NOVEL NEXT B3 - Lesson 17: "Onward! To Halirosa!"
A sharp jerk jolted Garrelt out of his restless half-sleep, snapping his eyes open. For a split second, he was caught between dreams and reality — ice caverns, train tunnels, and the memory of Robert's cold sneer all tumbling together in the fog of waking. Then the world steadied: the soft, bone-white seat beneath him; the dim, steady hum of the train; the glowing blue line on the wall map showing they'd nearly reached the tunnel's end.
He wiped a hand across his eyes, glancing around. Antchaser was already alert, boots planted wide and arms crossed, eyes scanning the sealed door with practiced calm. Maggy had been hunched over a battered notepad, but she too had straightened, glancing up with equal parts anticipation and nerves. Dr. Maria, ever composed, closed her travel case with a faint click, while Hugo stood at the control panel, eyes fixed on the shifting data.
A low, rising whine vibrated through the floor as the train slowed further, the rush of wind outside dying to a hush. A soft voice broke the silence: "We're here," Alpha said, his antborg form uncurling from the corner and straightening, one antenna arched in quiet satisfaction.
Garrelt blinked, rubbing his jaw. "Already?" he muttered, stifling a yawn as he reached for his pack. "Feels like I just closed my eyes. That was faster than I—"
The floor gave a sudden, unexpected lurch beneath them. The world tipped, the train shuddering as if something immense had seized it from below. Antchaser braced instinctively, one hand flashing to his sidearm. Maggy squeaked, clutching her staff. Even Dr. Maria's iron composure cracked for a heartbeat, a brief scowl flickering across her face.
"What in the—" Garrelt started, rising halfway from his seat.
Alpha's antborg didn't even wobble. "Hold on. We're just changing levels. This station sits on a vertical stack, not a horizontal one."
A low, mechanical groan echoed through the car as the entire train began to rise. Through the viewports, streaks of light and shadow shifted: now stone, now rough-hewn scaffolding, now flashes of glowing runes. The sensation was less like an elevator and more like being lifted by the hand of some immense, unseen giant.
It lasted only a handful of seconds before the train halted with a final hiss. Status lights along the ceiling blinked green, and the doors slid open with a clean, hydraulic whoosh.
A rush of cooler air swept into the car. The group gathered their things and stepped out, blinking in the sudden brightness of the station beyond.
Compared to the sprawling, echoing grandeur of the Transit Nexus they'd left behind, this new station was compact — just a single platform, unfinished scaffolds crowding one side, and rough walls lined with scaffolding and equipment. Antborgs trundled about in neat columns, carrying crates, spools of cable, and sheets of alloy. Intermixed with them was a crew of living workers: a tall, broad-shouldered human arguing over a schematic with a wiry, long-eared beast folk; a pair of stocky dwarves manhandling a generator into place; even a scaled dragonkin wearing a metal band around his eyes, directing antborgs with sharp, clipped gestures.
Maggy stopped dead, eyes going wide. "Wait… who are all these people? The only folks in the cavern besides us and the goblins were supposed to be the expedition team. And you," she added, glancing at Alpha.
Garrelt watched, frowning. He'd assumed any helpers would be goblin volunteers, not this mismatched circus.
Alpha's antborg cocked its head, the red lens pulsing with obvious amusement. "Oh, come now, Maggy. Where did you think Bosco's crew ended up? Someone has to pay off their community service — and a few decades on construction detail keeps them out of trouble." The antborg's mandibles clicked in a mechanical laugh.
Maggy stared, then sputtered, half laughing herself. "You… you put the bandits to work?"
Alpha's antennae waggled. "Idle hands make for dangerous dungeons. Besides, someone has to build the future. May as well be those with something to make up for."
Hugo stepped forward, "Don't let Mr. Alpha's words scare you. The ones allowed this far out are those who have proven themselves well-behaved. For the most part. As for the others…" Hugo's gave became distant and he shook his head.
Garrelt just laughed, smirking despite himself as they stepped out onto the platform. The station bustled with activity, the sound of hammers, clattering metal, and distant laughter mingling with the ever-present hum of antborgs at work.
He glanced back at the train, then forward to the rough-hewn tunnel mouth leading deeper into the unknown.
"Well," he muttered, shouldering his pack. "Here's hoping the rest of this ride is as interesting as the last."
Maggy grinned, her staff tapping out a quick rhythm on the platform. Dr. Maria just gave a quiet, knowing smile, and Antchaser — silent as always — scanned the new surroundings, already searching for potential threats and opportunities.
