Chapter Forty Three

Cinna tried to get some more information out of Klicksun, but the Deepfolk guide refused to elaborate any further until she spoke to someone higher up the chain of command. Once Lilia ran out of questions to ask about undead Deepfolk—or, more precisely, once Klicksun ran out of answers—the stairwell fell silent aside from the sounds of footsteps on the molded stone stairs.

“How much further is it?” Cinna asked after what she estimated to be at least three hours of nothing but going down stairs. The steps weren’t terribly steep, fortunately for Lilia, even if the woman’s physical conditioning had improved quite a bit since they met.

“The shell is relatively thick around here because of the mountains. We’re about…” Klicksun paused, checking the wall beside them. When Cinna following the Deepfolk’s eyes, though, all she found was a bare wall. “…a third of the way to the Warm Roads.”

“A third?” Cinna echoed, struggling to comprehend the sheer depth of this stairwell. Some rough math indicated it descended dozens of kilometers below the surface of the planet. She knew the Deepfolk lived far below the surface. It was in the very name they’d been given by surface-dwelling humans. But she hadn’t quite grasped the scale before now.

“Oh, not to worry, though. We’re getting close to one of our mines now. There’s an elevator there we can take the rest of the way down,” Klicksun assured her.

“If your mines are this far down, it boggles the mind that anyone can stumble upon one by accident,” Cinna remarked.

“Some clusters in regions with a thinner shell have to range closer to the surface for minerals fit for eating. Living under the mountains gives us a larger buffer,” Klicksun explained.

“Why live under the plains at all, then?”

“There’s only so much space under the mountains and so many minerals to go around. When people get tired of living in close quarters they start thinking it might be worth a little more danger to have more space to themselves,” Klicksun replied with a wiggle of their head that Cinna assumed to be equivalent to a shrug. “The ones that hate Surfacefolk more than they want space live below the coldflows, but I’m pretty sure anyone that does that has to be insane.”

“You mean the oceans? I admit, I never gave much thought to what lay at the bottom of them. To think Deepfolk could live even there…” Cinna mused.

“The shell is terribly thin there. No surfacefolk, but there’s a constant risk that any digging might break open a hole and let the coldflow in,” Klicksun said with an unmistakable shiver. “Just a few years ago an earthquake opened up a hole in the shell right about a cluster below the coldflow. No survivors. Just…statues. Turned solid in an instant. Doubt they even had time to scream.”

“A few years ago? But that was before the gods abandoned us. Surely they would have protected you,” Cinna pointed out. Klicksun let out a low grumble.

“Earthquakes are a consequence of the planet shifting. Without the processes that cause them we’d eventually run out of fresh minerals in the shell. If the gods halted them to protect us it would only be a matter of time until we starved,” Klicksun replied. What the Deepfolk spoke of, though, was beyond Cinna’s understanding. She was forced to just accept that the Deepfolk had a greater comprehension of Ennos’s inner workings than people that lived on the surface.

An hour or so after that conversation the group finally reached the mining level Klicksun spoke of previously. They went no further than the outer loading area, but there were no other Deepfolk there that Cinna saw; all they found waiting for them was an impatient Gratht. The human-hating Deepfolk joined the others on the elevator, apparently having already determined that the Deepfolk further down that were responsible for operating it wouldn’t lower it for just one person.

The elevator was shaped like a massive, solid-metal birdcage. Several thick chains running through pulleys on the cave ceiling were attached to the contraption’s roof. It had enough space inside it to rival some cargo vessels. As soon as all four of them—in addition to Mr. Bearbones—were in the elevator it lurched into motion, carrying the group even deeper into the bowels of Ennos.

“Too bad you’re wearing those cloaks. Might be hot enough by now to cook you alive,” Gratht commented. The elevator sped up rapidly until it was falling quickly enough that even Cinna felt like her stomach had been left somewhere above. As for Gratht’s comment, Cinna genuinely couldn’t feel the heat, so she supposed her cloak must have been working as intended.

“I’m telling the aggregate you were rude to our guests,” Klicksun announced blandly.

“How embarrassing. I seem to have forgotten there’s a bud present,” Gratht spat back.

“Cinna, they’re fighting again,” Lilia said, sidling up to Cinna.

“Some personalities are destined to clash,” Cinna told her.

A bit of bickering later, the elevator finally slowed to a stop near the bottom. The shift came so suddenly that Cinna barely kept her feet. Lilia nearly fell to her knees, but Cinna managed to hook an arm around her waist just in time. Then the door creaked open, revealing the Warm Roads to them at last. From the inside of the elevator they could only see a sliver of the passage outside, but the red glow of magma was immediately apparent. As they stepped outside, they found themselves in a world entirely unlike the surface they were so familiar with.

