M01

We Need to Go Deeper

The wood was dense and dark, dominated by tall deciduous trees with thick trunks and thick, bushy foliage that occupied half the trees’ height. An occasional giant mushroom stuck out among the plants, though each one was narrow-capped—the trees would interfere with the larger capped species’, eventually growing to tear into the flesh. However, the mushroom forest was not far from here, and occasionally spores were carried by the wind and found root. As such, beneath the darkness of the trees small mushrooms grew, oblivious to the fact that when they tried to reach their full height they would be choked by all around them.

Despite the wild nature of the forest, there was a decently clear path cutting through the trees. One end went up in elevation, toward the mountain peaks so tall one could be forgiven for forgetting that the forest itself was technically on a mountain. The other end of the path went down for a significant distance, all the way down to the warmer foothills.

A single traveler walked this mountain path, heading downward. She was among the tallest of the humanoid races, having enough height to reach the bottoms of the trees’ foliage. Her fingers were smooth and shiny, lacking fingernails, and when light shone on them it reflected back with a slight bluish tinge, giving her the appearance of glowing despite producing no light herself. Her body was shrouded in a white cloak, but she had no hood, putting her elegant face on proud display for the world to see—eyes so large they took up most of her head with irises sparkling as though they were made of the stars themselves. Her ears were long and pointed, marbled with many twists and turns to assist with hearing even the most distant of noises.

A chill breeze blew through the forest, blowing her hair. Unlike most of her kind, it was not long—cut just above her neck. It was exceptionally pale but had the slightest tinge of gold to it.

She plucked a leaf off a nearby tree and smiled at a joke only she knew.

“Hate to bust your moment with nature, but this is a robbery.”

“Oh, I know,” the tall woman said, glancing at two individuals who had just jumped down from one of the nearby trees. “I heard you.”

The two of them were nekos, a man and a woman, clearly a couple of many years. They were also clearly used to roughing it as they were both absolutely covered in dirt and their clothes, while heavy and suited for the chilly climate, were torn in many places and may not have ever seen a proper washing. Both of them had various bladed weapons displayed proudly on their person—the woman even had a dagger strapped to her tail.

“Heard us and didn’t run?” the man asked, smirking. “Not very skittish for an elf, are ye?”

“Not particularly, no,” the elf said, folding her hands behind her back.

“Maybe you didn’t hear me the first time… this is a robbery.”

The elf smiled. “Oh, I heard you. And before you continue your rather foolish line of questioning, I also understood your meaning. You wish to accost me and take whatever belongings I may have by force for your own personal gain.”

“…She’s alone, right?” the man asked his wife.

She nodded. “Not a soul around besides us.”

“Not true,” the elf said, smiling. “You have four other robbers nearby and somebody trapped in a cage in… that tree over there.” She pointed.

“Stupid elves and their stupid ears…” the man grumbled. “Look, just hand over all your valuables, and we won’t have to dice your precious little body into dozens of pieces.”

“You have made several incorrect assumptions in that sentence.”

“Such as?”

“That I’m willing to give over my valuables and that you’ll be able to cut my body into pieces. And those are just the big ones, you also assumed I had any valuables of the sort you wanted—which may or may not be true—and that my body is precious to me, and, lastly, that dozens of pieces would be sufficient to call me ‘diced’ when, in reality, that would be more like ‘chopped’ if we were being precise.”

“An elf with a death wish…” the man said, shaking his head. “I never thought I’d see the day…”

“Wrong again.”

“What, you’re going to fight us?” the woman guffawed. “Are you going to take out a prissy little bow and hope those pathetic arrows of yours can pierce our hides?”

The elf chuckled. “Assumptions, assumptions, you seem to have quite the problem with them.”

“That’s it, I’m done with this—get her!”

The two of them charged. As expected, the moment they did so, four other bandits dropped from the nearby trees—a large orange gari who had clearly worked out extensively to get his muscles that well-toned, a slightly overweight human who had done just the opposite, and a pair of greater unicorns who thought it made them look cool to paint their horns red and black.

“A suitable first test,” the elf said to herself. She threw off her cloak with such graceful poise that she managed not only to dodge all the bladed attacks, but also keep her cloak completely in-tact while wrapping up one of the unicorns’ heads up and twisting to the side, tossing the quadruped to the ground.

What had lain under her cloak was a curious mix of pristine elegance and raw power. Elves were naturally disposed to frailty, so seeing even the slightest hint of muscle on one of their kind was something to behold.

This particular one had abs clearly visible through her midriff-baring outfit. The clothing itself was rather simple: a blue garment with short sleeves and similarly-colored leggings tucked into her boots. Clipped around her waist was a heavy-duty belt adorned with two scabbards, a whip, a few burlap sacks, and a strange metal rod with a flat square end.

She jumped into the air, using one hand to grab a tree branch while the other removed the unusual rod. With a burst of Orange, the square part popped open and the rod extended, revealing it to be what it truly was.

An Orange*-driven warhammer.

*Most languages on Ikyu differentiate between color and Color, even those far removed from Karli, such as what they are currently speaking, Desc.

The gari bandit took one look at the weapon, recognized its fine craftsmanship, and started running. He did not get far before the elf slammed the full weight of the hammer onto the ground, infusing the crystals with an impressive amount of will.

The shockwave knocked all of the bandits over, including the unicorn who had finally managed to get the cloak off of his face and stand back up.

The elf twirled the warhammer in her fingers like it weighed nothing, slamming its heavy end down on the ground—this time creating no shockwave. She leaned on it like a walking stick and affixed the husband-and-wife pair with a coy smile that only a truly ancient being could pull off.

“I will only say this once. Run.”

The bandits weren’t stupid. They ran away as fast as their legs could carry them—in the case of the unicorns, that was exceedingly quickly, and had the elf been inclined to give chase they would have given her a run for her money.

However, she had no interest in chasing them. She simply stood and waited for them to be out of her sight—though she could still hear them scrambling through the forest. None of them could hear her, however, so she broke out into a huge grin.

“This is exactly what I’ve been looking for all this time.”

She started humming a hymn to herself that was easily over a thousand years old and, were she to speak the words aloud, would have been in a long dead language. She carefully picked her cloak up off the ground and dusted it off, clasping it once more around her neck. Setting off once more, she left the path and headed directly to a tree where she still heard commotion. With a jump, she grabbed hold of the branches and pulled her head into the foliage.

There, trapped in a wooden cage, was a small creature with a tall head dressed in green and brown. The elf did not recognize her species but assumed at first that she must be a child, given the big head, small frame, and childishly green outfit she was wearing. However, upon closer examination, the elf noticed something about the eyes that made her reassess her original deduction. There, nested in the pale-yellow skin and ropey hair with strange white nodules were two irises that had seen much and had great wisdom.

Not to mention the fact that the small creature wasn’t cowering in fear or uncertainty but was just tapping her foot impatiently.

“You gonna let me out or what?”

“I was simply taking you in, for I have not seen your kind before.” The elf pulled out one of her swords and slashed twice, expertly separating several bars from the cage itself. “You are free to go, little one.”

“Just because I’m small doesn’t mean I would find the term ‘little one,’ to be endearing,” she said as she jumped out of the cage and onto a nearby branch, looking for a way to get down to the ground.

“Oh, but you do, you just say that because your kind has trained you to do so.”

This stopped the little creature. “Are you going to play word games with my head now for your own amusement?”

“It is both for my amusement and your benefit that you be challenged, little one.” Before the small creature knew what was happening, the elf picked her up and dropped from the tree, setting her gently on the ground. “Our words must be sharpened just as our body and spirit.”

The creature fingered a triangular-shaped pendant around her neck. “…Who exactly are you?”

“I am Envila,” the elf said. “I have no other names, nor extensions to that one, unless you count my membership in the fay race.”

“I thought they called you an elf?”

“That is their name for us, and there are distant brothers and sisters who have made that moniker their own, but for me I have and always will be a fay. You?”

“I’m Hamburger.”

“What a curious name…”

“Everyone says that about our names,” Hamburger said.

“What are your people?”

“The humans call us halflings. We call ourselves ne’kk’kk’ith’o’piil. But that just means ‘person’ so it isn’t really helpful, and most of you out here can’t pronounce it.”

“…Do you mind if I try?”

“Go ahead.”

Envila cleared her throat. “Ne’kk’k’ith’o’piil.”

“Wow, that was impressively close, but you missed the back-click and the echo.”

Envila nodded slowly. “Your language would be a most fascinating one to learn.”

“Virtually everyone who tries gets too frustrated. It’s actually a lot simpler for us to just learn your easier tongues.”

“Perhaps I should introduce you to Faelic. It is the only known language from before the Second Catastrophe to still be spoken today—though, I can see from your face that you do not know what I speak of. To think, such time has progressed that there exist people without memories of the travesty…” Her smile did not falter—rather than finding this depressing or sorrowful, the thought seemed to improve her spirits. “Do tell me, little one, where are you going?”

“To Descent,” Hamburger said, performing a few stretches.

“The city of the blimps! I myself just came from there, and I must warn you, without proper supplies I doubt you will survive the climb up the mountain.”

“I had supplies. But then bandits.” Hamburger took in a deep breath and set her sights on the upward path. “I’m not going to let that stop me, though.”

“Then you are fortunate you ran into me. I have food, drink, and the knowledge required to survive the ascent.”

“And a giant hammer.”

“Yes, the giant hammer helps too.”

Hamburger let out a sigh. “You clearly have somewhere important to be, and I don’t want to be a burden, but… even I can tell I probably need the help.”

“You are even more fortunate than I realized, then! For I have nowhere to go except where the wind takes me.”

“A wanderer?”

“I am hoping to be more than that. I do not just seek new locations and experiences, I seek danger, adventure, and—if possible—the very ends of Ikyu.”

“…The humans say Ikyu is round.”

“My, you do come from a secluded people, don’t you?” Envila chuckled mirthfully. “It was an expression. The ends of Ikyu do not exist, so to seek them is akin to seeking the impossible.”

“So… you’re crazy.”

“Oh, quite, my people are known for hiding themselves away, trying to avoid death at all costs, for we are ageless. As such, we squander our great gift of timelessness, turning it against itself in a dreadful ironic twist.”

“We halflings keep to ourselves too. Well, we did, but then the humans found us living in the Grove. They’re nice and all, but… they’re really loud, and managed to get it into Grampy’s head that he was an adventurer.” She frowned. “He’s been gone for over a year and nobody was doing anything, so here I am.”

“You seek your grandfather?”

“Great-grandfather. He is far too old to even be working a garden, much less going to Descent, but he definitely went this way.” She shook her head. “He was too crazy for his own good.”

“Crazy or no, it appears I have found my first quest.” She kneeled down and laid her hand on the halfling’s shoulders—an impressive feat, considering the height difference between them. “I shall endeavor to help you find him. I ask for no payment aside from your companionship on the journey, until the moment comes for us to part ways.”

“Um… sure? Thanks, I guess?”

Envila stood up. “Then let us go to Descent. As you are a creature who has not seen much of the world, I am sure it will be quite a treat, though the snow will be quite uncomfortable.”

“Right. So… you’re the expert, how do we go about doing this?”

“Well, as soon as I take care of a little loose end, we head back up the trail until we arrive at the Waystation, where we purchase—or, in my case, buy back—warmer clothes for the ascent. Then we follow the chain until we come to Lower Descent.”

“…Why do they call it Descent if you have to go so high up to get to it?”

“The blimps are creatures of the sky, to them, building anything is a descent.”

“Oh. Yeah, that makes sense.” Hamburger tilted her head. “So… loose end?”

“Yes, right this way.” Envila gestured for Hamburger to follow her a short distance into the forest. There laid one of the bandits, specifically the overweight human. His hair was pitch black and covered one of his eyes, while his outfit was mostly dark-stained leather. His ankle was stuck in a stump and twisted at a clearly unnatural angle.

“Stay away from me, psychotic forest freak!” he shouted.

Envila shook her head. “I will do no such thing. However, you have my assurances that I will not harm you.” She kneeled down and gingerly pried the wood of the stump back, her strength bending it considerably. “Slowly remove your foot, do not strain it.”

The bandit did as asked, if only because he didn’t want to hurt his ankle even more.

“Hmm… that is very badly broken,” Envila said. “And I do not have any Green on me. A foolish oversight, on my part, for I did not wish to do away with any scars I may attain… and I neglected to think of others who may need my services. Do forgive me.”

The bandit looked at her like she was insane.

“Are any of your fellow bandits skilled in the art of Green?”

