Fluid - 41

After checking on Ellother, it's a simple Spell that draws her from Sanctuary, storage bag filled with my share of goods from the Annex. Irene returns wearing a lightly enchanted chainmail hauberk instead of the Grecian breastplate and bracers that I’d expected. The large round shield emblazoned with Hestia’s symbol and gladius at least matches my expectations.

Settling the edge of her shield against the ground, Irene eyes the still-flabbergasted Litthor. “Is there an issue?”

“I gave him some unexpected information about my age. He’s finding it hard to adjust,” I say, and Mallach smiles as he nods in agreement.

“That you're twenty?” asks Irene curiously.

Pleased the village rumour mill handled sharing it out, I beam. “That’s the one I was sure you’d heard by now. Did Nikias pass it along to Myrto?”

I’d counted on the information getting around and, hopefully, some people relaxing.

Irene nods. “Though he didn’t do so deliberately. He and Phile were talking about it the other morning. It had been quite the surprise for Phile, Zosime, and himself. I believe, in some ways, they find it reassuring that you’re not this ancient individual holding her age and knowledge over them,” Irene says, giving me a warm smile. “Just an energetic youngster like themselves, only with more power and secrets.”

“Power and secrets are always relative things. I’ve got a lot of levels for my age, but I’m a minnow compared to my family,” I say. “I also know some people who I’m sure have far more secrets than I possess.”

“Lady Hestia didn’t mention your mother by name, but I got the impression she respected her,” states Irene, and she unexpectedly pats my shoulder reassuringly. “It’s hard to be measured against a mountain.”

Compared to the faint themes of mortals, the lightning storm of power within my parents’ music, or the bass thrum of Roher, are cases in point. “So very true. Once Nanoĸ or Ipy gets here we’ll head to Duskstone. We can learn where the mining crews are working today—their activities always attract some elementals.”

“If it's a quiet day?” asks Mallach, his gaze brightening.

“If the expeditions office doesn’t have leads, I’m sure we can still find something to challenge us,” I say.

“Would you have time for a village council meeting tomorrow? We could go over what you suggested yesterday then,” enquires Irene.

“You don’t want to discuss it with just the two of us first?” I asked.

Irene's gaze flicks towards the inn before she gives a slight head shake. “No, my apologies for bringing it up; I’ve spent some time dwelling on your suggestion. I believe a group discussion is the right approach to avoid hurt feelings. That way, frail egos can’t say we were plotting behind their back or take offence when I know the answers first.”

Irene’s comments almost have me laughing since I’m already dealing with Andúnë egos. I’m trying to get them to think over their problems and address them. The last thing I want to give them is direct answers that will turn their society into chaos. I’m an Anar, and they seem to think their claim to authority stems from us—giving them an order might set off a chain reaction.

I don’t have enough answers for my issues, let alone the best way to fix their situation. Their society’s notes feel sour, and hidden manoeuvring is likely keeping it off-key. They certainly need change, but how do I avoid them throwing the baby out with the bath water? They’re already on their back foot—if their social structure collapses, what would it do to their military coordination? How many people would die from my well-intentioned meddling?

Keeping my attention on Irene, I smile and try to keep my inner doubts from showing in my expression. “You have a point; neither Selene nor Georgius seems very open to options that don’t immediately line their pockets. I already have a bone to pick with Selene.”

“What did she do?” sighs Irene.

“I assume you’ve heard of the improvement I made for her family’s salt harvesting?”

She gives a quick nod and waits for me to continue.

“The agreement was a percentage of the increased harvest,” I explain, and Irene's mouth tightens, and her jaw clenches as she grinds her teeth. ”I’ve been told they’re now working fewer hours because of storage concerns,”

“Her niece told me that the water only evaporates quickly several times a day,” huffs Irene.

That has me snorting in amusement. “Nope, they can refill the trays as many times a day as they want. I heard they had limited storage, but they didn’t ask if I could assist in resolving that issue. I mean, she’s seen inside the tower.”

“Storage problem? What rot! There are plenty of places they can store extra salt within the village until a merchant comes through,” huffs Irene. “I’ll give her an earful and let the rest of the family know I’m not impressed with their tricks. Although it doesn’t matter, I’m curious what you planned to do with your share of the salt.”

“Hagen will eventually need to leave. I was hoping to make enough to hire a teacher for the children, making the school self-funding so it will continue even when I eventually leave,” I explain. “I’d like the various improvements I make to keep giving back to the community.”

