Reiss was practically vibrating with excitement. The one thing he’d always dreamed of doing was speaking with a Zyweissi, and here he was, doing it. He did become painfully aware of how lacking he was in regard to speaking it, but it was hard to learn a language nobody spoke. 「My name Reiss. We…」 What was the word? 「Outcasts.」 He didn’t think that was the right word, but it probably had a similar meaning, right?

Tilting her head, the woman seemed to consider his words. Maybe he had messed up after all? 「Call me Arc.」Arc? That was a pretty simple name, he could remember that. She turned away again, seeming to converse with the golem before it was setting her down. It was cradling quite a few of those purple fruits. 「Gifts, for your friends.」 Arc motioned to the food, 「If all you’re eating is jerky and water, this should be welcome.」

Food was a good way to earn points, Reiss had to give her that. He knew the others were watching them intently, it was probably time to give them an update. Turning toward them, he translated her goodwill, “She says her name is Arc, she’s offering us these fruits her golem picked.”

Standing at the head, Kale scowled, “What does she want? We’re not taking shit till she tells us what she wants.” Ever the negotiator.

Huffing a sigh, Reiss returned to Arc with a wan smile, 「We not accept. Motive?」 It was certainly rude, but he didn’t have any other choice. Luckily, she didn’t seem offended, more like relieved. Strange response, but he wasn’t going to question good fortune.

「I want to go to the surface and need guidance to a town.」 That wasn’t too much of an ask, even after saving his life and offering them food. 「After that… I don’t know. I don’t speak your language.」 She said that, but it went against everything he knew about Zyweissi. How could a member of a race that was a master of languages not understand? He had to address one thing at a time, as best he could.

「Nobody speaks Zyweissi but me.」 Drawing back, Arc looked like she’d been slapped.

「What do you mean nobody? What is Zyweissi?」 Now it was Reiss’ turn to look dumbfounded. How could she not know?

「Zyweissi, you speak Zyweissi. You are Zyweissi.」 She didn’t even know that? He was starting to get a terrible feeling. Watching the various feelings playing out on her face, Reiss was starting to think that maybe, yes, that was the case. That terrible feeling increased until he found himself backing away from her, more out of shock than fear. Kale had been right, something was amiss here. Should he try asking one of the others for advice?

「Zyweissi…」 There was a distant look on her face now, eyes glazed over, before she suddenly gripped her head. Abruptly, she crouched down, shaking her head, 「No, no, no… I didn’t. I couldn’t.」 Whatever fit had overtaken her lasted for a concerning amount of time, with her just repeating those same words. The golem dropped all the fruit, scooping her up again to retreat to the far end of the chamber once more.

“What the hell just happened?” Flabbergasted, Reiss returned to his friends. “I have no idea what is going on with her, but she just freaked out.” Shaking his head, he spared a glance back at Arc and her golem. “She had no idea she’s a Zyweissi. When I mentioned it she just… I don’t know.” Brow crinkling into a severe frown, his mind began to race. No matter what, he was beholden to her for saving his life, for the largess she was showing by offering the food.

Kale was instantly on the defensive, “She’s unstable, I knew nothing good would come out of her. Let’s just leave her here, she’s a liability.” Ever untrusting and wary of outsiders, Reiss knew he was just trying to protect them. Reiss, on the other hand, wasn't so sure. Plus, he felt extremely guilty just thinking about abandoning her down here.

“I’m not completely sure, but it really seems like she doesn’t know anything. At all.” Reiss started trying to persuade Kale, but was interrupted by Aresh.

“Perhaps she has amnesia.” They were calmly collected as they suggested this, “If she really didn’t know what she is, the mentioning of information related to her may have given her mind a shock.” Pushing themself up, Aresh nodded in Arc’s direction. “Let me have a look. I have experience in these matters.”