“You think we just have arcane crystals lyin’ around?” He asked with a snort. “We’re bandits, we’re lucky if we have any magic, and none of us are great at it.”

“Then there appears to be no choice, we must treat your wound and take you to Descent.”

“Wh-what!?” the bandit stammered.

“Such a dramatic break would not set correctly without the proper medical procedure, and the closest place with the proper doctors is Descent. They are known to employ fairies, so your healing process will be greatly expedited.”

“You really do want to help him, huh?” Hamburger asked.

“I am partially responsible for his injury, but even if I were not, I would still offer my services.” Envila smiled in the bandit’s direction. “And by the way, just in case you thought you had a choice in the matter, you do not. Your pride would lead you to live the rest of your life with a permanent foot injury, and I just can’t have that.”

“No… you can’t just… up and take me to Descent!”

“Hamburger, do you see any reason why I can’t?”

Hamburger shook her head. “Nope. I can see many reasons why you shouldn’t but you seem like the sort who doesn’t change her mind easily.”

“A correct assessment, though likely not because of the reason you are thinking.” Envila reached into her cloak and pulled out one of her burlap sacks. “Let’s see here, some tight bandages for your foot…”

The bandit tried to crawl away, but the pain in his foot was too much. He let out a howl and flopped to the ground, breathing heavily.

“Do be still, this will be a lot less painful if you don’t fight it.”

“Mmmf…”

“By the way, what is your name?”

“I don’t have to tell you.”

“It’s Minch,” Hamburger said.

“Traitor,” Minch grumbled.

“Traitor to what? You kidnapped me.”

“She does have a point there,” Envila agreed. “Now, I am about to wrap up your foot. It is going to hurt a lot when I force it into the right position.”

“Wh… why would you say that!?”

“Because it is the truth.” She gave him a warm, calming smile. “Now hold still.”

A decidedly high-pitched and rather pathetic scream rang out throughout the forest.

~~~

The Waystation was literally just a one-room wooden shack at the edge of the forest. It was lightly dusted with fresh-fallen snow, though only on one side, for the halfwith the chimney melted the white fluff faster than it could accumulate. A thick rope made of black thread was attached to one corner of the shack and went up the side of the mountain until the snow was so deep that the black line was obscured.

Envila walked up to the shack with her usual grace and precision, which was all the more impressive because Minch was strapped to her like a backpack, and he was not a small man.

Hamburger scampered along behind them, shivering. “This shack better have all the stuff we need…”

“They do their best to stock every size of gear,” Envila explained. “Though food is not offered, as they cannot promise it won’t be toxic to some people.”

“Everyone is always worried about that,” Hamburger said. “We halflings can eat basically anything, it turns out.”

“Sadly, fay are notoriously weak of stomach.” Envila shook her head. “There are many culinary delights that I must refrain from consuming; though it is a breeder of patience and contentment, learning to appreciate the sights and the smells in place of what I cannot have or eat.”

“You use way too many words when you talk,” Minch groaned.

“I can talk simply. See? It’s easy.” She chuckled. “It just lacks a certain charm and eloquence; furthermore, to speak as I do is to constantly refine one’s words to a higher degree; of how to speak with precision and complexity without inducing confusion. It is a dance, albeit one I suspend for a good laugh now and again.”

“…Why couldn’t you have just left me in the forest?”

“It would not have been good for you.”

“You already told him that,” Hamburger pointed out.

“Rare is the individual who will learn something from having heard it once.”

They finally made it to the Waystation itself. The window in the side opened suddenly, revealing a blue sphere without any features sitting on top of a pedestal. Behind the sphere was every manner of climbing equipment, heavy clothing, and survival tools.

“What… is that?” Hamburger asked, pointing at the blue sphere.

“You mean who is that,” Envila said, leaning down so she could place an elbow on the windowsill. “This is Mizra, a shapeshifter. She takes the form of a blue sphere so people don’t accuse her of impersonating them.”

A four-fingered hand emerged from the blue sphere and waved.

“She doesn’t talk much. By which I mean she doesn’t talk at all, for she never bothered to learn how to form proper vocal cords and she doesn’t care to do so now. She is perfectly content in her life, sitting here in the wilderness, helping the weary traveler with her trinkets.” Envila took out some coins from her purse—featureless discs of pure metal that she could easily press between her fingers. “This should be enough for three sets of appropriately sized jackets, extra water, air cacti, rope, an emergency climbing kit, a few extra trinkets you’ll throw in because you like me, and extra change for you to keep because you’re underappreciated.”

Mizra gladly took the coins by opening a hole in herself and throwing the coins in. She proceeded to turn into a blue beetle the size of a cat with a bizarrely human hand sticking out of the top, which she then used to gather all their things.

Minch shivered—he could only barely see the shapeshifter from his angle on Envila’s back, and he didn’t like anything about what he was seeing. He absent-mindedly reached into his tunic and started munching on some sunflower seeds.

Envila spared him further encounters with Mizra by walking over to the black rope. “This is the line that leads up Mount Descent. It is made of dwarven fibers of the finest make, and even saboteurs would find it difficult to sever the connections. The path is well maintained, but regularly covered in snow—we must follow this line and dig it up as we go, or else risk becoming lost in the flurry of the higher elevations.”

“This is a terrible idea,” Munch whimpered.

“I agree,” Hamburger said. “But it’s where we gotta go, so suck it up.”

“This wasn’t my choice!”

“You can still suck it up.” Hamburger rolled up her sleeves and cracked her knuckles. “Let’s take on this mountain.”

~~~

Had the great Mount Descent been a completely natural formation, it would have been nearly impossible for the average person to climb. Fortunately for everyone, there were paths cut through the stony rock that were older than the city of Descent itself—no one knew who had cut the paths, and they were so ancient that they were broken and useless in many places, but their existence turned a nigh-impossible climb to one that was bearable, albeit far from easy.

It was along these ancient paths that the cable was laid. No matter how deep the snow got, the cable could always be pulled out one meter* at a time, bit by bit. The paths rarely cut through any places with a sheer drop off, and there were few predators at this high of an elevation, so the only real danger was the absurd cold. And, if one were small enough, the threat of falling into the snow and getting completely covered.

*All units are, as usual, translated into metric for our sake. Rest assured they do not use the same units as the Kingdom of Kroan.

“AUG—” Hamburger’s yell was cut short as she fell face-first into the snow. It quickly gave way beneath her and subsequently fell in overtop of her, trapping her within the frigid fluff. She started to struggle, but the more she did that, the deeper she sank.

Envila rammed her hand into the snow and grabbed Hamburger by the back of her coat, yanking her out in one swift motion. “Perhaps I should carry you from this point on, little one.”

“Y-y-you’re already carrying Useless McBandit…” Hamburger said, teeth chattering.

Envila wiped the snow off of Hamburger’s face. “My strength is more than sufficient to add your small burden to his sizable one. Although, even pointing out such a thing is apt to make him think I’m subtly insulting him; which I have no intention of doing.”

“What?” Minch asked, quite confused.

“I called you fat. You didn’t notice. I brought attention to it in hopes to smooth over our relations. It has now crashed and burned rather spectacularly.” Envila rubbed her fingers together. “Hmm… Hamburger, are these spores that have found their way on your face?”

“Oh no, I’m so sorry!” Hamburger stammered. “Your hand’s going to have a nasty rash in a few hours, now…”

“Perhaps, perhaps not, for I am a plast and generally don’t get what the animals consider ‘rashes,’ and most toxins of beings separate from me have little effect.”

“A what?”

“There are five types of life on this world of ours, six if you count the arcanely driven spirited. You are evidently a fungus, marked by spores and a particular texture one tends to call “spongy.” I am a plast, a creature derived from the smooth, tough, and often colorful material also rather imaginatively called plast. Minch here, and all humans, are animals, the most varied classification which has many academic reasons for the distinction, but really just seems like the ‘other’ category.”

“Sure seems like people are obsessed with knowing out here…” Hamburger said.

“I myself am simply old and have accumulated a vast store of knowledge. Most of it completely trivial and useless, but it’s there nonetheless.”

“And we’re next to Descent,” Minch said. “That should be the first thing you notice.”

“Ah yes, Descent, city of the sky, land of the learned. Have you ever been, Minch?”

“N-no. We’re bandits, we don’t go into cities.”

“Then you are in for quite the treat. Although…” Envila stopped trudging through the snow and lifted up the black rope, finding it attached to a large red post that stuck several meters out of the ground. “Ah, it appears we are at the point where humans begin to have difficulty breathing.” She reached into her cloak and brought out several round, green fruits. “If you feel short on breath, bite into these. They are air cacti and while they have little bristles on them, they contain what you need to breathe, unless any of you happen to be able to breathe water?”

Hamburger took the air cacti and handed a few over to Minch. She bit down, finding the little bristles to be uncomfortable, but not exactly painful. What was far more surprising was the sudden BANG of air that rushed out the moment her teeth made it through the outer shell. The plant definitely did its job, shooting her full of air that would keep her going for quite some time, but the shock of the noise made her freeze in place.

“Minch, don’t touch me,” she said, eventually. “I am probably very toxic right now.”

“Oh joy,” Minch grumbled.

Envila kept walking as they figured out the air cacti, eventually coming to the top of a small hill of snow that looked out over the great mountain range. The forest was so far below them it was hard to make out among the jagged lesser mountains surrounding the glory that was Descent itself. The sun was currently behind a cloud that dominated the view of anything above them—a cloud that the rope led right into.

“I’ve never been in a cloud…” Hamburger said.

“You will be rather disappointed, as it is just fog but at a higher elevation,” Envila pointed out. “It’ll keep us from seeing any spectacular views for a while, and if we’re particularly unlucky we will get rather wet from passing through.” She took in a deep breath and set her eyes on the path ahead. “I shall endeavor to take us through quickly.”

