Chapter 33: Into the Depths
“Victor! Victor, stop!” Thayla’s voice finally cut through his fury, and Victor looked up from the pulverized face of the mine employee he’d been battering. His hands were painted red to his wrists, and spatters of red decorated him, the canvas of the tent, and the faded yellow rug. “We have to get out of here!” Thayla urged, pulling at his shirt.
“Not yet,” Victor said, his voice thick with emotion. His neck was raw and burning, and only now that he was coming out of his fury did he notice it. “Let me search this asshole,” he finished. He moved to the side, unsure when he’d straddled the man to better beat his face, and as he did so, thick motes of Energy rose from the body, confirming that he was dead, and surged into him. He didn’t level, but the influx did wonders for his scorched neck and calmed his mind even more.
“Keep watch,” he grunted, glancing to see Thayla regard him askance for a moment, then turn to the tent flap, pulling it aside slightly to peer out. Victor ripped the man’s yellow and green uniform shirt open, sending polished wooden buttons scattering over the blood-spattered rug. “No necklace.” He wasn’t sure why, but he’d imagined the key to the cage hanging on a chain around the kidnapper’s neck.
“Get us out of here, please!” One of the cage’s occupants had gathered enough wits and confidence to speak up.
“Quiet! I’ll help you in a minute,” Victor snapped, afraid that more of the prisoners would start to clamor for release, and he didn’t know who might be listening from the neighboring tents. The man didn’t have a pack or pouches on his belt, so Victor looked at his hands, spotting a silvery band with carved black stone inset along its center. Victor pulled and twisted at the ring, finally getting it over a knobby knuckle, and then he trickled some Energy into it, just as he had with the storage bag they’d had him use in the delves to collect insect parts.
Suddenly Victor was aware of an enormous space inside the ring, along with quite a few objects therein. He scanned through the items quickly, figuring he could spend more time with them later. He saw a baton, some knives, some clothes, a cloak, quite a lot of different kinds of food, a sheaf of folded papers, a notebook, some writing utensils, a belt, some boots, several pouches full of Energy beads, a ring with an onyx blackbird inset on a silver face, and several sets of manacles, collars, and a ring of keys.
Victor grabbed the keyring out of the space and slipped the storage ring onto his finger. He walked over to the cage and unlocked it, but before he opened it, he looked around at the prisoners, at least the conscious ones, and he said, “Ladies, I’m going to let you all go, but please wait until we’re all ready to move out. Let’s get everyone on their feet.”
“You heard him,” the woman who’d spoken before said. “Come on, let’s help get everyone up. Sir, you should know he had some soldiers with him earlier. He sent them to get someone.”
“Let’s fucking hurry, then.” Victor strode through the crowd of women and knelt before Edeya, her eyelids were half-open, but she didn’t seem to recognize him. “Edeya, you there? Come on, chica, snap out of it.”
“Don’t call me girl,” she said, limply lifting a fist to prod at his chin. Victor smiled.
“That’s the spirit, c’mon. Up you go; everyone’s waiting for you.” Victor stood and pulled her to her feet. She was shaky, but when she grabbed onto his arm, her grip was tight, and she followed him when he walked out of the cage.
“Nobody coming yet,” Thayla said. She’d collected both of their batons, probably while Victor was pounding on the mine employee, and she held Victor’s out to him now. “You gotta do something about your collar; it'll raise questions if someone sees you like that.” Victor felt up to his bare neck and nodded. He looked down at his stretched and broken collar and picked up one of the elongated halves. He lifted it to his neck and bent it around so the two ends met in the back, then he gave Thayla a questioning look. “It’ll pass at a glance. Let’s go.”
“Alright, everyone, be safe; please don’t mention me to anyone,” Victor said, glancing back at the crowd of women, some propped up by others, and then he hooked an arm around Edeya’s shoulders and ushered her out of the tent, Thayla hot on his heels. “Gorz, please guide me on the shortest route back to the barracks.” He felt a little bad taking off and leaving those other women to their own devices, but he also felt like he’d just robbed a bank and needed to get the hell out of sight.