Reiss did as Aresh instructed, bringing them to Arc’s side. They quickly had to deal with the golem. It was not wanting to give up its master, that was a bit of a problem. So, being the one that was nominated as the current diplomat, Reiss tried talking to it. “I’m not sure if you understand what I’m saying. I don’t know much about Zyweissi magi-golems either, but you seem pretty damn smart.”

Glancing at Aresh for a moment, Reiss was swift to continue the conversation flow, “This is my friend, Aresh. They’re a doctor, a healer. They might be able to help Arc.” Did the golem have a name? Arc hadn’t exactly introduced it yet, and she treated it like it was a person. Which led him to believe that magi-golems were essentially a race all its own. Ones that served the Zyweissi people. Reiss had no idea, he was just doing guesswork at this point. There had never been a working magi-golem found before. Just ruined ones that were unrepairable.

His efforts were rewarded when it did finally look down at him. “Aresh believes she may be suffering from amnesia. They’d like to ask her a few questions. I’ll translate to the best of my ability, if you could help us?”

Lights flashed down at him, as though in response, before it sat, keeping its master firmly in its lap. Not quite willing to give her up completely. It did seem to have a bit of a personality, so Reiss’s theory was gaining more traction in his mind the more they interacted. “Aresh… I think it’s going to let you speak with her. It looks like she might be stabilizing again, too.”

「What happened to me?」 Arc’s hand was holding her head as she spoke to him. She didn’t look too great, but she was coherent again.

「This Aresh,」Reiss took a step forward, offering her a hand as she attempted repositioning herself on the golem’s lap. 「Doctor, thinks forgot memories.」 How would she react to that?

It didn’t take long to get an answer, as her face crumpled into something that resembled acquiesce. 「They’re smart, I also think I have amnesia.」 Sighing softly, she shook her head before going quiet, like she was attempting to decide something. 「You seem to have knowledge regarding what I am, and while what you said is a bit fuzzy… Something is telling me to trust you.」

Damn, that was a relief. “She said she already had a feeling that was the case.” Reiss translated, “Do you have anything you want to ask her? Aresh?”

“Yes. I wish to know what happened after you spoke to her. If she may have remembered anything.” When Aresh spoke, Arc turned to face them, even though she didn’t understand.

❖❖❖

Well, this was just great, wasn’t it? Her head felt like it was ringing once the initial confusion passed. Something just out of her reach, but almost tangible. If she could just reach it, she’d understand. She’d know why she was really trapped down in the depths of this labyrinth. The things the man called Reiss had told her. That she was something called a Zyweissi, but she had no idea what that was. A kind of race? The word had triggered something in her memory and she’d blanked out for a second, and now that she was back to her senses it was just hovering there at the edge of her mind, just begging to be grasped. However, every time she tried, it just slipped away again.

How frustrating.

In the end, she decided to trust Reiss, even though she hesitated for a long time before she began speaking to him. “It’s a blur, there’s something there, taunting me, but I can’t reach it. I don’t remember–” It was like something finally clicked into place, “No, I do remember something.” Those words carved into the wall of her tomb. “My last memory, from before I woke up.”

“Woke up?” Reiss turned to translate for his friend. She watched them converse for a moment before he returned to her to continue, “Aresh said could help.” Arc had noticed that the longer they spoke, the more Reiss’s language skills improved.

Shaking her head, she closed her eyes, head bowing, almost like she was in pain. She’d decided to trust him, so she hoped her gut feeling wasn’t going to steer her wrong. “I… woke up in the deepest depths of this place. I’d been,” she paused, struggling for a moment, her hands flexing and linking fingers absently in her lap, “entombed there in some sort of crystal.”

Frowning, she finally opened her eyes again and looked at Reiss once more. Arc searched his face for any kind of reaction, but all she saw was shock. Looking down at her hands, she continued, “There was an inscription. It said my name was Arcadia, and that I’d been imprisoned for a few… very serious crimes.”