The road itself was molded from dark stone, an obsidian lane that stretched into the distance until the horizon hid it from view. Red-hot magma flowed slowly along the sides of the road, reflecting off the walls of the tunnel in a manner that reminded Cinna of seaside caves. She wondered if that was a natural effect or if it had been engineered by the Deepfolk.

“Finally!” Klicksun cheered as they stepped off the elevator. They were already beginning to tug their cloak off.

“What are you doing!?” Gatht demanded, but Klicksun didn’t even slow down.

“There’s no taboo against appearing before Surfacefolk without our cloaks, it’s just almost never safe,” Klicksun pointed out as they pulled their cloak over their head to reveal the form beneath. In the light of the magma, thousands of miniscule fragments of crystal glittered across Klicksun’s skin, which glowed with an inner heat not unlike the Deepfolk’s eyes, just dimmer.

They were like a perfect fusion of organic and inorganic. Smooth limbs with joints more similar to a puppet than a person. Crystalline formations sprouting from the scalp like hair. Even their teeth appeared to be some form of hard gem; a rainbow of colors shone in the dim light, bare to the world due to the Deepfolk’s complete lack of anything so flexible as lips. With the cloak gone Cinna could now see that Klicksun stood with a slight hunch, as well, with legs that were much too short and arms that were far too long.

“I wanna touch,” Lilia whispered, mesmerized by the sight. Cinna thought to scold her for the comment but, as usual, Klicksun laughed before she could as if amused by her sheer audacity.

“Go ahead! Normally I’d say no, but as long as you’ve got that cloak on it should be safe. Just don’t go for a swim in the magma! If you get it inside your cloak it won’t protect you,” Klicksun replied. Lilia didn’t need to be told twice. By the time Klicksun got the third word out Lilia had already started patting their torso.

“Revolting! I’m going to go find the aggregate,” Gratht stated as the marched off. If Cinna’s sense of direction hadn’t failed her during the long trip down that seemingly endless stairwell that way led north, but considering the countless number of loops the stairs had made, Cinna couldn’t say anything for sure.

“I’m surprised there isn’t a hub of some sort built here,” Cinna remarked as she looked around again. It would have made sense to have some sort of transportation to receive ore from the mine above.

“It got destroyed in the last cave-in and we didn’t rebuild it because the frontlines are too close to here now,” Klicksun explained seriously. Perhaps sensing the shift in mood, Lilia stepped back. Cinna tried to meet Klicksun’s eyes, but the orbs were so bright compared to the dim setting that she had to avert her vision to spare herself the pain. Now that she could see Klicksun’s head clearly, though, she could see that their eyes took up nearly half their face.

“That’s why the mine entrance was abandoned,” Cinna guessed. “Are cave-ins frequent down here?”

“We do our best to built our tunnels sturdy, but every time the earth shakes something collapses somewhere,” Klicksun replied.

“And that’s…normal? How do you avoid losing people every time that happens?”

“It’s not a problem. Barely an inconvenience, really. Usually we just eat our way out, but it can be a nice break, too. Once I just waited for the earth-speakers to clear the cave-in and used the time to relax. Got yelled at afterwards, though,” Klicksun recounted. It seemed they hadn’t even realized what Cinna meant by her question; it never even occurred to the Deepfolk that she’d thought having tons of stone fall on one’s head might be lethal.

“…never mind. Should we follow Gratht to find this aggregate you’ve both mentioned?” Cinna asked, letting the matter drop. She really would have preferred to head for the southern exit immediately, but seeing as there wasn’t any transportation at their current location Cinna decided to go along with her guides for the moment and see if some could be obtained along the way.

She didn’t relish the idea of walking along the Warm Roads for the entire length of Selkarc. The food she’d packed might not last.

“Mm, yes, we shouldn’t delay too long. No telling what that fool will tell the aggregate if we’re late,” Klicksun agreed. “This way; it shouldn’t be that far now.”

“Great! Do you think they know anything about cold ones?” Lilia asked, the source of her interest in the matter readily apparent.

“We’ll be right by the frontlines. You might even get to see one!”

Cinna doubted Klicksun’s claimed about their destination being close by, but she realized she’d been mistaken only a few minutes later. The frontlines weren’t just close; they were actually just past the curve of the underground horizon, and a mere handful of minutes were all it took to bring something new into view.

It wasn’t long after that when the familiar sounds of combat reached Cinna’s ears.