Archcrafter (The Weirkey Chronicles Book 3)

by Sarah Lin

  "Companion, please."

  Her second statement got through to him and, against his better judgment, Theo released the gravitational fields. If he'd been lucky, the sublime beasts would have fled in shock, but instead they began stumbling to their feet, reorienting toward their prey.

  Now that he wasn't reacting on instinct, Theo cast a more selective field, sending many of the beasts falling skyward. But there were so many of them, and he could only maintain a few fields... he realized that Fiyu had vanished, somewhere within her stealth technique.

  Veering away from him, the predators raced toward the cringing family. Theo cast two fields that dropped many, but even more closed the distance.

  Then Fiyu emerged from the shadows, a storm of light exploding from her palms. In the near darkness it was blinding, practically an explosion. Many of the beasts were torn apart instantly, and the others staggered away, despite their eyes being mostly vestigial threats.

  Theo's eyes, adjusted to the darkness, were seared completely blind, which only increased his panic. Yet he heard a complex whistle from Fiyu: a military call to retreat. It didn't make sense, until he realized the hidden meaning: he needed to get the civilians away along with their vehicles, otherwise they'd rapidly be overwhelmed.

  Because as he started to regain his vision, his first sight was more blue eyes lighting up in the distance, converging toward them.

  A group of the beasts raced from the opposite direction, but at that moment Nauda burst from her tent, sending its light blazing in all directions. That left all the Ichili sobbing and blind except for Fiyu, who continued to destroy the nearest sublime beasts with bursts of light. Yet there were so many more, and they'd soon be swarmed unless they acted quickly.

  "Get them into the wagon." Theo gestured at Nauda, who immediately understood. Now that she had light to fight by, she moved confidently. As she ran to the huddled family, she stabbed her staff out at one beast, then swung its frozen body into the nearest.

  Meanwhile, Theo leapt into the sleigh, casting upwards gravitational fields around him as a precaution. He might be willing to risk himself for this, but he wasn't going to die to a predator coming out of the shadows and getting a lucky blow to his neck. Fortunately, they'd finished attaching the wagon, so they had an option for fleeing, but he needed something else.

  They hadn't discussed this, since it was an unlikely contingency plan. Even though it violated her privacy, Theo tore into one of the packs of supplies Fiyu had prepared. Surely she would have... yes, he found a diamond-shaped rock that emanated the right sort of cantae. Not a good sublime material for soulcrafting, but it had a definite use in situations like this.

  When he looked back, he saw Nauda handing the child up to its parents, while Fiyu fought behind her, fending back the growing mass of beasts with indiscriminate bursts of light. Yet they were no longer so intimidated, and they were clearly used to taking down powerful prey with numbers, so they had begun to spread out.

  Theo whistled a warning for light, squeezed the rock, and then hurled it behind them. Even in the air, it began to glow, and when it hit the ground it emanated light in all directions.

  Fiyu had understood his intent and retreated to the sleigh, so he started moving. Nauda was the only one still on the ground, but she raced after them, leaping into the wagon. As soon as she did so, Fiyu extended her sphere over their entire group, silence falling over them. Though the Ichili peasants still whimpered and shifted atop their wagon, the sound should be absorbed by her technique.

  Behind them, two white lights shone in the darkness: the light from Nauda's tent, and the distraction flare he'd thrown. Between the two, the beasts seemed to be thoroughly confused. A troubling number of eyes glowed around those lights as they closed in, but they still hunted in absolute silence.

  Eventually, he started to see those lights go out as the beasts gave up their chase. It didn't make him feel any more relieved.

  Chapter 27

  Though the darkness still closed around Nauda, she could make herself endure it. After seeing what lurked in the blind void, she could endure a lot. The lack of light still left her despondent, but while her heart was pounding from the chaotic battle and the escape after it, she didn't mind the dark at all.

