Rise of the Ash Bringer: Chapter One

Terra hated doing the wash. Not that she had much choice. With momma working at that ranch over in the next valley, it fell to Terra to take care of the little ones and that meant doing the things they couldn’t do, like the wash. While momma was away, Terra did the cooking, cleaning, and fixing up around their home. Even though she was just barely ten, she was also the only one strong enough to carry the wash to the river on the other side of town, so it was up to her to carry it, soap, wash board and all, and wash it, even when it was the middle of fall and the river was ice. Well maybe not ice, but near enough.

She wished to merciful Rain that momma could save enough money to buy one of those new washing boxes that the merchants told her about. But, it was just like momma said, even if they could afford it, they’d still have to pay for a pump to get the water from the river to the house. There was just no way to afford that, not on the meager coin momma made.

She tried not to complain about her workload. She had only been living with momma for a short while, but momma had already done so much for her and Ben. It was weird at first, calling another lady momma, especially one so much younger than her real one was; but it just felt right now. Terra wanted to help her new momma the best she could, even if she had to do things she hated.

The sun peaked over the jagged mountains to the east as Terra walked down the dirt path to the town. Most of the path was covered in leaves, but she could still see the way of it. The bundle of clothing swung on the rope, digging into her arms. Baby Ben strapped to her back cooed in her ear as she walked: the little guy still looked at everything as if it were new and the most interesting thing in the world, even though he’d been on her back for this walk near a hundred times before.

“Yeah, you’re right, Ben,” Terra said looking at the forest that surrounded the path, “fall sure is pretty in these parts.”

Sunbeams skipped around the path as they broke through the canopy of branches, teasing Terra into thinking it should still be warm, which it wasn’t. A cool breeze brushed across the leaves of red and gold, then through her tweed cap, chilling the sweat that beaded on her forehead. Thick boots, dusted with age and travel, covered Terra’s feet. The boots were a couple of sizes too big for her, but she needed shoes and momma did the best she could with what little they had. Besides, momma said that Terra would probably grow into them in about a year. Her dress was faded purple decorated with pink flowers. Terra hung a wool shawl over her shoulders and Ben, attempt to keep the chill off the both of them.

Ben was wrapped in a warm, brown blanket and a wool cap covered his head. The chill in the air didn’t seem to bother him any, then again, nothing seemed to bother him, except for when he had gone too long without a nap.

A sudden gust of wind blew down from above the canopy of trees. Terra dropped the wash and held onto her cap so it wouldn’t get blown away, again. Ben screeched in delight. Terra looked up through the leaves and saw the Hawkwood, the local transport zeppelin, buzzing by. She caught the site of a blue pickaxe over a sapphire painted on the side of the giant balloon; the insignia of the William-Davis Corporation, the company that owned the local land and most of the people living on it. The Hawkwood shot off, keeping low to avoid the local military watch posts, no doubt.

She took off the old cap and ran her fingers through her greasy, dusty blonde hair. Putting her cap back on, Terra shook her head, picked the wash back up, and said “One of these days, those crazy pirates are going to hurt someone.” She started walking down the dirt path again.

It wasn’t much longer until she reached the main road that cut through the center of the town. Truth be told though, it wasn’t much of a road. It really wasn’t much more than a dirt path little wider than a wagon, but it was plenty big for Terra. Just down the road she could see the edge of town. It wouldn’t be much longer until she reached the river.

As the edge of town drew near, Terra heard a familiar voice cry out in a mixture of pain and anger. “Ash-ridden, goat drinking piece of rust!”

She turned to the voice and just beyond the edge of the trees, Terra made out the shape of a man working at the base of a sonic post. Round, balding and in need of a shave, Everett Gills crouched next to one of the town’s early warning towers, sucking on his fingers and muttering more words that would earn a slap on the mouth from momma if Terra ever used them.

The post looked more like a pair of rods on a metal box to Terra, but the adults preferred to call them towers. Everett had opened the panel on this particular one, revealing a maze of wires and lights. Terra had no idea how these towers worked, but the tin metal structures kept all sorts of dangerous critters away from the town. Old world tech, she heard one of the adults say once. Nothing at all like the interesting stuff men were making today with gears and steam. With the stuff men were making these days, you could at least get a sense for how they worked just by watching the machine move. But that old world stuff? That was just plain wrong.

