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While Tia slept, Castor sat at a table in a dusty old room that may have been a meeting room when the castle was fully functional. He looked over plans for a new layout for the city; slowly building residential areas with shops, blacksmiths, and gardens. It was hoped that as each block of housing was finished, a section of the tent city would be taken down, the families relocated into their permanent homes, then use that space to expand. It would take time and the Muri had been patient. Shockingly patient.
'I suppose most of them are too busy to be annoyed or too grateful to be here.' Castor used a sharp quill and inkwell to make some notes on the house plans. One good thing about his time in Grey City was Castor discovered multiple talents he could never explore as a slave. He never thought city planning and home design would ever catch his attention but it came so naturally to him. It was easy to estimate the room needed per the average family and design secure structures with multiple levels. It was the water and sewage that gave him trouble.
Frowning at the third attempt, Castor took his hands off the parchment in front of him and rubbed his eyes. When the lines started to blur together and working was no longer a joy but a chore, it was time to stop.
Castor stood and stretched, enjoying some time in regular clothes; his armor on a bench nearby.
"What are you doing?"
Castor paused mid-stretch, his back giving a satisfying pop before turning to see Tia leaning into the doorway and watching him. "It's just some plans for new houses." He leaned over the desk with his chin in one hand. "But I can't get the waste disposal right. Especially for the two-family homes."
Tia blinked slowly as if Castor was a stranger. She wiped the crust from her eyes and huffed, "Give me a few minutes." and turned back to her room.
Shaking his head, Castor gathered up the plans while he heard water splashing. 'How does the castle water function?' He mused, carefully stacking the papers so the notes he made didn't smudge.
"Bring those with you." Tia walked by him in a cloud of fresh soap and when Castor lifted his head, he saw Tia had finally brushed her hair and looked refreshed. It made following her feel like a better idea than he would have when she was disheveled, overtired, and carrying the sweat of tossing and turning in stale sheets multiple nights. Castor easily kept up with Tia on the way back to that stone table.
"Makes sure to keep this a secret for now, alright?" Tia whispered.
"Tia, I’ve been keeping your secrets. I haven't told anyone about the voices, this secret door or old books or-"
“Shh!" Tia pressed the stone without looking and conjured her ribbon for light. Castor did the same and followed her, shaking his head.
When they reached the tattered remains of the ancient Muri scholars, Tia went back to the desk of the woman she saw in her vision. "Can you read any of this?" She pointed to the scroll on the desk.
Castor could see how old the paper was and only used the very tips of his fingers to smooth out a portion to read. Unlike most Muri, Castor came from an owner who wanted his slaves to know how to read. It was easier to write down lists and instructions and go about his work while his Muri went about theirs. His family had owned Ciro's family for generations and were released when the last heir died without children. It only meant Ciro was separated from his parents and sisters. He hadn't seen them since. "This is ancient." He said. "I think I recognize some of these words from the books but they don't make any sense. If I had a baseline I could translate but this is a lost language."
Tia frowned and looked at the words. "If I speak them, can you write it down?"
"Tia, if you can read this, why am I here?" This was a boggling reversal of their relationship. She was usually annoyed with his hovering but now, Tia was uncertain and there was something fearful in her eyes that made Castor nervous.
"I can't," She said, looking down at the scraps of fabric hanging from the chair. "But she can. Do you have the stuff to write?"
"Yeah, I have a bit of coal left but these papers are plans for the city. I don't think I can-"
"You better come up with something," Tia slumped over in pain, holding her head in her hands. She nearly fell into the chair, uncaring of the cloth left behind. "Because she's not going to wait."
Castor winced at the casual desecration but when Tia's eyes glowed and she went stiff, he scrambled to get his coal and flipped one of the house designs over to start writing on the back.
"My name is Felicia," A voice that was a mix of Tia's and a stranger reaching from the past echoed off the stone around them. "I was one of many Muri tasked with recording the history and culture of our people. In these last days, we have scrambled to save what we could as this horrific calamity overtakes our city.
"It is unknown how it all started but what we do know is some Muri and humans were trying to do strange things with magic, warping its original purpose. They performed unconscionable acts on living beings and unnatural things to the environment. And the gift, the great Art the gods have given us, so gravely misused, has been turned against us.
"The most experienced scribes along with our elders have remained to record whatever we can for future generations. Some have been lucky enough to escape the city but there is no time for the rest of us. There will be nothing but rubble and anguish once this storm clears. If the gods are merciful, someone will find this and know we were here. And we tried.
"What remains in this chamber is here to give what remains of our people a chance to start over and learn from the mistakes of the past."
Castor furiously transcribed every word but when Tia paused, he looked up at her. A rusty dagger was in her hand.
