Our caravan couldn’t get out of Goldsprocket fast enough. As tough as Terrans were, we all felt nothing but relief to be gone from there, no matter the dangers in the wilds.

  The road from Goldsprocket to Kurgh Rhamot wound through wooded foothills full of oak, fir, ash, and maple trees for two days, and the road seemed to be going upward a lot more than downward. The trees were very thick and tall, and as usual, the forest road was usually deeply shadowed even during daylight hours. On top of one hill was a grassy meadow next to the road. When the sky opened up to me, the Flamecrest Mountains loomed a lot closer than I thought they were. I had never seen real mountains up close before, and the sheer size of the great, white-capped peaks was a majestic sight. When the light of the descending sun reflected from the peaks, they seemed to burn with golden orange light. The trees got a lot sparser and the hillside became more mountainous as we progressed.

  After three days of travel from Goldsprocket, the road finally ended at a craggy granite mountainside with a small gate set into it. There was no visible city, and no sound of city folk coming from nearby. It felt like we were in the wrong place. As we got closer, I saw that the gate was only about twelve feet high and twelve feet wide with a barbican consisting of two towers flanking the gate. This is Kurgh Rhamot, one of the mighty bastions of Terran kind? It sure didn’t look like much from outside. There were no visible guards, but there were a lot of arrow slits. The Terrans kept the gates closed at all times, it appeared, and only opened the thick, grey-painted iron gates when we got close. It looked well defended, to be sure, but it was completely lacking in anything a visitor would find welcoming. Come to think of it, this was a pretty typical expression of Terran sensibility. One of the plate armored guards stationed inside turned towards the darkness of the gently upward sloping corridor and blew a trumpet in three short blasts. Aside from that trumpet blast, they didn’t acknowledge the presence of our group at all.

  Inside the entrance of the tunnel there was a rack of long staves, each with a glowing crystalline globe at the top, that several of the Terrans of the caravan grabbed as they passed and set into sockets built into the wagon frames for that purpose. Clever, I thought. I wondered what made the crystals glow. When I focused on one of the lamps, I could feel a sense of dim power radiating from them. It was definitely magic of some kind. The corridor itself lacked any sort of decoration, and it was slightly narrower than the gates had been. Two wagons could not have fit side by side in that corridor. That must have been why they blew a trumpet, to signal a halt to downward traffic. The corridor was straight as an arrow, and it was very flat except at random places where there were gouges taken out of the walls in grooves parallel to the floor. Maybe wagons had scraped the walls there.

  We marched up the corridor for a long way, and we got to a landing of sorts where the corridor turned to the left, protected by another very strong pair of steel doors. Before the passageway turned, however, there was a room where a giant wagon of some kind rested. It was built of steel and had what looked to be very heavy cylinders that it rolled on like wheels that went under the entire wagon from side to side. I had no idea how it moved, though. It didn’t have a place for draft animals to pull it, but instead had a huge shield on the front end that looked like it would fill the entire corridor from side to side and top to bottom. On the front of the shield was mounted two huge horizontal axels studded with long spikes and blades. Suddenly the design made sense, and I felt sorry for any warriors trying to fight their way up that slope. They would certainly come to a bad end once that wagon started rolling downhill. There was a company of Terrans standing guard there that took the glowing staves from the wagon drivers and set them in racks against the wall. The way to the left was already lit beyond the gates by more of the crystals mounted in the rock walls.

  Inside the gates, the corridor sported carvings along the walls that looked to depict defining moments of the Terrans’ long history. I knew Terrans could see very well in the dark, so I had to think that they kept the lights on for the sake of their ponies. The corridor curved back around to the right, going deeper into the mountain. We came around a final curve and into a market carved out of the granite that overlooked a gigantic crevasse that extended both up and down and went straight back into the mountain. The Terrans had carved stone streets into both sides of the crevasse that followed the crevasse on several levels. There were wide bridges arcing between the two sides on various levels, also. Above the market a giant cube hung from four enormous chains, suspended in the air in the midst of the cavern. It looked like a big, softly glowing clock that showed the time of day on each side of the cube. There were doorways carved into the walls that had stone doors carved to fit perfectly and swing shut on hidden hinges in the corners. The doors looked to be about six feet tall, a very comfortable height for a Terran. There were artistic carvings around doorways of various shapes with Terran runes on the tops of each door that had either a business name or a family name carved in them. The richer areas had gold, silver and precious stones inlaid in beautiful designs, putting the masterful skill of the Terrans on full display. This is more like I had expected. The overall effect was that the crevasse glittered like a big treasure pile in the cold light of the crystals.

  “[Welcome ta Kurgh Rhamot,]” Hamot said to Bran and me.

  The space joining the outer corridor to the crevasse was carved from the solid rock and was a large cleared area used as a marketplace with a few tunnels carved into it, all of which were buzzing with Terran activity. Every single Terran male wore plate armor as they marched here and there on their many and varied errands. We made our way through this space and to a large tunnel on our right, which my nose told me was a stable. Sure enough, we rolled through that short tunnel and into a marshalling yard with stables for the ponies cut into the sides. The Terrans didn’t need to be told what to do by Hamot, and they started the process of unburdening the wagons and stabling the ponies as soon as they entered.

