48 AL: SARAH

The room was smaller than most of the industrial spaces. It was circled by a wandering catwalk that led to four doors, one door leading in each cardinal direction. The pipes beneath the catwalk looked the same from the top as the first rooms. Sarah thought the piping below those rooms was only a foot or two deep. Now she wondered if they missed a lot of those rooms' content below the piping.

In the center of the room a bundle of pipes rose up like the trunk of a tree to pierce the ceiling above. The catwalk looped around it giving them a clear view of the entire structure. A collar on the top masked how the pipes penetrated the ceiling. A structure of supports held the pipes steady at intervals of about six feet.

The eastern door opened into the room, making it their first choice. The door opened up onto a dark platform high above the room’s floor. A sturdy handrail of oxidized bronze circled it. The air was smokey. The handrail made it difficult to see what was below. Pipes of various sizes emerged from the wall just below and beside the platform. They turned ninety degrees and dropped straight down. Every six feet a framework extended from the wall to hold the pipes in place. Sarah thought it would not be too difficult to climb down.

Grandmother sat down on the edge. She leaned out through the handrail and studied the floor of the room. There was an ominous red glow at the base of the north wall. Since Grandmother showed no signs of moving on, the rest of the party settled down. Sarah updated her spell diary with the singing sword spell on the top of the cover. She asked Grandmother what spell she used to open it. The older woman replied distractedly that it was a tier two fear spell.

Todd was fiddling with the knife tucked into his belt. Sarah caught the motion out of the corner of her eye. She went over to her sister, Ellen and started talking about making a real sheath for it. Away from the more advanced crafting tools in the square they could not produce an integrated product, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t craft something the old fashioned way. Sarah pulled the fragile sheath she found the knife in. It was in such poor condition that Todd didn’t bother with it. Sarah thought it might be useful in sizing the new one. Ellen accepted the worn bit of leather and inspected it.

“Let me see what I can do with this,” Ellen responded. “It looks like an integrated product to me.” She set down her pack and pulled out her crafting tools. She set out to restore the item. Its appearance noticeably improved after the first spell, proving that it was integrated. It looked like a new product when Ellen was finished. She gave it to Todd who accepted it happily. He took a moment to slide it onto his belt and secure the knife in it.

The repair worked so well on it, Sarah wondered if they should have been trying to repair other items they found. Most of the broken items on the bears weren’t recognized by the prize altars. The altars would convert them to scrap, but would not store them as an item. This usually meant they were too far gone to be repaired. A repaired item didn’t last as long as a new item before needing repair again. Eventually this shortened life caused the item to break before it could be repaired, turning it into scrap. Sarah wondered if the sheath was repairable because the knife it stored remained quality after the owner died.

The next time they found anything quality, she would inspect all the associated items closely. They had collected a fair number of quality bolts, could they have repaired one the quivers those bolts were found in? Sarah wondered. What about the crossbows?

“I think it is a smelter,” Grandmother said suddenly, from where she studied the room below. “A smelter that has run amok,” she expanded. “I bet it is the source of the molten river we saw earlier.”

“Are we going down?” Alex asked.

“No,” Grandmother replied. “We went to a lot of trouble to get around that river, we will not go back across it now. I checked my map and according to it our destination is very near.” Grandmother stood up and stretched. “Let’s try south.”

Everyone resettled their gear and headed back into the pipe room. They closed the east door before heading toward the south. As they walked along the catwalk an earthen squirrel came up from below the grating. It chirped happily and rushed to Grandmother. It didn’t stop when it reached her. Instead it ran right up her leg. Grandmother jumped back and started to swing her hand in a swatting motion. She froze without making contact when the squirrel dived into her pocket.

It emerged back out with a piece of granola bar grasped firmly in its front paws. It took several tries before it positioned the bar securely in its mouth. It ran back down Grandmother’s leg and off the edge of the catwalk. Instead of disappearing, it ran toward the central set of pipe risers along the top of a pipe. It followed risers up and disappeared into the ceiling.

“Don’t feed them,” Todd proclaimed. Grandmother laughed. Sarah couldn’t stop herself from smiling. It was good to see the old woman genuinely happy.

