Malachi Armstrong
“It’ll take a few days to map it out,” declared Malachi after reviewing everything. The Council sat in their meeting room. The brief exploration of the caverns under the plateau had been as useful as expected. They now had a general idea of what would be needed for the Sixty to make it through that dark labyrinth. “We get lucky and find the exit sooner… but I doubt that will be the case. Most likely it’ll only be located after our mapping efforts have revealed the nature of the maze to us.”
“What do you mean by the nature of the maze?” asked Warner with a frown.
Julia peeped up to explain, “Every maze has a sorta um strategy of how it’s built. Like how sometimes they can just be solved by taking only left turns. Even if you don’t mean to, there’s at least a theme to it. A reflection of how you think, you know?”
“Ok, ok,” nodded Warner. “I get that. We get some twists and turns down on paper, maybe we see the solution to this maze. Save ourselves some bumbling in the dark.”
Julia added, “Correct. And, should the “nature” prove hard to find, mapping the whole cavern will make finding the exit simply a matter of time. Though, hopefully, it won’t take looking into every nook and cranny to find it.”
“What is the plan for mapping?” questioned Molly before theorizing. “You spoke of supplies to track our movements down there. Painting trails would be timing consuming, but would be a trustworthy method.”
“I was thinking more like trail markers than lines,” answered Malachi. “Focus on different branches and only move on when we’re sure of where it all leads.”
“That will be time-consuming,” frowned Molly.
“Yes, but much better than anyone getting lost in the dark. Trust me caving, even without the monsters, can be very dangerous. You know my thoughts, better safe than sorry. We go it slow, but that isn't the only thing I have in mind for us.”
“Whataya mean?” leaned in Warner.
“I only want to bring Rodrick’s and Phelian’s parties down to support mine,” revealed the leader of the Sixty. “Molly and Warner, I want you to use your parties to get the newly formed ones up to speed. Having everyone down there isn’t likely to help much in the long run, but having more functional parties will.”
“That… that might not be the best idea,” grimaced Warner at the same time that Molly said flat out, “This is unacceptable.”
Malachi looked at the two and felt a variety of emotions. Annoyance, anger, and sorrow were the strongest. Julia patted his hand under the table. The two of them had already discussed this privately. Things could not continue as they were with two of his best people. Mistakes were made and not all was forgiven yet, but their lives were on the line. This discordian behavior must not go on. It was a threat that the leader of the Sixty couldn’t afford to exist.
“Tough,” responded Malachi, barely keeping the growl out of his voice. Both looked slapped and opened their mouths to retort back. He didn’t let them. “No, don’t explain. I know what your concerns and objections are. Warner, you fucked up. My feelings on the issue have already been made abundantly clear. Molly, you have understandably not forgiven him for the whole incident. I get it, both of you, but I don’t really care. I can’t.”
“We’re in a monster-filled hole in the ground and, frankly, there isn’t time for this. I don’t care why we’re here. I care about getting us out of here. That’s my job and you’re going to listen to me because one of you pushed me into the position and the other accepted me in it. So, you’ll listen. None of us can afford for you two to remain as you are. Don’t talk to each other in your free time, but out there… I need to know I can trust you two can work together.”
“So, you’ll work in cooperation to get our new parties polished and ready. That way, we don’t all die horribly. Alright?”
The responses to Malachi’s order were polar opposite. Molly fumed, heat entering her eyes for the first time he had ever seen. She stiffly nodded, lips seeming to fight against speaking. On the other hand, Warner froze. Flushing pale as snow while his eyes dropped to the table dully. The brawler’s nod was a faint thing.
“Good! Vincent let the other new party leaders know to find them in the morning,” said Malachi, the sternness slowly leaking from his tone. “All of you should be ready at nine. I suggest the two of you come up with a plan before going to bed.”
While he kept his eyes on the two rebuked Council members, Julia continued the meeting. “That’s everything to discuss about today’s work and the plan for tomorrow is set. Does anyone else have any other business to bring up?”
Malachi saw from the corner of his eye that Harken was considering broaching a subject. No doubt wanted a more formal discussion about the words of Xavier. It was a relief when the priestly man shook himself to silence. A fringe benefit of reprimanding Molly and Warner, guessed the sword acolyte. That meant the timing wasn’t right when emotions were already high.
Don’t worry Harken, we’ll talk about it at some point, thought Malachi. Let people digest it some. Let me get my head around it too, please.
“Before the meeting started, I used our break to deposit my cores,” said Clarissa over her feet propped on the table. Discouraging the behavior had gotten to exhausting to keep trying. “Somethin’ new happened. The Screens asked me if I wanted the whole core value or to harvest the materials.”
Damien perked up, now paying attention. “What does “materials” mean?”
“Well,” hummed Clarissa. “Monster parts basically! It differed between the species. From the otters I got leather and the birds got me feathers and beaks.”
“Interesting!” beamed the obsidian acolyte. “Did they have special properties or magical effects?!”
“Haha, I don’t know,” the redhead replied with a lopsided grin. “Didn’t really look too deeply into it. Though, a new tab showed up called Materials Inventory, so I guess you could see what it’s worth or whatever.”
