Part Three
Daunte stared at Surya in stunned silence. Falena? He's from Falena?
He knew what Falena was. Falena was the only country Nagarea shared a border with, to their northeast. He knew that Nagarea was once in conflict with Falena due to Falena's refusal to accept their religion. He had heard stories of how Falena utilized dragon horses for military purposes, and the thought had always disturbed Daunte somewhat. As accordance with the Nagarist Order, dragon horses were foul and evil monsters, and it was the duty of all believers to expunge them from the world.
But according to how our religion is interpreted now, I'm seen as foul and evil too.
But Daunte was still surprised to see an actual Falenean, especially one belonging to the royal family face-to-face. The last known contact that he was aware of Nagarea having with Falena was in the 440s-450s. Otherwise Nagarea had kept to itself since the Great Earthquake over 100 years prior.
But apparently that was at an end, as shown with the boy standing in front of him.
"Can you tell me exactly where we are, or where my family may have been taken?" Surya asked him, sitting down on his bed. "W-We don't have an updated map of Nagarea, so I have no idea how to navigate your country."
Daunte shook his head, and rubbed at his bruised cheek again. "We're in the Dark Chasm. It's a labor camp along the east coast. Other than that I don't know what to tell you. I have no idea where your family is."
"Okay, so we're on the east coast," Surya said, nodding slightly. "So that means the border is further—wait." He looked at Daunte. "Did you just say this was a labor camp?"
"It's a prison for children," Daunte clarified. He sat down on his own bed.
"W-Why a prison camp? I…" Surya waved a furious hand. "I have to get out of here. I need to find my family and rescue them."
"What happened?"
"It's difficult to explain. All I know is that all of my cousins are missing. The only lead we had led to Nagarea, but it looks like I got captured too."
"Y…You don't know where they could possibly be in Nagarea?" Daunte asked quietly.
"No, of course not! We only know that they were brought here, but I don't know anything about this country! It…" Surya shook his head. "I'm wasting my time here. I don't know how long I've been unconscious, but I'm losing precious seconds here." He stormed towards the door.
"It's locked," Daunte said, even as he tried the door handle.
"Damn it all!" Surya took a couple steps back and braced himself. "Well then I'll just kick the door down!"
"Are you crazy?!" Daunte scrambled to his feet and rushed to his side. "Do you have any idea what they'll do to the both of us if you do that?!"
"I'll fight them," Surya snapped. "I've been training to be a Queen's Knight my whole life. A couple of zealot guards won't stop me!"
"It's more than just a "couple" of guards, though!" Daunte felt odd about Surya's use of the word zealot, but he didn't get offended. Particularly since it perfectly described the guards of the Dark Chasm. "They will come in here and literally beat you into submission! I don't doubt you can fight, but what can you do with your bare hands against their batons and whips?! Especially when it's more than one of them?!"
Surya's anger was visibly rising in his face with Daunte's words, but he looked away and let out a short breath. "From what you're telling me, I won't be able to get out of here on my own."
"Nobody has ever escaped the Dark Chasm alive," Daunte confessed softly.
Surya looked at him again. "Then I'll need your help."
"W-What?"
"Help me get out of here, and I'll take you with me to Falena," Surya told him. "You'll never have to work a day in your life again. I'll even make arrangements for you to have residence inside the royal palace of Sol-Falena. I just need you to help me get my things back and get out of this place. Do we have a deal?"
The offer was tempting. Escaping to a foreign land where he would always be taken of? He wanted to say yes, but…
But what will happen to Arin? Arin can't be moved yet. And until I find a way to get this True Rune off my hand and transferred to Arin, he's going to remain sick. If I take Surya's offer, then this probably means he'll want me to help him find his cousins. But I can't drag Arin everywhere we go in his condition! Especially if we're on the run! That'll ensure I won't be able to get the proper medical care for him!
Very reluctantly, Daunte said, "I can't do that."
"Why not?" Surya demanded. "I haven't seen the rest of this place, but I can already tell the air quality is very poor. And you certainly look like you haven't had a full meal in a while. I'm offering you a new life so why won't you help me?!"
"My brother," Daunte said. "My brother is very sick. I would love to get out of here, but he's not well enough to be moved. And if we take him with us, I'll have virtually no time to take care of him! I—"
"Do you think he'll get any better in this place?!" Surya snapped. "I'll give him a home in Falena too if you help me! But do you think just staying here and wasting away will help your brother any?!"
"Let me worry about my brother," Daunte snapped. "But your offer carries too much risk. I can't just up and leave now."
I thought that room would give us a way out. Those monsters had to have come in there from somewhere. But we didn't see any way out. It might be hidden behind a wall like the True Rune was, but we'll probably get lost down there looking. And I don't know how long Arin would last down there.
"Fine." Surya turned away from him and stormed to his bed. "But I will find my family. With or without your help." He stretched out on the bed and faced the wall, giving Daunte his back.
Daunte stared at him for a long moment before retreating to his bed. He felt stupid for not taking Surya's offer, but it wasn't something he could make a spontaneous decision for. He needed a clear-cut way out of the Chasm before he would even try to leave. The risks to Arin's health were just too high.
And I don't want to leave Roen and Felicity behind.
Daunte glared at the back of his right hand. "If you had chosen Arin like you were supposed to, I wouldn't be in this mess."
"What?" Surya looked over his shoulder at him.
Daunte flushed and shook his head. "N-Nothing." He stretched out on his own bed, but the bitterness he felt didn't go away.
I'm stuck with a power I don't want. And I have no idea what it is or how to use it.
Predictably, Daunte didn't sleep well the rest of the night and woke up feeling very lethargic. Briefly he wondered if he'd dreamt the events of yesterday, but that quickly faded when he looked towards Kass's bed and saw Surya sleeping in it. Then he raised his right hand and frowned as he saw the accursed True Rune still affixed to it.
