Gen was not a big fan of elevators. The situation was risky enough without being caged in and hung over the void. He wouldn't have even gone in if the goblin didn't go in first. If they ran that massive caravan, they had to be influential, and 'influential' meant 'under protection' and 'potential hostage'. At the least, the three of them would be safe until they got out. Even still, Gen had never liked elevators. Even the real, modernized kind back home used to fail every so often, and this little clockwork box? He shuddered.
Gen was not a big fan of shuddering. He had been re-acquainted with some of his less useful emotions over the ride in and through the city. Fear was one such emotion. Of the city-people, not a single one was human. Lizards- more like salamanders than crocodiles, thankfully- ran stalls. Goblins manned the shops. The malformed human-gorillas were everywhere, too, and he had spotted some rare individuals that looked suspiciously like dwarves. It was a multicultural hotspot, he supposed, but humans were not on the long list of specimens.
So he was afraid. Where were they going? What would they do to them? Would they get to the bottom and get re-introduced to the fatal Yari-spear of an angry Crocodile Man, sans their fancy new malformed personalities-slash-superpowers? Gen wasn't even sure if he could manage it. His muscles all ached, and he didn't feel equipped to handle the unknown. It didn't help that the descent never seemed to end. He stood in a little box hanging over an abyss that he couldn't see, and the chain-and-bar roof and windows only revealed the sides of the quarry, and finally, nothing at all. Somewhere in the descent, the walls fell away.
They could see each-other. Merrilyn was just as perplexed as he was, taking in the view. No doubt saving up scenes for a poem, or something. Kat hadn't even noticed, her eyes firmly locked with the ground below her. He was a little relieved; it would have been awkward to be the only one so uncomfortable with the elevator. In any case, they could see each-other, and it was not dim, yet they could not see far out of the elevator. It was just so unusual. Maybe the hole swayed out, widening in the descent? When they finally reached their destination, that didn't seem to be true.
A spider's web of chains and rope appeared from the void in every direction. Despite the reasonable level of light around him, Gen could only see a couple of yards out in any given direction. He stifled a groan. The only thing that could manage that would be this fancy 'magic' thing they had encountered back in the Jungle. On the long list of scenarios he wanted to avoid, 'meeting someone who does magic' was fairly high on the list. The mass of chains all coalesced to hold up a massive boulder, each stretched taught and embedded in the rock. The ropes disappeared below it, presumably helping to hold it up. Atop the boulder sat an impressively circular structure, a relatively large shack that still couldn't cover even a third of the surface. Gen figured it was about an acre in all, though the jagged shape made it hard to estimate its actual size. As for how far down it went, based on the angles of the ropes descending below, it was at least four or five stories tall.
'Why would they even build something like this?' he wondered. With the entire city above to build upon, why would they make this strange structure in the chasm below? Having a quarry cut out such a huge chunk of land was strange enough. It would make more sense if this was a mining town. Gen wondered for a moment if assuming dwarves were miners would be discriminatory. Navigating social politics would be the least of his worries, though. Everyone else had left the elevator while his thoughts wandered, and they were now staring back at him just a tad impatiently. Everyone was nervous enough without their General appearing hesitant, regardless of whether or not he was feeling very General-like. It was his turn.
A long wooden pier had been constructed as a landing strip of sorts for each of the elevators. It wobbled and swayed in a way that made Gen nervous. If Merrilyn could do it, with all of her wariness and jitters, then so could he. He hopped gently down onto it, bracing himself to run or jump back to the elevator or hang on for dear life. Nothing happened. Phew. Their goblin escort seemed to be taking great joy in his caution. Gen scowled. Why wouldn't he be careful? God only knew how far down the fall went.
