21 – Speculorefractor

“What’s a speculorefractor?” Cal asked, confused.

Julian explained. “A complex assortment of mirrors and lenses that bends light from a star and illuminates this place. From what I saw, it was technological in nature, which means I was right and this asteroid has tech on it. Now, remember that vent exploration quest you mentioned? I think the vent leads to the underground, so let’s go talk to the elf guy tomorrow morning and take the quest.”

“Sounds good, actually…” Cal looked around, scanning the room. “Let’s skip talking to the elf and let’s go now.” He said, still looking around warily.

“Now? It’s almost night. We won’t see a thing in the forest!”

“Better yet, so we can leave with the cover of darkness.”

“Alright man,” Julian threw his hands in the air. He looked at Cal, covered in bruises and his clothes torn and dirty, with purple patches of dried blood on them, “you don’t wanna tell me, don’t tell me. Have it your way, but I’m using a torch or I might run into a tree.”

“Can you wait until we are far away?”

***

Julian walked behind Cal’Eer who, thanks to his alien eye structure, was able to comfortably see in the almost total darkness of the forest. Despite the arrangement, however, every step on the uneven ground was pain. Roots, small plants, pebbles and holes threatened to make Julian fall or injure himself, and branches and stray spiderwebs invaded his face and stuck to his nose. He had enough.

“Let me light the fucking torch.” He protested.

“Not yet.”

“Man. I’m blind here. Come on.”

“I’ll hold your hand.” Cal said.

Julian shook his head in disbelief, stammering a few words. Once the enraged confusion passed, he stared at where he thought his friend’s eyes were.

“Are you high or something?” he spelled out. “Fuck that.” He took out a torch and lit it, immediately making Cal completely paranoid.

He started to look around frantically after every step, following every sound and rustle of leaves, and breathing unevenly. Julian sighed, rehearsing the hand motions required to cast his magic spells, or Sorceries, checking his guns and his rings to make sure everything was in order in case he needed to fight or escape in a pinch. Despite the tense atmosphere, however, the journey of a few hours through the forest went smoothly and they didn’t meet a single monster on the way to the cave system that hid the vent they were interested in.

When they arrived at the entrance to the cave, they settled down to rest a few meters in and lit a small fire. They were partially hidden by the rock, but also had a very clear view of the entrance which Cal kept under close observation the whole time they were there.

“Calm down, you’re getting on my nerves.” Julian said.

“Sorry.”

“What happened on that quest you went to do? Why do you look like someone beat you up and you barely escaped with your life?”

“Nothing,” Cal shook his head, looking down. “Just… I came across some people from a rival clan. I just didn’t think they would be in this Tower, or that I’d meet them.”

“Alright,” Julian got up, unholstering his guns and checking that the chambers were loaded. “Sounds like someone needs some lead tratment.”

“No!” Cal immediately got up and placed himself between Julian and the forest. “You don’t understand. Those people are powerful, you wouldn’t stand a chance.”

“I see. Well, worry not. We will sort this out soon.”

Cal gulped. “What do you mean?”

“Remember the speculorefractor? Well,” he laughed, showing his teeth. “If I can manage to find the controls for that mirror… you will see.”

The two got up shortly after, deciding to go deeper. Indeed, just like Cal said the elves said, there was a malfunctioning vent just a few dozen meters into the cave proper. It was hidden from view due to the shape of the tunnel, but in the light of the torch Julian could see its design. It was a solid concrete block with smoothed out edges and a rusted grate on a side, slightly slanted.

Instead of taking out his tools to try and force it open, he decided to test his newly acquired Sorcery: Magic Missile. He performed, also as a way to practice and become quick enough to use them in battle, the complex hand motions that his Freehand Magic skill required in order not to have to use a Staff. The moves were slow and stiff, and more than once did he have to start over because, despite knowing what to do thanks to the scroll and the skill, because his hands refused to comply with the overly complicated instructions. In the end, however, he managed to get the spell working. A small missile, shaped like a dart and glowing a faint light blue, materialized from a small magic circle and flew at the rusted hinges of the grate. The hinge exploded in a shower of sparks, and Julian noticed with pleasure that a small amount of concrete was missing as well.

