“What’s going on?” Jern asked, confused.
“Something’s happening in town, I’ve no idea what, though. People just started running!”
That did indeed seem to be the case. Wherever Jern looked, people were poking their heads out of their houses and wandering toward the centre of town, or jogging down the streets after coming from the fields.
“Come quickly!” he heard a voice calling from somewhere closer to the square. “There’s big news to hear! Come to the cathedral!”
“To the cathedral?” Jern asked, confused. “What’s going on over there?”
His friend, Alis, stared at him as if he were being stupid.
“If you want to find out, then we need to go to the cathedral, right?”
“Good point.”
Feeling slightly foolish, he put down his shovel and scratched at his cheek awkwardly.
“Soooo, you want to come with?”
Alis shook her head, sending her blazing red hair swaying down her back.
“Of course I want to find out, I’m only standing around here because I’m waiting for you! Hurry up!”
“Oh,” Jern chuckled, trying to hide his embarrassment as he stepped out of the stables and into the street, being careful to avoid running into anyone. “I’m ready, let’s go.”
The two joined the flowing crowd of people as they made their way toward the largest building in Renewal. The cathedral towered over the burgeoning city; its tall, lavish spires and elaborate carved ants were an awe-inspiring sight, one that Jern frequently found himself gazing at, lost in the endlessly complex lines of the stone. In front of the cathedral, filling the town square, the crowd was abuzz with energy, murmuring and calling to one another, a hundred different conversations fusing into one, persistent roar.
“I feel like everyone in town is here,” Jern mumbled, uncomfortable.
He didn’t like being in crowds.
“Can you see what’s happening in front of the cathedral?” Alis demanded.
“Uhhh, yes? Can’t you?”
Alis glared and kicked him in the shin.
“No! I’m not a giant, like you!”
Jern decided not to point out that, even when she wasn’t comparing herself to him, she was still considered small.
“Sorry. Yes, I can see. There’s a gathering of priests over there. I think the head priest too? And a few ants. More than usual, actually.”
His friend made a frustrated noise before she started poking him in the side.
“Lift me up,” she demanded, “I want to see.”
Jern looked around uncomfortably.
“I don’t mind,” he said, “but we need to move to the side. I don’t want to block people’s view.”
“Ugh. Fine.”
With him leading the way, it wasn’t hard to make a path to the edge of the crowd. Once he was confident they wouldn’t be disrupting anyone, he reached down and grabbed Alis by the waist, effortlessly lifting her up onto his shoulder.
“Are you steady?”
“Of course I am. Thanks.”
She steadied herself with a hand on his head, idly twining her fingers through his hair as she peered intently in all directions, absorbing everything she saw.
“There’s a lot of mages here,” she observed, “and soldiers. That’s unusual. There’s even a few generals and carvers! Why on Pangera would the Colony send them over here?”
“You can tell the difference?” Jern asked.
Alis rolled her eyes.
“Of course, they all look completely different. Look at that one, you see the different orientation of the front pair of legs?”
“Yes?” he replied doubtfully.
“That’s a carver. The big ones are soldiers, that’s easy, the generals are smaller than them, but bigger than the mages, and they have larger mandibles. The mages can be a little tricky to work out, but they always seem the most curious, and they move around the most. If they’re connected to a human with a mind bridge, they usually try and turn their body to face them directly, which is a giveaway. See! That one over there is doing it.”
“You really know a lot about the ants, Alis.”
She rapped him on the head with her left hand.
“Who wouldn’t want to learn about the ants? They’re our saviours! Most of our town was built thanks to them. And they’re so interesting.”
“If you say so,” he said, idly scratching at his leg.
The ants were fine. As far as Jern was concerned, they were regular people who lived and worked in Renewal just like the rest of them. Except they had more legs. He knew about the nests and that there was Dungeon stuff and all that, lower down, but he’d never needed to worry about that. He cleaned stables for a living.
“Wait, something’s happening,” Alis said, leaning forward on his shoulder, excited.
Jern brought his right hand up, just in case she fell, as he tried to spot what she’d seen. There was a lot of movement amongst the priests, until finally, one of them stepped forward.
“I thank you for gathering so quickly, my fellow citizens of Renewal. And I apologise humbly for interrupting your day, but this news could not wait for the holy day, or be delivered in the next sermon.”
“Oh, that’s Beyn,” Jern nodded to himself. He recognised the voice.
“Shhh!” Alis hissed, rapping him on the head again.
That seemed unnecessary to Jern, since Beyn was so good at talking in public his words felt like they flew into your ears no matter what, but he held his peace.
“I HAVE BEEN WITNESS TO DIVINE INTERVENTION!” the priest suddenly roared, his words rolling through the crowd like thunder. Jern could visibly see people blown back by the volume.
He loved a good speech from Beyn. They were never dull.
“THE GREAT ONE HAS SPOKEN TO ME DIRECTLY. WHISPERED WORDS OF GODLY WISDOM DIRECTLY INTO MY HEART!”
This got a strong reaction from the crowd, and even Alis was bouncing up and down on his shoulder.
“Careful,” he warned her, but she ignored him.
“Yes, my people! No pheromones were involved, no mind-bridge. I wasn’t even in the same stratum as the Great One, and yet, they spoke to me, assured me that they were looking over me.”
The priest was openly weeping now, but there wasn’t the slightest quaver in his powerful voice.
“I SAY THIS NOT TO ELEVATE MYSELF, BUT TO INFORM YOU OF THE REVELATION! I believe our faith has been sufficient, our belief has been abundant, and this has borne incredible fruit.”
A dramatic pause. Jern loved a good dramatic pause and Beyn was the master.
“THE GREAT ONE IS ASCENDING! SOON, THEY WILL ACHIEVE A HIGHER PLANE OF EXISTENCE, AND I CALL UPON ALL WHO ARE WILLING TO JOIN ME IN A GREAT PILGRIMAGE.”
He took a deep breath, calming himself.
“The journey will be long, and it will be difficult. There is no shame in remaining aboveground, but for those who are able, those who are deep in faith, join me. We will march to every city within the lands of the Colony, and to some who aren’t, as we descend through the Dungeon and present ourselves before the Great One. JOIN ME! JOIN ME, AND TRANSFORM YOURSELVES!”
The crowd leapt and screamed in approbation, and Alis was so excited she slipped and fell from Jern’s shoulder. Luckily he’d anticipated the problem and caught her deftly. She beamed up at him as he placed her back on the ground.
“This is so exciting! I can’t wait to get started!” she declared.
“Get started on what?” he wondered.
She frowned.
“The pilgrimage!”
“Oh,” he said, nodding.
“You’re coming too.”
“Oh,” he said.
He did like a good, fiery sermon.
~~~
In the fourth stratum.
“DAMMIT!” Anthony cried. “DAMMIT ALL TO HECK!”
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