Soon the kitchen crew’s lunch break came into an end and it was time to return to their work. Baskets and bags were filled with berried bread and handed out to various people, tasks to be handed to the rest of the cavern members as their lunch.
“Walia, here” Toad handed her a wooden tray filled with various food of good quality “This one is cooked specifically for Marah, deliver it to his workroom.”
Walia looked at the tray and what was on it. A wooden bowl filled with cleanly sliced cabbages, carrots, tomatoes but weirdly no fish, cooked and covered with oil and deliciously-smelled sauce, serving next to it was what seemed to be a bottle of water mixed boiled with herbs.
“Why doesn’t he get the same like everyone else?” Walia asked, out of curiosity.
“The high ranking officers get better food, that just how it is.” Toad explained, “But Marah’s is even better than Robin’s, for at least her meal resembled the rest of us.” She pointed at another tray, where a pair of berried bread dipped in honey and sugar was prepared “The left hand has something that is called wheat and gluten allergy, so he can’t eat any bread or milk, not to mention the kid swore off all animal-related products, so I can’t even make anything from meat and egg.”
“I see” Walia nodded and took the tray, but Toad continued to explain.
“Luckily, we are making a salad for the cavern’s dinner today, so I just use the product to make that, now I just need to cook up another dish for his dinner. You know where his workshop is, right?”
“I do!” Walia told as she left the kitchen, and with careful walk, she ascended upward the tunnel as to not spill anything.
‘Now if I remember correctly…’ Walia pondered as she entered the well hall, which was strangely populated for this time of day. The mystery was immediately solved for her, however, when she saw who was in the center of the crowd.
Standing atop one of the tables was Robin, the leader of their resistant, treading around her spot in her leather boots and shouting something to the large crowd gathered around her, her jacket and hair flapped at her every turn as she addressed her people. Of course, from the spot Walia was on, she could tell what she was saying, but Walia knew it must be something rousing and inspiring, and Walia could not help but admired her for it.
She made a decision, finding somewhere to leave the tray on and reached her hand into her pocket, bringing out the string of rope she collected earlier. With her other hand, Walia grabbed for her hair, which had quite regrown quite well and was starting to regain its color.
‘I think, she wears her hair like this…’ Walia thought and tied her hair with the rope, creating a small ponytail, resembling Robin’s hairstyle.
‘It will get longer as my hair continues to grow.’ She told herself ‘But for now, this will do.’
After one last glanced at Robin and her speech, Walia grabbed for the food tray and left through the tunnel that she believed led to Marah’s workshop and kept on walking, traveling deeper and deeper through corridor and staircases into the mine at the depth that she never knew even existed.
A few minutes later, Walia reached her destination. The entrance was so small that most people needed to duck their heads to get in, but not Walia though. As she entered, she found the entire room to be illuminated by a series of electric lantern hanging along the wall, under them were many set of workbench equipped with screen and pad, all lit up, scattered all around them were electric parts that she could not possibly name. Slithering among the stony floor were wires, lot and lot of them, thick and thin, large and small, the things were all over the ground, some even slung along with the ceiling, all connected to electric devices to power the various machines in the workshop
As Walia carefully navigated the room, trying her best not to trip on anything, she tried to recall the story she heard of Marah. It is said that the man was a master of technology; creating his workshop with only spare parts from the stolen goods they got from the city, and even rewiring solar panels onto the top of the mountain to power his equipment. Couple it with his brilliant mind and talking ability, he had become a trusted confidant and lover of Robin, the same as Jacob, though quite lesser due to his weak condition and skin disease, causing him to be dubbed, almost jokingly, the left hand by the cavern.
‘When there is a hand, there are fingers too.’ Walia thought humorously, the group in question was Jacob’s top subordinates, which comprised of the best fighters of the cavern, half of which, if the rumor was true, were guards who came with him from the city. While Marah’s was simply the people who work with him in his workshop.
