Diligence Point: Tales of Haroon, #6

By Alice Sabo

Flint had concerns about being in charge of a convocation of all the Chosen on Haroon but was willing to do whatever it took to heal her world. With Steel, Marten and Stash, she had barely arrived at the ancient fort in the desert before things went sideways. Juggling the needs and egos of Hands, Guides, Ministers and representatives of gods she'd never heard of was tricky. The combined volume of their different magics was frightening and chaotic.

Despite their best efforts, the damage was deeper than they realized and harder to heal. Rifts to lower planes were opening and the danger of incursion imminent. Flint and her companions would need to fight on multiple fronts to restore the world before the fractures could shatter it.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Alice Sabo
• Release date: May 16, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223270485

Alice Sabo

Alice Sabo is the author of over 25 novels in 7 series. Her character-driven stories range across multiple genres including science fiction, post-apocalyptic, high fantasy, mystery and contemporary fantasy. Whether seeking lost cultures in an unforgiving galaxy or fighting the Darkness on the streets of the city, her books have strong world building, multi-layered characters and a satisfying culmination.

Book preview

Chapter one

Flint had mixed feelings about returning to High Barrens. She’d traveled all over Haroon and knew that she was no longer the naive young girl who had left the family farm in Far Enough with such simple hopes in her heart. Her journey had changed her in every way possible. She had been thrust into the twisting and startling ways of the world teaching her hard and rewarding lessons, and she had learned so much more about her abilities. But she was still a child of the harsh high desert and seeing the lonesome stretches of rock and sand filled her heart with the warmth of a homecoming.

When a Minister of the Great Mother in Greenvale had sent her to Obsidian to tell the King a convocation was needed, Flint hadn’t known what that would entail. Nor had she known the King was dead. Or that the great city of Obsidian was half-destroyed and the rest in ruins. All of Haroon had felt the tremors, some parts had been more affected than others, but the damage was widespread. Flint could tell that the elementals were upset everywhere she went. Something was deeply wrong, and all of the gods were watching. It wasn’t just the Great Mother calling for her Chosen.

The message pushed the Queen into action. A convocation was planned at Diligence Point, the new town where the magical disc had come into being in the middle of the desert in High Barrens. Queen Primula asked Flint to act as a liaison with the various religious leaders who would be converging on that spot. It would be a tremendous undertaking to coordinate the research of every religion on the plane, but at least they were united in one goal -- discovering the quickest way to heal the world.

Back in the winter, after the dust had settled, and it seemed like the disc was a permanent fixture, the Dwyners had asked Flint to stay and vet the upper echelon of command to be set in place. They feared the worst, with good cause. Forbidden magic had been at the center of all the troubles. She was happy to aid in any way she could to avoid anything like the illegal gates and rifts happening again. Once she assured them that their candidates all had clean spirit fires, she’d been released to continue her travels with Stump and Shivers. Until she ran into that minister in Greenvale, and she’d been sent off to Obsidian.

Now Flint returned to the desert with many of the people who had been here to see the disc come into existence. Aside from her dedicated companions, Stump and Shivers, the Queen had sent along Steel, Marten and Winter’s Stash, and a few guards who looked like they’d left their sick beds a bit too soon. The devastation in Obsidian had hit everyone hard. The need to help often outweighed a person’s physical pain. She had seen the destruction and been struck dumb by the massive losses. Therefore, she felt she couldn’t refuse anyone who wanted to do their part. There was too much agony and fear in the capitol now.

Steel said his injuries were healed, but she saw the frowns and flinches when they ended a long day on horseback. He’d been buried in the rubble of a collapsed building with Prince Yarrow. Flint didn’t ask the questions that sprang to her lips. The haunted look in her brother’s eyes cut short her curiosity. Asking about it would just reopen the raw emotional wound of such a terrifying experience. She was just grateful that he’d been sent to a temple that had been able to heal him.

It had been a slow journey from Obsidian with many stops along the way. She didn’t mind. It gave her time to work out how she could possibly coordinate this unprecedented event. In her travels, she’d learned about more gods than she’d known existed. Each land seemed to have a few local ones that they prayed to for help in the smaller things. The Chosen of Dwyner and Bhanur were always recognized, and any children suspected of being Gifted were shipped off to where they could get the proper training. Everyone acknowledged the Great Mother, but her Chosen were always trained where they lived. Although Flint had found traces of other gods, she knew very little about them, or how they fit into what was accepted.

