by Jake Taylor
Haruka pulled out a glow rod she had found in her pack thanks to Bella’s light, striking it against the wall as she moved past her into the tunnel and let the orange glow light her path. “Sometimes I forget you’re as attracted to me as I am you.”
“Mmm, maybe more so,” Isabella said as she followed behind her, tilting her head. “I really like those pants, by the way.”
Haruka glanced back over her shoulder. “Try not to get too distracted, I don’t want you accidentally shooting yourself, either.”
“Maybe I shouldn’t be walking behind you, then.”
“You’d think you’d be bored with my body by now.”
“Haruka, dear,” Isabella said with a wicked grin, “I will never get bored with your body.”
“I can tell by the way you’re flirting in an extremely dangerous situation.”
“I can’t help it, my priorities are clear.”
“I can see-“ Haruka’s reaction time was, fortunately, just as fast as it always was; a poisoned spear shot out of the darkness ahead at her and her reaction – as she would forever be thankful for – was to lash her hand out and catch it rather than dodging it, which would have left it heading straight for Bella who would have no time to dodge. Haruka flipped the spear around and hurled it back in the direction it came from and heard a gurgle, which was followed by another of the creatures leaping out of the darkness with a poisoned sword.
“Left!” Haruka followed Bella’s direction without hesitation, shifting to the left wall. The creature came down on the point of Bella’s sword, which pierced its chest and jutted out from its back.
Haruka caught the thing’s wrist before it could swing and yanked the sword from its grip. “I’ll take that; these surprise attacks are tough to defend against.”
Isabella kicked it off her sword. “This is a little frightening, I admit – only being able to see a few feet around you, not knowing when something will jump out?”
“It’s a bit like a horror story, yes.” She looked back at Bella. “I’m glad you didn’t choose to fire your pistol; that’s going to be really loud down here.”
“I figured. I won’t use it while down here unless I have to, no point in alerting everything around where we are.”
“Not unless you really want a big fight.”
“…I kinda do.”
“…You want to test out your new weapon, don’t you?”
“I really do! It’s so shiny and it drives me crazy that there’s a weapon I haven’t mastered yet!”
“You’ve mastered a lot of weapons?”
“For two centuries I didn’t care about anything but fighting. What else was I going to do?”
“Huh. I’ve only ever seen you use swords.”
“Well that’s obviously my best. I’m better at nothing else than I am at wielding two swords, actually. Except maybe complaining.”
“Yeah, you’re pretty good at complaining.”
“But hey, there’s no mud down here!” She was about to add something else when the tunnel suddenly vibrated; she braced her arm on the wall and looked behind her. “Um… What is that? Is the tunnel collapsing?”
“No.” Haruka stepped up beside her and peered down the tunnel. “Something big is down here.”
“Then… we should, hurry.” Bella blinked as the sound of dozens of running steps reached them. “Now.”
“Shit. Let’s go!” Haruka took off and Bella was right behind her, looking over her shoulder as the grey-skinned creatures came into view, screeching and howling.
“It looks like they’re running, too!”
“Yeah, well, I don’t think they’re going to help us escape!”
“Good point,” Bella said as she continued running but raised her pistol, firing it into the approaching group. She managed to bring down a few, which tripped up others, but they were still gaining, and the rumbling was getting stronger. They ran into more of the things ahead of them, but Haruka charged forward and slammed her way through them, putting them down or just disorienting or injuring them enough to prevent them from reacting as she and Bella ran past. While this cleared them a path, it had the unfortunate side effect of increasing the size of the group chasing them.
That didn’t remain their problem for long, though; a low roar echoed around them, followed by the sound of something dragging across the stone of the tunnels. Everything was shaking far more now and they glanced back to see the head of some sort of ancient, worm-like beast, split directly in half horizontally and opening into a gaping maw filled with teeth. The beast was the same size as the tunnel and wasn’t even able to open its jaws fully, and it swallowed any of the creatures it caught up to without slowing. Bella nearly stumbled and decided to sheath her sword, yelling over the noise, “Okay, so what is that thing?!”
“I have no idea!” Haruka responded as she skidded around a curve, wishing they at least had light enough to see where they were going. She looked at Bella worriedly, wondering just how long she could keep running at this pace – and the beast was gaining on them. Something would have to be done about it. But before she could come up with what that would be, she spotted a doorway to the side. She grabbed Bella’s arm and threw herself into the door, smashing it open and pulling Bella in after her. She landed on her back with the knight on top of her and they both looked back to see the monster rush past the door. The tunnel caved in behind it as it passed, but the rubble that blocked off the door didn’t reach them.
Bella put her hands on either side of Haruka and pushed herself up, smiling at her as she caught her breath. “I am so glad you’re so fast,” she said as she leaned down to kiss her before rolling off of her.
Haruka grinned and hopped up. “It was going to be that or carry you, and I only enjoy carrying you when walking, not sprinting.” She dusted herself off and turned to Bella. “What is it?”
“Um…” Isabella set a hand on her shoulder and turned her. “Ruki… Where are we?”
