Chapter 8: The Hidden City
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The following morning was the city's rest day. All businesses were closed for the whole day. Even the secluded fields were empty, because even slaves needed rest if they were to be strong and fit for hard work. Really, if Vivi's hunch about her tunnel proved true, there was no better day of the week to use it.
Star was certain that Fate had everything to do with it. As she, Forley, and Zan waited for Vivi to return, she decided to keep the thought to herself. Zan was her friend now, and he was excited about this new adventure. Putting him in a bad mood with talk of Fate and magic was the last thing she wanted to do. In any case, he was napping on a sofa in the second story common room, gathering his strength for the day ahead. He had been on watch all night, and run right to Bhlai House as soon as his shift had ended. He needed all the rest he could get.
While they waited, Zizi wandered into the room to join them, and stood gazing cautiously out the window for his sister. Every now and again he would sigh impatiently, drift around the room to touch things randomly, and then return to the window.
"She's been gone so long," he said sadly after this had repeated several times. "What if—you think she's been caught?"
"That's impossible," Star insisted, patting his head. "No one can catch Vivi, remember? She wouldn't be famous if it were that easy."
"She certainly is taking her time, though," Forley commented uneasily, looking out the window for himself. "It's nearly noon. What could be taking her so long?"
Zizi grinned suddenly and looked up at him with an idea in his face. "Maybe she—I bet she's with Keids," he said brightly.
"Who's that?"
"A pirate. He's famous, like us. He—he took us in. He taught her all the good stuff, too."
"What do you mean, good stuff?"
"How to flip and spin and hide and—and good stuff like that. He calls it—says its good stuff to know."
Forley crossed his arms and smirked, pretending for the child's sake to be impressed. "So, you were raised by a famous pirate, were you? And he lives in the sewers?"
"Um… I guess. It's good for hiding," Zizi answered plainly, as if he had explained everything, and went back to watching the street. Star and Forley exchanged a look over his head, and shrugged at each other.
"How big can this place be, if people are hiding down there?" Forley wondered.
"Real big," Zizi supplied, even though he hadn't been asked. "You'll see. Oh, look! She's back! Vivi's home!"
They boy's shouting and sprinting away had Zan awake in an instant. Zizi was squealing with joy as he ran off. Zan was rubbing his face and grumbling to himself.
"It's about time," he mumbled behind his hands. "I could spend the whole day like this, really; but that doesn't mean I want to."
Star laughed over his grumpiness as she took his arm and hauled him to his feet. "If her idea has fallen through, maybe you can spend the rest of the day sleeping, after all."
"I hope not," Zan said in his serious way, pulling himself together and straightening his shirt. "I'm far too excited about today, now. Just think of it, Star—actually getting to do something meaningful, for a change. No codes or notes or clever secrets, or standing on a wall while staring at the horizon. Real action, for once. I still don't know how I feel about this magic of yours; but if this holds out, I'll never complain about it again."
Star watched him out of the corner of her eye as they climbed down the stairs together. "You had a lot of time to think about this last night."
"Well, there's nothing better to do, when one is on Night Watch. Nothing ever happens. But today… Today, something will happen. And I'm going to do it. It's exciting, don't you think? I mean, just imagine. Me! Doing things that matter! Oh, I can't wait."
Forley laughed, amused. "This is quite a change in attitude for you, Zan. Are you alright? You didn't eat anything strange before you fell asleep, did you? You know what that can do to a person."
Now they were all laughing their way downstairs, but Zan punched Forley's shoulder. "If I wanted your famous father, I'd have stayed locked up in your village," he said dryly. "Don't lecture me. Let's just find out what Vivi's found!"
In the downstairs common room, they found Vivi being greeted with similar gladness by nearly everyone else. Zizi was hugging her ferociously, refusing to let go of her, chattering excitedly about Keids and many other people the rest of them didn't know. Zeel had taken a seat, waiting to hear all about how the girl's night had gone. Thora had brought her food, as she always did—mainly cakes with sugar icing, of course. Vivi could never explain herself properly without them.
"Yeah, yeah, the whole crew be perfectly fine," Vivi was insisting to her brother, with a strange accent they had never heard from her before. "Now come on, get off me, already. I haven't eaten in minutes!"
As Star, Forley, and Zan all came clattering into the room, the girl spared them a little interest.
"Oh, good, me hearties, you're all here, too!" she said. "Come on over. I'll even share me cakes with you. I got all kinds of good stuff to tell ya!"
