by J. Carrarn
Solus was about to say something, and Scathia raised a hand to silence him. "Before you ask why I don't just evolve some random undead four times: I can't!"
Solus had wanted to ask something else but remained quiet. He could see anger and helplessness flash across Scathia's face. Then they disappeared as she stared at him. He had no idea if it had been acted or real, but he didn't trust her one bit.
"To evolve beyond the third time requires the absorption of a mana-core. Unless," and she pointed at Solus, "you happen to be an earth-affinity undead! Those are the only ones who can evolve a fourth time without the use of a core. You," and she stared pointedly at him, "won't need one until you get to the fifth evolution, which should be your next?".
It was quiet in the room for a moment as Solus let everything that she had just told him to sink in. After a moment, Scathia stepped in front of the barrier, appearing to realize he wasn't going to answer.
"Do you understand now? Just give in! Or you will take all of us down with you!"
Solus stared at her and shook his head. Although he understood what she wanted, and even if he believed everything she had said, he wasn't willing to give up his existence just yet. There had to be a different way!
Hissing in annoyance, Scathia struck at the barrier. "Wasting my time, I should have known. Enough of this, where are those Immaterials?" She made to leave, but at the door, she stopped and looked at Solus.
"I will have your core. Either you give it freely, or I will take it, and the second option will be painful," she snapped. Then she turned and left, slamming the door shut behind her.
Great, so now what? Solus thought, depressed. He couldn't find a single piece of sand, stone, or metal in the room, and the barrier had proven too much for him. He looked down at the pattern in anger. Perhaps he could wear it down?
He got up and began stomping on the ground and striking the barrier as hard as he could. Deep down, he doubted it would work, but he wasn't going to give up that easily.
The mines
Sig hovered in the darkness up against the ceiling, overlooking the narrow cavern below. Small pockets of red light spread out along the dusty stone walls, highlighting a stream of undead that trudged along the path, reluctantly heading deeper into the mines. This cavern was a waypoint on the road down into the earth, one of many.
He frowned as he listened to the soft murmurs flowing up. They all dealt with the same topic, and he tried to suppress his concern. When he realized that he would glean no more information from the prisoners below, he made his way back to the others.
After passing up through two more chambers and a massive, empty cavern, he finally arrived in a square room with a spiral staircase in the corner that led up through a hole in the ceiling. Tatjie and Derin sat on simple chairs in the middle of the room, their eyes locked on Tirella. The orange-skinned undead sat with her legs folded while her short-cropped yellow hair stood on end. A small orb of rapidly rotating earth lay on her extended hands. The room's only light came from a few small red orbs that Tatjie and Tirella had brought with them.
"So, any news?" Tatjie said, shattering the silence with a look of relief.
Sig landed on a chair beside her and nodded gravely. "Yes..." he said, frowning as he collected his thoughts.
"There are rumors that a large grey undead with green hair fought his way into Scathia's palace."
"Finally! He has arrived!" Tatjie shouted, and she jumped and pranced about without noticing the worried expression on Sig's face.
"That means we can finally get out of these horrid caverns and head back home, where we don't have to skulk about in the shadows or fight all the time!"
Derin and Tirella didn't reply but silently looked at Sig, ignoring Tatjies antics.
When it remained silent, Tatjie finally realized something was wrong and turned to Sig.
"What is it now? You look like someone absorbed your last mana-orb!"
"They say that Scathia has captured Solus and locked him up in her tower. That was yesterday, and no one has heard or seen anything of him since."
Derin struck the side of his stone stool, causing cracks to appear where his blow landed. "Bile and brains, how is that possible? How could anyone be able to subdue him?"
"There are ways," Sig said, before turning to Tirella. "How far along are you with learning how to shape the stone?"
Without answering, Tirella raised her hand, palm up. The stone she held turned into a small chair followed by a crude imitation of Sigs head.
"Good. Can you do it without touching yet?"
