Artwork by N. R. Eccles-Smith
Their Mind and Matter – Chapter 2
I can’t die like this. Dazed and vision white after that one terrible blast of power, Valeska drew a hand over her eyes. She couldn’t work out where exactly where in the room she lay, so pushed herself back until she felt a wall prop her up. But even then, her hazy eyes managed to make out an enormous figure making for her. She cringed and pulled back, muttering, ‘no,’ to herself. Where did Casimir go? Why wasn’t he by her side? Valeska tried to draw back from this looming form, but they only came closer. Earthy brown hand outstretched, this being revealed a striking tattoo beneath their arm–the ink formed into a word that was crossed out by a single line.
Trafficker 5.
Fear took hold of Valeska, and she wouldn’t dare allow this fiend to touch her.
•••
Some hours before the incident, Valeska lay with Casimir in the entryway to the Ruin of the Catalyst. She stroked his long hair with a rough wooden comb, gifted to them by the ever-gracious Shathmin. Valeska worked silently, pouring all of her concentration into the task at hand. Not a sound nor creature could disrupt her work–she was rather bad at this, after all. She didn’t, however, fail to notice the leonfolk figure entering the room, carrying a large woven basket of goods.
‘Food!’ Casimir cheered.
‘Indeed.’ Shathmin raised her proud lion-like head, and brought the basket closer to the couple. Casimir shut his eyes and blindly reached inside, as if it were some sort of game.
‘Be still,’ Valeska said with command in her tone. Casimir quickly drew back with a shellfish in the palm of his hands.
‘Whoops.’ He cringed before trying to crack the shell of his catch with his bare hands.
Such a child. Valeska smiled, finally managing to pull his hair into a semi-neat bun–the way he liked it. She stood, stretched and waited to be offered food before diving in as Casimir had done.
‘It has been some days since you arrived, now,’ announced Shathmin. She offered the basked of raw shellfish to Valeska. Something in Valeska had hoped it would be more than seafood, but she chose to be grateful instead.
‘Three days.’ Casimir still couldn’t open his food, so he focused on it for just a moment. A faint purple hue took over his black pupils for a split second, and the shellfish cracked like broken pottery.
‘Yes.’ Shathmin lowered herself to the floor, crossed her legs and plucked the smallest shellfish from the basket. She raised it toward the carved image of the great titan on the ruin wall, then easily pried open the shell. As she gracefully plucked at the insides, she asked, ‘have the two of you come up with a plan for your new lives?’
Valeska and Casimir exchanged sheepish expressions. They scarcely had a clue about what they would do. For some reason, that quiet life together for the rest of their lives didn’t seem so appetising to Valeska–not anymore. What would she do? Find the nearest city, work and find some sort of career? Work was so unappealing. Would they just go back home to Tri’sque and face her family just to live in wealth? That would certainly mean the end of their relationship.
‘We would best find a town.’ Casimir finished the last of his food and made for the next shellfish. ‘You mentioned that there is a track for a magical vehicle some days to the south, Shathmin. Do you think we can get aboard?’
Shathmin shook her head. ‘The trains are run by strict people. They do not pick up strays along the way, nor would they like to find out that you have no money to spend.’
‘Then we walk.’ Casimir used a welling power within him to crack the shell of his meal once more. He strolled toward the entrance, speaking over his shoulder. ‘We’ll find a town where this train is accessible, make enough money to ride upon it and learn about this country. My father called Hophreda’an the land of opportunities when he spoke of it, so I know we’ll find a perfect life.’ He leaned upon the entrance frame, the outline of his figure glowing with the harsh rays of morning sun.
You can’t just decide what we do, like that. Valeska swallowed her bitterness and instead chastised herself for letting the poor situation turn her anger on the one true good person in her life… again. How did he do it? How did he remain so positive?
For a moment, Valeska’s eyes remained stuck on Casimir’s limp left hand. That arm was permanently damaged from the same injuries that had nearly killed him, well, nearly killed him for good. With such terrible damage, how did he keep smiling like that? What in his life could be that good? Valeska had an idea of how, but was not very fond of it.
She realised Shathmin was watching her with a curious gaze, and quickly tried to come up with something to distract the lioness. ‘So do you only live on seafood?’ she asked. A sense of relief overcame her as Shathmin’s eyes squinted in thought.
