Zaric looked at her apologetically.
“I’m sorry about Hanmul. He’s an abrasive sort, but not usually so— well, quick to judge I guess,” her fellow officer said.
Talia shrugged in response.
“Either he’ll come around or he won’t. As long as we can work together without slitting each others’ throats, I’m fine.”
The tall mage snorted.
“You’re too young to be so pragmatic, arcanist,” he joked.
The young woman grinned and rolled her eyes.
“You’re too old to be so jovial,” she replied, prompting a chuckle.
Talia pushed Copperpike to the back of her mind as Zaric led her through the teeming mass of busy delvers. Everywhere she looked, final preparations were underway. Supplies and tools were stowed and covered with black tarps atop the roofs of wagons. Black blades were slipped into sheathes wrapped with sound dampening cloth. Face paint was passed around for those without the means to afford obscuring cowls.
“Well, that aside, we took too long chatting. I’ll explain what all the kit does while we head to wagon one. If I miss anything, you should be able pick up the rest from the manuals. You’ll have to learn all the clicker calls on the road though,” Zaric said.
“I still don’t—”
Zaric stuck out an arm to stop her as a line of reptilian beasts was led out of stone enclosures built up against the courtyard wall by ten burly delvers. Harnessed with dark leather atop even darker scales, they were squat, serpent-like abominations with long sinuous necks and a triangular head adorned with bony grey spikes. A thick tail hovered above the ground behind them.
The drakes dwarfed her, with their shoulders coming up a few dozen centimetres above Talia’s head. Their four powerfully muscled legs were nearly as long as she was tall, ending in razor sharp talons that left deep gouges in the dirt.
The eerie part, however, was how utterly silent the drakes were. They made no sound apart from a nearly imperceptible scuffle against the ground, and a low, rumbling purr in their chests as they were led forward.
“Gods those are big lizards,” she gasped.
“Yep, tunnel drakes. Went extinct in the wild Under centuries ago. The Delver’s Guild trains them from the moment they hatch. Perfect for pulling expedition wagons,” Zaric said.
He turned to her with a vicious grin.
“Nasty in a fight too; bleed their prey before they eat ‘em, you see.”
Talia gulped, watching as the line was split up amongst the wagons and the harnesses attached to the beaststrap. The creatures were completely docile, allowing their handlers to strap them in without complaint. It was unnerving, to see such sleek killing machines so docile.
“Right, show’s over, let’s go. You finally get to learn about clickers! Though you’ll wish you hadn’t by the end of it. Worst part of the trip through the Ways if you ask me. They always end up smelling, no matter what you do. And your mouth’ll be raw by the end of the first day.”
He stuck his hand into one of the pouches at his belt and pulled out a strange looking device shaped like a crescent.
“Now I can’t tell you how it works in detail, but basically, you put it in your mouth and flick this little tag here with your tongue. You can also do it with a finger in a pinch, but while we’re in the tunnels, you’ll want it in your mouth.”
“Let me guess. It makes a clicking sound?”
“I thought that part was obvious,” Zaric laughed.
Talia frowned.
“I was under the impression that sound was a big nono in the Deep Ways.”
“It is, hence, why you put it in your mouth. The clicking sound is only picked up by other clickers and then transmitted straight to your ear through some bone in your upper jaw. If you’re interested in the nitty gritty of how it works, it should be at the back of the manual. I never bothered.”
“Is it magic then? Seems like a lot of trinkets to keep charged at one time, don’t you think?”
The Mage-Com. shook his head.
“Not magic, just really finicky engineering, if I understand the premise. Basically, I flick the tag in a predetermined pattern—there are quite a few that you’ll have to learn—and then it’s picked up by every clicker within a good hundred-meter radius, transmitted to your ear without any actual sound occurring,” he explained.
“Huh. Seems a little convoluted if you ask me, why not just use hand sign or something?”
