Chapter 247

Chapter 247

Unable to stomach it any longer, Baledagh sank into his pillow, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath, waiting for his nausea to pass. Leading the way through the hidden passageway, brothers eyes darted about the torch-lit cavern without pattern or logic, constantly scanning the area for dangers unknown. Ceiling to staircase and wall to wall, seeing the world tossed around by brothers jerky movements made Baledagh sick to his stomach. According to brother, it had something to do with seeing the motions without perceiving them with his other senses, but hed never experienced it so vividly before. Ever since reawakening, brothers mental constructs regained their permanence and Baledagh took advantage of the comforts. Though laying in bed and watching the world through brothers eyes was rather relaxing most of the time, it wasnt suitable for high-intensity situations like this.

Stepping out of the room and into the void, Baledagh ignored the Heavenly Waters and focused his will. With a little effort, he faded from existence and merged with brothers senses. Its what brother did when they fought together, and although it required intense concentration to sustain, sharing brothers perceptions of the world around him felt much more natural, free of the jarring disconnect between mind and body. Brother, he asked, once his stomach settled. What are you looking for?

Traps, came the reply, straightforward and succinct, as if the one word explained everything. Every few steps, hed stop to think, tapping the ground and walls with a wooden plank scavenged from the destroyed bookshelf.

Baledagh sighed. Sometimes, this brother of his was too unfathomable. How do you know there are traps?

... Isnt it par for the course? Before he could ask what the strange idiom meant, brother continued. You know, pressure switches, tripwires, pitfalls, and more, traps to keep people away from the treasure. Or keep people from ambushing Yo Ling in his bedroom. A bandit wouldnt trust anyone with a secret passage like this, so he cant rely on guards.

Unable to retort, Baledagh silently aided the cause, searching for irregularities around him. It always amazed him how brother could be both worldly and naive at the same time. Baledagh would never have thought to look for traps, merely rushing down the stairs in haste. Though brother said he had little to no memory of his past life, he must have been a great man in his previous life, having so much knowledge and experience at his fingertips. Training regimens, tactical maneuvers, mathematics, and now apparently treasure hunting procedures, brother had probably forgotten more than Baledagh could learn in three lifetimes, much less one.

Their journey didnt go straight down, the stairs levelling off after around a hundred steps. Moving through the dark tunnel at a snails pace, brother tested anything he found out of the ordinary, and soon his efforts paid off. Standing a good distance away, brother pressed the plank against a flat stone in the middle of the pathway. With an audible click, a row of axes dropped from the ceiling, scything through the empty air right before their faces and putting an end to Gerel and BoShuis steady torrent of complaints. After marking the trap, they continued forward, stumbling across several other deadly traps in the next hour as they moved through the twisting tunnels and plunging stairways deep into the bowels of the earth.

Stop. The Guard Leaders tone left no room for debate as everyone froze in place and Baledagh strained his mind to comb through brothers senses, searching for something amiss. There are people ahead.

After a brief pause, Gerel drew his sword and took the lead. Dastan guard my left, Rain, get to the back. If we get into a fight, bring the girl and the brat away. Got it?

Taking Mei Lins hand, brother squeezed her dainty fingers for reassurance, and she replied with a confident grin, her skin flush with excitement. Blushing from the contact, Baledagh retreated from brothers senses out of reflex, not wanting to overstep his bounds. Though they never spoke of it, Baledagh couldnt imagine sharing Qing-Qing with another man, so he acted accordingly.

Besides, sharing in brothers happiness only served to remind Baledagh of his loss.

Snuffing their torches, Gerel led the way through the darkness and within minutes, a light emerged from the end of the tunnel. Laying in wait as Gerel scouted ahead, Baledaghs curiosity rose to its peak as the seconds passed, listening to the bustle of footsteps, the jangling of chains, and metal crashing against metal. Whoever it was, there were plenty of them hard at work, a disturbing revelation considering the island was supposedly abandoned.

A stirring in the void caught his attention, and Baledaghs eyebrow rose in question. Uh... Brother, he said, retreating to the safety of the room, The Heavenly Water seems... agitated.

