The trek fortunately eased into a mundane way down and what seemed like endless rock fissure corridors. Unlike the previous ones we had passed through, a pleasant floral scent trailed our noses. I found it hard to believe a sweet aroma could exist the deeper we traversed into the underground. Not just that, the air was fresher.

“Amazing. The obsidian veins are alive with chi. It’s probably how the temperature can be constant and air breathable.” Kalia mumbled to herself and lowered her head when a bull helmet looked her way.

I gingerly touched one of the pulsating, spidery red veins on the dark rock and felt a tingle to my fingertips. It was the feeling of chi. An ample supply of raw energy was flowing through the underground. It made me wonder on the kind of lifeforms we would find within the deepest recesses.

A vision of similar obsidian corridors came to my mind.

I saw men and women dressed in a uniform of white shirts, navy blue leather vests and slacks, laced or buckled knee-high boots and weapons belted to their hips. They were walking through the corridors, which were constantly shifting and locking into new formations. Their navy patchwork overcoats swelled about their backs, and down to their calves, at their brisk movements. One of them slapped a silver coin on their eye, which seemed to melt over the area. They ran.

“Ugh!” I groaned as I felt a splitting headache. The vision vanished and my headache eased.

“What now?” The red-hair boy grumbled when we felt the corridor quake and some dust fall to form clouds around us.

The henchmen gave us a sign to stop. We waited for the corridor’s tremors to ease before continuing. Luckily, the only issues we had faced was thick dust.

Kalia’s frown deepened when she noted the irregular and vibrant pulses from the red veins.

“Something has upset the chi here,” she carefully whispered.

I frowned, wondering where she had come from. It was clear she was learned. So perhaps she was the daughter of a scholar or magis official. She had to be from some affluent family to know what she did.

“Best we be careful from now on. Knowing too much can be the death of yah,” I whispered my warning to her, which made her gulp and nod. It was good that she was at least aware of this much.

Our walk continued uneventfully. It was hard to tell what time of the day it was when we reached the first main rest stop. A rusted iron signpost stood before a cavern entrance.

“East Hold.” I read in my mind.

We walked on and through a small maze of crystal caverns with narrow paths. The place was littered with limestone stalactites and stalagmites of various sizes. Carpeted around the edges was glowing yellow moss.

“Lichen,” the two-toned eye boy whispered near my ear. I glanced over my shoulder and nodded.

The henchmen had us rest at a dry alcove. It was the first time I had the chance to take in the image of this boy. Unlike the red-haired manly boy, he was on the shorter side with a stockier body. His mop hair was brown and sticky in places, like it hadn’t been washed for weeks. Most likely that was the case. His left eye was indeed a sharp gray and his right a piercing blue. They were made more obvious with his thick, heavy eyebrows. All set within a square shaped face and jawline. He was another boy quickly filling out to be a man.

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I glanced at Troy, who was still showing a baby-face beneath his silver hair, and lean body. I patted his shoulder with my well-wishes.

“What’s that for?” He gave me a concerned look.

“If yah get lucky to drink some milk, yah can also fill out to be manly like these two in no time.” I gave a thumbs up at the two other boys.

Both of them responded with nods of approval.

“Eh?! So mean!” Troy groaned and pouted.

I thought I heard a course chuckle from one of the henchmen.

“Idiot.” Kalia huffed and turned her nose away from me.

“What’s the matter, Little Miss Royalty? Don’t like men?” I tilted my head to one side.

“It’s obvious you do. Shameless girl,” she answered back with snooty airs and flick of her blond ponytail from her shoulders.

It was the first time I noticed how tatty the hem of her simple brown dress had gotten along our journey. Most of the dress’s length still covered below her knees and over her body, ending with a high cut neckline and short sleeves. But there were some snags and holes in places where it had caught on rock.

I sighed and looked at my own similar styled drab dress that wasn’t in any better shape than hers. It was obvious we were still reaching womanhood. So, what gave me the right or experience to judge a man’s worth by the look of him? She was right. I was stupid and had blindly passed a judgment.

“It’s not like that. I dunno. I can’t stop thinking of Troy to being like my baby brother than a man older than me.” I tried to justify my reason and maybe backpedal a bit.

“I don’t get it. That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard. I mean, Troy here might look weak, but he’s certainly got manly qualities to be strong.” She huffed with a highbrow attitude.

“I don’t know if you girls are being kind or mean. I have feelings, yanno!” Troy pouted.

“Sorry. Guess I should stop running my mouth.” I scratched my head with my apology.

“Especially, when it’s disallowed here.” Kalia loftily added with a low whisper. “I suppose, since we still have our tongues in our mouths, whispers are overlooked.”

She eyed a henchman and gulped when the bull helmet head gave a nod.

Troy huffed.

I bowed to him. “Sorry I was mean. We’re still young, so yah can definitely grow up to be like a big brother to me one day, and a true man among men.”

He tilted his head with a pensive frown. “So, your conclusion of the way I look is like me being a little brother?”

“Yeah. I guess I was trying to say that. I can’t put my finger on it. Aside from yah pervy hands, yah remind me of someone who has this baby brother vibe to me. Yet, I have no memory of ever meeting someone like that before.”

“Oh, so, with that aside, I’m manly?” His eyes blinked animatedly.

“Um, more on the developing side, but yeah...”

“You should stop talking now, little miss.” The two-toned eye boy cringed when he saw I was sliding down a conversation rabbit hole.

He changed the subject to an introduction of himself. His name was Khes. For obvious reasons, he didn’t delve into his personal history. The other guy introduced himself as Zak.

One of the henchmen clapped their hands to draw our attention back to them.

We rose and continued our walk, and eventually stopped before a set of double doors at the heart of a paved courtyard. The doors were made out of solid iron and carved with imperial symbols. Two limestone stalagmites supported the sides and illuminated the metal surface with incandescent light.

One of the henchmen placed his hand over a symbol. The doors opened with a groan and clouds of dust. When the dust had settled, we saw a cluttered work area. It was the first time I saw men dressed in different clothes. They worked behind benches on weapons or utility equipment, banged steel on anvils or sweated over boilers. Smells of raw metals and smoke were strong, along with clunking noises and other sounds mechanisms made when they went off.

Some of them flicked us looks as we passed them. Others kept their focus on their chores. I noticed three common traits. The workers wore the same coarse woolen overalls. They worked in silence and carried a burn mark shaped in a symbol just below their right elbow. The sight of the mark made me fret. I wasn’t the only one, based on the awkward and fleeting looks the others were giving at the sight of them. I was glad when we turned onto a quieter path and away from the activity. My legs wobbled as we went down a few steps. We made an abrupt stop a few meters ahead.