Still underneath the giant mushroom tree, Amelia sat, staring at Hummer with a wide eye and even wider imagination.
“You’re a noble,” Amelia said.
“Yeah. I am a noble.”
“From the Saxonia Dominion.”
Hummer put her half-eaten sandwich down on her lap and sighed. “I didn’t realize you didn’t know. I’m really sorry for keeping you in the dark. That’s the reason I’m leaving soon, you know. They let me go off on my own way for a few years, but now I’m ripe and ready for my royal responsibilities, or whatever.”
The Saxonia Dominion, the homeland of the great empire that controlled entire continents, and the owner of the North Sunwell Company. They treated Sunwell as an obscure outlying territory barely worth bothering with, even as Fleettwixt grew into its massive size. And right before Amelia was one of the nobles of the family in charge of it.
Suddenly, it all clicked in Amelia’s soul-generated brain. The dignity and purpose in her gait, the way her dark skin made every facial expression pop. She was trained for exactly the purpose of showing herself off, and even when she tried to hide it, it still broke through.
“Why are you here?” Amelia asked.
“I just wanted to travel, you know? Like a lot of people. Hard to see the world when you’re always stuck in stuffy parties and board room meetings, right?” Hummer laughed to herself, but stopped when Amelia’s stare did not shift. “So I guess you’re not happy with me.”
“No.”
“Well, I’m really sorry for what my family’s done to Sunwell. I hate it, and I never want to go back. I love it in Beechhurst, and I think I want to stay forever and keep exploring the city and the dungeon. Just look at this place!” She beckoned to the enclave around them and all its shining fungi. “If I have to return to Saxonia, I’ll never get to see this again.”
“And you can’t stay.”
“No, I can’t,” she muttered. “Family responsibility, and all. The Gordon Family has needs that rise above the common folk, they say. Even if I’m the least important noble in the whole line of succession.”
“Oh. You’re a minor noble.”
“Basically irrelevant. Twentieth in line for the throne, by my last check, and my cousin Princess Alison will probably ascend in another decade. She’s only fifteen now, so that’s going to be a real long reign. If I take power, it means something real bad has happened.”
“I could make that happen.”
“No you couldn’t. Destroying some drug ring is one thing. Destroying the most powerful empire in the Northern Reaches is a whole different thing.”
“I’ll become more powerful,” Amelia said. “If need be, I’ll grow until I can take on a fleet all by myself.”
Hummer smiled. “I hope you do.” Then her smiled faded. “Once I go back, they’re grooming me for a Board of Directors position on one of the royal companies. I might even take over the North Sunwell Company if my uncle ever leaves.” She shuddered.
“Your uncle.”
“Lord Gordon. You’ve probably heard of him. Really good at earning profits, and not much else. I really hope your plan works, because I really don’t want to do it.”
“You know that when I destroy North Sunwell, I’ll kill your uncle and anyone else who stands in my way,” Amelia said. “I’m burying the entire company underneath the dirt, just like they did to so many places in Sunwell. The synth facility is just my first step.”
Hummer scrunched her lips together. “I don’t think that’s such a bad thing, destroying an evil government. But I can’t help but wonder if a more peaceful approach might be better.”
“It’s not.”
“Well, I don’t know anything, anyway. I was raised as a rich brat with a privileged, sterilized youth. Just living in Beechhurst has completely changed my way of thinking, and it’s still hard to get used to.”
“I hope you continue to change.”
“Well, thank you. I hope you get your revenge on my family’s company.”
“I will.”
Hummer started to eat her sandwich again in a new sort of quiet, one that exuded a friendlier, more pleasant atmosphere, Amelia was unsure of why the woman felt so relaxed after admitting all of these things to her, though. If Amelia had any sense of remorseless efficiency, Hummer would surely have been an easy, effective target. She could kidnap her, hold her for ransom, use her as leverage to gain more power and tear down the North Sunwell Company. But Amelia looked at her and saw the genuine guilt and regret that swirled around in her heart. She really did want Amelia to change things. And so she was unable to summon the ruthlessness necessary to cause this woman great harm. Not yet, and likely not ever.
“I used to think we were nothing alike,” Hummer said as she finished her sandwich, unaware of Amelia’s prior considerations. “We have the same name, but you were a stoic jerk, and I was a sneaky noble. But I was wrong.”
“Same name—Ah, yeah. I remember.”
She had forgotten. Hummer’s real first name was Amelia, too, which made things a little bit more confusing when occasionally both of them answered to other people calling them.
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“Yep. Amelia Gordon, of the Gordon Family. There’s a reason I go by Hummer more often, and not just because I like to hum. It’s not that I’m hiding it, but...”
“I’d do the same if I were you.”
“We’re pretty alike after all,” Hummer said. “Two Amelias, in love, fulfilling their life’s missions as best as they can.”
“In love... What?”
Hummer stood up and wiped her pants off. She grabbed Amelia’s forearm and pulled her up to her feet as well. “You haven’t said so, but I’m a woman. I can see it on your face every time you stare off in the distance, every time you catch a glimpse of them in your mind’s eye. It’s love.”
“...”
“I’m the same way, though,” Hummer said, bowing her head and blushing deeply. “I might have my heart set on someone, and that might be part of the reason it hurts so much to leave. Maybe I’ll figure it out, but I don’t expect to. With my status, with everything else... It just sucks.”