“Whacha doing Mr. Gills?” Terra asked as she drew close to him.

Everett spun his head to her. He looked like he was about to start another series of curses, but he took a swallow instead. Over a sweat stained shirt and an over-worn pair of brown trousers, Everett wore a leather apron. Various tools decorated the apron: a wrench or two, some screwdrivers, and a couple items of odd design that Terra didn’t know the names of yet. He pulled of a pair of smoked goggles revealing an outline of dirt caking his face. “Don’t sneak up on a man like that, Terra. Never sneak up on a man while he’s working.”

“Sorry, Mr. Gills. It’s just you didn’t look like you was working to me. You looked like you was just swearing.” Ben squealed in agreement.

He groaned, and growled at the same time, “None of that, little miss. We get enough of that from your momma. We don’t need two of you.”

“Oh, I was just playing with ya. What’s wrong with the sonic fence tower?”

He turned and kicked the base of the tower. “The whole system in this sector seems to be fried. That last storm that came in blew some of the circuitry, and we don’t have anything to replace the ashed pieces with. So I’ve got to make do with what we’ve got, otherwise we’re blind if something decides to meander on our way.

“Can I do anything to help?” Terra asked, she started to put the laundry bundle down.

Everett looked over Terra once. “I thought you hated pre-Scar tech.”

Terra looked around, trying to not make eye contact with Everett. “Yes, sir, I do,” she said, shifting in her too-big boot, “But momma told me that if I understand something, then I won’t be scared of it no more.”

Everett paused before responding. “Thanks for the offer, but I’ve got everything under control here,” Everett wiped a soot covered hand across his forehead, smudging his face black.

Terra felt her shoulders fall in relief and hoped that Everett didn’t notice.

“You best be on your way,” he turned back to the tower, “But tell you what, I may need your help with some new pieces that are supposed to come in with today’s shipment. And none of this shipment is pre-Scar. Everything coming today should be just what you like to tinker with. Come round my shop before it gets dark and we can have a look at what the Hawkwood brought.”

Terra felt that her smile might split her face in two. “You promise?”

“May my soul burn to ash if I’m lying,” he said, his voice echoing as his head was already inside of the tower base.

“Oh, but Mr. Gills, I have a lot to do today, other than the washing.” Terra said as her shoulders slumped in disappointment.

“Then you best hurry up,” his voice echoed out of the steal box again, “I’m going to need your help to figure out how to get the scrap they sent us in working order.”

Terra nodded, the excitement of working with tools skipping through her mind, as she picked the bundle back up and ran out of the trees and back onto the road into town. She heard more muffled cursing coming from the sonic tower as she left Everett Gills behind.

The smell of dust and oil filled her nose as Terra entered the bustling town. Well, it bustled with as much life as a small mining dorm could. Dozens of wooden buildings scraped along both sides of the street. The buildings that weren’t white washed were painted in various colors. Terra sometimes thought the folk living here thought it a mark of pride to make their house look nothing like the one next to it, but it was more likely that everyone just painted their homes with whatever color Miss Grace had in stock.

The buildings were wedged together like too many chickens in a single stall. A few of the buildings had narrow strips that might be called alleyways, but for the most part, the buildings seemed content to try share walls.

Familiar faces popped out of windows and chatted with people on the road. Mr. James’ saloon was always quite this time of morning, except for those few people who never seemed to leave. Stout Adam Franks stood outside the saloon hammering away at some of the giant copper pipes that fed water to the saloon boilers. Mr. James was one of the few men in town who had enough money to get electric lights without the William-Davis company complaining about the cost. Barber Stevens turned the crank on his razor sharpener, a box of gears and chains so complex that Terra fought the urge daily to take it apart. She almost thought it would be worth the punishment she would get just to see how that machine worked.

Mr. James pulled out a razor and eyed the edge as he sang an upbeat tune. He was told by his customers in no polite words to keep his day job.