Irene’s lips purse, and her teeth grind. “Maybe I shouldn’t have asked. That Selene is spitefully abusing the spirit of an agreement that benefits her family makes me see red. Her hindering an arrangement that also benefits other families makes my blood boil. Might I suggest something?”

“I’ll always listen. Selene isn’t on my good list, but there are limits to what I’ll do,” I advise her.

“You placed the frames to speed up the harvest. Can you disable them easily?” asks Irene.

“Then she’d get to claim it was always going to break, so my work isn’t to be trusted,” I point out.

”Let me give her daughter notice first. Selene has been spiteful for as long as I’ve known her. Everything is about how it affects her. How dare you lay claim to part of her family’s production!” gasps Irene in mock horror before she waves eastward and sticks a thumb sharply in the air—a gesture I take she intends for Selene. “Never mind, it would also increase the tithe to the village. Now Georgius isn’t happy with you, but it's slightly understandable since you cost him business during the busy season.”

“That’s why I offered to help improve his inn,” I explain.

“He’s been saying you are trying to force him into a partnership so you could take over his inn,” Irene cautions, and she raises a hand before I reply. “We’ve plenty of examples of your generosity, I merely meant it as a caution that others continue to misrepresent you,”

The thought of that sets me laughing. “If I want an inn, I could make one far more comfortable than refurbishing the current location. I’m not interested in competing with any current businesses or crafters. Let me tell you what I proposed to him.”

Irene waits patiently while I provide the details I shared with Georgius. “How much do you believe the rooms would rent out for?”

“I’ve been places where a room like that would charge scores of small golds an evening, especially if the place had a reputation for good food,” I advise her.

The figure causes Irene’s jaw to drop. “That much?”

“It will depend on the adventurers the annexes draw in; we’ve not even begun looking at the crafting annex. I could have overestimated, but I paid that for a fancy inn room in Eyrarháls. High-level adventurers have a different viewpoint on wealth,” I say, and raise an issue puzzles me. “I thought you would have travelled enough to be familiar with fancy places.”

“I never stayed in any of them. I was in temples or campsites for all my travels,” advises Irene. “And I gained my levels through undertaking work for the church, not adventuring.”

My beaming grim has her eyebrows raising. “I’ll take you to the Silver Chalice in Eyrarháls; they have some modest examples of the fancy rooms I’ve found in good inns. Alfarr and Yngvarr know it well; it was close to where they lived.”

“How do you know those four?” Irene asks.

“Family connections,” I say simply, and I’m glad to catch Nanoĸ coming up the road.

Distracting the others with his arrival, I led the way to meet him before the Temple proper. At the sight of us, he picks up his pace, and I’m unsure who is the most excited about the trip between him and Irene.

“We’ll be going into the dwarven settlement?” asks Nanoĸ, practically bouncing on the balls of his feet. “I mean, not just dropping others at the door before we go hunting elementals?”

“Yes, but why the special interest?”

“I’ve never been inside another species’ city,” admits Nanoĸ.

Remembering my excitement before my first trip to Duskstone, I give him an understanding nod. “Hopefully, you find it interesting then. I like the engravings they have everywhere. Everyone ready?”

When they acknowledge their readiness, I hand out some more clamshell lights like I’d given Ellother and brief them on their use. Targeted to the same location as my trip with Ellother, the Gate opens along the corridor approaching the main gates. Nanoĸ steps through immediately after me and gives a low whistle of appreciation at the sight of the fortifications.

Once the others were through, I close the Gate and lead the way in. I'm expecting trouble with three Andúnë elves in tow, yet nothing materialises besides odd grumbles. It seems the word has spread about my disreputable associates.

The guards at Duskstone’s gate merely give them sour looks when recording their names. In contrast, Nanoĸ and Irene get a curt nod of welcome, and unlike the Andúnë, no scowls or muttered expletives get sent their way.

“What was that about?” asks Nanoĸ, moving up to walk beside me once we’re past the first shops on the main concourse. “Not that I mind them brightening up when talking to Irene or me, but I thought the Andúnë and Dwarven kingdoms were close.”

“Close geographically, but not politically,” I explain, taking in the way Nanoĸ’s gaze doesn’t stop moving over the engravings covering the walls here. “It seems that the Andúnë in the past insulted the dwarves; it's part of the reason for Litthor's visit: to discover what caused the rift. Any engraving you particularly like?”

