12 Miles Below

The folder was dated for January, 2819. Inside, images along with matching text files. A journal of entries, years and decades apart. A small glimpse into the life of someone who'd lived far longer than any man had right to live. The journal entries of an immortal.

I blinked twice looking at one of those text files and Journey opened both the image set and journal. The first images was of a waterfall, surrounded by green grass and vines, that looked to be someplace underground.

There wasn’t any hint of metal anywhere in the picture, except for the very center, cutting the waterfall in half. A massive circular pillar, with onyx cubes shaped in every direction massing at the bottom. The water struck those cubes, breaking apart in foam and brilliant white reflecting glitters. At the center of the pillar was the image of a fractal, though nothing else. It didn't glow either, only inscribed deeper into the pillar. Water streamed off the sides, clinging to the onyx squares on reaching the base. I could see a group of three others in the image, standing knee deep in the shallow lake before the waterfall, each in relic armor of their own.

They loitered around in every image I saw of this set, not always examining the actual pillar. Sometimes looking busy moving a crate or supplies out of a hoversled. Othertimes sitting on the black cubes, waving at the camera with a smile frozen in time. Looks like they’d setup a small group of tents on a dry flat rock in the lake.

Found on expedition down to the third reaches, alongside Feron, Gamma, Jai’di, and myself. Right where Feron had previously scouted it out, five years ago. Mites have not changed the surroundings a great deal, though we have noticed a colony that’s steadily migrating in this general direction. The pillar might appear elsewhere next we search for it.

Feron explained this pillar holds the power of clairvoyance. An ability that grants a few seconds of knowing every possible outcome, all at once. Gamma chose not to integrate the power, rationalizing that a few seconds every few hours is not enough time to substantially change the outcome of a fight, despite Feron’s arguments otherwise. Understandable, she never runs without a group. The contribution of one teammate in a chaotic skirmish isn’t going to be noticeably improved by one member performing above their weight class for a few seconds. Jai’di and I on the other hand both have had too many encounters against single foes, a few seconds at a critical junction could be the difference between victory or defeat.

We will be setting camp here for the next three days, I’ll have time enough to consider my choices. Although Feron warned that learning its full use requires a far more steep investment in time compared to other powers. Jai’di is leaning to replacing one of her powers for this, and I admit the temptation is strong on my end as well. The advantages offered by this pillar can’t be ignored

I logged the geolocation of this pillar for now. In case I return in the future, though I doubt the pillar will remain.

I closed the files, opening another one. Again, an image of another pillar came up, front and center, this time with a small expedition group of knights. Armor was barren from them, similar to the Chosen knights, though no purple motives. Instead there looked to be some kind of insignia. The ground here was far more recognizable - a metal city, with this pillar acting as the very heart of it. Long pipes, embedded into the ground led up to the pillar, seeming to connect to the onyx blocks at the bottom.

Location is sub-optimal for a new city to be founded, but a pillar is a pillar. I’m keeping this in records on the event it needs to be found again to settle a city here. Once we deal with Ripsteel, the area will be far more safe.

Pictures of people, some with their helmets off, smiling. Undersiders from that expedition, and given that the file was last modified two hundred and twelve years ago, these people are all dead already. I was looking at ghosts again.

There were dozens of pictures and journal entries like this, although most of them dated back three centuries. The rate of expeditions faded sharply after he’d founded the clan on the surface.

I don’t know what time scales the Chosen would use to mobilize on. Would they take a month to execute whatever plan they had? Or would they be rushing forward as quickly as possible, already assuming their days are numbered?

Shadowsong and I had spent some time in the cold outskirts of the clan colony, speaking on possible plans and plots. The first rule of setting a trap was figuring out what kind of bait to use. Here’s where we ran into trouble - neither of us knew what the Chosen were here for. So we'd have to spread the seeds far and wide until something was bit.

Officially, their priest announced he’d traveled here to spread the gospel of the Chosen, in an attempt to settle a peace with the machines. He also offered supplies, weapons, even armor to help against the incoming raiders. And for anyone that was interested in running, he offered a home underground so long as they joined ranks with the Chosen.

Unofficially, he could be here for anything. Shadowsong suspected this had something to do with the golden sphere we recovered from the underground. He’d seen it bounce out on the steps, and while he didn’t know what it was, he was certain the machines wanted it.

His idea was to use that as the base for the bait. We considered how to make a look-a-like, but the glowing yellow wave like pulse that shimmered on the outside wasn’t something anyone could mimic with what we had to work with.