  “[Come, lads. We’ll get ye settled. Try ta remember where we go. Dagnar’s Drop is th’ central feature o’ th’ Kurgh,]” Hamot said, gesturing to the crevasse.

  Hamot led us back into the crevasse and along the right side of it. Despite the light of the glowing crystals, I couldn’t see the bottom of the crevasse, and I felt like feathers were in my stomach whenever I got close to the railing. We passed many doors, then came to an archway on the right. We went into that archway, which spiraled downward to the right, back to the crevasse. Then it was back into another downward leading tunnel like the last, and down again in a switch-back to the crevasse again. From here, we went to the right, further away from the entrance, and passed several doors. We came to one that had a doorpost on the left and right that looked like full, lustrous beards covered in gold leaf. The inscription above the door read “Thickbeard.”

  Hamot pushed open the door, and we walked in to see a short tunnel end in a large common living area comfortably appointed with leather chairs and sofas. There was a stone table set in the corner with wooden chairs around it, and it was already set with mugs, plates, forks, spoons and knives all made from real silver. Clearly, trading was a lucrative business. I had already seen more wealth in these halls than I’d seen in my whole life. Hamot never mentioned his riches, so I thought it best to keep that secret, also. There were delicious smells coming from the next room.

  If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

  Out of that room walked a matronly Terran with silvering blonde hair kept in an elaborate braid wrapped around her head much like the other Terran ladies had. She was wearing a bright green dress with a white apron and carried a big stewpot with heavy linen mittens. She set the pot on a trivet on the table.

  “[Right on time, as always],” she said.

  “[Ye know I’m never late fer a meal, Nalimea, me love,]” Hamot said.

  Nalimea came over and cocked her head, offering her cheek to Hamot, who gave the expected kiss on her plump cheek, then grabbed her up in a great hug. She laughed pleasantly and gave him a quick kiss.

  “[These lads here‘re Bran and Jeron, as ye’ve guessed,]” Hamot said.

  “[Well met! I’ve heard a great deal about ye two, don’t ye know,]” Nalimea said cheerfully.

  “[May yer hearth fire never go out,]” Bran said.

  “[May yer stew never scorch,]” I said.

  “[Yer jus’ as polite as Hamot said! Ah, ye lads must be famished,]” Nalimea said. She pointed at a couple of seats. “[Have a seat, ye two, an’ tuck in.]”

  We didn’t have to be told twice. We dropped our sacks, which only had an extra set of clothes in them by this point. She went to the stewpot and ladled out generous helpings for each of us as we sat, then went into the kitchen to bring out some warm bread. The mugs on the table were full of milk already. Bran and I waited until Hamot sat, as was polite, then dug in. We made small talk through the meal, getting to know each other better. Nalimea was curious about the kind of lives children lived in Stonekeep, and we were happy to tell her all about it.

  “[Ye’ll be livin’ in Hituren’s room fer th’ duration o’ yer apprenticeship,]” Hamot said, gesturing to a doorway off of the living area. “[Ye already know Terrans ’re honest, decent folk, ye do. Ye should be ‘ware that we tend ta hold grudges, too. Should ye offend a person here, ye should make amends right away, ye should. Th’ bad ye do here’ll tarnish me reputation, it will. Not only that, but ‘n their eyes ye two represent humankind as well, and there may come a time when yer good reputation affects more than just yerselves, don’t ye know.]”

  We nodded soberly.

  “[Ye should also know that as I travel a lot, I delegated certain aspects o’ yer apprenticeship. Me brudder Telruk ’ll be yer overseer in th’ foundry, an’ me friend Denet will be yer overseer fer combat trainin’. There be a set o’ Terran chainmail, an axe an’ a shield in yer room fer each o’ ye, and any time yer not smeltin’ or sleepin’ ye’ll be wearin’ that armor. It ain’t sized fer humans, so ye’ll look like a couple o’ deflated wineskins ta a Terran’s eye, but ye’ll have ta make do, ye will. I’ll be showin’ ye how ta put it on wi’ yer gambesons ye got, an’ ye’ll have ta help each other put it on an’ take it off after that. Ol’ Faithful will ring out when it’s time ta wake up. The bathroom is in there, which methinks ye be needin’ ‘bout now. Questions?]” Hamot asked.

  “[Yes, sir,]” I said. “[Why do all male Terrans wear armor all the time?]”

  “[It’s a cultural thing, lad. It shows strength an’ readiness fer war. Any outsiders who come here spread th’ word that no Kurgh is an easy target, fer durned certain. Keeps th’ peace among all Terran kind, too, don’t ye know. Makes people a lot more polite when th’ Terran they’re addressin’ is ready ta fight ta th’ death, it does. Not only that, but a Terran’s armor’s a declaration o’ his clan, and as such, reflects on ‘is ancestors. That’s why I ain’t lettin’ ye wear plate armor o’ the Thickbeard clan. Ye ain’t earned it yet. Any other questions?]”