Terra passed a white building that resembled a cement block, the only building in the town that stood apart from the rest. The mark of a hospital, a golden crane perched on a dangerous looking branch covered in thorns, dragon vine momma had told her once, had been painted above the door. The gold paint was old and flecked off in many spots, but you could still make out what it was supposed to be. Next to the door, someone had painted in harsh red letters the words Go Away.

A group of boys just older than Terra, the Harris brothers, ran past her with buckets of maple sap to sell at Miss Grace’s store. One of them, Michael, shouted an apology to Terra after one of them nearly knocked her over. His mop of brown, unkempt hair bounced as he ran into the blue building. The doors swung shut past him. Terra stopped herself from thinking about how nice he was and focused on her chore.

This little spot of life was marked on a William-Davis map as Tin Mine Dorm 4, but folks around here just liked to call it River’s Edge. On account of the town being built right next to a river. Terra didn’t think the name was very imaginative, but it was easy to remember.

The town rolled along in buildings of purple, yellow and the occasional blue, until she reached the reached the last building between her and the river: the sheriff’s office. The office was the only building painted green and it looked to have last been painted before Terra was born. On the porch was an old, creaking rocking chair, and on the chair sat Sheriff David Nelson.

David Nelson had a strong jaw and dark yellow hair. The right side of his face was decorated by a nasty scar that matted everything from his ear to his chin. He wore a dark green coat with a silver star and moon on the right breast. A pistol, with a handle worn with age and use, hung in a holster on his hip. He had been appointed sheriff by some pencil-necked William-Davis suit man, and, at first, from what Terra had learned in her short time here, folks didn’t like him much. But he had proven himself capable, and likeable to boot. David Nelson was alright by Terra.

Sheriff Nelson stood as she passed, “Good morning to you, Miss Terra,” he said with a smile.

“Good morning, sheriff,” she said, trying to hide her panting. The chill betrayed her as it frosted her breath.

“And a very good morning to you, Master Ben,” Sheriff Nelson said, giving a slight bow.

Ben happily cooed back.

“Off to do some laundry, I take it?”

“Yes sir,” she set the bundle down, “most of the little ones are wearing their spares until I can get this cleaned. Momma is off working hard, so it’s up to me to get their clothes done.”

“That’s a good girl, Jessica will be right proud of you.”

She smiled.

“Now, how about I lend you a hand?”

“Nah, I’ve got it sheriff. You probably got more important things to do; you know sheriffy things and such. Sides, momma says I should do what I can for myself before asking others for help, and I can sure do some smelly wash.”

Sheriff Nelson grinned. “That’s right smart of your momma to say that. But sometimes the point of letting people help you isn’t because you can’t do it by yourself. Sometimes it’s just to let them find joy in helping.”

“Is that another one of them verses from that book you’s always reading from?”

“The Book of Eleven?” David scratched his scar, “Could be. I don’t read it as often as some folks think I do.”

“You should have been a preacher, sheriff, with how much you read from that dusty thing.”

Sheriff Nelson grinned, “Maybe I missed my calling in life.”

“Maybe you did. Thanks for the offer, but I can handle it. The river is just over there,” she pointed, “and you’ve more important things to do than stick your hands in a freezing river.”

“Can I at least offer to take your wash to the river for you?” He didn’t wait for a response before he walked over and picked up the bundle.

“You don’t have to do that, Sheriff Nelson, I can carry it.” She tried to hide the relief in her face. Her arms were already sore and she still had a lot of work to do today.

“You’re right, I don’t, but I will.” He walked at a pace that Terra could easily keep up with.

Terra was happy for the extra company. The three of them walked the rest of the short way to the river. The flowing water bubbled over rocks and sparked in the morning sun. The rolling water sang over the riverbed and Terra found an urge to go for a swim. The urged tugged at her, but she knew how cold it was, so she forced the desire down. Trees hugged the banks and fallen leaves of red and gold quilted the ground. Harsh brush and tall grass grew along the shore where rocks were scarce.

“Now, let’s see. What is a good place for some laundry,” the sheriff said, setting the bundle down.

