Chapter 26

The myriad of caves spanning unknown distances that comprised the complex system underneath Lamella’s Lands were a marvel rivaling the fifty castles themselves. Many of which remained unexplored outside of those large enough to accommodate groups of raiders eager to get the jump on unsuspecting convoys passing through. This growing dominion over the tunnels also made it next to impossible for archaeologists to scour the area for more fossils of Lamella’s pedigree.

But still there were those who trumped even Cloud Nine when it came to mastery of the cavern system, having navigated the dark and damp space all their lives. One such example being a remarkably small species of bat distinguishable by its boar-like snout. Aptly named the Hog-Nosed Bat, these tiny mammals spent a great deal of time roosting high on the walls and ceilings of the winding caves, often a great distance away from any entrances. As per their preference of roosting far apart from one another, it wasn’t uncommon for individual members of larger groups that ranged from the tens to the hundreds to find themselves in unfamiliar backdrops. Whether in pursuit of a meal or marking a section of cave for mating purposes.

Such was the case for the lone specimen currently tucked in a dark corner of one of the keeps inner wards. At peace as it remained undisturbed, ignorant to the comings and goings of the strangers occupying the extension of its abode as of late. And though the small mammal wasn’t conscious nor learned enough to make the distinction, foot traffic through the castle’s stone halls was more frequent and hurried as of recent. The sudden appearance of two Cloud Nine members proving this point as they crossed underneath the critter, ferrying a bundle of rope and large metal basin respectively. Both enroute to one of the castle’s curtain walls. Had the bat been awake it would have witnessed the exact moment a third member entered the same hall silently, then proceeded to approach the two from behind without making themselves known.

An ongoing debate regarding their assigned positions for the upcoming clash made them numb to this third presence, even as it came to be right on top of them. And once that distance had been closed, a hand shot out intended for the nearest of the two. The party member carrying the empty basin. And it was the flash of something that adorned the extended hand that finally allowed the would-be recipient to take notice. An involuntary gasp escaping them upon turning their head to investigate. Fortunately, the flash of something metallic proved to be no more than a silver band adorning the hand coming to rest on his shoulder.

“Change of plans.”

“Fucks sake Guire! The hell are you skulking around for?!”

“Please, if the two of you listened half as well as you complained about your postings, you’d have heard me coming.”

The third year out of Ortels had recently been moved from the Demenageurs to the Voltigeurs on Duck Reed’s recommendation, and yet he‘d been selected to help garrison the castle rather than accompany Matus on his visit. Above all he possessed a curious aptitude for speaking without opening or moving his mouth. Something party members were convinced was self-taught, a means to conceal the tragic results of a previous oral affliction. Both raiders were subconsciously reminded of this rumor as they readjusted the things they were carrying.

“What’s this about a change in plans?”

“That basin is needed on the south curtain wall now. I’m here to show you the shortcut.”

The two raiders exchanged dubious glances.

“We’re going to need more of an explanation than that.”

“Yeah, it’s hard to imagine the convoy going anywhere near the southern wall.”

Despite explaining what they believed to be obvious, Guire didn’t waver in the face of his colleagues and doubled down.

“Take it up with Hite, I’m just the messenger.”

“Well it’s a good thing our messenger has two arms capable of bringing the basin over himself.”

The man deposited the metal vessel in the ventriloquist’s hands before he had a chance to refuse it. Both he and his associate laughing in response as they turned to resume their stroll to the original destination.

“I don’t mind carrying the damn thing, but Hite wants to familiarize more of the garrison with the layout of the castle. And that includes the aforementioned shortcut to the south curtain wall. Last thing we need is members moving aimlessly when shit kicks off.”

The member he’d been addressing slowed his progress and turned halfway, face still expressing hints of dubiety. But the more both men thought about it, the more they realized how having a familiarity with the layout sounded like something Hite would stress.

“Alright, I’ll play along.”

The raider motioned for his partner to continue on his way with the rope while the two proceeded in the opposite direction. Guire returning the basin so fluidly that his new company didn’t have the wherewithal to the exchange.

“How the hell did you figure out the layout of this place so quickly anyway? Get lost on your way to the bathroom? Or maybe you and your Demen buddies have too much free time on your hands.”

“I’m a Volt now. Though that doesn’t seem to exempt me from wasting time based on the state I found the two of you in.”