“Well, we do use hand sign, but it’s harder to learn for one, and second, even if the night eye pill gives you pretty decent darkvision, clickers are faster, and don’t rely on line-of-sight. With practice, you can even direct which direction the click travels in. In case say, you don’t want the rear guard knowing you’ve got to use the shitter.”
Talia nodded, understanding the logic.
After explaining how to hold it in her mouth—pressed up against her front teeth with the upper part of the crescent touching the roof of her mouth—he showed her the basics of the runerope, a trinket that was essentially well, a rope, only it could be carried on her belt without the hassle of lugging around a fifteen-metre coil of the stuff. A small rune mark allowed the user to extend or retract the rope at will.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
The bandolier of anti-venoms and antidotes, she slung across her hips at Zaric’s suggestion, memorizing the names of each little bottle and their use as he pointed them out. Night eye pills she knew already, as Orvall made bulk batches of the centuries-old recipe for miners on occasion.
Zaric fell silent as she pulled out ‘Clicker Calls’ and began quickly skimming through it, chiming in only to point out the most important ones. She put the small booklet back into its rucksack as they came up on the command wagon, were Chronicler Calisto and Delvemaster Torval stood hunched over the back step together looking over a notebook and talking in hushed tones. The pair looked up when they noticed the arcanist and the mage approach.
“Ah, right on time. You got everything you need, I hope?” Torval asked.
“Yes, delvemaster,” Talia replied, “though I’ll admit, it’s begun to feel like I have a lot more catching up to do than I thought. I’m starting to think maybe you should have taken more off of my share.”
Torval’s brown eyes sparkled.
“Baptism by fire, Arcanist Talia. Untrained or no, I couldn’t pass up an arcanist getting dropped in my lap in my hour of need. Besides, you’re in perfectly good hands with us, and the route we’re taking to Karzurkul is about as well travelled as any of the Deep Ways can be. Even then it’ll take us a good two-month journey to get there. You’ll have plenty of down time and good comrades to help you pick up everything you need to know.”
Zaric chimed in.
“I figured I’d pair her up with Osra,” he said, turning to Talia and explaining, “My apprentice. You’re about the same age, and this is her second expedition.”
“Perhaps in between shifts,” Torval cut in, “but for now I’d like you to shadow Calisto as we discussed and learn everything you can.”
The steely-faced chronicler nodded at the young woman from her place beside Torval.
“I’ll put the pair of you on wagon two with Julian, I think. That way you can have the same shift and have your off time to discuss anything that comes up.”
“Sounds good to me. Don’t worry, Mage-Com., I’ll meet your apprentice when we stop and make camp,” Talia said.
The three officers looked at her with odd expressions. Torval looked over at Zaric.
“You didn’t tell her?” he asked.
“I thought she knew,”
“You thought I knew what?”
The chronicler cleared her throat.
“The caravan won’t stop until we reach first haven,” Calisto said, “The tunnels and caverns of the Deep Ways are too dangerous to camp in, even on a known route.”
“Won’t people get tired? What about the, uh, beasts of burden?”
It was Chronicler Calisto who answered again.
“Tunnel drakes are endurance hunters. We’ll be going at a pace that they can maintain for months if needed. As for the crew, well, that’s what shifts are for.”
Well, that’s no good. How am I supposed to learn to control my magic when I can’t just duck out of sight to practice.
Talia dearly hoped that Calisto wasn’t the overbearing type and would give some privacy, otherwise… Well, the young didn’t know what would happen, but given how her Gift had reacted when she was in danger, she just crossed her fingers that they wouldn’t run into trouble before she got a handle on it. Else she’d be exposed.
“I’ll let you all get into position,” Torval said, “We have a few hours on the road before we have to go silent. Mage-Commandrum, the cooks tell me the freezer needs to be refuelled with mana, if you would.”
“Yea, I’ll get Osra right on it. Probably hiding in wagon four, the poor thing,” the mage replied,” it was nice talking to you Talia, I’ll see you around.”
Talia smiled at the tall man and nodded.
The group scattered, Zaric melting into the crowd of delvers and Torval blowing out a loud whistle.
