Chapter XVII#
We Get To Talk#
well that was fast
Warning
Chapter illustrations currently WIP.
The tunnel had finally opened onto a small ruined pier, in the uneven grasslands. Starlight dashed the overgrown dockhouse’s auburn roof with streaks of its original colours. I’d chanced a bit of a nap on one of the chairs outside – cold was no impediment to a t-seven. Didn’t feel like sleeping though. The others would disagree – they’ve bunked off in the engine room.
Arodorros was awake, of course. He’d been driving through the night and I don’t think he needed sleep at whatever rank he was.
“Do we wait for morning?” I asked him. We were in the cabin. The ambient hum was either Bia’s snoring or the engine.
“No,” he shut off the boat as it slotted in next to the dock. “We can’t let them catch up before entering the hideout’s defences.”
“I will wake them,” I went to leave, then stopped. “What about the boat?”
“It’s handled,” Arodorros shrugged. “Just get everyone off first.”
I left the cabin and stalked down into the engine room.
“Wake up!” I shouted at the assorted flesh and sleeping bags. No response, so of course, the next logical step was to conjure my wings and slam them against the walls. Metallic clanging bounced through the room.
“...what the fuck…” Bia groaned.
“We need to get off the boat,” I said, and swept back onto the deck.
“Whhhyyyy?” Rosa slurred. I could hear Lloyd sighing and Dan was already up.
“Stealth,” I called, then went to help Arodorros deploy the gangway.
He shifted the last lever and the metal platform slid and dropped with a thud. “Our destination is just a ways southwest from here,” he raised his voice for the benefit of the ones.
I rolled my eyes. “Get moving, morons.”
***
“Can we not sleep a little?” Bia lamented, hopping onto the pier, which rocked as she hit.
“You can sleep later,” I said.
“There will be bunks at the hideout,” Arodorros nodded absently, eyes scanning the surroundings. The dock was the only structure around still standing. A cluster of weathered ruins sat nearby, no doubt another startup town ravaged by monsters. I wonder if Arodorros had been here when it had gone out. He probably didn’t help. Discretion and all.
“Just let me sleep right here,” Dan murmured, stepping off himself.
“Agreed!” Rosa was far too energetic to supposedly be in need of sleep.
“The boat, Arodorros?” I looked to him.
He plucked a small empty picture frame out of his dimensional bag and held it up.
“Give it a second.”
“It’s been a second,” I tapped my wrist. I should get a watch.
“Impatient,” he chuckled. “Ah, there we go.”
The boat warped, twisting and morphing like a reflection in water – which only exacerbated its actual reflection. It burst into lines of ebony blacks and porcelain whites and frostbitten blues, scritching and scratching like pencil sketches, streaming into the frame in Arodorros’ hands. A painting of the boat we’d just ridden now sat in his grip.
“That’s really sick,” Rosa grinned.
“That an ability?” I asked. “Would be mighty convenient if we could do that. I might actually consider getting a carriage.”
“Not an ability,” he smiled, handing me the painting for my client to get a read, before stowing it back in his bag. He turned and we began walking.
Item: [Painting Projector] (Storage)
Tier: LXI
Attuned to: Tienarten Generic Small Yacht
Manufactured by: Dawne
Encodes matter into aura-resonating brushstrokes and decodes brushstrokes into matter. Can store and transport large objects. Not dimensional storage. Cannot encode/decode non physical matter.
“Not dimensional storage?” I raised an eyebrow.
“Wait, what?” Rosa spluttered. Dimensional storage technology was notorious for being… well, the only technology for efficient storage. Even dimwit Rosa knew that. “How the heck does that work?”
“Dawnic tech must be a lot more advanced than ours,” Lloyd nodded in thought. “How does it work?”
“I wouldn’t understand,” Arodorros said. “I’m not a scientist.”
“Who cares about Dawne tech,” Bia sulked. “I want my hexacampi back.”
“They’re fine,” Lloyd assured. “They’re smart, and fast.”
“They would have only weighed us down in an actual fight anyway,” I said.
“Weighed us dow – they let us almost outrun Grim!” Bia screeched.
“Voice low,” Dan said. He seemed to be keeping watch with Arodorros. Not much chance that’d there’d be anyone out here, but we were being followed.
