The platform shuddered beneath Tomas Kael's boots, a low groan echoing through the night as it climbed the sky-tether toward Solvaris. The wasteland shrank below, its cracked expanse swallowed by shadow, while the sky-city's golden glow pulsed brighter overhead. Wind whipped at his face, cold and biting, tugging at the straps of his pack. Beside him, Lady Sereth gripped the platform's edge, her auburn hair lashing in the gale. Her wound slowed her, but her eyes burned with resolve, her satchel clutched tight against her chest.
Tomas shifted his weight, the Etherstone chunk at his belt humming faintly. The platform's runes glowed a dull blue, powered by the tether's magic—or maybe the stone itself, he couldn't tell. He didn't trust it. Machines failed. Magic faltered. Hard work didn't.
"How long's this take?" he asked, voice cutting through the wind.
"Hours," Sereth replied, her tone clipped. "The tether's a marvel, but it's not fast. Keep your eyes sharp, Kael. We're not alone out here."
He nodded, scanning the darkness. The tether stretched upward like a titan's spine, a cable of stone and steel vanishing into the clouds. Platforms like theirs dotted its length, ferrying goods or Gifted between the wasteland and the sky. But the night hid threats—Etherfiends, bandits, or worse. Tomas tightened his grip on his pickaxe, its heft a comfort against the unknown.
Half an hour in, the air thickened, a metallic tang stinging his nose. Sereth tensed, her hand flickering with a weak flame. "Trouble," she muttered.
Tomas heard it before he saw it—a scrabble of claws on stone, a hiss like steam escaping a cracked pipe. Shadows darted along the tether's side, lean figures scaling it with unnatural speed. Scavengers, he realized—wasteland outcasts who preyed on tether traffic. Their blades glinted, jagged and rusted, as they closed in.
"Get behind me," Tomas said, stepping forward.
Sereth snorted, flames sparking brighter. "I'm not helpless, Dull."
"Didn't say you were," he shot back. "Just stay alive."
The first scavenger leapt onto the platform, a wiry man with a scar splitting his face. He lunged, dagger aimed at Tomas's gut. Tomas sidestepped, swinging his pickaxe in a tight arc. The blunt end cracked against the man's skull, sending him sprawling off the edge with a scream that faded fast. Two more followed, one with a spear, the other swinging a chain.
Sereth flung a fireball, weak but precise, catching the spearman's cloak. He flailed, tumbling into the void. Tomas ducked the chain, its links whistling past his ear, and drove his shoulder into the attacker's chest. The scavenger staggered, and Tomas hooked the pickaxe around his ankle, yanking him off-balance. A shove, and he was gone.
Breathing hard, Tomas scanned the tether. More shadows climbed, five, maybe six. "Too many," he said. "We can't fight 'em all."
Sereth's flames dimmed, her face pale. "Then what?"
He eyed the platform's controls—a rune panel pulsing faintly. "We speed this up." Dropping to his knees, he pried the Etherstone chunk from his belt and jammed it into the panel's slot. It fit, barely, and the runes flared bright. The platform lurched, accelerating with a screech of strained metal.
"Hold on!" Tomas yelled, grabbing the edge as the wind roared louder. The scavengers scrambled to keep pace, but the gap widened. One leapt, fingers brushing the platform, only to plummet with a fading curse.
Sereth clung to the railing, her satchel slipping. Tomas lunged, catching it before it fell, and shoved it back into her arms. "Careful," he grunted. "Whatever's in there, it's not worth dying for."
Her glare softened, just for a second. "You don't know what it is."
"Doesn't matter," he said, steadying himself as the platform slowed, the runes dimming. The scavengers were gone, lost to the dark below. "We're still breathing."
The tether stretched on, Solvaris's lights closer now, a beacon in the black. Tomas wiped sweat from his brow, the Etherstone chunk warm against his hip. Hard work had seen them through—again. But the climb wasn't over, and the night held more teeth than he'd bargained for.