Malcolm Tent
patreon
Wish upon the Stars chapter 896
🕑 Added 2025-05-28 23:57:12 +0000 UTCYettin was…big. We’d come up from out of the ground on top of a hill. The trek over had been on a slight incline, but we’d traveled so far I hadn’t realized how high we were until we emerged from the caves. Turning to look though, I was able to see the city from above, and looking at it was astonishing.
First of all, the “city” of Yettin wasn’t just one town. Or rather, it wasn’t just one layer. The city was, as Animal had mentioned, built in a sort of arc, bridging from one cliff to the other, meaning there was only a single exposed expanse of curved wall facing this side of the chasm.
That initial wall, at the base, was huge. Hundreds of feet high. Behind it, instead of the city though, was a ring of land. There were buildings along the inner rim of that ring, against the NEXT wall, but even after you got over the first wall, you had a big open space to get through before reaching the second wall.
Which ALSO contained a ring of empty land, with a city area built against the NEXT wall. The whole thing was seven layers, and the rings of land were shockingly wide, some with villages interspersed between them.
On the top layer, flush with the top of the cliff, was the city proper, an extremely large collection of tall towers connected by dense bridges and walkways. Behind THAT was another wall built along the edges of the cliff, high enough to make it difficult to see Yettin from the other side, with various towers and battlements that could be manned in case of an emergency.
“No wonder the caves don’t come out inside the city,” I said incredulously. “We have to go through seven layers of those ring shaped subcities to reach it. That must be rough to attack.”
“I wouldn’t know,” said Animal with a chuckle. “It’s never been managed. Those large empty plains between the walls are basically kill boxes, and they’re lined with formations that can be detonated in times of war. As far as I know, no one has ever made it through the first later of the Yettin gauntlet with bad intentions. Several armies have tried, but they were killed almost to a man. It’s considered the most defensible location in the outer ring.”
I whistled, staring down at the massive layered emplacement with new eyes. Described like that, I could see how each layer would be suicide to try to get past. Assuming you could breach the first wall (which based on the height and the DOZENS of large scale ballistic weapons, wouldn’t be easy) you’d have to run unprotected through what was apparently a magical minefield, toward a fortified collection of what looked like military buildings backed by ANOTHER wall, with another minefield on the other side if you got past that. Seven times.
“What kind of paranoid lunatic DESIGNED this place?” I asked in awed respect. “It’s like looking at the inside of Zeke’s brain.” I turned to Animal. “Can you get us in? You said you have connections here, right? Because entry looks…like a lengthy process.”
He chuckled. “There’s a smaller gate for VIPs at the far end of the gate. We’ll have to butt up against the cliffside, but because of the curvature of each successive wall, that’s the shortest distance.”
We set off down the hill, heading for the far end of the massive wall, and I couldn’t help but ask. “Doesn’t that compromise security? Having a secret entrance or whatever?”
“Not really,” he said with a shrug. “The hidden gate is made of high quality metal. It’s actually sturdier than the rest of the wall around it, and even more durable than the main gates. The only way you can get in is if you have someone to open it from inside. Since each successive wall later has their own separate guard force, the chances of someone managing to bribe or blackmail their way through all seven gates are even worse than the odds of someone invading.
“Each guard force also works on completely unrelated randomized schedules, so even if someone DID manage to get seven people arranged who could let them in, the chances of them all being on duty at the same time during a potential invasion are almost zero.” He chuckled as he shot the city a respectful look. “Yettin is impenetrable without a fucking B-ranker to brute force entry. And even they might have some trouble with some of of the defenses. Some of the siege bows on the inner walls are loaded with high ranking ammunition. They’ve never been fired so they just kind of sit there as a standing threat.”
I whistled. “Whoever designed this place was a paranoid maniac. I love it. I imagine space inside is at a premium though. How does this city measure up to the other D-rank spoke hubs?”
“Favorably,” he laughed. “Your instincts are right on the money. Some of the strongest members of any of the local factions live here. Some are independents from the D-rank zone, some are lower level members of larger factions. The latter tend to be a bit more willing to come in context with me, though the less powerful of those are the ones who maneuvered me into my position here. If I hit C-rank, some of the weaker C-rank factions might have trouble dealing with me.”
He’d mentioned that. “Your people can get us into the city?” I asked skeptically. He’d made such a big deal about security, I wasn’t sure how we’d bypass it.
“They can,” he assured me. “The wall guards have communication to the main city. It IS a VIP gate, so there needs to be a way to verifiably confirm someone’s status. They call up, and we go through seven individual verifications, but it’s still faster than taking the long way through the front gate. Don’t worry, I’ve got this.”
The walk around the wall was…tense. As we came close, I saw the massive ballistae on the battlements turn of their own accord and track us as we walked. Benny whistled. “Wow, auto targeting. Not bad. Kind of unfriendly, but given the magazines I can see on the bottom of those things, the ability to self aim would be a nightmare. I bet they’re spatially expanded too. Who knows how many of those things are in there.”
