An absent minded Sweiza starts to giggle up a storm. An unimpressed Demi crosses his arms at her. He tries several times to call her to attention, but instead the intoxication of alcohol reaps its merits. Finally having enough, a bolt of lightning surges behind her. She looks at it wide-eyed, then turns around and tries to stifle her laughter to no avail.
“Whatever”! Is all Demi says. “We’ll speak again when you are less inebriated…”
Sweiza bursts out laughing again as everything fades to black.
—
Their mission would have been underway well into the morning, but Sweiza’s gambit has pushed it back towards noon. Strife has refused to answer any of the girl’s questions—only that they “Will be underway and the mission details would be explained after they have ‘sortied’.” Sweiza doesn’t understand the terminology, but assumes it has something to do with being a Valkyrie. Sweiza opts to keep her mouth shut in trusting Strife’s better jdugement—she has figured out there is a method to the woman’s methods and she (Strife) will reveal it when the time is right. Sweiza just hopes that it is for the right reasons.
—
It is past noon, sometime towards one. Sweiza cannot tell the difference. There is no sun to speak of, save for what can be described as a ‘sunroof’ with a transparent cover (thick crystal glass as she is told) that lets in sunlight from the surface. However, it is past several bridges, a conduit of channel locks, bulkheads of stone, elevator shafts, ladders and then some before they get to their location. They have descended several thousand feet from sea level (again as Sweiza is told); the girl understands that it is a system of canals and channel locks and canal locks that allow the water to be controlled in this way. The entire system of Bothnin’s underground civilization, and indeed many Dwarven cities, is built by something called a Rockworm. Not unlike a dragon in appearance, and not unlike the Spritekin in how it disposes of excrement—it takes the form of malleable stone that hardens. Thus their buildings are built, thus they have massive underground lakes, rivers and streams; thus they escape Loki’s influence and the prying eyes of Odin’s ‘wisdom’. For better or worse, the Dwarves are their own society and influence.
“What is a rockworm?” The girl tilts her head quizzically as they walk.
Strife looks back at the girl and suddenly stops. Sweiza is clearly not paying attention to their current position. It is a wooden bridge, one of the many back ways to get to the power plant; one that is old, but not forgotten, and certainly not unmaintained. Strife turns around holding up an odd device. It is a cylinder with an odd crystal in it; it illuminates a light at her. Sweiza covers her eyes; the device emits the power of the sun and is just as blinding—it sends a deep blue, but still brilliant light at her.
“We’ve been over this already. It is a giant worm like a dragon; it eats stone and excretes it in a malleable form.” Strife turns the light around without giving the girl another look.
Sweiza’s breath is knocked out of her as she is forced to give a shirked, but involuntary sigh.
—
It is roundabout twenty minutes later and still the sound of footsteps and ever present water slowly play at Sweiza’s attention; anxiety is starting to set in. She doesn’t know what their purpose is, she doesn’t know why they are here, but more importantly—she doesn’t want to be here at this point.
She finally breaks the silence.
“Strife why are we doing this?”
Strife stops, the cylindrical glow-light in her hand still facing forward. Strife barely gives the girl any attention, but it is serious and the only indication is that her head and eyes are looking slightly behind her—just enough to show she is annoyed.
“If you don’t want to come along, then your Sprite friend can light the path back for you. I don’t have time for a weak apprenticeship. Good day Vera.”
Strife shakes her head once and continues on, leaving Sweiza and Sprite by themselves. Sprite’s glow is the only thing lighting the way. Sweiza looks up at Sprite. He opens his hands in a shrug at her. She gives the back of Strife a disgruntled frown. Sprite flies in front of her letting out a chirp; he gets her attention. He waves his hand and shakes his head at her. Sweiza understands; neither the time, nor the place to start anything with this woman.
—
“It is a vagabond land underground… full of mystery and… Strife…”
Sweiza winces at her writing. Her scribbles aren’t as graceful as her normal writing; but walking while writing will have to do. She waves at Sprite and ushers him over; his blue glow illuminating the pages of her journal. Strife has been walking at a slow pace, moving the glow-light here and there—she does not give the girl (Sweiza) much attention, if any. To keep her sanity, Sweiza takes to writing in her journal. But moving at this pace while writing—which is already unnatural and clumsy—is not doing her any good. She winces at the word “Strife”. She finally just takes to writing a normal journal entry.
She writes under it…
“Dear Journal,
I don’t remember what happened last night. Am I having memory issues again? I would have had the berserkergang still… something else… I thought I had a gambit I was going to use last night, but I don’t remember. Sprite doesn’t remember either.