Holy shit. Brother appeared in the room and stared out at the frothy waters, circling the void in a massive riptide. I thought something was off. Blobby, what are you so excited for? Baledagh wasnt privy to whatever communications passed between them, and hed rather things stayed this way. Whenever he looked at the Heavenly Waters permeating through the near endless void, it filled him with an overwhelming sense of danger and vulnerability, as if he were a rabbit in the presence of a dragon. Thankfully, the Heavenly Waters were happy to ignore Baledagh presence, but he could still never bring himself to call it Blobby.

Whatevers ahead of us, its got Blobby all hot and bothered. Dont worry, its not after you, it seems... happy. Shrugging, brother patted Baledagh on the shoulder. Lets switch places so I can keep an eye on it, just in case. Lemme Send a message to the Guard Leader and then were good.

A moment later, Baledagh stepped into control and exhaled, before breathing in the hot, musty air. It was a world of difference from sharing brothers senses, feeling more natural and instinctive as opposed to the conscious study required while sharing. Releasing Mei Lins warm, tender hand, he gave a wry smile of apology to the now-pouting hare-girl. I need both hands free, he whispered, drawing Peace from the scabbard. Tranquility was already strapped to his arm, a comfortable, reassuring pressure in this time of tension.

His heart racing, Baledagh watched in silence as Dastans retinue and half of BoShuis guards followed Gerels people down the tunnel, arranging themselves outside the light streaming through a gate. After a handful of minutes, Gerel kicked the gate in and charged forward, leaving him, Mei Lin, BoShui, and their guards all standing around with nothing to do but twiddle their thumbs. BoShui did a little more, visibly trembling from head to toe as he stared down the hallway, his jaw clenched so tight a vein protruded from his neck. The Spectres circled around him, visible only to Baledagh as they pressed in close to BoShui, whispering deceitful lies and false promises to their Tainted vessel. Itching to take his head, Baledagh kept an eye on BoShui, ready to act at a moments notice should the Spectres take over.

The way ahead is clear, the Guard Leader said, though not even a minute had passed since Gerel's heroic entry. Frowning as BoShui darted off, Baledagh hurried to keep up after telling Lin to stay behind, wondering what theyd find. The clanging and jangling clamour grew louder, joined by the sound of heavy grunting and laboured breathing as he stepped into the light. Blinking to adjust his eyes, he gazed in confusion at the scene before him. Ignoring their presence, men and women stood scattered about inside the vast cavern, dressed in tattered, dirty rags while carrying out an assortment of tasks. Some used picks and hammers to chip away at the sides of an underground pool, while others collected the scraps and pieces and brought them away. Others stood above boiling cauldrons, stirring the contents as the collected fragments were dropped in. Even more poor souls formed a line to draw water from the underground pool, also to be emptied into the cauldrons. At the back of the cavern, a handful of people ladled out a cauldrons contents into a rectangular mould, while still others stacked the metallic bars onto a hand-drawn wagon, sitting just outside a door on the other side.

To kill, or not to kill? That is the question.

Before I finish even asking the question, BoShui yells, Stand down. Pushing his way to the front, he draws his dagger and cuts into his palm. I, Han BoShui, swear an Oath to the Heavens, never to reveal the existence of this cavern, or anything which happens, is discussed, or found within it. This I swear with the Heavens as my witness. A surge of Heavenly Energy swirls about him as his Oath settles in, rocking him back on his feet. Turning to his people, he snarled, Well? Why are you all not following suit?

The other guards swear their oaths one by one, leaving no room for doubt. Catching BoShui as he staggers towards me, I take the knife from his hand before easing him to sit on the floor. Ill have the rest of my retinue do the same, and even have them swear theyve not yet revealed it, he says. I didnt set up a line of communication with the others, so no one will know, but please, you have to tell me. Swallowing hard, he pulls me close and whispers, You werent lying were you? To my cousin, I mean. You truly can sense... them, and even cleanse them, cant you?

Unwilling to comment, I pat his hand and say, Well talk about it some other time. Like never.

Shaking his head, he tightens his grasp. No. Ive given my oath to never reveal what happens here. You can tell me, you can trust me. I need to know. I felt it, I know you did something, please...