Tirella shook her head, frowning. "No. I think I need another pattern for that, and for that, I need Solus."
Derin leaned forward, the plates on his legs clattering softly against each other. "Why do you ask? Shouldn't we be able to get the big guy out?"
"Get him out? Are you brainless? If he can't get himself out, what are we going to do?" Tatjie shouted before turning to Sig.
"Let's just go back to Skulltown and report this to Drys! He'll know what to do."
It was silent for a while, then Sig sighed. "We can't."
"Why not?" Tatjie asked, throwing her arms up, her hands slamming into the ceiling.
"Because the other bit of news that I overheard was that rifts have opened up around Tendraal."
Tatjie sat down with a shocked look on her face.
It was quiet in the room for a while. Everybody was lost in their own thoughts. Finally, Tirella was the first to speak.
"We need to find where she is holding him and how. Then we break him out."
Sig nodded, staring at her intensely. He barely recognized her anymore. Compared to when she had fallen through that rift, barely capable of speech and ruled by instinct, the pattern Solus had given her had completely changed her. In many ways, Tirella reminded him of Drys. Calm, calculating, and with a quick mind. A bit more of a temper, perhaps.
"And how do you propose we do that?" he asked, curious as to what she had planned.
"Start at step one. Find out where he is," Tirella replied, rising and stretching herself. Her pitch-black eyes seemed to absorb the faint red light coming from the Satri. "Then, we have to find a way to create a distraction, and lastly, we need enough mana-orbs so that Solus can replenish his strength."
Sig looked into her black eyes for a bit before nodding in agreement.
"She is right," Derin said, getting up. "And I think there's only one way to find out where he is. Find someone who knows, capture them, and get them to tell us."
Tirella nodded while Sig smiled sadly. It was more or less the same plan he had in mind. He had hoped they would think of something less dangerous and more efficient, and he wished he could discuss with Drys. The idea of leaving Solus incarcerated didn't sit well with him. Although he had long since gained free will, a lingering desire to keep Solus safe had somehow remained.
Tatjie laughed. "You are all brainless. How do you suggest we even find anybody who knows?"
"We already know of someone… we just have to find him," Sig responded.
"Borl," Tirella said.
Sig got up and moved to the side of the room to stare at the wall for a moment. He could see partially through it, not far enough to be beneficial yet, but he had found it a good way to center himself.
While the others whispered behind his back, he slowly came to a decision.
"Alright. We will go with Tirella's plan, but we will split up to cover more ground. Derin, go with Tirella. Search through the mines. Tirella is right. When we find him, we will need a distraction," Sig finally said.
"I will go with Tatjie and see if we can find Borl or another way to locate Solus."
"Oh bile no. You ain't bringing me along for another one of those vomit-inducing rides!" Tatjie growled. "Take Derin. I'll go with Tirella."
Sig stopped and looked at her for a second before studying Derin, who just shrugged.
"Fine." Without the slightest warning, he morphed into his cloud form, filling ha
lf of the room.
"We'll meet back here when it's dark. Keep your ears eyes peeled for someone who knows where Solus is kept."
Tirella nodded and moved toward a wall. Sig surged up through the ceiling, taking Derin with him.
"Great, and we get to blunder about underground… again!" Tatjie grumbled as she followed Tirella inside the tunnel the other was creating.
—
A deep howl reverberated through the enormous bone room, followed by a loud thud as an unmoving black shape slammed into the far wall.
"It's been days. Why don't you stop resisting?" Scathia hissed, staring at Solus, who sat in the middle of the invisible barrier.
"Because I don't trust you one bit!" Solus roared back, cracking his neck. Small black scorch marks covered his face and torso.
Scathia howled again, turning to a group of four black skeletons. A thick liquid oozed from their bones, constantly flowing down as they moved and leaving small burning marks on the ground.
"You have one more day to get me his mana-core, or you will follow his example!" she spat at them, pointing at an unmoving shape at the other side of the room. Then she turned and stomped away without stopping her rant. "Your mana won't hold out forever! You will fall!"