It doesn't matter. I'm going to get this thing off my hand if it's the last thing I do!
As he sat up, the horn sounded for the children to wake up. Surya was awake in an instant and on his feet. "What's going on?"
"It's time to start the day," Daunte told him. He didn't doubt that the other boy was furious with Daunte's lack of enthusiasm to help him, but Daunte wanted to help Surya at least adjust to his new environment. "They're about to unlock the doors, so we'll have to get dressed quickly. You can follow the others to the dining hall, but I have to run to the infirmary and check on my brother."
Surya quickly shook his head. "I'm not separating from you. I don't know anything about this place."
"Just keep your head down and keep quit," Daunte said, getting into his work clothes. "To be honest though, they'll probably still hit you but if you don't talk back to the guards then it lessens the chances of it happening."
Surya moved closer to him, looking at him with a hard look. "If you would just help me find my family, then both your brother and you can escape this nightmare."
"I don't know how to get out of here," Daunte said. "And even if I do find a way out, my first priority is to take care of Arin. I haven't been outside the Dark Chasm in three years, and I have no way of knowing where your family is or how to rescue him." Remembering the True Rune on his hand, Daunte quickly pulled on the gloves Dr. Yulin had given.
"I will get out of here," Surya said firmly. "And I will find my family."
Daunte sighed shortly. "I know."
Surya kept to his word though and followed Daunte to the infirmary. As he entered the infirmary though, he was surprised to see Dr. Yulin up and about, tending to the wounded children.
"Ah, Daunte!" Dr. Yulin's gaze quickly went to Daunte's right hand and he visibly relaxed when he saw that it was covered. "Good morning. Arin regained conscious briefly an hour ago."
"He did?!" Daunte exclaimed. He hurried to his brother's bedside. Despite this good news, the child looked no better today. "D-Did he say anything?"
"I don't believe he had the strength to," Dr. Yulin said. Daunte felt his heart drop into his stomach. "But he was able to open his eyes and look at me. I told him that you came to visit him every morning and evening, and that made him smile."
Daunte nodded. "Has he coughed up any more of that black stuff?"
"No, not in the last few hours. Ah." Dr. Yulin turned his attention to Surya. "We met last night, though you were unconscious. I have very little power here but I will do all that I can to ensure your health here."
Surya hadn't followed Daunte to Arin's bedside. He was staring down at a young girl lying in bed. Her arm was in a splint and her face was wrapped up. She was no doubt one of the most severely injured children in the mining cart accident. Surya looked horrified at her physical condition.
"Surya?" Daunte said uncertainly.
Surya suddenly spat into his palm and began rubbing the back of his left hand. With the moisture, the smooth skin began to…smear all of a sudden. Daunte looked at Dr. Yulin in confusion, but the doctor quickly stepped forward. "I knew it," the doctor breathed.
Surya raised his left hand over the girl, and Daunte saw that the back of his hand had changed. There was a pale blue symbol embedded into his hand, in the shape of a teardrop.
"Kindness drops."
Surya's hand glowed, and the shape of the symbol that was on his hand suddenly appeared in the air. Right before Daunte's eyes a gentle rainfall fell over the injured girl, soaking her bedsheet, and the dressing she wore.
But very quickly, the girl's painful whimpering grew weaker and weaker until she seemed to hold her breath. Then just as suddenly, the rainfall was gone and she was no longer soaked.
Dr. Yulin grabbed Surya's wrist and looked at it. "The Water Rune," he said. "I-I thought I felt something odd with you when I examined you last night, and I suspected it was this rune. But something told me not to bring it to the Matron's attention." He sighed quickly, and covered his mouth. "And I'm glad I did."
"D-Doctor!" the girl sat up with such speed that all three of them jumped back. "Doctor, I'm fine! I'm really fine! I've never felt better!" she began pulling at the splint on her arm. Daunte reflexively flinched, but he saw the limb easily inside the splint, and it looked perfectly healthy.
"Surya!" he hissed. He raced over to the other boy as Dr. Yulin hurriedly helped remove the girl's dressing. He grabbed Surya by his hand and pulled him over to Arin's bed. "Surya, please heal Arin next!"
Surya stared down at Arin. Daunte didn't like the discomfort in his face. "T-This is your brother, Daunte?"
"Yes," Daunte said. "Arin is very sick. He's so ill that he can't get out of bed. But I promise you that if you use your Water Rune on him, I will do everything in my power to get you out of here. But please help him."
Surya continued to look down at Arin for a long moment of silence. Then he looked at Daunte. The discomfort in his face hadn't eased any. "…Daunte," he said at length.
"Please hurry!" Daunte insisted. "Before the guards come in to drag us off for the Morning Prayer!"
Surya slowly nodded. "All right." He held out his left hand over Arin. "Kindness Drops."
The gentle rainfall returned, soaking Arin within seconds. Daunte bit into his knuckles hard as he watched the spell take course. Please heal Arin! Please heal Arin!
The spell finished, and Arin dried in an instant. The color had returned to his face, and his mouth was no longer white. Daunte knelt beside his brother's bedside and smoothed his palm over Arin's forehead. "Arin? Can you hear me?"
Arin's eyes suddenly snapped open. He pitched forward in bed and Daunte was so startled that he fell backwards onto his backside. "Ar—"
Arin let out a horrible, inhuman sound, and started vomiting violently all over the bedsheet in his lap. Daunte shouted in alarm, and scrambled to his feet. "Arin!"
The putrid fluid coming out of Arin's mouth was as black as tar, the same color as the fluid he'd been coughing up all the other times before. "W-What—didn't—" Daunte gaped at Surya as he struggled to hang onto Arin. "I-It didn't work?!"
