We went on like that for the next hour or so, with him nudging me in one direction or another whenever he felt a course correction was required. The wind was getting fiercer with every step we took. I was starting to have to lean into it, all the while trying to put on a brave face for him as I hoped against hope that we'd find a place to ride it out soon.
I'd noticed before how loose the soil was, held together primarily by the tangled root network of the flowers. Now that the gale had some teeth to it, the air that buffeted me around was choked with dirt and flower petals. If this kept up much longer, I'd have to start worrying about my air supply. I was already forced to squeeze my eyes shut tight, relying solely on the Mappatee's thankfully gentle pokes and prods to guide me through the darkness.
"Don't start thinking that you're the one in charge," I told him, though I apparently hadn't heeded one of his bumps fast enough for his liking, which earned me an out of character shove that sent me sprawling.
"Hey!"
"Mmmmmmm." I could barely hear him over the howl of the wind, despite him being near enough for me to feel the bristly hair that poked through his armored bands pressed against my cheek.
I still didn't dare open my eyes. Every time I'd tried it, the wind wedged a shovel-load of dirt under my eyelids. "Bitch all you want," I muttered at him. "I'm the one that saved you, remember? This might be bad, but it beats having to fight off a XAR while you just stand there like a braindead statue."
"Mrm," he huffed, the puff of his warm, exasperated breath briefly hot against my face before the wind whipped it away.
I was being hard on him for no reason, and I knew it. Obviously the essence I'd rescued from CAV had been taken from the Mappatee as a way to disable his ability to fight back. The same thing could have easily happened to me.
"You're right," I called to him. "That was a low blow."
"Mrm."
"Sorry..."
"Mmmmmmmrrrmmmrr," he warbled, his cheer instantly restored.
The wind wasn't going to die down, and now I was starting to worry about exactly how bad it could get. I was already forced to lean into it so much that I risked faceplanting every time a gust backed off.
"Can you hold this?" I asked him, extending the sack of petals at last. I'd almost lost my hold on it a couple of times, and the going was getting so tough that I didn't think I'd be able to hang on to it for much longer.
I felt the sure grip of one of his odd hooves close around the top of it, where I'd tied a knot to keep the contents secure.
Now that I was relieved of the burden, I tried to fight my way forward again. I was desperate to find shelter. Every time I gained a little ground, the wind rose, threatening to shove me backward again. The only way I could make any progress at all was by crawling forward on my hands and knees, grabbing fistfuls of roots to steady myself.
The gloves weren't built for this. The tops of the flowers had been soft, but down below the rest of the plants were composed of rough, sawtooth structures that sliced through the material and cut my hands to shreds.
Increasingly frantic, short-tempered, and suddenly very much aware of where the saying came from, I threw caution to the wind. If I kept going at this snail's pace, I'd never make it. I pushed myself back up to my feet, ready to charge into the wind the same way I'd rushed at the XAR.
Consequences be damned, in other words. That was the idea.
Things changed fast when the Mappatee swept my legs out from under me, sending me crashing back down to the ground. Before I could protest, he stepped past and placed his bulk between the wind and myself.
The contrast was so stark and instantaneous that it felt like I’d slammed a door shut on the storm. I could tell that the wind was still roaring by, but in the little pocket of shelter he provided it was quiet enough that I could hear my own panting breath. I opened my eyes a little and was surprised that I could see, too. Big clusters of dirt and small, windblown pebbles bounced off of the Mappatee's armor, unable at the moment to reach me.
I saw right away why he'd knocked me down. With my eyes closed I had assumed that we were still in a wide open field, but that couldn't be further from the truth. Mere feet from where I now huddled, the ground dropped away in a sheer, stony cliff. The flowers still grew on top of the soil, but now the surrounding landscape was a twisting, dangerous maze of sandstone archways and precarious, natural bridges.
With the topsoil so unstable, I was afraid to get too near the edge to look down. Judging by the way the wind rushed up from the depths though, there had to be quite a fall awaiting anyone unlucky enough to take a tumble in the wrong direction.
All too aware of the danger now, I put one hand against him to stabilize myself and turned to face the direction from which we'd come. I could just barely make out where the field ended. We'd been up on these unstable structures, with death waiting on either side, for at least half an hour.
"Holy shit," I said under my breath, then louder so that the Mappatee could hear, "why didn't you lead the way, if you knew it?"
He didn't respond, though the sidelong glance he threw me through the thick nictitating membranes covering his eyes told me that I should already know the answer.
I sighed. "Gotcha. My own fault, huh? Because I told you not to lead?"
"Mmmmmrmrmmrm."
"So I'm a pig-headed asshole and you're an overly literal pedant?"
"Mmmr."
"Perfect. Okay, big guy, you show me the way and I'll follow close behind."
Your Bond with Mappatee #420,740,319 has increased to 1
I wasn't sure if his mouths were capable of smiling, since the way they were designed made the bottom of one and the top of the other rigid. He did give me a twin raspberry though, before facing forward and using his considerable mass to force a path for us through the wind and the airborne debris.