“Crimes? Plural?” His reaction was warranted, she couldn’t bare to look up at him anymore in fear that he’d reject her now. If what he’d said was true, he was the only one left she could talk to. Arc didn’t want to lose that, or she’d feel completely alone. Sure, Myth was with her, but she couldn’t have a proper conversation with Myth.

“Yes, but the memory that came back… They’re false accusations.” She was practically wringing her hands now. When she looked up, she met his gaze with a kind of desperation she couldn’t even put words to, “You believe me, don’t you?”

How could one gauge a reaction of someone you really didn’t know? Yet there she was, still trying to figure out if she should have trusted Reiss with this. If this blew up in her face, she’d just be left with Myth again and have no way of communication. At least until she attempted to learn the language, but how far would she get with amnesia in a world she didn’t know? Like it or not, she needed Reiss more than he and his friends needed her. She was nothing more than dead weight to him.

Anxiety was settling in hard, he still hadn’t said anything, but was obviously mulling over everything she’d said. His body language and expression gave that much away, so he wasn’t rejecting her outright. Still, he’d yet to say anything to her, or to Aresh.

Looking up at Myth, Arc tried to find some comfort, but even Myth had its gaze fixed on Reiss. Myth too was waiting for his decision.

❖❖❖

This was a lot to process. Some of the words she’d used he wasn’t familiar with, but was able to find the meaning if he mulled it over. What Arc had told him was beyond anything he could have imagined, but if she was entombed somehow in the depths here. It did explain, in a way, why she survived the extinction of her race. From everything he’d read, that had happened overnight, but there was no explanation even for that.

His frown deepened the longer he thought. Being falsely accused of crimes, well, could he believe that? The desperation she was showing didn’t seem fake, and he’d always been fairly good at judging character. Kale would not be happy if he learned any of this. He already wanted to abandon her down here. She was just like them, persecuted in different ways for different reasons. He hadn’t known he’d picked the perfect word earlier to describe them. Outcasts, every single one of them.

She belonged with them. That was his final decision. 「I believe you.」 The instant relief on her face told him even more that she hadn’t been lying. You really couldn’t fake that. One little issue to deal with, however. 「Problem, leader want… leave you. Suspicious.」 Reiss wasn’t trying to offend her by saying that, but it was the truth. Kale thought she was suspicious, he on the other hand wanted her knowledge. Even just learning the language properly.

Lucky for him, she didn’t appear offended, on the contrary, it looked like she completely understood. How was it so easy to read her? If she was some kind of criminal, shouldn’t she hide her thoughts a little better? In the end, that just supported his belief that she was innocent.

「What were you looking for here? I may be able to help.」 Help? A Zyweissi helping them search for Zyweissi magitech? That was any scavver’s dream. Even here in this unexplored labyrinth, they’d come across chambers they couldn’t open. That was true of any ancient Zyweissi ruins that existed outside their city. Even demolitionists couldn’t open those doors. He didn’t even need to confer with Kale and the others on this, he knew what their answer would be.

“Well, shit, we just hit the jackpot.” Turning toward Aresh, Reiss flashed him the biggest smile he’d had in quite some time. “She’s offering to help us find magitech in the ruins if we help her, I think. That’s a good deal, if I’ve ever heard one.”

Aresh tilted their head slightly as they listened, “As a doctor, I’d like to monitor her condition. I know Kale has his misgivings, but he’s trying to see what’s best for us as a group. To him, an outsider is a threat.” Sighing softly, they continued, “I am the newest member, so my word does not have weight. He listens to you and Quail, that’s about it. He’d rather cuddle Ceila, and Bengeirr doesn’t care most of the time.”

“I kind of think I know what Kale’s answer is going to be, but I should speak to him first. He’d get pissed if I go making the decision myself.” First, he needed to figure out details with Arc. He needed to make sure she really would help them before bringing it up with their fearless leader. 「Arc,」 shifting back to her, he searched for the words for a moment before continuing, 「Exchange, help for help. Take to town… help us search, magitech.」

「Deal.」 She didn’t even think about it before answering. Now it was just a matter of convincing Kale. Nodding to her, he motioned for Aresh to follow as he turned back to the rest of the group. When he rejoined them, Kale was the first to speak.

