After the conversation about the ‘anchor’ dies down. Red’s mind turn to materials.
“Alexis, I want to take apart one of these chairs. Materials might be tight soon. These chairs seem sturdy, worth gathering what I can.
In the past you have been.. reluctant for me to take things apart.
A chair for future makings?”
The group has been awake for a little while, moving through the quiet routines of breaking a camp that was never quite a camp. Eight plush chairs in a room that has no business existing where it does. Everyone present.
Alexis sits forward, elbows on knees, and tilts his hat brim up toward the shaft in the ceiling.
“Before we move, I want to talk about that hole.” He looks up at it for a moment. “There’s light up there. And this room is clean. No debris, no dust, nothing that should have fallen down from wherever that shaft goes.” A pause. “That’s worth understanding before we decide what to do with it.”
He looks around the group.
“Carm, I want to ask you something that might be a long shot. Your connection with Raiden,” he chooses his words carefully, “is there any chance he could tell us when we are? Not where. When.”
He looks back at the shaft.
“And does anyone have a way to learn more about what’s up there before we commit to anything? I’d rather know more than less before we start climbing.”
After the conversations have died down in the room with many fine chairs Ethelred waits for everyone to settle down to sleep. Red nudges Alexis to make sure he is awake. In a low tone he speaks.
“So a lot of words were said about Hedonis and his possible plans. And while we know little there is one part of his story the rings true. For what ever other reasons he wanted us to fight the Giants, the one reason he did state I believe. The part about needing an anchor.
It is just such a specific claim. He could of said anything as justify to killing the giants, why that one very clear goal?
I have gone over all my inventory in my mind trying to piece together what ‘anchors’ we might have. When we passed through that strange metal door things changed. This room feels out of place, different than where we were just before.
When we find the Tear how will we escape? Hedonis said little but made it clear that there was something different about where the Tear is. That an ‘anchor’ was needed to get ‘back home’.
We should have some solutions to this riddle before we are faced with a rushed decision.”
As the group is resting in the room with the comfortable chairs, Alexis looks at Ca’armine. “You sensed evil behind that door back there and wanted to go in.”
He pauses a moment.
“We also ran straight past the key we needed.” He glances at Ethelred. “You and I need to be the ones asking what we’re running past. That’s our job. We need to remember it.”
As the group is walking back from getting the third key of Nodden-Torr, Alexis brings up a question.
“I’ve been thinking about the ring.” He keeps looking straight ahead. “If I go deeper with it, it could help us understand what’s between us and Bandesingh, and what’s waiting for us when we get there. Same way Gus was the only one who could use Dauntless, I’m the only one who can use this. Red could get there someday, but he’d have to make some choices he hasn’t made. That’s not where he is.”
He’s quiet for a few steps.
“If it didn’t cost anything I wouldn’t be bringing it up. There would be moments where I’m looking at too many possibilities at once and I’d need someone to help narrow it down to a decision. Someone with a clear head and strong convictions who can cut straight to what matters.” He glances at Ca’armine. “That kind of thinking would be useful.”
He keeps walking, lets that settle.
“There’s no danger of the ring taking me over. Same as there was never any danger of Dauntless possessing Gus. This ring was forged for one purpose: knowledge in the service of keeping humanity alive. Red wants knowledge, full stop. The rest of you want to protect humanity, to varying degrees. I’m the only one who combines both enough that the ring and I are truly aligned.” He says it plainly, but something in his face tightens. “I wish that wasn’t true.”
He keeps his eyes on the tunnel ahead.
“This is one of the great artifacts humanity has ever made. We’re going after the Tear because it improves our chances against Bandesingh. Should we let me lean further into the ring for the same reason?”
He glances sideways at the group, still walking, clearly waiting.
After the group has left the room where four of the group had to deal with their doubles. Ca’armine addresses Alexis. Alexis is clearly emotionally wrapped up with both watching himself die and losing the possibility of having two Alexis’ to plumb the secrets of the universe.