“Of course! Take your next right,” the amulet’s slightly metallic voice replied. Victor walked quickly, trying to keep to the shadows and avoiding the crowds of miners they passed here and there, but no one challenged them or came running behind them. Edeya shuffled along under his arm the whole while, her eyes downcast. Victor had to lift her while they walked to keep her moving fast enough to keep up, but it wasn’t hard; she felt smaller than ever.
They were back to the main settlement area and passing through a narrow alley of shanties when Edeya jerked against his arm and looked around with wild eyes. “Get off me!” she cried, pushing against him. Victor let go and held his hands out.
“Easy, Edeya. It’s Victor; you okay?” She looked around, her eyes wide and her hands out, like she was ready to fight, but then something clicked, and she looked back at Victor.
“You got me out?”
“Me and Thayla,” Victor said, nodding to the tall Shadeni woman. Edeya looked at Thayla, and then a sob escaped her lips, and she crumpled against Thayla, who grabbed her in a hug.
“You’re alright, Edeya. You’re alright,” she said softly, stroking her hair, careful not to squeeze her broken wing. “Come on, little bird. We need to get back to the barracks; there’ll be people looking for Victor and probably me, too.” Edeya took a long shuddering breath, sniffed, and nodded. Then, they all started walking again, Edeya holding an arm tightly around Thayla’s waist this time.
“You think they’ll know it was us?”
“Yeah, I’d say. How many women did we spring from that cage? Nine? Ten? They won’t all keep their mouths shut, and then the mining company will send an investigator. They’ll do some scrying, and we’ll be deep in the roladii shit.”
“Of course—magical world means magical investigators.” Victor smacked a fist into his palm. “Well, maybe you’ll be fine. I’m sure whatever they see with their scrying will be something like me beating the shit outta that guy, not you.”
“Depends on how thorough the investigator is, and the mine can afford good ones.”
“Alright, well, let’s just talk to the captain and see what she thinks.”
“You sure we should? The captain works for the mine…” Thayla let her voice trail off.
“You know the captain; she has her own rules. I don’t think she’ll fuck us over.” Thayla didn’t reply, so Victor looked at her, and when their eyes met, she nodded over the top of Edeya’s head.
Listening to Gorz’s directions, Victor led them through the alleys and out into the main tunnel. After ten minutes of quick walking, avoiding the eyes of the strangers they passed, they were in sight of Lam’s Barracks. Walking up, they were greeted by the presence of Sergeant Fath, pacing back and forth in front of the building. When he saw them, he strode forward quickly and, in his baritone voice, rumbled, “You found her! Captain wants you to bring her in through her private entrance. Come on.” He turned and strode around the side of the barracks, and Victor, glancing at Thayla, who nodded, followed after.
Victor didn’t remember any side doors to the barracks, so he was only slightly surprised when, rather than a door, Fath led them to a ladder. He gestured for them all to climb it to the barracks' roof, and Victor did so first, reaching down to help Edeya up after him. Thayla came next, and then Fath came up, pulling the ladder after him. He pointed to a square of light near the rear of the barracks, and Victor walked to it, realizing it was an open trapdoor. “Drop in; she’s expecting you.” Something about the whole situation was making Victor nervous, but he couldn’t see another move; he supposed he could make a run for it, but if Lam wanted him, she could catch him, he had no doubt. He moved to the trapdoor and peered through.
It wasn’t Lam’s study, the floor was carpeted, and he thought he could see the foot of a fancy four-post bed. “Her bedroom?” he muttered.
“Hurry, drop down,” Fath said. Victor glanced at Thayla and Edeya. Edeya’s face was pale in the cavern light, and she wouldn't make eye contact with him. Thayla gave him another quick nod, so he stepped forward and dropped onto the carpet. Sure enough, it was a nicely appointed bedroom. The bed was large with a fluffy, white quilt, and the carpet was rich and clean. The walls were plastered a creamy white and lined with backlit display cases. Victor had just started to examine the contents of one of the display cases, some sort of manuscript pressed between glass, when Lam cleared her throat behind him.
“Victor, move so the others can come down.” He whirled to see Lam sitting on a low, padded sofa, watching him from behind a glass of liquor. He stepped toward her, but she held up a hand.
