Leviathans

The beetle was below them once again, its countless skittering legs propelling it ever forward. A Tailwind had picked up that morning, and sped them along. The sun was low in the sky now, but they had made good time. Lucy watched the city from above as Ranye approached it with the airship. Richard was standing to one side keeping his hat to his head with one hand and holding onto a capped wooden cylinder that held their papers with another. Heinric and Lynn were in the hold, loading the cart with the artifacts they had found. Aria hung on to the rigging, swinging along it as she sang in a melodic language that Rayne didn’t understand.

The dock grew beneath them, and Rayne adjusted their course as Lucy called out instructions. A few minutes later, they were anchored to the dock. “What are we doing with the runic tech we found?” Lucy asked Richard as she finished tying the last anchoring rope. “We keep it in our private warehouse. Usually we offer it to the guild that sponsored our expedition. This time, we set up an auction and notify the guild representatives.” He answered, looking around for a dock official he could show his papers to. Lucy looked up at him.

“Private warehouse?” she asked, a hint of disbelief in her voice. “Of course. It’s much safer that way. We declare what we find to a dock official, but unless we’re forced to use public storage no one can track where we put it. It becomes that much more difficult to steal.” He said matter-of-factly. Lucy’s disbelief turned into a sort of twisted amusement. She couldn’t believe she found herself in the company of a group of people who spoke so simply things like this. Before being allowed to dwell on it too much however, Richard sighed in frustration, interrupting her thoughts.

“Honestly. Whenever there is even something minutely wrong, they show up immediately. No sign of them when everything is in order, though. Is there?” he complained, finally signaling over a young urchin and promising him a few bronze bonds if he called an official over. The boy ran as fast as he legs would carry him, nearly dragging one of the strangely dressed workers over before demanding his rings. Richard dropped four into his hands, smiling at the twinkle in the child’s eye. “Go on then.” He said, shooing the urchin away before turning to the dock official, who looked as annoyed as Lucy was sure Richard felt.

“Permit?” The man asked, nearly rolling his eyes. “Here.” Richard answered dryly, handing the man the cylinder. The man pried off the cap, pulling out of the documents inside before nodding. “Any goods or money to declare?” the official continued, and Richard simply gestured to the papers in the now open cylinder. The process repeated itself for a few minutes, the dock official and Richard going back and forth over one or another regulation. Lucy couldn’t help but feel bored after listening to the two argue for ten minutes about whether or not the artifacts needed to be in a public warehouse and went to see what the others were doing.

She found them all in the hold, loading up the cart. Rayne was directing them, so that everything stayed sorted. Lucy double checked what they had. A scattering of runic capacitors. None of them held any magic at the moment, of course. As such, they were inert. The interlocked metal rings and plates that made them up unmoving. They had salvaged conduits as well, having split them into even lengths. Other than that they had found things that were common but still incredibly useful. Transformers, dampers, and the like. All of those, however, paled in comparison to what they had pulled from the two statues.

Crystal resonators. Lucy had only seen three of them in her life before the delve. “Multifaceted crystalline enhancers”, one of the senior technomages had called them. Simply put, they enhanced and preserved magic. It meant that the statues could stand for thousands of years and still function. Rayne hefted one in her hand. It was about the size of her outstretched palm. The pinkish crystal was cut into a cube. Hundreds of precise lines, filled with a bronze-colored metal, were inlaid into its surface.

Unfortunately one of the two had been damaged beyond repair in their fight, but even just one was incredibly valuable. Lucy watched as Rayne carefully placed it in the cart and surrounded it with padding. Other things were packed around it, effectively hiding it underneath a pile of significantly less important components. Lucy wondered if Richard had told them to do so, or if they all had the sense it was something people would steal if they could. Her eyes found Rayne again, who was holding onto the orb they had pulled out of the warrior statue’s hand. Rayne stared at it, entranced.

“Ray?” Lucy asked. No answer. “Ray?” she said again, more forcefully, and Rayne snapped out of her reverie. “Sorry.” Rayne muttered, hesitating for a moment before putting the orb into the cart. It had struck her when she first held it how similar it was to the one Master Ethan had her open. Rayne wondered if she would be able to open this one as well. It seemed at first glance to be a standard flame orb design, but it couldn’t be coincidence that it had many of the same lines seemingly etched into it. She sighed. It didn’t matter. Richard would likely be selling it soon.