“So? What’s going on with her?” He was clearly on the defensive, arms crossed as he glared down at Reiss.

“Well, talking to me triggered a memory.” Now came the lie, “She didn’t say much about it, but she did make an offer.” This he addressed to everyone, “Arc, that’s her name, said she’d help us find magitech in this place if we take her to town.” Murmurs instantly erupted between the party members, Ceila gently tugging at Kale’s sleeve. Kale himself hadn’t changed expression, but his torn ear twitched slightly, a tell most people weren’t aware of. He’d just made his decision.

“Alright, we’ll take her to town on the condition that she assists raiding this ruin.” He went quiet, his torn ear twitching again. Kale was thinking hard about something, “You know as well as I that she won’t survive in town on her own.”

That… was right. Reiss couldn’t deny it. They’d come a long, long way to reach this ruin after hearing the rumors. A recent earthquake had revealed this place, but nobody had been able to enter, but there was Zyweissi writing on the entrance. They’d left Vermilion, the town of outcasts, to come here. All the way into a human supremacist country for the chance to raid an untouched ruin. They hadn’t even been sure if they’d be able to enter, but Reiss was able to read Zyweissi. That had been the key to them gaining access.

Those mercenaries they’d hired in town ended up betraying them at the first opportunity. Shortly after they’d found an opened chamber with magitech in it, they’d waited for their chance. When he was attacked by that cave croc they’d taken advantage. Again he was reminded of how close he’d come to death. How, more than one of them would have fallen if it hadn’t been for Arc appearing when she had. Really, they owed her quite a bit.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

“What if we were to take her back to Vermilion with us? That’s right next to the Zyweissi capital. Imagine if she could get us into the capital. Think about it. All that magitech, ripe for the taking.” Reiss knew exactly how to appeal to Kale, especially when he was already feeling a bit worried about something. He’d acted hard earlier, but he also knew how indebted they were to her. He wasn’t heartless.

“I still don’t like it, but we can use her. That golem of hers can probably carry a lot, and if she can open the sealed chambers.” Looks like he was finally looking at the positives instead of the negatives. “Alright, we’ll take her to Vermilion. We’re hitting every ruin between there and here, though.”

“I’m not complaining.” Reiss smiled up at Kale before turning back to Arc, “I’ll tell her she’s coming with us.”

❖❖❖

The anxiety that had been relieved by Reiss believing her had only returned when he went to talk to his group. That tall therianthrope didn’t seem pleased, but the longer her new friend Reiss talked to him, the more he appeared to give in. Until Reiss was coming back to her with a smile plastered on his face. “I take it he’s going to allow me to accompany you?”

Nodding, Reiss stopped next to Myth, offering her a hand to help her off its lap. “Help us find magitech, yes. Take to Vermilion.”

Vermilion? Was that the name of the closest town? Well, whatever, as long as they were going to help her, she didn’t care if she helped them pillage or whatnot. It wasn’t like she was attached to any of the things that might be here. Plus, it may end up helping her remember something. “Great!” Taking his hand, she slid down to stand next to him. For the first time she realized fully, that despite his small stature, he was still taller than her. It made her painfully aware of just how small she was.

Realizing she was still holding his hand, she dropped it, turning back to Myth, “Hey, Myth. Do you know where the stuff they’re looking for is?” Beside her, Reiss repeated ‘Myth’ under his breath, looking up at the golem with her.

The golem was silent, as it always was, but even its lights remained dim. Was there a problem? She was opening her mouth to ask what was wrong before the lights lit up suddenly, its head swiveling to the side. Lumbering to its feet, it pointed down one of the connecting corridors. It was the one Reiss’s group had come from. “Down there? Will you lead the way for us?” Meeting Myth’s unwavering gaze, it nodded before it began walking.