‘I wonder if I can qualify as a pinky toe’ Walia thought, though she was already quite happy as it is, she wanted more work to do as part of, not just the cavern, but the resistance as well.
Regardless, the left hand’s fingers were not in the workshop; however, for they must be going up to get their lunch, nor could Marah himself be found. But there was a door leading to another room, so he might possibly be in there.
Walia found a nearby empty workbench to leave the tray on, and then she slowly grabbed the door’s handle and pushed it open.
“…so, is everything going according to plan?” She heard a deep and dark voice said as she peeked in, a voice that she remembered was definitely not of Marah.
Walia froze in her place; there was something in that voice that gave her chill. For a moment, Walia was back to Lana again; her newly-healed leg began to throb and nearly lost balance. It had taken all her got to snap back to Walia once more.
“Who do you take me for, of course they are.” Another voice replied this one she knew belonged to Marah “Jacob is training up an army, just as I convinced him to, and I have already drawn out a plan of attack and it will be ready in a few weeks or so, that is, if you give me the map as you say.”
“I am not the type to cheat on my promise, here,” The other voice said, and then there was a flick of a small object, then the sound of something landing on a palm.
Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.
“With all due respect, you look like the type to do just that.” The voice of Marah replied, followed by several thuds of footsteps as one of them walked across the room.
Walia knew she knew that this was something that she clearly should not be listening to, but her legs couldn’t budge away a single inch, nor could she spoke a word. So she simply stood there, leaning forward and peeked through the gap of the door as dreaded curiosity overwhelmed her.
From her position, she saw Marah standing over a device she could not make out, his pale skin shone from the light-emitting from it. The left hand inserted something into the device, and it started to shake as the glow started to shift into a hologram.
“I have never seen that version of Stalus before,” The owner of the deep voice said, he was somewhere in the room that Walia could not see from this angle.
“I make it myself, it doesn’t work as well as city-manufactured one, but I give it a lot of function I need it to do.”
Soon the hologram completes its formation, and it revealed itself to be…a flat screen of some kind. It’s featured a serie long winding tunnels intersecting with each other, or at least that what Walia assumed it was since she could not see very well from the small gap of the door.
“Of course it’s through the sewage.” She could hear Marah complaining “Is this legit?”
“Why would I betray you now? I have helped you lot this far.” The other man replied, Walia could hear an irritation boiling in his tone.
“Still, it would be smart to test the passage first.” Marah replied, “You won’t mind if I perhaps convince Robin to send a few of our soldiers in first and make some preparation, will you?”
“Do whatever the hell you want.” The other voice said in a dismissive tone “Just try not to do anything that will lead back to me.”
“That would be favorable to both sides.” Marah replied, “If all go as plan, our vanguard will deal significant damage to the supreme leader.”
“Ohhh, that is what I like to see. Don’t tell me what it is yet though; don’t want to spoil the surprise for myself.” The voice said, his tone had shifted to a happy one, but it still possessed the terrifying weight that made her body went numb “Though I must ask, your young leader, how is she doing?”
“Very well, actually” Marah replied with a grin “She has a natural charisma that makes people follow her, so her leadership position is quite solid. She also had a strong force of will and self-righteousness so much so that she will never believe what she does isn’t right.”
“Sound likes a terrifying young woman.” The other man said, a hint of something that resembled… wholeheartedness was in his voice.
“Rightly so” Marah responded, a faint smile on his face “I can’t help but fell for her, which I try my best to not let it compromise the plan. But regardless, those same natures give me the ability to manipulate her to do as I like without her even knowing, that is why I give the old leader a pinch of powder that seals his fate and convince Thirteen to throw the election so her transition to a leader went smoothly, after all, and being one of her lovers also help.”
“One of?” The deep voice asked curiously.