"It's not that at all," Dr. Yulin interjected. He grabbed Arin from Daunte and patted the boy on his back. "Kindness Drops is indeed a powerful healing spell, but it's also the least powerful of the Water Rune's spells. I-It looks like the healing spell reduced Arin's fever and caused an evacuation of his lungs, but…"
"But?" Daunte echoed. He looked back up at Surya.
"Your brother is sick," Surya told him quietly. "Like really sick. One healing spell isn't going to be enough for him. He needs multiple uses of spell to get most of his strength back. But since his physical condition was caused by…this." He gestured squeamishly at the black fluid on the blanket. "This is probably caused by the living conditions down here. With as sick as he is now, I'm shocked not more of you are sick like this."
"So we can heal his body and restore him to fit health," Dr. Yulin said, helping Arin to settle back down. The boy had already lost consciousness again. "But it won't make a difference in the long run if his lungs keep getting infected like this."
And his lungs will keep getting infected so long as he's in the Dark Chasm. Daunte looked at Arin again. A hard lump had formed in his throat and it made it difficult to swallow.
"Daunte—" Surya said.
"—sure Dr. Yulin's in?!" came a loud voice from outside the infirmary. It was coming from down the hall.
"He has to be!" another voice said. "And he'll have to listen to us when he tell him the brat has to go!"
Daunte stiffened, and squeezed his hand around Arin's. The brat…did they mean—
"I'm surprised Lady Matron didn't order it sooner! The heathen's brother tried to kill her and everything! This'll definitely teach him a lesson!"
Dr. Yulin had been gathering Arin's blankets. Now he was still and his face darkened. "Excuse me." his tone was cold, almost scary. He stormed towards the infirmary's door, slamming the dirty sheets into a laundry bin, before stomping out of the infirmary and slamming the door shut behind him.
Daunte realized he was hyperventilating, and he looked at Arin. They were going to kill Arin. They were going to kill Arin!
Something caught Daunte's eye. He looked down towards his right hand in confusion. It was so strange, but…even with the glove on the hand looked like it was…flickering.
"Daunte, calm down!" Surya grabbed his shoulder. "M-My Water Rune isn't really developed, but I can try and use it on the guards so we can escape!"
Dr. Yulin had already began a shouting match with the guards in the hallway. Daunte tried to calm down, but he didn't know how. "D-Do you have any other of those spells? Can you heal A-Arin more?"
"I only have two Kindness Drops left," Surya said. He surveyed the room grimly. The other remaining children were watching Surya, pleading at him with quiet voices and desperate eyes to heal them. "And even those two might not be enough to get Arin out of that bed on his own."
Daunte climbed to his feet. "I made a promise and I'll keep it. I'll get you out of here so you can find your family. B-But we have to take Arin. And my friends, Roen and Felicity."
"I would never refuse your brother, Daunte. And if your friends can help us, then I'll be more than happy to try and escape with them." Surya looked at him then. "Daunte, I want to try something. It won't be as effective as spell as it would on a single person, but I want to try centralizing all these remaining children on one bed and try using one spell of Kindness Drops on them. It won't fully heal them, but it might make them better off than they were before."
"I'll help!" the fully healed girl hopped off her bed and hurried towards them. Outside, the shouting grew louder and louder, causing several children to quake in terror. "Let me help!"
"I'll do whatever you want if it means saving Arin," Daunte said. "And I want these other children healed too. After we're done here, we can meet up with Roen and Felicity in order to figure out a plan."
Surya's gambit only paid off marginally. His one casting of Kindness Drops did indeed heal all the children situated on a single bed, but it wasn't enough to completely heal their injuries. With one Kindness Drops left, Surya wanted to conserve the spell.
But the children were in much better shape than they were before. They were certainly better off than Arin was.
"Daunte, Surya!" Dr. Yulin stormed into the room as they reset each child into their beds. "The Morning Prayers are about to start! You need to hurry or you will be punished for missing the Prayer!"
"What about Arin?!" Daunte demanded.
"I managed to make the guards go away so Arin's life is safe for the moment," Dr. Yulin reassured him. "But they will surely be back later, but I won't allow them to take Arin. I swear to you that they won't take Arin, Daunte."
Daunte nodded. "Thank you, Doctor."
"Now both of you, get going." He directed them towards the door as he pulled out a fresh blanket for Arin. "Stay on your guard today."
"We will." Daunte clenched and unclenched his right hand. The strange flickering on his hand had already disappeared, but they definitely needed to be on their guard. With the True Rune affixed to his hand, and the pronouncement of Arin's death, apparently by the Matron, he knew that he couldn't wait any longer.
We need to get out of here, and we need to do it today.
On route to the Chapel, Daunte heard the muted sound of thunder overhead and his pulse quickened. Oh no. It's raining!
The rain would make the air cooler and make up for the intense humidity they had experienced over the last few days, but the rain would also hamper their escape efforts. Since the conditions of the Dark Chasm were always kept poor, mudslides were a common occurrence inside the shaft. The mudslides would often cause children and even the guards to plunge to their deaths in the Lower Tier. Daunte knew the lower he was assigned today, the lower chance there was for him to be caught up in a mudslide. Unless a falling body fell on top of him.
This will be difficult, but we have to do it today!
"Daunte!"
The hallway in front of the Chapel was nearly empty, but Roen and Felicity hurried towards them. "Daunte, is this the new guy? We heard all about him at breakfast!"
"Surya Falenas," Surya introduced, saluting in the same way he had saluted Daunte last night. "I'm a Queen's Knight in Falena."
"Falena?!" Roen gasped. "You're a real Falenean?!"