With a last hateful glance at Solus, she exited the room.
It was quiet for a moment when a voice echoed around Solus's head.
"You should do as she says."
"Why? Because you don't want her to turn you into splinters?" he spat, glaring at his four remaining tormentors.
"No, because another rift has just opened up in front of the city. The Yellowplates are still holding the line, but for how long? Do you wish to be responsible for the end of this world?"
Solus didn't bother to reply but looked at the wall, gritting his teeth. A moment later, a torrent of small drops of tar-like liquid struck his skin. Wherever it hit, he felt another burn add to the canvas of agony that was his skin. They had been relentless in their attacks since they had arrived, stopping only to replenish their mana from the pile of mana-orbs that lay beside them. Solus preferred it when they were attacking because at least then they weren't trying to guilt him into giving up.
He had found that he could almost ignore the pain if it lasted long enough. Dozing off, trying hard to ignore a spatter that hit his closed eyelid, he wondered if they were right. He lacked the knowledge necessary to keep the rifts and Kaots at bay, that much was true. What if Scathia's plan was indeed the only way of saving Skulltown and the world? He didn't want to cease existing, but he also didn't want to be responsible for the end of the world. The problem was that he didn't trust Scathia. He knew there was something she wasn't telling him, perhaps a solution that didn't involve him giving up his mana-core.
As the torrent of thick burning liquid continued, he scanned the room, trying to find some way to get out of this blasted invisible cage.
—
Tirella shook her head and stared at Tatjie. "No. You need to stay in the cave," she said, pointing at a small tunnel in the wall beside her.
"Oh, come on! Why? Just because I accidentally-"
"Quiet! There was nothing accidental about what you just did. Just look at it!" Tirella pointed at the ground behind Tatjie.
Yellowplates lay everywhere, ripped apart. Limbs and heads lay scattered throughout the small cavern. A light grey zombie with a big wad of purple hair sat in the middle, shivering, his eyes locked on them.
"Tirella, come on. I won't do it again! I just lost control a bit…" Tatjie whined, looking at the small tunnel with obvious distaste.
"That's what you said last time!" Tirella snapped.
"I promise you: it won't happen again."
After an uncertain moment, Tirella nodded and closed the tunnel behind her.
"Alright, fine! You can come along, but don't do it again or I will seal you up in a wall. Oh, and do try to keep your voice down, will you?"
"Yes! You won't regret it!" Tatjie whispered loudly before turning around and jumping toward the zombie. "Now come 'ere you!"
Tirella sighed as she watched Tatjie throttle the zombie while whisper-yelling questions about Solus in his face.
She has no self-restraint, she thought, smiling slightly at the absurdity of the situation. How ridiculous her old companions back in Bastion would have found it if she'd said that—she, who had barely any restraint back then.
As she thought back to the ragtag group she had run with for such a long time, her shoulders sagged. Back then, she hadn't been able to appreciate what she had or let the others know how much she liked being with them. Now that she understood, it was too late. Sometimes, she almost wished that Solus hadn't evolved her… almost.
She ran forward and grabbed Tatjie's fist mid-swing before it could decapitate the zombie. It had been trying to speak, but Tatjie was so engrossed in her "interrogation" that she hadn't noticed. Holding the wrist, Tirella felt the momentum lift her from her feet, and then she was flying forward.
"Wha?" Tatjie rumbled as she slammed Tirella full force into the zombie. Something snapped, and then Tirella and the zombie sprawled over the floor in an untidy heap.
"Stop it! He was trying to say something!" Tirella shouted, turning to the zombie whose neck bones were sticking out of its neck. A thick stream of purplish fluid leaked out, and his eyes had rolled up in his sockets.
"... great…" Tirella sighed.
She stared at Tatjie with accusing eyes. "You just said that you would calm down moments before, and now look at this! How can he answer our questions like this?"
