by C E Keene
Then again, he couldn’t really judge. He was still standing there. Even now he was tempted to press his luck and ask what seemed like the Royal Guard what had caused the sinkhole. There wasn’t exactly a precedent for it from past Apex games, but he felt like he had a 50/50 chance of getting a straight answer, or being thrown in jail. And there was that Charisma bonus…
“Excuse me,” he called to the woman once he was clear of the square. Her visor was down again, and when she turned, she regarded him through tiny slats in her helmet. “What caused this? We’re Hunters coming from Lacerda, and we—”
“Then I’d advise you to ask the Guild Master,” she said in a flat, monotone voice that left Arheis puzzled as to her actual demeanor.
Was she trying to help them? Was she about to trample him with her horse? He honestly couldn’t tell.
“Clear the area,” she repeated, and Arheis was fairly sure it was the latter.
“Friendly bunch,” Mira whispered to him as they stepped away.
“We’re going to have a hard time getting into the Guild Hall, too,” Higrem said, annoyance in his voice. “I went there last night, just trying to scope it out. They aren’t letting anybody in who isn’t sponsored by another Hunter.”
That was… strange. Arheis had never had a problem moving between Halls in previous Apex games. Sure, ranks reset and you had to grind them back up with each new Hall you joined, but outside of the elite, end-game locations, he hadn’t encountered one with requirements for entry.
“Let’s just follow up with the lead we have, and we’ll go from there.”
There was something going on in this city. That much was obvious. But they had a quest to follow up with Galen’s contact, and that was what he was going to do.
So long as the entire city didn’t collapse in on itself first.
16
For as large as the city was, it seemed like they’d hired some kind of planner early on.
Instead of the labyrinth of tight, winding streets Arheis expected, he found the city was laid out in more of a grid. Buildings were built in what seemed like pre-defined lots, there were walkways in addition to the wider streets, and he got the feeling that if he ever found himself lost in Iskaral, he need only make a few right turns and he’d end up back at a familiar landmark.
It made traversal a lot easier, as well, because the Hall of Scholars was in the back left quadrant, almost as far away from the Trade Quarter as you could get. But as Galen began to recognize the layout, he was able to lead them through back alleys and shortcuts that skipped a good ten to twenty minutes of walking, if Arheis had to hazard a guess.
The walk still wasn’t a short one, but it was a lot better than trekking through the mountains or stumbling through the darkness in an underground cave system. Especially when nothing eventful happened. No more tremors. No more sinkholes. No sudden attack.
They just walked, occasionally having to sidestep a drunk who’d been thrown out into the street, or a cat that darted into the nearest bin. Minor inconveniences on the road to where they were going, and when the Naturalist finally stopped, Arheis almost felt like they’d somehow conned the game.
But still, nothing happened, so he focused on what was in front of him.
Galen’s friend, as it turned out, was the sole proprietor of a shop called Archimedes’ Emporium. The sign nailed above the entryway was marked in elegant script along with a picture of a precious stone.
Stepping over the surprisingly tall threshold, Arheis immediately felt like he was back on his third grade field trip to the science center. The small space was filled floor to ceiling with minerals, gemstones, and rocks. Shelves lined every wall, the largest pieces protected by glass while the smaller, more common stones were scattered in bins.
He could barely walk anywhere without bumping into something. A shelf, a bin, a crate, or a string of stones hanging from the ceiling, even. It felt excessive, like someone had made space for an exhaustive collection and just called it a shop to keep their spouse happy.
“Just a moment, just a moment,” came a cheery, sing-song voice from a place unseen.
For a second Arheis wondered if Archimedes was buried beneath the stones somewhere, but then his shadow cast against the wall, and he realized there was a side room off the main store. Probably also filled with rocks.
The man who appeared was the very definition of someone Arheis would have kindly referred to as “eccentric.” Short and soft, with a bit of a paunch extending past his belt, Archimedes was dressed in bright robes he hadn’t bothered tying over a colorful tunic. Thick bifocals perched on a hawkish nose, and bushy brows matched long hair that was irregularly streaked with gray.
“Galen! It’s good to see you, my friend!”
He made his way across the crowded space, navigating it without a single misstep. Even when Arheis thought the man’s billowing robes might snag on a table, he somehow managed to sweep the fabric around his form in just the right way.
Galen stepped forward, not having nearly as much luck. His own robes caught on the edge of a display and a turquoise stone launched itself toward the floor. Arheis lunged for it, barely managing to get a hand underneath it to keep it from crashing to the floor.
Lightning Reflexes put to good use.
“What brings you back to Iskaral?” the man asked, pulling Galen in for what seemed like it was going to be a bear hug, but ended up only being a pat on the upper arms.
“I wrote you not a week past to remind you we were coming,” Galen said with the patience of someone who’d dealt with this kind of absent-mindedness before, “about the crystals?”
“You’ll have to be a little more specific than that!” The man let out a belly laugh that he abruptly terminated, his bushy brows lifting halfway to his hairline. “Oh, of course! The crystals! Why didn’t you say so?”
