Robe

Chapter 17

The commotion outside the castle was substantial.

The huge plaza, the 'Common', was being cleared of civilians. Guardsmen, numbering in the hundreds, were ushering stallkeepers to close their shops. Boxes of wares floated magically through the air into the buildings lining the edges of the square. The giant 'elephant' Sonic had seen earlier was a fraction of its size, and was being herded into a cage that floated serenely above the stone ground. Hepsguard lined the foot of the castle stairs, lances out, all standing to attention as the Queen and Lord Faramay surveyed the scene.

There were other preparations underway, too. From the vantage point of the castle landing, Sonic could see over the roofs of the buildings to the hills that surrounded the township, as well as the single valley that served as the sole entrance to this place. At the edges of the town, a great cloud of dust was being churned up, flashes and bursts of lightning within revealing a wall going up entirely on its own. This apparent conjuring was accompanied by a low, continuous rumbling that Sonic felt rather than heard (and briefly wondered if anyone else could feel it as she could). The dust-storm was not diffusing outwards as would be expected, either. Instead, the cloud roiled, multiple vortices appearing and fading as the wall within became solid.

"Wow," Sonic exclaimed. Erecting a wall like this was a pretty cool trick. The dust settled, revealing a structure that rose to almost half the height of the hill line. The wall circled the entire Hep unbroken, with a top that was uniformly crenelated. As the dust settled, tall ladders were pressed against the structure, and Sonic watched as little figures in silver armor – soldiers, obviously – began climbing in a steady stream. This was happening quickly, with surprising efficiency. Judging by the height of those scaling the walls, she guessed the structure was at least forty or fifty feet high, maybe more. But she couldn't determine how thick it was, or how sturdy it would be. And she knew it was hardly enough to stop what was coming.

But something was better than nothing. And a wall was better than no wall. Then why did she dislike the Custodian so much? Theoretically, he was the one who just constructed these defenses for the Hep. Surely, that was a good thing, right?

She returned her attention to the preparations below. The Common was nearly clear of civilians, the remnant being ushered compliantly down a wide road to her left, following a large crowd slowly meandering away from the town center. She wondered where they were going. They couldn't be going back to their homes? Maybe to a shelter of some type? The weariness she saw on some of their faces, stealing glances back at the Hepsguard and the assemblage on the castle stairs, spoke all too clearly: this place, Hep Duatab, had been attacked before. The upcoming assault was a repeat event. Although – Sonic glanced at the Queen – the Garoc was something new. The fear she sensed in the Queen was genuine, which meant good ol' Godzillagator was an unknown quantity, and something to be very worried about.

The day's light had changed, too. Sonic looked up at the sky. The beautiful, scintillating inverted chasm that was the 'Line' had shifted considerably, its azimuth sitting at maybe twenty or thirty degrees to her left, toward one horizon. She recalled Dresden's lesson: this horizon was 'Linewards'. Ergo, the horizon to her right was 'Darkwards', and she observed the sky there had turned a shade of azalea pink.

She looked once more at the Line (it really was very difficult to not be entranced by the phenomenon). It was clearly three-dimensional, as the perspective of the chasm had changed. The Line was like a great, inverted waterfall (starfall? the mind boggled), where the water itself was the sky, flowing upward.

"The beauty and the nightmare," she said softly.

Dresden looked at her. "What did you say, Sonic?"