The raider flexed his jaw and stared daggers at the man leading him through the dark recesses of the unfamiliar hallways. What few light sources there were coming from narrow slits high up on the walls and ceiling. An equally eerie silence pervaded the route they were taking to the southern wall, so much so one could mistake the castle for being empty save for the two of them.

“We turn right here.”

The longer they walked the more sweat formed on the party member’s hands, forcing him to transfer the basin from one hand to the other so he could dry each on his pant leg. A task made more difficult by the increasing narrowness of the halls they were passing through.

“Hey, Guire! Shouldn’t we be there by now?!”

“Just a bit further.”

So he said, but rather than opening back up or leading to an exit, the narrow hallway led to what appeared to be a staircase going downwards.

“I’d have thought a man from Dactyl would be more at home in dark cramped spaces.”

Guire maintained a steady pace as he descended the confined stairway. As opposed to his guidee who paused at the top, skeptical on whether to continue. He’d have probably left the basin and turned back outright were he more confident in his ability to return without getting lost. Instead it was with a few choice words under his breath that he too started downwards. Before finally regaining enough peace of mind to respond to the jab.

“Dactyl is just where I was staying until Hite picked me up. My actual hometown is a border city to the South.”

“Ah, yes. Assuming I've been correctly informed, our leader was courting you to Roy’s cause prior to that fateful encounter born of LCF treachery. Leaving you in limbo when he became part of the trade deal to resolve it. He must’ve made quite the pitch for you to follow him regardless.”

The party member found it very telling that Guire knew so much about his past. Likely the product of misgivings senior members had over accepting raiders of suspect allegiances. But for them to have persisted this long was surely a cause for concern. The more immediate concern, however, was how drastically the temperature and acoustics had changed all of a sudden.

“What the...?”

The man stopped in his tracks and spun around in a circle, waiting for his eyes to adjust so he could figure out where they’d ended up. It was when he noticed the dampness of the air and ground that a chill finally ran up his spine.

“Are these the tunnels? Why the hell would we need to come down here?”

There was no response. And it was at this point the party member realized he wasn’t sure which way they’d come from.

“Guire!”

Still no response. Not even footsteps. The only saving grace being the distant sound of what he’d wager was running water. Though the sound it was producing made his plight all the more ominous.

“What?”

The man jerked forward violently and dropped the basin with a loud clunk. His body breaking out in a cold sweat.

“What the fuck are you playing at?! And why are we in the tunnels?! What about the south curtain wall?!”

“I did say that was where we were going didn’t I.”

“What...?!”

The gears finally clicked inside the man’s head and he cursed his own naivety. Because all the clues had been there, both in the man’s words and the environment. But this wasn’t the time to anguish over his shortsightedness. No, he firmly believed he could make it out of this.

For starters his combat skills comfortably exceeded that of Guire’s, he knew this first hand from training. This would also account for the need to get him into a dark and unfamiliar setting to even the odds. A pistol would have normally erased that discrepancy but Guire wasn’t Skarpurian, he wouldn’t be able to see his target well in the absence of adequate lighting. True the tunnel was narrow, but he could still redirect his opponents aim or drop into a position low enough to avoid the muzzle. Based on the sound of his adversary's voice he was certainly close enough for that to be an option. The thought of seeking out the basin for use as a shield or weapon also crossed his mind.

I need to settle down. Start by determining his location. Listen for movement and then pounce!

It came then, the unmistakable sound of a pistol cocking. A pistol he had no recollection of glimpsing over the entire trek to their current location. And he’d checked. Not out of suspicion, but habit. The fact he’d needed to stick close to avoid getting lost had made it easy. But regardless of where the firearm had been concealed, it had given away the man’s location.

Dropping into a crouch the party member shifted his weight onto his toes and readied a tackle. If he could bring this confrontation to the ground he’d have a chance. Though rather than try and wrestle the pistol away he did have the option of indiscriminately picking a direction and fleeing. Guire’s knowledge of the system beneath the castle might make it a moot point, but it sure beat his present circumstances. Such were the man’s final thoughts as the muzzle of the pistol pressed into his left temple from a standing position.