Her journey back up the mountain continued, onwards and upwards, the rope providing her a lifeline in a truly inhospitable climate.

~~~

“Looks like we’ll get fog all the way to Lower Descent!” Envila said with a laugh—and then she stopped herself, taking a bite of an air cactus. This high up, even she couldn’t afford to talk all that much. Still, the last post they’d found indicated they weren’t far from their destination, so the annoyance was about to be over.

She checked to make sure her passengers were still fine—they had learned how to consume the air cacti without being loud but had fallen silent a few hours back. Both of them were still breathing but she had to make sure they weren’t losing consciousness and forgetting to take in air. Fortunately, she found that both were fine, if extremely tired and short of breath.

It was at this point she saw it.

The bottom of the lift.

“Ah, at last, our journey comes to a close!”

The lift was a sturdy cage constructed of white plast that held up a single stone disc that served as the floor. A large chain was tied to the top of the cage, going up until it was completely obscured by the fog.

Envila had to crouch to enter the lift, but managed to look dignified while doing so. Using one hand she set Hamburger down and using the other she grabbed hold of the spherical Magenta crystal embedded in the roof. It flashed with color for a split second before sending the signal up the chain to the destination.

Somewhere far above them there was a loud clank, and the cage started to be reeled up. It was hard to tell, but there was also a chain affixed to the bottom of the cage—to keep it from blowing around while it was lifted higher and higher.

The cage lifted at a slow, meandering pace, without much fanfare aside from the regular clank of the chains. They were soon completely cut off from both the ground and the sky; all was fog in every direction.

Hamburger shivered.

“Do not fret,” Envila said. “Your fear shall be replaced with wonder shortly.”

Her words were prophetic. The cage emerged from the top of the cloud and beheld the magnificence of Descent.

The entire mountain summit had been transformed. There were buildings of stone with roofs painted ochre brown—they went down so far they went beneath the clouds, so it was impossible for the travelers to tell how large the city truly was. Up and up the mountain the buildings went, twisting and turning in a meandering path that had no clear pattern. A curious inversion of expectations was on full display—one would think the lower elevations would have less impressive craftsmanship for they would be where the poor lived, but this was not so in Descent. While it was true that the monetarily challenged lived at lower elevations, the fact remained that the lower buildings had been built later than the ones at the top, and as such were constructed with the skill passed down from previous generations. The higher city had, for the most part, simpler structures with less intricate designs, while the lower ones often sported large artistic reliefs of circles within circles dancing in mathematical patterns.

The very highest parts of the city, near the summit, were maintained spectacularly. Even from their lower position, the group could see a massive, glittering flag whipping in the wind, shining its lights down on a tall building made not of stone, but of metal, that managed many ropes and chains that rose even higher into the sky. Amidst these chains were many other impressive locales—a gargantuan Sanctuary that not only had a glowing Blue triangle complete with the divine pattern, but also a truly massive statue of Dia, represented as a generic humanoid with hands outstretched to the eastern city. Exactly opposite her place on the mountain was a statue of similar size and shape, but with many more details—she wore a flowing robe that rippled with flowers, mushrooms, hard geometric shapes, and smooth curves while in her hand was an unfurled scroll. Her other hand was tucked into her robe, near where the heart would be on most humanoids. She represented the spirit of Wisdom.

There were many lesser statues around them near the summit, but all of them dwarfed in comparison to these two.

Naturally, though, these statues were on the ground, and everything they saw was Lower Descent. The cables and ropes that rose into the sky led to Descent Proper. At first, it didn’t even look like a city, but rather a bunch of green, mossy spheres tied together with smooth white lines. It was only upon squinting that one could tell the white lines tying the mossy spheres together were structures, structures that dozens of flying creatures moved in and out of, ranging from balloon-whales to the highest flying birds to the blimp people themselves; massive ovoid shapes easily the size of a normal house with brightly painted sides and numerous tentacles blowing in the thin breeze.

There were things even higher than that, but their view was obstructed. What lay above Descent Proper, most visitors would never see.

Their cage finally reached a landing spot—one of three protrusions that extended out from Lower Descent like docks, in order to both manage the various cages and meet with balloon-whale riders. The arcane devices that pulled the cages up and down were cylindrical in shape and composed of a mixture of metal, stone, and a decent amount of Orange crystal to drive their cranking power. Naturally, there were always at least two people manning the device to make sure nobody was left stranded at the bottom of the cage.

The first thing a visitor noticed about Descent was how awe-inspiring it was.

The second thing was how loud it was, due entirely to the fact that there were open vents everywhere along the ground blowing out immense billows of air.

Hamburger took in a sharp breath and her head suddenly felt clear. “Woah…”

“You’ll have to speak up!” Envila shouted. “They haven’t found a way to get air to the city quietly, so all Lower Descent communication is done by shouting!” She waved down a blue gari with a purple cap that must have signified some kind of official office. “Hey! You! The human backpack resting upon my shoulders is in need of some advanced healing, I suspect nothing less than a fairy will do! What are you waiting for? Git!”

“You do realize how expensive that is, right!?”

“Do I appear to be a newborn? Or, perhaps, has the price for a fairy treatment gone up from precisely one-point-three thousand diracs?”

The gari held up his hands in surrender and ran off.

“Is that a lot of money?” Hamburger asked.

“A lot of money!?” Minch shouted. “That would have fed the entire clan for a month! You had that much on you!?”

“Not at all,” Envila said. “I traveled only with twenty, knowing it would be nearly useless once I got far into the world. My residence, however, has been accumulating interest for… oh, let’s just say quite some time!”

“You lived here!?”

“For the vast majority of my life!” Envila said with a chuckle. “It is quite the place, usually what one would consider a destination to go to in order to have an adventure, not away, but even a place such as this can run out of its charm, especially as the years wear on!”

“Is there somewhere quieter we can talk without shouting!?” Hamburger asked.

“Yes, actually, let’s slip into a dock tavern!”

The dock tavern was a building made of something resembling marble not that far away from them, with a sign that sported a fork, spoon, and some kind of swirly line next to the two that probably represented some kind of third eating utensil. The double doors that were the entrance had two sets—arranged so that the air wouldn’t all rush in or out of the building at once, allowing the interior to remain comfortable while also keeping much of the noise out.

Once they were inside, one could forget they were in Descent, for it looked just like any other tavern one might come across in their travels. There was a warm fireplace to one side with strange paintings of questionable quality hanging over it, a couple of people passed out drunk in the corner, and a bar where a pink gari was cleaning a glass and whistling to herself.

“Welcome to the Plucky Pork!” the gari said with a wave. “My name’s Seskii, what’ll it be today?”

“We just wanted a place to get out of the cacophony,” Envila said, throwing Seskii a coin anyway. “If we feel like it, we shall order as we see fit.”

“Ooooh… adventurers!” Seskii grinned. “Can I interest you, perhaps, in some potions of the finest make?”

“Oh? A brewer, are you?” Envila’s smile widened. “I have never heard of such an ancestry.”

“You wouldn’t have,” Seskii said with a chuckle, sliding a glass bottle over the bar to Envila. “That right there is a night vision potion, good for that human friend of yours if he ever needs to see as well as you two.”

“I am not their friend!” Minch blurted.

“Keep telling yourself that,” Seskii said.

“Wait… how did you know I had night vision?” Hamburger asked, tilting her head.

“Well, you’re not the first one of your kind I’ve seen! There was this really shriveled looking old guy with a missing tooth…”

“Grampy!” Hamburger jumped up onto the bar and looked Seskii right in the eyes. “Where is he now?”

“He was looking for adventure but couldn’t get anyone to pay his fare up to Descent Proper, so he went the other direction—descended into the mines.”

“And that’s the last you saw of him?”

Seskii nodded. “Yep! For all I know he’s still down there, looking for treasure.”

“Yeah that… that does sound like him.” Hamburger sighed. “I’d just like to know if he’s okay.”

“He is.” Seskii winked. “Call it a hunch.”

“…I want more than that.”

“Then the mines beckon to you!”

“Most who ascend Mount Descent seek to reach new heights,” Envila said with a knowing smile. “It seems that you seek to reach new depths. It is a great irony that the tallest known mountain is the site of the deepest known tunnel into the earth, carved by many different miners over what amounts to eons of work. Many of those tunnels were likely carved by the same forgotten people who made the paths that led us up here. There is great interest from the higher academics above our heads to plunge deeper and deeper into the core of Ikyu, despite the dangers that lurk in the depths.”

“D-dangers?” Hamburger stammered.

Envila nodded. “There a—”

At this point, the gari official ran into the doors, a small flickering light sparking at his side. “Th-there they are… ma’am…”

Envila’s eyes widened. “Oh, I was not expecting you.”

The spark of light flew up to Envila’s face, revealing it to be a four-winged glowing insect vaguely like a dragonfly, but without the tail and with complex graspers at the end of its legs rather than feet. A single red stripe ran down the otherwise blue creature, and a white hat with a stylized red heart sat upon the head, signifying membership in a medical profession.

“So you came back with your wing tucked into your back, did you?” she asked with a slight buzz followed by a snort.

“Well, in a technical sense, yes, my wing is folded up. However, I fully intend to set out again, after my friend here is healed.”

“I am not your friend!” Minch shouted.

“He is in denial about the reality of his situation.”

“Wait, hold on, question,” Hamburger pointed at Envila. “Wing?”

Envila nodded, removing her cloak and pointing to her back, where there was a small, almost invisible slit. “Most plasts have five limbs, and fay are no exception. Ours is just a folded up membrane that, when extended, acts as a shimmering focus for a flight attribute. It is rather fragile, though, so we rarely reveal it, and I am currently pushing societal taboos as it is pointing it out and talking about it in public, but there aren’t any other fay around at the moment, so any minor discomfort will be directed only at our little fairy here who isn’t much of a fan of me to begin with.”

“Not much of a fan!? Hah!” The fairy spat toward the ground—though her spit was so small that it evaporated before it actually hit the floor. “My family has had to heal you more than any other person in this city and we’re a lineage of professional fairy doctors!”

“You were well compensated, Ix.”

Ix pointed an accusatory leg at her. “Elves aren’t supposed to go through intensive weight training and break their arm every other week!”

“Oh, definitely not,” Envila said with a chuckle.

“My grandmother became a stress-ball because of you!”

“That was her fault and not my own, I did my best to assist her—though you no doubt are about to suggest I could have ceased my training, in which case I will ask you where the moral line is drawn to one’s own betterment and the comfort of others, where you will fall flat as you have not studied the finer points of philosophy.”

“Bu—mmm—GAH!” Ix threw her front feet into the air. “Fine, what’s the injury?”

“Very badly broken ankle, partially my fault as I did not stock up on Green. You are correct, at least in part, about my tendency to forget others in my self-considerations. Clearly, I need to improve in such areas.”

“I hate you and everything about you,” Ix grumbled. She directed Envila to remove Minch’s boot and undo the bandages, revealing a very sideways foot. “Yep. That’s busted. Hold still.” She pressed all six of her legs together and flapped her wings extremely quickly, forming an arcane aura round her. She zipped around the foot several times, transferring the aura from her to the broken foot. The aura twirled around like a miniature tornado, and Minch’s foot began to look a bit like pudding—but it hurt no more than usual, and as it shifted around back to its normal place, the pain slowly went away.

“That’s… incredible,” Hamburger said, jaw dropping.

Ix fell to the ground, no longer able to flap her wings. “Yeah… it is… yay… fairies… blessed with the attribute of healing… by draining their own energy…” She let out a buzz-yawn. “I… am checking into a room for the night, barkeep.”

“Oh, I don’t own this place,” Seskii said, shaking her head. “You’ll have to talk to Gerald, I’m just covering while he’s on break.”

“How… annoying…” Ix skittered off, swaying left and right as though she were partially drunk. It was clear that the other patrons of the tavern paid special attention to her—crushing a medical fairy, even by accident, was not something anyone wanted on their record.

“Well, now that that’s done with…” Minch jumped up onto his foot and stretched it. “I am going to leave you crazies now and get off this mountain.”

“Wow, not even a thank you?” Hamburger huffed.

“I did not expect one,” Envila pointed out. “Though I am surprised he wishes to leave so soon, surely there are plenty of opportunities now that he’s in the city.”

“Hahah, noooo, not staying here.” Minch shook his head. “Way too crazy, dangerous, and…”

Just when Hamburger was about to ask about why he thought it was dangerous, a hulking brute of a beast pushed open the tavern doors. He was exactly as tall as Envila, but much wider and with far less graceful features. His face was a deep mossy green that contrasted with the pale yellow thorn-like teeth that poked out of his maw. What appeared at first to be short hair was actually thousands of little tiny leaves that dotted his head, chin, shoulders, and back. Where there was none of this false “hair” there were vine-like threads crossing all over his skin—perhaps it was his skin.

Hamburger eeped, letting out a small cloud of spores. Fortunately, she wasn’t close enough to anyone for this to be a big problem.

The green behemoth pointed a finger at Minch. “Minch Asterbol! We’ve been lookin’ for ye! By chance are ye here to pay the Boss what ye owe?”

“Um… um… um…” Minch started sweating. “Well, you see, funny story, I never intended to go to any city ever again, and, uh…”

“Y’see, that don’t matter, yer here now, and ye’ve got a checkbook that needs balancin’, got it?” He scowled, baring even more of the thorn-like teeth. “So pay up or get a pummelin.’ “

Seskii cleared her throat. “Hey, could you, like, not? Bar fights aren’t allowed, you know.”

“Who’re you to challenge a messenger of the Mistress!?”

Seskii yawned. “Look, buddy, I’m just trying to keep you from bashing a wall down.”

Envila stood up. “Fortunately, such harsh actions will not be necessary. It appears that, once again, I have unintentionally ruined this poor man’s life despite intending to do quite the opposite—a real shame, that, but also somewhat amusing, I have to admit. As such, I will pay his debt in order for you not to smash his skull into a thousand tiny pieces with that rather impressive fist of yours, sir… orc?”

The orc blinked. “I’m Kurz. But.” Suddenly he gained a much more refined voice and dropped his speech to a hushed whisper. “Look, you seem nice, you really don’t want to take on this guy’s debt, it’s two million diracs.”

“Oh, is that all?” Envila smirked. “Done.”

“…What?”

“WHAT!?” Minch shouted.

“I easily have that much saved in my estate,” Envila said, leaning back on the bar. “You may notice that Ix didn’t even bother to ask me for payment, she knows I have plenty and have a habit of spending it on acts of kindness such as this. Now, such a large sum will no doubt be tied up in the banks for a week or so, but as I had already left the city once, I can organize some installment transfers.” She sighed. “I was kind of hoping to be away from my money, but here I am, back in Descent once more…”

Kurz scratched his head. “Huh. Well. That works, I guess. You’re off the hook, Minch.”

Minch stared at Envila in shock. “Wh.. wh… wh…”

“Don’t thank me,” Envila said, holding up a hand. “I know how much it pains your pride. Though this does explain your reluctance to come. You could have said something, I would have disguised you.”

“I… what… you…?”

“The world does not know how to deal with a kind heart,” Kurz said, turning to Envila. “You are a rare one, miss.”

“I suppose I am, though I have been forged this way only partially by choice.” She chuckled. “Come, mister Kurz, you seem to be an amiable fellow with more to say than most of your kind. Join us for a drink?”

“Don’t mind if I do!” Kurz said, sitting down on the ground since he was far too large to use the normal chairs.

“A round of four drinks coming right up!” Seskii said.

“Wait, for the kid?” Kurz asked.

Hamburger sighed. “So even with small races like fairies around, they’ll still think I’m a kid?”

“Oh, I did not know,” Kurz said with a bow of his head. “Never seen a thing like you before.” He grinned at Minch. “Where did you find these two?”

Minch scooted away from Kurz but said nothing.

However, he did not try to leave the table.

Seskii arrived with their drinks. “Here you are!”

“So…” Envila said. “Perhaps we should begin in the forest where we met…”

~~~

“So here it is… the mines,” Envila said, holding out her hands. “Behold it in its magnificence.”