“Some of the crafting scenes that look like you could step into them,” replies Nanoĸ, nodding towards one showing the scaffolding and mould for a giant golem being prepared for the pour.

His preference surprises me, and I let that surprise colour my tone. “Not the battle scenes?”

“I fight because I’m good at it, not because I enjoy it,” explains Nanoĸ, and he nods to the closest engraving. “You can create marvels. The rest of us struggle and wonder if we’ll ever do anything worth remembering. When we’re dead, will anyone even speak of us in a year?”

His perspective on his classes is frankly worrying. Doing something because you’re good at it instead of something you enjoy seems more like survival than living. Yet it niggles at the back of my mind and I wonder if that was how I used to be in my previous life.

“The legacy we leave behind can take many forms. Objects aren’t as important as people. For example, your teaching improves your students' chances, and each has the potential to make the world safer for those they protect. Their protection doesn’t even have to be direct; whether supplying goods or culling back monsters, it all adds to the safety of a community.”

“I’m talking about killing, and you’re talking about my guild work?” sputters Nanoĸ.

“You’re a grumpy bear at times, Nanoĸ, but you do more than just kill things,” I reply. “Maybe you should consider that I’m not the only one able to have a skewed perspective.”

All that gets me is a snort, and Nanoĸ walks beside me quietly as we head down the main concourse. When we get to Moradin’s Hall, I point it out to Litthor. “Don’t go through the main doors, those are for the faithful. You should go to a side door and request time with High Crafter Jantar. I'm sure she or the celestials about the Temple will shed light on the historical issues if you ask politely.”

Retrieving a ring without runes to betray its enchantment, I pass it over to Litthor.

Taking it from me curiously, Litthor turns the plain silver over in his fingers. “What’s this for?”

“It’ll let you send me a Message and Planar Shift back. You’ll need to be outside Duskstone’s wards to shift. I’ve set it up to take you back to Sanctuary’s entry or Lerina’s Temple in Inziladûn. Not quite at your residence, but I figured it would be close enough if you needed that option.” I explain with a deliberately casual tone.

“When did you make this?”

“I made some preparations last night while practising,” I say, waving him towards the Temple’s doors.

With his potential to make a mess of things, providing him with a way to head home with his tail between his legs makes sense.

Litthor carefully clears his throat and slips the ring onto his little finger before he heads towards the guard on the side door.

Retrieving one for Ellother, I pass it over. “This one is for you, but the Planar shift will set you at the front entrance of the Demi-Plane. I take it you don’t need help to attune?”

She lightly takes the ring and gives me a smile of thanks. “I’ll be fine, I’m sure. I know the way to the auction house from here. I’ll see you back at Sanctuary later. Take care.”

The last is directed as much at Mallach as me, and he gives her a nod in return.

When Ellother starts away, I wave in the direction we’d come from. “If we drop by the expedition's office, they’ll know where mining crews are working today.”

I leave the others outside the expedition office and nod politely at the clerk behind her desk. Despite my friendly greeting, she looks at me suspiciously overtop the neat stacks of etched metal and stone plates. The enchantments within all the plates hold far more information than their surfaces currently display, but nowhere near a memory crystal—price wins out. “I was wondering if there are any expedition crews that could use some extra guards for a watch shift.”

“Name?”

Touching my ward stone to the edge of her desk causes its stone surface to ripple and display my name and a summary of my honorary Clank rank. Since most of my activities had related to the undead on Cemna, it boils down to some materials gathering for a few crafters, and recognition from Clan Gildenshield and the temples in Stoneheart.

“Ever been to, or heard of, ‘Leaping Cavern’?” the clerk asks after she looks over the details.

I’ve not been there, but Erwarth—one of my mother’s solars—has shared tales and shown me images of many sites. “Are they going to be on this side of the Elemental spring?”

The clerk chews on her moustache momentarily as she turns to look over a stack of silvery plates on a nearby shelf. “Their outbound says they’ve set up on the far side, near the tunnel junction heading towards the magma. Let me check their last report.”

That gives me enough details to scry for them later, and I nod quickly. “How many shifts have they been out there?”

“Four shifts already," states the clerk, and pulls a plate from the stack. "The last check-in was an hour ago. The crew leader says the cavern is active but far too quiet, like it's holding its breath, which is not a good sign if you've not heard that term before, Gailneth. Are you alone? Because if you are, I'll find something else; that sounds more trouble than I'd like to send someone into without a known shield brother by her side.”