“Boss, in that room, remember that we had a plan.” Alexis nods, and Ca’armine continues. “And I would be such a disloyal team member if I didn’t keep reminding you that you had a plan and we needed to follow the plan and I’m going to keep doing that. Changing the plan in the middle is not—”
“We changed the plan in the middle, in the bead room, because there was an opportunity there. And Red followed through on that opportunity.” Red agrees with Alexis as he says this.
“There is no universe in which both of those Alexis’ could have survived.”
Alexis and Ethelred enthusiastically agree, with Ethelred adding, “but they might have been able to fold them back into one.”
“They did by walking through the door.”
Alexis and Red both disagree, and Alexis adds, with just enough self-awareness to take the edge off, “But five minutes could have gained so much for the world.”
“From studying that trap?!” Rask stares at him.
“Yes,” Alexis and Ethelred exclaim together, with Ethelred adding, “It was a working much like the other workings we’ve discovered.”
“Sleep on this, but think about how dangerous that could end up being.”
Alexis looks at Red, then back at Rask. “We’ve thought about it.”
After a second Alexis turns back to Ca’armine “A plan is where you start, Carm. But when something changes on the ground, that’s a conversation you bring to me. Not a reason to hold the line by yourself.”
As we peer into the strange room with the hour glass.
“Alexis, I would strongly advice we attempt to solve this room and gain that hourglass. Given the power of the scrying ball and all the time effects in this dungeon. Having that hourglass could turn out to be very helpful.
Thoughts?”
We reach the strange metal door for the 3rd time. Ethelred turns to Ca’armine.
“Ca’armine you mentioned detecting for keys. I might have been too hasty in dismissing your idea. We have gone through some trouble to get here and not yet found the 3rd key.
Detecting for the 3rd key might be our best option. It would be a shame to leave this area hoping the key is beyond the door we skipped, only to be wrong.
Alexis, what do you think?”
While resting before tackling the round room with seven pillars, Rask approaches Alexis.
“Alexis, if I may, I hoping we can talk more as a team about the… magic here… the treasure we have and the treasure we seek?
Rask waits for Alexis to accept his request.
“You said that the crystal ball is corrupted and the magic here is corrupted, right? It seems like this is all connected… The Tear must be corrupted too, right? If it is corrupted, can we really use it against… our Adversary uncleaned? Can we cleanse the taint of the Tear? Can we learn how by trying to cleanse the taint of the the crystal ball? Do you think we have to cleanse the taint of the Maiden to do so?”
Ethelred is mostly in his own world for two weeks. As the rest of the crew works on their things, he pays little attention. Breaks are only taken in the evening to eat and catch up. Mostly he inquires how the mushroom gathering is going, how the metal filing is going. That we have enough wood and water. Eats a little as possible. Instead he sharpens the wood ax, inspects the metal file, cleans the shovel and breathes.
He ensure the fire is always lit, that water is always boiling. Red is constantly damp, and warm. Like a candle made of water. Ash on his fingers, ash on he face. Yet always clean for the evening meal.
His book is out and he seems to be writing everyday, often into the night. Some nights he sleeps not at all. Just tends to the fire, ensure the water stays hot with steam. The fire and the water. Opposites that fit together so easy when approached correctly.
With all the work, he does seem content, absorbed with study. Burning the candle of the day at both ends. Swimming into the pages of the scrolls. Climbing the ink blots of his book of spells. Burning his flesh, searing his hair.
The days go by consulting the scrolls, writing, reading, stoking the fire, keeping water boiling, reading, writing, fire, water, ash, smoke.. over and over again.
Until the end approaches. He lets the water steam away, lets the fire turn to ash. When everyone is asleep late in the night he brings forth fire as if to light a knife, but instead he folds the fire into a small pool of water in a wooden cup he made. The water rests, a bit less fluid than normal water, with a tint of color. He waves his hands, recites a word, swirls the cup and steam erupts above the rim, leaving behind the hint of warmth and a bit of dampness.
With a sigh of relief Red cleans up and gets a good rest for what feels like the first time in weeks. Tomorrow he will be able to use the stone to gain the next set of scrolls.