NOVEL NEXT Vol. 2, Ch. 107: Paydirt
Fiona took a look at the unassuming gold bar, and at a glance, she knew it was Aurelium. It had no tarnish to it, like Doug had mentioned, and matched the coloring on her armor. It also had an almost imperceptible glow that illuminated her hand.
Stranger still, that whisper that she thought she'd imagined earlier wasn't a trick; she heard it loud and clear, now. But she couldn't make out words.
Wingding, remind me not to let it go to my head, if I somehow find a pile of missing gold for the Kingdom of Fiefdala. And not just my shop. We're in this for altruism! Or, something like that! Her companion tapped out a quick response of glowing wings.
[Yes, mom.]
Fiona tried not to let her eyes widen at the comment, or the not-subtle shift of Wingding referring to her as 'Mom.' She was a mom to a stray phase cat, already.
Being a mom of possible nascent goddesses, who had the weirdest means of proliferation she'd heard of thus far? Not so much.
Or, it could have been Wingding being sassy, and she tried to pay no mind to it. Fiona turned her focus on the gold bar and took off her armored glove to hold it Under her glove free hand, she felt an electric tingle on her fingertips. Vick seemed reluctant to let go of the bar, given his continued employment likely hinged on keeping this ingot in his possession. But he did let go, after a few seconds. she cradled the bar in one hand, figuring out what to do next.
"So, how does this work?" Vick asked hesitantly.
She shrugged. "I focus on something, and then I can feel or sense a current. Or I just follow a scent." She then took a sniff of the gold bar.
"Are we sure it works by scent, and not some strange sixth sense?" Greg pondered aloud. "We haven't been very scientific about this one."
Fiona gave him a huff of indignation. "Have a little faith, will you?" She closed her eyes and took another inhale of the material, trying to focus on the economic lifeblood of Fiefdala. Hopefully it worked on literal interpretations.
It didn't take much. She picked up on the scent of the Aurelium easily enough–a metallic, sweet smell. It almost reminded her of a sweet roll, if you dipped it in pennies.
It was a strange smell, but one she could follow on instinct. And that instinct led her to a four-way intersection of tunnels, with the mine carts intersecting at a selector lever. The scent, or feeling, felt strongest going to the left. "This way. Vick, pack the wayfinding gold. I think we've gotten our use out of it for now."
"Thank goodness you didn't have to do something like destroy it. Or eat it," he replied, wiping the sweat off his brow.
"Ew, gross. You can't eat metal, unless you're a golem. And even they gave limits. I once saw a steel golem get picky when his scraps had rust on them!" Fiona had witnessed that and couldn't believe that was how some constructs sustained themselves, by eating raw ore or other metals.
The tunnel slope sloped down at a steeper angle, and Fiona's hand kept drifting to her coin belt for coiniukens, and her hammer. She also had added some of Bonnie's alchemical grenades, for good measure. There was no telling what they might run into. But someone had been here, and could be up to anything. A locking foam grenade or two would gum up just about anyone without solvents or insane strength.
She saw parted dust by another intersection, with a few faint boot prints visible. She shone the light on it and motioned to Greg. "Is this the same print?" she asked.
He pulled open his notebook to the indexed page. He shook his head after showing them side by side. "No, the tread pattern is different. This track is barely visible; notice the depth of the tread pattern. It's someone very light. Either a woman or a child. The one up top was made by a heavier male, most likely. But, different mediums between snow, versus dust and sand." He rose up, and dusted himself off. "Jake, how long before Nick and Cita get here, along with the backup team?"
"Half an hour, I had them camped out in Merivale, just in case. They didn't like me telling them that we could move faster with a smaller party." Jake's ears swiveled, and he put a finger to his muzzle. "I definitely heard something, really far off. Like metal against stone."
Bonnie nodded. "I heard it too." Fiona had missed it, but when Bonnie pointed the direction it came from, it coincided with the tunnel branching off to the left, just ahead. "Who are we expecting, anyway?"
"Karlin likely has a crew of people working for him. His paperwork indicated he also had a local merc company working for him." Bonnie held her wand out now, and tapped each of them in turn. The motion resulted in a brief silver barrier wrapped around their bodies, then vanished. "One reactive barrier should be enough to deflect a heavy blow. But only one."
Fiona cast out her shield-shaped barrier when Bonnie got to her and smirked faintly. "Shield of the heart and home. Part of me wonders if when I get powers from helping people, it's something that I need, then or in the future. In this case, this one's been getting a workout."
"My advice? Avoid the pointy end of the weapon." Bonnie finished up, then cast one more spell on her hat, which turned silvery and flowed like quicksilver. It formed a shorter, harder metal helmet that protected her ears, too. "Jake, rules of engagement?"
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"Take 'em alive, if possible. We have questions that need addressing. Fiona, you might want to turn off your goldshine. Bonnie, we got anything for night vision down here?" Jake asked. She pointed to a green potion in a small glass vial on her belt.
"Cat's eye vision, it lasts for an hour. Looks like we'll need it." Everyone gulped theirs down, and Fiona felt a tightening by her forehead, then a slight pressure on her eyes that faded over several seconds. "It has a possible side effect, it might give you a tension headache. It's a bit intense," Bonnie explained.
Doug didn't need the potion and prowled forward. "I'll scout ahead with the elf. I haven't fought much, but maybe we don't need to." They descended deeper into the tunnel, past mine carts and more ore that was left behind.