‘Mostly.’ Shathmin adjusted the robe clinging to her. ‘My vows do not allow me to eat meat of the land or air.’
‘Where exactly do you come from? Clearly you did not spend your whole life in this old ruin.’ Valeska had a genuine interest now. What in Igharias could a leonfolk want with these lonely beaches?
‘I come from a pride of plains leonfolk to the south of here. I am chosen to become the next pride leader, if you will, so I must undergo a trial of solitude.’ Shathmin’s paw tightly gripped a small mark in the hem of her robe–an image of a sleeping lion.
Valeska opened her mouth to ask two more questions, but Shathmin answered both of them at once and more before she could utter a sound. ‘We of the Earthen Roar Pride select our leader from amongst the younger members by way of vote. Once the new leader is chosen and has accepted the position, they must endure three months of survival in the wilderness nearby. We go where we please, but must return on the exact agreed date.’
‘Um…’ Casimir spoke, but his voice fell on deaf ears.
‘So I am in the presence of nobility,’ Valeska said. She felt a true smile work its way to the surface.
‘Oho! Not so hasty, my dear–our leaders are no better or different to the others amongst the pride. I am a simple lioness on a journey to prove herself a strong survivor.’
Valeska didn’t think such humility was necessary for someone with that sort of rank, but who was she to say such things?
‘Uh, Valeska!’ Casimir called with a burst of urgency. He was beckoning for her to approach. ‘We might be in trouble.’
Again? Valeska stumbled to her feet, some of the sackcloth she wore catching her leg and tearing into a small split as she moved. When was she going to get her hands on some nicer clothing? Nevertheless, she entered the rays of sunlight and peered to the small hills surrounding the slate path outside the ruins.
Cresting one of the nearest hills came three figures, charging with weapons drawn. Their leader was of a race Valeska did not recognise. He had a burly figure like a giant kin, but with dark brown skin instead of greys and long rigid hair that ran down to his sides. He wore fine oriental clothing with sandy yellows trimmed by gold and light blue. Gripped between his hands rested a single bladed sword nearly as tall as Valeska. His eyes had an intensity to them that struck Valeska as a threat in itself.
Behind him came a figure of elderkin descent, a thin and blue woman with long whitish-grey hair. She also had a long robe that seemed made of Gadrothian taste, and a band of eight small pouches that swung at her waist. She had a wild smile that looked like it should belong to some heinous killer. And her laugh reminded Valeska of the sort of laugh a street bard at home would loose when telling a fable of witches.
Lastly came arguably the most striking of the group–a tall and slender owlfolk with dark navy and black feathers. Her clothing was simple and loose, probably to compensate the way she strode and swung the twin halberds clutched in her claws. Her striking yellow eyes made direct contact with Valeska, and she appeared quite surprised.
‘Rameya, you fool!’ the owlfolk woman exclaimed. She nearly struck her elderkin companion with a swing of her halberd. ‘There are people already here!’
Hearing this, Valeska readied herself to fight, and nudged Casimir to do so as well. They both braced for the group to attack, but Shathmin’s big paws rested on their shoulders.
‘They aren’t running at us.’ She nodded behind the group with a stern growl. No, these three weren’t trying to attack at all, they were under attack. Rising over the hill came a gigantic beast like none Valeska had known before. It ran on six legs and had a long tail that ended in a blunt sphere. This scorpion-like creature had sharp, angular eyes and a mouth rowed with pointed teeth. This horrible monstrosity snapped at the air as it ran.
The elderkin, Rameya, rolled her eyes saying, ‘Rameya, you fool. Nye, nye, nye! I didn’t know there’d be people hangin’ out at a death ruin, Hamai!’ She swung around and reached into one of the many pockets at her side. From it, she drew a small metallic ball. She squeezed it, causing a multitude of blades to spring out of the sides. She threw the ball and it soared for the creature slowly, as if full of helium. The ball burst into shards of metal before the beast’s face with a loud bang, causing the scorpion to rear backwards.
‘Now’s our chance.’ The large leader of the trio turned just as he reached the ruin’s slate path. He barked orders for Rameya to fall back, and then tightly gripped his blade. ‘Rameya, hold firm and act as decoy.’
‘You got it, big man!’ Rameya drew a long brass rod from another one of her bags, far too big to have fit inside. She split the bar in two and struck both ends together, taunting the creature with insults all the while.