They opened the hold out onto the dock, and wheeled the cart out. They found Richard still arguing with the dock official. Lucy grimaced. “Does this usually take so long?” she asked no one in particular. “We were once required to wait for four hours.” Lynn answered simply. His tone of voice made it sound like it wasn’t a joke. “Are you serious?” Rayne asked before Lucy could. “He’s dead serious.” Aria answered, arms crossed. The tattooed woman leaned against the cart, tapping her foot restlessly. “We can only hope it is shorter. I am sorry, Magi.” Lynn apologized. Rayne shrugged, and leaned on the cart as well, hands in the pockets of her jacket.

After what seemed like an eternity, the official finally left. “Oh thank the gods.” Aria said, interrupting something that Heinric was saying. “Can we get going?” she asked, and Richard gestured them forward. “please.” He answered. “I would like to conclude our business and move on to more pleasant affairs.”

Heinric wheeled the cart forward along the dock, bordered by Richard. Aria and Lynn flanked it, glaring at anyone that got too close. Rayne and Lucy followed behind. “They were serious about the whole ‘people will steal this stuff’ thing, weren’t they?” Lucy whispered, and Rayne nodded. “Looks like.” The wood of the docks turned to stone as Heinric heaved the cart up a ramp. Even the sailors gave them a wide birth, seemingly knowing better than to approach.

They quickly moved further away from the edge of the city. Warehouses grew around them, their large featureless walls high enough to block out most of the sky. Lynn, who had been mostly motionless, cocked his head to the side. He looked over at Aria, and spoke too softly for either of the technomages to hear him. She answered, the tone of her voice suggesting urgency. Lynn grimaced and then whispered to Heinric, his voice commanding. Heinric nodded, and waited for a moment as Aria stepped into a narrow alleyway.

Richard followed, and then the cart. Rayne’s heart was pounding as she approached Lynn, who without looking at her or Lucy gestured them forward. His eyes were half-lidded, as if he was trying to listen for something. His hand rested almost too casually on the hilt of his sword. Lucy followed Rayne into the alley. Poorly maintained conduits ran along the walls, leaking ice-cold raw magic into the air. As they stepped deeper inside, Rayne’s breath began to fog up. She looked back at Lynn, who had followed them into the alley.

His manner had changed. The easy smile he usually wore had faded away. He didn’t walk, he loped. Like a predator. Rayne bit back an involuntary gasp. A chill ran down her spine that had nothing to do with the cold. Rayne’s fingers found the hem of Lucy’s jacket, and tugged. Lucy reached back, and gripped her hand protectively, eyes still forward. Before Rayne’s heart could burst, she heard a small sound. Muffled as it was by the soft rush of magic, she couldn’t identify it. Lynn, on the other hand, had.

He drew his sword smoothly, hefting it with both hands. It was much larger than Rayne had expected, both in length and width. Two men appeared at the entrance to the alleyway. They had the look of sailors whose lives had gone down darker paths. Their cheekbones were hollow, and once proud eyes seemed almost blank. One of them had his thick auburn hair haphazardly braided, the other had a beard, and his black locks were sheared sort.

“Gentlemen.” Lynn said, the word hanging in the air for a moment. The two men looked at each other and then at Lynn, their eyes lingering on his sword. One grabbed a small hand axe, the other a large knife. They charged. Lynn crouched down, pulling his sword back as they advanced. He sprang forward to meet them. His sword met the knife in a shower of sparks, and he spun, slamming his shoulder into the bearded man. The man’s feet lifted off the ground as he was thrown backwards. A small part of Rayne’s mind briefly noted that Lynn’s explosive power was nothing like Aria’s ferocious grace.

The man with the braided hair yelled, and moved to cover his comrade. Lynn ducked low, avoiding a strike that had threatened to take his head off his shoulders. His sword turned in his hands, and he leapt. His sword arced through both axe and man. Lynn landed lightly on his feet, sword extended towards the man he had knocked over. The man scrambled backwards, eyes wide. He pled for his life, babbling nearly incoherently as he dropped his knife in his haste to escape. He didn’t get far before Lynn’s blade pierced through his back and pinned him to the ground. He screamed

Lynn heaved sideways, muscles bulging for a moment, and his sword sheared upwards and outwards, silencing the man’s pain and terror. Lynn flicked his sword to the side, and then wiped the rest of the blood off on the dead man’s shirt. The stench of death filled the air, and blood began to pool along the floor’s stones. Rayne noticed she wasn’t breathing as, sword still in hand, Lynn approached. The sight brought back memories she didn’t want unearthed. His eyes were wide open now, pupils almost large enough to fully engulf his irises. Slowly, as he advanced, his breathing slowed and his eyes returned to normal. He sheathed his sword, and Rayne could breathe again.

