Kara sighs.
She looked at her missing arm for a moment before looking back at Drett.
She turned to look at Kalagony next.
She stays silent for a second.
Kara added hastily. From the rumors she heard moles were known for their secrets, so she wasn't sure how open to sharing (or telling the truth) he would really be.
"Well, I suppose that's one part of the story you don't know. I came to Anvil all the way from Goldshore, looking to join a bore crew. Soon after my tenth birthday I paid some traders to take me with them. The journey was... more difficult than I expected. Nothing extraordinary, we didn't encounter any of the more dangerous creatures that roam the underworld. One of the caravan guards said there were some undead once, but we merely skirted around them, didn't even get to see them."
"However the journey helped me learn a thing or two about surviving in the caverns. Being a good climber helps, but you also need some knowledge to complement that. How to move around, how to tie ropes and use a grappling hook, how to spot unstable rocks, how to keep track of where you are and where you're going, how to move quietly without attracting attention... I'm not saying I'm an expert or anything, but I think I know enough to get by."
"There was this Corven guard that helped me a lot. Blanktail they called him, due to some missing feathers from his tail I think. Most of what I knew about humans and the rest of the underworld was from books or trade or formal meetings, so I was having some difficulty fitting in. He gave me more practical knowledge about the underworld and its people, he helped me feel like part of the group. He also taught me how to use this-" she said indicating her Ethral Rifle dangling from her shoulder "-and convinced me to buy it. Said I would have better chances of being accepted if I looked like I could shoot. People like to hire Corven mercenaries, so maybe if I looked like one, I would do better."
"Of course, we all know how that turned out. Instead of me finding a bore crew the bore crew found me. One second I'm walking the streets of Anvil, the next I'm in some dark room getting hit by some thug. Then we were forced into the Nomad and that's when you and I and the rest of the group first met. I suggested we take the already dug path to the ruins instead of digging there ourselves and spent the journey in the Control Room, admiring Vikkan's driving skills. It was my first time in a bore, being so close to what I wanted to do. So despite the circumstances it was also somehow... exciting for me."
"I think you remember that next part well enough, we discussed how to reach the ruins and we ended up agreeing going down from above was the best choice."
Kara did not go into details, she did not want to bring up the fact that she and Drett had a misunderstanding at the time.
"I gave my rope and grappling hook to help Clate make a winch that could lower us down to the ruins. The winch was connected to the bore's drive shaft and Vikkan operated it to lower us safely. I went down first and touched the cold crystal of the ruins. The others followed. Alex wanted to blow up the door leading deeper into the ruins but I thought that was dangerous, so... I took another risk and grabbed the construct that was in the room. I reasoned it was probably harmless and would have a way to open the door, otherwise it would be pretty useless. So I grabbed the construct and touched it to the door. The door turned into something like a liquid when the construct touched it. I held my breath and crossed to the other side. I also helped the others cross."
"Inside it was strange. Cold and clean. Probably a side effect of how they built their buildings out of the cold crystal and airtight doors. I'm guessing the Gemstone people don't need to breathe, being made of crystal and all. But then again, some theories say the Gemstone people died from some disease, so maybe they were taking measures to prevent the spread of that disease. I have a tablet that appears to be some kind of diary about some construction project but I have been unable to translate it. I'll probably ask Wiellste for help doing that, maybe it will help explain things. There were also a lot of constructs in there, but none of them seemed to be doing anything, they were just moving around with no purpose."
"Then there was some missing time where nobody remembers what happened. Alex says he remembers chasing some pople, probably us, but that's about it. The first thing I remember after stepping into that hallway is being bruised and out of breath in the central tower of the ruins and Vikkan next to me bleeding badly from his missing hand. Now that I think about it there was also that damned Shang-gei abomination there. It wouldn't surprise me if that was all its fault, some dive it made that made us forget things."
"Anyway, you stopped Vikkan's bleeding. I found the Artifact wedged in some spikes and retrieved it. Alex came with the crystal construct I was using, the one I called Crystal Friend, and opened the door of the central tower, allowing us to get out. We went back to the point where we got back into the ruins and rejoined the others there. I got down some tablets from some storage thing, I'm good at climbing so I could get up there easily. Unfortunately they only held information about what was in the room, nothing about the Artifact or what it did."
"After that, you remember. The cavern started collapsing while at the same time the abomination and Wiellste did their failed dives. The abomination's failure wasn't apparent at first but when it thrust his explosive collar in my arms they started becoming... like water. Like they melted. And the same thing happened to the abomination's face. And then I made the sacrifice. I knew from what I read that Corven are somehow more likely to succeed if messing with values like time, so I chose to reverse it."
She leaned in closer to him and lowered her voice to make sure nobody else would hear. She didn't need people to be afraid of her and that part of the story might unnerve many. But she trusted Drett would not be unreasonable about this.
"I offered my hand forward and then I was somewhere else. There was something like ice-dust all around, covering everything. I was up to my waist in it. I heard noises from above, it was like they were talking or singing maybe. I looked up and there were these great multi-limbed things a great distance above me, somewhat humanoid. And there was nothing above them, just empty space. It went on forever. I guess that must be the sky the humans talk about, or something like it. It was beautiful, in a way. Then I looked down and there was this great black monster full of tentacles. It had a serrated beak surrounded by red eyes. It jumped on me and I could feel it. I could feel it as it ate my arm. I fell back into our world and for a few moments the blood coming out of my wound became like ice-dust, moving and reversing time."
"It's strange but I still feel it. After the pain from my wound started to fade I realized I feel like my arm is still attached but also like it's... cold and distant. Numbed by drugs, buried beneath ice-dust. I expected I would get phantom pains but this something else. There's no pain it's just... I feel it moving around. Like it's still being used. But by someone else. It doesn't obey me, it's... disturbing."
She moved further away and continued speaking normally.
"After that, you remember what happened to Wiellste. Her diving and destroying Nyw's collar. That water-being coming out of her mouth. Nyw defeating it with his sword."
"Then we got to the Warehouse and the Cthonics ambushed and killed the thugs, using incredible skill and strange supernatural forces. Turns out the thugs that abducted us were members of the Iron Teeth gang. The leader of the Iron Teeth informed the Church about what those thugs were planning to avoid its retribution, though in my opinion this might also have been an internal cleanup, the leader taking care of his rivals. Anyway, I gave the Cthonics the artifact, they rewarded us for our help and they cut through space and vanished."
"After that there was the abomination exploding itself and me trying to organize payments and such, but I don't think you'd be interested in that."
Finally, Kara describes her conversation with Nyw as accurately as she can.
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Topic: DIG: Heresy (Read 405589 times)