True to my word, I stayed right on his ass. I was still worried about the amount of literal blind faith I was placing in a critter that couldn't do much more than chew petals and produce that oddly rolling, mooing grunt. I'd stopped trying to rely on anything since the diagnosis, and it felt almost shameful to put my fate into the hands of the Mappatee.
But that sort of thinking was nothing but unfounded arrogance, and I'd seen firsthand in my duel with CAV how badly that particular flaw could cripple you. This creature had survived out here for far longer than I had. I'd be shooting myself in the foot if I thought I had all of the answers and he had none.
With the creature leading the way, our progress increased considerably. I still had to be careful of my footing, but I was in far less danger of a random gust blowing me from the narrow path. After another twenty minutes or so I could pick out the base of an odd, rectangular mountain of black stone. That seemed to be our destination, though with every step it became more and more clear that it wasn't a natural rock formation.
The sides were too sheer, for a start. And it was far, far too large, rising up to blot out more of the dark sky and glowing clouds with every step. By the time we were close enough to make out the faintly metallic sheen of its surface, I was sure of two things, at least.
Firstly, this was the Citadel.
Secondly, I should absolutely have been able to see it from the Glade. It was massive, easily the biggest structure I'd ever seen, projecting so high that it appeared to lean out over me when I tried to look up and see where it ended.
For all I knew, it projected straight out into the upper atmosphere, like the shaft of a spear that had been stabbed right through the planet.
The path we'd been on had split and diverged dozens and dozens of times, though it didn't look like any of the hundreds of resulting trails ended in a dead-end. Instead, like this one, the others all zigged and zagged to a tunnel at the bottom of the Citadel.
None of the paths ever reunited. If you wanted to access the Citadel from a specific passage, there was only one way to make it happen. Take a wrong turn, and you'd enter elsewhere.
The Mappatee reac
hed back to grab my elbow as his pace quickened, and I sped up in response. All prior sense of scale was completely wiped clean as we approached. The Citadel wasn't just massive.
It was colossal. Up close, it extended to the horizon in both directions. I felt like an insect returning to the hive as we finally approached the tunnel at the end of our path.
There was something else happening, too. With every step, the Citadel appeared to rush toward me. I froze experimentally, making the Mappatee glance back with worry. As soon as I paused, that sick feeling of being swallowed went away.
The Citadel did more than just dominate the landscape. It engulfed my mind. I could feel it pressing in from every direction, forcing doubts and uncertainty into spaces that had been reasonably free from them no more than a moment before.
->I am the Citadel. Within me there are dozens of Races that will destroy you without care or concern.<-
->I am the Citadel. Within me there are hundreds of species that will eat you, lay eggs in you, enslave you, carve you out, and then hunt you down to do it again.<-
->I am the Citadel. Within me there are thousands of opponents, armed and armored with skills and abilities you are not capable of understanding, all of them eager to kill you on sight.<-
->I am the Cita—<-
"Hey," I said, interrupting the thunderous voice in my head. "How many humans are there inside, anyway?"
I hadn't known if I was getting a recorded broadcast or communicating with something sentient, but I did when it answered my question. ->You are the eleventh. There will be two more invited, soon.<-
I nodded. Thirteen in total. Figured. "You're not really 'the Citadel' though, are you?" I said, betting on a hunch. "You're just an Evvex. You may be on top of the game, but you didn't make the game. Right?"
The voice in my head paused for so long that I wasn't sure if I was going to get an answer. ->Correct,<- it responded eventually, unable or unwilling to hide its anger.
"So who made the rules?"
->The original signatories of the Treaty. The rules have been agreed upon by all subsequent participants.<-
"Even humans?"
->If your race had not agreed, you would not be here.<-
"And what happens to the Evvex, if you break the rules?" I asked. If he was going to talk, I'd rather find out just how badly this game could be rigged against me than listen to him spew bullshit meant to intimidate me.
->Chaos. The renewal of War. Horrors unleashed the likes of which—<-
I held up my hand and interrupted him again. "The likes of which I can't imagine, blah blah blah. I get it. Hey, how about you shut the fuck up for a while now, okay? I'm a little busy, here."
->Insolence!<- His anger was palpable, and I could feel the Citadel tremble.
I nodded in agreement. "Well done! That's exactly the right word. You'll find that us humans are pretty good at that, I think. Now leave me alone for a while. In fact, best you start locking your doors and setting your traps, Evvex. I'm on my way to take what's yours."
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Citadel
Floor 1
Area 2
The Tunnels
As soon as I stepped inside, I tried to get the Citadel to let me level up.
Find a safe place and your rewards will be granted.
I wasn't surprised that hadn't worked. I may be sheltered from the wind in here, but the tunnel hardly lived up to even the loosest definition of the phrase 'safe place'. The windstorm out there probably wasn't going away anytime soon. When it did, I'd still much rather be inside the monolith working my way up than out in the field of flowers again.
At least it wasn't dark. There were hundreds of glittering, pulsing yellow gems set at regular interviews along the tunnel's walls and ceiling. The light they cast was more than enough to stare all the way down the length of the stone pipe we found ourselves in.