It was only then that Haruka realized she could see clearly despite having been going through total darkness, and then she saw why; they were standing on a ledge atop a ramp that angled down, and before them stretched a massive cavern that stretched further than either of them could see. The cavern was hundreds of feet tall and filled with pillars of stone, massive stalagmites and stalactites, and ancient buildings that seemed in various states of decay. Some of the ancient buildings were of magnificent and ostentatious design, while others were built right into the stalagmites; it was certainly a city of some kind. Giant fungi (mainly mushrooms with the floors, walls and ceilings covered in other growth) filled the cavern and glowed various colors, mostly blue or orange, emitting enough light to see everything as clearly as if it were daylight.
Haruka stepped forward to the edge of the platform they were on, looking over everything in sight. “We’re… in a section of the Undercity.”
“We’re what?”
“The dwarven nations lived almost exclusively underground. They built vast cities underneath the continent and connected them via tunnels; their technology was advanced to the point where they had no need for the surface world. They used rail cars to travel from city to city, so they spread all over. I had no idea a section of the Undercity was here.”
“There will probably be a lot of those things in here, won’t there?”
“Din’leth? Yeah… We have our work cut out for us.”
Isabella switched the safety on her gun and slid it into her belt, looking out over the eerie underground expanse. “We don’t have a lot of time before Aranea realizes that Sayuri isn’t coming. We have to get there quickly.”
Haruka looked at her. “You’re right. Alright… Let’s get going.”
They set off down the ramp and into the forgotten city with the oppressive stone overhead already affecting their mood. However, Bella was done with being depressed and morose; she refused to let their situation ruin her time with Haruka, and was determined to keep the monk’s spirits up. “At least
we’re not on the plains anymore. I was starting to really hate plains.”
“You’re kidding. Again? We’re doing this again.”
“There was nothing to look at! It was so boring!”
“I can’t believe we’re doing this again. We’re not even there right now.”
“There’s just grass. And hills. And grassy hills.”
“I’m going to block you out.”
“And the grassy hills go on forever!”
“Lalalalalala – I can’t hear you! – lalalalala…”
“I said, THE GRASSY HILLS GO ON FOREVER! You know, you could hear me a lot easier if you stopped doing that.”
“I don’t think you get the point of things.”
“Was your point that grassy hills are boring? Because I agree.”
“You’re like a broken record.”
“I don’t know what a ‘record’ is. Is it something beautiful and smart?”
“Why do you have to be so attractive? Is it a defense mechanism so I won’t leave you behind?”
“It’s a talent. But anyway, back to the hills…”
“I am going to hurt you.”
“This place is better than grassy hills. Although it’s sort of dark and wet, and rocky, and there are killer monsters everywhere.”
“Uh-huh…”
“But at least there’s no mud!”
“Okay, that’s it, gimme the gun.”
“No, it’s mine!”
“I said give it! Hey – come back here!”
“Make me!”
“Don’t you stick your tongue out at me!”
Chapter 17: The Depths
“Your father was a sadist.”
“Well… Yes. And apparently, so was whoever built this place.”
IXH
The Undercity was a marvel of engineering and architecture. There were spires of grey stone, domes of bronze metal, massive doors and archways, and mechanical contraptions of unknown design. The Din’leth that resided in the Undercity didn’t seem to appreciate any of it and avoided many of the areas that weren’t directly beside their camps, which made it easier to avoid them. Haruka knelt in the top room of a tall tower and looked out over the expansive area, memorizing paths taken by their patrols and looking for their next route.
“What do you think we’ll run into down here?” Isabella said as she peeked over her shoulder. “Not, like… Not spiders, right? Because they like dark places like this and I’m getting worried…”
“I think we’ve met our arachnid quota,” Haruka said as she moved away from the opening and looked at her. “If there are some down here we’ll avoid them. Especially if they’re giant.”
Isabella shuddered. “Good, because I’ve had enough of those things. What will we run into?”
“I’m not sure.” Haruka removed a canteen from her belt, looking out as she unscrewed the top before taking a drink. “I’ve never been in the Undercity before. I’ve only read about it and seen vids.”
“And vids are…?”
“Videos. Recordings. You know, moving pictures.”
“Your pictures move?”
“Some of them. Videos are recordings of images and sound – it’s basically like a memory, only it’s in a piece of technology so anyone can see it.”
“Amazing! I want to see one of these videos.”
“We’ll add it to the list.” Haruka wasn’t exaggerating, as she mentally did add it to the list, which, in addition to videos, included: riding in a car, driving a car, taking a train, seeing skyscrapers, getting a picture taken, visiting the Imperial Markets, and going to a club. Haruka was dreading the last one and regretting she’d ever mentioned and described it, but Isabella could make it fun, she was sure. She tried to think of other things she could show her as well – while hoping they’d get the chance – as they began moving again, climbing back down the tower’s stairs after scoping the surrounding area.
