Warp Nomads by P. K. Lentz

Author:P. K. Lentz [Lentz, P. K.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: IronAge
Published: 2018-12-20T22:00:00+00:00

Eighteen

Cinnea led Ivar, Tomiris, Dak, Leimya and three more Dawners across the smooth, hard surfaces of Nemoora to an irregularly shaped, skeletal structure with a mirrored surface.

Before entering it, all of the savages paused.

Mirrors weren’t common in nomad encampments or steppe villages, so it was not often that Ivar saw his image anywhere but in the surface of a still lake. Even then, he hardly paused to bother.

He found he looked older than he would have thought, but that stood to reason. He rubbed a palm over rough cheeks. He had shaved only once aboard the Sagaris and decided now he’d do so again at the next opportunity.

Still, he laughed, and so did most of the others, even if their appearances displeased them. They laughed simply from the novelty of gazing on themselves. Of the Earth-born, only Leimya’s amusement, like Cinnea’s, seemed to be prompted by the Dawn’s behavior rather than the mirror itself. Agathyr Palace in Roxinaki, where Leimya had grown up, surely had its share of reflective surfaces.

“Can we move on?” Cinnea impatiently asked of the Dawners turning and posing and dancing and making strange faces.

With a few tugs on sleeves, all became ready, and the group proceeded inside.

The circular, windowless room into which they stepped turned out to be an elevator, something with which Ivar was familiar from Fizzbik’s base on Earth. They shared the descent in the small space with a number of other star-folk with whom they exchanged curious, silent stares.

After a short time, the chamber’s portal reopened, and Cinnea led them out.

In an endless string of sights which took the breath and broke the stride, here before them stood another. The party emerged into an enclosed, narrow space the brilliant white walls of which were terraced from bottom to dizzying heights with habitable facades. There was no telling whether the numerous doorways and windows led to dwelling places, shops, brothels, or some combination thereof, but what was sure was that they were well-used. The well-lit, artificially constructed canyon teemed with life in a concentration much greater than what they had seen above.

When Ivar had taken in a fraction of the neatly arranged disorder, he caught up with Cinnea, who had gone ahead. As with all the sights here, this one was commonplace to her.

“Is this where the Gorosians of Nemoora live?” he asked.

“This is the Third Ward,” Cinne answered. “There are five wards that are majority Gorosian.”

“You live here?”

Her rather odd answer, given after some hesitation, was, “I suppose I do.”

A child ran past Ivar, causing him to stop short. He also swiftly put his hand over the valuables on his belt. Even if this place didn’t resemble Roxinaki in the least, it was a bustling city all the same and probably had its share of street rats.

As he walked, Ivar realized that movement was slightly more difficult here than above. The effect was not pronounced, but his muscles noticed the added exertion needed to carry his frame. His nose and lungs also noted that the air was rather less pure.

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