Unbeknownst to the previous resident of Dactyl, Guire had extended his arm out to the side deliberately when he’d cocked the weapon. A tactic the raider on borrowed time failed to consider while under the incredible pressure of the moment. Even more unfortunate was the basin he’d dropped landing within arm's reach of his right hand without his knowledge. The one thing that could have potentially saved him had his hand reached down and grazed it.

“Wai—”

The sound of the shot reverberated throughout the tunnels, waking the scores of small bats that resided in the vicinity and sending them fluttering to new locals. The sounds of their frantic wings enough to make the traitor stoop down. And from that crouched position he took one last look at his victim. One of several Cloud Nine members whose connections to Hite made them a troublesome existence in Reed’s ideal raiding party.

Standing back up, Guire tossed the weapon down onto the chest of the recently deceased. So long...umm?

“What was your name again?”

*

“I cannot believe she’d just up and board another Crusader like that. I mean, you think you know a gal.”

“Lux, shut up. The group transmission is about to start.”

Jericka confirmed the switches on her end and gestured for their guest to join her and the blonde over by the equipment. A given as she was the only one with knowledge of the final castle’s layout.

“Try already started. Nice of you to join us.”

“Excuse me for having to wrangle our security rep.”

“It’s called being thorough. Or would you prefer I ignore the lollygaggers from the previous visit.”

“They were probably just doing a headcount.”

“Kircher ladies and gentlemen! Raiding party behav—ioral expert!”

“Cut it close Lux, but you got there in the end. Nice to see Cade rubbing off on you in that regard.”

“All in favor of replacing Kircher in the call with my pupil?”

“You’re pupil?”

“Esma, take over! I know you can hear me!”

“Order in the call!”

Wash’s bellow from the controls proved potent enough to reach the other two bridges over the headset. To say nothing of the poor girls crowded together in the corner of the same room.

“Well then, thanks to Officer Redcliffe it seems we’re ready to begin.”

Sumiye had been listening to the chaos unfold while reviewing the description of the “Gatehouse” supplied by the CFS responders.

“I know we’re all a bit mentally taxed at the moment, but let’s try to stay off each other’s throats for the time being. If you can’t manage that much then please leave the call.”

That shut everyone up. Nothing like gentle chastising to invoke shame and personal reflection.

“Before we get into it, I believe the commander has a few words he’d like to share with all of you and the crews.”

“Thank you Sumi, I’ll make it quick. Just wanted to commend all of you for your handling of the previous visit. Even in the face of an abnormal breakdown in communications, you all managed to operate both independently and effectively by leaning on your training and years of experience.”

Those in the call with a familiarity working under Lautnor were admittedly surprised to hear something so coherent coming from the mouth of the Convoy Commander. It transformed words they’d normally write off as sweet nothings to something resembling genuine pride. As for the others, it was in one ear and out the other. Long tired of the many instances in which similar words were uttered purely for the purpose of placating crews during rough stretches.

“Make sure you put that positive feedback in writing when it comes time to fill out our post-arrival evaluations. Some of us would stand to benefit from more endorsements.”

Lux and Emica regarded Jericka with a raised brow each as Wash groaned from the controls.

“Must safeguard emotions spurred by positive affirmations...no, you ruined it.”

“Tough crowd. So much for preparing note cards on the can before departure.”

“Commander your mic is still hot.”

“For good reason, let them know how much I agonize over my crew’s well-being!”

“Just one big well-oiled machine today, huh.”

Lux’s comment succeeded in easing some of the tension in the call. Whether it be related to the unexpectedly problematic roster chemistry or the threat of Cloud Nine.

“Logan Hite must be shaking in his boots right about now.”

“Shitting himself more like.”

“And people wonder why black boxes get scrubbed...”

“They what?!”

Wash expressed his disbelief loud enough to fill the channel once more.

“Is that why they’re always rejecting my solicitations for the recordings?! Some of my best material has come when I’m at the controls!”

“Moving on— to the matter at hand.”

Sumiye’s rare raising of her voice got the call back on track for the second time in as many minutes.

“Namely the castle we’ve dubbed the ‘Gatehouse.’ Of those constructed by Morg it can safely be considered the closest to completion. The others having been given up on at various points of the building process. In fact it’s believed his untimely death was the only reason it went unfinished.”

“Are you saying Lamella herself is under this castle?”

“Was moron. They moved it remember. But I assume you’ve brought this up for a reason.”