  At first, she'd just lain in the wagon, on top of all the lumpy packages, catching her breath. The sublime beasts that had attacked them had actually been smaller than their ominous eyes appeared, but they were quite fast and she wasn't sure if her body could have resisted their teeth. Fighting them in the low light had been an intense experience, and she was afraid that a single injury could have easily led to being swarmed.

  Eventually she began to return to the present world, even if she could only hear it. The child was still sniffling, which struck her as surprisingly calm given how it had been traumatized. A Tatian child would probably still have been wailing... though she reflected that if Ichili children couldn't keep silent, that could well prove fatal.

  For a moment she felt shame that the entire accident had been caused by the light in her tent, then the emotion transmuted to anger as she considered the fact that this family had taken a child into such dangerous territory. She wasn't sure how to feel about that, but the one thing she was certain about was that she no longer thought Fiyu's precautions were excessive.

  Something shifted behind her, and she braced herself on instinct before she heard one of the Ichili men speak. "We owe you a great debt. Our child would be dead if not for you."

  "I was... glad to assist." Since Fiyu wasn't around to help her understand the proper norms, she fell back on Tatian habits. "Please protect your child more carefully in the future."

  "We never imagined you would have such a terrible-" The man cut off with a grunt, and Nauda thought she might have heard someone strike him. Whatever the case, one of the women answered next.

  "We are ashamed of our negligence, Archcrafter. We only wish that we had some way to repay you."

  Nauda considered asking them to help her over the wagon to get back to the sleigh, then decided better of it, since she still wasn't sure if they understood her limitations. Perhaps to them, she was a fearsome Archcrafter who could fight even in the terrible light. Despite their praise, all she wanted was to get away from them and back to Fiyu and Theo.

  She wasn't sure how long it was before they slowed to a halt, but she felt the change in their movement because it was the only thing she could feel. Nauda sat up slowly, then did her best to climb down the side of the wagon. It was difficult at first, bobbing unsteadily in the air, but Theo lowered it to the ground, which made her task easier.

  "Nauda." Fiyu spoke from the darkness just beside her, making Nauda jump. "You have done well, Nauda. Everyone else has been able to relax, but you have not. Please come."

  Since the other woman was already pulling on her sleeve, Nauda had no real choice but to go with her. They moved past the wagon, which she knew only because she heard Theo speaking to the Ichili villagers, something about plans for moving onward. When they drew near the sleigh, Fiyu guided her hand down, and Nauda was surprised to feel a tent.

  "You may have mine, since yours was lost to the beasts." Fiyu actually touched her back lightly, urging her in. When Nauda carefully peeled back the flaps only one layer at a time, she realized that a cantae lantern was already lit within, though not as bright as she kept it.

  Crawling in, Nauda got her staff properly situated in the short space and then breathed a sigh of relief. She was surprised to see Fiyu crawl in after her, a broad smile on her face. "I think that perhaps I have done a poor job of explaining why it is important to be quiet here."

  "Heh, well, I understand enough now." Nauda rubbed her eyes, which felt better in the soft light but still tingled a little after the explosions of light during the battle. "I think right now, I just want to sleep."

  "In the light, like this?"

  "I've had enough darkness for a while." Too tired to talk, Nauda wriggled back to slide onto th
e sleeping roll that had been set up for her. She closed her eyes, enjoying how she could actually tell the difference, and felt sleep already start to claim her.

  Before she fell asleep, she felt a whisper of a touch as Fiyu pulled another blanket up over her.

  ~ ~ ~

  Nauda remained tense for the next several days, especially because they never stopped for another break. It was essentially the same void as before, just with the family of five in the wagon behind them. Early on in the first day, Theo told them that the next region required absolute silence from everyone, and she was fairly certain that was a lie because he just didn't want to talk to them.

  Though she was curious to speak to normal Ichili villagers instead of travelers in other worlds, Nauda felt uncomfortable with this group for a host of reasons. Eventually she heard Fiyu make a soft sound, and then Theo climbing closer, so she leaned in to listen.

