I clenched my staff tightly and took a deep breath. “Here we go, try two.” Eshaan gave my shoulder a reassuring squeeze, and we moved into the shadows of the sewer system.
It was a lot less traumatic this time. I kept jumping at shadows, which I would have liked to have blamed on Lakshmi. I’d offered to cast a light spell as we walked along, simpler and longer lasting than a lantern, but the moment I mentioned the idea, Lakshmi, Eideth, and Camaxtli had all formed a huddle and swiftly come back with an ‘eternal lantern’.
Well, not that eternal, they needed me to cast my spell into the crystal in the center… I looked around at the tunnel and its spooky flickering shadows cast by the three brightly blazing lanterns our group now carried. I clutched my staff a little tighter.
It’s just the nerves from the bandits. It’s not serious. There’s nothing here I shouldn’t-
“Yeek!” I jumped and squealed, to see Eshaan doing his best to smother a grin.
“Sorry to bother you.” He said, clearly not at all sorry, the jerk!
“But we need to check your mother’s journal. We’re right at the point where the smugglers started to lead us astray, and we need to check the notes.”
“O-oh, right! Of course!” I nodded rapidly, then pulled out Mother’s notes and paged through them.
With a little assistance from Eideth, and Mother’s notes, we quickly had a solid route, and pushed on into the darkness.
“If I’m right, this should be the entrance…” Eideth took a step forward and slapped the huge double doors in front of us.
What is it with Monanin and enormous oversized buildings?! What on earth does Hecate look like if this is the ruins!?
The doors swung open to reveal a cavernous space, filled with blackness, a vast hollow cavern lined with the bronze-gold material of the Ancient’s. I could feel the faintest tickle at the edge of my senses, the barest echo of what it was like when an Arcanum was nearby.
So. It was here. They did take it. But when…
“Eideth, when did the empire finish here?” I asked hesitantly.
Eideth blinked and then shrugged. “Oh, lets see…” she tugged at her braid thoughtfully then said “Sixteen, maybe Seventeen years ago? Not entirely sure, the records would know.”
I flipped through Mother’s journal. Yes, that fit. The empire was busy… this was one of the epic fights Mother and her friends had, some sort of smuggling ring and mystic power from the core of the ruins.
I closed the journal and looked up again. The space was empty now, vast and dark and filled with the soft echoes of our existence and it seemed that was all.
What was the plot supposed to be here? Was I right to avoid it? I looked around the enormous open room and shivered, hugging myself. This was a boss arena if I’d ever seen one, but there didn’t seem to be any bosses.
I think I’m glad for that. I peered over the railing, down at the distant floor, just barely visible in the bright light of the lanterns.
Were we supposed to be down there? Would a boss activate if we lowered someone? I shook my head rapidly, which made my braid slap my cheeks.
“Let’s get going.” I said, the echoes spreading into the chamber. “Boss battle or not, we’ve got to reach the city.”
Soriya laughed. “Either way, it’s great research! But to tell you the truth, I don’t think you need to worry. I feel…” she trailed off, her eyes shifting around then coming back to rest. “It feels like we’ve clipped a level somehow.”
I grimaced. “That’s good, but I still worry. What treasure were we supposed to get? What information did we just miss?”
Soriya smiled. “Well it’s not a video game. I’m pretty sure we can’t make the System glitch or bug out.”
“Why do you say that?” Daniyel spoke up curiously.
Soriya turned to him, beaming. “I’m so glad you asked!”
Our group gave a collective groan as Soriya launched into a long winded explanation, which as near as I could tell, just boiled down to the idea that the System was bolted on top of an existing physics model, a “real” universe. The System might indeed glitch in some manner, but it wasn’t capable of glitching the underlying world.
“So what are these plot paths that you’re talking about then?” Eshaan asked. “Aren’t they cut into the ‘real’ world?”
“Oh no, not at all!” Soriya waved her arms excitedly. “If anything, they work on an entirely different level!”
This time I did not follow her explanation, although-
Well when it comes down to it, she’s got the Loremaster class, and so does Lakshmi. And I don’t. And I trust her. I’m glad she’s having a good time. I thought.
