It was three hours after my brothers and I had our dinner when our parents finally came home, then it was maybe five minutes before they both tiredly waved us to bed as they crashed into their own sleeping place. We siblings could only shrug and march off to our dorm as they began to snore, then spent what little energy we had left before we fell asleep on various little things. Humey taught Mibata the latest words of the sign language that we were building together, Tokols sat at the edge of his bed sewing together some kind of baggy shirt, and I toyed with my magic runes attempting to make a fine-tuned wind rune that could reach the other side of the room and ruffle the cloth in my brother’s hands. There was little success in my runes, and all I managed to do was roll a piece of lint across the floor for Tim to scuttle after. One by one we all reached our limit and wrapped ourselves in our sheets, then with an echoing pattern we each knocked on the side of our beds to wish each other a good night.
…
How long had I been lying here staring out into the center of the room? An hour? Two hours? My head was pounding for some reason, like a drum banging on the inner side of my eyes. It wasn’t a headache like any I had felt before, at least nothing in either my past life or this one, and it was steadily worsening as I began to feel that something was coming.
I was still staring down at the floor when I felt it. A shudder. Barely noticeable, but just enough that it had me glancing around to find the source.The paintings on the wall swung ever so slightly, the knick knacks on the shelves wobbled, and the small rocks and bits of dust on the floor moved as though they were ants. I had never been in an earthquake before, but this was perhaps the closest I could imagine that it would feel like. As suddenly as it had started it stopped, and the looming dread in my mind evaporated.
Rustling from the bed space next to me drew my eyes to Mibata, whose narrow gaze was alert and peering into the dim air for any kind of threat. He looked to me and quickly signed a question.
“What was that?”
I looked at him and shook my head. I’ve never heard of quakes in the desert, and from what I’ve managed to glean from overhearing some of the scribes, we should only have annual torrential downpours as our improbable weather anomaly. Something about this truly felt wrong, but as neither of us knew the source and the world around us was still relatively quiet, all we could assume was that it was gone.
I grabbed my slate and my bag and went to the other room without even thinking, glancing at my sleeping parents and realizing that even those unusual shakes weren’t enough to shake them awake. I could only sigh and follow my instincts, which told me to inspect the main shaft of the city, and go for the door. A hand on my shoulder stopped me, but as I looked back to Mibata I realized that he was still fastening his bandolier to himself and trying to fasten some kind of cloak to himself. I waited for him to be dressed and prepared, and when he gave me a nod we both quietly crept out into the dark tunnel beyond our home.
The amount of anxiousness that permeated through me as we slipped outside made me feel slightly lightheaded. We were in a city of spies, secret agents, cults and monsters, and now something deep below us was moving the very stone beneath our feet.This was perhaps one of the riskiest things I had done since coming here, but my curiosity and need for answers was too great. However, my worries were greatly alleviated by having my brother with me and sensing how his refined mana lines were constantly constricted, ready for battle at a moment’s notice. We would only be outside for a minute or two, then we would rush back home. At least, that’s what I kept telling myself as we got closer to the city center.
We came to the exit of our tunnel and stopped there, listening for anything. Mibata peered around the corner and sniffed at the air while I closed my eyes and felt for any sort of magic. A few people in their homes, the lingering energy in the air, and the ever-present well of power deep below us. I opened my eyes to see my brother looking up at me waiting for an answer to the unspoken question of our situation. I gave him a nod, and the two of us slipped over to the nearest pillar supporting the guard rails.
Smoke. I smelled smoke. Looking down, I could see why, as a thin column of smoke was rising from the very bottom of the city out of one of the mine entrances down below. I squinted down through the black cloud rising up towards us, but with the shadows being cast in the moonlight and the swirling motions in the haze I could not make out any specific details, only vague shapes and a rough understanding of the situation at the base of the city. Something had caught fire, there were kobolds rushing to extinguish whatever had caught ablaze, and larger kobolds were standing there pointing and yelling. I leaned a bit farther over the rails to get a better look, but Mibata’s hand grabbed me and pulled me back, his voice hushed as he let his eyes dart around.
“Sister, we should retreat for now. I feel that we are being watched.”