It was plain from her change in speech that she had, in fact, spent some time with pirates in the night. She sounded just like Star had always thought a pirate should sound. When they were all seated around the low table, and Vivi's mouth was crammed with food, she finally began to speak.
"Me tunnel turned out alright after all," she informed them with her mouth full. "Aye, it went right under the compound, just like I said it would! Arren't ye proud of me?"
Zan stared at her flatly. "I'd be a little more impressed if you could speak like a normal human being, please."
Vivi swallowed her cake and made a face. "But I am doin' that. What arre ye talking about? Oh wait… That's right…"
Zizi turned and smiled at them. "See? I told you."
"It's all Keids' fault," Vivi continued, cramming another cake in her mouth, but making an effort to sound like her usual self. "It happens sometimes. Anyway, I followed my tunnel all the way to the end, and it leads right into the middle of a road, right in the middle of Rin, just like I thought it might. Since no one was around, I even popped out and took a look around. It's all good! It's definitely our way in."
"You looked around?" Star asked. "What was it like?"
Vivi shrugged. "I don't really know. It was dark, and there wasn't much to see. I know there was a road, and I know there were lots of sad little houses, and I know there were fields and fields that went on forever and ever. But there wasn't much to look at in the dark. Sorry."
Star sighed to herself. "Oh well. I guess there isn't much to see in the daylight, either."
"There isn't," Zeel agreed. "I've seen it, myself, after all. What else happened, Vivi?"
"Oh, nothing much," the girl continued. "I only stayed there a little while, since it was so boring. I just wanted to make sure it was the right place is all. But I spent the night with our old guardian and his gang. They're all pirates, you know. That's why I'm talking kind of funny this morning. Sorry about that."
"So," said Star, "you'll show us the way, won't you?"
"Of course I will," Vivi agreed right away. "I said I wouldn't, didn't I? Just let me finish these cakes. I haven't eaten rightly since yesterday, and Thora's got me all spoiled now. Trash cakes aren't halfway as good as the kind you buy with money."
Zizi nodded brightly and helped himself to a cake, as well. Of course the two thieves did alright for themselves, even though they supposedly lived in an old box, somewhere in the slums. Recently, however, it seemed that they were slowly being tamed, growing accustomed to sturdy walls and warm meals and people worth returning home to. As if they were stray animals, tempted with meaty bones and saucers of milk, and taken in off the streets. Which, in a way, was exactly what they were.
Vivi had always been proud of how independent and capable she was. She was also generally suspicious of adults, and the very thought of asking one for help made her angry. But even she was starting to understand that having friends to count on wasn't at all such a bad thing.
While the two children munched on their cakes, Zan went with Thora to gather some things for their adventure. Star and Forley climbed to the third floor and entered the maze of hidden rooms, where Alanis and Leah waiting impatiently for them.
"We heard that Vivi came back," Leah commented when she saw them. "Zizi made such a fuss, it was impossible not to. So, what happened?"
"The kid's idea was right, after all," her brother informed them. "She was apparently in the compound for a while last night. As soon as Zan feels prepared enough, she's going to show us the way."
Leah made a face. "Sewers and all?"
"Sewers and all. I know you hate to think of it, sister dearest, but this is our only chance. For an only chance, I have to admit that it's rather brilliant. In those sewers, we can walk unseen."
Leah rubbed her arm doubtfully, and Alanis shook her head.
"Not quite unseen," said Alanis, sounding nervous. "If Zizi's babbling is true, it's a lot of people to flounder through."
Star hummed at this. "He said something about it to us, too; but we weren't sure what he meant by it."
"Oh, it was all he could talk about before," Alanis grumbled. "It sounds like a small city of its own down there."
"Fugitives and the like have been escaping into the sewers in the hopes of sanctuary for many years, we've been told" Leah continued. "Wanted criminals, desperate slaves, pirates…"
"Pirates, pirates, pirates," Forley huffed. "It's all pirates with those two today."
"It sounds incredible," Star said thoughtfully. "A city of defiant people, living under the Dragon Lord's very nose. Hidden just out of plain sight. It has the beginnings of a new fairy story. I wonder what it's like?"
Forley chuckled and nudged her with his elbow. "You won't have to wonder much longer, small Star. I dare say we'll be there within the hour."