"The storm is close. I will end my life in the hopes my soul will be spared."
"Tia!" Castor jumped from the floor and smacked the dagger out of her hand before she mimed slitting her own throat.
The light in Tia's eyes faded and she slumped over, saved from hitting the ground by Castor holding her arm. When he set her upright, blood seeped from her nose and mouth.
"Gods, what the hell are you doing?" He mumbled, using a strip of cloth he kept as a handkerchief to wipe the blood away.
Coughing, Tia pushed him away. "Did you get it?" Now speaking for herself, her voice was weak and hollow. "Tell me you got it. I don't think I can handle her again."
"I got it." Castor stammered, backing away from Tia as she caught her breath. "I know the souls are inside you but I didn't know it was like this."
She hiccupped, doing her best not to cry. "They were always talking in my head. It was worse when I slept. That's why I was out all the time." The more she talked, Tia's energy drained. "We had songs. We had art. We had a whole city and it's all gone now." She flickered out like a candle and fell asleep leaning against Castor's chest.
His mind spinning, Castor made sure she wouldn't fall from the chair before carefully rolling his parchments. As a point of reference, he took the original, handling it with the same gentleness he would use with a newborn baby. Castor brought the manuscripts to the table outside the tomb, then went back to take Tia to her room.
'This is getting too familiar.' He dropped Tia in her bed and covered her when she curled up into a ball.
There was plenty of daylight left and Castor found some fresh parchment to start creating an alphabet based on comparing his transcription with the original. It was choppy but a start. Perhaps there would be a way to regain what was lost and help rebuild Grey City.
'And find out what went so wrong.' Castor couldn't conceive of a world where magic could be twisted and warped to cause such destruction. Some humans studied magic but nothing of the magnitude of what was in this last recording.
At least that he knew of.
-
TIA WOKE WITH A DRY, sore face and an aching head, reaching out for a pitcher of water she usually kept beside her bed. She found nothing but a cold cup pressed into her hand.
"The number of times I wake up with unexpected company should be alarming but I'm getting used to it." Tia rasped, drinking the entire contents in one gulp.
"We need to talk about this." Castor held up a long sheet of parchment with detailed notes. "I managed to make a very rough translation of some of those titles in that room you found." He handed her the paper as if she could make heads or tails of what he wrote. "There are detailed plans for what the entire city looked like; fields, water, trade routes... I think the desert was half the size before Grey City fell." He braced himself for her reaction to what the said next. "We need to tell others about this. We can use this information to rebuild," He gestured out of the windows. "Everything!"
"And where do we say we got all this stuff?" Tia rubbed her face, wincing at the feeling of dried blood cracking inside her nose. "The Muri who cleared Grey City who’s possessed by a hoard of ancient souls who blew themselves up?" She hobbled over to the wash basin to clean her face. "They already think I'm ready to snap on any one of them. What'll they say when they find out our ancestors live in my head?"
"Why not just tell them you found them while exploring this place?" Ciro watched her cross the room for more water. "I know you've barely looked around here." He raised his hand when she tried to object. "The dust tells the story, Tia. In the few places you've been outside this room, your boot prints are clearly visible. But nobody else in the city knows this. We could at least show Safuc. He's been coordinating all the different build teams as best he can and this," Castor flipped through his notes. "Waste system would solve some immediate problems. We can't all use chamber pots forever."
Blushing at the fact the castle was the only place with a functioning system and she used it alone, Tia nodded slowly, expecting the voices to react in some way but they were quiet; only the vague whispers like children gossiping in school. "That makes sense." She caught a whiff of her own sweat mixed with the old blood still stuck in her nose. "Let me get cleaned up first."
Without time to wash her usual clothes, Tia used a long tunic left behind in the closet, cinching it with a belt to hold Felicia’s dagger from the hidden room. She didn't trust herself to carry any of the ancient scrolls, letting Castor handle them while she brought his rough translations.
Castor had continued to surprise her. She never would have known he had an affinity for language; not that there had been a chance to learn. Like most slaves, Tia didn't get much of a chance to bond with other Muri. It was all in passing until another message needed to go, another slave needed to escape, another master needed to be cowed. Now, these weren't faces in passing that may be dead by sundown. Once a breeder, Karina now helped organize care for the growing population of children in Grey City; giving them socialization, fun, and lessons while their parents worked hard to rebuild. Jafa killed too many of her customers as a comfort Muri and ended up in underground fights winning her sponsor more money than she could ever see. She was now a fierce swordswoman who trained others to defend the city. Enide once hauled orders for human blacksmiths and repaired farm tools. Now, he made tools from scratch and had his own makeshift forge; ready to train others in metalwork.
They had flourished within the walls of Grey City while Tia was dragged down by the weight of the dead.