"I'm Felicity, and this is Roen," Felicity said, gesturing to the other boy. "I'd asked what you think of the Dark Chasm, but I can probably guess what you think."
"Never mind, we need to talk," Daunte said. He stepped in close to his friends. "We need to escape today. They've already sentenced Arin to death."
"W-What?!" Felicity hissed in horror.
"They haven't found your True Rune, Daunte?" Roen whispered to him.
"True Rune?!" Surya spoke up, looking at Daunte.
"They haven't," Daunte said, looking over his shoulder warily. "But I don't care if they find out about it or not. I have to get Arin out of here!"
"I've been assigned to Tier Seven today, so I'll monitor that hole," Roen said. "Maybe sometime tonight we can sneak back into it?"
"I'm on Tier Five," Felicity said just as softly. "You two are on Tier Three."
So they were on a much higher Tier during a rainstorm. Daunte swallowed thickly and shook his head. I just have to hope we don't have any mudslides today.
"What are Tiers?" Surya asked.
"HEY!" a guard shouted. "Hurry up and get into the Chapel, heathens!"
"We're coming," Felicity said, forcing a smile at the guard.
"Do you worship Nagar in Falena?" Roen hissed to Surya.
"No," Surya said, and left it at that.
All of the pews were filled again, so the group of four stood in the back. Surya's expression grew grimmer and grimmer as he surveyed the hundreds of malnourished, lethargic children around them. He sucked in a quick breath when a guard struck another boy with his baton, and his hands went right for his waist. He quickly looked down as though expecting to see something there, and his hands dropped to his sides as though realizing something. "I gotta get it back," he muttered.
"Get what back?" Daunte whispered to him.
"My weapon," Surya said. "My tri-nunchaku. Same as my father."
His father? Daunte felt a strange feeling inside of him, maybe something akin to nostalgia. But as much as he strained his mind towards the memory, he couldn't properly form the image of his father in his mind. It was the same as all the other times he tried to remember his mother.
"Silence!" the shout came from the dais. The children abruptly silenced as one of the lower Clerics stepped forward, his hands raised. "Evil heathens, chattering incessantly on holy ground?! None of you are yet worthy of forgiveness!"
"Where is the Matron?!" Roen whispered, glancing sideways at Daunte. "Isn't the Matron supposed to lead the Morning Prayer?!"
Daunte craned his neck to look around the dais and the rest of the Chapel, but he didn't see the Matron anywhere. Why wasn't she there?
Does she know? Is she looking for the True Rune right now? Daunte clapped his left hand over his right one. B-But how could she have known so quickly?!
The lower Cleric continued to shout condemnation at them, but Daunte didn't notice. He squeezed his hand tighter and tried to remain calm and not draw attention to himself. He looked down again and his stomach did flip-flops. Even while covering it, the flickering had visibly returned to his hand.
What is the True Rune doing? Is it trying to draw attention towards me?
The children all knelt in prayer, and Daunte was relieved that nobody seemed to notice the flickering. He squeezed his eyes shut, but he didn't pray. Please, please stop flickering! I just need to keep my head down today so that I can escape!
Once the prayer finished the children rose to their feet. Daunte checked his hand and saw that it was back to normal. What's causing that anyway?!
"Hey, heathen!"
Daunte stiffened as a guard approached. Except the guard wasn't looking at him. "I'm talking to you!" he jabbed Surya in the sternum with his index finger. "Don't think we didn't see how you didn't immediately kneel for prayer! The evil inside of you must be extinguished!"
"I'm not evil," Surya said, glaring at him.
The guard's glare deepened behind his veil. "What did you say, heathen?!"
"The only evil I see here is you," Surya said defiantly. "You, the proud adult flexing his muscle beating little kids and working them to death. You must be so proud of yourself."
"You son of a bitch!" the guard hollered. He yanked out his baton and swung it at Surya's head. But Surya quickly caught the baton in his hand, his face unmoving and his gaze unflinching on the guard's eyes. "Don't you ever insult my mother like that again." His tone had menace to it.
The guard visibly struggled with Surya over the baton. It was astonishing to see the teenager have an evenly matched battle of strength and will with a grown adult.
He said he was a knight. I can see he was telling the truth.
Daunte saw fear flickering in the guard's eyes before he growled in fury. "You—"
"Enough!" a second hurried over. He swatted his associate on the shoulder. "Didn't you hear the Matron's debriefing this morning, stupid?! This kid is off limits!"
"I know, but he has a bad attitude!" the first guard snapped. He finally yanked his baton free, but Daunte had a feeling that he only got it back because Surya let it go. The guard turned his glare then to Daunte. "Did you find that funny, heathen?!"
Daunte didn't even feel a smile on his mouth, so he had no idea where the guard got the idea that he found his ridiculous display funny. He knew he could remain silent or talk back to the guard. Ultimately he only shrugged.
Despite this, the guards thankfully seemed satisfied with his nonverbal answer and moved on. The four of them moved towards the exit and Daunte saw that all of the other children had seen what had happened. Most looked so tired that Daunte couldn't tell if they were scared or happy. But several smiled at him.
Why do they look happy with me? I didn't do anything brave, Surya did.
The rainfall was still heavy, and the ground sank beneath their feet as they headed to work. Daunte was glad for the cooler air after the humidity for the last several days, but there was still a danger to working in the rain.
"Stay safe," Felicity whispered to them, squeezing their hands.
"I'll keep watch on my Tier," Roen whispered. "Let's make our escape tonight."
Daunte nodded and looked at Surya. But the other boy was looking at their surroundings with disbelief. The walls of the shaft were soft to the touch. Digging through them was going to be more difficult than normal. "What exactly do you guys do here?"
"Dig," Daunte said. They were herded into the lift with their group for Tier Three. "And clear the rocks out of the Lower Tier." The lift didn't have a roof, so they were soaked in seconds as it made its climb.