Star felt strangely cheered by this. She was so curious, she could hardly contain herself. "I shall have to write about it one of these days. I would do it now… But if such a tale made its way around the city, the queen might be suspicious. She knows that papa's tale is true, after all. If another amazing story appeared in the same way, she might wonder if tales of people hiding beneath the city were true, as well."
"That is wise," Leah agreed, nodding in approval. "It would be a shame to undo the last safe place these people have."
Star nodded back, though she was already thinking of the words to begin this new tale. She could feel fantastic ideas gathering in her mind, too wonderful not to be written down. But she also told herself not to plan it too far in advance, before she had even seen the place. Soon enough, she would likely be running in fear through a crowd of the city's most dangerous people.
Indeed, no good story could go without that.
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Vivi began the journey by leading the company into a nearby alleyway. The narrow space was filled with empty boxes and crates, and a nearby garbage bin made the whole place smell badly. She went and stood proudly in the middle of the alley, pointing at a round metal plate in the pavement.
"That's our way in," she told them. "All they city's manholes lead down there, but not a lot of people know it. Oh, I do it all the time. It's easy! Come on, already."
She crouched and heaved at the plate with all her strength, and it slowly began to slide out of place. Seeing her obvious struggle, Forley bent to help her move the thing out of the way. Vivi scowled at him, not wanting his help, but she didn't complain, either. The plate was moved aside to reveal a gaping hole, leading down a tunnel and into darkness. Thick metal rung had been riveted to the side of the tunnel, meant to be climbed down like a ladder.
For a moment, the four of them stood over the hole and peered down as far as they could. The tunnel could have gone down, down, down, forever.
"These manholes are supposed to be for repairmen," Zan informed them. "Whenever there are blockages or damaged pipes, people can climb down into the sewers to make repairs. But it hasn't happened in such a long time…"
"That's why people like us use them," Vivi supplied in her cheery way. Then she hopped down into the tunnel and began climbing down the ladder without any trace of fear. "Hurry up! We won't get to Rin by standing around here all day, you know."
She quickly disappeared into the darkness, leaving the others to hesitate before following her. Star went first, gathering up her courage before plunging into the unknown. Forley went next, unusually silent and grave, but always wary of letting Star go beyond his sight. Zan took a deep breath, trying not to think of all the laws he was breaking, before going in last of all. As he did, he reached for the metal plate and pulled it back into place over his head.
Star gasped in surprise as the daylight from above was suddenly blotted out. All at once, it was nearly pitch black. Somewhere below her, Vivi also gasped, but in pleasure.
"Oh, good, someone's here to get that for me!" she chirped. "I always have to do it myself. This is a great way to start out!"
Star doubted this at first, as she continued climbing down. As her senses adjusted to their new surroundings, though, she began to notice all kinds of things. For one, it was not as damp as she had expected. It also was not as dark as she had thought before. Rays of sunlight were streaming through holes in the metal plate above them; looking down, there was a faint light rising up to greet them. She could also hear a dull, far-off roar of voices and movement.
The smell was very nearly as bad as she had expected, though. It wasn't enough to make her choke or cough, but she did wrinkle her nose at it right away. Above her, Forley was groaning at it. She could almost hear him making a face.
"What an incredible smell you've discovered," he called down to Vivi.
"Yeah, isn't it great?" she called back, sounding all smiles. "Who in their right mind would think to come down here, am I right?"
In very little time, Star found herself standing on solid ground again, in the middle of a scene that surprised her very much. There was firelight all around her, from torches and oil lamps, and hazy smoke filled the air. There were people all around her, too, hurrying in every direction. There were shabby carts being hauled past her, flimsy tents of patched canvas, and even a few poorly assembled trader's stalls.
Everywhere she looked, marked people were going about their business, not very different from the marked people in the city above them. All these people were filthy and raggedly dressed, and had a gruff manner about them. Still, Star heard all the normal sounds of the city—noisy conversation, bad tempered vendors haggling with customers, children laughing and crying, animals barking, hissing, cawing, and all manner of other familiar sounds. All in all, it was hardly different from any other street in Habaharan.
While Forley and Zan joined them at last, Vivi planted her fists on her hips and took a deep breath of the fowl smelling air.
"Ah. It's always so nice to come home."
Without leaving her companions time to wonder at her, she stepped right into the crowded street and began marching in a steady direction. Fearing to lose her in the crowd, the rest of them darted after her, keeping their heads down.
Vivi was strolling pleasantly along with her head high, grinning smugly at everyone she passed. One or two people called her name from somewhere, and she looked up to smile and wave back. The others all wished that they could share her enthusiasm. Zan pulled his plain jacket around him and shivered a bit.