"Safuc, are you busy?" Castor called out and was shocked at how quickly Drayfus came to greet them.
"He just finished up with his meetings for the day." Drayfus said, "Is it urgent? He needs something to eat and time to rest."
Castor looked at Tia, who nodded. "Yes, I think he'll want to hear this right away."
When they settled at a low table, Drayfus gave out tea and prepared to take any notes if needed. Safuc tried to hide his fatigue but it was clear this would be the last thing he would to today.
"What do you have for me, young ones?" He smiled, unbothered by the interruption. "It's been too long since I've seen you both at the same time."
Castor pulled out the ancient scroll and his translation. "Tia has been exploring the old castle thinking maybe she could find something of use and we found this." He placed the two parchments side by side and pointed to the words. "These are the last words of Muri scribe written right before the fall of Grey City. It doesn't say why but they did try to save as much as they could of their culture and knowledge."
Safuc's hand shook as he picked up Castor's translation and read through it, both he and Drayfus left open-mouthed in shock. "This is incredible." He gasped, touching the words with reverence. "And there is more?"
Nodding, Castor brought out the alphabet he started. "I'm working on translating the book titles and there are some priceless resources we can use to help rebuild the city."
"Miraculous!" Drayfus read the note over Safuc's shoulder. "But, how did you know what word was what? How did you translate this?"
Castor gave Tia a knowing stare and she sighed. "What I say cannot leave this tent, okay?" At their confusion, Castor added "It's important. With so much going on, it could be chaos if this gets out."
Safuc nodded and Drayfus echoed the motion.
"When I killed Jeshe, the souls of Grey City entered my body and gave me the power to beat him." Tia waited to see if the voices would stop her but they remained quiet. "They're still in there. The scribe who wrote this read the words out loud through me and Castor wrote them down."
The silence stretched for a moment before Safuc let out a long breath. "You have the souls of an ancient Muri city in your head?"
"Not all of them!"
"That explains so much," Drayfus said.
"You can see why we can't let that get around." Castor knew they would be shocked but felt so much relief in not being the only one who knew Tia's unique predicament.
“I think you should keep working with these manuscripts." Drayfus turned to his master. "It would be faster if we went to help translate more of these to get a better idea of what we have."
"Would it be possible for us to spend some time in these archives?" Safuc handed the translation back to Castor who carefully secured both papers to keep them safe. "Perhaps your visitors will have more to tell us?"
Before Tia could agree to anything, there was shouting outside the tent.
"Safuc, we have news from the castle in Rezin!"
"Come in!"
A stocky Muri with a hawk on his shoulder ducked into the tent and handed Drayfus the tiny paper. "The king and queen are conspiring to do something to our brands."
At the mention of the queen, everyone in the tent frowned, and their muscles tensed, ready to either run or hide. Humans were dangerous, King Bastion ruled the humans, but Queen Anasia was a malevolent force of mystery and power enforcing whatever whims came to mind.
Safuc read the message and handed it to Castor. "What do you think we should do? How could she use the brands for anything?"
Castor read the message and scowled, then handed it back to Safuc. "We'll start working on the archives. There are magic books in there. Let them know we're working on a solution."
The falconer nodded, rushing away to write the reply.
"That's a brave promise." Tia jabbed her elbow into his ribs. "We don't even know what's in those books."
"These are the times for brave promises." Castor rubbed his side, wishing he’d work his leather armor instead of a simple tunic and comfortable pants. "And we're running out of time. I don't want to think about what the queen could be planning."
"We better get to work on those books." Drayfus gathered up an arm full of parchments and a small wooden case with quills and charcoal sticks. He looked back at Safuc who nodded. "Maybe we can find a way to get rid of the brands before she can use them for whatever frightening things she's planning."
When they walked out of the tent, Tia pulled Castor aside. "Are you sure about this?"
"What other plan do we have?" Castor shook his head. "Sit back and wait for the queen to lead an attack? If she can do something to the brands; and let's be generous that she can just cripple us, that is at least ninety percent of us here in the city and the unbranded are children. And that's if she just attacks the city and not every branded Muri in the kingdom." He increased his pace, fear making his heart race. "I know you. You want to face this head-on, slicing things apart with your ribbon without ever letting on you're weakened by your," He gestured vaguely at her head. "Passengers making too much noise. We can keep that a secret if you want but if we need them to solve this, you should listen to them."
Tia let them both walk ahead of her, wondering if Castor was right despite not understanding just how many of them wanted to say their piece but didn't want to take turns. They were an insistent mob with no end goal other than to be heard. The scribe was the first to break through with anything that made sense. And allowing it made her eyes and nose bleed.
'There will be so much more bloodshed if I don't at least try.' She hugged herself tightly and followed Castor back to the castle.