  "We have almost arrived at our first primary destination," Fiyu said. "This is a large cavern-based community that trades with many groups, so we can safely leave the family with them. I... do not like cavesteader communities, but I hope that you will like it, Nauda."

  "Are these underground caves?" Nauda asked. "I hope it's at least warmer there."

  "Oh, you do not need to worry about that. Caverns beneath the surface are always warmer than the surrounding area. It is the sky that steals warmth."

  Nauda realized that it must be true, for a world without a sun. She stayed in the vehicle, the endless darkness having finally broken her of the habit of trying to look ahead. They'd arrive when Fiyu told her that they'd arrived, and not sooner.

  Her sleeping had been increasingly disrupted, but the battle seemed to have reset her body, because Nauda slept deeply for the next two nights. The second time she woke, she yawned and stretched, only to have Theo tap her on the shoulder a moment later.

  "Morning. Fiyu felt the community markers an hour ago, so we should be arriving soon."

  Though Nauda strained her eyes for a hint of a light in the endless black, since Fiyu had spoken about cavesteads being bright, she didn't honestly expect to see anything. When Fiyu began to slow the sleigh, she still hadn't noticed anything... no, there were new sources of cantae in the distance.

  Fiyu and the unknown parties engaged in a brief whistling conversation, then they eased their sleigh and the wagon down nearly to the ground. There was a conversation in an Ichili language she didn't know with someone who felt like an Archcrafter, but they soon slid on. Behind her, the villagers began chattering happily, suggesting that they had arrived, but one darkness was the same as the next to Nauda.

  The pressure changed as they descended and Nauda realized with some alarm that they might be going underground. When she heard stone grating behind them, she sat up and gripped her staff... and then the light finally returned.

  All around her, vines began to glow with a pale blue light, illuminating a vast cavern. It was the largest bright space she'd seen since they'd entered, and Nauda took in a deep breath as she devoured all the details. Other vehicles in a nearby cavern, workers carrying boxes, a set of stools around a bubbling pot... anything other than emptiness.

  A path upward to the surface was guarded by somber Ichili, though none wore masks and their skin looked almost green. At first Nauda wondered if it was simply the lighting, but when she turned back, she saw that Fiyu looked as pale as always. Perhaps this was a different race of Ichili. The villagers in the wagon had pale skin but unusually large eyes that glinted in the light.

  "Welcome to the Sweetfruit Cavern." An Ichili woman stood beside their sleigh, heavy furred robes drawn around her. "We understand that you are two groups on two journeys. All may avail themselves of our community, but we need to speak to a representative of the Blacksilver Allies."

  As soon as their sleigh was put into place, that seemed to be Fiyu's role. Meanwhile, Theo assisted the villagers with his gravitational fields, levitating their wagon off toward the market. Nauda followed him at first, but soon let them move on to just enjoy being able to see again.

  Branching caverns aside from the entrance appeared to be a market area, with Ichili of many types milling about. Their trade seemed to be very somber, many not even speaking, merely making signs with their hands. She looked to the people instead, noting that the majority had dark hair, but there were a few with bleached white hair, and many with no hair at all. Some in the hairless group looked shrunken to her, with patches of skin where they should have had eyes.

  Noting a pillar of stone that split up the path, Nauda walked closer, eager to examine the glowing vines that lit the cavern. Up close, they were sturdy ropes that were actually blue in color, leaving her wondering about the light within. They branched so many times, she assumed they must have been carefully cultivated to provide light for the community.

  She didn't see anything in the market that she needed, and didn't feel like engaging in commerce anyway. However, she spotted an old man sitting by a table, on which he tended a pot of some sort of bubbling stew. Another person walked by, placed a coin on the table, and was given a bowl in return. Suddenly hungry, Nauda approached him, trying to keep her distance.

  "Excuse me." When she spoke, the man swung toward her in alarm and stared, as if just seeing her. "May I have some of your food?"