“See? I’m a mage too.”

“A bit slow,” Cal said, earning a side eye from Julian. “But definitely useful.” He conceded.

A second blast set the grate free of its bindings, and Julian tossed it to the side. Despite his considerable 20 STR, he struggled to move it and it landed with a loud deaf thud against the bare rock.

After having recuperated his spent MP, Julian made a small magic missile fly downwards, illuminating the vertical drop. It exploded in a puff of magic and pulverized concrete a few meters below, after having revealed a wet floor full of moss and puddles at the end of a 5 meter drop.

“After you.” Julian said.

Cal squeezed into the aperture and dropped down. Julian followed suit, thanking the System that he didn’t break his legs but only lost a small portion of his HP from the fall. Cal had offered to catch him, but he had refused, politely of course.

The room was small, with three openings in the concrete walls, without any doors that led to small corridors and then a vertical drop where the light of the torch didn’t quite reach. Another magic missile told Julian that the fall was surely more than a dozen meters this time, and the missile dissipated before hitting any solid ground. This was where the gases were coming from, for sure. On the fourth wall was a door, made of a strong metal with bars that entered the concrete. It was unlocked.

It lead to an adjacent room where, on the ground beside a bent and misshapen metal table were unreadable documents, soggy with water and yellowed by time. From the ceiling a few drops of water fell from a small stalactite that had formed from the minerals in the water.

“This gives me Plateau Bunker vibes.” Julian said, after having recovered his MP at a fire made from whatever was still dry in here.

“I agree. Let’s not flip any switches.”

“Heh, you scared?”

“I am. Do you think we could take on that monster now?”

Julian thought about it. He was considerably stronger now than when he fought the Shattered M-field Abomination, as he called it. However, he wasn’t all that confident that he could take it on just yet, not without running a huge risk.

He shook his head as a reply.

“See? Let’s not touch anything.”

“Agreed. I want to say let’s split up, but let’s not. That’s what they do in horror movies and it’s always a bad idea.”

“What are we looking for?” Cal asked.

“Consoles, documents, anything that might suggest what this place was for.” He said. Unfortunately the documents in the room proved to be all but useless in figuring out what to do next.

“Usual stuff then,” Cal said, but a hiss coming from the far end of a corridor seemed to suggest otherwise. It was mechanical, rushing gas accompanied by the faintest hammering sound, reverberating as if on hollow metal.

Julian nodded in the direction of the sound. Cal acknowledged and let Julian take the lead down the corridor. He was no longer wearing full armor like in the Bunker, but a quick comparison of their stats still told them that he was the tankiest of the two, which meant that he had to make way. He didn’t mind doing it, and so the two walked down the underground corridor until they reached another room. Occasional sparks flew from an exposed cable on the ceiling and fell on the water below, briefly illuminating the room with a tapestry of lights.

“It’s a wonder the electrical system is still working.” Julian said.

The room glittered with a thin layer of sludgy water at the bottom, that became deep on the far end, where the light of the torch wasn’t strong enough, looking like an abyss without a bottom. Metal furniture and cables adorned the walls, and growths and plants seemed to survive in the complete darkness thanks to huge leaves and long thin roots. Another electrical spark lit the room for a brief moment, leaving an afterimage in their eyes.

“Do we go in?” Cal asked.

“It’s electrified. Look.” He pointed at the cable.

“It’s not touching the water.” Said Cal.

Julian hummed. So Cal knew about electricity. “You’re right. Touch it just to be sure.”

Cal looked at the water suspiciously. “Uh…”

Julian laughed. “Joking. I’ll do it.” He said, and did it. When he didn’t take damage, he allowed himself to relax a bit. However, from his low vantage point he also saw something that gave him pause.

“Wait. The water isn’t still. But there are no air currents. There’s something in there.”

As if on cue, the water exploded in a dark mist of foam and droplets. From the deep end of the flooded room something emerged, a mass of branches like tentacles, leaves and vines, and a huge maw of shiny metal teeth.

“Shit.”