And I don’t exactly have any means to see the original orb since Atius has it locked up somewhere even I don’t know about. I'd suggested making a metal box and plant rumors that we'd put the sphere inside it. That could possibly work, a chest could hold anything.

The only other items of bait I had were talen’s book, and the mite seeker. Both of which I might have a better chance at making a decoy, though less chances of the Chosen being here for those.

Regardless, Shadowsong alerted me that from now on, I wasn’t to remove Journey at any moment. The armor could handle all my hygiene issues, and it was somewhat comfortable enough to wear for long periods of time. I'd sleep, eat and shit in this armor for the next untold number of days. Not a fun prospect, but I could understand. No more going out for drinks, dancing or trouble.

The House servants and soldiers all took it in stride, changing up their routine and even changing the food menu for me so that I'd eat more liquid foods and minimize the time my helmet was off.

The chicken wrangler and my old crew of misfits from different castes all understood the reasons. In his words, he didn't want any of the kind of trouble I was bringing around, and frankly the weight class of trouble I was dealing with these days largely overshadowed anything my old crew could handle. The stakes were no longer swiping a prize chicken or eavesdropping on the latest House gossip.

My group of hangerball told me I wasn't allowed to come kick their ball around in armor. Politely of course.

Teed on his end had sent me a few contacts with his own boys if I wanted some other engineers to prepare bait for the Chosen. Something I might need. Engineers can come up with some seriously deranged ideas when safety wasn't a concern.

There was really only one person I was most worried about when sending word to. Elandris Silverstride. That was an... old relationship from my past with heavy history. And if there was one person I didn't want to involve any of the possible danger coming up, it was her.

She understood, as I knew that she would. That reply letter had been penned by her hand and it was clear she had a bone to pick. I was no longer invited to any future wedding of hers, but I set myself up for that one. This was the first time I'd sent her a message after getting home, and it was to tell her I wouldn't be seeing her again.

Not so bad though. This would be the tenth time I've been disinvited from any future wedding of hers, a running inside joke since if she ever did marry, I'd be the last person the potential groom would feel comfortable seeing in the first place. Like I said, old and complicated relationship that one.

Hence why I found myself laying down on the floor of my room, trying to get comfortable and not quite managing to do that. The bed would have broke if I sat down with the full weight of a relic armor. Shadowsong had told me knights quickly learned to nap in their armors, because removing it anytime underground was asking to be killed. I needed to learn one way or another how to sleep in this thing.

“Do you think we could make use of any of these?” I asked idly into the empty room, pulling up another set of images. This one was from a red jungle, massive tree trunks filled with crimson leaves, dangling down. They didn’t look wholly organic either, with tinted lights glowing inside the trunks. Large white concrete blocks littered the floor of the jungle, and the pillar in this picture appeared at the center of a tree trunk - quite exactly. The tree seemed to have split into three different ways, creating a hollow space for the tower, with no roof.

Here I saw multiple knights, all scaling the tree with climbing tools. Considering they each looked unique and distinct, I had my guesses this was a surface clan expedition, but not by any houses I recognized.

“Eh.” Cathida vocally shrugged. “You’re going to try no matter what I say. So go and do your little experiments. Come back to me when you’re done playing around.”

“You don’t see any use to any of this?”

“Personally dear? The sword is always something reliable. This… hocus pokus, well even the Deathless took gambles each time they came up to a pillar. As far as Journey’s concerned though, it increases the odds you live an encounter on average, so the armor’s all for it. Don’t ask me how it calculated that, but I can tell it’s quite sure of itself.”

I nodded, thinking. The journal entry text flashed into view on command.

Yvain and his clan were kind enough to escort me to the mirror pillar, as he called it. The power stored here allows a Deathless to create mirror images of themselves, superimposed over a few seconds with a single instruction. He’s used it time and time again, and I must admit after dueling him, I can see the advantages it allows. The trek here was difficult, but we’ve finally reached the pillar in the red wilds.

The area is every bit as dangerous as was rumored. Machines here seem to be a new breed of four legged monsters, adapted to moving across the thicker canopies, stalking and hunting our group. If Yvain hadn’t already been an expert tracker in these parts, I fear we would have started to lose knights. He, at least, has full confidence in his own clan’s abilities, and I was made to understand why shortly into the expedition. This is the first time I've fought alongside surface dwellers. They're not what I thought they would be.

Rumors of their skills in combat were not exaggerated. These religious zealots learned to fight as children, and are ready to give their life at any moment. It's terrifying, in a way, how much power Yvain holds over these people. Anything he commands, they would carry out without question.