‘Hamai.’ The swordsman’s voice drew the owlfolk woman into a soldier-like pose. ‘Pin it.’
‘This skellikt doesn’t stand a chance against our combined might, master Daolin.’ Hamai bowed before making her move. Whilst the creature made for Rameya, Hamai spread her wings and took to the air with a well-practiced grace. For a moment, she blocked out the sun’s rays with her enormous wingspan, then came plummeting down for the beast. She planted both top spikes of her halberds into the creature’s tail, and it backed onto its hind legs with a great screech.
‘Now, be still as stone.’ Daolin lunged beneath the revealed belly of the creature. He twisted his blade upwards and made a clean cut into its gut. With a single splatter of green, the beast fell.
Daolin threw his blade over his shoulder with a faint smile disrupting the threatening nature of his stern gaze. Behind him, Rameya snapped her brass pole back into one piece, then slid it into the impossibly deep pouch it came from. Lastly, Hamai withdrew her weapons from the beast’s body and joined her companions, still holding those halberds at the ready.
The beast suddenly moved, but didn’t get far before Hamai skewered its head for good measure.
‘She didn’t even look,’ Casimir remarked. Both he and Valeska didn’t know what to do as these clearly powerful fighters approached with an intense swagger shared between them.
Shathmin pushed between the couple and stepped out to meet the newcomers, a paw to her chest. ‘Good day, mercenaries. I apologise for our lack of assistance.’
Daolin waved his free hand and shook his head. ‘This was our own doing, so it was only right to destroy the skellikt before you could become involved.’
Hamai leaned in close to Rameya. ‘He means your doing, fool. Stop touching everything that looks like a strange rock.’
Rameya swung to the owlfolk woman with a hand on her hip. ‘Excu–’
‘Hush!’ Daolin glared at the pair before nodding at Shathmin. ‘I am Raiken Daolin. This is Rameya Hault and Hamai K’geeve, they are my companions. We are… explorers.’
‘Shathmin.’
‘Casimir.’
‘Val, uh… Valeska.’ Valeska was suddenly put off by Rameya’s expanded pupils. She had snapped a pair of large goggles over her eyes that made her look almost as insectoid as the skellikt creature.
Raiken glared at Valeska, muttering, ‘rags of slaves,’ scarcely loud enough for her to hear. What did that mean? How did he know?
‘Are you here to explore these ruins?’ Casimir asked with an eagerness in his tone.
‘Indeed.’ Raiken pressed a big hand on Rameya’s face to stop her from getting any closer to Valeska. ‘We have come to collect an item of value for our technician here, a magic item.’
Valeska still didn’t quite understand this group. Why come to a ruin in the middle of nowhere for some magical object? Was it really worth it? And how did they know it was out here? She wanted to ask, but the woman with all the pouches, Rameya, was still staring at her, eyes wide as a cat rendered legless by catnip.
‘It seems to me you know well of this location, then,’ said Shathmin. She tightly gripped her staff with a scowl. ‘Who are you really, explorers?’
Raiken raised his hands as if to surrender. He then had to swiftly slap a hand back down on Rameya to stop her making a break for Valeska, again. ‘I sincerely apologise for the secrecy, but we legally cannot say who we are to regular folk. You’d best leave us as explorers for now.’ He glanced down to his left arm. ‘Knowledge can kill the greatest warrior without any need for bloodshed.’
With that settled, Valeska carefully turned her gaze to the owlfolk woman. Her feathers weren’t just blue and black, but small points of brown mottled her back, as well as her face. Valeska felt a little bad for thinking it, but this Hamai woman was the most beautiful beastfolk she’d ever seen. She didn’t think beastfolk could be this stunning.
Almost like she could read Valeska’s thoughts, Hamai’s head spun to look straight through her. There was a depth to those yellow and black eyes that felt as though they read Valeska’s very spirit. There was no sense of threat, however. This owlfolk had an air of gentle understanding, and Valeska instantly felt some sort of connection form with her.
‘Who told you the magic item was here?’ Casimir asked, breaking the eye contact between Valeska and Hamai.
‘We have been here in a previous expedition,’ answered Raiken as a faint grinding noise emanated from somewhere in his body. ‘We did battle with the guardian and fought our way to the lower rooms. We did not, however, have the stamina to outlast the ruin’s protectors below. So, we are back once more for a fresh start to claim the item we failed to collect.’