“Thank you for the heads up,” said Malachi while rolling his eyes. “We’ll have to look into that. Damien, would you look into and bring us a more thorough report on the subject?”
“Hmm, yes, I can do that,” agreed Damien after thinking about it.
Smiling, but not sighing as he wanted to, Malach thanked him.
“Actually, I have a question for us…” began Phelian as he leaned forward. “Why are we even trying to find our way through the maze at all? I’m pretty sure Russel can form a bridge out of stone pretty easily. And, that’s not the only magic the Sixty has access to.”
“I’m not against trying that per se…” admitted Malachi. “However, there are two concerns that make me hesitate to make that our main plan. One, by not going down into the caverns we’ll miss a clue. Not something I was to risk. Second, the floor is clearly designed for the maze to be how we push on through it. Taking a shortcut might be punished.”
“Ok, missing a clue, yeah I get that,” responded Phelain. “The clues we got so far aren’t exactly super clear. Might as well check, but what do you mean by punish?”
Harken broke to answer this one, “You must remember what The Pit is. It is a trial. I can’t say if there are punishments for transgression, but I don’t think it is worth the risk either. More. I believe it would be a disservice to ourselves to skip any part of a floor.”
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“For the record, I vote we skip whatever we can,” added Clarissa.
“Shh!” hissed Julia.
“Whaaat!?” whined the prime archer. “I’m being serious… for once.”
The shieldmaiden eyed her friend, “Really? You’re admitting that you're a loony goof more often than you should be about everything?”
Clarissa’s mouth dropped open in a priceless look of offense. With much dignity, she replied, “I don't know what you are talking about. If I did, it certainly wouldn't be that mouthful of an accusation!”
“Uh-huh, I’m sure your dignity is very wounded,” murmured Julia.
“All I was saying is that there’s nothing wrong with skipping stuff. Being able to do that successfully is a mark of accomplishment all on its own. Could be bad to miss a hint, but we could also be fine without that while getting through faster.”
“That’s a good argument,” pointed out Phelain. “When I developed dungeons in games, it's not like we set up traps or anything if people figured out a way past something.”
“And, while that’s not a big deal in games, we can’t take the same risks,” observed Malachi. “Our actual lives are on the line and skipping might put us in dangerous situations where following along might not. I wish us to rise out of here as much as any of us, but not recklessly. We’ll explore all avenues while covering our bases.”
“I wasn’t suggesting this was a game…” said Phelian, his face darkening. “This is serious and real, I know that. Just pointing out my perspective as a dungeon designer.”
Malachi smiled an apology, “Not my intention to accuse you of that. What I meant was, even if the logic is sound, taking that risk isn’t something we should do. Skipping could land us in a difficult spot. To continue your metaphor, skipping ahead could mean we aren’t able to handle anything because a key item was missed.”
“I’m gonna have to disagree with you there, my leader dude,” said Clarissa, joining in loudly. “That’s overcautious. I say it’s better to toe some lines and break some others. Gotta find out what is exploitable to our advantage.”
Irritability blended into Harken’s tone as he argued, “Malachi is right to ensure that we stay on the right path. The Pit is a trial. That should be treated with some respect, Clarissa. I know you’re capable of showing the proper respect rather than your usual facade of jokes. This is no game. Our rise should be done seriously.”
Clarissa stuck her tongue out at the priestly man before beginning a series of almost comical rude gestures and phrases. Roderick looked up in surprise, absently asking if everyone was sure this wasn’t a game. Smacking the back of her friend’s head, Julia drew the redhead into bickering. The rest of the table fell into a discord of chatter giving arguments about why The Pit was real life.
“Quiet, please,” insisted Malachi. He waited for the hush. “Harken, please don’t put words in my mouth. My opinion has nothing to do with respect, but rather doing my duty to lead us to safety. Clarissa, congratulations, you’ve convinced me that at least testing our limitations could prove valuable. I’m putting you in charge of that, consult with Phelian on it.”
With a finger raised, the prime archer looked ready to argue. Her mouth worked to find words, before sagging in defeat, “Damnit…”
Julia elbowed Malachi in the side for his attention. He was prepared for a rebuke, but she whispered, “Nice one.” Her amusement was beautiful. For a moment, the sword acolyte lost himself in savoring the sight. It was the thickening silence that brought his attention back to the meeting. Everyone was waiting, though Clarissa was more involved with grumbling to herself.
Well three people glaring at me probably means that we’ve done enough, thought Malachi. To the Council, he asked, “Anything else?” Nothing else it seemed. “Alright, let’s go to bed. Remember the parties heading out meet up at nine, but the Council is having a quick debriefing with Reuben at eight about what he saw.”
Chairs scraped the floor and the table cleared. Following the crowd out the door, Malachi whispered a secret to Julia. The shieldmaiden blushed, and a sweet smile accompanied a nod. It was exhilarating to have someone. Especially in the dark nights of The Pit.
He gave the council room one last look, feeling the stony silence behind him. Warner sat as a statue and Molly, a volcano under pressure. His night would be over soon, but theirs looked to be a long and unpleasant one. Malachi offered them a prayer, one of understanding. Mixed feelings, but hopeful.