She spent so long thinking that Steel asked her if she was all right. I need to get this right, she said.

There is no right way, he said. No one can accuse you of doing it wrong if it’s never been done before.

But they need to be treated in a certain manner, Flint said nervously. Will the Ministers object if we have meat in the stew? Will the Nightwalkers want to work only in the evenings? There are so many things that could go wrong.

You’ll figure it out, he said.

She appreciated his support but lacked his confidence in a solution. The days on the road didn’t help her make a plan. The long, silent stretches of the desert were soothing, until they came up a rise and saw how much things had changed in just a few months.

A bustling town had grown up across from the disc that had formed after the troubles with the Bekkettan. Flint hadn’t been back to see it since she’d left. The making of it had been a rare and disturbing event that she had trouble remembering. It had created a new center, in the middle of nowhere. Soldiers were stationed there, and enterprising merchants had come to sell their wares.

She wasn’t surprised to see the town. With all the traffic around the new center, a town had blossomed in no time. The buildings had gone up quickly and were mostly fashioned from the pale clay bricks ubiquitous in the desert. Shops for food and clothing, inns and taverns had sprouted up along the straight military lines of the previous tent city. She noted that not just taverns were built but gambling houses and disreputable shanties, a racetrack out beyond the edge of the town and corrals of livestock for sale had stretched the town limits and added in streets that curved and meandered.

Now they’d arrived, and she still had no idea of what should be done. A soldier met her party at the edge of town and directed them to a long building that bordered the newly walled enclosure for the disc. The clay-brick building was a combination of barracks and offices with a large stable and several corrals behind it. They left the horses with the guard who was waiting and went into the building. Another guard showed them into a long room of chairs with a podium. A moment later, a man in the uniform of the Royal Army entered.

I’m Captain Fisher, a tall man with a bristling mustache introduced himself.

Flint shook hands and pointed out her companions. They pulled the chairs into a rough circle for a meeting.

I remember you, Fisher said with a curious look. Pulled me out of a line of men for this job. I owe you my thanks.

Flint smiled. I knew it would suit you. Sometimes it was all right to take credit. Since they were rare occasions, she’d begun taking advantage of them.

I got a message that you were coming and to aid you in any way, but not what this was about, Fisher said.

There is going to be a great convocation. The Queen thought this would be a likely location.

I was just about to send word, Fisher said with a worried frown. The disc started spinning a few days ago, and it hasn’t stopped. We’ve had guards on alert keeping a close eye on it, but nothing’s happened.

Flint looked around, but none of her companions were Chosen. They wouldn’t feel the magic. And they’d probably need a gatemaker to interpret it. What do the Dwyners say?

They seem as stumped as we are, Fisher said with a shrug. But they don’t tell me much.

She could see that this was going to be a game of sorting out who would or should, speak to whom. Have they started arriving? she asked.

Fisher looked surprised. Who?

The Chosen will be arriving from all over Haroon. I guess housing is going to be a problem. She didn’t think they would have trouble mixing. She’d seen Hands working with Ministers, and Dwyners with Hands, but wasn’t sure of any internal hierarchies.

How many? Fisher asked.

I don’t know, Flint admitted. The Queen sent out a request to everyone she could think of. They might send a single representative, or it might be a bunch. And the gods themselves might send a few.

Fisher looked daunted. I can shift some soldiers to tents and give you the barracks, but this is the biggest meeting room we have.

What about the fort? Flint asked.

Fisher glanced to the right as if he could see it through the wall. It’s in good condition. We decided it was too far away. Sending the guards down on horseback for the patrols at the disc meant we needed a stable down here and a place for meals. It just seemed simpler to move the barracks here.

Maybe we should take a look, Flint suggested. She wasn’t eager to get back on Persistence, but the sooner they sorted out the housing issue the better.