Really, though, the elevators and even the pier seemed quite old. It wasn't like they would break as soon as their little group started using them, right? That would just be too much of a coincidence. He relaxed, almost jogging to catch up with the rest of them. The goblin was leading the group towards the little shack in the middle of the boulder. Gen contemplated chucking the goblin off the edge and running back for the elevator. This situation was just a bit too out of hand to be safe, and wherever it was leading them, it couldn't be good. It was probably already too late, though. Even if they couldn't see in the oppressive screen of darkness, there was no guarantee whoever was in the shack couldn't see out at them. Furthermore, how had the goblin even operated the elevator? It just seemed to move on its own.
Gen's train of thought hit a roadblock, there. How could they see the shack in the middle of the boulder? For that matter, why was the boulder so clear to them? Looking back at the elevator, he could still see it, even though they had walked at least ten yards already. It wasn't like they 'just couldn't see that far' at all, it was more like a bubble of darkness that surrounded the island itself. If there was a bubble, there could be a cage, or hundreds of bows pointed at them, or some magical barrier. The elevators were the only way in and out. He tensed. Gen knew that if he was at 100%, he never would have let things get this far gone. He'd need to be more attentive. If the situation really was hostile, their only asset was that the goblin seemed important, and he'd need to leave the rock somehow. If they could use that to their advantage, then maybe things would go alright.
Kat wasn't sure why, but the hut seemed more imposing up close. More real. She had been getting a 'horror movie' vibe from the moment they hopped off the Caravan, and this setting really wasn't helping. If they could talk with the goblin, it wouldn't be so bad, but it couldn't understand them, or vice-versa. The creature had grown on her a bit, just on the merit of its patience during the ride. She had a hard enough time sitting still, let alone many days and nights in a row like the goblin probably had. It even took them on this detour to the abyss- whatever danger they were in, it probably was too.
She had been more or less in tandem with the goblin on the approach. Gen was acting a bit flakey, and no matter if Merrilyn was older than them or not, she was still 'the new one', so someone had to take point. If it needed to be her, she'd rise to the task. It definitely wasn't because she was feeling guilty about all the life-threatening situations she had caused while still under the influence of the 'Adventurer' thing. Sure, she had been useful, but she had been flighty and inconsistent, a bit too amped up. Kat had convinced her little group of friends to ride a massive worm-snake for miles in a completely untested harness, for crying out loud. Sure, they had went along with it, but only because the General had no real grasp of fear. It wasn't fair or right to take advantage of that. And to scream and holler the whole way like it was a roller coaster? She was lucky to be alive. One drowning person can drown two conscious ones, if they aren't careful, so maybe they were all lucky to be alive.
Kat tried not to let how absolutely guilt-free she was feeling distract her from focusing on the goblin's actions. Regardless of how friendly it was, or impressive, it was still an unknown quantity. In the worst case, they might need it for a hostage or something. So she watched intently as it raised its stubby little arm and rapped on the door. Nothing happened for a long while, just them and the goblin and the solemn door. Finally, it swung out at them, a massive hand pushing out from the dark interior.
That gave her a start. The hand just hung there, disembodied, and she had to force herself to stay calm. Maybe it was a friendly hand, like that one from the Add*ms Family? That must be it. She stepped forward confidently, and the darkness fell away. All of it. She could see the chasm's walls again from the corner of her eyes, and more importantly, the figure standing in the doorway. It wasn't a disembodied hand at all, but the arms of a woman with a particularly massive chest. That was, impossibly large chest muscles. If she had cleavage of any kind, Kat couldn't spot it.
It was one of the strange Frankenstein people, and she was beaming. Her hairdo swayed as she looked down at them, a large bob of brunette hair laced with a number of pins and decorations that would have looked almost 'frilly' on anyone else's head. On this woman, it just looked stately. Her grin revealed flat teeth, completely devoid of canines or incisors. Humanoid, but not human, Kat was certain at this point. She was holding a bowl in her free hand, and she wore something like a robe, which hung loose like a skirt about her waist. Kat cringed a bit. It was hard enough to find good clothes with a normal body, let alone one with such… offset proportions. In retrospect, that the coachman had looked so well dressed was probably a testament to the quality of the tailors who made his suit.