Arheis exchanged a look with his companions. Zindar and Mira both seemed mildly amused. Higrem’s attention was drawn to a geode that was housed on a nearby shelf.
“Why don’t you come with me?” Galen’s friend urged, beckoning them toward the room he’d been in from the start. “I know it’s a bit cramped in here.”
“Understatement of the century,” Mira whispered.
Galen put it a bit more tactfully, but neither of them were wrong. “Your collection’s grown from when I was here last. Are you having trouble selling your gemstones?”
“On the contrary!” the man said, a smile tugging at his lips. “I can barely keep up with the demand.” He paused an uncomfortably long beat and said, “That was a joke. I’m afraid I don’t see much business these days. The Guild Hall is closed to Hunters who aren’t already ranking members, and so there are less of them drawn to Iskaral, eager to augment their weapons.”
“That’s what these are used for?” Higrem asked, still standing in front of the display case that housed a sparkling purple geode, its jagged edges catching the light streaming in from a nearby window.
“Oh, yes,” the man said, adjusting his bifocals as he moved to stand beside Higrem. “The King himself used formations just like that one to enhance his blade. Fat lot of good it did him in the end…”
Arheis arched a brow at that. He didn’t have any knowledge of this region’s politics, but it sounded like there might have been something there worth looking into. Maybe it tied into the overall unsettling vibe he got from the city.
“Enough about that. Come,” he ushered them toward the side room once more, “there’s much to discuss.”
The second room of the Emporium might not have been filled with stock, but it was just as cramped, if not more so. A small table featured in the center, with just two chairs arranged haphazardly around it. Three bookshelves took up much of the available space, over-filled so badly that there were books stacked on the floor, as well. Arheis was forced to squeeze past his companions and find a space out of the way, and he still had the sense that he was going to bring the whole shop down with one wrong move.
“Before we continue, you must introduce me to everyone, Galen.”
The elf apologized and proceeded to go around the room. When he got to Arheis, a system message appeared.
> Your relationship with Archimedes has improved!
…Just by meeting him? He knew the man was friendly, but that seemed excessive.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you all. I am Archimedes Antilles Atwater the Third, but you may call me Archie, of course.”
Arheis’ mouth tipped up in a smile despite himself. “Archie” likely would have been annoying in large quantities, but this small dose felt more endearing than anything else, and he was sure he wouldn’t soon forget the man.
“It’s good to meet you, too,” he said. “Galen speaks highly of you.”
“Oh, of course he does! I was top of our class every year we were at the Academy together.”
Rather than look even mildly abashed, Galen just reached for the pouch he kept at his belt. “That’s why I brought them here. I’ve spent the last several months studying these crystals, but I can’t figure out the correlation between their presence and the behavior of the beasts affected by them.”
“Yes, it is all very curious,” Archie said, taking one of the chairs at the table. “I haven’t personally seen one in some time, but I knew exactly what you were talking about when you wrote to me.”
“Still, it’s always helpful to have something you can examine.” Galen withdrew the small sliver of crystal he’d chipped off and held it in his palm, offering it to Archie. “We found this in the caves near the Pruvari settlement of De’shal.”
“They were all over the place,” Zindar said.
Archie’s eyes lit up as he reached for the stone, taking it carefully from Galen. “Well, look at you! Aren’t you a beauty?”
Beside him, Mira let out the softest snort of a laugh. Her lip was caught in her teeth and Arheis could see the small creases at the corners of her eyes as she tried not to be endeared to this man. Apparently she was having as hard a time of it as he was.
“This formation’s relatively young,” he said, tapping his nail against the side. Once he was done with that, to Arheis’ surprise and slight disgust, he licked it. “They taste more like rock when they’re this young.”
Zindar actually did laugh at this. “I didn’t know crystals had a taste.”
“Not sure it’s the first thing I would’ve done,” Higrem commented, “considering what’s been happening to the beasts, but all right.”
Way to be a buzzkill, Higrem.
“Oh, it’s perfectly safe for sapient creatures. I think, at least.” Archie laughed, his eyes twinkling with mirth. “I suppose we’ll find out soon!”
Somehow Arheis wasn’t inspired to fear.
“You told me in our exchanges that you’ve studied these before,” Galen said, obviously trying to get his friend back on track.
“I have. Likely the same experiments as you, of course. Breaking them open, testing their properties, subjecting them to chemicals, and directly observing their effects on various beasts.”
“And what have you found?” Galen encouraged him.
“Here, let me show you.”
Archie moved through the tight space, having to squeeze past Zindar and Higrem to reach the bookshelves. He stood on his toes and grabbed a hand-bound leather book from the top, bringing it back to the table.
When he opened it, the book was filled with something Arheis wouldn’t have expected in a million years. Elegant, compact, easy-to-read script and diagrams that looked like they’d come straight out of a science textbook.
This wasn’t the scribblings of a madman at all, and Arheis felt his respect rise for the man. Eccentric he might be, but it seemed Galen had made the right choice.
“Now, on a geological level, these crystals appear to be like any other. At least on first glance. But when you look at them closely—when you can see things no one would ever see with just their eyes—you begin to understand how they differ.”