“Thirty minutes people! Finish up and get to your positions! Forward scouts and rear guard, meet the battlemaster and I by wagon one!” the delvemaster boomed.
Chronicler Calisto led the way back to the officer’s bunk wagon, slipping in between the bustling delvers like a ghost.
----------------------------------------
Talia and Calisto sat on the front bench of wagon two, watching the large hole in the cavern wall grow bigger and bigger in the distance. The true entrance to the Deep Ways was lit up by a series of large mirrors that illuminated the legion fortifications with light from the arcano-sun far behind them. The drakes had set a rapid pace, steady pace, loping forward silently on powerful legs.
The farms and twisted drearwood groves grew sparser and sparser as the expedition plodded along the road to the Ways, until eventually they left the last farm behind them, a small, poor-looking, lichen and mushroom plantation. The only sign of civilization in front of them was the Final Outpost, the large stone and steel gate that barred the Deep Ways, manned by Karzgorad’s last active legion.
She and Calisto had gone over a varied array of expedition knowledge, from shift times and ration allocations to an arcanist’s role in the caravan. They’d practiced the simpler clicker calls until Talia’s tongue had cramped before moving on to travel etiquette and even some battle tactics. Every topic Calisto covered was fairly straightforward, but it was a lot of information to retain over the course of a few hours.
Hopefully I don’t forget something important.
Julian, the wagon driver, had been affable enough, but had fallen into a comfortable silence once the chronicler began her lectures.
The older woman was…reserved. Restrained. But sharp as a tack, which worried Talia somewhat. If anyone were to figure out her secret, Talia’s money was on Calisto. Which is why she was surprised when the steely-eyed woman asked a personal question, her gaze inscrutable.
“Why did you decide to sign on with Delvemaster Torval?” Calisto asked.
Thankfully, Talia had already considered what her answer to this particular question should be.
“Well, I’ve always had a passion for old artefacts. And there’s no better place to get my hands on some than a Dead City is there?” she replied.
It’s not a lie…just not the whole truth.
Calisto shook her head.
“That’s not what I meant. There’re only so many reasons why people join these expeditions. No, what I’m asking is why this expedition specifically? Why not wait a few months for the next one and give yourself the time to get trained properly and learn the ropes at less risk to all of us.”
Shit, I was hoping we’d be too busy for anyone to notice that, but I guess that was too much to ask for. Time to improvise.
“I’m not sure. I guess if I don’t go now, I’m not sure I ever will. So, when I was given an opportunity, I jumped on it. Took the plunge, you might say. If I had waited…I don’t think I would have ever been able to leave Karzgorad.”
Because I’d be chained and collared by the Magesterium, but still.
Talia glanced at the middle-aged woman, hoping she wouldn’t push the topic further. She decided to turn the question back on her fellow officer.
“What about you, why did you decided to run expeditions?”
If Calisto was surprised by the reversal, it didn’t show. Nor could Talia tell if the previous non-answer had satisfied the dour woman.
“It pays good money, to start. Even a bad expedition will pay the average crew member enough to survive off of for two months at the least. When the slot opened up at the chronicler’s guild, years ago now, that’s why I took it. Now…there’s something about the ruins of the Dead Cities that calls to me. A mystery to be uncovered. We know so little…”
Talia nodded, unsure what to say, simply hoping that her own answer had passed scrutiny.
The caravan arrived at the Final Outpost, not even slowing. Legionnaires stood along the walls, watching them go by. A few waved.
They must have known we were coming.
Right on cue, the titanic gate began to grind against the stone floor of the cavern.
By the time the command wagon arrived at the exit to the Final Outpost, the last marker of Karzgorad, the gate had sunk into the barrier wall, revealing a gaping black hole of nothingness.
“The time has come for silence,” Calisto said quietly, pulling up her hood and activating its obscuring enchantment.
Talia did the same. All around them, delvers took their night eye pills and checked that their packs and weapons were secure.
The expedition pressed onward, into the silent, inky breach, leaving the comforting light of the city glowing like a beacon in the distance.