The Coffin Club

The history books talk clearly about what happened next after the Scourging of Roden.

The Emperor was survived by his mother, Lady Belhaine, his bastard teen son, Volkan of Wrought, and his adopted cousin Firhardt of Tessalan. The members of the Inner Council had their own surviving heirs as well who laid claim to their seats (or, if they were bold enough, laid claim to the destroyed throne).

Thus began the Succession Wars, where B...

It was a cold, slate grey day the morning they killed the Emperor and his Inner Council.

There had been a light rain the night before. The two of them awoke to a layer of slick dew on all of their possessions. Nia busied herself with mopping it up as Argenta set up the mortar, loaded the munition. She whistled as she did her preparations. The noise made Nia's hair stand on end.

The wind was measured. The sight lines were ranged. Th...

The backup weapon looked like if you carved a sitting three-legged dog out out of a hunk of metal. Nia had known about cannons, distant weapons some theorized that they could one day be brought to bear in war. Argenta had said the "mortar" was like a cannon, down to the munitions inside, but Nia didn't know what a munition was or what a cannon looked like.

It was a silly, small apparatus to see parked on a hill with their cart and ...

The star was a small box with a handle to hold or anchor for a latch. Falling from the stars scorched its casing; they had to wait until it cooled before they could dig it out of the hillside. Nia would glance at in the back of the cart and flinch away.

It reminded her of a child's casket.

The strider plodded along through the forest, her goddess at the reins. Within the dawning of the next day, they were out of the woods and onto ...

They ambled through the forest on a stolen cart. The city burned in the distance behind them as they rode in silence, lit by the light of the moon. The strider was nervous, but Argenta would click her tongue in such a way that it would listen and continue without fuss.

The first time she did that, Nia stared at her in surprise.

Her goddess smiled. "I grew up on a farm."

Questions on questions on questions bubbled up. What farms are...

"Pick it up."

Mother Argenta told her how to bypass the Head Sister's locked door; her voice followed throughout the building. She pointed her at the bookshelf, told her how to move it to the side. There was a safe on the other side, something she'd only seen in banks, but smaller.

Mother Argenta told her how to open the safe as well.

Inside was a long branch of black, polished metal with wood on one end. It was cold to the touch, ...

Nia did not hear her goddess' arrival.

She hadn't heard much in the past few hours. The gun was loud. It hit her in the chest with every shot. She'd braced herself against a dresser in the sisters' quarters to steady her shaking hands, protect her begging shoulder, bruised ribs. The soldiers had followed her, but she knew the building.

Once the dead started piling up at the door, they stopped chasing her. Or she hoped they had.

It ...

The city burned. Nia fled through back alleys, across cobblestones, ducked behind carts and into doorways. Her sandals muffled her footsteps, but she didn't need to worry. The cries and revelry of the soldiers were greater than the sound of a single girl creeping through the smoke-choked twilight.

The armies of Roden had breached the gate earlier in the day. The Head Monk of the Priory of Earth had abandoned his post in a misguided...

"Nancy listen ca-

It's mom, I-

Fucking BLACKOUTS HONEY PULL O-

okay. it's okay. we got enough ubiq signal. ha. hey honey. it's mom. dad's driving. he's focused right now, so he can't-

Hey Nance, love you, mom's gotta talk right now.

-honey focus on the-

I will, I will, you talk to them-

-okay, Nancy, don't go home. do not go home. it's too. I don't know. there's so much happening. there was that announcement, and those jets,...

"Becks. It's dad. You remember those hunting lessons with Aunt Maxine? Cool. Good.

No, I'm not in trouble. It's. You've seen the news, right?

Kiddo we're on a phone call right now, you at least have cell reception, c'mon, don't bullshit me. And, I know, I know, I always say don't trust the news. But. There's something in California. Something is happening. It looks bad, and I don't think…it may be another pandemic or somethi...

"Hey, it's mom. I've got an update on things for you: it's going to be a pretty quiet dinner this weekend. Becks can't make it, she's got that new contract and the overtime is demanding. I told her not to go with that company but, well, she could use the money and work. I can't blame her.

Taylor's busy with friends. She didn't say more than that. I don't know who they are or what with, but I know she won't be around. And I'm having...

"...I don't get it. I don't. I. Shit. I'm having a hell of a time with this, Taylor. I am.

I want you to have your life. I want you to live it. But this is the sort of money that doesn't come back when you spend it.

You're smart, you know that? You and your siblings are all smart. And I thought...maybe her. Maybe the one who's most like me, but is smart like her mother.

I don't know. I don't know where you're staying, I don't know ...

"Alright. The twins are resting, Taylor's managing to keep fluids down. Your dad's on the phone with the agent. Are *you* okay, Becky?

I'm sorry. I am. It took a lot of planning, and I was excited for it too. I've only been in California a few times myself, but. We're not getting to Anaheim, not with three of us throwing up like that. Especially not by train.

But, hey, it'll be alright. Klamath Falls is still a city. Has to be stuf...