“Your collar.”
“Yeah, we ran into some trouble.” A thud signaled the arrival of Thayla behind him, then the soft sounds of Edeya being helped down, and then the trapdoor was closed from above, and Victor heard footsteps moving away over the roof.
“Best explain to me, and quickly,” Lam said, taking another drink, her face not betraying her mood.
“We…” Victor started, but then Thayla stepped forward and cut him off.
“It was a mine employee. He had a cage full of abused women, and when Victor and I saw it, he activated his control rod to kill Victor and probably would have killed me too. Victor ripped his collar off and beat him to death.” That got a reaction from Captain Lam; one of her wispy pale eyebrows lifted, and she actually smiled.
“I knew they messed up with that collar!” She stood up and brushed past Victor to grab Edeya by her shoulders, leaned over, bent nearly in half to make eye contact with the girl. “Are you okay? I’ll tell you what I told Victor when he got attacked off by himself: I hope you learned something.”
“I’m okay,” she said softly. “They only had me a little while.”
“Tut, look at your wing. Come here.” She glanced at Victor and Thayla and said, “Wait here.” Then, she led the diminutive Ghelli to the far side of her bed and helped her to lay down. She produced a small vial of glowing amber fluid, and Victor could just barely hear her say, “Drink this down; you’ll wake up feeling like a twirler on Starleaf Night.” A few moments later, Captain Lam came back from around the bed and sat down in front of Thayla and Victor. “You’re likely in a bit of trouble.”
“Can you do anything?” Thayla asked bluntly.
“Oh, I imagine I could figure something out. Let’s think on it a moment. Back up and tell me the whole story. How you found Edeya, who witnessed your actions, everything.”
“Alright,” Victor said, taking the lead. He didn’t want Thayla trying to cover for him or worrying about revealing too much, so he started from the beginning. He told Lam about questioning the guy at the gaming hall, searching the tunnels, and what he did when he found the man in the tent. He didn’t leave much out, mostly just his secret conversations with Gorz.
“How’d you know the gambler would be able to lead you to Edeya?”
“Just a hunch; I knew he was a scumbag, and so I figured he might know where to find other scumbags.”
“Victor, do you want my help?” Lam asked suddenly. He nodded, and she continued, “Stop being evasive. You’re holding something back, and I’m not going to stick my neck out for someone that’s not honest with me.”
“Alright. The guy in the gambling hall was one of the assholes that jumped me. I tracked them down a while ago, figuring I’d give them a taste of their own medicine one of these days.” He glanced sideways at Thayla and saw that her eyes had widened, but she didn’t say anything. Captain Lam’s lips spread into a wide smile, though.
“You keep surprising me. Alright, next question; what did you do with the body?”
“Um,” Victor started, then shrugged.
“We left it,” Thayla finished.
“Oh, Great Forest!” Lam sighed. “Was he alone? Are you sure?”
“Actually, one of the women said he had sent his guards or soldiers to get someone.”
“Soldiers? He had soldiers? Did you catch his name by chance?”
“No, but he was a smug one; he seemed full of himself,” Thayla added. Lam studied Thayla and then Victor for a moment while she thought. Her eyes fell to his twisted, broken collar, then down, over his body to his hands.
“You took that ring from him?”
“Uh, yeah,” Victor said, shrugging.
“What’s in it? Anything to identify him?” Understanding dawned on Victor like fireworks going off, and he turned his mind toward the space in the ring, producing the sheaf of papers and the blackbird signet ring. He put them onto the low table in front of Lam’s couch. “Alright, let’s see here.” She bent to pick up the ring and turned it over in her hand, a frown deepening the curves of her mouth. She set it down without a word, though, and picked up the papers, removing the cord binding them all together and opening the top one.
Victor began to grow nervous the longer Lam read through the papers without saying anything. He wanted to ask her what they were about, but he knew she’d say something when she finished, so he just stood there, fidgeting and wishing he could stand stoically and still like Thayla; she stood with her face impassive, eyes as severe as always. Finally, after reading through more than half of the papers, Lam looked up and said, “My options for helping you are slimmer than I thought.”