It was a twenty-minute walk that could be shortened by a gallop, but it gave her time to inspect her surroundings. They were close to the edge of the Great Canyon. The road to the ancient fort was newly opened. The structure stood on an upthrust of stone where it had a clear view in all directions. The high stone walls were obviously Delver-built and blended into the environment like camouflage. It was perched over one of the only springs in the area, and they passed a water wagon on the road heading back to the barracks.

They rode through the huge gates to a large internal courtyard open to the sky. The place was quiet, only the soughing of the wind and the call of a hunting bird broke the silence. There was the tingle of elementals in a dust devil that danced across the smooth paving stones. Flint took out her canteen and poured a bit of water into her hand. She tossed it high into the breeze while murmuring a prayer. The droplets misted into a momentary rainbow, and the wind dropped to stillness.

Taking that as permission, she dismounted, and her companions followed suit. She vaguely remembered the fort, but it seemed like a rushed and distracted time. Steel? Do you remember the particulars? She knew her brother had spent more time here as he’d helped set up the patrols.

It will house hundreds, he said. There’s a banquet hall that we can turn into a meeting room. We’ll need some support staff. Cooks, grooms… He looked at her. Do we have a budget?

Flint had asked the Queen the same question and had been given a small fortune in coins but didn’t want to broadcast that information. I can take care of that, she said.

Steel gave her a wink.

Can you give me a tour? she asked.

I’ll check the stables, Stash said. Marten gathered the reins of the other steeds.

I’ll check the kitchen, Stump offered. He limped away with Shivers following.

The guards, Hearth, Remy and Otter, stood ready for orders. Flint had asked Steel to take charge of that before they’d left the city. She wasn’t used to thinking about what should be done by others.

Check the gates and let me know how many points of access this place has, Steel said. As the guards limped away, he gestured to Flint. What do you want to see first?

Chapter two

Since the fort was Delver made, all the rooms had been well appointed. The sleeping rooms had storage space and broad shelves for bedrolls. Most were set up for two people with a few larger single ones on each hallway. There was also a whole section of suites. Flint was glad to see that there was a washroom on the cross-corridors with multiple sinks and commodes. It wasn’t luxurious, but it would be adequate for however many arrived.

Do you think the Chosen will take offense at such rudimentary quarters? Flint asked her brother.

The world is at stake, he said darkly. How can they care about something so trivial?

She nodded but had her doubts. Is there a secure cabinet? she asked. Carrying the sacks of cash from the Queen had made her very nervous. She’d almost given it over to Steel but knew that it was just as safe in her saddlebag with him beside her.

He showed her an office on the ground floor that had empty bookcases and a big metal safe. The key was in the lock, and the door ajar. She collected her saddlebags and unloaded the four heavy sacks into the safe. Then she handed the key to her brother.

Why me? he asked.

Because that means I need you with me any time I have to access the money, she said smugly. And I can’t think of a better person to watch my back.

Steel chuckled. Very wise.

Now the banquet hall? She been surprised that a fort would have something like that. It made more sense that it might be an indoor exercise room, but Steel should know the difference.

He opened a pair of large wooden doors to show her a room flooded with light. It was enormous. Much larger than she’d need. Or so she hoped. There were huge fireplaces in all four walls. The floor was a parquet of brown and golden stone so smooth the seams were imperceptible. The high ceiling had a mosaic of mountains crowned by fluffy white clouds. The theme came down the walls in the blues of the mountains ending in the greens and browns of a forest. Ornamental sconces were placed between long windows of multi-paned glass. It was definitely a room for showing off.

The fort was originally for a minor lord, I think, Steel said to her puzzled glance. Must have thought he would be entertaining the high society.

What society? Flint asked with a chuckle. The closest town of any size is Dead Horse.

This was built before Dead Horse was founded, Steel said. He looked up at the soothing ceiling. I guess there were some towns out here back then.

Flint looked around the empty room. We’ll need chairs and tables.

Let’s check the dining hall, Steel suggested.

As they walked across the inner courtyard, the main doors swung open. An ancient Delver entered. Flint felt the strength of him like the weight of a mountain. His coarse hair was pure white and a short beard a shade darker framed his lined face. Broad shoulders and thick arms showed his powerful muscles despite his obvious age. He wore simple clothes made of thick canvas and carried a walking stick taller than himself. A lumpy pack clung to his back with tools