An hour and change later, we finally reached a substation and stairs upwards. Eideth (and Mother’s journal) both agreed that this was the way up to the city. I rubbed the back of my neck to smooth down the hairs standing on end. If something was going to happen…
But nothing did. The stairway up was quiet, and more dust free than most areas we’d passed through, even with the signs of the smuggler’s route.
At the top of the stairs, we faced our first real obstacle. A locked door.
I paused, and then turned to Eshaan, with a faint smile on my face. “I think escaping a dungeon is a perfectly good use for your hobby.” I said with as straight a face as I could.
Eshaan laughed, and produced a pair of odd looking bent and twisted metal picks. “Allow me to open the door for you, milady!” He grinned and swiftly knelt in front of the doors. A few soft clicks and ticks as Eshaan twisted the metal probes in the door, and there was a soft ‘click’ and the enormous bronze-gold doors slowly swung open.
The stairs ahead led up into the grey brown air which I could hardly call ‘fresh’ and the pall of smoke ensured it was hardly ‘bright’… but the noise and sound pouring down at us told us that we had reached Hecate.
Eideth gave Eshaan a dirty look as she briefly inspected the doors, and then Eshaan. She gave a derisive snort. “Cheap workmanship, that’s what it is.” She muttered and stamped her way up the stairs ahead of us.
“Good work, my reformed thief.” I whispered to Eshaan as I moved next to him. The others gave him much louder appreciative noises, save for Camaxtli who knelt to examine the doors curiously for a moment, before joining us.
We closed the doors behind us, and then ascended the stairs up into a bustling street intersection. We emerged in the middle of a bustling plaza. All along the edges well-made buildings of stone and brick crowded the plaza, their upper stories towering over the streets below. I was a little worried that we’d be the center of attention, but the Monanin passing nearby barely gave us a glance. Surging crowds surrounded us, a very few humans sprinkled into the Monanin throng, easily visible by how they towered over the shorter natives. Oddly archaic looking magitech carriages with giant brass-gold metal gears and glowing crystals wheeled over the streets, mingling with street vendors, pedestrians, horse drawn carriages and more. Everyone seemed very busy, rapid walking indicating that everyone had somewhere to go.
Eshaan looked around slowly. “Wow. This is a smugglers entrance?!”
Eideth laughed. “No, city boy, this is the main entrance to the undercity! How would I know where the smugglers come up!? Someplace a good deal more subtle than this!”
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I smiled at Eshaan. “Sorry Eshaan, I was following my mother’s journal you know. I was working backwards, she didn’t start at were we came in, that was her exit. She entered here. She was exploring the undercity for some family or another.” I turned to Eideth. “Alright Eideth. It’s your show, which way?”
Eideth spun slowly around, taking in the scenery. “Well, let’s see.” She held up her finger to the air, then sniffed, spinning slowly around. “This is the main gate to the undercity, the sulfur smell is stronger this way…” She nodded firmly and pointed confidently. “This way! The family’s house is this way.” She pushed into the crowd without a backwards glance.
I blinked and looked at Lakshmi. “Is she usually like this?”
Lakshmi rushed to follow, hastily elbowing people to catch up, calling back over her shoulder. “Usually she’s worse, hurry up or she’ll leave us behind for sure!”
A harrowing race after Eideth ensued, as she almost vanished into the throng of similar height, trailing a comet tail of ungainly tall humans behind her. When she reached the shelter on one of the buildings, she huffed in exasperation. “This is going to take forever, it must be rush hour! I’ll just call us a cab.”
Camaxtli said dryly “I fail to see how naming one of our members a transport device will ensure speedy transport.”
I stared at him blankly, then turned to Lakshmi. “Did… did he just make a joke?!”
Lakshmi had a broad grin on her face. Camaxtli turned to look at me and raised a single eyebrow. “Was my intonation not correct?”
I pressed my lips together to stop a smile and took a deep breath. “Lakshmi, would you explain to him? Please?”
Eideth shook her head in mild annoyance and stepped close to the curb, lifting a hand and putting two fingers to her lips. A shrill whistle split the air, and one of the clattering bronze-gold carriages rolled to a jerky halt next to us, expelling clouds of blue vapor.
