Chapter 163: Emergence
Mig squinted, sweeping the prototype flashlighter’s beam around the darkened interior of the tunnel in front of him. He and Del were in the crack, standing guard at the entrance of the passage that led to the depths. It was mid-day, and while there was plenty of light from the sun, the light bulbs strung along the chasm walls remained lit, driving away any shadows that might have remained. Not so in the tunnel ahead, which was normally sealed by a heavy door, open now in anticipation of the captain’s return. The flashlighter’s beam lit it well enough, however.
The flashlighter was a heavy, boxy object, made of metal and about the size of a loaf of bread. It had a handle welded to the top side so it could be carried like a bucket. The beam came from a glass window set in one end—a lens, it was apparently called.
“I’m telling you, Del, it’s gotta be Crysts in here,” Mig said, still sweeping the beam about. “Where else could it be getting the light? There’s no wire for it to get in from the generator.”
“Damnation, Mig, you pigeon head, that ain’t it. Weren’t you listening to Staavo? Light doesn’t come through the wires. It’s the lectons.”
“The what?” Mig asked, turning to shine the beam directly into Del’s face.
“Hey!” Del protested, raising a hand to shield his eyes. “Point that somewhere else.”
“Oh, sorry about that, Del,” Mig said, not sorry at all. He aimed the beam back down the darkened tunnel. “I’m just telling you, it’s Crysts.” He adjusted his grip on the handle, his arm tired from the weight. “They just made it heavy to fool us. Don’t want us to know that they’re in here.”
“Mig, if my pillow was as soft as your head—“
Mig pressed a hand to his chest. “Hey now, Del. That’s unkind.”
Del snorted. “Well, maybe try using it to think for once in your life. That thing’s heavy because the battree inside is made of lead and filled up with acid.”
“Thought you said it was lectons,” Mig replied, grinning. “And I don’t think you’re saying either of them words right.”
“Mig, El help me, I’ve had it with you. If you’re so curious, open it. See what happens. Reason helped make that thing, and he’s awakened, ain’t he? The acid should be nice and strong. Melt the flesh right off your bones and rid me of you, once and for all.”
“Oh, stuff it, Del,” Mig said, shining the flashlighter’s beam up under his own chin. “You’d miss me. And I’m telling ya. It’s a conspiracy.”
“Will you two just shut up already?” a woman’s voice snapped.
Mig paled, looking up to see Lady Draves scowling at them.
“Look what you did now, Mig,” Del said, crossing his arms. “You’re bothering Miss Lyn. Now say sorry.”
“I don’t want your sorry; I want you to shut up,” Lady Draves said, stalking over. Like them, she was wearing standard Ascension leathers, complete with the signature white cloak. However, instead of a leather skullcap, she had a hat made of sumptuous black fur. That hat and the story of how she’d won it marked just how far above them she was.
Stopping in front of them, Lady Draves planted the steel-capped tip of her staff on the ground with a clang. “You’re supposed to be guarding. So guard. Quietly.”
Mig mumbled something, averting his eyes.
“Now now, Miss Lyn,” Del said in a patronizing tone, much to Mig’s horror. “Things would get awful boring if we did that. Say, have I mentioned that you remind me of my daughter? You’re about her age. Almost as pretty, too.”
Mig decided that it would be best to put some distance between himself and Del, but before he could dive for cover, Lady Draves surprised him.
A laugh was not the reaction he’d expected.
“You remind me of my uncle,” she said. “He was from the main family, so he could basically say whatever he wanted. You, though? Are you trying to get yourself killed? ‘Almost as pretty’? Don’t they teach you how to talk to women in Vestvall? Or to nobles, for that matter?”
“You haven’t seen my daughter,” Del said, grinning. “Vision of her mother. And as for nobles, we ain’t got none worth the name around here. Besides, this is Ascension, ain’t it? Sure, you’re Entrusted, and an awakened noble besides, with us just dull Aspirants. But it’s like Miss Vanna says. Rank is just rank. Nobles, commoners, women, men, awakened, dulls, old, young...” He shrugged. “We’re all just folk.”
