere making my hope escalate. I pinch the surface of the glowing star map zooming in on Ashta's surface to get a closer look.

Eventually, I find the little yellow light representing me in our city's position towards the top of our star. Sure enough, however, there is one other glowing orb south of our city. It drifts around the underground sea of our star.

"Found you," I whisper.

Brommy's been gaping at my map this entire time. "Found what?" he asks while squinting at its surface.

"Adler," I point out while indicating the other glowing orb below my position on the map.

There are many glowing stars on it. Big and small, some burning brightly and outshining others. To anyone looking at it for the first time, it would appear overwhelming with color and movement. It's very busy to read. I'm really starting to feel like an emperor with this mindblowing item. I'm lucky that I was taught how to read one by Urdmin. It may have been one of the only good things he ever did for me.

Then again, Mother did ask he steal it from my father so I'd get the chance to. I only got to look his over a few times over my childhood. Of course, Adler discovered one day the map missing and my mother had to hand it over to him.

I'll have to send out a party tonight and jot down his approximate coordinates. There's no way I'm leaving the city right now and I don't trust anyone with a map like this.

I stuff it into my satchel. Brommy frowns while eyeing the knife as I place it into my belt loop.

"It was his gift to her, Enoch. It is not wise to keep it for yourself even if you think you are doing Greta good by it," Brommy suggests with a concerned look. He rubs his face. "Adler thinks of her like a daughter. He told me himself, Enoch, and I have known him longer than you. He is not lying or playing games when he says he wants you to marry her. I think he wants a daughter."

No more can I find room for argument against what he says. My father pretty much left me the entire empire in my hands without complaint. He didn't have to follow my mother's ship out to sea, but he did anyway.

He has given me a lot. Is it because of Greta? I think...so.

Brommy pats my back hard. "Lighten up, Emperor. There is nothing to worry about. She will be well off soon."

☁️