Amendments (24 page)

“What was that?” Ruith's sharp whisper came down from above.  “Why did you use lux?”

“I put the grate back,” Noir grunted as he pulled himself up.

“And you used lux?”

“I had to.”

Ruith sighed from above.  “I hope that wasn't a mistake.  Let's use lux as little as possible.  There might be more Luxins nearby.

Noir pulled himself up the steep tunnel and was suddenly reminded of, of all things, Santa Claus climbing up a chimney.  However, this was not covered in soot from fires, but slime from water.

Noir's heart leapt into his throat as he heard the clinking of soldiers' armor below him near the opening of the grate.  He was glad he'd replaced the grate despite the risk of a Luxin sensing him using lux.  They hustled on soon after.

Noir pulled himself up and pushed his pack in front of him.  Finally, his tan pack pushed into open air and Noir pulled himself up into a small room.  Ruith was holding down his own slimy hand to help Noir.  Noir again noticed that Ruith’s hand had no scars on it.  Noir figured this was due to Ruith not being in Nidhoggr’s blood for very long.

Ruith pulled Noir to his feet.  The small room had several wooden water basins and old-style washboards.  Luckily it was empty.

After quickly rinsing his hands in one of the full wash basins, Noir went to the door of the small room, cracked it open slightly, and peered out.  Several guards jogged down a hallway lit by glow spheres.  The hall stretched into the distance off to their right with several doors down its length.  To the left, the hall opened into a large room. Considering their location, it was likely the front foyer of the fort.  Noir could hear many voices shouting from that direction.  More guards ran by and Noir tenderly closed the door.

“What do we do, Ruith?” Noir asked as he leaned against the door.  “We aren't ninjas like Finn so we can't sneak by, and we can't kill all of them!”

“Are you sure?  I've seen you fight, Noir.  You are very strong.”

Noir looked at the scarred face flatly.  “Let me rephrase that: I'm
not
going to kill all of them.  Plus, that would surely bring more down upon us when they found the bodies.”

“I never suggested we kill them all.  I merely said we might be able to.  We need to follow the plan as best as we can.”

Noir shook his head, “The plan's changed.  There's no way the armory will be empty now that the alarm's been raised.  Soldiers will be swarming that place.  Plus, we have only a vague idea of where it is.  We can't go wandering around looking for it.”

“So what do you suggest?” Ruith asked.

Noir thought for a moment.  He rubbed his chin in thought.  “What if we do like Finn did?  Hide in plain sight.”

Ruith shook his head, “No.  I already told him
and
you that I'm no actor, and you said you aren't either.”

“Again, things have changed.  It would make sense for us to look nervous or confused with the alarm sounding.  Plus, with your scars, you fit in perfectly.  How many people have scars like yours?  People like you are only made here.”  Ruith said nothing.  “I think it will work,” Noir encouraged.

Ruith frowned.  His scars pulled oddly between his mouth and nose.  “As long as I don't have to talk.”

“I can do most of the talking, but I can't promise you won't have to talk at all.  Be ready for it.  Just believe whatever you are saying is true and it will seem true.”

Ruith let out one bitter chuckle.  “Acting lessons... not what I thought I'd need on a day like today.  Fine, let's do this.  However, like you said about me talking, you need to be ready to do what you don't want to do as well.  If things go badly, be prepared to fight.”

“Agreed,” Noir said as he nodded once.  “Let's just hope it doesn't come to that.”

Chapter 23

Event Horizon

              Lieutenant Ardent got lost in his own mind for a moment despite the five men that surrounded him asking questions.  He'd only been promoted after the majority of the Tierian army had been dispatched to the Lumin battlefield a couple months prior.  Ardent thought he was ready for the position of Lieutenant, but now he sweated profusely despite the chilly foyer.  He thought about how he'd promised himself he'd never have to deal with any serious threats being posted within the Tierian capital.  However, somehow there were intruders who could take down a Luxin inside the fort perimeter!

              Soldiers around Lieutenant Ardent spoke over one another.  “We searched the perimeter, Lieutenant!  No one was there!”

              “Should we send squads into the city?”

              “I sent my men to patrol the caverns.  Reporting no intrud--”

              “Stop!  All of you, stop!” Ardent yelled.  The five men became silent, but Ardent noticed several looks of defiance.  “Don't you have standard protocol for this situation?”

              “Yes,” all of the men answered a bit curtly.

              “Then do that!” Ardent sighed with exasperation.

              “Sir,” a short, confident man named Winsin started, “We already did our standard protocols and found nothing.  A Luxin is
dead
!  We need to adapt to the situation.”

              Ardent pulled off his helmet and wiped sweat from his brow.  “You checked the outside perimeter?”

              “Both of our squads did, sir.  We found no one and nothing was out of place.”

              Ardent replaced his helmet, but sweat returned almost immediately.  He was vaguely aware that two more men had approached, but he didn't have the time to deal with them.  “The murderers probably escaped into the city.  They are probably long gone by now.”