"No offense, but this isn't an appropriate workplace for children," Surya said, looking down the opening of the shaft.
"According to the High Clerics, we've committed the crime of Original Sin," Daunte told him. "Original Sin stipulates that evil is hereditary, so if somebody commits a crime then whoever shares their blood will also commit a crime. So we are punished accordingly."
"S-So you guys just have guilt by proxy?!" Surya exclaimed incredulously. "I've never heard anything so ridiculous in my life!"
"Quiet!" the guard in the lift with them snapped. "Both of you will work double today for your incessant chattering! Wait." He glared at Daunte. "Your brother is still indisposed. So you'll work triple today!"
Daunte didn't realize care how long they forced him to work. The longer he worked, the easier it would be for him to find an escape since the guards didn't really watch him at night. He felt uneasy as they reached Tier Three though, and saw a mini river of mud and water running down the length of the Tier, but he tried to remain calm.
Just a little while longer.
Then it happened. They were getting their tools ready when a booming horn sounded. It was so loud and sudden that everyone jumped and screamed in shocked.
Then the shout came. "Shakedown!"
And Daunte immediately filled with dread.
The children dropped their bags and hurried to line up against the walls, creating a spiral line down the entire length of the Chasm. Daunte looked at Surya, and the two took advantage of the confusion to move down the Tiers to be as close as possible to Roen and Felicity. Daunte looked down and saw that his friends were doing the same. But before the four could meet up, one of the guards blew a whistle and they stood to attention.
"Attention!" came the shout from the Upper Tier. Everyone lifted their eyes up and saw the Matron standing at the highest point, glaring down at all of them. "Remove your gloves and pull what little hair you have out of your faces! Guards, also remove your gloves and your hoods! Have your palms face down and your foreheads cleared away!"
The guards seemed mortified at the fact that they were similarly being lumped together with the children for this shakedown. A few even muttered a couple of curse words as they threw off their gloves and pulled back their hoods.
But it was too obvious to Daunte what the Matron wanted.
She's looking for the True Rune.
Daunte collected some rain in his gloved palm and used it to slick back his short bangs. But his heart thudded painfully as he slowly removed his gloves and stuffed them into his waistband. The True Rune's green-yellow symbol stuck out like a brand on his pale skin. Seeing as everyone else was distracted for the moment, Daunte quickly smeared both hands on the slick mud wall behind him. It worked to at least marginally cover up the rune without suspicion.
"Dammit," Surya hissed. He rubbed his own hands on the wall to cover his Water Rune. Daunte looked for Roen and Felicity, and his stomach dropped as he saw panic in his friends' faces. Above them, the Matron was moving down the shaft, examining everyone's hands carefully and checking everyone's foreheads. Daunte noticed though that the Matron still wore her hood, and she had gloves on her hands.
It's because she doesn't have a True Rune, so there's no need to check her.
As the minutes ticked by, the dread inside of Daunte grew more and more. The Matron wasn't simply glancing at hands. She was fully scrutinizing them. If some hands were too dirty she forced the child to scrub their hands on their pants and then represent them to her. Daunte looked down at his right hand. The dark mud covered the True Rune's symbol, but the heavy rain was causing the mud to become runny and drip off his hands and down his arms. He quickly looked up and saw the Matron on Tier Two and getting closer to him, checking both the children's hands and the guard's hands. One guard said something briefly to the Matron, and she immediately got in his face and spoke with rapid, harsh words. Daunte couldn't tell what she was saying, but whatever she was saying was clearly intimidating the guard.
"Daunte," Surya hissed to him.
Daunte looked at him and then looked back down at his hand. The rain had washed away more mud, and the symbol was now partially visible. He jerked his hand behind his breath, his breathing ragged. I can't keep smearing mud on it to hide it! The rain keeps washing it away and she'll make me clear it off! She's going to catch me!
He hesitated, wanting to say exactly what was on his mind but also fearful of drawing attention towards himself. Ultimately, he decided to express his fear. "I have to get out of here."
"Give me a second," Surya said, slowly drawing his left hand behind his back. "As soon as she comes towards us, I'll—"
"HEY!"
Both boys jumped as a guard rounded upon them. "You two are whispering!" he hollered. "What are you whispering about?! And you're hiding your hands, aren't you?! Why are you hiding your hands?!"
Daunte opened his mouth, but the guard wasn't interested in his answer. "Lady Matron! These two heathens are acting suspiciously!"
The Matron did turned towards them and Daunte's heart leapt into his throat. He locked his arm behind his back as she walked towards them. Despite the heavy rain and the slippery mud, her white robes were only slightly muddy around the hem of the robes, and her feet didn't seem to be sinking into the mud as everybody else's feet were. But that only made Daunte more and more nervous. She's going to find me. How will I get out of this mess alive?! What will happen to Arin if they kill me?!
"What's the matter?" the Matron said sharply, glaring at the guard.
"These two heathens were talking during the shakedown!" the guard reported, gesturing to Daunte and Surya. "And they're hiding their hands from us!"
The Matron looked at Daunte for a long moment, and then at Surya. Then she glared at the guard. "This boy doesn't have it, you idiot." she pointed to Surya. "He was brought in last night and he was examined. If he had it, I would've found it by now. Do you think having hair-trigger overreactions makes you an efficient guard?"
The guard flushed with embarrassment. "I…uh…"
"It's no wonder it's taken the Theocracy this long to find the damned thing with idiots like you in charge here," the Matron said sharply. "The priorities of some of you seemed to be very skewered. You seem more intent on throwing your weight around here and instigating violence than actually making any progress."
The guard sputtered, but the children around Daunte shifted with discomfort and confusion. Daunte heard broken fragments of conversation around them.