“Hmph,” Lady Draves said with a snort.
Mig relaxed slightly but tensed again as the young noblewoman turned to look at him. “You are supposed to be guarding, though. Rank is rank, so maybe you should do what I say, hmm? What if they come back and see you two like...this?” She gestured at them vaguely, then to the pair of crossbows lying nearby. “You aren’t even holding your weapons. Some watchers you make.”
“I...uh...” Mig began, shrinking back and glancing down at the flashlighter in his hand. It gave him a better excuse than Del had, but he was hesitant to defend himself—or, for that matter, to point out that she wasn’t exactly guarding like she was supposed to either.
“Stop cringing,” Lady Draves said before Del could cut in. “You’re making me feel bad. I’m not going to hurt you if you offend me. Do you really think they’d have let me join if I was that kind of noble? Now, pull yourselves together and do your jobs. The tunnel was already cleared, but it’s still our assignment to stand here and wait for the captain.”
Working up his courage, Mig risked a question, seeing Del busy retrieving his crossbow in the corner of his eye. “You really think he’ll come back today?”
Lady Draves shrugged. “Or tomorrow. Any day, really. They’re overdue, but Vanna said she heard from them. Fuck if I know how.”
“Miss Lyn,” Del gasped, his voice taking on a scolding tone. “A lady shouldn’t use words like—“
“Quiet,” she snapped sharply, cutting him off, though not in anger. She was looking past him, down the tunnel.
Mig whirled, shining his flashlighter at the darkness but revealing only an empty tunnel. He then jumped as a voice echoed from within it, coming from around the bend.
“Hello!”N0v3lRealm was the platform where this chapter was initially revealed on N0v3l.B1n.
Lady Draves moved faster than Mig could react, and before he realized what was happening, a crossbow was being shoved into his free hand.
“Hold that and stand up straight before you embarrass me,” Lady Draves hissed at him as he struggled not to drop the weapon or to inadvertently trigger the catch.
Managing to get the weapon under control, Mig straightened himself up as ordered while Lady Draves moved to stand between him and Del. Contrary to her urgent instructions, she seemed relaxed, holding her staff in an easy, casual grip.
Together, they waited, but they didn’t have to wait long. The light at the end of the tunnel began to grow, taking on a golden tinge, and the sound of heavy, metallic footsteps became audible. Those footsteps rapidly increased in pace, growing louder and louder until a figure came into view, approaching at a jog.
The captain—it had to be the captain—was an enormous man, clad in shining steel and wearing a white Ascension cloak draped about his shoulders. In either hand, he held what looked to be metal cases, not unlike the flashlighter, but much, much larger.
Mig’s eyes widened as the captain ran toward them. By the gods... He had heard that the man was tall, but nothing had been said about his breadth. Even accounting for the armor, the captain had to be massive, and with his pace, burdened as he was, massively strong as well. He seemed untroubled by the weight of the cases and by the pack on his back. His visor was open, revealing a smiling, bearded face.
“You’re late!” Lady Draves called out, waving.
“I see,” Rain said, reserving judgment. The addition of a third rank was actually something he’d been planning, but going through whatever changes had been made to the codes in his absence could wait. He stepped closer to the board, looking at a few of the bills. The ones he saw were all for things like gathering resources or making mundane items in exchange for credits. There was also a posted list of names that looked like a watch rotation. He nodded to himself, then turned back to Lyn. “Looks like it’s working. How about the credit system? Are people using it?” If Romer’s really been burning through Tel to keep stuff charged...
“Amazingly, yes,” another woman’s voice said, and Rain looked to see Vanna approaching them from his left. She wasn’t smiling, wearing a businesslike expression instead. If anything, she looked stressed. She wasn’t wearing her white cloak, but she had a golden pin on the breast of her jacket, worked in the shape of Ascension’s rising arrow. Tarny was at her elbow, and rather than a standard gambeson, he wore a surprisingly sharp outfit of blue fabric beneath his Ascension cloak. It made him look less like a conscript and more like a young noble. He’d also grown a short beard, much like Rain’s, and the dark whiskers did wonders to make him seem less baby-faced. The cumulative effect was ruined by the way he was practically bouncing with excitement.