Rayne’s eyes began to wander to the bodies behind him, but Lynn shook his head firmly and motioned her forward. “This is not a sight you should need to see, magi.” He said quietly. “Violence is not of your world.” He finished. Rayne snorted. “You know nothing about me.” She pointed out forcefully, sudden anger flushing her cheeks. Lynn looked taken aback, his mouth working as he searched for an answer. Rayne turned away, Lucy still holding her hand.

Rayne remembered. A man, much larger than her, approaching. A sword swinging. Screams. She closed her eyes, breath coming quickly. Lucy hugged her for a moment, and Rayne forced her breathing to slow. Her eyes opened. Lucy had a worried look on her face. Rayne shrugged, and fixed her eyes forward. Lucy looked over her friend’s shoulder, and gave Lynn a look that was half reproach and half apology. Lynn opened his mouth, but was silenced by a quick shake of Lucy’s head. For a few moments, nobody spoke. Then, wordlessly, as if none of what had just happened were important, they moved on.

Not too long later, they stood inside of the small warehouse. Or at least, Lucy thought it was supposed to be a warehouse. As it stood, what was inside was so surprising that it pushed the recent attack to the back of her mind. Chairs were lined up in rows, leading up to a curved central stage with a podium on it. The furniture was all made of polished wood, and lanterns giving off soft light hung from the ceiling and were installed in sconces along the walls. She lifted her feet, examining the intricate latticework on the floor beneath with a raised eyebrow. To each side of the podium, stairs curved up leading to a second story.

“Um. What is this place?” Lucy asked. “The first floor of our warehouse was converted into a place where we could display our goods to those interested.” Richard responded, running his hands on the chairs as he moved towards the podium. “Why?” came Rayne’s question, more quietly than normal, as she looked around carefully. Her thoughts still dwelled where they shouldn’t, and her hands fidgeted as she tried to distract herself.

“As you… recently experienced… transporting what we find through the city can be quite dangerous. It becomes safer to have people come to us than to have us go to them.” Lynn answered, and Richard nodded. “Correct.” He finished, pushing aside chairs to allow Heinric to approach the raised platform with the cart. Heinric dropped the handles, and brushed his hands together before rolling his shoulders. “Ah’ll start unloadin’ in a minute.” He said. “Take your time.” Richard responded, looking around. “Would you girls mind helping? We would like to keep this all organized.” He asked as his eyes finally came to rest on the two technomages.

Lucy nodded, and grabbed Rayne’s hand. “Come on Ray, let’s go” she pushed gently. Rayne followed her to the cart without comment. As they grabbed the first box together and began their slow ascent to the second floor, Aria’s voice reached them. “I told you we shouldn’t have pissed them off. I’ll go deal with our friends.” She said calmly, simply, as if this were a common event. Lucy’s heart tightened. Things had become dangerous in a way she hadn’t expected. Constructs and monsters? That she could handle. People trying to kill them? That was another story entirely.

Rayne was quiet when they reached the second floor. This, some part of her registered, was much more identifiable as a warehouse. The bare floorboards were scuffed and stained from where things had been pulled in one or another direction or had been spilled. Shelves lined the walls and stood in aisles. The only thing on them was dust, and Rayne sneezed as she approached, a small cloud of the stuff bursting into existence. Lucy laughed, and Rayne stuck her tongue out in response. “Let’s put this over there.” Rayne suggested, tilting her head towards the corner of the room. Lucy nodded.

They returned downstairs soon afterwards, their footsteps making the boards creak beneath them. Heinric and Lynn was unloading the cart onto the stage, making it easier to carry the artifacts upstairs, while Richard was going through Lucy’s catalogue of what they had collected. He was muttering to himself, scribbling notes into the margins with a short pen.

Lucy and Rayne dutifully picked up another box, and began the process of moving it upstairs. “Good thing we’re used to this, huh?” Lucy voiced her thoughts aloud, and Rayne chuckled. “Yeah.” She answered softly. “Feels almost like we’re back in the tower. I can imagine the seniors telling us to get moving.” Rayne continued. “Yeah. Let’s go. Wouldn’t want to disappoint them, would we?” Lucy added, a small smile on her lips.