Animal nodded. “Yeah, they’re D-rank bolts. While the crossbows on the inner walls are too far in to have ever been reached, there have been several attempts at incursion down here. These don’t just cover out here either. They have three hundred and sixty degree coverage. Between them and the ones on the next wall, the entire ring is covered, and there’s a decent band in the center where they overlap. Don’t worry about them too much though. They cover out to the cave entrance, so if we were in danger we would know about it.”
I whistled. That cave entrance was fairly narrow. Imagining all these bows along the wall focusing fire on that small passage was terrifying. Anything that stepped out would be drowning in giant arrows.”
Dayna looked intrigued by the objects. “I don’t believe they’re able to musted the technique or damage output of a true archer, but there’s something to be said about heavy artillery. I can manifest a shot at that size easily enough, but I can only fire so fast and from so many angles. I’m undecided on how much I approve of such devices.”
Bethy nodded solemnly. “I understand completely. The first time I saw someone have their blood drawn with a needle I felt the same way. It’s like they’re trying to replace us!” She winked at the archer, who couldn’t help but crack a smile, but her face became serious as she turned to me. “This place is unsettling though, boss. I can feel the eyes on me all the time. Are you sure it’s safe to go in?”
“Not even slightly,” I said with a shrug. “But I trust that our people can protect themselves. Worst case everyone files into your domain and we use scrolls to leave.” I paused, considering the problem. “Actually, maybe them waiting inside would be a better idea. Not everyone, but most of them. We can keep our heavy hitters out here.”
She nodded. “That’s a good idea. It’ll be easier to protect a smaller number of people.” She closed her eyes, turning slightly, and her Domain flickered, covering the nearby army and sweeping them inside. When she opened them, only about twenty people remained outside, namely our twenty strongest warriors, plus a few key figures like Chelsea, Jessie, and Daysia.
The walk was tense, given the armed overwatch, but not nearly as tense and reaching our destination. We approached the small gate slowly, careful not to get too close to the cliff face. There was no bridge here, if we went over, we would NOT have a good time.
We arrived in front of the gate, and Animal stepped forward. “We seek sanctuary from this weary world,” he intoned gravely.
There was a small click as a hatch opened in the door, and a pair of eyes peeked out of a thin slot. “State your provenance!” Boomed the guy on the other side in a majestic baritone. “Or be not welcome!” I heard a snicker from the other side, and the eyes cut to the left. “Did I say something FUNNY, Clarence?”
“No, no, nothing like that,” came an amused voice. “Just…be not welcome?”
“It’s on the script,” the first guy said defensively. “Don’t blame me, blame the sergeant. He’s the one who wants this whole thing to be all formal and stuffy. Now do you MIND? I’m trying to get through this.”
The other man shut up, and the eyes turned back to Animal, who smiled sheepishly. “I’m here to see Devlan Waycraft.”
Hazel eyes narrowed suspiciously. “The Candle Man? We weren’t warned about any visitors.”
“He wasn’t expecting me,” Animal said with a shrug. “Tell him The Animal is here to visit, he should pass us through.”
The hatch slammed shut, and I heard muttering about entitled shits and criminal scum (which seemed ironic given our current location), then the sound faded. We waited ten minutes and then the man came back, popped the door open, and gestured us inside.”
We hurried in, and I was absolutely thrilled to see that the wedge shaped perimeter of the city had WALLS along the cliffiside once you entered the first ring. The guard, a short barrel chested man with a thick beard a shaved head, gestured us onto a long path that ran along the outer wall. “Be welcome, travelers, to the city of Yettin, jewel of the north. Be wary of your safety, for mysteries and wonders alike lie around every corner.”
I shot him a surprised look. “Really? Can you warn us about some of them?” It was rare to find someone willing to give out information for free, and it might be useful.”
“Of course,” he said solemnly. “There are many places of both danger and opportunity inside the walls. For instance, the mystery garden of Amun-Sul, in which one may pick a flower, and any bloom might hold immeasurable riches. Only twenty chits per pick, with a ten percent finders fee before exiting. Or the market of a thousand faces, where any salesperson could be an expert passing on their legacy. Professional guides are available for hire for a small fee.”
I stared at him blankly. “You’re…you’re just trying to sell us stuff, aren’t you.”
“Perhaps,” he said mysteriously. “To know the true intentions of my dire warning, one must naturally pay the price. A small consideration and I could reveal the TRUE secrets of this majestic city.” I stared at him for a moment, then turned and walked away down the path. “No, wait! I’ll give you a discount! Three D-rank chits for a city map! It’s annotated! Please buy something, I have KIDS to feed!” I had a strong feeling this was going to be a theme in Yettin. Fantastic.
Comments
Void
.....Is Yettin just a giant and paranoid tourist trap?