“You can thank Atyl,” Vanna said, coming to a stop. “It was his idea to split the Council of Finance off from the Council of Administration. Turns out he’s really good with this stuff. He spotted a flaw in the credit system that would have sent the entire thing up in flames within a few days of you leaving. He even managed to explain the problem well enough to get people to vote on fixing it.” She glanced at Ameliah. “Nice armor. Also, you’re late. You promised me you’d have him back by four days ago.”
“Hello to you too,” Ameliah said, raising an eyebrow.
“Sorry,” Vanna said with a sigh, then forced a smile, including all three of them. “Welcome back. Rain, as acting captain, I officially return Ascension to your command. Mayor Stupid-Face is your problem now, thank the gods.”
Rain blinked, bemused. Mayor Stupid-Face?
“Captain Rain,” Tarny blurted, stepping forward and bowing deeply. “Congratulations on your successful delve.”
“Thank you, Tarny,” Rain said, shaking his head. “Nice threads. The beard looks good on you too.” He turned back to Vanna as Tarny struggled with the praise. “Clearly, we need to catch up. Before that, though, we’ve got stuff.” He hefted the cases slightly. “More than just these, too. I’d like to stash them out of sight, preferably underground, and then we’ll need to organize another trip or two to get the rest.”
“Stuff, huh?” Vanna said. “Very vague.” She beckoned to one of the groups gathered around them. “You four, come take the cases and bring them to Engineering. Get someone inside to bring them down. You’re not to go in.”
“No,” Tallheart said, rumbling deeply. “We will carry them.”
“It’s fine, Tallheart,” Ameliah said, having set down her cases. She laid a hand on Tallheart’s shoulder as Rain nodded in agreement, setting down his cases as well and stepping back to make way.
A white-cloaked man stepped forward, then grunted as he tried and failed to lift Ameliah’s cases. “Gods above and monsters below, what’s in here?!”
“Bung to that, how strong are they?!” said another man, likewise struggling. He gave up on lifting both of Rain’s cases, focusing on just one and managing to get it off the ground.
Rain smiled. The cases were full of ingots. Silver, mostly, but also iron, aluminum, copper, lead...basically everything that they’d found or brought with them. There were more piles of resources below, stable deepstone—though the stability would need to be tested—Ashen Jungle wood, various fruits and plants—some of which might have Chemical or Alchemical uses—monster bones, spare equipment, and more. Tallheart’s cases had the good stuff, and that was probably why he was unwilling to give them up.
“Fine,” Tallheart said after a moment. “But I will supervise.” He turned, carrying his cases toward the passage that led deeper into the compound. “Come, humans. I must see how many of my tools the goat has destroyed.”
“Tallheart, wait,” Rain said, making the smith pause and look over his shoulder. Stepping forward, Rain brought his arms to his sides, bowing formally at the waist in the cervidian fashion. “Thank you, Tallheart. Without you, we wouldn’t have had a chance at success. I owe you more than I can ever repay.”
Tallheart paused, then turned silently, setting down his cases. He stepped forward, then returned Rain’s bow, meeting his eyes. “There can be no debt between family.”
Rain’s eyebrows shot up, stricken by Tallheart’s matter-of-fact tone. Overwhelmed and unsure of how to respond, he was saved by Ameliah.
“Stop it, Tallheart, you’ll make him cry, saying something like that.”
Tallheart rose, then turned and bowed to her as well, just as formally. “Do not mock.” His expression softened, and he chuckled. “Or do. Perhaps it would be appropriate, for I consider you to be family as well.”
“And we, you,” Ameliah said, her voice becoming serious as she bowed back.