“What does that mean?” Thayla asked plainly.
“The Greatbone Mining Consortium is run by a group of families—Merchant families grown so wealthy over the decades that they might as well be nobility. In fact, they own many of the nobles in the Ridonne Empire. Well, the man you killed was a member of the ap’Yensha clan, one of those families. He wasn’t skimming; he was here to collect prospects for service in a new venture they were starting in Gelica.”
The dots started to connect in Victor’s mind, and he said, “So if he’d been some random employee stealing girls to make money on the side, you could have gotten us out of this mess, but seeing as he was a member of some powerful family and he was here on business they condoned, we’re fucked?”
“I can help you slip free of the mine, but I can’t protect you beyond that. I’m strong and wealthy, but nothing compared to those families. They can afford to hunt you to the ends of the world.”
“Would they? Just to avenge that one asshole?” Victor asked.
“I don’t know. Maybe? If he was well-liked, then yes, they will hunt you. If you’d made him disappear with no witnesses, it would take them a lot longer to figure out what happened to him. As it is, there’s a good chance his soldiers are already combing the area for witnesses, and a scryer is en route. Also, there’s one more nuance: according to these papers, another of the families, the ap’Bale clan, wasn’t on board, and this fellow was taking these women under their noses. I’m not sure if that would help you or cause more problems, but I can assure you the ap’Yensha don’t want others finding out about this, so they’re motivated by more than just revenge.”
“What if we disappeared into the depths?” Victor asked suddenly.
“You mean killed ourselves?” Thayla scoffed.
“No,” Victor licked his lips, nervous all of a sudden, but continued, “I’ve heard there’s a dungeon that leads out of the mine. If we can find the entrance, we could escape that way. They’d probably assume we’re dead if they scry us down there, right?”
This time it was Captain Lam that scoffed, “You think you can find a dungeon down there? You know how long I’ve been digging around for treasure and hidden things in those depths? If you have something more to tell me, I’m listening.”
“I saw a map. I saw a map in the home of the asshole that tried to destroy my Core. He caught me studying it, and that’s why he did it—fractured my Core and sold me to the mine. I didn’t even really know what I was looking at at the time, but when I went into the depths with you, I started to recognize the layout of some of the caverns. I think I could find the dungeon, or at least get heading in the right direction. It has to be better than what’s in store for us if those families get ahold of us, right?”
“Clever ploy, Victor. I like this captain of yours, but she may well want to take me from you,” Gorz piped in, startling Victor enough to make his heart hammer in his chest.
“I won’t lie, Victor,” she looked at Thayla and continued, “and Thayla. I’m not excited about going up against those families, and if you were to disappear into the depths, that would be one less headache for me to deal with. I hate to see you both throw your lives away, though. How good is your memory, Victor? You’ve continued to surprise me, so I’d love you to prove me wrong about this.”
Victor glanced at Thayla, and his heart hammered even harder—he saw hope in her eyes. God, what if he was wrong? “I think it’s pretty good, Captain.”
“Alright,” she produced a large sheet of thick, hexed paper and a set of charcoal pencils. “If you can draw the route, and if I recognize any of it as being accurate, I’ll help you get started. Start with lift fourteen-A.” She took one of the pencils out of the wooden case and held it out to him.
“Gorz, time to work your magic. You need to describe what I need to draw in very fucking fine detail, please.”
“Understood, Victor, though it would be much easier if you had my old slate.”
“But I don’t, so please help me here.”
“Alright, Victor. We’ll treat each hex as ten feet. For the lift room, draw a box near the top of the page that is eight hexes by eleven. Then draw an arrow down from that room that is exactly twenty-seven point five hexes long.” Gorz continued with his instructions until Victor had covered most of the sheet with winding tunnels and chambers, and when his drawing took him to the edge, Captain Lam handed him another sheet to continue on. By the time he was finished, the map covered three large sheets of her hex paper.
“Victor, do you have some sort of genius for maps? Do you remember everything you see?” Lam quietly asked as he set the pencil down.
“I’m good with maps, but no, I don’t remember everything I’ve seen.”