Beside her, Reiss had been listening to the conversation and quickly called his friends. Likely to tell them to follow the golem because they instantly started gathering their things. He even jogged away to pick up his own belongings. Arc had to call out to Myth to make it stop and wait for everyone else. It didn’t seem happy, but listened. Did it not like their new companions?

In the meantime, Arc wandered back to Reiss’s side, looking at the others with a bit of uncertainty. Realizing she’d come over to him, he gave her a reassuring smile. “Introduce?” He asked as he shrugged into his leather vest before picking up his pack.

“Please do.” She nodded. With that, Reiss called everyone over. Not all of them came, but Aresh, the elf and the woman did. The leader and other man were busy packing.

In turn, Reiss pointed to each of them, giving their name. He then spoke to them, she didn’t understand what he said beside her name. So he’d probably introduced her to them as well. Realizing they were leaving out someone, Arc pointed at the golem, “That’s Myth.” Reiss promptly translated for her.

After the introductions were over, there was an awkward silence before the woman– Ceila –stepped forward. She was careful as she took Arc’s hands, the look on her face sincere as she spoke. It was promptly translated, “Ceila says, thank you for save Reiss.”

Shaking her head, Arc smiled at her, “No, thank you for letting me come with you.” This was also translated, and the tense feeling that had persisted began to dissipate. It didn’t take long after for Kale and Bengeirr to finish packing and join them. The one called Kale ended up pointing his finger at her and saying something that sounded mildly threatening, but Reiss also translated that and said it wasn’t a problem. If he said so.

Myth led the way once they joined it. As they walked, Arc and Reiss began talking. It wasn’t much, but Reiss suggested a fair exchange of knowledge. She helped him master Zyweissi, and he would teach her the common tongue used by all the races of the world. That’s how their time was spent as they walked, a friendly conversation without any interruptions, even if Reiss was absently stroking his dagger, still on alert.

These ruins were dangerous, as evidenced by the bodies they passed as they began down the corridor. The attackers Myth had wiped out. They must have moved the bodies after she’d passed out. Of course, that wasn’t all. There were also magical creatures born from the magic that had collected in these ruins. Reiss explained to her, as best he could, that Zyweissi ruins were infamous hotspots for magical creatures to evolve. As he put it, they were normal animals that had found a way into the ruin. Then the mass of magical energy that lingered there changed them into monsters.

At least, that’s what Arc had gathered from his stunted speech. “Hmm, that might explain the naturally occurring golems I saw in the lowest levels.”

“Yes, magic affects everything.” Reiss had good sentence structure on that one, pronunciation was getting better too. It was an easy enough concept to grasp, and as they spoke, superficial knowledge surfaced in her head. The world could be mostly explained through science, but there were certain things that only happened because of the existence of magic. Magic, in itself, is the power of self, of your own being. In other words, the lifeblood of all creatures. When exposed to massive amounts of it, it was only natural to cause mutations.

Not everyone could utilize that power, in the end. Then the power and control of it came from the strength of your soul. The form magic takes most closely resembles that person’s soul, so everyone’s magic looked different. It was a small memory, hours of study in the library scouring over that very topic. Would she be able to better utilize her own magic now? Just how powerful was her soul? To be able to pull someone back from the brink of death, healing mortal wounds. What kind of power was that, truly? How dangerous?

It would probably be best for her to relax on magic usage until she understood it better. For the first time in a while, Arc looked down at her bandaged hand. She’d been holding Reiss’s hand with it earlier, did it also? Excitement hummed through her as she peeled it away, only to find smooth, unblemished skin. So, she’d also healed herself? Was that even possible?

Frowning at the palm of her hand for a moment longer, she finally sighed, letting the thought drop. Instead, she struck up a conversation with Reiss about what she’d remembered about magic. Although it wasn’t much. This entire time, she hadn’t been worried or concerned about anything at all. Even though she’d definitely seen movement down the corridors, nothing came at them. Was it Myth’s doing again?