              The other soldiers didn't seem to take Ardent's suggestion with the finality as he'd hoped they would.  Winsin said with increasing animosity, “So you just want us to stand down?  Just act like nothing happened?”

              Ardent started to reply when another soldier talked over him.  “They had to go to all the trouble of breaking in here for
something
.  They'll still be here lurking about somewhere.”

              Ardent felt himself sweat even more.  He'd never had to deal with men—his peers—getting angry with him and yelling about his orders.  It was more stress than he could handle and he decided right then that he'd request himself to be demoted.  Ardent tried to steel himself to give the men an order when his eyes finally fell on the two newcomers.  One was a lanky, young Luxin wearing dirtied full Luxin armor and cloak.  The other man is what stopped Ardent's next words abruptly.  The man wore a clean brown travel cloak with the hood pulled up.  The bottom of his face was a startling mess of scars.  Ardent wanted to look away, but found his eyes lingering for a long moment.

              The other guards followed his stare and looked at the newcomers as well.  The young Luxin said, “Sorry we're so late to answer the call.  We found and chased the murderer in the courtyard.  He knocked me into the mud with a ground attack.”  The young man pointed to the dirt and water on his clothes.  “The murderer wore a Din Mage robe and was very fast.”

              Ardent forced himself to pull his eyes away from the scarred man and meet the newcomer Luxin's eyes.  “Who is this man, Luxin?” Ardent pointed toward the scarred man.  “Why is he....”

              The young Luxin opened his mouth to speak, but was talked over by Winsin, “No... sir,” he cautioned.  “We've seen men like him before.  He's supposed to be here.”

              Ardent shot a confused look at the short, stocky man.  “I've never seen either before.  They could be the intruders!”

              Winsin said, “They aren't.  He comes from... deep in the caverns where... things happen.  Things we aren't supposed to talk about.”

              Another Tierian soldier added, “We've seen men scarred like him before.  You... don't want to anger him, Lieutenant.”

              Ardent looked again at the scarred man.  He had raised his head at some point in the conversation and Ardent could see his eyes.  The scarred man wore a scowl of hatred on his face.  To Ardent's surprise, the man's scarred lips parted and in a quietly menacing voice he chided, “Is this idiot done with us so we can get back to tracking the murderer?  We reported in like we're supposed to, but we didn't think we'd find a child in charge.”

              Ardent started to protest when Winsin stepped in front of him and said, “Yes.  You can go.”  The Luxin bowed slightly, then the two of them turned and walked away the way they'd come.

              As soon as they were out of earshot, Ardent spun on Winsin and chided, “I am your superior officer.  You will never give me orde--”

              “Do you enjoy being alive,
Lieutenant
?” he said with disdain.  “If so, then I did you a favor.  If you ever see someone with scars like that, simply let them be.”

              Ardent wanted to argue, but his curiosity got the better of him.  “Why?”

              Winsin said, “They say they're crazy, and,” he leaned in and whispered close to Ardent's ear, “they are dual vigor users.”

              Ardent gasped in shock.  “I thought such a thing couldn't exist!”  He looked again in the direction of where the two men had disappeared.

              “They do,” replied Winsin, “and they're made in the deepest, darkest, most horrible depths of the caverns under this fort.”

              Ardent was horrified and stared in the direction the men had left.  A couple of guards came into sight from that hall and asked Ardent, “Two men... a Luxin and a... scarred man.  They said they had permission from you?”