“If you’re right, you’ve got more than ten miles of ground to cover down there; it’s going to be dangerous and take you days. What about this long wide tunnel with the little squiggles in it?”
“That’s an underground river. I think there’s room along its bank to walk, though. If I remember the map correctly,” Victor finished lamely. Lam gave him another squinting examination but shook her head slightly.
“I don’t think you’re suicidal, so I’m going to go ahead and hope for the best. Are you going to try this crazy plan with him, Thayla?”
“Do I have a choice? I’m sure I’ll show up in the scries at the scene, and witnesses saw us running around together. Looks like I’m going to have to trust Victor.”
“Victor, I’ll make a deal with you. I already owe you and Thayla a reward for your ore find, so I’ll give you each something before I send you on your way. But, if you manage to escape through that dungeon, I’ll reward you again for any information you can give me about what you find in the dungeon. Thayla, if you get to safety, just use that stone I gave you; I’ll be able to find you.”
“Alright, it’s a deal,” Victor said.
“Let me get you some supplies; I don’t want the other delvers to know you came back here, so sit tight.” Captain Lam stood up and slipped through the door, closing it behind her.
“We’re going to die down there,” Thayla said, stretching and cracking her neck.
“Maybe, but it’s a chance.” Victor shrugged.
“Can we trust the captain?” Thayla asked softly, a whisper that Victor could barely hear. He looked at her and saw the doubt in her narrowed eyes and how she pressed her lips together.
“If she wanted to betray us, she’d just beat us into submission. She’s higher than tier four, right?” That simple statement seemed to send a wave of relief through Thayla, and she suddenly grinned, shaking her head.
“Good point.”
The door opened again a moment later, and Captain Lam came through, quickly closing it behind herself. Her hands were empty, but Victor knew that didn’t mean anything when you considered magical storage devices. Lam sat down again, oblivious or uncaring that Victor and Thayla had been standing for their entire meeting. She began to stack items on the table—wrapped sausages, loaves of bread, sacks of fruit, several long lengths of thin, sturdy rope, a package of those self-sinking pitons that Victor had seen her use before, four glow lamps, and two bedrolls. She motioned to the pile of supplies and said, “Split it up in case one of you dies or gets lost.”
“Thanks, Captain,” Thayla said, starting to deposit some of the items into her hidden ring. Victor followed suit, taking half of the supplies into his new ring.
“I’m not done; you two don’t know the fortune I’m going to make off those ingots. I wasn’t joking when I said I’ll reward you for more information. Here,” she was suddenly holding a long, silvery-red, metal spear. She handed it to Thayla. “This is artificed to pierce armor. It’s self-sharpening and nearly weightless in the hands of its bonded owner.” Then she turned to Victor, “You don’t strike me as a finesse-type fighter, so I’ll give you one of my first truly good weapons. I haven’t used her in decades, so I figure I’ll give her a chance to see some action. Treat her well, Victor.” Suddenly she was holding a black-bladed axe with a polished cherry-colored haft. The blade was bearded and gleamed along the edge like liquid silver.
“Wow,” Victor said, eyeing the heavy, wicked axe head.
“This is Lifedrinker, and she has a heartsilver core. Those she strikes suffer as she takes their Energy. Her thirst is great; I’ve never been able to sate her, but some say that given enough Energy, heartsilver will start to grow conscious.” She held out the axe to Victor, and he gingerly took hold of the haft. It was long enough to wield with two hands, but he could easily swing it with one.
“Thank you, Captain. I, I hope I don’t lose her down below.”
“You passed the first test; never call her an ‘it.’ Can you promise me that?”
“Yes,” Victor said with a gulp, realizing he’d already thought of the axe as a thing in his mind.
“Very well; she wasn’t mine when I was given her to use, and now she’s mine no longer. Are you ready? Fath tells me the mines are abuzz with the search taking place. I think you should be gone soon.”
“What about Edeya?” Victor glanced over at the slumbering form.
“You don’t have to worry about her. She reminds me of a friend I had,” she glanced around and down at herself, then continued, “before all of this. I think I’ll buy her contract and get her some training. I’m not saying I’m going to coddle her, but she won’t have to worry about someone nabbing her if that’s a concern for you.”