Also, she was simply enjoying Reiss’s company. It was nice to just have a conversation with someone who could contribute too. Talking to Myth was nice, but she couldn’t understand its responses, so in the end it was just one-sided. “It’s nice, talking to you… I don’t feel quite so, alone.” It was hard to admit, but she was starting to feel that way. Even in this short period of time. Was she becoming attached to him? No, couldn’t be. He was… well? What was wrong with him?

No, now was not the time to contemplate things like that. She wasn’t going to get attached. They’d be parting ways as soon as they reached town anyway.

“Really?” Did he sound a bit embarrassed? Peeking at him from the side, he did look a tiny bit flushed. That was kind of… cute. No! She couldn’t get attached. Besides that, she literally just met the guy, what was she? A schoolgirl? Not to mention, he was much, much younger than she was. Could something like that even work? With a long-lived species and a short-lived one. Inevitably, she’d end up alone.

That gave her pause. How did she know she was long-lived? Was it just because she was preserved for so long? Or was it possibly biological for her? The more she thought about things, the more questions she had. Maybe she should just stick to mindless small talk with Reiss for now.

“We’re here.” The man himself interrupted her thought process by bringing her attention to the massive door they’d been about to pass. Looking up at it, Arc couldn’t help but feel recognition. It was extremely similar to the ones that had been guarding her chamber, only the etchings on it were different. Did they serve more purpose than just decoration?

Tilting her head, she couldn’t help letting her eyes roam over the carvings. Again, no tool marks, completely smooth, unblemished stone. She could feel everyone’s eyes on her, but she couldn’t let their expectations weigh her down. Taking a steadying breath, she took a step forward. Will it open? Raising her hand, she pressed it against the cool stone. Immediately, that silvery blue light sprang forth from around her hand, radiating out to fill the grooves and lines she’d been marveling at. Zigging, zagging, swirling through every etch till they all glowed softly. After they were filled, like the other doors, it pulsed with light before this door swung open.

Stale air immediately hit her face, like the room had been completely sealed. Inside were lanterns glowing with warm light, but no discernible power source lining the walls. Tables laid out with tools of some kind. Piles of things she couldn’t identify. Curious, she took a tentative step forward, looking around in awe. What was all this?

Before she could really get a bead on everything in the room, the others rushed past her, bumping into her without a care as they all began shouting excitedly. Well, they were happy, so she was happy too.

❖❖❖

Reiss couldn’t believe his eyes as he saw that light blossom out from around her hand, having never seen it before. It wasn’t until that exact moment that he truly realized the kind of power she held. Even after learning she’d healed him, there was still a piece of him that was reserved in skepticism. It was such a juxtaposition. Arc just looked like a fragile, lost woman, but inside her rested this kind of power.

Earlier, as they’d been walking, she’d started discussing something she’d remembered about magic. He’d said that magic affected everything, and that was true, but he knew nothing about how to use it. Most people didn’t, mages were a rare, precious commodity. Arc was so far above what he knew about magic, it was mind-boggling. His fascination with her was only growing.

“Damn, there’s so much magitech in here!” From inside the chamber, Kale’s voice echoed back to Reiss. “I don’t think the horses and buggy can carry everything.”

Strolling into the chamber next to Arc, Reiss started looking over everything as he passed it. Kale was right, there was a lot of magitech here. Most of it looked like junk to him, though. Things that other scavvers had brought in and lost everything on.

It was Quail who spoke up first, picking up a piece of non-functional tech. “This looks like trash. Nobody has ever gotten these to work before.”