They had decided that travelling through the main area was the wiser choice. Their other option was to traverse the various side tunnels throughout the complex, but those could lead to dead ends or, worse, increase the chances of them running into a Din’leth patrol. They made their way through the cavernous areas, underneath giant fungi and around huge rock formations and came to another large building which led to the decision of whether to go through it or around it. Haruka touched the bronze door, tracing its designs with a finger. “Well… If we go in, there might be some Din’leth living inside.”
“Okay, so we go around?”
“But, going inside will reduce our chance of running into giant spiders.”
“After me!” Bella yanked the thick door open and stepped inside. The interior of the building was dark and poorly lit by dim blue torches. The distant echo of some sort of gears turning was audible but muffled, but more importantly they didn’t hear anything walking around. Haruka closed the door behind them as Isabella walked over to examine one of the blue torches, reaching up and passing her hand through the flames. “This magic is… very old,” she stated as she moved her fingers. “It’s been lit for thousands of years.”
“How can you tell?” Haruka asked as she joined her, reaching up to touch it after looking to Bella for assurance. She was surprised that it felt like something was blowing cool air across her skin rather than heat.
“Because it’s decayed,” Bella answered. She turned around and pointed to another torch in the room. “The spacing shows there were never any other torches in this room, which means these two lit up this entry hall fully at some point. Enchantments weaken over time, and this flame is certainly an enchantment, not a spell. Spells have a limited duration; given the age of this place, it would require an incredible amount of power to cast a spell that would create a light that lasted this long, and that would be for every torch. That means it has to be an enchantment,” she said as she pointed out the runes on the sconces. “And for a simple enchantment like this to weaken enough to cast most of this room in shadow, a lot of time had to have passed; enchantments this basic last a long time.”
“How did you get to know so much about magic?” Haruka asked with a curious look.
“My father was a mage. I inherited some of his talents, but I followed my mother and took the path of the sword. Still, I learned a lot from him, and after he died I studied everything he’d ever owned or written. He created my sword, Mercy, you know.”
“Is he the one that bound your power to it?”
“Yes.” Isabella looked sad as she let her hand drop from the torch. “They thought I would be more stable if I had more control over it. Unfortunately they didn’t foresee my emotional instability ruining that plan and shortening my life by seven centuries.”
“No one could have foreseen that,” Haruka said as she turned around and caught her hand. “Hindsight is always clearer. They probably didn’t foresee me, either.”
Isabella smiled, walking further into the building but not releasing her hand. “Well, they half expected it; they thought I would end up with a knight in shining armor, a strong and honorable person, who would fight for me but see me as a partner, much like they did for each other. They just thought it would be a man.”
“A male version of me? I can’t say I’m disappointed they were wrong.”
Isabella flashed her a grin and pointedly looked her over. “Me neither.”
“Yes, your eyes have done an excellent job proving how you feel about my body. As have your hands. And lips.” Haruka smirked at her. “Are you even interested in men?”
“Weeeell, it’s not that I have anything against them,” Isabella responded. “I mean, I’m not going to recoil in horror at the thought of dating one, they’re just not for me. It would always feel like kissing a friend, you know – not disgusting, but there’s nothing there, no attraction. Just sort of… blah.”
Haruka laughed. “Blah?”
“You have a problem with my vocabulary?” Isabella smiled at her. “How about you, huh?”
Haruka shrugged. “I’ve dated men. I never really thought about it. I guess my only preference is you.”
“So you’d date a male me?”
“That’s… really weird. How would that even work? You’re not even as tomboyish as I am, you’re too girly. A male you couldn’t be the same person.”
“That really weirded you out. I guess you’re right. I’d be really jealous anyway.”
“Are you saying you’d be jealous of yourself?”
“Ruki, don’t make me sound crazy.”
“Bella, honey, no one has to make you sound crazy.”
“I guess you’re right. I shouldn’t be jealous of Hypothetical Guy Me anyway; he probably wouldn’t have nearly as good a body, either.”
Haruka gave her a sidelong glance. “Does anyone?”
“Aww, it’s so sweet of you to say that!” Bella bit her lip in a way Haruka always found incredibly sexy. “Wanna… find a closed-off room in this place and express how you feel?”
Haruka stopped and blinked at her. “I… Wha- here? In the Undercity?!”
“Mhmm.”
“You’re insane.”
“So you don’t want to?”
“I didn’t say that.”
“Then let’s go! Say, are our priorities messed up?”
“We only have a few months; I’d say they’re exactly as they should be.”
IXH
Hours Later
“…This is just like one of my father’s training rooms.”
“Your father was a sadist.”
“Well… Yes. And apparently, so was whoever built this place.”
Isabella and Haruka stood in front of the door they’d just barely made it through; it had shut heavily behind them and was, fortunately, thick enough that they couldn’t even hear the Din’leth hacking at the other side. After their “diversion” they had run into a patrol, but escaped deeper into built tunnels. Unfortunately, this decision meant they were committed to their current course, and these tunnels weren’t kind to visitors; the hall ahead of them was lined with spinning blades at various angles, old mechanics but still, impressively, working just fine.