“You’re being sarcastic,” Hamburger deadpanned.

“Oh, yes, quite.”

The entrance to the mines was just a hole in the side of the mountain that led down a boring tunnel lit by Magenta oscillators.

“Well, that’s where Grampy went, so that’s where we’re going.” Hamburger glanced behind her. “Though I have no idea why those two are still here.”

Kurz tapped a large pendant on his chest, prompting the Purple crystals within to activate and a warm, sunlike glow to emanate. “I’ve always wanted to go underground, y’see, but never really had the time or the resources.” He tapped another sun-lamp on his wrist. “But, seeing as I just scored two million for the Mistress, I’ve earned some time off and you lot were going in anyway and you seem like quite the interesting group, so why not?”

“Okay, you just have a free spirit that really has no business being inside an orc or a shakedown guy. But… Minch?”

“You guys seem… safer than elsewhere,” Minch said.

“I think he wants to mooch off your money,” Hamburger said.

“What? No… well… not only that…”

Envila winked at him. “Come with me and you’ll enjoy the benefits of my money, but most importantly you shall be shaped into the man I know you can be!”

“…Already having second thoughts about this…” He glanced back out at the city of Descent. Then he quickly turned his head forward. “Yes, into the mines, into the mines sounds like a good idea.”

“…You don’t owe anyone else money, do you?” Hamburger asked.

“Nope. At least, not that I’m aware of.”

“He was a bandit,” Envila admitted. “Lots of people would have it out for him if they remembered him.”

“Hmm. Good point.” Hamburger shrugged. “Well, onward, I guess.” She set out first, but she soon ended up in the rear of the group on account of her short legs. Kurz noticed her trailing behind and picked her up, setting her on his massive shoulders.

“Gotta stick together, it’s easy to get lost down here,” Kurz said. “And you’ll get tired before the rest of us.”

Hamburger nodded. “Thank you, Kurz.”

The initial journey through the mines was extremely boring. It was just a single tunnel, lit only by Magenta and the sun-lamps on Kurz. There were no signs of people—just rocks, rocks, and more rocks. However, in time, they came to a lift—a lift right in the center of the mountain. This lift was not composed of plast or stone, but rather pure metal. It was of the same type as the cage that brought them up to Descent, however, as it had a Magenta crystal embedded in the ceiling area.

It was a bit of a tight fit with Kurz there, but they managed to squeeze in without too much discomfort. Kurz activated the Magenta orb with his hand, and the lift descended into a tunnel. Were it not for Kurz’s sun-lamps, they would have been plunged into absolute darkness.

They descended down.

Down.

Down.

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“Can you imagine the old days, before the elevators?” Kurz asked. “There were stairs all the way down, unless you wanted to trust someone to lower you down manually!”

“Oooh, I remember that,” Envila said with a chuckle. “Though the memories are both amusing and a little tragic, barely a month went by without a report of someone losing their life.”

“…My lady! Your features do not do your age justice!”

Envila smirked. “I have been with Descent for quite some time, Kurz, though back then I was too enamored with my own immortality, as most of my people are. Tell me, when was the last time you even saw a Fay out in the open?”

“I’ve seen several behind closed doors, but out in the open? None but you, miss.”

“Precisely. To live a life without danger… for we are frail, yet blessed with eternity should we attain it.” She shook her head. “Absurdity, I had been out of the city less than a day and I already felt more alive than I ever had been.”

“Sounds like your people should listen a bit to you.”

Envila chuckled. “Oh, the truth, absolutely, however quite a worthless endeavor. It took me quite some time to tear myself away, and even then only just.”

“…I don’t know,” Hamburger said. “Sometimes family is what’s most important.”

Envila looked at Hamburger with sad eyes. “My people… are not my family, little one. I never knew my parents and I am sterile.”

“O-oh…”

“Perhaps that is what drove me to leave. They all had the next generation to raise and teach their ways… while I sat on the side, watching and thinking.” She patted Hamburger on the head. “You have not hurt me with your questions, do not fret, I do not fear my past nor the sad memories, be they long ago or recent. I came to terms with most of this long ago. It is not hard, even for one such as myself, to see how family could be worth risking everything—even setting out on a quest you do not wish for to the depths of Ikyu.”

Hamburger smiled. “Thanks for coming.”

“Don’t mention it.”

~~~

While there most certainly were offshoots and caves near the mine’s main entrance, they were not connected to the primary shaft, and thus the group saw none of them while they were continually lowered down into the depths. It was impossible to know how much time had passed, or even how deep they were, only that they were still going down because they could see defects in the rock moving up past them through the cage bars.

However, no matter how much it seemed like it would go on forever, it simply could not. The cage eventually emerged from the ceiling of an absolutely immense cavern, looking out over a sprawling multi-layered city that lived deep beneath the foundation of Mount Descent. The structures here were nothing like those on the surface—here, things were cut out of the rock itself and augmented with immense amounts of metal and, perhaps most importantly, arcane crystal of every Color. These crystals separated the three-dimensional sprawl into eight clear districts, one for each Color, and a mixed district where all the Colors mingled together, sometimes as a rainbow, but other times as simply white.

Multiple Crystalline Ones were easily seen from their vantage point, most sitting still in districts of their own color, but a few were able to float around or shift their bodies to move physically. Very few of them existed in the mixed district.

“Ah, Seekers…” Minch let out a groan. “Hide your necklace, Hamburger, they won’t be fans of it…”

Hamburger frowned, but did as instructed. “…Why didn’t you say anything about this, Envila?”

“One should not judge a person by their beliefs,” Envila said matter-of-factly. “We may be among the Aware—and apologies to you, Kurz, as I am not aware of your faith and may be assigning a label to you that you do not wish—but we would wish them to treat us with respect, so we shall do the same to them. Remember, live at peace, little one.”

“I… well, I did mean more about not stirring up trouble, but I think I did need to hear that.”

“I’m a Gonal, if you’re curious,” Kurz said. “I prefer the Nameless Goddess myself.”

“Really!” Envila lit up with a brilliant smile. “I see so few of her followers!”

“Well, yeah, she does like to keep her secrets… but something about that just feels right, y’know?”

“I’m afraid I don’t but please tell me more! This is absolutely fascinating!”

Minch coughed. “Put a hold on that one, we’re here.”

The cage reached the bottom and the four of them stepped out. Minch in particular started stretching his legs and arms. “It was way too cramped in there…”

“Welcome, visitors, to the Deep Outpost!”

The voice had come from a rather large Yellow Crystalline One that was floating across what qualified as a “street” in this underground settlement. She was tall and narrow, with a point on the top and a point on the bottom.

“I am Greeter! For I greet all who enter these halls. If you feel comfortable, you may open your souls to me and I can see what our great city that still hasn’t renamed itself can do for you!”

“Deep Outpost is so big even its outposts have outposts,” Kurz chuckled.

“I shall open my soul,” Envila said, smiling. “I think you’ll get a treat out of this one.”

“We shall see…” There was a flash of Yellow light between the two of them. For most, a full connection of any complexity would take time. For the Yellow Crystalline One, a single instant was all she needed to compress all the information and be astonished. “I am humbled! One whose age exceeds my own, such a rarity!”

“And your determined optimism in the face of such darkness and division humbles me,” Envila said with a bow. “You truly are at the service of all, not just this city.”

“Which is as it should be! Regardless, yes, I am aware of the little one’s species, though I have only seen one other. He arrived… I believe it was three months ago, and upon communing with me he determined that if he couldn’t go to the top of the world, he would go to the bottom, so he set out to the outpost outposts, as your orc friend called them.”

Hamburger sighed. “Grampy, why do you have to keep pushing as far as you can…?”

“It was in his spirit, little one. He is not like the rest of your kind, I saw that in him. Thinking back, I do remember your face among those he showed me. If he remembered it enough to make me remember it even now, your bond must be strong. Which I suppose is evident since you are now hunting him down.”

The halfling rubbed the back of her head. “Though I will be honest, if I knew it was going to take this much to get him, I think I might have stopped a while back…”

“Be glad you did not know, then. For how much further can he go? The tunnels do not extend forever.”

“Good point.”

“Secondly…” Greeter flashed, directing her attention to Envila. “Virie would like to see you.”

“Ah, so she’s living down here now.” Envila nodded. “Where does she reside?”

“Where else? In the Fay haven, at the point furthest from any of the sided Crystalline Ones.”

“Sided?” Hamburger asked.

“Those who declare themselves proponents of one Color of magic and speakers for the Seekers. Be… cautious in the single-Color districts, or better yet don’t visit them at all. They are run by Color law, which is whatever the sided Crystalline Ones declare it to be at any time.”

“You have been a great assistance to us,” Envila said, bowing once more to Greeter. “I shall go visit my fellow fay and we shall descend deeper into the caverns.”

“You will need a guide. I recommend stopping at Deeper Outpost Two-Three to attain one, as trying to grab one here will net you someone who hasn’t a clue what’s really down there. Have fun!”

Bidding the Yellow Crystalline One goodbye, they made their way through the sloping, uneven city streets that sometimes were straight up vertical and the only way forward was to climb up a rope or a ladder. Infrastructure was not really a concern for the inhabitants of Deep Outpost, at least not any more than what it took to make sure the cavern never collapses in on itself. When they wanted more stuff they would just dig out, and if they wanted a new road they’d cut through the old one. It was a disorganized mess that was impossible to map as it kept changing.

While Lower Descent had been filled with a large variety of people of every kind of race—it was hard to find a majority, as the usual winner, humans, were somewhat uncommon. If they had bothered to check the population reports they would have found that gari were most common in Descent, but just barely. Deep Outpost, on the other hand, had well over two thirds of its population made up of dwarves.

They were short, stocky, humanoid creatures that always wore so much clothing it was impossible to see any of their actual bodies. Every single one of them had goggles of one kind or another that were impossible to see through to their eyes, and metallic helmets. Their beards were somehow fully visible—massive, bushy things of varying colors and shapes, but all of them long enough to almost (but not quite!) touch the ground as they walked.

They were still taller than Hamburger by a good margin.

Most of them paid the giants no mind. This was the mixed district, after all, they were used to the other races walking around. The party even caught sight of a decently sized white dragon in the cave—there was no way that thing was ever going to be able to squeeze out to the surface world, though. The caves simply weren’t large enough.

“So… Virie?” Minch asked. “Who’s she?”

“A fay,” Envila said. “One of those rather… opposed to my leaving, but ultimately a friend. We have not spoken in over a decade.”

“Unfortunate,” Kurz said.

“Not really, to us a decade is not all that much.”

They soon found the Fay haven which didn’t look all that special—it was a normal metallic building with plain windows and not a single Colored crystal decorating it, just a few plant-like runes carved into the doorframe.

Envila ran her fingers across the runes, whispering the ancient tongue aloud as she did so.

“Wow… you know what it means, I bet!” Kurz said.

Envila nodded. “This is our haven of eternity, within we protect until the end of time. You are not welcome, whoever you are.”

“…Wouldn’t anyone who reads that likely be a fay?” Minch asked.

“Oh, yes, it’s a statement of purpose, not really something for people to read. It is a bit silly, but do try to treat it with respect in front of them, I’d rather not make this a disappointing visit.” She folded one arm behind her back and tapped on the door with her fist in a particular pattern. “Avi rasa naradansari.”

“Eh…?” Kurz scratched his head.

“If I told you what it meant it would defeat the purpose of having a password.”

“Oh.”

“Your curiosity is quite refreshing, though, do keep asking questions after we have left this place.”

At this point the door opened to reveal a fay—a normal fay, with deep blue hair and eyes. She was not as tall as Envila, but was still a slender creature. Her limbs had no strength to them and her face looked like it would shatter like glass were it to be touched, even though there was no way this could be accurate. She wore a sweeping dress seemingly made out of leaves and flowers themselves.

“Ah, Envila.” She bowed her head.

“Virie Enstall Vortex Miskri,” Envila said, bowing her head in turn.

“Do you seek to return to the ways of the fay and to walk in the light of eternity?”

“Not at all!” Envila said with a grin.

Virie hung her head sadly. “Each time I see you, I shall hope you return, and not permit yourself to perish.”

“Death is hardly the end, Virie.”

“So say you and your new fellows who cheekily call themselves the Aware, a moniker that only rings true if their interpretation of reality is correct, which is quite the gambit of—I am sorry, you have heard this all before, and are not here for a religious debate, and I admit I was attempting to sew some discomfort in your companions out of jealousy.”

“All is forgiven,” Envila said with a bow.

“You forgive too easily, and yet I thank thee for it.”

“You will have to forgive me, for I do not wish to stay long. The little one here has a lost great-grandfather deep beneath Ikyu.”

“Then perhaps you shall visit on the return trip for a longer stay, where we shall speak of the years gone by and the years to come.”

Envila nodded. “Of course, Virie. Although, I find myself wondering why you appear to be bringing this conversation to its conclusion, when Greeter informed me you would like to speak to me.”

“Ah, then the knowledge is in your head already, and I should not wait.” Virie closed her eyes. “I wish to express… regret at having never come to you. For all your divergent ideas, you have managed to do what no fay has done, become strong. The others may think you need to never be spoken of for leaving our way, but for that alone you should be remembered. I am writing up further annals of our history, and I intend to argue for your inclusions in the final annals. You were there since the beginning, it would be a disservice to our story to do otherwise.”

Envila was stunned into silence and the look of absolute shock on her features seemed alien, almost unnatural. “Virie… I… I don’t know what to say… are you… certain about this risk?”

“I am not risking my life, merely my reputation,” Virie said. “And as I have seen with you… reputation is hardly something worth all the worry we so readily give it.” She glanced at Minch, noting his munching on a piece of jerky. “Your companions grow impatient.”

“As all tend to,” Envila said with a nod. “I shall return and continue this conversation before I leave for the outer world once more.”

“Until another quest brings you back here, to the great mountain.”

“Until then.”

With that, Virie closed the door.

Hamburger caught Envila wiping a tear from her eye. “That… went far, far better than expected. I have… a delight in my chest, quite different than the delight I had out in the forest.” She took in a deep breath and closed her eyes. “Perhaps… all is well.”

There was an awkward silence.

Kurz rubbed the back of his head. “So, uh… deeper in?”

“Yes. Deeper in.”