"What is 'it'?"
"Are we looking for something?"
"But I thought this was divine punishment!"
"What is she talking about?"
"Silence!" the Matron hollered. The whispers immediately ceased. "Never forget that you ARE here because you are sinners as accordance with Original Sin! Working here IS your divine punishment!"
Daunte couldn't keep calm. Now that the Matron was aware of the True Rune, she didn't seem to be hiding much about what their true purpose was there. And her statement about their divine punishment unfortunately confirmed what Daunte had feared.
She won't stop working us to death even after she gets the True Rune.
Daunte's hand suddenly became hot. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a glowing green-yellow light coming from his hand. It was a lot stronger than the flickering he had been experiencing before. And the light was a lot more visible than the flickering had been.
Oh no.
The Matron's back was to him, but she suddenly stiffened, even as the children around Daunte gaped at the light behind him. "That power." She quickly turned around to fact Daunte. She didn't react to the light behind him, but her tone shifted. "You."
Daunte wanted to speak, but he couldn't find the words. The Matron reached around him and wrenched his right hand out from behind his back. The True Rune's symbol was still glowing brightly in her face.
"This is it," the Matron said. Her blue eyes went wide. "This is the True Rune."
"I-It is?!" the guard shouted in astonishment. "By the power of Nagar! A real True Rune!"
The Matron met Daunte's eyes with a cold gaze. "Where did you find this, boy?"
Daunte still couldn't find the words to speak. He choked and stammered, unable to form a sentence. He was so frightened and full of dread that he was afraid he would vomit. It's over. It's all over.
"Why did you hide this from me?" the Matron continued. She leaned in so close to his face that their foreheads were almost touching. "Did you think you would be able to hide this from me? Do you realize what you've done? Don't you care about your brother's well-being?"
Daunte knew he had the choice between being silent or talking back to her. He was frightened, but he also knew the truth about everything. "Y-You're going to kill Arin anyway."
The Matron twitched, but she didn't look away. "Excuse me?"
"You a-already sentenced Arin to death!" Daunte sputtered. "I know you did! A-And I know the truth about everything! You don't care about our salvation! You just wanted this rune! And you've been w-working us to death to find it!"
The Matron didn't deny the accusation, even as the voices of the children rose with shock and horror at Daunte's words. One of the lower Clerics hurried over to them. "Lady Matron, we can send for a runemaster to—"
"It won't make any difference," the Matron said, glancing at him. "Runemasters can't remove True Runes. The only way to get if off of him is if the Rune leaves him voluntarily or if he dies."
Daunte jumped, but the Matron continued. "But if we kill him we have the risk of the True Rune jumping to another child before we can take It." the Matron looked back at Daunte. "So you either have to make the True Rune leave you, boy, or I'll cut off your right hand. Will you give me the Rune?"
Daunte had no idea how to get the True Rune off his hand. If he knew then Arin would possess it instead of him. Overhead he heard a shriek, but his mind was too muddled. He didn't know what to do.
"You won't give it to me?" the Matron asked him. She gestured behind her. "Then your hand it is—"
"LOOK OUT!"
More shrieks overhead interrupted them, and Daunte heard a rumble. He looked up, as did the Matron. A cascade of dark liquid suddenly spewed over the side of the Upper Tier. The First Tier was suddenly caught up in the current. Most of the guards and children were able to flatten themselves against the walls and duck into tunnels, but some were caught up.
Daunte let out a short breath. A mudslide. He was never so happy to see such a danger natural disaster in his life.
The Matron turned away to shout something, and as she did a hand thrust into Daunte's face. "Fog of Deception."
It was Surya. And the words no sooner left his mouth than a sudden fog enveloped around Daunte. He couldn't see anybody, though he heard the shrieks of terror and the rumbling of the mudslide getting closer to him. After a moment a hand grabbed his and he was being pulled along. "Come on!"
Daunte ran with Surya, slipping and sliding along the way and trying to outrun the mudslide. Other children and even guards were likewise running from the mudslide. The area surrounding Daunte still looked foggy though, and he hung onto Surya and prayed that he wouldn't miss his footing and fall to his death.
"Surya! Daunte!" Roen shouted from somewhere. "Where are you guys?!"
The fog quickly evaporated around Daunte and he suddenly became face-to-face with Roen and Felicity. The pair shrieked when they saw them. "W-What the—you guys just suddenly appeared!" Felicity shouted.
"I casted a spell," Surya said, showing off his Water Rune. "But never mind, we need to get out of here now."
"Yeah, the Matron discovered you!" Roen exclaimed. He wrung his hands a little. "L-Let's find Arin and get back up to my Tier!"
Daunte realized they were on Tier Five, which was the Tier that led to the living areas and the Chapel. "A-Arin," he gasped. "I have to get Arin!"
"Before we do, I need my weapon back," Surya said. Around them children and guards were continuing to flee in terror. A guard even pushed past them to run down the tunnel towards the barracks, but he slipped in the mud and hit his head on a rock, knocking him unconscious. "And it's best if the three of you arm yourselves too. We're probably going to need to fight our way out of here."
"I know where the armory is," Felicity said grimly. "But shouldn't we get Arin first?"
"They'll engage us the minute they regroup," Surya told them. "I understand the urgency to get Arin, but we need to be ready for a fight first."
"Daunte, what should we do?" Roen asked him. "Should we go to the armory first, or get Arin?"
Daunte wanted to save Arin first and foremost, but he had enough presence of mind to realize that capturing him would be the guard's first priority after the mudslide ended. If they went for Arin first, it would be more difficult to get to the armory afterword. So he said, "The armory."
"All right," Felicity said, though she was clearly surprised by his answer. She knelt beside the unconscious guard and unhooked the keys from his belt. "Follow me."