More importantly, I don’t know what I did last night, I do not know why she won’t talk to me. She makes me suffer in misery. I find I am stuck living up to my namesake “Angst”, while she forces me to live with her own, “Strife”.
“Boohoo” is the childish phrasing. But I am coming of age. It should be, “Woe is me—woe is me”, having to deal with this. I can’t help but feel sor…”
“Perhaps…”
Sweiza’s arm jerks at the surprise and there is a line through her written words. Sweiza’s journal is lowered by Strife’s fingers. Strife looks up from the journal to Sweiza. Shaking, she (Sweiza) looks at the woman.
“If you spent less time worrying about what you don’t know, and focusing on what you should know; things would be easier for the both of us.”
Sweiza stiffens herself up. Instinctively she clicks her heels together. Strife’s face switches to a toothless-smile; but she quickly retracts it. It doesn’t go unnoticed by Sweiza.
“Strife, what happened last night?” Sweiza says it nervous and quite shaky
Strife’s attitude changes towards her apprentice. “
Strife’s eyes narrow at the girl. Her eyes send a nasty dart towards Sprite; his eyebrows dart up at the woman.
“Mayhap that treacherous witch might know your fate; but that is a dish I would never eat from—my life depending on it.” Strife’s tone changes to something nasty, “If you are so inclined…”, her body language changes to something between mocking and sarcastic, “…you are supposed to have good rapport with your armor’s Dream Mare. That thing should pick up on things you are otherwise lacking in if it pleases you.”
Strife’s body stiffens. More daggers from her eyes. Sweiza stiffens up, clicks her heels together and then bows repeatedly. Strife’s cheek smirks up into something akin to disrespect and she turns around and continues walking. Sweiza’s eyes close as she feels the spirit leave her. She waves for Sprite to follow her. This is going to be a long road.
—
“A very pious student I am forced into this undertaking; Full of ‘Strife’ and poise; as cursed as harsh, until death due us…”
Sweiza suddenly stops abruptly when she hears a chirp. She looks up from the journal. Strife is eying her with intent. Sweiza takes in an involuntary breath as the woman approaches her holding a pyramid.
Now two feet from her, the woman’s left hand comes up and pushes the journal down. In her right hand, a small pyramid shaped object with smaller pyramids at each corner. Sweiza recognizes the device. Strife holds it in front of the girl.
“Use this. It might help you with this…” Strife eyes the journal, “Harsh curse…”
Sweiza looks the woman square in the eye. Strife snaps at her. Sweiza nods and grabs the ‘Soul Mirror’.
“Be gentle with it. Delphis and Alcyon only made so many…”
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Strife clicks her heels at the woman and turns around and walks off.
Sweiza and Sprite look at each other once.
“Hey! Wait up!” Sweiza chases after her mentor.
Maybe she will get an answer after all.
—
Sweiza is hesitant to use the Soul Mirror—Demi will probably tell her what she wants to know, and it probably won’t be good. She finally takes the chance and holds it in front of her.
“Demi…”
The mirror does nothing at first. But it suddenly makes an odd noises as it flashes and then envelopes itself with a pale white light. From what little she can see in it, she can definitely make out Demi’s form.
His arms are crossed. He turns his back to her.
“Demi come on, not you too!”
Sweiza gets an idea. “What is it you desire?”
“For you not to ever act like that again.”
Sweiza’s eyebrows raise in curiosity, “Do tell.”
Demi shrugs. “You don’t remember do you?”
Sweiza shakes her head.
Demi raises his voice at her, “This is what happens when you get yourself blackout drunk!”
Sweiza feels her mind sink.
“Lovely.”
—
“Who was that?” Sprite lets out several enthusiastic clicks. There may be a new playmate to be had here.
“A helpful pest like yourself.”
Sprite jumps up into flight at the comment, sticks his tongue out at Sweiza and flies into the air out of sight.
Sweiza looks up at rolls her eyes. “Helpful pest…”
She raises her fist up at him and shakes it.
—
Strife is some thirty feet ahead of the girl. She stops at what can only be described as a very long, but square tower in front of them. Sweiza is about to say something when she sees a white light. When it fades back to reality, Strife is standing there frozen. Sweiza looks up to Sprite; he is not bobbing up and down like he normally does, he is frozen as well.
“Sprite?”
“He can’t hear you.”
Sweiza jumps at the voice. It is Salmira.
