Night pressed heavily against the outer walls of the Capital, swallowing the world in a suffocating fog that erased distance and shape alike. Beyond the stone battlements, nothing existed but pale mist drifting off the river below. Two watchtowers rose side by side at the outskirts, their silhouettes barely visible against the darkness. Lantern light glowed faintly from within each tower, trembling against the cold wind.
Martin Stoneverge stamped his boots against the wooden platform, breath steaming in the freezing air. The chill crept through his armor and settled deep in his bones.
"Is it always this cold up here?" he muttered, rubbing his hands together. "My balls are freezing off. Could use a mistress beside me on a night like this."
The guard beside him snorted. Cruise kept her eyes forward, watching the invisible horizon beyond the fog. "You've been posted here two days, Martin. Two. And you already miss bedding women."
Martin grinned and slung an arm casually around her shoulders, leaning closer as though sharing sacred wisdom. "Yeah, I do. Cold nights hit different when you've got company. One day, when our shift ends, I'll take you to the finest clubs. Get you a proper fish pie. You'll thank me afterward."
Cruise slipped out from under his arm, unimpressed. "I prefer sleep when I'm off duty."
Martin blinked. "What's the deal with you? Not interested in girls? I could find you other boys too."
She turned sharply toward him. "Other boys? What the hell, Martin. Do I look like a boy to you?"
His expression collapsed into genuine shock. He stared openly, confusion overtaking him. "What? How am I supposed to believe that? Where are the breasts? Why the short hair?" His gaze flicked awkwardly over her figure before he caught himself.
Cruise folded her arms defensively. "Where's what, you pervert? My butt? I'm a late bloomer, that's all. It'll grow." A faint, embarrassed smile betrayed her irritation.
Martin shook his head, unconvinced. "Still don't believe it. I'd have to see proof, Cruise."
"As if I'd show you anything," she said, narrowing her eyes. "I know exactly what you're trying to do."
"Please," Martin pleaded dramatically. "We're tower guards of the Capital. No secrets between comrades. Don't you know secrecy brings down empires?"
Cruise rolled her eyes, then slowly drew a dagger from her side pocket, its metal catching the dim light. "Fine. You can look. Maybe even touch to confirm. But afterward, I'm taking your little pride and joy off."
Martin recoiled instantly. "What sort of evil thought is that?" He laughed nervously, stepping away. "You can't take a joke. And it's not little—it defines Martin Stoneverge. I can't just give it up."
She burst into laughter so loud it echoed across the empty plains. "Relax, Stoneverge. Keep it in your pants."
From the neighboring tower, another voice cut through the night.
"You two, shut it," Senior Guard Lex barked. "Before I send you both back to your fathers' houses."
A second guard leaned against the railing beside him, amused. Pixel's grin was audible even through the fog. "I told you, Lex. Bringing a woman to the watch was a mistake. She'll seduce us all. Poor Marty's trying so hard to resist."
"I do not have blue balls," Martin protested. After a pause, he added, "Maybe a little."
Cruise scoffed toward the other tower. "What's your problem with me, Pixel? I was posted here before him."
"It's Senior Pixel to you," he replied smugly. "Tell her, Lex."
"It's Senior for you too, Pixel," Lex answered flatly.
Pixel looked wounded. "I thought we were bros."
Lex ignored him. "Back to your watch. The night's long. Rotate rest. I don't want throats slit because someone fell asleep."
The humor drained from the air. The fog seemed thicker after his warning, the silence heavier.
Cruise muttered as Martin walked past her toward the resting benches, "Go sleep, Stone boy. Wouldn't want your precious parts freezing off."
"Are you upset with me?" Martin asked.
"I hardly care enough to be," she replied, though tension lingered in her voice. "Just stay out of my way tonight."
Minutes passed in near-perfect silence. The towers creaked softly in the wind, and the distant river whispered below. Eventually, Martin released a long sigh.
"What?" Cruise asked without turning.
"What what?"
"You want to say something."
"You want to hear something."
She smiled despite herself. "Are you always this stupid?"
"I prefer sarcastic."
He shifted on the bench beneath a weak fluorescent lamp that barely illuminated the interior. Shadows clung stubbornly to the corners.
"Do you want to hear a story?" he asked.
"Do I have a choice?"