I’ve spent days debating which of my powers to give up in exchange for the mirror images. I’ve made a choice to lose the explosive blast. Ultimately, that can be replicated by carrying ordinance. Mirror images cannot be replicated by tech in any way we have. The utility of this can come in handy for more than simple combat applications.

I hope the return trip is faster than the descent. Though I fear this jungle isn’t yet done with us, even if we are with it.

“Mirror images…” The blue shades Atius had used during his single combat with To’Aacar. “I don’t even know if I can use these, they’re made for Deathless.”

“And? From what I’ve noticed, this whole spooky physics-breaking pokus isn’t made for humans either, but warlocks are well and alive, even back in my time. Who says you can’t dabble in Deathless magic? Your little friend seemed willing to share at least dear, it would be rude not to try.”

I rifled through the files, looking at the pictures of the red jungle, specifically the pillar at the center. The fractal there looked like something made of mutated triangles, all wildly spinning out of control, down into an infinite spiral. Mesmerizing in a way.

Almost calling to me.

“Well. Not like I was going to get any sleep anyhow.”

The Chosen had been given a space by the bottom of the colony, a small alcove of empty rooms. Those had been hastily reheated and insulated, the job being quick and dirty. Atius had picked it very carefully, as the floorplan showed there was only one entrance and exit. Easier to keep an eye out on our errant guests.

They’d complied with the direction, and a worrying amount of the expedition crew had spent time helping them settle in.

If only that’d been the end of it. Their priest hadn’t wasted a moment, already organizing food lines and helping his ‘flock’ settle in their temporary transient homes.

I’d only gotten a few hours of sleep yesterday, and the armor was already feeling itchy, like small prinprickles that appeared and disappeared the very next moment. I hadn’t ever spent this long inside Journey before, but knights wear their armor for weeks, even months if they’re out on expedition. So it’s more something I’d need to learn to live in. On the other hand, I could sit down and nap anywhere I wanted, the padding inside the armor would be the same no matter where I made a bed.

The door before me opened up, as I crossed the barrier between the unheated sections and the outer reaches of my House. A few more steps into the estate and I ran into a servant, who’d made a quick dash to me the moment he’d spotted me.

Turns out, they’d been looking for me for the past hour. The clan lord had gone to talk shop with the priest and called up his bodyguards. I’d been counted among the retinue.

Relic armor could run fast, but once I applied the winterblossom technique, I could move as fast as the wind. Vault, stop, twist and jump just as quickly as well. The colony was filled with small holes all over the place, honeycombed in between the levels to allow for air to circulate. This gave the entire place a second super-imposed map that only the shady undersurface of the clan knew about. The ones who needed to traverse the colony without being spotted.

Chenobi, gangs, and mischief makers like me. Even my sister wouldn’t be able to beat me here, I simply knew how to move across this kind of surface the same way one knows how to run.

With relic armor, I soared through the well memorized land. Jumps I hadn’t dared to do before were now taken without a second thought. I’d take falls that would have broken my bones otherwise, hitting the ground with a roll, leaving a dent on the metal ground from the weight of the armor. I’ll have to make a point to come back and have those fixed up. I passed people faster than they could recognize me, a blur of black and gold, appearing on one catwalk before leaping down to another and then out of sight.

Reaching the Chosen corridor took only minutes, and with one final swing, I landed right down the center aisle with a heavy thud, drawing a few startled looks. Surface dwellers were making their way down, many of them giving a quick look, and then offering bows in respect before continuing on their journey. I seemed to have landed right in the middle of a small pilgrimage, with people drawn to the end like moths to a flame.

Just in time too. At the end of that corridor, was a more open courtyard, where a bonfire had been setup, crackling away. Smoke rose up and into the air vents, sucking it all up through the wind turbines.

And on top a large box, right before the blaze, stood the Chosen priest, Lejis. Without his helmet, arms stretched wide and beckoning.

When his own eyes met mine, he smiled. A wide, broad, thing, filled with joy that made my hair stand on edge. There was an intensity to his gaze that even the fire behind him failed to live up to. He was clean shaven, a short military hair cut, and tattoos that lined the contours of his face. I couldn't tell if he was thirteen or thirty.

And Lord Atius wasn't here either. Had I arrived too early?

“Welcome all!" The priest boomed out, "Many of you have come here out of curiosity, to see who we are and if the rumors you've heard are true. Others have come to debate our philosophy. And some of you may have even come for a new source of hope. I welcome you all equally. Gather around, and I shall tell you all the tale. Of what truly happened to the world - and how we might yet fit into it.

I'll show you a dream you've all forgotten could be. The story of our world, from the other side.”

Next chapter - Follow me to the end of a world

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