~~~

Deep Outpost was founded by Descent in order to plumb the depths of Ikyu. That had been centuries ago. Deep Outpost grew from just an outpost to a full city, inhabited less and less by the people of Descent and more and more by the people who had been born down there or found down there. Many dwarven enclaves had made their ancestral homes in the caves hollowed out long ago by the unknown ancients, living without ever seeing the sun, as they liked it.

As Deep Outpost had grown, they found more and more things—precious metals, gems, and, of course, Colored crystals. In time, Deep Outpost needed its own outposts to serve as waystations to bring the precious valuables of the earth to where they needed to be efficiently. Then these outposts grew, and they themselves needed new outposts…

It wouldn’t be a stretch to call Deep Outpost the capital city of a very small kingdom. Small in terms of population—not size. The winding, twisting tunnels spread out for many, many kilometers in every direction, including vertically.

Outpost Two had been the second outpost created, one specifically created at a point to enable it to be easier to go deeper.

Outpost Two-Three was currently the deepest of all the outposts. Nobody knew really how deep it was, because that deep the tunnels weren’t straight and it was hard to measure, but everyone was fairly certain it was at least two kilometers down, likely more.

What they did know was that this deep down, it got hot. The cooling problem became a major issue. While Lower Descent had managed to cut a deal with air elementals to power the ventilation systems on the surface, it wasn’t so easy to do something like that down in the depths. Sure, ice elementals could be found that were willing, but it was impossible to centralize the system over a sprawling system of tunnels.

So people had to come up with other ways to keep cool. The dwarves were completely unaffected by the heat, but they weren’t the only ones working down this deep. Outpost Two-Three itself had a single ice elemental on staff that kept the dozen or so buildings around them at a manageable temperature, though she lived in a building separate from the others to avoid accidental magic interfering with her physiology. Few ever saw her, but apparently she was well paid and sent numerous paintings back to the surface where she had managed to make a name as “that mysterious artist who lives under the ground.”

Dealing with heat further down, however… that was a bit more problematic.

Which was why Envila and the others needed a guide. Minch was already sweating, Hamburger was starting to look slightly wrinkled around the edges, and Envila had left her cloak behind long ago.

Kurz picked up a barrel of water and thrust it down his gullet, absorbing it all into his body. “Geh… am I glad to be somewhere colder! And with water!”

“…When I said the water was free, I didn’t expect you to take an entire barrel,” a dwarf with pink goggles said.

Envila tossed him a coin. “There you go, my good sir.”

“Lady.”

“Oh, my apologies.”

The woman was not in the mood for apologies or pleasantries, so she just walked off in a gruff huff.

“Cheery,” Hamburger deadpanned.

“Dwarves can be a little gruff,” Envila said. “But they have stout hearts, determination… and they like to eat rocks which I’m sure is related to the previous items on my list in some way.”

“So, guide,” Hamburger said. “Find a guide.”

“Allow me,” Kurz said. Suddenly, he started beating on his chest and let out a roar. “OI! WE GOT COIN! WHO WANTS T’ EARN SOME CASH TO DO WHAT YE ALREADY DO ALL DAY IN THE DEPTHS?”

Two dwarves and a floating spherical creature ran right up to them, eager. However, there was also a fourth dwarf, who was cautiously poking his head out of a nearby doorway.

“See?” Kurz said, grinning. “You just have to use the voice and act the part, they’ll come running.”

“You,” Envila said, pointing at the cautious dwarf. “You seem… interesting. Care to offer your expertise?”

“You… you want me?” the dwarf stammered.

“I am unsure at this juncture, but these three over here strike me as being a slight bit on the greedy side, which is fine, but not preferable. You, however… are not like your kin.”

“He’s an idjit,” one of the dwarves muttered. “Spends all his time in books and on theory.”

“Rarely does any actual diggin!’ “ the other added. “He won’t be of help to ya!”

“Go crack your heads on a boulder,” the unusual dwarf shot back. “I’m the one who found the platinum vein and you all know it! So shut it!”

The two other dwarves grumbled and slowly walked away.

The spherical creature paused, clanging at Envila. “In all honesty, you have made the best choice, Mimgol is quite the expert and is less likely to shout at you the whole way. I do wish you luck, though, the depths are not well mapped and there are many dangers down there.”

“Have to find Grampy somehow,” Hamburger said.

“You’re looking for one of your kind!?” Mimgol clapped his hands together. “Oh, I remember him! He came through, said ‘I don’t need no guide,’ and then just charged right down with nothing more than the latest map. If he wanted to go as deep as possible…” Mimgol ran into the house, returning less than a minute later with a map. “See, we’ve actually drilled further down than this now, but the path he would have taken would go this way!”

“Excellent!” Kurz said with a delighted laugh. “We know exactly where he went!”

“…But that was a while ago, wasn’t it?” Hamburger asked. “If he hasn’t come back…”

Envila placed a hand on Hamburger’s shoulder. “Let us not forget what our good friend Seskii told us.”

“Her hunch that he was okay?”

“There are many whose hunches are quite reliable, little one, and those with ancestry often have many layers to them.”

“…I understood none of that.”

“Yeah, neither did I…” Minch scratched his head. “All I know is that it’s dangerous down there, and…”

“You’re free to go back up,” Envila said. “I am quite surprised you have stuck with us this long, but I do welcome your continued presence.”

Minch frowned. “I… I’ll stay.”

“Very good! Now… Mimgol, the fifth of our joyful band, how will we descend down there without cooking our very flesh?”

