“Where could I find out what happened here?” Tristan asked.

There were a few logical steps that he could use to determine what had occurred. First, the elemental child was inside the city, meaning there was probably a pile of bodies located somewhere in these tunnels, as he had died here. Second, it was not originally a violent takeover. Looking down the hallway, not all the doors were closed, but none were broken as if force had been used. Tristan assumed that for the citizens to go peacefully, their government had to be involved somehow.

“I don’t know where their governor’s building is, however, we were received in a large room near the floor of the city,” Vulcan tried to remember, “I remember a lot of dark passages, but not how to get there. The cliff and the bottom floor are the wealthiest areas.”

Tristan nodded, following the money worked in the Caldera as well, so he would head down. Walking down the hallway, he pushed open some of the doors that he walked by. All the ones nearest the ravine wall were large homes that could easily hold a good sized family, while the ones on the opposite side were small. They were little more than stone boxes with a bed in one corner and a bucket in the other.

He came across two more elementals, one of which was lying on its bed with its arms behind its head like it was relaxing. Tristan harvested its heart for the extra reservoir. The other was in the hallway, and it sprinted away as soon as it saw Tristan. Was that one super antisocial in life? Tristan did not know and he was not going to chase it down.

Tristan walked for nearly a quarter mile before finding a staircase. He had been wondering how he was supposed to descend, even considering jumping into the river after not finding any way down for such a long time. Thankfully he found this stairway. It was narrow and steep, taking up as little space as possible. This forced Tristan to duck, it was designed for the much smaller stature of the population.

After ten feet of descent, he was given the option to exit onto the second floor or continue down. Tristan took a quick moment to check a room on either side of the hallway this stairway exited into. The cliffside homes were the same, but the interior had gotten slightly larger and included a desk in addition to the bucket and bed.

Deciding that exploration would be largely fruitless on this floor, Tristan kept descending. He still did a brief inspection of each level and found it to be largely like Vulcan had indicated. The rooms on the interior slowly grew, and on the fourth level, a separate bedroom was included. That did not mean the conditions weren’t still cramped, just that it had hit normal poverty levels from the Caldera.

Tristan had never thought of the mud and straw homes as particularly lavish, but at least those families only needed to look out the window to see the sun. These people were entombed beneath dozens of feet of stone. Tristan shivered slightly at the thought and the ceiling above felt much less stable.

A thought struck Tristan, “How did they solve the air problem, a million people should consume all the breathable air before it could replenish.”

“I don’t know, though a child’s kern can develop into the essence type they need to survive,” Vulcan seemed unsure, “It was a theory that was never confirmed, as there is no way to humanely put enough children in danger to do a proper survey.”

“Is that why children with asthma tend to get air kerns?” Tristan was interested in this topic. Most of his life had come about due to him having a metal kern, and he had assumed he received it from his parents somehow. Maybe he had an iron deficiency and he developed a metal kern to compensate for that problem.

Vulcan burst his bubble, “No, most of the time that is a coincidence that is celebrated, you simply did not hear about the cases that were different. The vast majority of kerns are inherited. Your super great grandpa was probably Ajax or someone less notable with a metal kern.”Tristan felt a little proud of being related to a warrior hero, then Vulcan kept talking, “Don’t worry, after more than three-quarters of a millennium and inbreeding, everyone was probably related to him. You just had terrible luck.”

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

Tristan grumbled as he kept descending. Why couldn’t Vulcan let him have his moment of wonder? He sighed, it was fine the lamp post probably couldn’t see Tristan’s face, as he used Tristan’s senses and he could not see his own face.

The sigh turned into a gasp when Tristan entered the last floor. Instead of a stone wall, glass formed a tube around the spiral staircase. The last twenty feet exposed a massive underground cavern with dozens if not hundreds of similar tubes extending down like a forest of glass pillars. Tristan had trouble comparing the room to anything he had seen before.

It extended into darkness in every direction the expanse so great that a twenty foot ceiling appeared short. This had been a massive business district, every profession was accounted for, even some that would be risky underground. All of them sat like forgotten tombstones for forgotten people.

This is also where Tristan found the first sign of violence. Many of the buildings had cracked walls and some had collapsed entirely. Tristan could not determine what had happened from where he was, but he could at least tell that everything was not radiating outward from a central point. That more than anything put Tristan at ease as it meant he was not going to stumble across anything above the heroic tiers.

He also saw several points of light indicating elementals were wandering around in the ruins. Tristan tentatively stepped out of the stairwell, ready for anything that might jump out and eat him. When nothing did he moved to the edge nearest the cliff. Doors lined this wall as well, Tristan wanted to verify his escape route before he started exploring.

He opened the door and found a six by six by six cell. Light shone in through a set of bars in the wall. Tristan tried to understand, the wealthy were supposed to be close to the bottom floor. Being close to one’s business saved both time and the owner's knees from climbing up and down stairs all day.

“What are these for?” Tristan asked confused, “I thought this was where the wealthy lived.”

“No this is where business is done,” Vulcan spoke slowly, “They stored product here.”

Tristan frowned, looking at the manacles attached to the walls, “It really looks like they put people in here.”

“Yes, they sold people,” Vulcan said, “It’s quite a common practice in many nations, at least it was during my time.”

Tristan had no frame of reference for how good or bad that was. The closest thing the Caldera had was debt based servitude, and it seemed to function similarly. Someone would commit a crime, have a medical emergency, or some other expensive event, and be indebted to the Caldera or person who paid the bill. They would then work off the debt with some interest. The mine had mostly workers who had their contracts purchased by Conni. If the buyer was fair, it was a good way for people in debt to stay fed and housed, as the contract holder was obligated to take care of amenities. Most buyers were outwardly fair, as breaking a contract would reflect badly on any future negotiation.

Closing the door Tristan went down the wall until he found one with a cracked wall. Now that he was aware of why Vulcan regenerated essence so slowly, Tristan used his own essence to make a pick axe around the shaft of the lamp post. Then he tore into the wall. It took the better part of an hour and three pick axe heads to get a hole large enough to climb through. Satisfied with the hole, Tristan left that door open and walked out.

“So, where do I start?” Tristan asked.

“Find a smithy,” Vulcan said, nearly vibrating in excitement, “It’s been forever since I made anything.”

“Sure,” Tristan said as he started walking, “ As soon as I figure out where one is.”

Tristan quickly found that he was in some kind of fashion district. Torn dresses hung from mannequins that sat in broken displays. Shoes lined shelves, they were of strange make. Few seemed to prioritize ankle support, mostly focusing on being a glossy material. There were many other things, none of them catching Tristan’s attention. He did not need a cape, suit, or rope thing to wrap around his neck.

The jewelry did catch his attention, mostly because it was made of gold, but also because a few of the rings were set with glow stones. All were dead at the moment, but Tristan had a light reservoir he could use to recharge them. That was also where Tristan found his first body.

By the clothing, he assumed the cadaver to be female. The flesh was not completely gone, but it was covered with moss and a bark like plant seemed to be growing over the skeleton like a parasite. It was unsettling, but as there was little Tristan could do about it he left as fast as he could.

“Before you ask,” Vulcan said, “ I have no idea what kind of slagging abomination that was.”

“Should I leave,” Tristan asked, he really did not want a tree growing in his intestines.

“No, if there’s one thing you are well set to kill, it is parasites and spores,” Vulcan’s voice was a bit smug, as if he was the one with the abilities, “Consumption and decay are especially good against them. Ah, just keep track of your essence recovery.”