Lautnor answered in place of the head CO who he could tell was starting to wear down after such a long day.

“It’s near completed state makes it capable of housing a proper garrison. A garrison that could have theoretically applied the finishing touches.”

“But those finishing touches wouldn’t have been done overnight, nor could Hite have known the cost of moving the resources would have been worth it. This route is used almost exclusively for Galen Runs as is. There’d be no guarantee enough convoys would pass through to break even.”

Over on C274 Esma began making mental notes of Jericka’s analysis. Something that admittedly involved invading Kircher’s personal space to hear better.

“It’s possible Hite’s ambitions are geared more for the long run. Say preparing a headquarters for the mapping of the rest of the underground tunnel system.”

“That would give them total dominion over the region and make travel to Mennarouple restricted on an entire front.”

“To what end?”

The call grew silent for a moment as everyone pondered the question Jericka put forth. Save for one crew member who had an answer at the ready.

“Enact tolls.”

The three girls looked over at C362’s pilot, surprised he’d used an indoor voice despite having an excuse to yell an answer for once.

“Did someone say something?”

Lux was the one to inquire further, crossing the bridge and posting up beside the controls.

“Since when do you need an invitation to keep yapping? Cough it up.”

She tapped his back lightly.

“It’s just as it sounds. Rather than attacking the convoys outright they’ll offer safe passage in exchange for a portion of the cargo. And assuming they do gain a stranglehold on the region, the LCF might be left with no choice but to form a tentative agreement with the party in hopes of lowering the asking price. That or discontinue the route. Though the latter is unlikely as it would reflect poorly on the LCF’s authority and credibility going forward.”

“Did you guys get all that?”

Lux retracted the arm she’d extended with the headset and placed it back on her head, just in time to hear Lautnor answer in the affirmative.

“Sure did, and I’d be willing to buy what he’s selling. But let’s shift our attention back to the gatehouse for now. Better to leave all that other stuff to the proper channels for investigation.”

“Pardon my confusion, but what does it matter if the castle is completed or not? It’s not as if we have the time or desire to commandeer the thing. Going by our earlier discussion on the lady in waiting, we should be able to force our way right through, no?”

The castle had been designed to allow a full procession to pass under and through its walls, but that also meant by design there would be an abundance of viewing locations atop the bartizans and curtain walls.

“Not quite.”

Sumiye tagged herself back into the deliberations. In part knowing her words would be better received by Officer Swarek.

“As you’ll recall there was also mention of natural columns whose removal would have threatened the structural integrity of the project. Columns we still aren’t certain on the placements of.”

“Maybe spend less time fawning and more time listening Kirch.”

“As if you remember anything beyond what you had for lunch Ayfer!”

“No need to remember, it’ll probably make a reappearance if I keep interacting with you.”

Lux wordlessly extended her hand towards Wash again, but this time for a high five. Something he reciprocated in instinct.

“Yes well, the columns might be the least of our troubles if Cloud Nine threw together a gate for their gatehouse.”

“...”

“I assume we’re talking about the exit.”

And there was Jericka proving that at least one person on C362 could stay on task.

“Correct. I’d wager the entrance won’t even be manned.”

“They want us to trap ourselves after all...”

“Well speculating our doom isn’t going to solve anything! So let’s just ask!”

The blonde security officer trudged her way over to their resident Cloud Nine turncoat and delivered a probing glare.

“Do they have a gate or not?”

For her part, Emica, known colloquially as “Legs” or Carrie by the crew, seemed at peace with everything transpiring over the group call thus far. And while she hadn’t jumped at the chance to contribute, it didn’t seem that decision had anything to do with reservations or loyalty.

“They do. It’s at the exit just as you surmised.”

A chorus of sighs and curses filled the headset.

“It’s the type that swings open inward.”

“That rules out ramming it down. Not that it was a given we’d have a straight shot.”

Lautnor paused for a moment, his way of asking their guest on C362 to confirm or deny the latter articulation.

“It’s not, in fact the number of pillars obstructing the path made us question whether building a gate was even necessary.”

“What of the mechanism for opening the gate? Is it on the ground level or atop the curtain wall?”

The head CO’s inquiry made it clear to everyone present what the plan would entail. Leaving it a matter of who would go and when.

“Castle siege! Hell yeah!”