Reuben Cabot: 3/23/97 (Part I)
We continued walking toward the city of Stygia, as Owl had instructed us. The city walls grew larger as we approached, and it was truly a sight to behold. Imagine, if you will, a city. Now take parts of it and move them forward and backwards in time, until you have a hodgepodge of architectures, styles, and colors, and you'll imagine what we were looking at. The only constant was the actual walls - they were brilliantly white all around the city.
As we drew closer to the city, we began to realize that we weren't alone out here in the desert. Small groups were approaching one point in the walls, which I supposed was the gate into the city. People had every kind of transport available, from walking on foot, to riding horses or camels, to late-model cars and trucks. All going into the city, but, I noticed, none coming out. Disturbing.
To shake the mood (as much as possible in this place), I looked around us. The desert stretched back behind us to the horizon, with no hint of the shadow-city of Raleigh that we had started out from. In fact, except for Stygia, there was nothing else to look at - the horizon was an unbroken gray in all directions. Walking closer still, I saw small flares around the walls that resolved themselves into campfires, with small groups clustered around them. I wondered why they didn't just enter the city. Then I thought that perhaps they had a reason not to. Great.
When we stopped for a break, I said to the garou, "You know the most about the Shadowlands. Can you tell us anything about this place?"
He cleared his throat. "I know only some of the lore of this place - much is handed down by tradition and some is speculation. This is a not a place the garou wish to enter. Nevertheless: Stygia is the home of The Hierarchy. A wraith named Charon was once the leader here, but he was usurped by another faction called the Death Lords, and when they took power they created The Hierarchy. There are also a few dissidents who fight them but their efforts are ineffective, as far as I know."
Well, it wasn't much, but it was a start. We were still about several miles from the gates, and had been walking for the last eight hours. Kasee said, "My feet hurt. We need to take a break." Everyone else nodded in agreement.
"OK, y'all go ahead and sleep - I'll keep watch," I said.
Renee looked at me closely. "You're sure? You haven't gotten much sleep lately…"
I smiled. "I think I've finally figured out how to handle life patterns well enough so that sleep isn't an issue. For now, at least. Besides, I've got Dog to keep me company." I waved a hand at Dog, who had been nosing dog-like at one of the sparse, gray plants that tried to grow in the plain. He looked up at the sound of his name, and wagged his tail once, then resumed sniffing.
Renee nodded, patted me on the shoulder, and went back to unrolling her sleeping bag.
There wasn't much to burn out there, so we didn't have a fire. I looked at my watch - 6:30 AM. In the uniform gray all around us, time quickly lost its meaning, and I wondered briefly if my watch was running faster or slower than it had been - and would I notice if it was?
As everyone bedded down, I sat off to the side, Dog lying at my side, and let my thoughts bounce around inside my head. I looked at the huge city walls that towered over us, blocking out fully half of the horizon with its vastness. I wondered what lay beyond those walls, and did we really want to go in there. And I thought about the last two months. I had really changed, now that I thought about it. Growing up, I had been pretty much of a loner, with few friends. Shyness was a part of me, and I welcomed it. Maybe it was a kind of cowardice, of hiding from confrontation.
*Perhaps.*
I glanced down at Dog, who had been lying with his head on his paws. He turned to look at me.
*Maybe it is a dodge. But it isn't necessarily bad to be shy. I thought it was kind of cute.*
I thought about the interactions between our group. Daedelus had been the natural leader, but he was gone now. I didn't want to jump into a role that screamed "Leader!" because I wasn't sure that we needed someone like that. But I also knew us, and what our group dynamic was like. We would sit and argue a small point for hours unless someone guided things with a strong hand. Was I ready to do that? I didn't know. I knew this much, though: I felt more confidence in myself after some of the trials that we had endured, and that was something.
At 2:30 PM, I walked around the loose circle that the other had formed with their sleeping bags and played human alarm clock. I had to shake Kasee three times before she would uncurl and join the rest of us. Cab stretched and made a face. "Bleah. I should have brought a toothbrush."
We repacked our packs and struck out for the city. After three hours (distances were indeed deceiving here), we approached a line of people, waiting to enter the city. They queued up before the massive gates into the city, which were made of the same blinding white substance as the rest of the walls. What was that? Ivory? Bone?
I had been gawking at the other groups around us. If I understood what the garou said correctly, they were all dead. In line in front of us was a group of about twenty Marines in the back of a troop transport truck. They never talked, and stared straight ahead the whole time. Funny, they didn't look dead.
Behind us was a couple in a covered wagon, straight out of "Little House on the Prairie." As we took our place in line, others filed in behind us. The thing that struck me was the silence. No one talked, except in hushed tones, and no one smiled. Not much to smile about when you're dead, I supposed. The only sound that broke the silence was the occasional cry of the beggars which lined the road, begging for alms from those waiting to enter the city. I ignored them, not wanting to get drawn conversation with these people. I was paranoid enough as it was.
The line moved forward in fits and starts as the guards at the gate spoke to each group seeking entry. After a while, Kevin and Cab walked back to the people in the covered wagon. As they talked, I looked at the horses. Even they looked dolorous. I wondered what might have killed the wagon's occupants and the horses at the same time. Driving off a cliff? I didn't particularly want to pursue that notion.
*Good idea. Man, this place is creepy.*
"Yeah, well, you're welcome. And you're right."
Kevin and Cab walked back, Kevin with a puzzled look on his face.
"What is it?" I asked.
"I gave those people a penny and you'd have thought I'd given them a ton of gold. They gave me these in return."
He held out two rings. One was fairly ordinary looking, but the other showed nice workmanship. He'd gotten a great deal, I thought.
Walks All Paths closed his hand over Kevin's. "You must not give anything to anyone else. The things we have brought with us are relics here - they have the power of the land of the living. I know not what power they may have here, but I know these people desire that power badly."
Kevin shrugged and pocketed the rings. We turned to see that the Marines had finally been waved through past the guards, and it was our turn.