Eideth stepped up to the wheels looking up at the driver. “Dûnhark house.” She said abruptly, and held up a small plaque in her hand. The driver lifted an eyebrow, slowly passing his gaze over us.
“Tall’uns ‘ill cost ya.” He said in an accent thicker than the Cloudhearts.
“House Dûnhark is good for it.” Eideth retorted calmly, and jerked open the cab door, ushering us inside. It was indeed a very tight fit with all seven of us, but we did fit.
Does that mean this is a really large cab, by Hecate standards? How often do they carry seven passengers?!
The cab jerked into motion with a hiss and roar of blue vapor and the feel of mana flows skittering over my skin. It jerked to a stop almost immediately, followed by several more slow start-and-stops.
“This is an improvement?” Danyiel asked quietly.
Eideth nodded. “Oh yeah! Take your life in your hands walking the streets at this time of day. Plus we get to sit down after the undercity!” She crossed her arms. “What, you wanted to walk more?!”
Daniyel tipped his head to the side then shook it. “No. I believe this is a suitable opportunity for a break.”
Soriya said “Will your house be glad to see you back? Is your father waiting for you?”
Eideth’s face clouded, then lightened slightly. “Da’s still at the estate back in Rievem. I expect the servants will be glad enough to see me. At least they’ll pretend as much. Going to be a right mess with the paperwork and me appearing here.”
I blinked a few times. “You’re… the head of your house in Hecate?” I said in surprise.
Eideth glared up at me. “I’m fifty six years old, girl! I think I can run a household of my own! You of all people can’t be suggesting I need a man’s approval!”
I flushed bright red and stammered an apology. “N-no! I didn’t mean it like that! Of course not! I just… didn’t expect… I didn’t know you were such a big deal!”
She’s fifty six?! Really?! I boggled mentally. She doesn’t look more than twenty five, at most! I… I guess monan’s age more slowly?! Like elves, maybe?
Eideth looked down, and twisted her hands in their thick leather gloves together. “Well, the truth is I’m not. We’re not, the house is… not as prosperous as it once was.”
Soriya said “So you weren’t around when Holly was here on her adventure?”
Eideth shook her head. “No, it’s the past decade my house managed to get the funds together to pay for a manor in Hecate.”
“How did you come to have the records from then?” Soriya asked curiously.
Eideth shrugged. “Manor’s records, old paperwork. Old house, we haven’t gotten around to cleaning it all out yet.”
“Wait. You moved in ten years ago, and you haven’t finished cleaning?!” Lakshmi said in disbelief.
Eideth looked up, a spark of anger in her eyes. “I’ve more important things to be doing than cleaning! I’d think your airship speaks to that!”
Lakshmi pursed her lips and was quiet, though I saw her place her hand on Camaxtli’s when he opened his mouth to make an observation. He glanced at her then closed his mouth comment unspoken.
I had a sudden thought and pulled out Mother’s journal, slowly leafing through it before stopping on a page, then looking up at Eideth. “Eideth, was the manor house you rented perhaps the former manor of the Gyremona?
Eideth sat back in surprise and blinked a few times. “Now how on earth could you know that?”
I giggled softly, and closed the journal with a snap. “Just a thought. My mother’s adventure involved the Gyremona. When their dealings with the artifact smugglers came to light, the Mountain Lords Council was very displeased. It just made sense that an open manor house in Hecate must have been scarce property, a house in decline.”
Eideth sat back, her mouth open in surprise. “Well I’ll be. The world’s an awful small place sometimes!” She said.
I shared a quiet glance with Soriya, and saw her nodding in agreement.
Small, I suppose, if you’re a heroine and her party. How do I feel about that? The answer was pretty obvious, I was deeply uncomfortable with the idea that I was this special, that the world bent itself for me. It felt as though the world was more of a hidden puppet master than Deacon, and that thought was a deeply uncomfortable stone in my stomach.
Still. I pressed my lips together firmly. We’ve done things off script. We don’t have to follow the world-system’s pre-ordained fate. I shuddered. And a good thing too, or Mother and all of Breezewood would be dead, and I’d likely suffer some terribly tragic and angsty death to push Eshaan into his role as destined hero. Avoiding that is the whole point of this little… everything! I thought fiercely.