“That’s pretty great,” Victor said, but his face fell slightly, and he frowned down at the carpet, avoiding Lam’s eyes.
“I’m ready,” Thayla said, still holding her new spear.
“Not quite,” Lam said, looking at the tall woman. She held out her hand, and Victor saw that she held a control rod like the mine employees all carried. She held it out toward Thayla, and a moment later, a click sounded, and Thayla removed her collar, now spread open at an invisible seam.
“Ancestors! It feels good to have this thing off.”
“I imagine,” Lam said, a slight smile twisting her lips.
“Don’t you see how wrong it is?” Victor blurted.
“Hmm?” Lam scowled slightly, looking at him.
“Captain Lam, you’ve been very good to me, but don’t you see how wrong this all is? People being forced to fight and die while you dig around in the ruins? Look at Edeya! You seem to care about her, but she could die tomorrow protecting some miners while you dig around for treasures.” Victor wanted to kick himself or slap himself or something, but the words just came flooding out.
“Strange way of thanking someone,” she said, standing up, clouds behind her eyes.
“I am grateful, truly, but I feel like you’re better than this!”
“Victor, you don’t know me. You know a few things about me, but you don’t know me. I didn’t get where I am because I was coddled. I know what I do seems selfish, but that’s simply because it is: I work to improve my own power. Some power comes with Energy and levels, some power comes with connections and politics, and some power comes with wealth. I do care about Edeya and others, but I also know they have their own struggles to get through. I might tip the scales in their favor from time to time, but I’m nobody’s savior. Not Edeya’s, not yours. I’m helping you because it won’t cost me much, and it might pay off someday. Don’t mistake my aid for something it isn’t—I’m fond of you both, but I won’t risk what I’ve gained to carry you out of your challenge. You’ve got to do that on your own. Now, it’s time you both got going. I hope I hear from you someday.”
Lam had been pacing the whole time she spoke, and now she stopped under the trapdoor leading to her roof, and she motioned for Thayla and Victor to come over. Thayla got there first, and Lam, having opened the trapdoor, placed her hands on Thayla’s hips and boosted her up so that the Shadeni could scramble up onto the roof. Victor stepped up next, still holding Lifedrinker, and he said, “I didn’t want to insult you, Captain. Thanks for your help.” She nodded, grabbed his hips, and when he hopped up, she boosted him like he was a child, and he found himself on the roof.
“Close the trapdoor, please,” Lam called softly from below. Thayla gently lowered the wooden trapdoor, careful not to slam it, and then the two of them padded to the edge of the barracks’ roof and dropped down.
“You have a death wish?” Thayla asked as they hurried off into the darkness of the tunnel.
“What?”
“That woman could kill us with a thought, and you decided that, after she gave us her help, you were going to lecture her about her morality?”
“My mouth gets away from me. I had to say something, though—I might never see her again, and I want to like her, but I can’t get past all the evil in this place that she turns a blind eye to.”
“As she said, we don’t know her whole story. Let’s be grateful for what we got, agreed?”
“Yeah, agreed.” Victor hefted Lifedrinker and almost put it into his ring, but then he decided not to. If he was going to think of the axe as alive, then he shouldn’t put it into a storage container. “Her,” he corrected himself aloud.
“What?”
“Just thinking about this axe. Can you believe these weapons? I feel better about our chances already.”
“Yeah, they’re nice, alright,” Victor saw that she’d already stowed her spear in her ring, which glinted with a golden luster on her hand.
“You moved your ring to your hand,” he said.
“Quicker to access things like weapons.” She shrugged. “I’m not trying to hide anymore.”
“Good point,” Victor said, stopping suddenly. He reached up and grabbed the ends of the twisted collar on his neck and pulled them apart, flinging the strip of metal to clatter among the stones of the tunnel. “Let’s go. It’s all downhill from here!” He laughed at his own wit, and Thayla, though she didn’t seem to get his humor, smiled along with him. Sometimes, Victor figured, you just had to laugh in the face of the shit coming your way.
Updated from fr𝒆ewebnov𝒆l.(c)om