Valeska didn’t pay much mind to what exactly this earthy figure was saying, as she was focused on the change in Casimir’s posture. Something about his childlike smile and clenched hands added further to his charm. It also told her exactly what he was thinking, and she wasn’t so sure she wanted him to say it.
Magic items were a tantalizing prize for certain, but they could easily be bad news just as much as good. Depending on the item’s origin, and who wielded it, there could be any number of dangers they bring. If she were honest, there was a part of her that wished magic items weren’t real. Too many tragedies back home were caused by power hungry folk who got their hands on a magical sword or some never before seen wonder of an item. Good could come of them too, and so she finally worked up the courage to ask these newcomers a question.
‘What is the item?’
Hamai acknowledged the question with a proud nod, seemingly approving the question before it was answered.
‘From Rameya’s research,’ Raiken began, ‘we have come to call it a walker’s key. With what we understand, it allows one to pass through walls or doors without any trouble.’ He continued to press down on the bug-eyed woman, who was still making grabbing gestures and struggling to get to Valeska. ‘Rameya, what are you doing? Why are you like this?’
‘Did… don’t you see?’ Rameya clutched her hair excitedly. ‘Their eyes! I wanna get a better look!’
‘Then use your words,’ Raiken scoffed, finally releasing the crazed technician to do as she pleased. She did a full close investigation of Valeska’s face, her inflated eyes flitting to and fro. Something reminiscent of bad fish wafted from this woman to meet Valeska’s nose.
‘Yes, yes! See? The colour in their pupils!’ Rameya clapped her hands then pointed her fingers mere inches from Valeska’s eyes.
Now it made sense–this woman knew something about their powers. Was there more to these abilities than Valeska first thought?
‘I don’t believe it.’ Raiken stepped in close to Casimir and smiled. ‘We’ve come across two particle weavers at once! Remarkable.’
‘Huh?’ Casimir tilted his head like a curious puppy. ‘Particle what?’
‘Particle weavers, boy,’ Hamai stated with a bland tone. ‘You have a gift connecting you to magic’s greatest weakness.’
Those words had more of an effect on Valeska than Hamai probably intended. Magic has a weakness? Questions populated her headspace with greater force than a thunderstorm, but she couldn’t produce a single one. Instead, she noticed Hamai exchange a glance with Raiken, and for some reason that made Valeska uneasy.
‘We cannot tell you much about these powers, but we know someone who does.’ Raiken folded his arms with a grunt.
‘And?’ Casimir clasped his hands together.
‘And what, child?’ Hamai brushed a gaze over Casimir looking as if the very sight of him disgusted her.
‘Where do we find them?’
‘We cannot say,’ Raiken began, ‘just yet.’ He made a gesture toward the ruin’s entrance, and said, ‘we are to meet a deadline for this… personal venture.’ Once again, most eyes fell on the ever-hysterical Rameya, expecting a response from her whilst she was busy feeling the palm of Casimir’s crippled hand. She snapped her fingers away, but it seemed he was the only one who didn’t notice.
‘I uh… yes! We should get my little spelunking effort underway.’ From a back pouch, she drew a horridly scrunched piece of paper–a hand drawn map.
‘It’s more of a dungeon delve,’ Casimir said with a nasally tone–his sarcastic tone. ‘You need to be in a cave to be spelunking.’ He tried to fold his arms in the same manner as Raiken, but his left arm simply swung forward a bit.
Rameya lightly punched his side. She grinned after he flinched then muttered to herself about the contents of her map.
Something in Valeska’s stomach made her feel sick. Too much seafood, surely.
‘Our goal is simple.’ Rameya paced back and forth, dodging eye contact from everyone except Raiken, it seemed. ‘Get through the initial tunnels, which should still be trap free after last time.’
Hamai cleared her throat, rubbing her shoulder with a sour look on her face.
‘Then, we drop into the tunnel below and get to that last room.’
Valeska raised her hand and instantly cursed herself–was she in a tutoring session? ‘Um, we’ve seen someone go down those stairs and start screaming almost straight away. It sounded like she was attacked by something. How will you deal with that?’
Hamai regarded her with a kind nod. ‘That person was attacked by ruin mites, most likely. They pick off the weak or those alone, so our numbers will compensate as long as we move together. We’ll only need to worry about them as a group if we enter their chosen nest. Luckily for us, it isn’t anywhere near where we are headed.’