“I’m accompanied by two melee combatants and a Priest with a mix of levels,” I inform her, carefully keeping their races to myself. dwarves follow through once they’ve committed.

The clerk puts the crew’s plate back. “Well, if you’re looking to contribute it's got the potential to get dicey. Should weigh hefty on the ledger if things get busy.”

“They’ll need guests' ward stones,” I say and put the fee for the three of them on the table. “None of them has previously come through any Stoneheart outpost.”

She sweeps some gold disks from Cemna onto a set of scales. The glow they issue earns a satisfied nod, and she hands me a bunch of smaller, precisely stamped golds and a scattering of silver. Only once that’s done, and I’ve agreed with her evaluation, does she place my payment into a lockbox.

The clerk chews on one end of her moustache when the others enter but doesn’t comment further and gets them recorded in Duskstone’s ledgers. She issues each a ward stone of dull polished rock and ensures their names manifest when each waves their stone near her desk.

Nanoĸ manages not to ask anything until we’re heading towards the entrance. “Why get us these ward stones but not Litthor?”

A sensible question and not about me, so I don’t rib him about it, especially since it brings up a good point.

“Without a ward stone, you get treated as a general guest. It’s harder to lose standing—though not impossible—and I figure that might make things easier on Litthor. The three of you will need to be more careful about your conduct.”

“Because we’ve got a ward stone?”

“Yep, because now you can gain and lose standing the same as a community member. Where a traveller might get a warning, it's more important you know the laws. Since you don’t know them, stick close to me. I’ll teach you some dwarven etiquette and ensure you don’t get yourself in trouble,” I explain. “They gave me the details of an expedition site that might need help soon.”

As we walk along, I pass out medallions to the others. “Wearing these will give True Sight—so you don’t attract extra attention—and protect against stale air.”

“Why didn’t we use these coming in?” asks Irene.

“I wanted to see how you’d react to being underground first. It's a very different experience and less unnerving for many. True Sight doesn’t allow any self-deception about the earth looming around you,” I explain. “The other enchantment to provide air is unnecessary near Duskstone since they keep the air breathable. Both enchantments activate the moment you attune to the medallions—even if you’re breathing suitable air—putting them on earlier would have been a waste.”

Nanoĸ bounces the medallion on his hand. “Should we hold off putting it on?”

“These are fresh. The enchantment will last a few work shifts; I didn’t want to have to recreate it unnecessarily,” I say, trying to be reassuring. “Mother taught me not to stretch my available resources when I’m going into trouble.”

“How much fighting should we expect to see?” asks Mallach.

“Potentially lots; the crew leader has reported the expedition site feels like the calm before the storm breaks,” I reply, translating the clerk’s explanation.

Mallach smiles eagerly. “So we’re heading towards a fray.”

Getting back out is simple, and once we’re at the edge of the town’s wards, I scry for Leaping Cavern. The geyser of energy in its centre gives the place its name; a focal point of planar energy manifests boulders, ores and dirt that cascade into a gorge extending far into the Plane’s depths. The Elemental Plane of Earth doesn’t like vacuums, and eventually, this geyser and others along its course will fill in the gorge.

This tendency for the Plane to fill in the gaps limits how big the dwarves can risk expanding Duskstone. It’s also why they mostly avoid permanent mining sites to avoid aggravating the earth around their location.

Instead, scouts continually search for deposits exposed by the Plane’s seismic activity. Caravans of crawlers go back and forth on expeditions through tunnels and caverns to dig out whatever exposed veins they find. Sometimes the Plane will replenish them with more of the same ore, and other times fill them in with something else.

I spot two crawlers set up by the caravan’s far wall, showing me one edge of the expedition's encampment and, recasting my scrying, I eventually find a suitable transport point. With a spot found , I draw my short sword and wait for others to ready their weapons. Teleport sets us within walking distance but well out of the crawlers’ weapon range.

Nanoĸ exhales sharply at the sight of the geyser. Our arrival coincides with the manifestation of a boulder—twelve or more metres across—laced with metallic veins hurtling towards the gorge’s far wall. It ricochets off the stone with a deafening crash, spinning away into the depths.

“Don’t get too close to the geyser. There is a risk of something being flung at you, and the energy around its edge can flay you—it's moving that fast. Most of the debris will follow the same path as that boulder at varying levels of force, but not all of it.”