"I'm glad I changed before coming down here," he whispered to Star. "I don't think these people would like seeing a guard walking among them."
Star nodded in reply, too nervous to speak. These people certainly seemed to be on the fierce side to her. Many of them were towering, hulking figures, flexing their muscles and boastfully pointing out mighty scars to people who had offended them. More than once, the company marched past a brawl, where bystanders had clustered around to cheer and shout about bets. Lots of people had boldly colored tattoos covering their arms, legs, and even their faces. They all seemed enormous and frightfully dangerous.
Yet there was Vivi, walking among them as if it were perfectly safe. Even when she bumped into one such man and stumbled back, she just grinned up at him when he turned to scowl at her.
"Sorry, guy," she said innocently, holding her hands behind her back. To their astonishment, the fearsome looking man gave her a gap-toothed grin and patted her head.
"Stay out of trouble, kid," he told her firmly. "There's a lot of crazies out there."
"I will. Thanks!"
As the big man continued on his way, he surprised them again by tipping his tattered cap politely to Star. Aside from that, he barely acknowledged them.
"Who was that?" Forley asked once they were moving again.
"Oh, just a friend," Vivi answered unhelpfully. "Honestly, you three have got to relax. There's really nothing to worry about down here—as long as you stick with me, that is."
After this, Star began to see the sewer people in a different light. As she continued watching the people around her, they did, in fact, seem less frightening than before. Now that she had seen kindness in them, she had begun to see it everywhere. There was a scar-faced man helping a couple pitch a tent. A rowdy looking woman comforting a crying baby. A pair of parents pulling their bickering sons part before they started another brawl. A magician entertaining a small crowd of motley people, of every size and shape the sewers could provide. A skinny young man helping a much stronger young woman hobble around on a crutch, while gazing at her with dreamy eyes.
Star tried to absorb this, but she found herself slightly confused.
"Vivi, I thought you said the sewers weren't a nice place to be," she said. "This isn't as bad as you made it sound."
Vivi shrugged. "Don't worry. There's plenty of trouble down here. All the time. Some places are really bad—the kinds of place people go and never come back from. There are no guards down here, which is great… But there's no one around to help when there's trouble, either."
"What's the difference?" Zan grumbled. "There's no around to help up there, either. It's a good thing my brother doesn't know about this place; all he'd want to do is fix it all by himself. It would drive him mad."
"Well he shouldn't worry so much. They get on alright down here. I mean, it's not as great at Thora's house, and it sure isn't as great as my box, but it beats being a plain old slave somewhere. There ain't nobody who's a slave down here."
"Isn't," Star corrected without thinking.
"Feh. You and your words and all."
Zan shook his head. "A place like this can't possibly stay a secret forever. These people are bound to be found out, eventually."
Vivi looked up at him and gave him her devilish smirk. "That's why it's a secret, duh. People have been hiding down here since before any of us or any of our mamas or dadas were born. They'll all be okay. All you have to do is not tell your dumb brothers about it. That should keep them from going mad."
"Indeed, and that should please you, Zan," Forley agreed, winking at him. "It must be nice, knowing things that Zamiel has no clue of. Besides, he's always been so fond of not letting any one person know all his plans and secrets. It's been a peeve to us recently. Let's all keep something from him, for a change."
Zan grinned and winked back. "That does sound like a plan to me."
As Vivi led them deeper and deeper into the sewer system, the crowds began to thin out, and the light became dim in some place. Even so, they continued moving forward—always forward, for there were few directions to turn. Every now and again they would pass another tunnel that led to more crowds of people. Some were filled with tents and other sad dwelling places, and others were filled with vendors, as if they were streets of their own. Still other tunnels led into inky darkness, which Vivi always hurried past as quickly as she could.
Such sights were always on their right, because the path on their left dropped directly into a channel of murky, slow-running water that reeked of filth and unseen things. Once or twice they passed a dock with a ferryman, offering to ferry people across the channel to the other side. The other side was exactly the same, as far as they could tell. The only difference they could see was that all the tunnel streets were on the left, rather than the right.
After marching forward for quite a while, Vivi dashed up to a ferryman and waved hello.
"Me again," she announced.
"Yes, you again," the ferryman said tiredly. "You're not going to keep me awake all night this time, I hope."
