The Sinners of Erspia

The engine groaned, but was able to cope with the increased gradient, just as it had on Erspias 1 and 2.

Then, as it passed the midpoint, the ship suddenly appeared to be descending. Laedo flipped the vessel over so as to gain his bearings, bringing the other landscape below him.

He started nervously as the gnome left the couch and came to stand close by him. But the creature appeared to be offering no threat. He stared out of the screen at his homeland, glancing at the controls as Laedo manipulated them.

“What is your name?” Laedo asked, attempting a friendly tone.

“I am called Ruzzok."

“I am Laedo."

The gnome made no answer. Below them, the landscape of the ‘upper’ world loomed large. In infrared the fires proved dazzling and Laedo switched instead to image intensification. They viewed the land as if by daylight.

It was a ravaged world of smoke and fire, an industrial wasteland. Vast slagheaps spread far and wide, roads and tramways winding round them. No wonder the gnomes wanted the fairies’ world: they had ruined this one. Probably, too, they were running short of ores and were having to reclaim metal from scrap.

True, there were stretches of greenery. The gnomes weren't stupid enough to end up with a deoxygenated atmosphere. But what woods and grasslands Laedo did see seemed to have grown on top of old slagheaps.

How deep did the gnomes burrow in their search for ores? Laedo could imagine them breaking through the exterior of their world-hemisphere, causing their entire atmosphere to go whistling into the void.

Presumably the designer of Erspia-3 had incorporated some measure to prevent that happening.

“Where to, Ruzzok?"

The gnome grunted uncertainly, perhaps unable to recognise his homeland's geography from the air.

Laedo sent the ship swinging over what looked like a line of blast furnaces. Nearby was an array of enigmatic shapes, and beyond that a level area composed of cinders or ash of some sort.

Gently he set the ship down on the cinders. As he neared the ground, gnomes turned to gape upward.

Laedo turned to his passenger. “All right, Ruzzok, I've kept my part of the bargain. I want you to do what you can for me in return."

Again Ruzzok grunted. Laedo led him down the corridor to the port, opened it, extended the steps, and invited him to take his leave. Already gnomes were running towards the ship from the direction of the industrial complex.

As he closed the port behind Ruzzok's back, Laedo wondered what had driven the gnomes to such manic metallurgical efforts. Surely they were not prompted by their economic needs, which must be simple. Perhaps it was obsessive behaviour, bred into them in accordance with their mythic characterisation.

He returned to the main cabin and watched events on the viewscreen. Ruzzok was talking to his compatriots and gesticulating up at the cargo carrier. Consternation and puzzlement appeared on a dozen gnome faces.

Let them keep guessing for a while, he told himself. He would sleep for a few hours, then see how his new hosts behaved.

When Laedo awoke the two suns had appeared and he was able to look out on his surroundings in broad daylight.

A group of gnomes squatted not far from his cargo ship, staring steadfastly up at it. All wore the same one-piece knitted metal garment worn by Ruzzok, but he was unable to tell if his short-time companion was present. They all looked alike to him.

Beyond the immediate area, which was covered in ash and clinker, were the tall shapes of furnaces and the big, strange contraptions he had seen earlier. His attention went to the latter. They sported immense long beams and massive laminated steel springs. At the end of each long beam was what looked like a cabin large enough to cram in four to six gnomes.

It was a minute or two before he guessed their purpose. These must be examples of the powerful catapults designed to propel cargoes high into the air and through the gravity barrier to the other world.

The machines were spectacular, both in appearance and in intention. Laedo wondered about the shock to the human body of being slammed into the sky in so sudden a manner. Presumably the tough, stocky gnomes were able to withstand it, but he wondered if all of them survived the experience.

Checking his handgun for charge, he opened the port, extended the steps, and stood in the doorway looking out. At the first threatening move, he had decided, he would retreat into the ship and take off.

At his appearance two of the gnomes rose to their feet and walked forward. As they mounted the steps one of them gave him a nod and a look of recognition. It was Ruzzok.

He led them into the main cabin and invited them to be seated. They ignored this and continued to remain standing, their bearing stiff.

Ruzzok spoke. “This is Mezzen, mechanic and engineer. Tell him what it is you want."

Briefly Laedo studied the newcomer. He had the same stolid impassivity as Ruzzok himself. It was impossible to read anything from his face.

“What metals do you work in, here in Gnomeland?” he asked.

The answer was fiercely proud. “We work in steel!"

Laedo nodded. He rummaged in a drawer and came out with the sketch he had made for Hoggora's metal-worker, spreading it in front of the gnome technician.