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Chapter 16
Part 1
“So this is the site, huh? The one with the basement?” asked Dai.
“Yep. Kolt noticed it on our last pass through. The entrance was hidden under some fallen debris, but it seems to go pretty deep. We thought they might be service tunnels for the monoliths.” Fendrick lead the group into the dilapidated building, its walls seemingly reaching out in a large circle. “Debris from the building could be found in the surrounding streets, leading Kolt to believe it was much taller than the other buildings in its prime. It’s located at the intersection of a number of major roads too, makes it even more likely it was important.”
“Thank the El’dorei you found this. Two whole days of searching was making me crazy. Doesn’t help that the weather’s been crap the entire time we’ve been here.” Dai shook off the rain from his smock, pulling his hood down as they entered relative cover.
“We walked through the main tunnel for about five minutes before returning for our scheduled lunchtime meeting. There was no sign of it ending.” Kolt joined in pulling down her hood, revealing her fair brown hair and harshly scarred face.
“Fingers crossed we find something to tell Fenerra.” Fendrick made his way to a large opening in the centre of the ruins, its entranceway part collapsed, leaving a narrow gap into its depths. “Unfortunately, Welk struggled to fit through what’s left of the entrance.”
“It’s fine. I prefer the outdoors. I’ll stay and keep an eye out.” Welk left his hood up and turned away from the group, glancing around the ruined building.
“Thanks, Welk.” Fendrick pulled his own smock off, placing it on a nearby piece of rubble, “Won’t have much use for this underground.”
“Finally, some excitement. Thought I’d die of boredom.” Podge joined in, revealing his bald head and large patches of discoloured skin.
“Hopefully you’ll be less insufferable with something to look forward to.” Ryker followed suit, alongside Kolt and Dai. Ryker’s face was the least blemished of the elves’, eliciting a sideways glance from Podge on its reveal.
Leading the group, Kolt squeezed into the basement, climbing down a rusted old metal ladder before stepping onto a walkway suspended high above a near unending columnar descent into darkness. Fendrick, Dai, Podge and Ryker followed suit; the walkway rattled under their weight, prompting Kolt to step further across the walkway and begin heading down the light iron stairway along the column’s edge.
“Metal ladders and stairways. These wouldn’t be out of place in the human settlements of today.” Ryker looked around as Fendrick pulled a torch from his rucksack and lit it. Its warm light danced around the emptiness; the shadowy apparitions created by the staircase creeping down the stone walls of the chamber.
“My thoughts exactly, it seems this civilisation was even more advanced than one might have already assumed. Metalworking, monoliths to extract magic from the ground, mass magical distribution networks… I wonder what could have brought such a place to ruin.” Kolt stepped quickly down the stairs, her voice echoing throughout the space.
The walls were adorned with numerous pipes, all following the path of the staircase to the base of the chamber. Small cages covering murky glass were dotted along the passageway, their purpose lost on the group as the continued their descent. The metal creaked underfoot, an unsettling shaking leading to each of the group to hold fast to the handrail erected alongside them.
A few minutes later, the group arrived at the first off shoot from the shaft; a heavy steel door, seemingly sealed and unmovable. A lever was close-by, on the wall to its immediate right. Kolt attempted to pull it down, and it moved with a pained groan as it settled into place. The door showed little reaction.
“No power? I believe the humans use something similar to this nowadays. Magically enhanced mechanical engineering. Without a supply of magic, the device won’t operate,” said Kolt.
“That they would use something as precious as the world’s magic for something as trivial as opening a door. The humans truly are parasitic.” Dai spat down over the edge of the handrail in disgust, before catching a glimpse of a despondent Fendrick. “Humans. Not each individual, boy. Just most of you.”
“It’s alright. I’ve heard it all. Elves aren’t the biggest fans of my kind.” Fendrick sighed, “Anyway, Kolt. Any chance we can get power back to it?”
“Probably not. The cables from the monoliths seemed to all be severed, and if my hypothesis was correct, they were what distributed the magic throughout the city. The only way I could think of getting it to work would be by actively channelling lightning magic directly into the lever. But none of us are mages. Not that any of us have been able to cast proper spells since the great fallout anyway.”
Podge stepped up to the lever, pushing Kolt out of the way. Rolling up his sleeves, he jostled the lever up and down, its metal screeching as it moved.
“You’re liable to break it, and then there’s no way of opening the door besides brute force,” sighed Kolt.
“You just need to give it a bit more welly.” Podge grunted loudly as he pulled the lever down as hard as he could. Unceremoniously, the handle snapped from its metal arm, leaving him holding a benign piece of machinery in his hand.
Ryker snatched the handle from Podge’s hand and beat him over the head with it. “Nice one, Podge.”
“Not like it was going to open any other way, you heard what Kolt said.”
“Enough!” Fendrick stepped past them, inspecting the door with an inquisitive hand. “It’s thick. And it’s avoided the ravages of time being so far underground.” Standing up straight, he shouldered the door with force. The metal sounded off on impact, and Fendrick felt the pain course through his bone, “No chance. That thing’s not moving.”
“Then it’s best we continue down. See if there’s any other ways out.” Dai led the march, delving further into the unknown depths of the shaft.
Tristan placed his hand on Fendrick’s shoulder as the others followed Dai, “Hopefully we have more luck with the next exit. Something about this place feels… special. It may house an explanation as to why this place feels so strange and unnatural.”
“We’ll see.” Fendrick shrugged off his mentor’s hand and collected himself, joining the others on their journey down.
Thoughts swirled around his head about the purpose of this facility. The civilisation that created it was unusually advanced, its technology matching that of modern-day science and engineering, and architecture unlike any he’d ever seen before. He was sure this was the place he’d find at least some clue to the whereabouts of the artefact. Two whole days of near fruitless exploration hung heavy on his heart, but a newfound sense of hope permeated the atmosphere.
The dust covered railings cast dancing ephemera in the fire of the torch light, leading to the occasional sizzling and crackling piercing the metallic clanking of the stairwell under the group’s feet. Fendrick glanced down the shaft, and there was still no end in sight. A little way down, he could make out another doorway, and upon pointing it out, Kolt spurred ahead, making sure she was first to investigate the site.
“Another doorway, but this one is being held open by some debris. Looks like a metal tray.” She kicked the apparatus that had spilled onto the stairwell. “Medical instruments? I can make out some rusted old scalpels and vials.” One rolled off of the stairs and clattered down the shaft, shattering on impact with the bottom.
“At least we know there’s an end to this shaft. Probably only a few more offshoots to explore,” said Fendrick.
“Podge, Ryker, help me push open these doors.”