Valeska felt her fastening heartbeat slow again. The last thing she wanted to hear was the sounds of these good people ending up like that awful slaver, Taius. A part of her wanted to offer help, but the way Shathmin had put it, these ruins sounded far too terrible for someone like her and Casimir to traverse. She hardly even understood her own abilities.
‘So, um.’ Casimir gained the center of attention. ‘How about we come along and really bolster your numbers?’
Well, that decided that.
Step by step, Valeska trailed behind the group of now six venturers. She tightly held onto Casimir’s ragged sleeve, fearing every tiny glow of light from the dim abyss ahead and sound of a crawling critter. She constantly looked to Shathmin for comfort and in hopes that the wise lioness would give her a warning if something was coming. Valeska felt sorry for her, however. Shathmin only agreed to join the group after Rameya’s eccentric peer pressuring. If the leonfolk abandoned these newcomers to escape, Valeska wouldn’t hesitate to follow.
The tunnels themselves were incredibly clean and smooth to walk on–an enormous change to the rubble ridden foyer. Each brick was cleanly cut and placed with such care that everything looked identical, whether you looked to the sides, floor or ceiling. The only damage was from clearly inscribed runes that had apparently been scratched up by Hamai, once upon a time.
Eventually, the party arrived at the tunnel’s end, and it revealed a gaping open room. The group must have been suspended some one hundred or more meters above the very bottom. The cubic room itself acted as a massive crossroad, each wall except the one to the right holding another perfectly rectangular entry into a new tunnel–there was even one in the floor, cutting directly downwards.
As Valeska took all of this in, she quickly realised that everyone had vanished aside from Casimir. He gestured toward the edge.
‘Ready?’ he asked with a gleeful tone.
Valeska turned her head, unable to help but copy his exciting smile. ‘Ready? What for–no, no!’ Valeska was pulled off the edge by Casimir, and they both plummeted downwards. Valeska clung more tightly to this man than she had ever done so before, too terrified to watch the room whizz past them.
Something large clutched the both of them, and drew them back into the wall. Valeska stood once again, and she took a moment to regain her balance and senses.
‘You must pay more attention, lady Valeska.’
‘That was fun!’
‘Doesn’t get old, even the second time around.’
Valeska was far too deep in thought to know who was speaking to whom, but finally understood that they had arrived in another tunnel directly beneath the last they were in. She determined Raiken must have caught them on the way down, either that or Shathmin. It was difficult to tell when the room still wavered like the sea’s surface and everybody moved on through the tunnel without her.
As they journeyed into this next tunnel, the group hushed, and things only got darker. The tunnel came to a sudden end, and the way ahead was entirely pitch black. It was most definitely a room, but what lay within?
‘We’re here,’ Casimir whispered.
Though the way was blacker than night, the sound of grinding stone could be heard, growing louder and quieter. Something was moving around inside, maybe even walking. A rush of air signalled Hamai’s wings spreading, and she left the group behind in complete silence.
Raiken huddled the rest of the group together, as if they were children trying to plot against their friends in a game of aurball. ‘The room ahead is dangerous. It’s guarded by a three-foot tall ruin guardian.’
‘It’s more dangerous than it sounds,’ Rameya piped up in a husky tone. ‘It has a core of pure magical energy it uses to blast intruders. If you get hit, you’re gonna get real hurt and be unable to move for a bit.’
‘That’s when the trap in the center of the room comes in,’ Raiken added. ‘It’s a tower with a magical rune in the center, and spins to locate intruders.’
‘If you get stuck by the ruin midget.’ Rameya drew a line across her throat. ‘You’re done. I should know.’
‘Yes.’ Raiken smiled and gripped Rameya’s shoulder. ‘What did it turn you into again? A fruit bat?’
‘A flying fox, actually.’
‘Whatever you say.’ He gestured back to the group, particularly to Casimir, it seemed. ‘It’s a polymorphing trap. Once you’re transformed, the guardian can bring an end to you very quickly.’
‘So.’ Shathmin put herself further into the circle. ‘We should run to an ally if we are changed?’
‘Yes, and use the darkness to your advantage.’ Raiken glanced back into the room. ‘Any second now–’
‘Hoo!’
A flash of light ripped through the darkness, followed by a terrible bellowing like a crashing avalanche.
‘The signal–let’s go!’ Raiken lunged into the room, blade at the ready.