The walls were perfectly smooth. If something had cut this path through the rock, they'd done it with tools and techniques I was pretty sure were light-years beyond anything we had back on Earth.
The level of sophistication reminded me that I'd just told a member of a no doubt highly advanced race to shut the fuck up. Had it been smart to mouth off to the Evvex? Probably not. I hadn't thought of it at the time, but it was more than likely that the Citadel had some sort of galactic audience. I doubted the powers that be would like being put in their place in front of others.
Oh well. If it bit me on the ass, so be it...
Now that we'd stepped into the tunnel, the Mappatee had immediately returned to his usual place, a few paces behind me and ever so slightly to my left. "Go on," I said to him. "It's okay. You did a good job back there, and I trust you. Keep leading the way."
He just planted the hooves he used as feet and gently flexed the ones he used as hands, glancing nervously to one side.
He was clearly going to take a little more convincing. "I know I was mean to you before, but I said I was sorry, remember?"
He grunted at me. I didn't sense any anger in the sound, but his skittish look grew a little more complex, adding a swirl of confusion to his otherwise warm, coffee-colored eyes.
"I get it," I said, trying to calm him down. "You've never been in here."
"Mmmmmmr."
That was an affirmation if ever I'd heard one. He didn't know where to go, and in the tunnel he felt neither the confidence nor the sure-footedness he'd displayed in the Swathe. He simply wasn't built for this terrain.
I felt bad for the poor thing. Nobody liked to be asked to do something they weren't ready for, and I didn't want to pressure the creature any more than I already had. This was my quest, and I had to be the one willing to lead.
I walked over to him and tried to get my arms around his enough to give him a decent hug. I failed badly, but he still shifted his weight ever so slightly back and forth, obviously happy that I wasn't holding a grudge for not being able to fulfill my request.
"You were awesome, back there," I told him. "You definitely saved my life."
"Mm?"
"Absolutely! In fact, I'm going to call you Map, okay? After all, you led me through that storm and along those crazy paths like you had a map of the whole damn place."
He swiped at my face with his tongues again, and I stood my ground, wrinkled my nose, squeezed my eyes shut, and let him. He was only trying to show me some love, and dodging didn't feel right. It was only when I tasted the unmistakable flavor of muddy mint leaves that I realized that I was smiling.
You feel rested.
The big oaf's enthusiasm was infectious, and I didn't find it that hard to wait a respectful amount of time before mopping the spit away, chuckling at myself all the while.
Yesterday, I'd been certain that the whole world was out to get me. From the moment the doctor had given me that look, I'd viewed brain cancer as a conspiracy against my soul, a sick joke the universe had played on me simply because it could. I'd splashed my pain around as best I could, cussing out a parade of specialists, trashing every personal relationship I'd ever had and then running up an astronomical credit card bill with the stupidest, most useless purchases I could think of.
And now that the galaxy actually was literally out to get me, all it took was this big armored cow-dog's sloppy kiss to make me crack a smile. "You're okay by me, Map."
He grinned with both his mouths and honored me with an impressive burp that blasted twin columns of hot air at me. The belch stunk so strongly of mint it made my eyes water.
That reminded me of the bag of petals I'd given him to protect during the storm. He was still clutching it, and when I reached for the sack Map handed it over to me without hesitation. I could already see that it was far less bulky than before, and once I was holding it I could tell it was a lot lighter, too. The top wasn't tied off anymore, and a quick inspection revealed that at least a third of the petals were gone.
"It looks like you may have dropped some along the way, but that's not a big deal," I told h
im. "If it weren't for you, the whole bag would've blown away and we wouldn't have any." I was more than a little surprised that I wasn't angry, but at least part of me was learning to let the little things go.
That might not last, of course...
Wait a second. Hadn't the Mappatee description mentioned something about regurgitation? Maybe he hadn't lost the petals at all.
"Map?"
He cocked his head at me. I studied him, and the longer I did the more convinced I became that there was something different about him. The muscles leading from his neck to his shoulders were more pronounced than ever, and when I reached over and gently laid my palm atop one of them I was pretty sure I'd found his stash.
"Can you show me some of the red petals you've been chewing?"
He was more than happy to comply, promptly rippling his shoulders before leaning forward and coughing a stream of bone-dry red powder into my outstretched hands.
Just as I'd thought. "Can you... Can you put this back where it came from, for now?"
Map responded by immediately dipping his head and sucking the dust back to where it had come from, the top mouth breathing out over my forearms as the bottom mouth neatly inhaled the powder.
"You're a useful beastie, aren't you, Map?" I wiped the remaining residue off on my pants. "Just keep the colors separated until I find a better place to store them." I patted him on the shoulder and then scratched the spot where his ears would have been, if he'd had any.
He squinted happily and shivered.
Map may be happy, but I was already worried about getting to the end of this damn tunnel. We were far too exposed here. The smoothness of the walls and the abundance of light would leave me zero options if we needed to hide.
I turned on my heel, putting the windy entrance at my back and staring down the tunnel as far as I could. The yellow crystals continued down the length of it. The regular intervals made it easy to determine that it was both extremely long and curving slightly to the left.
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