Martin sat up slightly, warming to the idea. "This happened centuries ago. We still benefit from it today."
"Don't all stories claim that?"
"Yes," he said patiently, "but mine keeps getting interrupted by Cruise."
She rolled her eyes and returned her gaze to the abyss beyond the tower. "Fine. Go on."
Martin began. He spoke of ancient contracts and rival builder houses—Stoneverge and Billarr—competing for the honor of constructing the Great Wall of the Capital. Billarr estimated five centuries. The Stoneverges promised two hundred and fifty years with proper resources. The king demanded it finished within one hundred. Both houses agreed such a feat would only be possible with the legendary Ubaris of Westhaven. The king's queen herself belonged to that house, and when the king jokingly asked how long it would take if his queen joined the work, the entire court erupted into laughter.
Martin leaned back, preparing to deliver the moral, but Cruise cut him off.
"The moral," she said dryly, "is that women are useless. One man could shorten the work by years, but a woman—no matter how gifted—could do nothing."
Martin shook his head. "That's crude. The real lesson was that Stoneverge and Billarr agreed for once. They admitted the Ubaris were superior. For proud houses like those, that wasn't easy. And the queen laughed with them. She understood."
Cruise remained quiet for a moment before speaking again, softer this time. "Maybe. But deep down she knew what the king meant. Women can be rulers. Builders. Even tower guards of Algor." Her eyes drifted toward the neighboring tower where Pixel stood. "My brother doesn't believe that. Says I belong at home."
Martin rose and walked over to her. "That shouldn't be the case."
"Oh, shut up," she replied quickly. "Even you think I'm not fit to be here."
"Well," he said with a crooked smile, "you're a bit too cute for a freezing night watch."
She turned to face him, unimpressed but faintly amused. "Men say anything to satisfy themselves. Try harder, Martin. Maybe one day you'll catch me off guard."
Martin's response died on his lips. His eyes narrowed as he stared into the fog.
"What's that flicker?"
Far beyond the towers, a faint light pulsed through the mist, weaving along the merchant road between river and gate. The fog churned unusually thick that evening, swallowing shapes until only movement remained.
Cruise snorted. "Nice try. Cheap distraction."
"No. Look."
He grabbed her shoulders and turned her toward the horizon.
She froze instantly.
"That's no flicker," she whispered. "That's a rider."
Floodlights snapped on, cutting through the fog like spears. The approaching figure burst into view, racing hard toward the Capital walls.
Pixel shouted from the other tower. "Lex! We've got movement on our twelve!"
Lex groaned from his resting bench before springing upright. "Finally, some action." His voice rose to a command. "Junior Guards! Floodlights on target. Pixel, ready the rifle."
Metal shifted, mechanisms clicked, and the towers came alive with disciplined urgency.
"Sound the PA," Lex ordered, raising his weapon and sighting into the illuminated mist. A predatory grin spread across his face. "Let's warn them before I decorate the road."
Pixel's amplified voice echoed across the plains. "Unidentified rider approaching the Capital walls. Reduce speed immediately. You are warned to stand down."
The rider did not slow.
Again the warning rang out.
Still the figure charged forward, faster now, reckless.
"He isn't slowing," Martin said.
"That's genius observation boy, you know what will be more genius . Keeping the lights steady.
Martin adjusted the floodlights manually, tracking the rider until the figure rode fully into the beam.
Lex squeezed the trigger.
The rifle thundered from the hundred-foot tower, the sound rolling across the sleeping outskirts like a breaking storm.
The rider and mount collapsed near the base of the towers, skidding through dirt and fog.
Lex reloaded smoothly. "Time to see what I just killed."
He started down the tower, waving Pixel back. "Stay put. Surveillance."
Pixel groaned, "why do I get surveillance", "command the other two" .I would've Pixel, said Lex, "But their both stupid, so they both went down". Lex left the rest of the statement to be understood by Pixel and journeyed for the bottom of the tower.
Moments later, Lex reached the ground just as Martin and Cruise arrived from the neighboring tower. Without a word, Lex strode toward the fallen machine lying in the mist—a smoking Walcat motor, still humming faintly from heat.
They approached cautiously.
Lex frowned.
"Well… that's strange."
He stared at the empty vehicle.
"I could've sworn I shot someone riding this."
Silence deepened around them, heavier than before, as the fog swallowed the road once more.