Mimgol let out a hearty chuckle. “I hope you like lugging around giant hunks of ice!”

~~~

From that point on, the going was no longer easy. Gone were the neatly carved tunnels and well-traveled passages—it became a maze of uneven terrain and random tunnels cut into seemingly random places in the rock. There were even occasional underground monsters that sought to defend their territory, but between MImgol’s knowledge and Envila’s strength they didn’t pose too much of a threat.

Dwarves were master diggers, but regularly they dug only large enough for themselves to fit through, and once they found something worthwhile they cut the path a little larger so they could run carts and cargo back and forth. In many of the more developed mines, there were railways, but it was not worth it to install such things this deep down.

Fortunately, the path they needed to take did not involve any precisely dwarf sized holes, all of them had been extended for at least some cargo transport or were completely natural. That said, Kurz had significant difficulty due entirely to his size. Envila was easily able to fold herself up to fit through even narrow gaps, and while Minch was a little large he was not wider than a dwarf. The burden fell entirely on the orc to twist and push his way through the rocks.

Furthermore, all of them were carrying large backpacks full of ice. They routinely had to take them off and drag them along. The backpacks themselves were made from a special sort of plast fiber that allowed it to bend while also keeping the rapidly melting ice inside their packs without it dripping everywhere. They were still heavily encouraged to continually pour water on themselves in order to stay cool—especially those of the party who didn’t sweat naturally or have heat resistance.

“Hey, look, a camp!” Mimgol said as he popped out of a hole in the ground. The “camp” was barely worthy of being called such—there were a few mining tools littered around and a couple of chalk markings along the walls that pointed out potential locations for future mining.

Hamburger pulled herself out of the hole and ran up to one of the markings. She ran her fingers along a little scrawl on the bottom. “…This is my language.”

“What’s it say?” Mimgol asked, adjusting his goggles and leaning in.

“Grampy was here, more or less. Then this over here is meant to be a smiley face, but Grampy’s handwriting is atrocious.”

“I didn’t think it was possible to mess up a smiley face…”

“This is normal for him. He writes more for himself. I bet he just put this down because he wanted to be a rebel, or something.” She glanced back at the hole they had just emerged from, where Envila and Minch were working together to pull Kurz out—which took significant effort, but was accomplished in due time.

“Bet you’re regretting coming along,” Minch said, taking a moment to lean on a nearby wall and take a drink before digging into his personal supply of small nut snacks. He appeared to never run out of the small delectable treats.

Kurz grinned. “Not at all! Like miss Envila here, I find the struggle and adventure itself to be worthwhile! I already have so many stories to tell the rest when I get back. I bet the Mistress will get a kick out of it!”

“Yes… her…” Minch shuddered.

“I am quite curious,” Envila said, using the impromptu break as an opportunity to do some exercises—a mixture of stretches and minor strength-building maneuvers to keep her naturally frail body toned. “Since I have come to know you somewhat, Kurz, I find it permissible to ask you; how did one with your disposition end up working as a shakedown artist for who, I assume, is a rather morally gray employer?”

“It’s what orcs are good at,” Kurz said with a shrug. “Her family has been hiring mine out for generations. It’s very stable employment without much effort and only occasionally gets… nasty.”

“But when it does…?”

“It is a job,” he said with a shrug.

“I do suppose it is considered as such in the eyes of the Descent government, though I suspect their decision was selfishly motivated to keep their systems from being clogged by petty debt collection cases.”

Hamburger shivered, shifting the ice backpack loudly as she did so. “Debt collection… it’s not even a thing in the Grove. We barely even have money.” She shook her head. “While everything out here is incredible and all, I wonder if the price of ‘higher civilization’ is too high on someone’s soul.”

“To live a simple life among the wilderness does have its alluring qualities,” Envila admitted. “Small communities are perhaps better off, in the end. However, I see cities as necessities to drive civilization onward. I have seen much grow in my time, and through that, it is clear enough that without large gatherings new discoveries would only rarely be made. Places that stagnate tend to be swept to the side or forgotten in the march of time.”

Hamburger looked away.

“Do not fret, little one, such things take many generations.”

“How old even are you?” Mimgol asked.

Minch spat out his nuts. “Wh-wha!? You can’t just…”

Envila chuckled. “Do you really think me so vain that I would find my age an embarrassment, and fear being called elderly, ancient even? No, there are two entirely unrelated reasons I do not broadcast my age. The first is because I do not wish to be heralded for it—while among most of the other races, great age is seen as a reminder of death, for a fay it is a great badge of honor and respect, and I am among the eldest of my kind; simply speaking my age tends to make others treat me differently, and so I shy from it. The other reason is that I simply don’t know how old I am.”

Hamburger chuckled. “Lost count?”

“Not so much lost count as it was impossible to count in the early days. I was born during the Second Catastrophe, which puts my age at somewhere shy of four-thousand years.”

Mimgol let out a low whistle. “My estimate was about two-thousand-something from listening to you talk, I’m impressed!”

“See, this is why I don’t broadcast it. The answer has prompted the exact thing which its absence sought to avoid.”

Minch finished munching on his snacks. “We should keep going.”

“My, quite the eager one, aren’t you?” Mimgol said with a chuckle. “And here I thought you would be the least interested in moving, seeing how unprepared you are for all of this!”

“Look, I just… want to see this through now that we’re here. To the bottom of the world, eh?”

“To the bottom of the world!” Kurz said, slamming a hand down on Minch’s shoulder, making him flinch.

“Right this way!” Mimgol said, gesturing at a tunnel. “The map ends shortly after this, but it’s possible the tunnel extends further.”

“I don’t see any recent signs of Grampy…” Hamburger frowned, but put on a brave face and followed after the dwarf.

The tunnel itself was large enough for Kurz to walk through, as it was a natural formation and not some cut path. It very quickly widened out to a large, expansive area with a floor that could almost be described as hilly. At the far end of the cavern, there was a tunnel opening filled with rocks.

“Odd… the map goes past this,” Mimgol said, trotting up to the pile of rocks. “Yes… we’ve dug past this before.”

“Cave-in?” Kurz asked.

“No, I know what that would look like. …Hold on.” He quickly set his pack down and pulled out a book, flipping through it. “Just as I thought, see the sediment lines on these rocks?” He pointed at the layers inherent in the rocks blocking the passage. “They’re nothing like the rocks in the ceiling, which are metamorphic. Furthermore, the materials within them aren’t even the same—there are a lot of visible organics in these sedimentary boulders, but none in this cavern.”

“Which means…?” Hamburger asked.

“These were placed here deliberately,” Envila said with a smile. “How… interesting.”

“Deliberately?” Minch started to shiver. “Is… is someone here going to try to seal us in this cavern?”

“This is relatively old, done at least a few months ago,” Mingol said, standing up. “Don’t drop your fool’s gold before checking it, jumpy.”

“Yeah, we haven’t even seen signs of anyone else being down here recently,” Hamburger said. “We are alooone.”

“Yes, quite,” Envila said. “I have been keeping my ears and eyes open for the slightest sound, hoping it may be Hamburger’s lost family. These deliberate rocks do suggest that he may be beyond it… Kurz, mind helping me clear the way?”

Mimgol waved his hands frantically. “Don’t, you fools! Moving rocks around without understanding is how you cause cave-ins! If I need your help, I shall direct you to the particular rock I need moved. Until then…” He took out a pickaxe and started lightly prodding the rocks. “Just sit tight and relax.” He picked up a smaller rock and shoved it into his beard, likely to eat it, but there wasn’t really a way to tell if he’d actually swallowed it or just stored it somewhere within the wiry hairs.

Envila took the opportunity to sit down on one of the nearby rocky “hills.” She opened her mouth to speak—but suddenly tilted her head to the side. “I… hear something.”

“Grampy?” Hamburger asked, eyes widening in hope.

“No…” Envila frowned. “Someone’s coming in from behind us, I think they’ve just climbed out of the hole we came from.”

“Probably just some miner,” Mimgol said, shoving another rock into his beard.

Envila held a hand to her ear. “No… the footstep pattern is all wrong for a dwarf, not heavy enough, too light. Two legs, could be human. And… yes, there’s the sloshing of the ice pack.”

Mimgol stopped mining away at the rocks. “Hmm. A human down this far? All alone?”

“I do not hear any other steps, but that does not necessarily mean she is alone.”

Kurz cracked his knuckles. “Welp, I’ll go stand at the entrance. If a friend comes, all she gets is a short scare. If someone means us harm… well perhaps the sight of me will make her think twice, eh?” He walked across the cavern to the opposite side, setting his ice pack to the side so he could rise to his full height. He crossed his arms and puffed out his chest, putting a scowl on his face.

“He really is good at his job…” Hamburger noted.

They waited. Soon, the rest of the group could hear the footsteps coming—short, clacking footsteps that indicated a hard shoe of some kind. When the newcomer finally got close enough to be seen, Kurz’s body blocked the view.

But he was absolutely startled.

“M-m-mistress!? What are…”

“Move aside, Kurz,” the voice of a young but bitter woman rang throughout the cavern.

Minch jumped behind a rock, putting his hands over his head. Kurz stepped aside, letting the Mistress through.

She was short, even for a human, but this did not make her any less menacing. She was dressed all in black, covering every part of her skin except her face, half of which was hidden by her eerily straight hair, and on her head was a blood-red tiara.

She did not come alone, either, for a pure white cat-creature sat on her ice pack, licking his paws. This particular cat had wings, marking him as a member of the sphinx race, though he was no larger than most other cat-people. He seemed rather uninterested in all that was transpiring.

The Mistress pointed at the rock Minch was hiding behind. “Do you really think just because I can’t see you means I don’t know you’re there!?”

Envila narrowed her eyes at the Mistress. “I do not believe we have met. I am Envila.”

“My name is Aine,” she said. “Everyone in a suitable relationship with me aside from Glint here calls me the Mistress.”

“Charmed,” Glint said, not even bothering to look at anyone as he continued licking his paws.

Aine narrowed her eyes, looking Envila up and down. “You… I hate your kind.”

Envila smirked. “Ah, you see beyond racial barriers and to the true soul behind. What is it about generous souls that stresses you so? Or, no, wait, it is not the generosity, it is the goodness of heart, the illogical kindness that throws wrenches into your carefully wrought plans.” Envila’s smile vanished. “I have met others of your soul as well, Aine. I am still standing to this day. Ponder what this means before you do anything hasty.”

“Why do you protect him so?”

“Why do you dodge the intended line of conversation?”

Mimgol blinked. “I’m lost.”

“They’re playing a game of words,” Hamburger said. “I don’t really get it either… but it’s unnerving me.”

“The mushroom child has the right response,” Aine said.

“You seem to have confused fear with respect, and evil with good,” Envila countered. “Unsurprising, but a little factoid that you may find beneficial to your future endeavors in life, should you have such a life.”

“Oooh! A threat!”

“Most definitely.”

“One specially catered to the moment and to myself as well, I’m impressed.”

“I have yet to be impressed.”

Aine scowled. “If you don’t hand him over, you will be.”

“Hmm… something impressing me? Sounds like an opportunity.” She shook her head. “You may not lay your hands on him.”

“He ha—”

“I do not care what he has done, nor do I particularly care about what he has done to us in an attempt to escape you—no, that’s not entirely true, my body seeks dishonesty. I am quite upset at him for the little stunt he has clearly pulled, but that does not change my calling nor my purpose. You have your money and yet you still pursue him, which indicates something extremely unpleasant, perhaps even bloody if you are that sort of executioner.”

Aine frowned. “You people sicken me. Even leaving aside the price he must pay me, he lived as a bandit. He deserves no life.”

“Something tells me the crimes he has committed pale in comparison to the darkness you erect—but if he were chasing you, I would protect you, for it is the time and the place I am set, and it is my duty.”

“This is going nowhere,” Aine said.

“I could have told you that,” Glint commented, licking the back of his paw.

“Any last words, Minch?” Aine shouted at the rock.

“How can I possibly be this important to you!?” He shouted back without revealing himself. “ I’m at the bottom of Ikyu for crying out loud!”

Aine’s left eye twitched. “You know why.” She reached into her collar and pulled out a necklace in the shape of a black hexagon with six yellow slits in the sides.

Envila’s eyes widened.

Now she was impressed.

This was a wholly bad thing.

She leaped into action, whipping out both of her swords and aiming right for the hexagon pendant.

Glint tapped an Orange crystal hidden in Aine’s backpack, using the magic within to push Envila’s swords to the side. She expected this and was able to correct her stroke by jumping into the air and twisting, but there was a half-second delay.

That was all Aine needed. The pendant flashed black and a fearsome four-toed claw of pure darkness emerged, meeting Envila’s swords.

Envila quickly removed her blades from contact with the darkness and switched to her hammer, activating the Orange mechanisms.

“Stop!” Mimgol shouted. “You’ll cause a cave-in!”

“Death by rocks is vastly preferable to death by demon, trust me!” Envila shouted, aiming not at the darkness emerging from the pendent nor Aine—but the ground.

Aine’s eyes widened. “You… you fool!” She rushed Envila, drawing a dagger with a Red core.

Kurz tackled her to the ground.

“KURZ!”

Envila slammed her hammer on the ground as hard as she could. Her plan had been to initiate a collapse of the tunnel and use her superior agility to get out with Hamburger and Minch, hoping the others could scramble. It was risky, admittedly, but it was all she could think of in such a short time that had a chance of taking the demon out.

She had made a very fatal miscalculation.

She hadn’t bothered to consider that the ground might be unstable.

Rather than rocks falling down on them, the “hills” beneath them shattered into dozens of chunks and everyone started falling.

Aine let out what was presumably a swear in some unknown language, holding her pendant up to the ceiling. The dark claw within rushed to the rocks above, embedding its four claws in the stone like it was made of butter. Glint still sat on her pack, licking his paws.