Archie’s tone had transformed from one of bumbling strangeness—albeit a friendly kind of strangeness—to the slightly giddy undertones of a scientist discussing something he found particularly fascinating.
He flipped the page in the journal, his fingers resting on a drawing of a crystal on what appeared to be a molecular level. It was a pattern of geometry—lots of slanted rectangles, all connected.
“How strange,” Galen mused.
“Isn’t it?”
“I don’t understand…” Mira moved closer to the table, her hands resting on the edge of it. “What’s strange about it?”
“Most geological formations are imperfect when you look at them up close. They’re a tangle of angular shapes of all different sizes. But these look like someone has drawn each and every one of them out with a slide rule. They’re all the same shape, same size, same angle to every line.”
“And… what does that mean?” she asked, likely on behalf of the whole room, since Arheis was wondering the same thing.
“Galen?” Archie let his friend answer the question.
“It means it’s not natural.”
“Precisely.” His excitement grew again, spilling out from the way he gesticulated wildly. “It means these crystals didn’t grow of their own volition. They wouldn’t even exist if not for the intervention of mankind.”
As the implications of that settled in, Arheis felt the tangle of unease sinking low in his stomach. Man-made crystals. Man-made crystals that caused beasts to frenzy. There were so many terrible ways people could use that, and he really, really didn’t like where his mind went.
“Sorry, I…” Higrem was obviously having as much trouble as he was. “You’re saying somebody engineered these crystals knowing what they’d do when beasts were exposed to them?”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying.”
Archie’s tone still sounded more excited than grim. Maybe it wasn’t as bad as Arheis and his companions were thinking. Or maybe Archie was too blinded by the scientific achievement to really think about the moral implications.
“But you’ll have to talk to the Crown if you want to know more about that,” he said cheerily. “I can get you an appointment with His Highness. I still have some pull in those circles, you know?”
Cold dread snaked through Arheis’ veins, stealing the warmth from every inch of his body. “The rulers of this city made these crystals?”
“They’re the only ones who would have access to the technology. Aside from the Pruvari, I suppose,” Archie said, nodding at Zindar. “In any case, yes. That’s where you need to go if you want to know more.”
There was something deeply unsettling about it all. It was like finding out the country you were visiting was secretly developing a nuclear arsenal to unleash upon the world. Not that surprising, but enough to make your very existence there feel dangerous.
Conversation continued around him, with Archie giving a few adjacent pieces of information, none of them as interesting or terrifying as the first. When the scientist was done explaining, he went to close his journal.
“Do you mind if I sketch this?” Arheis asked, pointing to the page with the crystal’s structure. “I just want to have some kind of… reference, I guess.”
“Oh, be my guest! I trust you won’t steal my research and enter into some kind of competition halfway across the world,” he joked.
Arheis only managed a small smile. “I think your research is safe.”
With that assurance, Archie gave him access to the journal in its entirety. Arheis sketched out what felt useful, keeping the thought in the back of his mind that he may need to present this as evidence against the Crown.
And wasn’t that an absurd thing to think about doing in an Apex game.
> You have learned Rockhound. Identify various rocks and minerals in the field that can be used in augmenting.
> Your quest Mysterious Crystal has updated.
Archie has suggested the Crown may be behi
nd the crystals and has urged you to seek audience with some kind of royal figure to learn more.
> Your relationship with Archie has improved.
Satisfied with what he’d recorded—and baffled by the ability gain and reputation increase—Arheis closed his own journal and returned it to his belt.
“Thanks for all of this,” he said, “you’ve been a big help.”
There was a murmur of agreement throughout his party, and Archie looked delighted by the recognition.
“Oh, not at all! When an old friend from school writes to me about a fascinating mystery, I’m all too eager to look into it.”
It wasn’t the only “fascinating mystery” Arheis had encountered in Untamed, and he wondered if Archie might know about the other. He seemed firmly in the geologist camp, but perhaps his background as a scientist—and presumably a Naturalist, if he’d gone to the same academy as Galen—made it worth asking.
As his friends started to file out of the small, cramped room, Arheis stayed behind. “I actually have one more question before we go.”
“Of course, my boy, of course. What has taken hold of your mind like a Lupedeus with a bone?”
Arheis had to smother a laugh at the image of that. Shaking his head, he just went ahead with what he’d planned to say.
“When we were fighting a Nepondus Queen affected by a crystal, one of my companions and I formed a bond.” Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Mira stop and turn back to them. “A link, I guess, that helps us out when the other is in danger.”
Archie’s bushy brows lifted in surprise. “A link, you say? Telepathic, perhaps?”
“More emotional than mental,” Mira provided, giving Arheis a small smile. “I don’t know about you, but I’ve been able to sense when you’re upset or otherwise troubled.”
He nodded. “It’s the same for me.”
“Fascinating!” Archie clapped his hands together, then lifted one of those hands to his chin, stroking it in thought. “I’m afraid it’s not the type of phenomenon I normally study, and I don’t think you want to stay here while I search through all of these books for something that might not exist.”