Book 2 Ch 16: Rails

“At the rate the printers churn out books we’ll soon be forced to use them as building material. It’s already cheaper to fill a fireplace with old books in winter than to buy dry wood.”

• Editorial in the Brevantiss Register

The next morning Solomon awoke with a mild headache and fading memories of familiar nightmares. Luckily Melissa had already placed a pitcher of cool water along with a filled cup by his bedside and even as he sipped it, wetting his dry mouth, she was entering with a hot cup of coffee as well.

“I haven’t slept in, have I?” he asked, his voice a bit rough from the smoking and drinking of the previous evening.

“No, and Duncan has gotten the carriage prepared early as you asked.”

Solomon nodded, and took the coffee she’d offered gratefully. He sipped it slowly, allowing his mind to gradually sharpen. After taking just a few minutes to gather himself he dressed and joined James for a light breakfast. They said their goodbyes and shook hands before he climbed into the carriage.

He surprised himself by falling asleep on the way out of Etling, not waking until they were well on their way. After that he passed the time by mentally reviewing his spells, making light conversation with Melissa about what she was reading, and watching the Empire pass by from the window.

The next several days passed in much the same way, with planned stops at the finer inns in any towns on the way. Solomon found himself getting little sleep in them, his nights filled with nightmares, and catching up on it whenever they got back on the road.

When they reached the main road between Brevantiss and Ventariss, he found himself awoken by the carriage lurching to a stop. He blinked and looked at Melissa, who stepped outside to confer with Duncan before returning.

“Apparently one of those new rails the Union is putting is being constructed and they’re moving materials along it just in front of us. It should be passing soon.

Solomon pushed himself up and out the carriage door. They were not the only people that had been stopped by the approaching vehicle moving along the rails, and he saw a dozen merchants, nobles, and travellers all milling about watching the road in front of them. He climbed up onto the driver's seat of the carriage and then up onto the top of the carriage itself. He drew quite a few looks as he did so, but he ignored them. He wanted to see it.

From where he was, he could just make out the rails themselves. They were thin lines of metal that emanated with an incredibly steady flow of mana. The rails were primarily forged of steel, but every foot of them had a single spike of manarite driven through it into the ground, and those spikes were connected by thinner slivers of manarite that ran down the length of the rails to ensure that the mana flowed well through them. On top of the spikes were runes he couldn’t recognize from where he stood. In front of the rails, keeping anyone from passing, were railguards. They were a new branch meant to defend the rails and they wore deep blue to match the primary color of the Union.

There was a whistling sound from the distance and Solomon turned toward it. Trees obscured much of it, but he saw the roof of a large vehicle moving toward them at a rapid pace. It was easily as fast as a horse at full gallop, perhaps faster, and it moved surprisingly quiet, with only a faint rumbling and the whistle to warn of its approach.

As it passed, Solomon was able to get a better view. It was made primarily of wood, with ribs of steel holding it together. The front of it was flat, and at the head of it was a man in the blue robe of the Union holding an orb, barely visible behind glass. It looked like some kind of creature that had been forged, and perhaps there was some golemancy to it. Unlike the lead car, those that followed were simpler, basically large carts in which were large rails and spikes meant for the railway further ahead had been stored.

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He watched carefully as it passed by, soaking in the details of it. Not only was it an interesting construction magically, it was also his goal to have rails heading directly to Moonfallow. He knew that it likely wouldn’t be passenger rails like those being built between the larger cities, but a service rail to move manarite back toward the Union city of Arcthiss would be a major step in improving his holdings.

When it had fully passed, Solomon climbed carefully back down to the driver seat where he saw Duncan shaking his head.

“Something wrong?”

“Not natural, lord. Things shouldn’t move that fast without a horse beneath em.”

Solomon nodded, empathizing with the man even if he was unable to agree, and climbed back into the carriage.

Before long the road in front of them had cleared and they were moving again. After only a few hours they’d arrived at the large town of Brust. It was their final stop before they reached the Morrow Estate, and half of it was owned by his family. They reached the inn well before sundown and once his things were unloaded, he and Melissa walked the streets to the market square.

Solomon had come into the town fairly often, as it was a natural place for his family to travel through. There was a bookstore he favored there by the name of Tyrus’s Tomes. He hadn’t been able to stop in on the way to Moonfallow as it had been closed to fix a leaking roof, but it was open that evening.

Solomon walked in, enjoying the sickly sweet smell of old books as he did so. Melissa stepped in behind him, her own eyes widening as she took in the store. It was a labyrinth of books. Every wall was fitted with a bookcase and every flat surface covered in thick tomes. There were histories, plays, collected myths, and even old copper drak romances.

“Welcome, welcome, please come and find me if you need assistance locating anything,” said a man’s voice from somewhere deeper inside.

Solomon turned to Melissa. “Feel free to browse. I need to ask Thom for help with something specific.”

Melissa nodded eagerly and started down one of the mazelike paths.

Solomon walked down a familiar trail filled with unfamiliar tomes until he reached a desk behind which sat a middle aged man squinting down at a thick book in front of himself. He was muttering along as he read, and his eyes seemed to speed up as Solomon approached, as if he was desperately searching for a stopping place before he was interrupted.

Solomon slowed just a hair so that the clerk could find that stopping place he so desperately searched for and arrived in front of the desk just as he looked up.

The man’s eyes widened and he stood and bowed.

“Lord Morrow, welcome.”

“Hello Thom.

“I was unsure that I’d see you again.”

“I’m passing through on the way back to the Morrow estate.”

“I see… I’ve heard you’ve had a number of adventures since you’ve left.”

“I wouldn’t call them adventures. I have dealt with quite a bit since I left though.”

“Of course, of course. Can I help you find something?”

“Yes. I’m looking for any firsthand accounts or documents pertaining to the Necromancer Rebellion. Preferably anything written during the event itself.”

Thom frowned and scratched his chin for a few seconds, then he stood up and began walking as he muttered to himself.

He walked through a few paths and then grabbed a stool to drag it over to a particular shelf, standing on it.

“-accounts of a soldier, no that’s a copy-”

He hopped down dragging the stool a bit further.

“-impacts of rebellion on imperial taxation during… no-”

They walked down a few more paths and this time he reached into the depths of a particular shelf until his arm had completely vanished. He pulled out a small and very worn journal. He opened it carefully, leafing through the pages and sneezing once at all the dust that came from them.

He turned his focus to Solomon. “This is a diary of a young girl living in Lantiss during the rebellion and what her life was like. I have not been able to verify its authenticity and the ink is heavily faded, but it's still just barely readable. It’s possible a Union mage could be able to bring the ink forward. I know of one in Ventariss who could manage it.”

Solomon held out his hands and took the book gently. He opened it, turning a few of the pages and skimming.

- fat rat today. It wasn’t too bad. Erik says we should leave some of its bits out to see if we can attract more-

- skeletons caught us today. Just looked at me for a few moments and let me go. They took him though-

- Erik digging with the other men at the edge of town.-

Solomon closed it carefully. It seemed legitimate, or at least as legitimate as he could guess. Perhaps it would allow him to finally respond to the Arcana request he’d been eyeing.

“How much?”