Ben started to laugh as Terra untied him. She set him down and put him against a thick oak tree away enough from the river that she didn’t have to worry about him. She said to David “Usually we just do the wash right over there.” She pointed to a small patch of rocks on the river bank. Ben had stopped laughing. He was focused on something just downriver of them.

Terra stood and turned back to the sheriff. “Thanks for the help, Sheriff Nelson. I think I can handle it from here.”

“I’m sure you can,” he said. He didn’t look at her though. His eyes were fixed on the other bank.

“Everything alright, Sheriff Nelson?” she asked looking in the same direction as David.

“Hmm?” his eyes snapped away from the opposite shore, “Oh, yes, everything is fine,” he turned down to her, “Just doing my job and making sure you’re going to be safe.”

“I’m always safe here, I do this all the time.”

“True, but you can’t be too careful. Come here.” He bent down on one knee and pulled a small book out of his back pocket. The book had a black leather cover and was worn with use; frayed pages fluttered in the breeze.

“Ah come, on sheriff. I don’t got time for this,” she said, “Everett promised me that I could help him tinker with some new stuff that’s coming in today if I get all my chores finished.”

“This won’t take but a minute,” he said, brushing a finger on the river, “You’ll still have plenty of daylight to tinker away.”

Terra stopped fighting. She learned early that it was best not to argue with the sheriff when he wanted something done. The only person she saw argue her way out of the sheriff’s will was momma. Terra hoped momma would show her how she did it soon.

The sheriff opened up the book and flipped to a page. “There we are,” he said.
With his wet finger, he drew a line across Terra’s forehead and tapped a dot above the line. He then began to read from the book.

Terra didn’t know what he was saying. Not that she didn’t understand the words coming out of his mouth, she just didn’t understand why they were coming out of his mouth. It’s not that she hated Water, and she enjoyed hearing stories about how the Ash Bringer was killed at the end of the Scarring, she just thought that prayer belonged in a church, not here.

He stopped and looked at Terra with expectant eyes. The prayer must have ended.

“Water above, Earth below,” she said the words to agree with the prayer, but she didn’t mean them. She tried to avoid his eyes, “Can I get to my washing now? I don’t have all day.”

He snapped the book close and put it back in his pocket. “Yes, you can go.” He began to stand, but his eyes snapped at something behind Terra. He knelt back down, drew his pistol, and pulled Terra behind him faster than Terra could realize what he was doing.

“Sheriff, what are…”

“Quiet,” he whispered.

Ben started to cry.

“Go get Ben, Terra,” David said, never moving his eyes, “and come right back here.”

“What’s going on sheriff?” She tried to hide her growing fear, but her voice was already trembling.

“Just do as I say,” his whisper was harsh, “Go get Ben and come right back.”

Terra stood there. Fear began to bubble in her chest.

Ben’s crying exploding into the shrieking of a frightened child: unsure of what was happening, but aware enough to know something was wrong.

“Go!” His whisper was nearly a yell.

She nodded and ran away from the river to the tree, her legs slipping in and out of her oversized boots. She reached Ben and picked him up, too afraid herself to try anything to calm that stricken child.

Terra turned back to the sheriff, but something on the edge of the river caught her attention. It was hidden in the overgrowth, but she could just see a large gray lump tangled in the green stalks of grass. She moved closer and saw a mass of black strands at one end of the lump. It wasn’t like any stone Terra had ever seen before Ben, still crying, held tight to Terra, his hands clamped on her dress.

“Terra!” David cried out. She did not hear him move, but suddenly the sheriff stood between her and the black mass. And as she felt herself move back, she saw a pair of blue eyes under the tangle of black strands looking right back at her.

She screamed.

The sheriff leveled his pistol at the body. He didn’t have the chance to pull the trigger.

Terra screamed as the water around the body exploded, raining river around the area. David grabbed Terra and covered her and Ben with his body. He pushed them away and turned back only to be knocked to the ground by a man dressed in gray, torn clothing.

The man sat on David’s chest. Odd green tattoos covered his right hand, which began to glow with a green light as he drew it back in a fist. A bolt of blue energy slammed into the man’s chest knocking him off the sheriff.