The scenery outside passed slowly, brightly painted buildings showing their solid stone color here and there, with a few soot and rough smoke stains on the poorer buildings. I dreaded how low the ceilings were going to be, but at least we wouldn’t be here too long.
Eshaan tugged at my sleeve. “Lily, look!” He said, pointing out the window of the carriage. I peered over his shoulder, to see a lovely little park, with trees that seemed to shimmer with color, blossoms that twinkled in a rainbow of shades amid the soft spring green.
“I didn’t realize it was that time of year!” he said enthusiastically. “The blossoms are here! I haven’t had a chance to go on a blossom watch in forever!”
I blinked in surprise, fumbling at memory, expecting to remember something, but came up blank.
Soriya grinned. “Those are the Evergleam trees. They only grow west of the mountains, in Galgados and Arlan.” She said.
“Oh we’ve got to make time to see them! I haven’t had a chance to have a real blossom wish in… a long time!”
Lakshmi sat up and looked out the windows with wide eyes. “So those are Evergleams? I’ve only… uh…” she coughed and then said “I’ve never seen one. The Imperial palace has one, as a gift from the Monanin council, but these are… amazing! We’ve got to see them!”
I pursed my lips, and then gave Eshaan a stern look. “I don’t suppose these trees… are the blossoms perhaps… considered romantic?”
Eshaan turned to look at me with a guilty blush on his features. Before he could speak, I sighed and shook my head, holding up my hand.
“It’s… it’s… fine.” I said. “We… we can go see the blossoms.” I swallowed, and then squeezed Eshaan’s hand in mine. “I don’t think it’s all that much of a waste of time, and they do look very pretty.” The smile on Eshaan’s face was… actually really sweet and totally worth it.
Ok, so… he’s dumb, but really cute, and… ok. I’ll admit, maybe it would be a little sweet to go on a blossom watching picnic with him.
Eideth grunted in surprise. “Huh. Didn’t think you tallins cared about the blossoms. Right nice little park we’ve got, very proud of those trees.” She took a quick glimpse at the window, and nodded. “And they look in very fine bloom at that. Might go see them myself before they’re gone.”
The carriage rolled on, and the park was soon lost to view behind us.
A not intolerable time later, the carriage pulled up in front of a fine manor in what was obviously one of the better parts of town. Eideth hopped down and made us wait, while she marched up to the door of the manor. I thought she was about to bang on the door, but instead she fished in her pockets, pulled out an enormous ring of keys, and slipped one into the lock. The door opened in her hands, and an extremely dignified Monanin gentleman wearing what was obviously a butler’s uniform greeted her.
“Ah, mistress! You’re home! We had no word, and with the last missive from the Empire being about your abduction, we were dreadfully worried! We’d just…” He opened the door wide, and spied us. “Ah, are these guests of the house then?”
Eideth grinned and then embraced the stuffy old butler in a huge. “Uncle Rangrim. It’s good to be home.” She let go and gestured back to us. “Yes, these are some friends of mine, they helped me get home. Oh, and pay the cab driver.” She waved to the cab, and vanished inside.
Rangrim nodded solemnly to us, and then said to the cab driver “Please wait one moment. I will be right back.” He ducked inside and a moment later came out and counted out the fee the cab driver asked for. Once that was done, he turned to us and bowed stiffly. “No luggage then?” He said quietly. “Well, you must have a very interesting story to tell. Please, come inside and make yourself at home. Mistress Eideth has declared you guests of the house, and so I bid you welcome to House Dûnhark.”
We clambered out of the carriage, stretching our legs, and followed Rangrim inside. I was oddly disappointed that I didn’t need to duck and stoop to go inside… it seemed that the Monanin passion for overcompensation and size extended to their homes. They were quite large and spacious.
And frankly amazing. Admit it, Lily, this is… gorgeous! I thought to myself, slowly turning around in the elaborate entrance hall with it’s glittering crystal chandelier and marble floor with intricate inlaid geometric patterns.
Ok. Maybe this won’t be so bad… I thought. English… er… Scottish? Manor house… I caught sight of two full suits of armor in the entrance hall and slapped my hand over my mouth to stifle a giggle. Oh my! Maybe there’s even a ghost! I grinned quietly.