Molly St Clair
She ground her teeth, wanting to gnash them but wouldn’t. That would be too careless. Doing so might send her into a spiral. Uncontrollable anger and disdain spewing all over the contemptible bastard across the table. It would feel so good to do that. Release this build-up, to howl, and maybe, just maybe not feel so broken anymore. Molly refused to be so uncouth despite the struggle. The acolyte of curses knew herself better than that. Better to bite down. Be strong instead.
He didn’t make it any easier on her. Looking like a kicked puppy while trying to maintain a neutral face. She saw through him. Hated to see that wounded expression. That man did not have the right to be pitiful. It made the rage in Molly’s throat all the more volatile. Silence reigned while she tried to stabilize and he sat like a man waiting for the executor's ax. Infuriating. This quiet even more so. And at having to cock her head to the side to look at him. They sat at a diagonal to each other, having picked seats as far apart as possible.
Malachi is a bastard too, seethed Molly. Angry at being forced to work together. Furious she could not deny the logic of the move. In any other situation, the acolyte of curses would be proud. That fact just made it worse, because being illogical tore at her. Damnit! And why is he so quiet? Say something asshole!
“Get over here, let us talk,” Molly said as coldly as possible. Demanding her fury to freeze.
That man perked up and aimed for the seat directly across. He moved carefully, cautiously. His eyes darted to her face and away several times trying to gauge something. It was a worried face, a strained curl of the lips that he gave her. A dead smile. Molly’s frown deepened in reaction, annoyed at the lack of spine.
Taking a seat, he said, “So, how would ya like to do this?”
An open question that seemed to ask too many things. About them, about their duties, about this terrible moment. Molly wanted to scream in anguish. She felt her Mana reacting to the boil of emotion. It wanted to be used, to be a releasing expression of everything festering inside. The acolyte of curses sneered and decided, Not even him. That is not what my power is for. I am better than this. Get a hold of yourself you dumb bitch!
To his unnerved face, she flatly said, “Currently two teams are requesting to go up with us. It was my thought to test them first and then if they pass, bring them up to walk the first plateau of Floor Two. Our parties would trail behind them.”
Molly felt pretty impressed with the control of her tone. Even a little surprised that some part of her had been working on the problem while she fumed.
He blinked a little in surprise at the change of tone, but that faded as that man turned thoughtful. “What kinda test are we thinkin’? Simulation room obviously… something to try the mettle of their teamwork. We’ll observe 'em together, pass ‘em if both of us agree. That about whatcha were thinkin’?”
A twitch, a little more working together than she wanted. Her thoughts were to just split up the hopefuls and run their own programs. But, that wasn’t what Malachi wanted nor the way for the best results. Reluctantly, Molly agreed. “That makes sense. I propose that while we are doing the test, the rest of our people work with those forming the other new parties.”
Grinning, weakly, but with a handsome grin. He said, “Good idea. I’m sure they would prefer some downtime, but better if they’re useful. Malachi wants us gettin’ everyone settled quick as we can.”
“Should anyone pass, shall we divide up on the plateau?” suggested Molly, wanting to move things along. For once not wanting to get wrapped up in the details. Talking to him was very weird, actually doing it was strange. Frozen fury and something else she liked less.
“Yeah, play chaperone for one loop around and then switch 'em up,” he replied. “That way we both can let Malachi have our opinions on who’s fully functional.”
“I agree with that,” she said and then slipped out, “I find it odd that he would want my opinion on who is ready when Malachi doesn’t trust my party to work alone.”
That man hesitated to answer, wary like an animal as he responded, “He trusts ya, otherwise you wouldn’t be in charge of training. Not just about us… but anyways… he’s smart, knows this gives ya’ll time to mesh better as a group. Y’know, beyond the training room. Real bonds as such…”
It was good advice, but Molly wasn’t sure why she even opened the subject. Much less him of all people. Though, who else would she? An uncomfortable thought. Awkwardness settled as her mind got lost. Trying to sort it out.
“Molly?”
Her eyes flared, the rage thawing as she looked up. The acolyte of curses wanted to rip her name out of his mouth. How dare he echo in her blood. Looking ready to cower, that man almost backed off, but steel entered his jaw. From there it spread, straightening even the back. Molly felt furious and glad. Happy to see him acting more like himself, but enraged that he did so in front of her.
“Hell, fuck me right?” he smirked before the humor died. “You’re… wonderful. Plain and simple. I could go for all the pretty words, trying to explain even a bit of ya. Wouldn’t help me none… don’t doubt yourself. That’s all I really got to say.”
Silence, then “Let’s go over how we want to test ‘em tomorrow and follow the others to bed.”
Molly watched him get up and head towards the console. Giving her the space and the time. She was still furious at him, but that was nice. He wasn’t forgiven. Not yet. Or ever, maybe. Yet, that was nice to hear.
Carefully, she left the table to meet him. Not looking at him, Molly said over the readout, “Mmm, Warner, I was thinking we should…”
The two of them managed to get something together and quietly went their own way to bed.