Glancing around to make sure no one is looking, I explain the whole spiel to BoShui through Sending. Oddly enough, Blobby even agrees to make an appearance, condensing in the palm of my hand and even giving a happy little bounce for emphasis. Huh, Did Blobby grow? I swear it was only about the size of tear drop before, and now its almost the size of a grape. Weird, all it did was circle the waters once before coming back, all satisfied and energetic. Gerel said the pool was chock full of Heavenly Energy, but I thought Heavenly Water is supposed to emit Heavenly Energy, not absorb it.

My amorphous tenant has nothing to say, settling in and around the void. Who knows, maybe Blobby was hungry or something. Its a mystery I dont have time for, as Im knee deep in shit with BoShui at the moment. In conclusion, I Send, I didnt have the Heavenly Water until I fell into the canals of Sanshu. I didn't even know about it before that, I just had a feeling. It's no wonder your cousin didn't believe me.

By now, BoShui is looking at me as if I were the Mother herself, though his eyes fill with tears and regret. Was she...? he asks, unable to voice the rest.

No, I answer in a firm tone. She wasnt. She truly believed in her cause and thought she was doing the right thing. Which makes her life, and death, all the more tragic.

Tears stream down BoShuis cheeks as he struggles for calm, breathing in a shuddering gasp. Thank you, he says, bowing his head before handing me the black brick he took from the wagon. Theres something wrong with it. Before we even entered the cavern, I sensed there was something here for me. When I touched it, I wasnt myself. All I could feel was an overwhelming yearning for bloodshed and vengeance. I wanted to turn around and cut you down, order my men to fight to the death just to revel in death and destruction, until you...

Studying the item, I feel nothing strange about it. If I wasn't seeing the entire process happening inside the cavern, Id have thought these little bars were carved stone. Theres nothing metallic about them, no glowing sheen or ring when tapped. Weird. Neither Baledagh nor Blobby have anything to say about it either, so I head to the wagon to see what I can find out. The workers ignore my presence, going about their tasks like I dont exist. Fear and resignation mingle with the scent of unwashed bodies, these people surviving on a dwindling cache of water and rations sitting in the corner. No matter how much I insist, they refuse to stop working, shaking their heads and mutter I dont dare or its equivalent. They dont even have an overseer, so broken in spirit they mightve worked themselves to death if we hadnt arrived.

After a few questions, I find out the other tunnel leads to the blacksmiths, where the bars are forged into weapons and armour. I guess the secret cavern keeps people from finding out Yo Ling's secret, since not all of the Butcher Bay Bandits were Defiled. Heading back into the cavern, I check the closest cauldron, curious how they turn stone into liquid, then stone again, using only a pot sitting over a campfire. Peering into the first cauldron reveals nothing of note, merely a thick, viscous liquid almost ready to be poured out. Making my way down the line, the liquid lightens in colour with each station I pass, until halfway through, I spot something floating in the pot. Swallowing my revulsion, I grab the ladle and fish up the contents for a better look. Interspersed with rock fragments and Heavenly Energy infused-water are gleaming shards of white, almost like white jade but not. My stomach drops as I guess its origins, but unwilling to speak without proof, I ask, Where do you get these materials from?

There, Great one. Hurrying to show me, the nearest worker hurries toward a shadowy corner of the cavern. Lifting a previously unseen tarp, he reveals a desiccated corpse. Treated with something to keep the bones from rotting, it sits in a puddle of brownish-red filth, as if marinating before its time in the pot. Mercy Great One, but the Lord has yet to send us more and we will soon run out. Without more ingredients, we cannot work, and if we dont work... The worker whimpers and cringes before lifting another tarp. We tried adding the fallen workers, but its not working. The bones, they are not of the same quality. Also, the bodies, they are too wet and there also isnt enough of the solvent to dry them. No one knows how to make it either, its always the Lord who prepares this for us, please Great One, you must speak to him.

Numb to the horror of it all, my brain puts the pieces together and Im not happy with my findings. The death and corpses dont surprise me much, its fairly standard Defiled murder-hobo territory. Whats disturbing is the need for Spiritual Hearts and water infused with Heavenly Energy. Tranquility was made from the skull of a Meng-Zhua, some big, elephant looking mother fucker. Is it really all that different from what Im seeing here?

If this is true, then the difference between us and them isnt as great as I once thought, which means...

I dunno what it means.

I'm not sure how I feel about any of this.

Chapter Meme