Grandmother looked over to where the animal vanished. Curious, she slipped through the handrail and walked on the pipes over to the central group of pipes. She leaned in close to look up at the path the squirrel took.

“It occurs to me,” she said, “that there is another way out of this room.”

Alex went over the handrail to join Grandmother on the pipes. He began to circle the column of vertical piping, looking up for a gap big enough for them to squeeze through. The rest of them followed his lead.

“There is a gap here I think I can make it through,” Ellen called. “I don’t know if Todd will fit.” They all gathered around Ellen and looked up. There was a gap between some smaller pipes and the outer wall of the ceiling penetration. Two larger pipes framed in the hole on either side. Luckily none of the pipes around the gap had extreme temperatures.

“Todd, you go first,” Grandmother instructed. “If you don’t fit, we will go back to the south door plan.” Todd took his pack off and handed his spear to Ellen. Alex pulled a length of rope out of his pack and handed the end to Todd.

“When you get to the top we can use it to haul all our gear up,” Alex explained. Todd looped the end loosely through his belt. He braced one foot against an elbow fitting and reached up to grab the first pipe support. Todd pulled himself up with his arms alone. Watching him Sarah was grateful Alex thought to give him a rope. She would need its help to make the climb herself. Todd disappeared into the ceiling, a series of grunts and curses followed.

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“I am through,” Todd called down after a brief silence. “It looks like a dead end,” he continued. Sarah could hear the disappointment in his voice. She didn’t think he was looking forward to climbing back down. “Wait, there is a narrow passage along the side here.” Suddenly Todd’s voice got louder, as he leaned over the opening and called straight down. “There is an inscription.”

“I am coming up,” Grandmother responded. “Secure the rope for me.” She dropped her pack next to Todd’s. Her staff was already tied to her belt. When Todd called back that the rope was tied, Grandmother used it to ‘walk’ up the pipes. When she reached the ceiling she was forced to change her method, squeezing her body through the gap.

Sarah, Ellen and Alex waited impatiently for about ten minutes. Finally Grandmother called down to bring everything up. Todd pulled the packs up one at a time, after a first attempt to pass two up at once snagged and had to be lowered back down. They passed all the long weapons up, holding on to just their knives for the climb.

Finally it was Sarah’s turn. Ellen and Alex would follow. The narrow spot was tough. Not just for the tight fit, but because of the smooth finish on the pipes. It also was a lot longer than Sarah expected. The ‘ceiling’ must be at least ten feet deep. There were two pipe supports within it. Sarah was only able to make it up with the help of the rope. She was amazed Todd could free climb it.

Todd helped her up the last few feet. Sarah found herself in a small room. It was narrow like a hall. The ceiling was low. The floor and three of the walls were made out of cement. One wall was the end of the rising pipe bundle. The pipes all turned to run off away from the room along the ceiling. On one of the long walls of the room that stretched away from the pipes was a complex multicolored inscription written in the Egyptian font. Grandmother was sitting with her back against the opposite wall in near absolute stillness. Only her hands moved in short clipped gestures. Her gaze was locked on the inscription on the far wall. She was using her interface to decipher it.

Sarah glanced at the inscription. She thought it would take hours to decrypt. She looked around for the ‘narrow passage’ Todd described. She found it between the side wall without the inscription and the pipes.

She could see a hall stretching out beyond. Pipes and cableways were hung from the ceiling. The walls and floor were concrete. The ceiling was dotted with small light panels. It was clearly an access passage.

Todd helped Ellen up out of the hole. She was soon followed by Alex. Sarah noticed that Todd’s spear was back in his hands. Sarah reclaimed her bow and checked it for damage.

“The three of you go scout,” Todd instructed. “I will stay and keep watch.”

“Let's leave our packs here,” Sarah suggested. “It will be easier to maneuver through the passage without them if we have to head back here in a hurry.” Alex looked at the tight fit and agreed. Sarah cast her full complement of masking spells on the three of them. Alex slid out against the wall. Sarah followed with Ellen bringing up the rear.