The potion brought a whole new definition to the darkness. While she couldn't see color as well, she could see contrast, and the world was awash with grey and brightness, even with the severe lack of light. She signaled everyone forward, making quick progress.
But there was something new, not that far down. Fiona saw dim lights marking the tunnel that hadn't been present closer to the entrance. And, she saw a blue glow dancing on the wall of one of the corners. It was almost too bright, too intense now, after drinking the potion. She sprang toward cover with barely a single echo, pressing against the wall and daring a peek. She noted that the teleport was dimly lit and fluctuating lightly, indicating it was in a standby mode. A metal tank with a glass window, and wires coming out of the top, connected to the platform, and other wires covered in patchworks of binding tape, and an errant spark of arcane light came from a frayed section. Inside the tank, Fiona could see a glowing blue crystal, arcing like a Tesla ball within the confines of the fluid within.
"Power's on, and someone's home," she whispered, motioning for the others to take a peek. "But I think they're deeper down the tunnels. I see a connecting passage further down. The treasure scent feels like it wants me to go that way."
Vick loaded a compact crossbow with a spring-loaded magazine and gave it a sharp tug. "We really should wait for Jake's backup–"
A louder, distant booming sound echoed from deeper in the tunnels. She glanced at him, then tilted her head in the direction it came from. "Look, if we wait, someone could demolish the place before we figure out what they're doing. I just don't see how anyone knows we're here."
"Could be a coincidence. Perhaps Karlin had a contingency going, in case his foundry was compromised?" Doug suggested. "He also knew we were there, and presumed we'd find this. He might have counted on us having enough information to piece it together ourselves."
"That is such a big-brain move. Never attribute to genius that which you can attribute to paranoia. Or, something like that." Fiona slipped out of cover, hustling past the light source and back down into the darkened tunnel on the far side, with everyone following suit.
More dim lights guided the way. The cables led further down the tunnel, and she saw much brighter light around a bend in the path. She heard a grinding sound and an electric whir, somewhere ahead. Light grew brighter around the corner, like seeing an incoming car at night, coming over a hill.
"Cover!" She called out quickly, and they all scattered to the recesses of the tunnel. No sooner than they cleared, but a motorized mine cart rounded the corner, illuminating the corridor with bright yellow light. They waited in silence without moving a muscle, and the cart rumbled by, with someone talking loudly over the rumble of a steam engine running the contraption.
"...So my cousin Ginny, she told me about this bistro in downtown Fiefdala…"
Fiona didn't hear the tantalizing tale of this bistro she now wanted to visit. The cart with three people inside continued on its brisk pace and rounded a corner in a grind of metal and a steam boiler, before the sound faded into the distance. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
"Guess that confirms we're not alone down here," Jake whispered, before tapping his relay. "Nick, Cita, the mine is occupied. Counted three or more, headed topside."
Nothing but static answered. "Damn. We're too far down for the relays to work, but might still work on local communication. Stay sharp."
Fiona slid out of cover and followed the mine tracks at a hurried pace. There was no telling what they'd find deeper down. She also kept an ear open for any more carts coming up the tunnel, and the worry the first one might make a return trip sometime soon.
"You see the size of that trolley? You could fit a dragon inside it." Doug was greeted with snickers from Fiona. "Yes, haha, so funny. It's what I know for comparison, alright?"
"I'd categorize it as having a capacity for about ten tons of ore. Quite a lot." Greg pushed his glasses up. "How much gold is there in Fiefdala?"
"Enough to collapse the price of gold if they flooded the market," Vick grumbled. "Maybe that was why the mine dried up? Someone didn't want that to happen?"
"Or, someone's trying to follow a fool's hope. For once, I believe that Fiona's theory isn't unfounded. If we were to presume that this is Karlin's motivation, then we have to ask, what's his end goal?"
"He can't change what happened to our mother. This is his tribute to her, as messed up as it is." Doug shook his head in the gloom of the tunnel beside Fiona. "That said, if he's here? Don't hold back against him. I won't."
The descent took a few more minutes, and Fiona saw empty pallets discarded as the tunnel opened to an expanse–and on the edge of it, a dozen men milling about, taking gold and stacking it by what looked to be a massive crater in the ground.
"That looks like a meteor impact, almost. But underground?" Fiona didn't have words for it, other than the roughly spherical shape that appeared to be embedded in the cavern. Fiona gazed up and saw it had dredged a tunnel far, far above them. It stretched so far that the dim light couldn't reach. And, she could hear a whisper of the Aurelium around her.
Wingding, is that gold speaking, or am I going crazy?
[Gone, but not forgotten.]
But, she didn't see the gold anywhere–maybe it was still embedded in the walls? They ducked for cover behind several large packing crates. Fiona peered over the crate and saw–
"Greg, there's a problem. Those are Fiefdalian guards stacking bricks of gold and–"
Fiona watched in dismay as the guards tossed the gold bricks into the giant hole in the world. It was so far down she didn't hear it hit the bottom. "They're literally throwing away money down to…down to Underlune. What is going on?"
"We're throwing it back where it belongs."
The unfriendly voice was met by several weapons being drawn, and Fiona narrowed her eyes at several men who had appeared out of nowhere. Leading them was…
Oh, you scheming snake. Was this your big brain move?
Greg was the first to say it. "Oh, come on! Is there one person in this Kingdom that isn't trying to take advantage of you, Fiona?"
"I have this tendency to attract people crazier than me. What can I say?" Worse still, was the sheer amount that Fiona's team was outnumbered, as more men came out of an illusionary field, armed to the gills.
And leading them, was Theo, wearing a smug grin.