Less than an hour later, Heinric brought up the last box and stretched his back. “Ah’m not as young as ah used tae be.” He said to Lynn’s questioning glance. “Could you bring it here, Lynn? Lucy said, somewhat sharply. She had still not forgiven him for upsetting Rayne. He sighed and nodded before picking up the box carefully and bringing it to her. As he approached, he began to understand what the two technomages were whispering intensely about. They were arguing about how to best organize what they had.

Lynn had to keep from laughing as he placed the box down next to the two of them, who were sitting on the floor. Lucy, who had seen him bite back the laugh, glared at him. “That’ll be all.” She said, eyes narrowed. Lynn paused for a few beats, eyes lingering on Lucy for a moment before finding Rayne. “I am sorry. It was wrong of me to assume anything.” He apologized, still curved into a bow. A few more beats. Rayne looked at her hands, curling them into fists as if she could crush her remembrance to dust. A sigh escaped her lips, and her shoulders shrugged. “It is what it is. No harm done.” Came her quiet answer. Lynn smiled briefly at her, and then left.

“We’ll do it your way.” Rayne breathed, consenting to the organizational method Lucy suggested. Lucy’s eyes were filled with worry. “We can talk about it if you want to.” Rayne shook her head. “It’s in the past. Let’s get this stuff put away so we can move on to whatever else we’re going to do.”

As they worked, Rayne’s eyes slowly brightened, and by the time they were finished she was back to her usual self. The only thing left to put away was the flame orb. Rayne reached into the final box and pulled it out, her eyes following the line along its curved surface. She longed to keep it, to see if it held the secrets she wanted. Lucy watched as Rayne slowly put it down onto one of the shelves and turned away. They walked back downstairs to find the others discussing who they would auction off the artifacts to. Aria was still conspicuously absent, but that was just as well. Rayne doubted she would care about the conversation anyway.

“I say we talk to the guild representatives. It would be the quickest method.” Lynn argued, but Richard shook his head. “It would be, but we need others to help drive the prices. We can bring in other interested parties.” He pointed out. Heinric crossed his arms. “Aye. An’ then the guild’s don’ buy from us anymore.” He said gruffly, and Richard raised his hands in defeat, the sleeves falling to his elbows. “Very well then, just the guilds it is. First, however, we have a matter to attend to.” He said, turning to face Rayne and Lucy.

“What would you like to keep from the delve?” He asked simply, and they both stared at him. “I don’t understand the question.” Rayne responded. Heinric’s laughter filled the warehouse, and Lynn shook his head in amusement. “its yer firs’ delve. Ye get tae pick a souvenir.” He expanded, and Rayne’s eyes lit up. “We get to pick anything?” she asked quickly, and Richard smiled. “Nearly. The only request I have is that you not ask for the resonator, as we need the bonds.”

“The flame orb” Rayne answered, voice nearly overlapping with the end of Richard’s sentence. “That was quick decision.” Lynn said, eyebrow raised, “I can’t divine the reason you’d choose it.” He continued, and Rayne shrugged, not wanting to explain. “It’s interesting.” Lucy said. “Flame orbs aren’t rare, but generally only senior technomages get to see them up close, bar some basic training on how to deal with them.” Rayne nodded, glad for Lucy’s explanations, wrong as it was.

“I see” Lynn nodded. “Ah don’ see why not. Ye’ve earned it.” Heinric added, and Richard turned to face Lucy. “The flame orb it is. What about you, Lucy?” He asked, hands moving in an inquisitive gesture as he spoke. “I don’t need anything. The flame orb is fine.” She answered. There wasn’t really anything she could want. Everything else other than the resonator were things Lucy had worked with countless times.

“Are you sure?” Richard asked graciously, and Lucy nodded. “Yeah, I’m sure.” He smiled, and swept his hand grandly, gesturing at everything they had found. “Here then, are the artifacts of our delve. The first of many, I hope.” He said to echoes of agreement from Lynn and Heinic. Rayne and Lucy joined in, much to their own surprise.

“Now then. Lynn, might you go contact the guilds? And Heinric, would you kindly stay here with me?” he continued, and the two men assented. Eyes twinkling, he turned towards the two technomages. “And as for you two, you are free to do as you wish in the city. Meet us here later tonight and we’ll split the profits and find somewhere to celebrate.”

Rayne grabbed the flame orb, hefting it almost religiously in her hands for just a moment before placing it into a pocket in her jacket. “Back to the airship first?” she asked over her shoulder, walking towards the stairs as her mind was absorbed with the artifact. Lucy grinned apologetically at the men “Sorry she has no manners, I’ve tried.” She half-joked. “I heard that” Rayne answered, her voice coming from down stairs. Laughter filled the room, and Lucy waved goodbye before quickly following Rayne.