  We sat there silently, understanding that he didn’t really want to answer any more questions right then. I had lots of questions, but knew they’d get answered soon enough. We had been without a bath since Goldsprocket, and I smelled pretty bad. When he saw we weren’t going to say anything, Hamot gestured towards a particular door.

  “[Here, lads. Let me show ye ta th’ bathroom,]” Nalimea said kindly.

  We picked up our sacks and gratefully went in. The bathroom, true to its name, had a bathtub in it. It was different from any tub we had seen, though, because it was made of stone, lined with copper, and had a hole in the bottom of it. It looked immensely heavy. There was a bar of soap next to a big cork sitting on the rim of the tub that looked the same size as the drain. It was obvious what we needed to do with that. A pipe about four inches around came through the ceiling near the wall and split in half above the tub. Part of the pipe went to the top of the tub, which ended at a lever and an empty pipe. I tried the lever, and when I lifted it, water started filling the tub. Bran quickly used the cork to stop the drain. The other piece of pipe ran across the wall to a lever and then a metal pot about a foot high and a foot and a half wide. Looking in the pot, there was a big drain at the bottom and a wide ledge running around it. I had never seen something like that before, but I could guess what it was for. I tried the lever, and lifting it, water went into the pot and drained out the hole in the bottom. That was really amazing to me, and this setup was so much more convenient than using chamber pots.

  Bran was already stripping off his clothes, so I waited, politely looking the other way as he used the pot, then got into the tub. Nalimea must have put the two towels on the rack mounted to the wall. As Bran scrubbed himself, I looked at the towel rack, particularly the way it attached to the stone wall. It looked like they used a screw, which we very seldomly used in Stonekeep, and was secured in a ring of metal. Somehow the round metal piece wasn’t moving or pulling out of the wall even when I gave it a yank. The screw must be pushing against the sides of the metal casing or something to keep the whole assembly from moving. There were a thousand little things that were different about this place that made it work. The city of Stonekeep seemed very primitive in comparison now.

  Everything is new here, I remarked to myself. I stripped and used the pot, then rinsed it out and waited. Bran didn’t take long, then it was my turn in the tub. The water was very cold, as was the air, now that I had taken the gambeson off. My gambeson was like a sweat suit outside, but in the chill air of Kurgh Rhamot, it was very comfortable to wear. I finished washing as quickly as I could and got out of the tub to dry off. Bran had already put on his extra clothes, so I did the same after using the towel. I sniffed at the clothes I’d been wearing, and decided they needed to be washed out. I used the soapy water in the tub to do that, and Bran followed suit. I don’t think either of us wanted to stink this nice house up. When we finished washing our travelling clothes, we hung them on the side of the tub to dry, then went outside. Nalimea was in the living room waiting.

  “[Feel better, do we?]” Nalimea asked.

  “[Yes, ma’am,]” we replied together.

  “[Good, good. Yer bedroom’s there, boys. When you hear Ol’ Faithful chime in the morning, I’ll have yer breakfast ready. Sleep well, fer tomorrow ’ll be a big day,]” Nalimea said.

  “[Thank you,]” I said as Bran said “[Good night!]”

  Inside the bedroom was a brand-new pair of beds with a footlocker at the foot of each bed, two armor stands on one wall with two shields and two battle axes leaning next to the armor stands. It was true Terran armor, built for a four-foot-tall Terran, not for five-foot-tall human boys, and the thick rings on the armor looked very heavy. Bran went right over and hefted a shield, which was wood with steel plating on the front and around the rim, and picked up his new axe. I tried mine out, too. We had not been coddled our whole lives, but even strengthened by the hard work we were accustomed to, this was going to be more difficult than I anticipated. I shared a look with Bran, who must have been thinking the same thing.

  “This is gonna be tough,” Bran said, confirming it.

  “Yep.”

  “I’ll take that bed if you don’t mind,” Bran said, pointing.

  “Suit yourself.”

  “What do you think the others are doing?” Bran asked as he set his pack in the footlocker.

  “You mean ‘what’s Elle doing right now?’” I quipped. “If I knew what time it was, I’d be able to tell ya, but there’s no sun here.”

  “Yeah, no moon, either.”

  “I’m so tired I couldn’t care less what time it is,” I said. “I’m hittin’ the sack.”

  “Night.”

  My mattress was as firm as a plank with a sheet covering it, but the blanket and pillow were comfortable, if a bit thin. Terrans didn’t need much in the way of comfort, it seemed.

  I was cold after the bath, but safe. In fact, I couldn’t imagine a safer place to be. But then, I was only thinking about the dangers outside walled cities. I had no idea what this apprenticeship was going to be like. Boy, was I about to find out. Even though thoughts of what tomorrow would be like swirled around in my head, it didn’t take long before I was sound asleep.