“You’re heart’s set on someone,” Amelia repeated with an inquisitive tone.
“And here I thought you weren’t the gossipy type.” She smirked. “It might be someone you know. Might not be. I might just be lying about the whole thing to mess with you.”
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”
“Geez, Amelia. Lighten up just a little.”
“No.”
Hummer sighed. “But I hope you know, I understand your feelings. Love is the most important force in the whole world. Sometimes, we find people where, together, we can make miracles happen, just change the world with our hands held tight. It’s really rare. Too rare to even mention. But when it’s there, all those mysteries and qualms and caveats and drawbacks vanish, and it’s just like... Wow. The whole world, right in front of you, represented in human form. You can reach out and touch them and know that it’s all real. That’s the love I feel, and I’m sure you know what I mean.”
“Nice words,” Amelia said. “I agree. I have no heart, but it still aches because I know the power that love really brings.” She paused for a moment to collect her thoughts. “But, honestly, if you want to do well, you’ll refrain from discussing this any further. Do you understand?”
Hummer was caught completely off-guard, and sheepishly let out an affirmative response.
That was the last Amelia would be talking about Ed, especially with a Gordon.
Their rest ended, and the two women left through the way they came. Amelia turned back on her mana concentration filter to view other hot spots where a large amount of glossals may have been located.
“What now?” Hummer asked. “Did you find it?”
“I’m not sure. Still looking.”
She scanned the area around a sprouting trunk of three different mushroom tree stems that shot up close to the ceiling. Not too far off; maybe a ten minute walk, She saw a large pile of rocks against a cavernous wall that seemed natural at first glance, until she looked closer and saw three specific mana signatures, tiny dots from this distance, that were powerful—and unmistakably glossal. Somehow, they were behind the pile of rocks, as if there was a cave just past it. They dispersed from the area in separate directions, which also meant that there were others down here with them.
It had been odd to run into so few other people through their time in Floor 4. As dangerous as it was, and despite being the off-season for tourism, she still expected at least to meet a few others wandering about. She guessed the restrictions were heavy for legal travel this far down, and not many tour guides were certified for Floor 4 and below. Mino, for as skilled as she was at protecting the group, seemed underprepared, not overprepared, for the melanoid attacks thrown at them on Floor 3, which spoke to the certifications not quite being as thorough for safety as one might assume. It called into question why the certifications were even necessary, except as a tool for exclusion and monitoring.
They were about to no longer be alone, though, because these three signatures were on the move. If they were Fourland, they were likely headed out to distribute synth. She would not pursue them, but she would certainly destroy their base and everyone in it.
“Follow me. And keep your guard up.”
Hummer bit her lower lip. “Another fight?”
“Probably.”
They walked through overgrown fungi gardens. A snake slithered by on the pathway, looking at them curiously before sprouting wings and taking off to the air.
The pile of rocks grew close, and Amelia realized why it looked so out-of-place. It was designed to look like a landslide had thrown all this down to the ground level, but it was glossal-made. And it was not actually directly against the wall; there was a gap just behind the pile where they could squeeze through an opening. Crude, but effective enough to distract the eyes of anyone who did not possess the Scan Module to help them. She doubt she would have ever noticed it otherwise.
“Shall we go in?” Hummer asked. She took her sword out and brandished it in her left hand. Amelia never noticed until now that she was left-handed. Humans very rarely were. Ed was left-handed, too, but that was likely due to her elven heritage.
Amelia entered through the opening first, and Hummer followed close behind.
The Fourland synth facility...
...was not here.
This was a tiny, damp cave converted into a one-room house. A smuggler’s hideout.
It was very dark in here, but an unlit battery-lamp was placed prominently on a table in the middle of the room. Hummer flicked it on and they got a good view of everything in here.
Two bunk beds, with three unmade bunks, and a fourth that was covered in stacks of cardboard boxes. A kitchenette with charred wood under a large pot that still smelled of smoke.
The entire room was as cramped as a nest of baby snarrows thanks to the many wooden tables laid out in the center. Three tables covered in rifles, flintlocks, lightning rods, and other powerful weapons. Blastpowder bags, perfectly open, rested precariously on top of the weapons, and individual bullets laid scattered all about. A fourth table had a few dirty dishes on it, as well as clear traces of sugary white synth powder still clinging to the wood.
For a second, Amelia wondered if this was the correct place after all, but soon realized that it was indeed a mistake; the smugglers who lived here were not synth dealers, just users. Whoever they were, Amelia had to wonder if they might have had some information. Maybe information about their own dealer that could lead them further along.
But it wasn’t going to be pretty.
“Um, Amelia—?”
She turned around—
And the cave’s three inhabitants had already arrived. Two muscle-bound orcs, and one thick-horned centaur. One of the orcs carried a large, dead reptile in her hands, while the other orc and the centaur had oversized clubs and bags full of mushrooms.
They were not exiting Floor 4 like she thought. They were simply going out to hunt for food.
And they stood directly in front of the only way in or out of this cramped room. The only escape route, blocked.
The female orc dropped the dead reptile. The male orc and centaur dropped their mushrooms.
Amelia and Hummer traded glances, then jumped back to avoid the first attacks.