Lucy followed Rayne past the chairs, through the decorated first floor, and out through the door. As they turned into the street they came face to face with Aria, her steps echoing faintly in the night. The woman’s eyes widened in surprise for a moment, her hands twitching towards her weapons, before she realized who she was looking at. Rayne blinked, taking in the sight of her. Her hair was disheveled, her hands stained with blood. Her mouth was curved into a grimace, a braced against a wound in her abdomen. “Gods! Are you okay?” Lucy breathed, moving closer.

Aria held out a hand to stop her, eyes flicking towards Rayne. The warrior straightened her body, a flicker of embarrassment showing in her eyes before they hardened. Lucy froze mid-stride. “I’ll be fine.” Aria answered, a little more sharply than she meant to, gaze resting on Lucy’s face. Rayne cocked her head, remembering what the woman had said before she left. It clicked for her. Aria must have known who sent the men. Rayne imagined it hadn’t ended well for them.

“Did you get the others?” she asked simply. Aria’s grimace turned briefly into a grim smile, a flush of pride returning some color to her face. Lucy glanced at Rayne, lips curved into a frown. “I did.” Came the equally simple answer. Her tone told that it had not been easy. “Richard’s upstairs.” Lucy said, poking a thumb over her shoulder, towards the door into the warehouse. Aria nodded her thanks, and limped slowly past them, the two girls moving to the side to give her passage.

Aria’s blood stained her clothing, small droplets breaking against the floor. They left pools of liquid black in the darkness. She leaned against the wall for a moment, leaving behind a red handprint. The same hand found the door, and opened it. Light from inside blotted her out into shadow for a few moments before the door swung closed behind her. Lucy stared, as if she could see through the walls into what was happening inside. Rayne grabbed her hand. “Let’s go.”

Lucy’s gaze turned to Rayne, worry and surprise on her face. “She’s hurt, Ray. We need to make sure she’s okay.” Lucy breathed incredulously. Rayne blinked, as if the statement were a strange one. Lucy tugged her hand away from Rayne. The girls stared at each other. Lucy’s expression spoke of disbelief. How could Rayne look like she wasn’t worried? Like she didn’t care? Rayne’s expression spoke of hurt. How could she explain to her friend in a way she would understand? Aria didn’t want them to see her this way, Rayne had seen it in her eyes and in the way she had carried herself. It was the same look that the younger technomages had when they hurt themselves working and didn’t want anyone to see.

Lucy opened her mouth, as if she was going to say something. She shook her head, as if thinking better of it. “I’m going to check on her.” She said, her voice hard. Lucy turned, her steps quickening as she moved towards the door. The sound of fast, light footsteps behind her. The feeling of Raye’s hand on her shoulder. “Lucy, don’t.” Rayne pleaded, trying to put how she thought Aria felt into the words.

Lucy stopped in her tracks, her friend’s tone giving her pause. “Why not?” the blond girl asked over her shoulder. “Aria doesn’t want us to.” Rayne answered. Lucy turned to face her. “What do you mean?” She asked, eyebrows coming together. “Trust me?” Rayne begged, a shrug punctuating her words. A hand went up to her hair, and she began to tug at one of the curls that fell against her face. Lucy frowned. “I’m sorry. It’s hard to explain. I can tell, okay?” Lucy’s eyes narrowed. She searched Rayne’s face. Strained, pleading, genuine. A sigh escaped her lips, and her hands went up in a gesture of surrender. “Fine. Let’s go.” She consented, and Rayne visibly relaxed. “I don’t like it. But let’s go.”

Lucy walked past Rayne, her annoyance clear. Rayne cast her eyes down, at the floor. She followed. Lucy trusted her memory to lead them through the roads and alleyways that they had taken on the way in. Rayne tensed as they walked into the icy haze that hung in the alley where they had been ambushed. Lucy quickened her step, eyes searching, wishing she knew her way around the city better so she could avoid this place. It scared her.

At the mouth of the alley, they found two pools of blood. It had dried and darkened in the time they had been in the warehouse. The girls could see the trails left behind when someone, probably Aria, had dragged them away. They didn’t follow. Instead, they continued on their way, eventually arriving at the docks. Their path illuminated by the steady light of lanterns, and the glittering of the stars, they found their way onto the Airship.