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
She looked down at the little goblin, grinning, and then back to them. She didn't move from the doorway, but she did speak. It wasn't in any language Kat could understand. The goblin exchanged a few words, and the lady's smile deepened. It was getting a bit creepy, actually. With that, though, she released the door and beckoned them in, welcoming them to the hut.
The hut wasn't quite like what Kat had expected. The exterior was circular and wooden and unimpressive, but the insides were laden with stone and brick and looked positively ancient. She wondered if it had been made when the city's gates were, a relic of past affluence. Man, had Kat missed thinking of words like 'Affluence'. She almost didn't want to go back to Adventure mode, even if it did let her really hit the ground running.
The hallway they entered first had two guards. They were both lower-body centric Frankensteins, like the ones guarding the gate. Kat had seen some Frankensteins that preferred their left or right side rather than upper body or lower body, but only as civilians. She could sort of understand that. Combat wasn't a very 'one-side-only' sort of thing, even if blacksmithing or farming could be. In any case, there were two guards with huge legs. Despite being a rock hanging in the abyss, it was guarded. That really wasn't good. The more people there were, the harder it would be to escape, let alone fight their way out. They didn't confiscate Gen's daggers when he came in, though, so it couldn't be too bad.
The woman who greeted them at the door led them to a large room. It was shaped a bit like a pie slice, a cut of the circular hut. It reminded Kat a bit of the principal's office, back home. When they followed her in, she addressed the goblin once more. It said some things, she said some things, and the three of them stood there looking dumb and confused. Kat regretted not studying Goblinese for her language credit. She slipped the goblin something that looked suspiciously shiny. It bowed briefly and booked it. Kat supposed that was about what you'd expect. It was a busy little guy, after all. The coachman probably couldn't navigate the markets as well as it could, even if it allowed him to sell off wares.
Gen was more concerned about the fact that they had been delivered to a secluded location as part of a monetary transaction and their hostage had headed for the hills before he had even thought to apprehend it. The elevator would be gone before they could fight their way free from the guards and mysterious bodybuilding lady. They were trapped.
He hadn't been fast enough. Decisive enough. If things went wrong, it'd be on his head, for once. He couldn't just be 'good' when some superpower felt like manifesting. That would make him an addict, a loser, and-
"Take a seat, please," the lady said.
-he couldn't be so weak. The group needed a leader. Even now that his megalomania streak had fled the premises of his noggin, he knew it was true. They weren't in a civilian setting anymore, and there was hardly anyone they could trust.
Gen nearly fell over. "You can speak English?" he said, incredulous. The odds of these strange creatures knowing one of the thousands of languages of Earth was so impossibly low that he hadn't even considered it. When he realized that he was the last one standing, he almost blushed. It had just been so shocking, to hear her speak their language. His legs were feeling wobbly, anyway. So he sat.
The lady chuckled, shaking her head. "You are of magic race, no? Too weak to ascend any other way." Her voice was echoed, as though there were five of her speaking all at once. She leaned forward, poking him on the forehead. It hurt like hell, but he desperately resisted listening to his twitching dagger arm. This was important stuff.
He shook his head. He got as far as "Humans have never been magic, ma'am." before Kat jabbed him in the side. What was it with the poking!? "We have a long history of lore involving magic, and a number of other things. I- it's never been common, though." She said. He realized that was true enough. What if the stories of Merlin had some merit? Still, he didn't know what she meant.
She poked Kat on the head, this time. The girl pouted and covered her head with a little 'ow'. Gen felt a small twinge of satisfaction at that. At least his forehead wouldn't be the only one with a welt in the morning. If they survived. The woman spoke again. "You are both magic; I feel it in you. If it were so rare, two magic ones in the same room would be cause for celebration. I am one such example." That caught Gen off guard. They were magic? Why hadn't they felt it? She frowned and continued. "You know nothing of magic, then? Try this." She hollered out, and a guard entered the room. The shout didn't echo, and more he didn't understand it. That might not be a coincidence, he figured. Magic. An unknown variable.