He was right. Even though my magically attuned senses couldn’t detect anyone, I could feel eyes on me from the corridors to our left. Spies, it had to be. I forced myself not to look their way and simply nodded to Mibata, following his lead and swiftly moving back towards the tunnel. We were only a few strides away when my senses detected someone for a split second, and looking at the source I caught a glimpse of something moving. A knife, way off in one of the distant tunnels, being brought down on someone I could not see. I just barely caught a glimpse of a white mask when my brother’s hand grabbed my bag strap and yanked me inside.
I followed him with wide eyes and a racing mind. Did I just see a spy ice another spy? Couldn’t have been. Why would they be killing each other? Was whatever going on down there have something to do with me and my family? Fuck, no matter what I tried to think of I would just see that knife again and again, the questions hanging on it too much to ignore. I didn’t even react to Mibata opening the door and dragging me inside as I struggled to understand it all, my entire focus on that weird event from start to finish, from rumbling to smoke and all the way to the spy.
“Kayrux, do not overthink it.”
Mibata was standing right before me, his hands on my shoulders as he gently shook me out of my trance. I blinked, unsure of how long I had been zoning out, but was rudely shaken once again as he demanded an answer from me.
“Do you understand? Do not dwell on those mysteries. We do not have time to focus on every secret the elders are hiding from us, only those which present themselves to be threats to us. Do you agree?”
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I nodded along, and squeezing my eyes shut I forced those questions out of my head for now. He was right, I had too much going on trying not to be stabbed myself to be worried about everything that went bump in the night. They were up to something down there, but since it didn’t seem to be a danger to my family just yet I could ignore it and instead focus on keeping my loved ones safe. I took my slate from my bag and quickly scribbled a message for Mibata, who took it and read it slowly.
“You’re right. Whatever is down there is a whole different can of worms to unpack, but right now we need to focus on what is right in front of us. Thank you for accompanying me.”
Mibata looked over the message a second time, then he passed it back to me with a tiny hint of a smile.
“You are very much welcome. I do not know what a can of worms is, but if it is anything like how my mind imagines it then we mustn’t open it, lest we seek to eat those worms, correct?”
Eh… kinda? I shrugged at him while nodding slightly, making him raise an eyebrow curiously. Instead of pursuing the line of questioning that would undoubtedly lead to me trying to explain how a phrase from Earth came to be and how it was relative to our current situation, he instead put his arm on my back and gently nudged me until I was back in the bedroom, then made me turn around and sit on my bed as he trudged off to his own. He took off his cloak and bandolier, set them in a neat folded pile by his bed, then looked over at me with his tired eyes.
“To alleviate your concerns, I will say this: I am very mindful of whatever is going on down there. I do not trust that whatever they are doing down there is safe, or that it will not bring some form of misfortune to use should we ignore it. Please, leave these sorts of investigations to your brothers. Between myself, Tokols, and Humey, I am sure that we can gather some information. You are the main target of the enemy, and the last thing I want is for you to unwittingly approach something they would use to harm you. You can trust your brothers, can’t you?”
His way of phrasing that question made my chest ache slightly, as though he were genuinely asking me if I didn’t trust him. With a sour look on my face and a handful of chalk I quickly scratched together a reply and dropped it in his lap, keeping my eyes on him to gauge his reaction.
“Forever and always. I will never not trust you.”
The tan and brown kobold’s eyes began to look slightly damp at the edges, but after a moment of holding his eyes closed and taking a dry swallow he opened them again to smirk at me. He then hung up my slate, slid his legs back into his bed, and laid there looking at me from around the corner with a soft smile.
“That is good to know. I will always trust you, Kayrux, no matter what.”
Well shucks, I can’t go to sleep now after having been told that! I sighed and kicked my feet up into my own bed, allowing me to look downwards at Mibata in the next bed. He was still smiling as he leaned back and looked to the ceiling, which to me felt like an admission that he was truly grateful for my words. Reaching around at the foot of my bed I managed to find a few loose sheets of parchment and some little charcoal sticks I had made, and because I wasn’t feeling particularly tired I began to sketch once more. It was odd at first, as my mind immediately went back to trying to design weaponry and magical rune arrays, but as I stopped thinking about that and just let my hand take control of itself it became clear that I wished to capture the memory of Mibata as he was in my mind.
