The Underground

Three factions controlled the four lifts that ferried people from the surface to the depths.

The Government, speaking for the nobles.

The Merchant and Salvager Guild, for the economy.

The Paladins, for the civilization as a whole.

These three factions watched and kept the peace of the landing zone, and they did so with incredible effectiveness. They also controlled what came out of the depths.

In the Government’s exit line, you will hand over half of the weight of your salvage to the Government, generally, on top of any items they deem illegal. The benefit of going in this line is that you can sell the salvage yourself later, and if you’re clever, you can offload the worthless weight on them.

In the Guild line, you have to sell all of your stuff to the guild merchants. You get money right then and there, and don’t have to worry about dealing with the government, regulations, and selling the stuff yourself.

The Paladins and their staff would be around to help you in the case of a dispute with the government’s dogs, or some greedy merchant.

***

“Stop being so happy, Tim. It’s going to offend the career salvagers.”

“Oops.” I put on a scowl that was my best imitation of Ravela’s. “Got it.”

She sighed. “Alright, so, we’re going to travel for about an hour, okay? We’re going to find a nice, secluded spot, and we’re going to dig around, okay?”

“Got it. We’re staying away from people for our own safety, right?”

“Absolutely. All kinds of things can happen in the dark down here. Best we not be near anyone and risk them acting on a thought that would never see the light of day.”

“I am a complete fan of that caution.”

“Good. I’d hate it if you complained about being too cautious.”

The cavern had two exit tunnels, so to speak. We passed many guards before finally reaching a wall of scrap at the end of the tunnel. We registered our names on the ledger and then walked out through a heavily bolted and reinforced door.

“Whoa,” I said, my eyes barely making out the shapes in the dark.

“Yeah… Welcome to the depths, Timaeus.”

I had never experienced such an overwhelming, stale darkness.

At first, I thought I was staring at the vague shapes of rock formations. But no, it was scrap. All of it. The world beyond that heavy door was a sea of twisted, rusted ruin—piled high and uneven like hills molded from garbage. All those erratic shapes sticking out from the piles—there was just so much. I was almost in disbelief that there was enough garbage in the world to fill this underground world.

And the hills of garbage stretched endlessly in all directions.

We stood on one of the rare patches of real stone—flat and cold, maybe fifty feet wide. It looked like someone had cleared this area ages ago, probably back when someone thought this zone would become a staging ground. There was even a lamp post to one side, flickering weakly, casting blue light that didn’t do much past a few feet. The lanterns mounted to the wall behind us burned with the same faint magic-blue, giving a hazy glow to the tunnel mouth we’d just emerged from. In the distance, there were a handful of blue lights, flickering like ancient stars.

“Those blue lights,” I said. “They’re like this lamppost here, right? The waypoints you told me about?”

“Yup,” Ravela replied, pulling out her respirator. “Alright, you got enough of the stale air down here. Respirator on.”

I put on my own respirator and passed her a few more vials for hers. “Good to have extra.”

“Thanks,” she said, stowing them in one of her coat’s inner pockets.

Still, the darkness down here was overwhelming. I now understood why she told me to bring a few pocket lanterns. With so many jagged surfaces and valleys between mounds, light was essential to avoiding stupid injuries and catching a glimpse of the thing aiming to attack you.

Ravela picked a direction and walked. “Stick close, Timaeus.”

“So… these mounds move?”

“Yeah,” she replied. Her boots clunked as she stepped onto a metal sheet embedded in the floor. It creaked under her weight, but held. “They settled three days ago, so we’ll be fine.”

“What makes these mountains of junk move? I can’t imagine.”

“No idea,” she replied, hopping down, and crunching layers of metal. “Maybe an ocean of slime beneath it or something.”

I tried stepping on a bunch of loose junk only for it to sink and force out muddy liquid. “Slime… And yeah, slime monsters. How ready do I have to be for those?”

“Their numbers have been pretty low for the past week. I’d estimate we’re only going to run into three or four an hour.”

“Wow…”

I chuckled loud enough for her to hear it.

“You were really keeping an eye on the conditions down here for me, huh?”

“Obviously,” she replied. “You think I want you getting hurt down here? You’re an annoying hunk sometimes, but I do want to set you up for success.”

I gasped.

“What? You see something?”

“No… You called me a hunk.”

Ravela looked over her shoulder and glared at me. “The putrid air got to my head.”

“No, you can’t take it back!” I said with a quiet laugh.

“Whatever.”

I activated Mana Vision and grinned. There are mana vapors pouring out all over the place. I won't stop Ravela ahead of time. I'll just hope there are more out there.

I took one last look around. The landing zone’s lamps' light barely reached the first few mounds. Beyond that, the depths swallowed everything in stillness and shadow.

“It should be an easy day, Timaeus,” she said, as if reciting a prayer.