“Some of this we could probably sell to those three weirdos in Vermilion.” Stepping up beside Quail, Reiss started examining items as well. “This looks like a storage bag. I’ve never seen one in such good condition before.” Flipping it open, he let out a low whistle, “Hot damn, it’s functional.” Storage bags were one of the most useful pieces of Zyweissi magitech that existed, in his experience. The item itself was a hip bag, the leather immaculate. However, the real trick was inside. It was basically an interdimensional storage, bigger on the inside. All you had to do was think of the item you wanted with your hand in the bag, and it would come to you.

There was a clamor as Kale made his way over, “Can you tell what the capacity is? We can carry more of this junk with it if the capacity is high enough.”

Turning it over, Reiss examined the outside more thoroughly before putting his hand inside. In his mind, information about the bag flowed into him. “Looks like it has a three hundred pound weight limit. It’s currently empty.”

Whistling low, Kale slapped him on the back, “Damn, that’s not bad at all. You keep it, you found it.” Patting Reiss’s shoulder as he left, the therianthrope sauntered off to continue his own search. As for Reiss, he immediately buckled the bag on.

「Find something good?」 As he finished buckling the bag, he looked up to see Arc had found her way to him. She was looking at the bag curiously, 「A storage bag?」 Even she looked surprised to know what it was, but it quickly faded. 「Knowledge comes to me sporadically. I never know if it’s useful or not.」 With that, she turned to the table he’d been investigating.

「This…」Arc began speaking only to trail off, her hand closing over something on the table. What was it? Curiosity got the better of him as he sidled up closer to her as she turned it over in his hand. Oh, he recognized that. It was a magictech watch, but like all the others he’d seen, when she clicked the watch face open, it was inoperable.

「Doesn’t work.」 Reiss sighed with a shrug, 「Never do.」 Next to him, she didn’t look quite as sure. She kept turning it over and over in her hands till she finally snapped it closed. Cupping it between her hands, she adopted a look of concentration, before that familiar blue light shone between her fingers.

Palming it once more, Arc clicked it open. The watch face had changed entirely. There was a faint blue light, similar to Arc’s glow just under the surface, highlighting cogs that were working together seamlessly. A lunar tracer popped from the top of the watch, tracking the position of the sun and moon. Arms tracked the time flawlessly without a single sound. 「The connection was broken. I restored it.」 That was her only answer for what she’d just done.

Looking down at it for a moment, she eventually snapped it closed once more before handing it to Reiss. 「Here, for you.」 She’d fixed it, and was giving it to him? He’d never seen one of these working before. Over the years they’d found them here and there, and they always sold for a few silver to those triplets in Vermilion. A working one, though, he couldn’t imagine how much it was worth.

“I… thank you.” Reiss responded in the common tongue before realizing his mistake, quickly changing to Zyweissi. 「Thank you.」 She’d given this to him as a gift, there was no way he was going to sell it.

The entire time they were picking over the contents of the room, the golem, Myth, stood outside it as a sentinel. Pausing what he was doing for a moment, Reiss began to wonder about something he hadn’t considered before. Myth was a magi-golem. That alone was going to attract attention, add onto that the fact that it was huge was kind of a problem. “Shit…” cursing under his breath, Reiss sighed and decided it would be best to bring it up with the golem itself. Since it seemed sentient enough to make judgments.

Walking back to the door, he leaned against the smooth stone of the doorjamb, looking up at Myth. Crossing his arms, he tried to think of the best way to put this. “You seemed to understand me before… Myth, was it?” That got its attention, its head swiveling around to face him. “You seem to be protecting Arc and want the best for her. I get that you don’t like me.” Glancing over his shoulder, Reiss’s gaze landed on the woman in question. “She really is something special.” Again his eyes shifted back to the golem, “The thing is, a working magi-golem is going to attract a lot of attention. Especially considering how large you are. You’re not going to be safe out there.”

For the first time, the steady glow where Myth’s eyes would be dimmed, turning to slits, like it was considering. Closing its eyes? Reiss had no idea what it could be doing. A few minutes passed before the light blinked back on again, those two steady spheres boring right into him. Lifting one of its heavy arms, it pointed one of its massive fingers at him before it pointed it back at itself. A second later, the damn thing disappeared entirely.