Vivi pouted at him, and dug in her pocket. "I have the right amount for toll this time," she whined, pulling out a handful of small round objects. It was hard to tell what they were in the dim light, but they appeared to be olive pits.
"See? Four to cross, and four to get back. Enough for all four of us. I had a real healer count them all for me."
The ferryman took what she handed him, and gave her a very doubtful look while he counted them for himself. Finally, he sighed tiredly and pocketed the toll.
"Welcome aboard," he said, gesturing to his raft. "Let's just have you on and off my craft as quickly as possible, young lady."
Vivi smiled her thanks and strutted onto the raft. The other all cautiously followed her, wobbling a bit as they stepped on board. The ferryman came last, casting off and paddling the craft across the channel with a long oar. He made a point not to pay attention to the party, keeping his gaze fixed on the opposite side nearly the whole time. He only glanced away once, to make sure Vivi was behaving.
Everyone was glad when that short trip was over, and they all hurried onto solid ground. Vivi and the ferryman were the only ones with any experience on the water; and the thought of toppling overboard, into that bad smelling water, was horribly unpleasant. They ferryman seemed glad to see them go, too.
"We'll be back soon, guy," Vivi told the ferryman.
"Yes, take your time, don't rush yourselves, I await your pleasure as always" the ferryman answered rudely.
"Don't worry about that guy," Vivi told her companions, as they went on their way. "That one is always in a bad mood—like Simon. But it's just where we had to cross. Oh well."
"What was that you paid him with?" Zan asked her.
"Oh, well, we don't have money down here, so we pay for stuff with olive pits. They're real valuable around here, you know."
Zan raised his eyebrow. "Why is that?"
"I don't know. Olives are valuable up there, so they're valuable down here. But they don't last very long; they get sour and spotty fast. But the pits last forever, so that's obviously the most valuable part… Ooh, I think I just figured it out! Yeah, that's got to be why. Anyway, I asked Thora for some before we left. She helped me count them, and Zizi helped me eat them, 'cause I don't like them very much. She didn't get it, either. No one knows anything up there, even in the slums and places like that."
Not too long after they left the ferry behind, Vivi turned abruptly into the darkness of one of the tunnels. She stood in the last of the light and pointed ahead for the others.
"Here it is, everyone. It goes on for a while and winds around a bit, but this is the place. Not even the bad gangs hide around here. I think they're afraid of what's going on up above us. I guess I can't blame them. I guess I don't like it much, myself."
Star came to stand beside her and peered into the dark. It was eerily quiet and frightfully still. Anything could have been hiding in those shadows. But her goal was at the end of it, and so the unknown hardly bothered her as she knew it should have. She squared her shoulders and puffed out her chest, making herself feel a little braver.
"Well, here we are," she said.
Zan huffed to himself and dug around in the bag he had brought with him. "It's a good thing I thought to bring some torches. We'll be lost forever if we go running around in this darkness."
Vivi beamed at him. "That is a good idea! It would have been a lot faster for me if I had thought if it last night. But I did mark the right way, so we can find it in no time today. Oh, what fun this is! We really are on an adventure, everyone!"
Forley chuckled and patted her head. "Best to keep your voice down," he suggested. "Who knows what kind of people might decide to follow after us. In the dark, we could be easy prey."
"Of course, silly. That's what makes it an adventure."
"I agree with our shady friend," Zan grumbled as he lit a torch. "Adventures are all good and well, but I'd rather this one be as uneventful as possible. It would be nice to return home with our lives and our skins still intact, if it's all the same as you."
Vivi pouted, but said nothing. Perhaps she was disappointed. Or perhaps she was unwilling to admit that Zan's idea was completely sensible. In either case, the two of them led the way into the darkness, the torchlight blazing a clear path before them.
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Afterthoughts…
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So, it's been well over a month, but the mothership has summoned me back a bit. If anyone is familiar with Final Fantasy IV, you may be intrigued by some of the work I've gotten done since my last update. If not, I'm sincerely sorry for disappearing like this. :/
This chapter has been redone twice, which has been frustrating to me. This is also the reason why it ends at 4.5K and doesn't get to where I had hoped it might. You'll just have to wait until next chapter to see how much Old Rin hasn't changed. ;D
HOWEVER. This chapter did end up introducing some pretty major themes, as well as a character who is central to the plot of book 3. You haven't met Keids yet, but… Picture Mr. T, as a pirate, pitying fools as only Mr. T can. You're going to love him, and his crew, and his very flamboyant daughter. XD