The others burst into the dark, leaving Valeska hesitating and unsure. This wasn’t what she planned to be doing today at all–she just wanted Casimir hugs. Nevertheless, she began breathing faster and tried to call upon that power from the fight with Taius. An emanating mist crawled upon her skin, but it didn’t feel complete.
‘Woah!’ echoed a cry from Casimir. A blast of light revealed a flashing image of everybody scattered within the room. Raiken was busy climbing a central pillar; Rameya was halfway across the room and still headed for the very back; Shathmin had stopped in her tracks and was fretting about something and Hamai flitted about the air, scarcely dodging the beam of light that rocked the space.
‘Cas?’ Valeska stepped into the room, blind and lightheaded. ‘Casimir? Casimir!’ she howled.
Not again.
Valeska barrelled into the room, desperate to hear Casimir’s response. A scolding for her carelessness would do or even just that silly voice he put on earlier. She was aware enough to notice the rotating symbol glowing blue atop the central pillar, and it was turning for her. Drawing the energy within her to propel herself through the air, Valeska sensed objects and her new friends passing her by easily. She opened her mouth to cry out for Casimir again, but barely a croak left her throat before a bright light ripped through the air.
It hit her.
Valeska teetered to the floor, stunned and silent. She didn’t remember falling, only that she became aware she was lying on her side.
‘Forgo the strategy,’ Shathmin cried. ‘I’m lighting up the room.’ A gentler light brought sight back to those who weren’t an owl or had night vision of their own.
Instantly, Hamai shouted across the room, grabbing the attention of a rocky figure. With that opportunity made, Raiken dropped down from the room’s central pillar and scrambled for Valeska.
Valeska knew the rune was turning in her direction. Any second now and she would become something like a rat or ferret–the latter of which wouldn’t be so bad.
I can’t die like this. Dazed and vision white after that one terrible blast of power, Valeska drew a hand over her eyes. She couldn’t work out where exactly in the room she lay, so pushed herself back until she felt a wall prop her up. But even then, her hazy eyes managed to make out the enormous figure of Raiken making for her. She cringed and pulled back, muttering, ‘no,’ to herself. Where did Casimir go? Why wasn’t he by her side? Valeska tried to draw back from this looming form, but he only came closer. Earthy brown hand outstretched, this being revealed a striking tattoo beneath his arm–the ink formed into a word that was crossed out by a single line.
Trafficker 5.
Fear took hold of Valeska, and she wouldn’t dare allow this fiend to touch her. This man was everything she feared he had been. All those looks he’d given to the others in secrecy–the muttering about her rags–she should have been more wary. Whether she survived this terrible escapade or not, this man was probably going to take her to the exact place Taius had planned.
‘No!’ she screamed into Raiken’s face. ‘Don’t come near me, slaver!’
Raiken froze. He slowly looked down to the tattoo, and then back to Valeska. His smile was gentle–genuine. ‘I see. I thought you might have had a difficult experience with them. Allow me to show you what happens when someone like me meets a pillar of jade.’ He spread his arms, closed his eyes and in a glimmer of light from the runic pillar, he was gone. In his place lay a small common sheepdog.
Valeska got his message.
As the rune continued to turn by, she stood. ‘I’m sorry for my foolishness,’ she whispered to the hound. It briskly nodded with a bark. She realised what had happened to Casimir, and so resolved to finish the job. Energy swelled in her body, filling every little fingertip with a sensation of purpose. She began to understand why Rameya called the owners of these powers particle weavers.
‘Rameya!’ Hamai cried.
Valeska turned in time to see a small fruit bat flit through the air in a panic. This was it–only three of them remained. The corners of Valeska’s mind cleared as she wove inky black mist around her.
‘Be my shell,’ she muttered. ‘And be my speed.’ The mist solidified around her, creating a strange black outline across her skin. She gauged the distance between herself and the runic pillar, then analysed the small golem chasing after Hamai. Its body looked made up of shards of ruins with a bright blue stone revealed only in its concave front. The jagged spikes on its back would make it impossible to strike that way, but there was a delay between those blasts. If Hamai was quick enough…
‘Shathmin, remove the light!’ Valeska commanded. Shathmin immediately obeyed, and the room was plunged into the dark once more. Valeska used her memory of the room to find her way to the pillar. With her speed, she kicked off the floor and gripped the pillar. Just above her head was that rune. How could she achieve this all at once? Somehow, she knew. ‘Hamai,’ she shouted. ‘Strike the core of its front, now!’ Valeska thrust herself directly in front of that nasty rune, and it activated. Her body morphed into something small and fuzzy. Had she actually become a ferret?