“Mmm,” Tallheart rumbled, sounding satisfied. The two of them rose together.
“Well,” Lyn said, looking from Tallheart to Ameliah and Rain. “That was touching. Nothing like a trip to the murderous depths to really bind people together.”
“Tallheart, I—“ Rain began, but Tallheart cut him off, turning to retrieve his cases.
“Do not make it awkward. I will speak with you both later.” Rumbling to himself, he made for the passage to the company hall. After a moment, the unfortunates Vanna had voluntold to help began hauling the cases after him, grunting and swearing with exertion.
Shaking his head to dislodge the feelings that he’d suddenly found it stuffed with, Rain cleared his throat. He caught Vanna’s eye, then gestured to the struggling men in an attempt to change the subject. “I’m pretty sure that’s a workplace safety violation.” He pointed to a wire running straight across the center of the tavern floor. “That, too.”
“Yup,” Vanna said in a tone that said ‘no shit’. She sighed, gesturing at the wire. “There’ve been incidents, but I’ve got too much to manage to do more than remind people not to stick their fingers in the sockets. No deaths, amazingly, here or in Vestvall. Tahir and Mereck have been earning their keep. They’ve had their hands full between the electrocutions and the monster attacks and honor duels... We need to talk about the Vestvall nobles.” She shook her head, then waved at the crowd and pointed at the four struggling with the cases. “Oh, go help them, would you? Aspirants, you can enter the company hall, but don’t go down to Engineering, and come right back once you’re done or we’ll have words.”
Rain shook his head, then glanced at Ameliah.
“Family, huh?” she said, smiling mischievously. She continued in a husky tone, speaking softly so the crowd wouldn’t be able to hear. “So, should I call you husband now?”
“Uh—” Rain stammered, his mind skipping several gears while his heart simultaneously tried to catapult itself out of his chest. Marriage didn’t exactly translate well across the culture barrier. In Fel Sadanis, and possibly Vestvall too, it was more of a common-law type thing outside of the nobility, where it was more about politics. As far as Rain was aware, people would either hold ceremonies or not, depending on their personal beliefs. He wasn’t sure where Ameliah stood on the matter, obviously not having discussed it with her, as they’d only known each other for a few months.
Mercifully, Ameliah laughed, freeing him from the need for a response. “Kidding, kidding! Your face! You haven’t turned that red since—”
“Hey!” Rain interrupted before she could make it even worse. He could feel the eyes of the crowd on them. While most probably hadn’t heard what Ameliah had said, Vanna and Lyn sure had, judging by their amused expressions.
Damn it. She got me good. Unless she didn’t, and she was being serious and just SAID she was kidding because of how I reacted, in which case—
Vanna clapped her hands, interrupting Rain’s rumination before it devolved into internal screaming. “Okay, come on, love ducks. There’s work to do.” She chuckled one last time, then sighed and ran a hand through her hair. “Let’s talk in my office. We’d better get in there before someone like Carten turns up. Hells, or Kettel. Lyn, can you take care of things out here, please? Wait, you didn’t leave Del in the crack alone, did you?”
“Of course not,” Lyn said, still with laughter in her voice as she looked between Rain and Ameliah. “I made him come up with us. I left him with the other sentries at the top of the elevator. They’ve got their crossbows. They’ll be fine.”
“Good, good,” Vanna said, already walking away. “Tarny, go find...where did he go?”
“Right here,” Tarny said, appearing with a tray bearing an assortment of sliced cheese, meat, and fruit. Bread, too, smelling fresh from the oven, sitting beside a lump of butter and a pair of steaming cups.
Rain’s entire focus narrowed in on the divine aroma that was wafting from that tray, even his emotional distress falling to the wayside.
Tarny gestured to the plate, continuing. “I figured they might like something to refresh themselves after being in the deep wilds for so long.”
“Rain,” Ameliah said, laying a hand on Rain’s shoulder. “If I kissed him, would you be upset?”
Rain shook his head. “Hells, move over. I might kiss him first.”