And somewhere in the buzz of construction, Alpha's antborg led the way, ushering them into the next phase of their strange, spiraling journey.
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The group wound their way through the heart of the unfinished station, the sharp tang of cut stone and fresh metal hanging in the air. Echoes bounced off concrete pillars and half-assembled machinery as antborgs and former bandits hustled along, focused on tasks both mundane and arcane. Maggy trailed her fingers along a segment of newly laid track, her gaze darting from intricate runework to a human engineer, who offered a tight nod before returning to her wiring. Even Garrelt had to admit, as he watched a pair of dwarves bicker over spirit-level measurements, that Alpha's community service was running smoother than most surface operations he'd seen.
The main platform ended abruptly at a broad set of security doors. Alpha's antborg led them through, past a checkpoint where a dragonkin foreman gave the group a wary look, then flashed a toothy grin as he recognized Hugo and the antborg. One last blast of filtered air, and they emerged into a stone-walled vestibule filled with a crisp, golden light.
A single exit stood open: a broad archway with raw rock edges, sunlight streaming in through a camouflage of moss and scrub. For the first time in weeks, the outside world beckoned.
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They stepped out, and the breath caught in Maggy's throat.
They stood halfway up the shoulder of a vast mountain, high enough that the air carried the chill bite of late spring. The slope below them was a tumble of heather and boulder fields, cut through with the ghost-trails of ancient landslides.
But it was the view ahead that held them rapt.
The sky was a brilliant blue, streaked with trailing clouds and the silver flare of distant spirit beasts on the wing. And there, far across the green sweep of foothills and patchwork forests, sprawled the walls and towers of Halirosa.
From this distance, only the city's shape was clear: a colossal walled sprawl, studded with crystalline towers and ringed by shimmering barriers that caught the sun like stained glass. Maggy pressed a hand to her brow, squinting. Yet, even from here, it was hard to miss that Halirosa was alive with movement. Airships hovering near the higher districts, their hulls etched with luminous glyphs; a faint dust-haze of traffic drifting through open gates. Occasionally a tiny dot could be seen lifting off from one of the clan compounds that ringed the city — sometimes flying to the city proper, other times deeper into the mountains beyond.
She couldn't see the people milling about in the city itself, not individually, but she could imagine them, a tide of cultivators and mages, each chasing a hundred ambitions.
Garrelt gave a low whistle. "Haven't seen Halirosa from this angle in years," he murmured, eyes tracing the ring of outlying peaks and the myriad roads spidering down toward the main gates. "If we're where I think we are, it shouldn't be but a few more hours to the gates."
Dr. Maria simply watched, her gaze distant, memories flickering in the sharp lines of her face. "Ten million souls," she said quietly. "Every clan, sect, and guild on the continent has a stake here. If you're strong enough, or smart enough, or just lucky, you find your way to Halirosa sooner or later."
Maggy swallowed. "I hope teacher is doing well…" she said, her eyes drifting toward a particular tower on the western side of the city. Part of her suspected that he already knew someone had been targeting the artifact. Perhaps sending it with her on the expedition had been his way of trying to protect it.
Hugo grinned, adjusting the harness on his back. He turned and looked at Alpha. "Wait until you see the market districts at night. All the alchemical fires — makes it look like someone dropped a whole constellation onto the ground."
They stood like that for a while, letting the wind carry the sounds of the wild and the distant, muffled hum of civilization.
Antchaser was the first to break the spell. He set his pack on the ground and offered each of them a brisk, almost formal nod. "Well. This is where I leave you," he said, his voice rough but not unkind. "I was only acting as an escort. I will be heading back down. You know the way to the city from here."
Garrelt frowned. "You're not coming with us? I thought maybe you had changed your mind"
Antchaser shrugged, the gesture stiff in his armor. "I've got my own work to do. You'll manage." He turned to Maggy and gave a slight tilt of his head. "Keep an eye on these two, yeah?"
Maggy laughed despite herself, tears prickling at the corners of her eyes. "No promises."
Dr. Maria extended her hand. Antchaser hesitated, then took it, the gesture awkward but sincere. "Good luck, Doctor. And thank you."
To everyone's surprise, Hugo stepped forward, slinging his pack higher. "I'll actually be joining them," he announced, voice matter-of-fact.
Maggy blinked. "Wait—what? You're coming to Halirosa?"