  He flinched and drew back, still eyeing her skeptically. Nauda sighed and turned away, accepting that things might not be so easy. Everything around her appeared to be mercantile, but the cavern must contain homes as well. Even if the people there weren't friendly by her standards, the local equivalent of villages had to be warmer than this.

  Nauda soon found a wide and well-lit tunnel that led deeper into the earth. Just drawing near it let her feel a current of warmth ascending the stairs, but an Ichili guard extended the butt of his spear into her path.

  "You are welcome in the uppermost level, stranger. No further down."

  When Nauda turned away, she was surprised to find Theo standing behind her. He gave her shoulder a very Tatian pat and she noticed that the guard and several others stared at them before turning away. She let him lead her away from the downward tunnel before speaking.

  "They don't think you're doing anything horrible to me, do they?"

  "People here touch each other a lot, by Fiyu's standards." Theo gave her a wry smile that she found herself mirroring, just happy to be able to see another person's expressions. "But it's typically only done with close relatives, so they'll make assumptions. More so because we're obviously foreign."

  "Well, I don't care." Nauda moved into his side, glad for his warmth. "Is there any way to get them to stop treating you as a stranger?"

  "Not normally. Before, I was kept at arm's length until I literally saved the cavern from an outbreak of demons. That allowed me to visit the top three out of five levels."

  "Oh my. These caverns are larger than I thought."

  "Sweetfruit Cavern is actually an even larger community than that one. Which means they should have a wide variety of things... would you like to go pick out some sublime materials?"

  Nauda chuckled. "Yes, yes I would."

  Chapter 28

  Theo would have given literal tons of sublime materials for a decent watch. During their journey, he'd done his best to keep a consistent cycle of waking and sleeping to determine how long they had been traveling, but the cavern disrupted his count. Ichili had only weak urges to follow such cycles, so the community was constantly lit by the same light, which threw him off.

  The problem was, every day that passed was another day closer to the deadline, and a reduction in the relative value of the whole assignment. At least he was confident that time moved smoothly between all the Nine Worlds, so he couldn't return to find that it was too late.

  At the moment he was helping the locals carry the purpose of the whole assignment: heavy chests filled with vials that glowed a rich purple. According to Fiyu, they were a highly refined sublime material used in medical operations, which
could only be grown and distilled deep within Ichil. Since it didn't emanate cantae, he couldn't judge its value as precisely, but clearly it must justify the effort required. When the sleigh was full of the chests, they'd be carrying a small fortune back to Fithe.

  Before he could follow that line of thinking, a familiar presence popped up by his side. He turned to smile at Fiyu. "How are you feeling?"

  "It is too bright and friendly here, but Nauda is happier." For some reason, Fiyu was carrying a number of different cups, slightly too many for her to manage. She tried to set them down on one of the boxes within the sleigh, so Theo helped by carefully taking two without touching her.

  "What are these?"

  "They are juice. You must assist me, Theo." All the cups did seem to contain liquids, and Fiyu carefully set them in a row before turning to him. "Nauda is healthier here, but I believe that she hoped for a community more like her home. I wish to cheer her up, but you must help me pick the juice a Tatian would like best."

  "I'll do what I can." Though Theo smiled at her seriousness, when he tried the first cup, he had to admit that she had a point. The juice within was a mix of tart and bitter that he doubted would appeal to many. He cleared his mouth and picked up the next, but glanced at her first. "Have you taken the time to examine the markets?"

  "I have." A smile blossomed on her face. "They have a great deal of pitchstone here. That is the exact material I require for the construction of my soulhome, so I purchased as much as I felt I could store in my soulhome."

  Which meant she was at least thinking about her soulcrafting after she ascended. Theo decided not to push on that issue, merely tasted the second cup and then spoke. "Nauda and I went looking, but we didn't find much. She did buy some seeds for one of their bioluminescent plants, which she thinks could grow alongside hers. I was hoping for more darkness-based sublime materials."