              Ardent nodded.  “Yes.  They do.”  He paused, then added, “Tell everyone to stay out of the way of those two.”

~~~

              “That went well,” Noir whispered.

              Ruith replied, “You have the Lumin's luck, my friend.  That Ardent guy was new to the position.  Any seasoned Lieutenant would have known the names and faces of all the Luxins on staff.”

              “I'll take all the luck I can get,” Noir whispered back.  They walked down the long hall of the fort and found that it opened into a small courtyard.  They could see the night sky above.  “Hey, this is the courtyard that Finn saw when he was scoping out the fort.”

              “I don't see Finn, though,” Ruith said.  “We were supposed to meet here if any of us got separated.”

              “Do you think we should wait for him?” Noir asked.

              Ruith looked around the courtyard.  Guards jogged by.  They looked at the two of them with interest, but didn't stop to do or say anything.  Ruith , “I don't think we can.  Us standing around would raise suspicion.  We're supposed to be trying to find a murderer, remember?”

              They continued walking past the courtyard.  “I hope Finn is alright, though.”

              “Me too, but we have to find Nidhoggr.  Remember your mission, Noir.”

              Noir nodded and continued walking quickly and resolutely.  No guards questioned them as they walked through the fort.

              Eventually, after finding and going down several sets of stairs, the stone walls ended and their path opened up into a cave tunnel that wound down.  Ruith removed a small glow sphere from his pack, lit it, held it out in front of him, and then started down into the caverns.

              The rocks stood out in odd, natural-looking steps whenever there was a sharp decline.  Noir realized a Din Mage must have worked the rocks to create the steps.

              “I... think I can remember the way,” Ruith stammered.  He sounded tense.  “It was a long time ago, though.”

              “How long?” Noir asked.

              “I lost track of the years,” Ruith said distantly as he peered into two different branching cave paths.  “Maybe forty-five or fifty years.”

              “What can I expect?”

              Ruith didn't answer right away.  He continued to lead Noir farther down.  Finally, after Noir's mind had already wandered, Ruith replied, “Something terrible.”

              Noir and Ruith climbed ever down into the depths of the cave.  Often, the tunnel tightened in around them and they had to duck under low-hanging ceilings or squeeze through tight paths that made Noir yearn to be outside once more.  Steven claimed to be moderately claustrophobic.  Noir wondered if he had inherited a bit of the paranoia as well.

              The cave branched several times, but Ruith always seemed to find the way forward.  Randomly along their path were sealed doors.  These doors were always in odd shapes, obviously made to fit the contours of the cave around them.

              After a long time of silence, Noir said, “There's one thing that's been bothering me, Ruith.  How are we going to get Nidhoggr out once we free him?  We've got to be incredibly far under the surface by now.  How'd they get him in here, anyway?”

              “I suspect it has something to do with Din Mages' earth abilities.  About getting Nidhoggr out, he will not need help with that.”

              Ruith acted as though that settled the conversation, but Noir was still confused.  “What do you mean?  Why doesn't he need help?”

              Ruith sighed and ducked under a massive, low-hanging boulder that jutted out from the wall.  “He brought din to this world, Noir.  He has complete control over fire, ice, and the ground.  Once we free him from the siphon enchant, he will simply use din to burrow upward through the ground.”

              “I see.  I didn't know he was that powerful.”

              Noir continued on in thought for a long time.  Eventually, his legs ached from all of the climbing and mentioned it to Ruith.  He suggested Noir try to heal his legs.  He explained that muscles tore slightly when over-used.  Noir tried it and found that it helped with the pain in his legs, but they still felt just as tired.

              Eventually, Ruith slowed and held the small glow sphere above his head.  After a long moment of Noir savoring sitting, Ruith said quietly, “We're here.”

              Noir was immediately on his feet.  He looked the direction Ruith was peering but didn't see anything.  “Where?”

              “The chamber where Nidhoggr is being held captive is just around that bend in the tunnel.”  He turned and looked at Noir.  “Your destiny lies waiting in that room, Noir.”

              “My destiny?” Noir asked.  “What are you talking about?”

              “You will see,” Ruith answered cryptically, and he continued forward slowly.  “There has to be someone guarding the entrance.  There always is.  Be careful.”  Noir followed him and mimicked his slow, careful steps.  Suddenly, Noir sensed someone ahead using a large amount of lux.  “Did you feel--”

              “Yes,” Ruith whispered.  “Be ready.”

              Noir quietly drew his golden-hilted sword and held it in front of him.  Ruith never carried any weapon and walked behind Noir.  Noir almost grasped lux to put up a shield, but thought better of it.  Someone else who could use lux would sense it just like Noir had.  They slowly rounded the corner and, to Noir's surprise, saw the yellow outline of a person bending light around himself.  The person was crouched in the corner on the opposite side of the tunnel from the largest door they'd seen in the caverns yet.

              Noir realized the person had no way of knowing both he and Ruith could see the use of lux.  They must have thought themselves well-hidden.

              Noir leaned in close to Ruith and whispered, “Get close but act like you don't see him.”

              Ruith gave a tiny nod.  They advanced on the door but made a point of not looking at the lux user crouching in the corner.  Noir cleared his throat and lied quietly, “I guess no one is here.”

              Ruith grunted in response.  Noir neared the door but kept the lux user in his peripheral vision.  Once he got close enough to attack, Noir thrust as quickly as possible with his sword at the yellow shape.  His sword bounced off a quickly-made light barrier.

              Noir saw a flow of lux from Ruith solidify the air around the enemy's arms.  Noir started to make a flow of lux into the person's mouth and throat, but instead diverted the lux into a light barrier.  A stream of fire poured from the person's hand toward Noir and Ruith and lux dissipated from the person's body.  A severely scarred woman in a black, yellow, and red robe sneered at them.  Noir made the light barrier grow in size, then curl in on itself around the dual vigor user.  Sensing the trap that Noir was about to create, the woman stopped the flow of fire and instead made the ground above and below Noir heave together.  Noir barely jumped out of the way as the two pillars of rock smashed together where he'd been standing.  Noir landed hard on his side and his sword clattered away from him.  Ruith thrust out his hand in his own ground attack.  A spike of rock shot out behind the woman, but bounced off a hastily-made light barrier.