Alpha's antborg let out a low whirr, amusement in his voice. "Of course. Hugo will be acting as my liaison for all matters Halirosa-related. Not that I'd send him alone…"
The armor on Hugo's shoulder rippled and parted, and a glossy [Wasp] drone emerged, wings twitching, lenses gleaming in the sunlight. It settled onto his pauldron, scanning the group with a mechanical click.
Garrelt raised an eyebrow but grinned. "Alpha never does anything by halves, does he?"
"No," said Maggy, shaking her head with a smile. "He really doesn't."
Antchaser and the antborg exchanged a final look with the group. "Don't get yourselves killed," he said, then turned and strode back to the tunnel entrance. Alpha's antborg turned and followed behind. The tunnel mouth was already vanishing by the time they passed the threshold, and then, with a faint shimmer, the entrance sealed, stone plates sliding together until only moss and shadow remained — utterly indistinguishable from the rest of the mountainside.
For a moment, no one spoke. Then Dr. Maria drew herself up, squaring her shoulders as she gazed at the city below.
"Well," she said, "we've got a bit of a hike ahead. Shall we?"
Maggy, Garrelt, Hugo, and the ever-watchful drone took their first steps down the winding mountain path, the distant thunder of Halirosa promising challenge, danger, and opportunity in equal measure. The road to the city beckoned—alive with possibility.
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Twilight pressed in on the winding mountain path, casting the battered company of survivors in long, restless shadows. Robert strode at the head of the line, boots striking the frost-crusted ground with unwavering purpose. The handful of bandits trailing behind him were ragged but obedient, their eyes fixed on his back as if he alone could conjure salvation from the wilderness.
They were still a few days away, but he set a brutal pace, driving them forward with promises: Icefinger would reward those who delivered news of the expedition's fate. Riches, new postings, a fresh start. All spun from Robert's easy, confident smile and the glint of steel in his gaze. Each man nursed his own hope, and Robert fed it with practiced skill, his words honeyed, his tone unyielding.
Inwardly, Robert's mind worked with cold precision. He weighed every word, every risk. Most of these fools would be dead or discarded once Icefinger learned the truth. But Robert had no intention of joining them. He'd gathered enough secrets — about the dungeon, about the goblins, about Magnus's failures — to make himself indispensable. If he played his cards right, he might even slip into the old man's seat.
A rustle of gravel announced a presence at his side. One of the healthier bandits — a wiry man with sharp eyes and a hopeful, hungry grin — matched pace beside him, falling into step just outside arm's reach.
"Boss," the bandit said, dropping his voice, "wanted to say, you did right by us. Would've all been worm food if not for you." He licked his lips, glancing at the others trudging behind. "Figure you and me, we could make a good team. If, you know, you're looking for someone to watch your back. Icefinger's crew can be a little… cutthroat. With Magnus gone, ya could use someone to deal with the more… annoying problems." The man winked.
Robert gave him a sidelong smile, friendly but unreadable. "Loyalty's a rare thing these days. I appreciate it." He let the words hang, his expression open but offering nothing.
The bandit paused and frowned, but it was gone in an instant. He pressed on, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "Course, loyalty's a two-way street. 'Specially for men tryin' to move up in the world." His grin tightened, eyes flicking to Robert's hands. "Right shame what happened to Magnus and all. Though I guess it's an opportunity for you, inn't?"
The bandit tilted his head. "What'd you say happened to him again? After we all scattered? Just so we all have our… story straight." The man's grin widened.
Robert's smile cooled, eyes darkening just a fraction. The bandit's bravado faltered.
"Careful," Robert murmured, his tone almost gentle. "Sometimes, seeing too much is worse than being blind."
The bandit's mouth opened in sudden panic. He took half a step back, but Robert moved faster — a blur of steel and cultivated Will. There was a muffled gasp, a gurgle. The man's eyes widened, surprise frozen on his face. Then he dropped, limp.
Without breaking stride, Robert slid the body into his spatial ring. The entire exchange took only a heartbeat. The others, lagging a dozen paces behind, saw nothing but their leader pausing for a moment on the ridge, staring down the road.
Robert straightened, rolling his shoulders as if easing off a burden. By the time the next pair of bandits hurried up, winded and expectant, his smile was back. Brighter, warmer than before.
"Keep up," he called, voice ringing with new purpose. "Icefinger rewards those who bring him good news. And trust me, there's more waiting in Halirosa than any of you could imagine."
The bandits picked up their pace, hope rekindled by the promise in his words.
Robert led them on, eyes fixed on the distant city lights, already plotting his next move.