Tatjie just looked shamefaced at the floor, shuffling her feet.
Tirella shook her head and turned to the wall. "Never mind, let's go back. It's getting late, it's probably dark by now. Let's head back up to the others. We can try again tomorrow."
Tatjie followed her quietly through the tunnels she made.
"Will you really seal me up in a wall?" she finally muttered.
Tirella didn't reply, glaring ahead as she created the last remainder of the tunnel. She was so angry she couldn't even enjoy the act of shaping the stone.
"Tirella?" Tatjie whined.
"No, but I don't fancy bringing you along with me again," Tirella snapped before continuing onward. "You'd better hope the others aren't back again today, or I'll take Derin with me tomorrow and you can go with Sig. Roam the streets to find that Borl character; see how you like that."
Tatjie sighed and didn't say anything.
When they arrived in the small chamber that they used as a base, they found it empty.
"I hope they stay in the city for the night," Tatjie muttered as she lay down to sleep.
Tirella ignored her and sat in the middle of the room, focusing on shaping the stone bracelets she always had with her.
—
"You're so lucky Derin didn't return yesterday!" Tirella snapped, still angry with Tatjie.
"I couldn't help it! They attacked me first!"
Tirella had to resist creating an opening below Tatjie and sealing her in the ground until she was done scouting for the day. She looked up at the high and narrow ceiling, trying to think of a way to get Tatjie to control her raging outbursts.
Beside her, Tatjie sighed, examining the patrol of Yellowplates that lay scattered around her feet. She was about to speak when a loud stomping came from a corridor on the far end of the cavern, interrupting her. Her eyes gleamed, and she swirled around, raising her massive fists.
A group of three heavyset undead ran into the cavern. Thick, protruding orange veins covered almost every inch of their bodies, while a large triangular plate covered their lower arms. The point protruded beyond their clenched fists, and when they saw the destroyed Yellowplates, they stopped. Drool dripped from their thick lower lips. They seemed confused.
One of them saw Tirella and Tatjie and stepped forward with eyes wide in surprise.
"Wa ab you don?" His garbled voice was hard to understand, sounding as if his tongue was glue
d to the top of his mouth.
Tatjie grinned widely, knocking her fists against each other. "Why don't I show you?" She tried to step forward, but her legs would not move. She looked down to see that her feet had been encased in the stone floor of the tunnel.
"What the-?" she growled.
Tirella just grinned, walking past her and toward the trio of zombies.
"Tirella!"
Tirella ignored her whining complaints and stopped in front of the lead zombie.
"Have you been above recently?" she asked, wondering for a moment how she was going to get them to tell her anything. If they even knew anything.
"Ya…" The zombie said, looking at Tatjie. "Wa wrong wi't her?"
"Nothing, she just likes to stay grounded!" Tirella said with a laugh. "Say, did you hear about that big grey giant that was captured a few days ago?"
A scraping sound filled the room as the zombie scratched its chin, staring at the two others. His companions just looked at him with wide eyes, drool dripping from the points of their chins.
The smile on Tirella's face slowly turned sour as she tried to keep it in place. "Solus? Big and grey with green hair?"
"O.. ou mean tair crusha!" One of the three shouted. A big smile spread across all three of their faces, and their heads bobbed up and down. "Tair crusha!" they roared and laughed in unison, repeating the word as if it was some great joke.
A loud crack came from behind Tirella, and a moment later, Tatjie stepped beside her. She didn't seem interested in bashing heads anymore and just gaped at the three.
"What is wrong with these knuckleheads?"
"I think they have a low-grade intelligence pattern," Tirella said with a frown.
"A what?"
"Never mind, I'll explain another time."
Staring at the three, Tirella tried to make sense of their words. Tair crusha… stair crusher? Remembering what Sig had said, she nodded.
"The stair crusher, yes. Where is he?"
"Tair crusha!" the three roared again, laughing and stomping their feet.
"Can I hit them now?" Tatjie asked, uncertain.