Parto 4: La Teamo. 41: La Solvo

“Alright, let’s get this over with,” Kanako said, already halfway to the door. “Let’s go check out those vents.”

Kanako always seemed ready to launch themselves into these things without a second thought, treating them like fun adventures. They were a good way to get themselves killed, that’s what they were. I thanked myself on behalf of Kanako. Thanks Gabino, for always being there to save me.

I hate to admit it, but Medusa, unlike Kanako, made some sense.

“Wait,” they said, holding up a hand. “If Arakil’s hunch is correct, this could be far bigger than we imagined.”

“Great,” I said. “So maybe it’s time to pick a group name, you know, for the history books.”

Medusa ignored me, which was probably for the best.

“You two should go check at night,” they continued, looking at Kanako. “That way, the chances of getting caught are smaller. Check things out, and then tell us what you find tomorrow.”

Kanako’s eyes narrowed, as if they were trying to find a loophole in Medusa’s logic. They sighed, conceding the point.

“You’re right.”

So, that was the plan. Sneak out at night, do exactly what La Instruisto asked us not to do, and then report back. To be fair, this was a typical way to spend the night as of late.

At the agreed time, Kanako and I snuck out outside. I helped them up to the vent entrance. It was a tight fit, even for them, but they took the time to look back at me and give me a don’t worry about it, I’ve got this smile. Or maybe it was a nervous smile, I don’t know.

It was dark and quiet, and the whole place felt different. Creepier. I felt like I was being watched and we were going to get caught, but nobody ever showed up.

I kept glancing over my shoulder, listening to Kanako’s shuffling inside, the sound echoing through the metal ducts. It was a little scary, just a little, but I tried not to show it. I mean, someone had to be the responsible one here.

After what felt like an eternity, Kanako emerged, covered in dust and looking frustrated.

“Dead end,” they said. “The map is incomplete. There’s another section, but it’s too small. I can’t fit through.”

So we weren’t done yet. Great.

The next day we were again in Medusa’s room, with the excuse of a Konektu Ses tournament. We updated the others.

“So, what now?” Osiris asked.

“Maybe Abrajm could fit?” Medusa suggested after a brief silence.

Abrajm perked up at the sound of their name, as usual. We all looked at them. They were small enough. But there was a problem.

“Abrajm?” I asked. “You think Abrajm’s going to understand what we want them to do? Talking to Abrajm is like talking to a wall. I mean, if the wall was really fast and liked to run away.”

Serena spoke up, their voice small but firm.

“Of course Abrajm understands,” they said. “Don’t be mean!”

“Look,” I said, “even if Abrajm gets what we’re saying, how are they supposed to navigate in there? They’re not going to pull out a map and take notes.”

“Abrajm can go in, and I’ll go with them. I can help,” Serena said.

“What if…” said Osiris. “Kanako, Medusa and I can create a distraction and you three can check the system.”

This guy. That was why Medusa was the one that made the plans here.

“It could work,” said Medusa. Of course, they did.

“Wait, wait” I said. “So, that’s the plan? You three cause chaos while I babysit, waiting for them to find something magical in the vents?”

“We do it tonight,” said Kanako.

After dinner, Kanako, Medusa, and Osiris went to distract the instruistoj, which involved some complicated scheme I didn’t understand and didn't really care about. I just wanted this to be over.

I went back to the ventilation system entrance with Serena and Abrajm. Serena's job was to stop Abrajm from wandering off into the depths of the ventilation system. I was going to be on the lookout. This whole thing felt like a bad dream.

I helped Abrajm, then Serena, into the vent. This was such a dumb idea. So, so dumb. After a while, nothing. Just creepy silence. It was unnerving. I kept glancing around. Then I heard a faint whisper from inside the vents. It was Serena. I couldn't make out what they were saying.

Just as I was about to check inside, the sound of footsteps sent a chill down my spine. I moved a few steps away, leaning casually against the wall as La Instruisto 2-3 approached.

“Gabino,” said 2-3, with their monotone voice. “What are you doing out here?”

“Me?” I said, feigning nonchalance. “Just... I thought I should look at the stars. Such a beautiful night, am I right?”

La Instruisto stared at me, unblinking. I cleared my throat.

“Look at all of them! Did you know if you connect them, they form shapes? Look, that one looks like a duck wearing a top hat!” I tilted my head. “Wait, maybe it’s a rabbit going into the top hat!”

They looked up, then back at me. Finally, they nodded.

“Carry on.”

I waited until they were out of sight, then counted to twelve before returning to the vent.

“Abrajm?” I whispered.

As if I had invoked them, Abrajm almost crashed into me when they burst out of the vent, their face flushed. They started hopping around me. Clutched in their hand was a piece of wood.

While I tried to catch Abrajm, Serena appeared behind them, panting.

“They found it!”

So, anyway, Abrajm had found another stupid piece of wood. This one had numbers on it. Just numbers.

051533-110521
 043104-310205
 212140-135134
 -Kimiti

That was it. No drawings, no weird symbols, just numbers. I mean, what were we supposed to do with that? Add them up? Multiply them? It was ridiculous.

But the next day, Medusa was all excited about the numbers because, apparently, it wasn’t a riddle. Which was a relief, I guess.

Medusa said something about "Poligono Square," which sounded redundant, if you ask me. I didn’t know what they meant, and I didn’t care, to be honest. But it went something like this:

Medusa decided the SES×SES meant a 6x6 square. They got all excited, scribbled out some letters based on the numbers, and it came out as “eisgeĵdpdpceĵĵuh1ŝ.” Which, obviously, meant absolutely nothing. Medusa looked like they were about to cry.

Kanako, meanwhile, was trying to use the numbers from the second message on the first message, the one with the wind and the deep sea and all that. Then Medusa had this big “aha!” moment and declared PROFUNDA was the “key” for the square. They tried it, and out popped “nemanĝukukonĝĝtc1s.” The first part, surprisingly, did mean something:

Ne manĝu kukon.

“Don’t eat cake.” Kanako said it meant we shouldn’t eat cake on La Flugo. Which, okay, fine. But what about the ĝĝtc1s?

Kanako started asking Medusa about the numbers, because maybe they were "positions of the letters," or whatever. But Medusa pointed to the first message, “Oh, no! It’s only twelve words long and I have thirty-six numbers!” Then Osiris, who was still somehow paying attention, “But you used some, didn’t you? You have some left.” And Medusa, “Oh, wow! You’re right. Yes, twelve!”

After a bunch more mumbling and writing and pointing, they finally figured out the first message.

Neniam Eliros.

“Will never leave.” That's what it was.

Kanako said it confirmed Arakil’s suspicions. That we were not going to La Granda Ekstero after all. Which, at this point, didn't surprise me one bit.

This whole place felt like a trap from the start.