"You have the mana. Not all have mana, but many do. It is strange that you do not know the common language, but it makes more sense if your Augmentation made you have the magic. Focus on your ears and tongue. You have tongue, yes?" She babbled on. Gen wasn't quite sure what she meant, but Kat must have. She looked to the guard, and said "Hello!" It echoed like the woman's voice, as though a small army of Kats were saying Hello in a ton of different languages. The guard responded shortly, before wandering back to his post. Gen didn't know what it meant, but Kat recoiled. "No way!" She said, shock playing out on her face.
"Internal mana good for this. Connects all, even those who are not so talented. Will help you understand until you learn common language." The woman nodded, sagely. Evidently, Kat had just 'focused on her ears' and suddenly spoke in tongues. Gen tried, but he didn't feel any different. Kat looked at him. "It's like trying to stretch your toes really hard, but with your ears. Here, like this." She said. He took a brand new mental note for his long, long collection: Kat sucked at explaining things. Merrilyn had figured it out, though.
"My friends have described getting powerful from 'trusting themselves' and 'claiming territory'. Is that caused by this 'mana', too? Their personality also… changes a bit." She asked. Gen hadn't even thought of that. Leave it to a poet to get right to the correlations. It would explain a lot about why they got to the new world and felt so different. The lady didn't answer quite how he expected, though. "External mana is the magic of rights. It's the magic we all share. As long as the surrounding mana acknowledges you, you use it. Any mage can do it, but it is talent." She leaned back in her chair, confusion playing out over her face. "Presence of mana changes a person. Not much, though. Are you sure?"
What did she mean it didn't change them much? Gen was feeling far too 'normal' for the first time in far too long for it to just be a little tweak. Was she lying? What reason would she have to lie about this, in fact? Surely, there was some outside force causing him and Kat to behave so strangely. It couldn't be just a little nudge in the right direction. It occurred to him in a start.
"Mana makes you drunk?" He asked, his tongue buzzing with every word. Damn, that felt weird. The lady begrudgingly nodded. Gen fell back, contemplating how stupid that was. All it would take was some monsters, a beer or two, and he'd be a soldier-whipping dagger-throwing murder machine? Kat would think Dragons made a great transport, or jump from tree to tree with reckless abandon? Sure, the vaguely superhuman things seemed to be from the 'external mana', but for it to be something in them that was broken… He almost couldn't believe it. Almost.
The muscle-bound woman shot to her feet. "If you no use magic, how did your race ascend? To dominate all other sentient race?" She asked, suddenly intense. The pressure from her just speaking was impressive- more effects of 'magic', then? "We built things. Went above and beyond our competition," he responded, almost proud, even if he was stammering. Her eyes made his skin crawl, like he was being stared down at by something immeasurably tall.
"How many of you are there? You are small race, yes? The number is getting so high, now. Tiny worlds." She asked, seeming to relax a bit with every word coming from her mouth. The pressure fell from him like a blanket, tugged away all at once.
"Seven billion- wait, was it eight? It's hard to-" She was staring at him again even before he finished speaking, and suddenly, he felt limp. Her eyes were wide, and the friendly gazes she had given them from before were replaced with something like awe or terror. She paced back a few steps, shouting for the guards. "I… I need to ask you more questions before you go. Please do not resist, you three." She gave a stern gaze to each of us, head sweeping from one end of the room to the other. The pressure was back The guards walked in, pulling him up from the floor and taking him to one of the other doorways in the hall- it lead to a staircase to the bottom floors.
They were unceremoniously slapped into a cell. The boulder's insides were nearly hollow, and it had an infinity of cells on layer after layer of the basement. They had been dumped in a floating Alcatraz with a strong magic lady as their warden and hadn't even realized it. The cells were empty, sans Gen himself, Kat, and Merrilyn. At least, that was what he had thought. When he looked around, he realized that wasn't the case. It was just Kat and him.
Merrilyn was gone.