“The haze isn’t dust?” Irene asks.

“You’re only seeing it because of the True Sight in the medallion; its energy is invisible without Mana Sense or a similar Power,” I explain, and I’m glad when Nanoĸ gives a sharp nod of acknowledgement rather than questioning me.

I sense hundreds of elementals within the ground but nothing presently moving towards the surface. Gesturing along the cavern’s wall, I lead them towards the crushed path of rocks the crawlers left in their wake. When we get closer, the ward stones we’re carrying let the crew know friendlies are incoming.

I don’t push the pace, so there is plenty of time for word to spread before we reach the closest crew member—his shoulders broader than Nanoĸ’s despite being just short of a hundred and fifty centimetres. His bushy beard projects from under his helm, and a deep-set gaze glares us out of his helm despite the signal from the camp’s protections. He’d even hefted his axe as we’d approached.

“You folks lost?”

The Dwarf’s rough tone is a bark above the sound of the mining and the rumbling from the geyser.

Giving a polite nod of greeting, I quickly explain. “Duskstone expedition office sent us to reinforce your guard line for a work shift”

He relaxes fractionally and stops glaring long enough to give a sharp nod before he jerks a thumb deeper into the camp.

“Go through and talk to the crew leader. He’ll tell you where to keep watch.”

Those on watch atop the outer crawlers don’t stop us from passing, and we make our way past wagons loaded with sorted ore. A conveyor runs from the centre of the camp towards the gorge. The chunks of rock atop show they’re disposing of the rock that doesn’t have enough ore traces to make it worth hauling back. The crawlers we’ve passed have other shifts of dwarves sound asleep within despite the ongoing racket.

I spot the crew chief’s platform atop a crawler near the cavern’s wall; a trio of dwarves are gesturing towards a table between them. We’re still moving towards them when they pause their discussion and start signally towards the crawler’s far side. What I know of their hand signs makes it clear that, over the din of pickaxes and drills, they’re ordering the drill teams to shift position.

One of them spots us as he turns back towards the table and climbs down from the crawler to meet us.

“Are you the crew leader?” I ask and drop a hint for him about how we got here. ”The expedition office didn’t tell us who to contact about guarding the expedition. I’m Gailneth, and this is Nanoĸ, Irene, and Mallach.”

The Dwarf looks over the four of us as I make the introductions, but he doesn’t introduce himself.

“Bit hard for them to say when they don’t know our work roster. The pressure in the region has been building, but no elementals have shown up—you four are strange reinforcements.”

“Strange I’ll certainly admit to, but I’m sure we can contribute to keeping the miners safe,” I say. “There are lots of elementals nearby, though most seem passive presently.”

“You got expedition guard experience?”

“No, I’ve helped in other areas but not guarding. The others haven’t been on the Elemental Plane of Earth previously,” I clarify, and his fingers tap against his armoured thigh.

“How can you tell there are elementals present then?” demands the crew leader.

“They’re varying distance down; some are as far as a couple of kilometres under this ledge scattered out from the geyser,” I say and motion towards the main cluster. “There are some about level ninety, but most are in their twenties to fifties. They’re lurking beyond the range of the wards your camp has set up.”

“Level ninety?” asks Irene with a sudden burst of nerves.

“Don’t worry, there are only a few of those. While level ninety sounds impressive, they’ve no classes, so veterans with multiple combat classes will be a match for them,” I reassure her, and the crew leader nods.

He directs an assessing look my way, and I’m tempted to turn into a Dwarf to tweak his beard, but I keep my current form.

“What have you helped with in the past?”

“We’ve all had combat experience, just not on an expedition like this,” I advise him. “Most of my contributions came from bringing alchemical supplies and materials for the artificers. We were told you’re expecting trouble, so we’re here to help with a watch shift. If you’d prefer, I could lure them up where we can strike at them instead of letting them pick when.”

“I’m Dalwar, this shift’s crew leader; my seconds are Palnix and Onalar,” Dalwar states, and he gestures to the armoured pair still atop the crawler. “Better to get them to come when we’re ready than to let them pick the time. How do you believe you can lure them?”

“It’s not as much luring them as teleporting them to us. Once the first die through, the release of energy might bring more to the surface,” I caution.

“It likely will, but it’ll also centre them on that spot instead of swarming all over the defensive lines,” advises Dalwar, and he waves to the pair still atop the crawler. “Come up to the map; we’ve got some plans to rearrange.”