There was indeed too much chaos going on that none of the guards noticed the four of them running for the armory. Daunte hoped that nobody died in the mudslide, though he wouldn't be too heartbroken if the guards did. Or the Matron.
"Here we are," Felicity said. Unlike the rest of the Chasm, the door to the armory was a steel door compared to the wooden doors everywhere else. Felicity fiddled with the keys while the rest kept watch. Daunte's heart thudded with the passing of each second and he kept glancing over his shoulder. Let me get to Arin in time!
"Here!" Felicity said, holding up the key in question. She unlocked the door and they rushed inside. The room was filled with weapon, though mostly batons, whips, and spears. But they were plenty of other types of weapons. The four scattered throughout the room to find a weapon that would suit them.
"Here they are," Surya said, finding his tri-nunchaku resting on the table in the center of the armory, the three sections folded neatly. It was bright red and Surya skillfully swung the tri-nunchaku around briefly before resetting all three pieces, forming a pole that was as long as his body. He nodded. "It's still good."
"A bolo knife!" Roen shouted, yanking the sheathed weapon from off the wall. He unsheathed the blade and tested the sharp side with his finger. "All right, this will work for me!"
"Here we go," Felicity said, unrolling a throwing knives holder across the table. Daunte could see that the holder held ten knives, and Felicity quickly picked it up and strapped it to her waist.
"Daunte, find yourself a weapon quick!" Roen said, spinning his bolo knife in his hand.
It was easier said than done though for Daunte. He looked at the weapons around him, knowing he could choose just about anything.
But the tricky part was finding a weapon he could actually keep a grip on for a long period of time. He knew that with a spear or a sword, or even nunchaku like what Surya had would require a strong grip.
A grip he didn't have.
"Hey!" Surya suddenly shouted. He was ruffling through a garbage bin and pulled out a bundle of dark blue clothes tied up by a thick golden sash. "These are my clothes!"
"The clothes you arrived in?" Roen asked. Surya didn't answer him, instead immediately pulling off his work shirt and revealing a broad but skinny torso. Felicity cried out in shock and adverted her gaze as he changed back into his clothes.
Daunte was still walking the perimeter of the room, trying to find a weapon he could properly use, when something caught his eye hanging from the wall.
A pair of tekko.
"Daunte, did you find something?" Felicity called over to him, her cheeks crimson with embarrassment.
Daunte pulled his work gloves back on and took the tekko off the wall. There was a wooden grooved bar that served as the grip, and steel that was about eight centimeters thick arched over the grip. He curled his hand into the grooves, feeling that he could get a comfortable grip on it. The tekko felt heavy in his palm though, and his arm dropped to his side. But his grip remained on the weapon and he felt a surge of hope.
I think I can use this.
"Are we ready?" Surya announced. He'd finished getting dressed. The dark blue fabric was in fact a tunic that reached his knees and his elbows. The thick gold sash was tied around his waist, and he wore white pants and black shoes. His outfit was such a stark contrast to the uniform he'd worn before, and the material looked expensive. Even if Daunte had doubted his claims about being part of Falena's Queen's Knights before, it was easy to see that Surya definitely came from a rich family.
"Let's go get Arin," Daunte said, readying his tekko. Roen looked like he wanted to see something about his weapon choice, but didn't. Armed with their newfound weapons, the group hurried from the room.
"Hold it!"
And ran into five armed guards. "Thieving heathens! We'll beat divine punishment into you, and then take the True Rune to the Matron!"
There was a certain power to being able to hold a weapon and defend yourself after three years of repeated abuse. Needless to say, it was incredibly satisfying for Daunte to finally have the means to fight against the people who had tormented him for so long, and caused so much needless misery and death. Not surprisingly Surya, Roen, and Felicity also fiercely fought back against the guards. Within a few short minutes they were either beaten unconscious or whimpering in pain on the ground.
"We're going to run into more of these guys so be careful," Surya warned. Sure enough, every so often they ran into smaller groups of two to three guards, ready to fight them. Fighting them wasted precious seconds getting to Arin, but Daunte was surprised to feel that there was some benefit to fighting the guards. More than getting revenge, he felt surer of himself wielding the tekko, and he felt his movements becoming smoother as he swung his fists at them.
They finally reached the infirmary, and Dr. Yulin was shocked to see them. "W-What's going on?!"
"The Matron found the True Rune on me," Daunte said. He hurried to Arin's bed. "We have to get out of here now. Arin, can you hear me? Can you wake up?"
"Daunte, even with the Kindness Drops spell Arin is still not in well enough condition to be moved," Dr. Yulin warned. "His condition may only deteriorate."
"Dr. Yulin, we have no choice!" Felicity pleaded him. "The Matron will cut Daunte's hand off if she catches him! And then she'll probably kill both Daunte and Arin when she gets the True Rune! We can't wait until Arin gets better, we have to get him out NOW or he'll be killed!"
Dr. Yulin looked between the four of them and sighed very slowly. He hurried to his medicine cabinet and pulled a satchel out from a drawer. "I'll give you guys some potions and antidotes. However my supplies are already limited, so I can't give you very much. But it should suffice at least getting out of here and getting across the Rocky Plains."
Daunte and Roen sat Arin up, and Roen helped prop the little boy against Daunte's back. Daunte hoisted up Arin in a piggyback carry. "Thank you for everything, Doctor."
"I don't deserve thanks. This small gesture is nothing compared to the atrocities that I allowed to happen here."
"But you've done more than anybody here!" Felicity insisted. "Do you know how many of us would've died if you hadn't come here? We're so grateful to you!"
"I don't deserve your praise." Dr. Yulin held the bag out to Surya. "But please stay alive, all of you."