David picked up his pistol and aimed it at the man again. “Thanks for the help, Tom.”

Terra turned and saw Tomantalus walking towards the sheriff, with an odd looking pistol that curved around his knuckle, blue mist waving from the barrel. Tom towered over the sheriff, who was not a short man, by a good two feet, which was not unusually. Terra had seen enough Shidaari to know that they were all taller than humans.

Tomantalus’ yellow-silver skin shimmered in the morning light, like the scales of a fish. His never-blinking compound red eyes gave Terra the shivers every time she looked at them. Unlike other Shidaari Terra had seen, Tom dressed like a local: short cut brown coat and a clean, if well worn, red flannel shirt. He even wore a wide-brimmed brown hat that fit nicely over his not quite human head. Tom turned to David and began to speak. How Shidaari were able to speak without mouths was a thought that constantly nagged Terra.

“Apologies… for not coming sooner,” Tom said in a voice that buzzed with each word.

“You’re fine,” David said. He walked over to the body and kicked it, “Well, whoever he was, he’s dead now.” He brushed leaves and dirt off of his jacket.

“Was I… mistaken to fire when I did?” Tom’s voice buzzed. He paused often as he spoke, as if he was trying to grasp the real meaning of a word before he used it. His pauses reminded Terra of how she looked over her tools from time to time making sure she was picking the right one.

“No, not at all,” David said, scratching the scar on his right cheek, “He was aiming to kill me it seems, and that was putting Terra in danger, too. You did good in ending him.”

Tom said nothing. He slipped his curved pistol into an equally odd looking holster and nodded. He walked over to the corpse, his long body dipped with each step. Whenever he walked, Terra couldn’t help but look at his knees, which bent the wrong way. He wore no shoes, which made sense to Terra considering his feet were made up of what looked like four long toes, each as thick as an oak sapling that spread apart from each other with each step, like a tripod, only it had four legs. She never saw a shoe built for feet like that.

Ben had not stopped screaming. Terra tried to wipe the snot from his nose, but Ben kept moving his head.

David turned back to them. “You’d best get home now, Miss Terra. We’ll take care of things here.”

“But, Sheriff Nelson…”

“No arguing, not now,” David’s voice was calm and his face started to get… quiet, “You get home and see that your siblings are okay. Don’t worry nothing about the wash, some of my boys will take care of it.”

Terra didn’t like the idea of leaving a chore to one of the fat fingered deputies, but she had seen David like this before. The manner in his voice was like the calmness before a storm. In truth she wasn’t sure which one she’d rather face: a Bone Ripper or David when his mood started to get quiet.

She nodded.

“Now that’s a good girl,” he turned to Tom, “Get that corpse to the cold box in Norton’s place. I don’t want him stinking up the place before we know if anyone’s looking for him.” David holstered his pistol. “I best get Seph on looking into who this guy is.”

“Sheriff…” Tom said, “You may want to… look at this.”

David walked over to him, “What is it Tom?”

“This is no… corpse.”

Terra gasped.

“What?” David bent down and examined the body.

“This man is… still alive.”

“Four Hells,” the sheriff cursed, “there ain’t even a scratch on him,” he stood and started back to his office, “This is not something I want to deal with. Tom, put him back in the river.”

“David… this man has a… large bounty on him…” Tom said as he rose, his voice buzzing like a hornet’s nest.

David stopped and turned back to Tom, “How large?”

“Large.. enough…”

David shook his head, “No, dump him in the river and let Water take him.”

“Water… brought him… here…”

Ben’s screaming devolved into sniffing. Terra bounced him in her arms.

David scratched his scar. “Ash Bringer’s beard,” he said.

Terra gasped. She had heard other men curse that badly before, the town doctor seemed to use that curse as often as most men breathed, but never from the sheriff. This must really be bothering him.

David turned to Terra and pointed to the town. “Go on and get Dr. Emerson. Bring him to my office.”

“Sheriff,” she began.

“Get!”

Ben giggled in her arms as Terra ran as fast as her oversized boots would let her.