Salmira’s eyes are closed and her arms are cradled.
“What do you want now?” Sweiza’s voice wreaks of disgust at the woman, “Trying to take advantage of m…”
Sweiza feels the words enter her mind, but they do not make it to her mouth; it is as if her mouth is frozen. She suddenly feels weightless. Her eyes dart down and she sees she is off the ground, hovering, but motionless. Her eyes show fear towards the woman.
“At this rate, if you keep it up, the both of you will be turned to stone by the Basilisk below. Nod if you understand.”
Whatever has her head frozen suddenly breaks hold as Sweiza is suddenly nodding her head at the woman. The only thoughts entering her mind right now are, “This is bad, really bad.”
Salmira approaches her and half circle’s the girl behind. Due to her body being suspended and frozen, Sweiza cannot turn her head to see the woman. Salmira’s footsteps are the only thing catching the girl’s attention. She suddenly appear’s with half her head, just out of the corner of Sweiza’s eye to her right. The girl feels her heart rate jump. Whatever suspends her suddenly gives way and Sweiza is set to the ground.
“What is wrong with you?!” Sweiza yells it furious at the woman. Her mouth suddenly clamps shut and will not respond. She tries with all of her might and it just won’t respond.
“That’s quite enough from you.”
Sweiza quickly nods her head at the woman. She suddenly feels the hold her mouth break loose.
“Do I have your attention?”
Sweiza nods, this time keeping quiet.
“Good.”
Salmira disappears and reappears some five feet from her.
“Listen very carefully. A few more walkways and an elevator shaft or two, and you will find yourself at a river. There are Bascillus in there. I believe you know them as the eel form of the creature before they metamorphose into something akin to a lizard. Regardless, the current is rather strong and she will ask for your help fording the river on foot. She will be the first bitten. Her motions will slow and her skin will gray and she will turn to stone. You will soon follow. Find another way around it. Is that clear?”
Sweiza nods.
“Another thing. I’m not as powerful as you or everyone on this planet thinks. I can’t just simply manifest in areas of pure darkness or underground.” Salmira points up at the large sky-screen built into the ceiling of the cavern, “I let two weeks roll by, you two never came out of ‘The Depths of Bothnin’. I had to interview people of Bothnin to find out what happened to you two. Would you like to know your fate?”
Sweiza nods again, this time nervous.
“Your gambit last night worked, but because you over indulged, you forgot it. Giving your memories back will have to wait; it will distract you from your mission. For now, I want you to understand that the Harbor Magistrate is a member of the Cult of Loki.
“That sounds about right.” Sweiza curses her luck. She knew something about him was strange.
“Due to the political influence of the Hydro-Electric Dam in this city, it has always been surrounded in controversy. It just so happens there were several key officials of Bothnin there the day the Basilisks hatched. With them out of the way and with the Hydro-Electric Dam out of commission, the next source of emergency power is in Bothnin’s only harbor. I’m sure you understand why you and Strife have been having to work manual controls over everything.”
“I never understood the point of electricity. It always seemed to be a bother.” Sweiza is on point, at least afar as her opinion is concerned. Maria Village had some electricity installed via a water wheel at the local river near Lake Maria. It was always a big deal when the water wheel jammed and everyone’s lights or heat went out. Thankfully her house never had electricity; her family always relied on candles for light or a wood fire for heat and cooking.
“It becomes quite prominent and problematic in the distant future. Regardless, the magistrate intends to have the dam blown up to extend his influence. Your stoned bodies are crushed and crumbled in the subsequent explosion. The Magistrate becomes a key official as he rises to power within Bothnin and the cult. However, his thirst for power blindsides him. He becomes part of the reason the Dwarves gain a technological advantage, but he is also part of the reason the Bothnin-Valhalla War breaks out to determine who has prominence in the nine realms.”
Sweiza stands there clueless.
“The Dwarves lose. Odin’s army is victorious and Midgard’s resolve is strengthened. Gungir Tower is constructed one hundred years early.”
“As much as I hate Odin, it seems quite civil in the areas under his reach—I mean compared to the areas I’ve seen.” Sweiza winces at the thought of T’lak and the Orc.
“Rightly so.” Salmira’s expression and mood do not change, they remain quite blank, “However, the loss of the Dwarves means the Cult of Loki gains prominence. They attempt to harness the secret of Yggdrasil to teleport between the nine realms. Those fools manage to get to the Ymir Colony ship and think they can control Loki. He takes control of them and starts Ragnarok.”