"I will," Surya said, taking the bag. "I can't find my family if I'm dead."
"Can I leave too?" the little girl from earlier quipped up.
Daunte shook his head at her. "We're doing something very dangerous, and you'll be in greater danger than you are now if you come with us. But I'll be back to liberate this place. I promise." He didn't know where that thought came from, especially when he'd spent so much time focusing on his own survival and Arin's survival. But he also knew he was being sincere with the conviction.
It's not just me who deserves freedom. All of the other children here deserve it, and I will do my best to make that happen!
The girl didn't look upset by the rejection. She smiled and nodded. "I trust you, Daunte. I know you'll come back for us."
"Now hurry before the soldiers find you," Dr. Yulin said. "If you're able to get up to the Upper Tier, there's a hidden lift you can ride to the surface. If not, there's an emergency passage on Tier Eight that the miners use to use. It'll take longer than on the Upper Tier, but it should lead you right to the entrance of K'alak'i Patieba."
K'alak'i Patieba was the town closest to the Dark Chasm. It had once been a town for the miners, but now it was a modest small town. Daunte nodded. "Thank you for everything, Doctor."
But Dr. Yulin waved a dismissive hand. "Don't thank me for acting like a human being."
Carrying Arin predictably made fighting difficult for Daunte. Not that the boy was heavy—he was so light in fact that Daunte felt uneasy carrying him. But it left his hands occupied.
Luckily Surya, Felicity, and Roen fought enough in his stead.
"Let's hope the mudslide is over," Roen said grimly as they ran back to the Chasm's shaft. They still heard rainfall, but it wasn't as severe as it had been earlier. They made it onto Tier Five and began running up towards the Upper Tier. The mudslide had thankfully ended, but it had reshaped the Tiers entirely all the way down to Tier Seven. Daunt saw below that some areas were hilly with wet mud.
I hope that secret room didn't get buried.
"Dammit!" Surya snapped suddenly. They had made it up to Tier Two slipping and sliding on the mud when they saw an advancing wall of at least a dozen charging towards them. And unlike the guards they had faced before, these guards wielded swords instead of whips and batons.
"W-We have to go down!" Felicity sputtered.
Surya raised his hand. "Fog of Deception."
Their collective surroundings began foggy once more. It was enough to distract the guards and they hurried back down the way they came. "W-What does this spell do?!" Roen wondered aloud. "I can barely see!"
"It increases our evasion rate temporarily by hiding us from enemies in a fog," Surya told him over his shoulder. "But that was the last one I had, so we have to make it count."
It did work for a short while. They managed to run back down Tiers Three, Four, and Five undetected. The fog dissipated on Tier Six, but they didn't stop. They had to get to Tier Eight to escape!
"Enough of this."
It was almost like a cruel joke. They did manage to make it to Tier Eight. All the way down they saw no obstacles in their way except for the mud hills.
But suddenly, the Matron was standing in front of them. Dry, clean, and looking very irritated.
"Get out of our way," Surya said, whipping out his tri-nunchaku. "I don't usually attack ladies, but I will strike you if you try to stop us."
"Did you think it would be this easy for you?" the Matron asked them. "Do you think I will allow you to leave?" she spread her arms out to them. "The only way out is through me, children. You can fight on, or you can surrender before I really get angry. The choice is yours."
Daunte swallowed thickly. They had the choice to fight or surrender. He didn't know what would happen if they fought her, but he had a feeling the horns on her hood weren't for show. But if they surrendered they would probably die.
So he shook his head, and carefully set Arin down on the ground. "We're leaving and you can't stop us."
"That's right!" Felicity said, pulling out some throwing knives.
"Y-Yeah!" Roen said more uncertainly.
The Matron sighed shortly. She clearly wasn't afraid of them. She actually looked bored more than anything. "Have it your way, then."
Surya lunged at her, swinging his tri-nunchaku. But the Matron dodged the blow. No—she didn't simply dodge it. She carefully jumped back, her body moving in such a way as though she created a ripple in the air, as though she were underwater. Her feet settled delicately on the muddy ground, even as Surya charged at her again.
She gestured at him with her right hand, and it suddenly glowed. Blue lightning ruptured from her hand and struck Surya. The boy screamed in pain, his body wrecked with blue electric bolts, and he flew backwards. His body slammed into Daunte and the others, and they screamed and scrambled to remain steady on Tier Eight and not slip over the edge.
"Have you had enough?" the Matron asked. She didn't wait for a reply. Her hand glowed again, and Daunte immediately shoved Arin's body across the mud. Lightning bolts suddenly rained down upon all four of them, shocking them viciously and causing them all to shriek.
Somewhere in Daunte's mind, a strange thought surfaced. A rune spell in rapid succession?! How is that possible?! Doesn't a rune need a short break between spells?!
The Matron shocked them once more, leaving all four of them sizzling and twitching in pain in the mud. Daunte painfully reached for Arin, who had thankfully been spared from the spells. As he did though, he felt a sudden dip in the mud beneath him. His heart thudded. What the—
"I think that's enough," the Matron said plainly, lowering her hand. "Now, boy. Give me the True Rune, or I'll turn your friends into ash."
Daunte ignored her, his fingers briefly letting go of the tekko in his hand, to grab Arin's sleeve. He used what remained of his strength to drag his little brother closer to him, even as he felt the dipping sensation become broader and more widespread beneath him. He looked at the other to see if they could feel this strange sensation, but the other three looked too distracted by their own pain.
"No answer? Then let me answer for you." The Matron raised her hand once more. "Ashes it is."
Before she could call forth the spell, the source of the dipping that Daunte felt quickly revealed itself. Right before Daunte's eyes a sinkhole suddenly opened underneath all five of them, and their bodies dropped into the darkness below.