That aside, the small ruin guardian reacted to Valeska’s cry, unleashing another blast for her. The energy beam scarcely missed her tiny form, but landed a perfect hit on the rune engraving. The pillar shattered into a hail of dust and rock, taking care of the trap. Finally, Hamai followed up the guardian’s attack by sinking both of her halberds into its open core. The guardian fell, as did Valeska. Except the guardian didn’t have a lioness below to catch it. Valeska safely landed in Shathmin’s paws, finding that she had already returned to her normal self.
‘That was spectacular leadership.’ Shathmin smiled and revealed her big fangs. ‘You’re a natural.’
Valeska wasn’t listening to that last part. She searched the room for Casimir. There in the corner he laid, struggling on his back like a–
‘Beetle!’ Casimir threw himself onto his feet. ‘A beetle!’ He looked ready to start crying.
Meanwhile, Raiken rose to his feet and met Valeska with a kind gesture of an outstretched hand. ‘My apologies for not explaining my markings to you–I should have guessed you’d had experience with my old business.’
‘I apologise for allowing you to be turned into a dog.’ Valeska stood on her own two feet again. Casimir hugged her side as she spoke again. ‘I do wish to know your story, however.’
Raiken seemed to ponder this. He sought Hamai’s gaze as he had done before coming down to this room, and they both exchanged a grin. Hamai’s smile might have been, however, due to the satisfying cracking sound the core of the guardian made when she twisted her weapons.
‘Maybe I will explain it if you’ll agree to join up with us.’ He gestured to his two companions. ‘We are members of Daolin’s Court, a peacekeeping group that is designed to handle the more dangerous secrets beneath Hophreda’an.’
A clicking noise sounded as Rameya plucked a strange runic key from an indent in the back wall. ‘Got it! Woohoo!’ She danced on the spot with the key cradled in her arms like a baby.
‘We normally handle the more dangerous secrets of Hophreda’an.’ Raiken corrected himself.
•••
‘So, this is where we must part.’ Back at the ruin’s entrance, Shathmin hugged Valeska with a sorrowful growl.
‘I understand. You have a journey to complete.’ Valeska took in the leonfolk’s comforting hug one last time, then smiled. ‘Be safe.’
‘Always.’ Shathmin, glanced across Raiken and his companions. ‘Protect these two with your life.’ She placed a paw on Casimir’s head. ‘One of them was very expensive to keep alive.’ With a roar of laughter, she left the newly formed group behind. Her body warped and shimmered, vanishing and leaving behind a seagull. It squawked and took to the wind.
Raiken nodded, then began walking. He stopped, gesturing for Valeska and Casimir to follow. ‘Come along. We’ve got quite a bit of travelling to do.’
Valeska remained at the Ruin of the Catalyst entrance for a moment longer.
‘You alright?’ Hamai’s silent form appeared beside Valeska.
‘Yes, but…’ she chose her words carefully. ‘Those ruin mites you mentioned–do they eat their victims?’
‘What?’ Hamai shook her head giggling. ‘No, of course not. They attack whatever is invading the ruin, then let natural decay take its course.’ She gestured to Valeska. ‘Come, stop worrying about that silly old place or we’ll leave you behind.’
Valeska followed silently, but something still bothered her. Surely it was just a silly irrational fear. Surely it meant nothing, but… if Taius was killed by ruin mites, where did the body go?
•••
Crawling along the floor of the deepest room in the ruin of the catalyst, Taius Citna lived. She dragged her bloodied self towards the very back of the room with cries of pain between every move. A small stonelike crab of sorts–a ruin mite–crawled up her back. She struck it with her clenched fist, knocking it away.
‘I’ll never die. I… must… fulfill…’ she crawled onto a low-lying circular disk that lay before the back wall of the ruin. A door was engraved in the wall with a pair of carved eyes above its frame. Energy enveloped Taius, and the room shook.
‘For what purpose do you seek Gholdarvien’s vault?’ A voice emanated from those eyes that made Taius’ bones rattle.
‘To fulfill…’ She spat some blood aside. ‘My duty and purpose.’
‘Then you shall be tested.’