All five of the others fell into the light. A rush of refreshingly cold air met them as they dropped among the rubble and the rocks.

They had entered a cavernous expanse similar in size to the one Deep Outpost itself had occupied, but this was no city. This was a forest made of bright blue plants, including trees that appeared to be almost a kilometer tall, rising from the bottom of the cavern all the way to the top, their neon leaves reflecting copious amounts of light. The source of the brightness was another type of plant—a long, stalky white thing with a balloon-like sac on top of it that glowed a soft green. Dozens of these orbs dotted the cavern.

It would have been jaw-droppingly spectacular if they all weren’t falling right into it.

Envila moved fast. Her fifth limb emerged from her back, a shimmering sheet of pink and blue that sparkled with an almost glitter-like effect. She held off on activating her attribute at first, only using the wing for aerial stability for the moment. Reaching out, she nabbed Minch, as he was closest, and then dove down to Hamburger, grabbing her by the back of her neck.

She knew she wouldn’t be able to help either of the others. Mimgol was probably durable enough and clever enough to work something out, but all she could do was hope Kurz somehow got lucky.

As she activated her flight attribute and tugged against the pull of Ikyu, she undid the latches on Hamburger’s and Minch’s backpacks—she had left her own behind before the confrontation with Aine. Even with all this loss of weight, it wasn’t enough for her to stop them from falling completely—all she could do was heavily slow their descent.

They crashed right into a blue bush the size of a house. They immediately snapped numerous branches and received several scrapes all over their bodies. Hamburger released an entire cloud of spores with her cry of pain, but her flesh was not the sort to bleed—both Envila’s and Minch’s were, with the fay releasing a sparkling, syrupy blue liquid.

However, they did not perish on impact. They did end up flat on their faces on the forest floor.

Envila quickly stood up. Her left leg was broken—fay frailties could not be worked out entirely—but she pushed through the pain. She quickly scanned for the others, not able to find Mimgol, but she saw Kurz lying flat on the ground, staring up at the cavern ceiling with a blank expression.

Fortunately, Envila had Green on her now—never again was she to be caught with an injured party without a way to restore them. She waved the crystal over the orc’s body, restoring whatever complex internal injuries the fall had brought upon his body. His single shattered sun-lamp was also repaired by the act.

“Wow…” Hamburger said. “You’re… really good at that.”

“Fay have always had a great connection to magic…” Envila said with a sigh. “I… have attempted to reject it, but that was hasty.” She turned to tend to Hamburger and Minch, only after they were healed did she bother to restore herself, despite her injuries being worse than both of theirs—and she purposefully left the minor scratches and gashes open, fixing only the major wounds. “Now… Mimgol!”

“Here,” Mimgol called from one of the absurdly tall trees—he was jumping down from branch to branch, breaking a few when he landed but allowing his momentum to carry him further down until he rammed his hand into the trunk, stopping his motion all at once.

“Dwarves… truly are durable,” Kurz said, standing up and rubbing his head.

“Might as well make use of it from time to time,” Mimgol said. “Now… uh… I have questions.”

Minch looked nervous. “W-well, y’see—”

“No, not about psycho lady, but I’m sure we’ll get to her soon enough. I mean…” He gestured at the forest they were in. “WHAT THE HECK!?”

“I think I see how Grampy might have been able to survive down here, now…” Hamburger said, looking around with wide eyes. “I… this is… breathtaking.”

Envila turned her eyes upward. She could barely make out the features of the top of the cavern—some kind of yellowish fog was preventing anything definite from focusing. She thought she knew where the hole they crashed in from was, but she couldn’t be sure, and she saw no signs of Aine.

What she did see was life. Most of it was plant-based, but not all of it. Birds flew to and from the trees—a purple species with four wings she didn’t recognize. In fact, she recognized nothing here; no matter where she looked, each tree, bush, plant, and animal was unlike anything that had ever been shown to her ancient eyes.

It had been deep beneath her feet all these years.

“I have no idea,” she said, eventually. “I believe… this is something completely unknown we have just found.” She broke out into a grin. “And that has exceeded even my wildest expectations for this trip.”

“How are we going to get back?” Hamburger asked.

“You have a dwarf with you!” Mimgol said with a hearty laugh. “Just find me a cave wall and I can dig us up. Might take a few days, but it looks like stuff’s edible around here and it’s cool enough that we won’t cook to death!” He started laughing. “SERIOUSLY THOUGH WHAT THE HECK HOW IS THIS EVEN POSSIBLE!?”

“Questions for the more scientifically minded!” Envila declared. “It is, and here we are, let us enjoy i—and it appears we are about to have some unwelcome visitors. Lots of them, by the sounds of it.”

Kurz frowned. “Something feels wrong…”

Minch hid behind him.

Soon, they all heard the stomping of a stampede coming from all around them. The group of five huddled together in a circle, backs to each other, not wanting to give whatever was coming any opportunity.

What came surprised them—for the arrivals were not like the rest of the forest; completely alien and unknown.

They were orcs. Over a hundred of them, wearing blue leafy garments with seemingly random colored lines painted all over them—both the leaves and their bodies. Their hands were curled into fists, but they kept a few meters back from the newcomers.

“Orcs…? Underground…? Without the sun?” Mimgol wondered.

“It’s more likely than you might think,” Hamburger said, gesturing at Kurz.

Kurz himself raised a hand. “Hello… brothers?” He slammed a fist on his chest and let out a loud cry, raising his hand into the air.

A few of the other orcs started beating their chests but mean looks from the others got them to stop quickly.

“They are orcs, through and through,” Kurz said. “They do not speak our tongue, though.”

“I know many languages, even dead ones,” Envila said. “However… I do not think they have a tongue at all, or at least they do not permit themselves to speak within earshot. No muttering at all, not from a single one.”

“Great, we’re going to die…” Minch muttered.

“We were going to die up there because of you,” Hamburger countered.

“You could have just let her take me!”

“How is it you still doubt my intentions?” Envila asked. For once, her voice carried with it a legitimate hint of distress. “What more must I do?”

“People like you don’t exist!”

“You cannot believe what is right in front of you? Ah, how dense! How…” She took in a deep breath and calmed herself. “I have no right to release my anger upon you, and even if I did, there are other things afoot.”

“Soooo, plan?” Mimgol asked. “I’d love a plan right about now.”

“Orcs are warriors by nature,” Kurz said. “They likely think we are invaders, and it is my presence that is holding them back.”

“Do you know how to use Yellow?” Envila asked.

“Not… well.”

“Hopefully one of them does, then.” Envila picked a Yellow crystal out of one of her sacks, handing it to Kurz. He held out his hand and gestured at one of the other orcs.

They looked at him in confusion.

Kurz pushed his will into the Yellow crystal, prompting a slight flash, but nothing happened.

“I do not think they know what it is,” Kurz said. “They are far too on edge to accept something unknown into their spirits.”

“So, what, we just stand here forever until something happens?” Mimgol asked.

“I recommend sitting,” Envila said, crossing her legs and moving to the ground. “It looks far more submissive and, as a bonus, is quite a bit more comfortable.”

Hamburger followed her lead and sat down. “Guess we might as well be comfortable if they do wanna chop our heads off.”

“Chop our heads off!?” Minch stammered.

“Relax, kid,” Mimgol said. “They don’t even have any weapons.”

“Kid!?”

“A name you deserve,” Hamburger commented. “You deserve much worse, actually.” She looked up at Envila. “What… what was that thing up there?”

“The darkness…” Envila frowned. “I have seen very few of them in my time, and most consider them but legends. The common name is ‘demon,’ but it occurs to me that this is disrespectful to the Gonal, for they hold that the creatures are the holy servants of the Dark Goddess.”

“ ‘Demon,’ is a suitable term,” Kurz said, shuddering. “I never thought I’d see one… and if I had known the Mistress was that deep into the dark arts, I would have left long ago—though, if she knew I knew…”

Hamburger frowned. “Okay, that’s it, if we’re going to sit here and talk about this while the orcs stare us down, I’ve got some questions for Minch. Envila may be okay with just letting your past be your business but I’m not! What have you roped us into!?”

“…I left her,” Minch said, quietly. “We were together for six long years, but then… I didn’t realize it at the time, but I had seen the evil of the Dark Ones, and just… couldn’t take it. She went from loving me… to wanting me dead.” He shook his head. “That two million debt was just for show, a way for her to legally pursue me without the authorities looking too closely.”

There was silence around the circle.

“Seems to me like you dodged a boulder with that girl,” Mimgol said. “If she turned around to wanting you dead that quickly.”

“Oh, yes, there’s no doubt about that,” Minch said. “Except… clearly, I haven’t actually managed to dodge it yet. It’s still coming after me like a mad dog.” He put his hands to his head and pulled at his hair. “I never thought she would be so… fixated.”

“Love makes people do strange things, especially when it turns to hate,” Envila said, sighing. “…You could have said something long ago, Minch.”

“Oh, excuse me, you just wanted me to come out and say ‘hey guys, I want to use you as a cover while I run as far away from this psycho murder lady who runs a barely legal commercial empire and is a devout worshipper of Eyda?’ You would have been okay with that!?”

“Yes, as I try to demonstrate to you time and time again,” Envila said with a shake of her head.

Minch looked at the ground. “…I didn’t think she cared this much. We were supposed to escape her reach, down here, you were never supposed to see… any of that. I’m… sorry.”

“…Signs of progress…” Envila said under her breath. “…I am still quite upset with you, but you are forgiven, at least on my end.”

“Hold on, what?” Hamburger stammered.

“If we are not to forgive others what they have done, how can we ask for forgiveness ourselves?”

“That’s… that’s not…”

Before the awkward conversation could continue, the forest started to move. Slowly, the circle of orcs backed away from the group of five, not taking their eyes off of them, but not making any aggressive move either. They made way… for the tree.

The tree did not so much walk as it swam through the ground, using its roots like propellers as it tore chunks of soil from the earth, leaving a speckled, dirty trail behind it as it approached them. It was not one of the impossibly tall trees, nor was it one of the glowing ones—it seemed to be a collection of blue vines that continually twisted and turned around each other in a great spiral pattern. In the midst of this spiral pattern was a flower, but a flower made of hundreds of differently shaped and colored petals that swirled around in a hypnotic dance.

From the center of this flower emerged a Yellow crystal.

“I… it must be spirited,” Envila said, slowly turning her gaze to the flower. “But I have never seen such a spirited thing. I… do not know… I shall let it speak to me.” She closed her eyes… and there was a sudden burst of Yellow that flew into her eyes.

Then she fell to her back, eyes wide open and pupils pointed in different directions. “Wheee… I like avocados, what about you…? Oh… head made of… cream cheese… need to… process… hey, wanna hear a joke? Neither… do I…”

“What did you do to her!?” Hamburger shouted, as though the plant would be able to give her an answer. All it did was direct its flower upward in the direction they had come.

The moment it did, a ball of pure darkness slammed into the ground, immediately consuming at least five orcs in its viscous sludge. Sickly yellow lightning burst from the dark thing’s edges, and six neon eye-slits opened in a radial pattern, directed right at the flower.

With a sickly sound akin to “blorglerekh,” Aine emerged from the top of the dark creature, Glint still sitting peacefully on her ice pack

“Even going beyond the ends of Ikyu will not save you!” Aine shouted. “The holy darkness shall consume you, for I have earned such a reward for my service!”

“You care too much for performance,” the darkness hissed with a voice that sounded like a gurgling faucet mixed with a distant scream on a moonless night. “Just order his death and be done with it.”

“Of course, Dark one. Kill him.”

At this point, the swirling flower pointed a strange swirling branch at the darkness. Immediately, all the orcs rushed into action, charging right at the monster with their fists and thorn-like teeth.

Kurz picked up the dazed Envila. “Run!”

“Silly… I can’t run… I don’t have feet! Or eyes…” Envila giggled. “You know… brain… not big… funk?”

While she continued to mutter nonsense in her delirium, Minch, Kurz, Mimgol, and Hamburger ran as fast as their legs could carry them. The orcs of the forest paid them no mind as they laid siege to Aine and her monster.

Aine shrieked in rage. “How can you keep getting away!? How!?”

“Patience, Mistress Aine, all will be fulfilled.”

“Maybe you should take this as a sign to give up!” MImgol shouted back at her. “This sad flabby sack of flesh isn’t worth it!”

“…I will kill you too, dwarf! And all your companions!”

At this point, they had run far enough away that continuing a shouting match wasn’t worth it. They heard the screams of the orcs the entire way—some shouting out in the call of battle, others in the pain of death.

“They’re fighting for us…” Hamburger said.

“Don’t think so,” Kurz said. “We are incidental. The demon is evil, and the… the forest knows it.”

“How can a forest know anything!?”

One of the trees next to them spontaneously grew a plant that was shaped a lot like an arrow, telling them to turn left. Almost without thinking, Kurz listened to the instruction, continuing his run.

“I reiterate my question!” Hamburger called.

“I don’t think we have an answer for you!” Mimgol jumped over a rock, struggling to keep up his pace. “This forest clearly knows something about where to go, though!”

Another arrow appeared in front of them and they listened to it. They quickly realized that they were being herded into the center of the cavern—the lowest point, where the ground started to slope sharply downward, toward one of the glowing sun-trees.

Hamburger gasped.

There was a house nearby. One with a door roughly her size, built into the bottom of one of the large, absurdly tall trees. “Grampy!?”

There was no voice to greet her. She found it hard to believe he was sleeping with the din that was happening all around them, and the tiny window showed no light on inside. He probably wasn’t in there at all.

But it was a sign of him having been here. Long enough to build something.

Another arrow formed, directing them away from the house. Hamburger hesitated for a moment, but realized it was probably stupid to investigate now of all times, so she continued her flight.

The forest eventually led them to the base of one of the glowing trees, where there was a hole in the ground that had been carved out by what appeared to be a complex root system. It was large enough for an orc to fit through comfortably.