I wondered to myself as I kept drawing him in his little cloak who he was to me, and the answer felt a little off each time I asked. Was he my brother? Well of course he was, but he was also a bit more than that to me. Was he my protector? Certainly, but there would always be a time where he would need me to protect him back. Was he my hero? I chuckled at the thought at first, but as I stared at him and his likeness I had drawn, I slowly realized that maybe he was.
Mibata, Tokols, and Humey as well, they were always trying to support me and keep me safe. A tinge of guilt struck my heart as I imagined a life without them, or one where I couldn’t ever express my gratitude for them, but the memories of how often I had made them smile brought calmness back to my heart. None of us were perfect, but given what sort of life we lived it was good enough to just have each other. I’d do anything to protect them, to keep them safe. I looked over at the other two and saw them shift slightly, the sight of them sleeping peacefully making me truly at ease for now.
So it was that for the rest of the morning I sat there, keeping the mysteries and conspiracies of the world at bay with my drawing. I was still tired from the day before, still somewhat at ease from the bathing we had all done, and even the slight jolt of adrenaline from the rumbling deep below faded to leave me aching again. I took a deep breath and put a hand over my chest, feeling with my mana sense the whirlwind of power inside of me still thrumming nice and strong. I wonder… hey Charles, how’s the weather in there?
“There is no phenomena of weather inside of your core, thus I cannot answer that query.”
Oh har har, very funny. I’m asking you-
“I know you are inquiring as to my status. I am safe and recovering well. Thank you for asking.”
Just lead with that next time and spare me the sarcasm. I get plenty of that from the rest of my family, the last thing I need is my own personal assistant to give me lip too.
“Understood. However, you were seeking levity and humor just now, I merely responded as needed.”
Oh. Well, thanks for that, I guess. I didn’t think you could do that.Is this because you’re patching yourself up using my mana? Oh no, are you turning into me?
“Negative. I am merely emulating how you subconsciously desire for myself to speak and act. I am always able to revert to a more rudimentary state of functionality.”
You do you, Charles. Just keep up the good work and be yourself. If you like talking like a robot, or like a posh butler, or even a wrestler then you go right ahead.
With that little exchange over I felt him fade into my mana, probably to hide out and keep watch as he usually does. Not even a minute later Tokols rolled out of bed, literally, and dragged himself to his feet and to the toilet. A minute of distant urinating went by before he staggered back in to go to Humey’s bed, grabbing the chubby kobold by the flab of his neck and give it at sharp tug.
“Lard boy… fatty…jumbo! Damn, what does it take to wake this guy? Hey Humey!”
The red kobold’s dark eyes opened wide to stare at Tokols innocently, pulling his blanket up to cover his face from what might have seemed like an attack by the little gecko. Tokols rubbed at his eyes and grumbled down at him, pointing a thumb over to the door and talking down to him.
“You said you’d help me with breakfast today. C’mon, let’s get going before Bata or Kay wake up.”
Tokols then looked over at me, his bleary eyes squinting at me as I waved at him gently. His strained look became one of disappointment, a tired sigh escaping as he crossed his arms.
“Well shit, she’s already up. Kay, can you just pretend you’re still asleep so we can make food and act like it’s a big surprise? Probably not, you’re gonna get up, offer to help, wind up turning it all into a big game, or just shove me out of the kitchen so I won’t burn it again.”
Tokols’ back was turned to Humey as the bigger kobold got up, stretched his back with a series of deep pops, then scooped the rigid chameleon scaled brother up to carry out of the room.
“Nah, it’s just gonna be us. Kayrux, can this just be me and Tokols cooking? I wanna help him learn to cook in case he needs to some day.”
I nodded along perhaps a bit too eagerly, causing Humey to give a big dopey smile and sign his thanks to me. He carried Tokols out of the room, leaving me and Mibata, who had cleverly pretended to be asleep to evade the conversation, to stare at one another. He smiled and shook his head, then reached down into his belongings to pull out a book to read in his comfy little cubby hole. Well, no sense in going against what Humey asked. Until he comes back to fetch us, I’m going to be here sketching up magically powered cars and cool trench coat designs for a certain prickly brother to wear, should he go full detective.