They emerged into an intersection of service halls. Sarah only got a glimpse of one of them from behind the pipes. They started on the left. They moved carefully down to the first intersection and checked each direction for any movement. They retreated back to their home intersection and repeated the exercise on the second hallway directly across from the hidden dead end. They traveled twice the distance they did on the first hallway without finding a cross hall. The hall turned to the left. They checked around the corner and decided that was far enough for a scouting mission and turned around.

The third hallway contained a surprise. Laying in the center of the floor of the first side corridor was a dead bear. Alex stumbled to a halt as he spied the corpse. They waited a full five minutes to make sure it wasn’t still alive. They approached with caution. Ellen checked it for traps. She found nothing.

“Have we ever found a dead bear before?” Sarah asked. “I mean one we didn’t kill first?” Alex looked serious as he considered.

“No,” he replied. “I don’t believe so. Is it wearing armor?”

“What metal is that?” Ellen asked. That question surprised Sarah. Ellen was a craftsman crafter. There shouldn’t be a crafting material she couldn’t identify. Sarah leaned forward and got a closer look at the breastplate.

“I think it is aluminum,” Sarah observed. “It is lighter than steel. Some of the structure of the Speedwell is made out of it.” A sword lay on the floor beside the body. It was snapped in half, the tip missing. The remaining section was longer than the short swords the bears they fought used. The blade was constructed out of a bright shining copper. “Look at the break on that sword,” Sarah commented. “That had to be a force spell.”

Sarah stepped back and took up the watch. Ellen took Sarah’s place and gave the bear a close inspection. She fingered the straps that were holding the breastplate in place. It was a dark material that was more like silk than leather.

“This individual represents a higher tier of bear than what we have been fighting,” Ellen said, putting her thoughts into words. “We better tell Grandmother.”

“I agree,” Alex said as Sarah nodded her own agreement.

They hurried back to the pipe tree and squeezed back through the narrow passage. Todd was standing just inside the room, keeping an eye out for any activity in the hallway. Grandmother was in the same position, braced against the wall and staring at the inscription, her hands still making small quick movements.

“Grandmother,” Alex said respectfully, “We found something you need to see.” Grandmother’s hands stilled. She blinked twice and shook her head to relieve the tension in her neck muscles from staying still so long. She turned to look at Alex.

“You found something?” she asked.

“Yes,” Alex said. “A dead bear. It is wearing armor I’ve never seen before. I think it carried a great sword.”

“Think?” Grandmother asked.

“The sword is broken,” Alex explained. “The bear was already dead when we found it.” Grandmother gracefully rose to her feet. Her fluid movement in defiance of her age.

“Yes,” she agreed, “I think I had better see it. Is it far?” Grandmother asked.

“No,” Alex responded. “It is very near.”

Grandmother moved to the exit. Sarah recast her masking spells on all of them. They fell into their usual travel pattern including Todd. He was the last one out of the narrow passage. His brigandine scraped against the pipes as he slid through still holding his spear.

The bear was lying where they left it. Grandmother examined it closely. She tapped the breastplate. She picked up the shortened sword and inspected the break. She rolled the carcass over to look at the other side. She released the straps holding the breastplate in place and rolled the beast back. She pulled the plate off the beast and handed it to Ellen. She turned back to the bear and ran her fingers across its ribs.

“I don’t see any wounds,” Grandmother observed. “I think its ribs are shattered. Someone must have hit it really hard.”

“I thought it would take a force spell to break the sword,” Sarah observed. Grandmother turned back to the broken sword where she left it on the floor. “I have to agree with that.” Grandmother stood and stepped back taking the entire scene in. “Did you scout any farther down this hall?” she asked.

“No,” Alex replied. “We headed straight back.”

“This happened recently,” Grandmother observed. “The bear is still warm.” Sarah was startled. She knew it happened fairly recently. The structure was very good at absorbing carcasses that were left behind in a few days. None of them actually touched the dead bear. It being warm indicated mere hours had passed, not days.

Grandmother walked past the bear and studied something on the ground. She knelt down and touched a spot on the floor. When she lifted her hand the ends of her fingers were stained blue.

“What is that?” Alex asked.

“I think it is blood,” Grandmother responded. “And it isn’t the bear’s.”