“Question,” Rosa said. “Don’t get me wrong, I love the big crabs, but how was Grim not faster than them? Isn’t it like, a being of ineffable power or something? Orrrrrr is Ari playing it up?” She grinned.
“Not trying to kill us, remember,” Dan said.
“Right,” I narrowed my eyes. “Totally.”
The fields all looked the same, but Arodorros walked on with confidence. Maybe high rankers had innate sense of direction. Or good memory. Or an ability. Any number of things. Kind of annoying that high rankers tend to keep their capabilities to themselves and the school systems go along. I’ve never understood why.
A few minutes of crushing tall grass and bickering with Bia later, Arodorros stopped in the middle of the field. An entirely random looking spot.
“We’re here,” he said.
“There is nothing here,” Dan said.
“Observant as ever,” Lloyd threw him a finger.
Arodorros kneeled down and opened a trapdoor, camouflaged seamlessly with the ground. Dan raised his eyebrows.
“Should’ve stood on it and kicked down,” Rosa snickered. “Ya specialty.”
Lloyd laughed and patted Dan on the shoulder.
“Please don’t do that,” Arodorros descended. “The camouflage is delicate.”
We filed in. I brought up the rear, closing the door behind before sliding down into a space the size of a small classroom, several other rooms branching off on every side, doorways containing hanging curtains. A purple light blazed through a curtain at the other end of the room. The walls were stone covered in moss, with abstract paintings donning almost every non-horizontal surface. Square lanterns hung from the ceiling, casting the room in yellowish glow. A table sat in the middle of the room, padded chairs surrounding it.
Bia trailed her hands over the beads hanging from the ceiling lanterns. I was unfortunately too short for that. Dan and Lloyd immediately found a chair, sat down, and each dropped their heads to the table.
“There are beds,” Arodorros said, sitting down himself.
“Perfect,” said Bia and headed off to find them.
“Wait,” Arodorros said.
“Later. We sleep now.”
“I have your answers, remember.”
Bia turned. “Ughhhhh.”
We all picked a seat. There were far more than necessary.
“So,” I leaned forward. “Who are these cultists?”
“And who are you?!” Rosa jabbed a finger at him.
“I just want to sleep,” Dan groaned.
“I will start at the beginning,” Arodorros waved a hand for quiet.
“Oh great, here we go. Exposition dump time,” Bia snorted.
“Not if I have anything to say about it!” Rosa screeched. “This is gonna be the funniest fucking exposition ever performed!”
“Weren’t you just skipping sleep for this?” I looked at Bia.
“Hey, lore is lore. Y’know how it is, you skip one long drawn out fight scene cuz you’re bored of it and suddenly you have no idea what’s happening in the story anymore.”
“May I begin?” Arodorros’ lips tinged on a slight smile.
“You may,” I said before anyone else could object.
“So,” he began. “Kaaldenvale is being invaded by interdimensional space rats.”
“Sorry, what?” Dan roused. “Did I hear that right?”
“Allow me to finish,” Arodorros kept his smile. “These rats are known throughout the cosmos as a race who like to invade worlds and strip mine their fundamental components.”
“So there are things outside,” Lloyd noted. “How long have you Dawnites known about that?”
“Dawne has developed far faster than any other nation on this planet,” he said simply. “We do not, however, deign to interact. That would cause only conflict.”
“You’re doing a lot of interacting,” Bia pointed out.
“Special occasion. Fate of the world level occasion, in fact.”
“I see,” I sighed. “I’m not getting out of this, am I?”
“Probably not,” he agreed. “Apologies. But necessity calls.”
“What do you mean by fundamental components?” I asked.
“That is…” he hesitated. “I do not know. But the Matriarch tells me that without them, our world would collapse.”
“Collapse how?”
He chilled, eyes flashing uncharacteristic fear for just a second.
“Warp. Bend. Twist. Do not ask again.”
“Right.”
“The rats. They’ve been here for centuries, infiltrating governments and setting up infrastructure for their grand arrival. Dawne did not notice their presence until very recently when a being of immense power entered Kaaldenvale.”
“Grim,” Rosa guessed.
“Correct. The dysphorium’s entry was enough of a disturbance on our dimensional monitors that it caused a massive spike in aural energy, unlike whatever personnel or messages they sent before.”