Sweizas eyes widen. “All this because of two Valkyrie failing?”
“I work tirelessly to keep Odin and Loki in check; as long as this remains so, Ragnarok never happens. However, in order to do this, my efforts must be throughout the nine realms. It is not just limited to you and Strife; I work through many individuals. I have failed with them—yourself and Strife included—many hundreds upon thousands of times, more than you could possibly count. I hope I make myself clear; I am part of time itself, therefor it is my responsibility to keep an eye on the better of this planet.
Salmira’s mood quickly changes to something disappointed, but serious. Sweiza nods.
“Do not fail in your mission.” Salmira’s form begins to fade.
“Wait, I thought the Valkyrie Rebellion fails?!” An exasperated Sweiza steps forward.
By this time Salmira has disappeared, but her voice can be heard all around and throughout the girl.
“That which has happened to create your fate, must be allowed to happen. That will be all.”
Sweiza grumbles as a white light flashes around her and reality sets back in.
She’ll at least get her answer at the end of the mission.
—
Sweiza remains quiet as Strife ushers her over. The woman needs help working a manual and quite metal control wheel. It is simply to move up a wooden elevator. Sweiza understands why: the back areas they move through care a backup when electricity won’t work—she still prefers the primitive mode of living without electricity for this reason.
The actual wooden ‘crate’ as it could be likened to, has a manual control within it that is operated via a crank. It is much simpler than the larger overhead metal wheel; it uses a system of pulleys and a counterweight to help redistribute the weight. Rather clever if she thinks so—they have something like this back at Maria, but not this elaborate.
When they find themselves reaching the bottom, Strife eyes Sweiza once and simply says, “Thanks.”
Strife walks off towards the nearby walkway without saying another word.
Sweiza is left to stare at her back again. This is getting old.
—
They find themselves at another walkway. The bridge is out. Strife looks around to find another way. She eyes the river once.
“Vera, the current seems to be flowing quite fast. The two of us together should be able to wade through it.”
Sweiza stands there in disbelief as the woman slides down the narrow side of the walkway and hits solid rock. She starts for the shallow bank of the river, some twenty feet away.
Sweiza’s mind starts to race. “Doesn’t she know what is down there?” “No, of course not, she rejects Salmira or rather Salmira never appears to her; maybe for that reason?”
Sweiza grumbles to herself as she braces her body for the only thing she can think of. She breaks into a run towards Strife and tackles her.
Strife lets out a cry as she is knocked over. She lets out a free hand, but it misses Sweiza’s face. She (Sweiza) feels it graze her ear. She holds onto the woman for dear life.
“Strife, listen to me!”
She gets a good look at Strife’s face as the woman scowls at her. Strife stops struggling. Sweiza lets her grip slacken; she feels a sharp pain in her gut as Strife knees her.
Strife stands up and dusts herself off, looking in disapproval at her student groaning and wincing in pain. “It serves you right. You need a lesson in humility.”
Sweiza can feel tears of pain as her body fights her. From the ground she watches in horror as Strife sets for the river.
Sweiza tries to yell Strife’s name, but it comes out little more than a hoarse cough. She feels her vision starting to blur from the tears in her eyes. Is she going to pass out?
In a last attempt she lets out an squawk in the form of an alert.. Sprite drops from the sky.
He lets out a smirk at her, “You don’t look so good.”
Sweiza tries to speak, it comes out as a hoarse whisper, “Tell Strife, Bascillus in river…”
She lets out another squawk while wincing in pain; Sprite complies and darts towards the woman.
She is about to reach the river; while behind her, Sprite starts chittering and letting out several chirps. It works in distracting the woman. He flies up to her.
“Bascillus in the river? Really?” Strife looks from the Sprite back to Sweiza.
Strife lets out a huff and walks back towards Sweiza. Momentary anxiety fills Sweiza’s mind as Strife’s feet rest in front of her face.
“Up with yourself Vera. We’ll consider your pain a downpayment for last night.”
Strife uses both her hands to pull Sweiza up by the arm; not gentle-like either.
“Honestly. We can’t have you going around like this.” Strife starts dusting the girl off.
Eye-to-eye, Sweiza lets out a nod with tears still in her eyes. She uses her arm to brush them away.
Strife’s hands go down to her hips, “Well don’t just stand there girl, let’s find another way around.”
Strife starts walking along the perimeter of the river and away from their former walkway with the broken bridge. Sweiza follows along, hobbling from the pain in her gut.
This is not going to be as easy as she thought.
—
…ongoing to be continued…