“Yeah…” Marah shrugged “I’m afraid the one time our leader is not certain about something is which person to kiss. She just happened to fall in love with two different guys at the same time and instead of just pick one like most reasonable people, she decided to snatch both fish and make us wry for her attention like some sort of sick game. She won’t admit it, but she like when we were on each other throat, I can see it in her face. Like, pick one, woman! At this point I wouldn’t even be mad if she picks Jacob, I just want this to be over.”
“You youngling is all the same, thinking that your sobbing love story is the most important thing in the world.” The other voice complaint “This Jacob, I assume he is also important to your cavern.”
“The designated second-in-command and chief general, no less.” Marah replied, a pinch of mockery in his voice “Though no matter how commanding he seems, he is irrational to a fault, hanging over stupid things like grudge and revenge, so he shouldn’t really be a threat. Unless Robin dies on us and leaves him in charge, then my influence over the cavern will be cut short if that is the case.”
“Then let’s pray for that not to happen.” The other man responded, “Now that our business is over, I must take my leave before the people back at the castle make note of my absence.”
“Wait…before you go, I need to know something.” Marah abruptly said, “I have been pondering this for a while now, why are you helping us?”
There was a small silence as if the man seemed to have paused to think “I have no need to tell you, just accept my help and uphold the deal.”
“Very well then, deal off.” Marah said, his hand grabbing for the projector and slid it into his pocket “I already have all the stuff I need anyway, double-crossing you right now will setback nothing.”
But then, the man started to laugh, his booming voice echoed through the small cave and froze Walia to the core “You are quite daring and self-interested, kid, that is why I what I like about you. If you really wish to know, then I will tell you.”
As the man spun around the room, Walia could finally catch a glimpse of him. A hulking figure with unnaturally thick built, he wore a hooded black cloak that hides his face and clothing, leaving nothing but a strain of long brown hair to seep out. He was a monster of a man, and it was as if an aura of intimidation radiated out of him and suffocated everyone around.
“That Gorbachius kid’s antic has gotten quite out of hand, soI need to speed up the plan that I have laid down.” The man said, his tone shifted to a strange tone, mix of anger and amusement “He appoints a thirteen years old girl to sit his council, and that may seem like an incompetent move at first, that girl is smarter than most of the noble court combine and had a great influence on him, no other advisors had that much say as that damn brat anymore. Not to mention he is shaving away the noble power, my power, and give it away to the common people. His father may have been an incompetent fool, but at least he is able to be manipulated, but this boy is not the case. If left like this, the nobles will fall in line with his reformation belief and that will be the doom of me. A new bloodline of puppet must take the pin of a ruler, with people like you and me pulling its strings, if I ever wish to matter.”
“And not to mention…” The man finished, and Walia could almost feel the sly smile on his face “It is quite fun to fuck him over.”
“I…I see” Marah replied, and she could saw a strain of sweat all over his face as it tried to contort and hide his unease.
“If that is clear, I shall resume my leaving. Oh, and uphold your end of the deal, otherwise, you will regret it.” He said.
Marah gave a stiff nod “A seat at the table of the new government, you will have it.”
“I’m glad we are at an agreement.” The men said and left Walia line of sight, then she heard of a sound of something moving, then something moving back to place, then an echoing footsteps that faded away after a few seconds.
But as Walia tried to get away, that was when her knee failed her, and she stumbled back, crashing onto the nearby workbench. The act also knocked a few things over, creating a sound as they clangored with the stone floor and solid wire.
“Who’s there!?” Marah called out and swung open his door, leaving no time for Walia to refocus herself.
“How long have you been here?” He asked demandingly, and Walia could see a sheathed knife on his belt, and one of his hands was holding on its handle.
“I just arrive here.” Walia quickly said the lie came almost naturally to her, for even though she did not understand half of what they were speaking of, she knew she had heard something she was not supposed to hear. Walia gestured toward the tray, which was still intact “Toad told me to bring you your lunch.”
Marah eyed Walia suspiciously, then after a long tense moment, he said “Give it to me then. And clean up the mess you make on the way out.”