“Deeper it is!” Mimgol said with a laugh. “I never thought I’d go deeper than any dwarf had ever gone before today, but here we are! I wonder what’s under this fantastic forest land!”

“I just want to live, okay!?” Minch jumped into the hole, finding that the roots shifted and moved to accommodate him as he slid down. The others all jumped in after him.

Mimgol was the last one through, and the moment he was, leaves and roots grew over the top of the hole, sealing them off from the forest.

Their trip was rather short, all things considered, for the slide deposited them at their destination a moment later—a chunk of obsidian easily the size of a house. It was quite slippery, but there was a sort of moss at the edges that kept them from sliding off into the unknown.

And what an unknown it was. The obsidian chunk stood atop an miniature underground mountain made of rocks, dirt, Colored crystals, roots, and other materials they couldn’t identify. At the base of the mountain, far below them, glowed flows of red.

They could certainly feel the heat now.

“A lava flow…” Mimgol said, stunned. “I… this is extremely dangerous, we’re far enough up that we’re fine, but… get anywhere close to that and you’ll just burst into flames.”

“Pyoooo! Fireworks!” Envila said with a giggle. Then she put her hand to her chin. “Wait, what’s so funny? Egh… head…”

“Where now?” Minch asked.

Kurz frowned. “I don’t know. There does not appear to be much of anything here…”

“Except roots,” Hamburger said, gesturing at the massive tangles of plant matter that descended from the ceiling, growing blacker and blacker as they got closer and closer to the lava. “I think they’re… extracting energy, somehow?”

“Seems likely,” Mimgol said, leaning down and touching some of the roots next to them, prompting a few nearby Colored crystals to light up. “The forest… thing is clearly spirited. Maybe it’s a colony of some kind? It’s… really hard to believe it’s all one big entity.”

“She is…” Envila said, holding a hand to her head and groaning. “She’s… the entire cavern. Maintaining… everything… for the orcs.”

“That’s absurd,” Mimgol said. “Everything about this is absurd.”

Kurz frowned. “The absurdity is the least of our worries. I do not think the orcs can stop a demon.”

“Great!” Minch said, throwing his hands into the air. “Just… great! She’ll raze the entire forest up there to the ground looking for me and then she’ll eventually find the hole and find me! Agh! It just…”

“I found another hole,” Hamburger said, jumping off of the obsidian chunk and onto the mountain proper. “Look, here,” she pointed out a little circular opening in the underground mountain that spiraled down into the earth. “I think there’s something down there…”

There was a large rumble from directly above them. Clods of dirt and stone started falling from the ceiling.

“MINCH!”

Minch threw his hands up into the air. “That’s it, I give up, she’s going to get me! You lot go… go hide in that hole or something!”

Hamburger stared at him. “What are you going to do?”

“I’m going to stand here and take it, what does it look like I’m going to do!?”

Envila suddenly started laughing.

“Great, now she’s really lost it,” Minch groaned.

“I think she just finds it amusing that you think we’d leave you to die,” Kurz said. “We will do no such thing.”

“Look, we don’t have time for this…”

“Exactly. So shut up.”

Hamburger glanced at Kurz, frowning. “…We don’t have to die today, Kurz.”

“Would you be able to live with yourself if you left him up here?”

Hamburger frowned. “…Yes, but it would not be a pleasant life.” She sighed. “But I am no fighter. I am just… a little halfling.”

“None of us are anything to a demon.”

“We can’t just let that thing slaughter us, we have to…” suddenly, her eyes widened. “Cut the moss off the edge of the obsidian chunk.”

“Huh?”

“Do it now!”

Kurz, Mimgol, and Minch quickly set to work, removing the moss from the obsidian chunk, leaving it completely smooth and slippery.

“Now… tilt it,” Hamburger said.

Minch saw what she was trying to do. “That’s… there’s no way that works. It’s too far.”

“This is a pretty steep mountain, do you have any idea how hard it is to stop rolling down once you’ve started?”

“I do!” Mimgol said with a hearty guffaw. “That demon looked pretty heavy, it’ll be real hard to stop that…”

“FOUND YOU!”

“Mistress, please, the shouting is unnecessary and quite annoying.”

“Just get in the hole!”

“Get ready!” Hamburger called.

“For what?” Kurz asked. “She’s just going to fall, and…”

“Get behind the direction she’s going to fall, maybe?”

“Oh. Yes, that, maybe that is a good idea.”

The five of them scrambled around to the back of the obsidian chunk—though in Envila’s case, she was more dragged over. She could sort of hold herself up on her own to feet at this point, but not walk very well.

“Good plan… I think…” Envila rubbed her eyes. “That forest did a number on me… it had no concept of sharing too much and I wasn’t about to be rude and… ow…”

“What a time for you to be too nice,” Minch grumbled.

“Gave the rest of you time to grow… seems… necessary…” Envila took in a big breath, slapping herself across the face. “Focus! I… I want to see this.”

The demon, Aine, and Glint slid out of the hole in the ceiling, the roots pushing them along. They landed on the obsidian chunk—and slid right off, entering a tumble down the underground mountain.

“Wh-what!?” Aine shouted. “How c—” The demon slammed into the ground upside-down, pressing her between the shadowy goop and the mountainous grit rather forcefully. As this compression was occurring, several sharp limbs erupted from the demon, trying to grab hold onto the roots, a rock, or something.

But the roots refused to let themselves be grabbed. If they were touched, they withered away to dust, and rocks suspiciously came loose as the demon made its mad scramble.

“…I am beginning to find this particular planeht quite infuriating,” the demon said without a hint of fury in its still quite terrifying voice. It continued to roll down the mountain, flipping end over end, unable to touch anything as it cascaded down further, further, and further toward the fiery abyss below.

“You suck!” Hamburger called after the demon. “Buh-bye now!”

“I will remember you… little one.”

“Good luck! You don’t even know my name!”

“…Drat.”

With this, the demon got too close to the lava flow. It was unable to burn, for it was not made out of anything that could be considered normal. But the heat carried with it energy, and force, and that was sufficient to destabilize its form. It writhed and shrieked like glass being torn in two across the flesh of a dying dog.

It disintegrated before it hit the lava, leaving only the pendant flying through the air, which glinted momentarily before landing right in the superheated earth and promptly melting.

“Well. That was certainly a show,” Glint said, sitting on a nearby root, licking his paw. “Looks like you folks won.”

Everyone stared awkwardly at the sphinx. He didn’t even bother looking back at them, he just kept grooming himself.

Suddenly, Aine shakily stood, rising out of the roots she’d been pressed into. She’d been heavily injured—at least one of her bones were broken and some wound under her dark clothes was leaking a lot of blood.

“Oh no oh no she’s still up!” Minch grabbed his head. “I…”

Mimgol rammed his fists together. “She’s just one lass.”

Kurz let out a roar at his ex-employer.

“You… I can’t…” Aine’s face twisted into a scowl. “No. I will not allow it!”

“Revenge… is a terrible dish…” Envila said, supporting herself on the obsidian chunk. “You… do not have to continue… Aine.”

Aine’s eyes were filled with tears, but her rage did not abate. “You think you know everything? You think you know the pain, the hate, of being betrayed by the person you hold closest? You hold dearest?”

“Did you ever stop to think… that it was perhaps you who betrayed him first?”

A dark cloud came over Aine. “…My path was that of the holy. If he could not stand with me, he deserved death sooner.”

Envila sighed. “I do not think I can get through to her… but I may have a bias against Enya’s servants. Kurz… what say you?”

Kurz wordlessly took a glove out of one of his pockets and put it on his right hand, a bright pink pentagon emblazoned on the palm. “I… do not know. To defy one of Enya’s is a great blasphemy without the blessing of one of her sisters. The Nameless Goddess does not declare her blessings. Am I to strike her down, or not?” He shook his head. “I am left to find the truth for myself and suffer the consequences. And yet… it is clear I have been placed here for a reason, a fellow Gonal.”

“Your goddess is a joke,” Aine spat.

“Ah… so you wish to die,” Kurz sighed.

“I want him dead!” Aine shrieked. “But even I know I can’t get past all of you, and you’re all smart enough to realize what happens if you let me live here, today!”

“Are we…?” Kurz asked.

“I don’t know,” Envila admitted, shaking her head. “There has to come a point where one has fallen too far into the darkness, but where is that point? Has she crossed it?”

“Is it even darkness as you mean it at all?” Kurz asked.

“Exactly. Who are we to play judge, jury, and executioner?”

“But it falls to us anyway, for there will be no others to hold her to it.”

“I…” Minch shuffled his feet awkwardly. “I… I don’t want her dead.”

“What!?” Aine spat.

Envila smiled. “That… is good enough for me. Kurz?”

Kurz nodded, taking off his glove and putting it away.

Aine pulled out the Red-core knife. “I’ll stab! Don’t think I won’t! I—”

Mimgol threw a rock at her head. It hit her right in the forehead and knocked her out in an instant.

“She’s probably fine,” Mimgol said.

“Might I suggest tying her up before healing her?” Glint said.

“Good idea,” Hamburger said. “…Wait, are you going to try something?”

“Nah, not worth it.”

“…Sure. Right. …Weird cat…”

They had soon tied Aine up very effectively and healed her injuries. Since she continually shouted bloody murder, they had to gag her to keep her quiet.

“And now…” Envila turned to Hamburger. “I think it’s time to find your great-grandfather.”

Hamburger nodded. “I think so too. Everyone… to the hole.”

Once more, they descended into the earth—but this descent was not all that far. It was just a quick twist and a turn, until they came into a chamber no larger than the average living room. There were two objects of note within the space—a Magenta Crystalline One embedded in the ground, and a rocking chair in which sat an old, wrinkled halfling who was snoring quite loudly, a notebook lying open on his lap filled with all kinds of scrawlings.

“Ah, Chonk, it appears you have visitors,” the Crystalline One said.

“Chonk!?” Minch stammered. “His… his name is Chonk!?”

“And my name’s Hamburger,” Hamburger said with a roll of her eyes. “We just name ourselves that way.”

“On purpose!” Grampy Chonk said, suddenly on his feet and grinning madly—two teeth clearly missing from his wide maw. “If your name is ridiculous-sounding it keeps ya’ humble, don’ t it?”

“I don’t know, Grampy…” Hamburger said, smirking as she gave him a hug. “I did just use my brain to defeat a demon-monster-thing.”

“Well! I can’t wait to hear all about that, but first… everyone, I don’t know who you are, but I do know you need to meet my friend here, the great, incredible, amazing, learned… Vein!”

“Charmed,” Vein said.

“Now…” Hamburger slapped Chonk across the cheek. “That’s for making everyone worry! Do you have any idea how long you’ve been gone!?”

“Uh, no, not really, there’s not days down here…”

“…Well, I found you, and you’re fine. So mission accomplished.” She rolled her eyes. “Honestly the duel on top felt like more of a triumph than this, to be honest.”

“The purpose of an adventure rarely lies in the destination!”

“I see your great-grandfather is among those who sound wise,” Envila commented.

Chonk pointed at Envila. “I like this one.”

Hamburger chuckled. “I thought you might.” She hugged him again, this time much longer and with much more force. “…It’s good to see you again.”

“You too, little one.”

Hearing the nickname from her Grampy made her giggle like the little girl she was at heart.

“Quite a charming reunion, if I do say so myself.”

“You…” Mimgol walked up to Vein. “You are much larger than you appear, I can sense it in my dwarven bones.”

“Oh yes, this is just my highest point. I have elongated myself to a length of many, many kilometers into the earth below, trying to reach as far down as I possibly can.”

Envila chuckled to herself. “After we have come so far, beyond all we thought possible, we come across one who has exceeded everything we could hope to accomplish in all our wildest dreams.”

“What… have you found?” Mimgol asked Vein.

“Other Crystalline Ones, caves, and other such things. The heat is quite intense down there, but it can be managed. The most interesting part is, stretched out as I am, I can feel Ikyu itself move.”

“M… move?”

“The great rocks that make up the world shift and tremble on extremely large scales, enough that every now and then I am shattered and have to rejoin with entire massive segments of myself. It makes it quite hard to go any deeper, for the further down the more movement there is among the solid, rigid earth.”

“Woah…” Mimgol was speechless.

“Why do you dig?” Kurz asked.

“Because I want to know what lies beneath. I was formed in the crust of Ikyu, alone, without any contact or direction, all I knew was the force that pulled me down. And so I descended. I may have descended all the way had I not come across the Blue Forest, which I did not want to lose connection with. But I still felt the pull downward, and it had been my quest for so long… so for eons the two of us have stood here, our only companions. We thought she was the only life aside from crystals in existence… until Chonk came, and told me stories of the surface. I am far too stretched out to visit it myself, but… it is good to hear of other things. The Blue Forest does not find the surface as pleasing to think about, however, and wishes to remain a secret from invaders.”

“Do not worry, we shall keep your secret,” Envila said. “At least, I assume I speak for everyone. It is enough to simply have witnessed this place. Although… we have a small problem. A rather despicable woman by the name of Aine came here with us, and… wait. Wait, I have an idea…” Envila grinned. “If she’ll be a big problem if we take her back to the surface, why not just leave her here? That is, if the Blue Forest is okay with being a prison, we likely shouldn’t impose.”

“I will discuss this with her… but it will take time, the Blue Forest likes to think things through slowly if she can. She is currently a little annoyed that things were happening so fast, and quite livid about… oh my, dead orcs. She really likes those orcs.”

“Well, you have plenty of time to figure it out,” MImgol said. “I won’t be able to dig us back up for a while, it’ll take time. Speaking of, I should probably start scouting out a good location for that…”

“Ah, don’t go, dwarfy!” Chonk declared with a laugh. “Come, sit with everyone! Your journey is at an end! There’s nowhere to go but back… so why not take a break, relax, and enjoy your reward—the company of an ancient being that plumbs the depths of Ikyu!”

“…Some reward,” Minch deadpanned.

“You got to live,” Hamburger retorted.

“You know what, yeah, that is a good reward.”

“First of all…” the Vein flickered. “Why don’t you tell me a bit about yourselves?”

Envila grinned. “I am Envila. I have no other names, nor extensions to that one, unless you count my membership in the fay race…”

~~~

SCIENCE SEGMENT

What? A science segment in an April Fools chapter? Are you nuts? I mean, I could talk about the heat gradient of the crust and the convection of the mantle or how lava ignites you without touching you… but, like, nah.

April Fools!