“So you’re here for Grim.”
“Oh hells no,” Arodorros shook his head. “I cannot take on that being. I do not possess any reality bending abilities. I am here to guide you.”
“Why me?”
“You have an artifact of importance.”
“Right.”
“Dawne does not want the hourglass to fall into the wrong hands, especially not to the rats. The Matriarch sent me to bring you and the artifact to Dawne where it can be kept safe.”
“Sounds sketchy,” Bia played with her hair.
“You will simply have to trust me,” Arodorros shrugged. “Not much more I can do to convince you. And… I do have answers. Dawne will have answers. Answers that will be hard to come by without us.”
“So you won’t tell me everything then,” I sighed. “Respectable, I suppose. But I am disappointed nonetheless.”
“My orders are orders.”
“Of course,” I scoffed, leaning back in my chair.
“How will we get to Dawne?” Lloyd asked.
“I was planning to take the Troltano telegate to Dustheus. But then…”
“They go that far?” Rosa asked.
“Of course they do,” Bia snickered. “It’s teleportation.”
“Well actually,” Lloyd started. “There is a cost to distance scale, so it’s a pretty valid question – ”
“Shut up,” Bia groaned.
“We will have to head to Avertine. The nearest telegate is there.”
“Won’t we have to wait weeks for the schedules to line up?” I asked.
“Faster than sailing,” he said.
“I see,” I mulled it over in my head. Heading into possible enemy territory was a debatable decision. But, I still had the hourglass. Leverage and power. It may be worth the risk, and if Dawne really could protect us from Grim, it certainly would be.
“We would leave next morning, overland,” Arodorros said. “It’ll be less trackable than through the waterways. I had planned to take you all to the property I bought to set up a hideout in Troltano, but now it’s gone and this is the only safe space nearby. We will have to backtrack.”
“Grand,” I sighed. “Okay. I will go along with you and Dawne’s orders.”
“Wait, wait,” Rosa raised a finger. “You can’t just decide for us.”
“I’m with her,” Lloyd said.
“Me too,” Bia agreed. “Of course.”
Dan raised a hand blearily.
“Oh, well that makes things simple,” Rosa said. “Yeah I’m coming too. Secret Dawne kingdom tour sounds cool.”
“I don’t think you should come,” I said. “You and Dan should stay here. It is safe, right, Arodorros?”
“Safest place in the province,” he nodded. “Our protection rituals are above anything Haelcrien can put up. But it may not hold up against Grim. I would recommend – ”
“Grim will leave them alone if I leave with the hourglass,” I said. “In fact, it may be easier to keep everyone but me – ”
“Absolutely NOT,” Bia hissed. “You will get yourself killed.”
“I would also prefer to avoid that,” Lloyd said. “Less aggressively, but yeah definitely. I don’t want you to die.”
“You two would be at greater risk than I,” I said. “I have the hourglass.”
“We’re coming with,” Bia said adamantly.
“Did you all just forget we’re getting kicked out too?” Rosa grabbed an annoyed Dan and made an angry face.
“No,” I said. “You two are better off here. Which is also why Lloyd and Bia should stay. You will have competent guidance with them.”
“We’re coming with you,” Bia growled. “I’m not letting you run off with this random fucking stranger to a secret kingdom we know NOTHING about.”
“You four will all be safer – ”
“We’re coming with, goddamnit!” Lloyd raised his voice. “We’re adventurers, Ari. Casualties and risk are part of the job. So is teamwork. And camaraderie. And companionship. We stick together, aye?!”
“Yes, we do,” Bia grinned. “All this awesome teamwork and shit needs a name. Team… uh… ”
“Please don’t,” Dan said painfully.
“Anyway!” Bia shouted. “We. Are. Coming.”
I sighed. “Fine. But the Verosavens stay.”
Rosa snorted. “Oh come o – ”
“You’re staying. We have combat experience. You do not. You stay.”
“I’m fine with it,” Dan said. “This seems to be the end of productive conversation. I’m going to go sleep.”
“As will we,” Bia said.
“We?” Lloyd asked.
“Are you gonna pretend you’re not sleepy?”
“...yeah you’re right. I’m out.”
“Bunks are all around,” Arodorros said.
I turned to leave.
“Wait, Aryon,” he said. “We have more to discuss.”