“What the…!” Startled, Reiss looked around in a bit of a panic, jumping away from the wall. What in the holy hell had just happened? How had something as big as Myth just disappeared? Turning around, he frantically looked for Arc, maybe she knew something. No sooner than he opened his mouth to call out for her, did something touch the top of his head. Swinging around, he found Myth’s head just inches from his face. Stumbling back, all he could do was look up at the golem, slack-jawed. The thing he’d felt was its finger tapping the top of his head. Damn if Myth didn’t look amused by his reaction either.

Glaring up at the golem as it retreated, Reiss grumbled, “Ha, ha, very funny. So you have a trick to hide yourself. Still, what about in crowded places like towns? You’ll have to stay outside.”

This earned him a long look before the golem just lifted its hand once more and pointed at him. “Me?” Did it want him to watch out for her in towns? That wouldn’t be too hard, he supposed. After all, he’d be the one with her anyway as her translator. “Deal.” Reaching his hand out, he gripped the golem’s extended finger, making him realize exactly how big it was. Handshake complete, Reiss returned to the chamber to continue going through everything.

In the end, they amassed quite a bit of tech to be salvaged. The more valuable pieces were stored in his bag, while the rest were packed up to be carried out.

「Is this stuff really that valuable?」 Arc came up beside him, her head tilted curiously at the bags accumulating at the door.

「Yes, incredibly.」 Reiss replied, but the look on her face was a bit dubious. Did she really not believe him? To her, it probably just looked like junk, but to the scavvers and tinkerers that lived in Vermilion, it was as good as lifeblood. That level of technology was far above anything any of the intelligent races of the world could replicate. All they could hope to do was piece together something from the bones of the old world. It wasn’t without risks. There was fierce competition. Or they could always run afoul of missionaries from the religious states. Countries that ran their business strictly on doctrine of scripture. Scripture stated that the Zyweissi were evil demons and anything related to them should be purged.

Ridiculous. How could you demonize an entire race of people without proof? Especially when the records remaining about that race indicated that they were peaceful and sought out and maintained peace with all races until their sudden downfall. Not for the first time in his life did Reiss wonder what had happened to them. Glancing over at Arc again, his excitement grew anew that they might finally find out.

“Reiss,” Kale came up behind them, knocking him out of his reverie. “We’re done in there. Nothing else useful. Quail thinks we should skip the other door we found and get the hell out of here.”

Glancing at the pile of bags, all he could do was nod in agreement. There was already more here than they ever could have hoped for. Plus, the key to this place was standing there next to them. If they sealed the ruin again somehow, they could always come back. “I’m on board with that, I want to get the hell out of Mangora and back to Vermilion as soon as possible.”

Nodding in agreement, Kale hooked his thumb over his shoulder, indicating the others, “Them too.” He opened his mouth again to say something, but quickly stopped, looking a little astonished for a moment. What was he looking at? Turning in the same direction, Reiss immediately noticed Myth picking up the bags, tucking them into the crook of one arm. “Well, I was going to ask if you could get her to ask the golem to help, but I guess it did it on its own.”

“Yeah, we know nothing about magi-golems, but interacting with it…” Shaking his head, Reiss laughed dryly before returning his gaze to his friend. “I want to say that magi-golems are almost a race unto themselves. It has a mind of its own, and even pranked me earlier. It’s actually kind of insane.”

“Hmm,” Kale hummed a noncommittal response, before shrugging, “Well, whatever. Long as it doesn’t turn on us, I couldn’t care less what it does or doesn’t do.” That sounded on-brand for their boss. After being so up in arms about them, he’d finally relented, and Reiss could tell he’d accepted both Arc and Myth into their family.

“If we don’t hurt Arc, Myth won’t hurt us.” Was all he could say in response. “Now let's get the hell out of here.”