Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters. As well known, I'm a fan and fictioning.
Thanks a bunch and lots of love to my beta-reader Gallie-chan. If it wasn't her, then you were doomed to read a miserable chapter full of silly mistakes XD I love you girl! ^^ (Thanks honey, love you too! ~ Gallie-chan)
Watchtower - Chapter 2
The Thief and the Spy
"Even though you know the basic logic behind magic, you really have no clue about the meaning of Expert, right?"
I wasn't expecting such a question. It never occurred to me that magicians' titles could differ from region to region, but of course it was an obvious outcome. Personally, I never heard of a title as "expert" in use for this purpose. In countries I visited, titles usually referred to the professions, or nicks given by the local folk. I blinked, trying to focus my thoughts carefully before giving an answer.
"I… I'm a traveller historian; I'm not a thief as I was accused of. In my country, we used a different terminology for magicians. In fact we referred magicians as sorcerers, thus depending on their profession their titles differed as well. But we never used a term like Expert; sorcerers' titles were related to the elements they used." I explained my curiosity. "This works almost with the same logic in the countries I visited as well. I think… one has to study the basics of magic to sense it's presence; however only a strong magician can sense the slightest traces. Does expert refer to that? That you're a strong magician?"
"Ah, is that so?" he said. "Why do you think I am a strong one?"
"You sounded so certain that there was no trace of magic in this area." I said.
"You're sharp, Syaoran-kun." He smiled widely. "This title was entrusted to me for several reasons, and one of them is magic." Fai-san continued. "So that answers your question, yup, I'm a magician."
"And you're a strong one?" I repeated, guessing his answer already.
It was a mysterious, wide smile Fai-san gave in exchange. I had a feeling that he'd be a strong magician, but he seemed to avoid giving an answer. I can't imagine him boasting around about how great he is, but still, I wished he would give an honest answer. I guess everyone has their issues on trusting strangers, after all everyone has secrets…
"Hmm, who knows?" he murmured almost dreamily after a while. "But putting this aside, I really doubt this damage was done with magic." He concluded the discussion, casting another glance around the room with a kind smile. "I guess Kuro-pun wanted to be sure."
"To be sure?" I echoed, demanding an explanation.
"Think about it Syaoran-kun. This watchtower has collapsed partially, the damage caused by a mysterious source. Besides, an unnatural heat is rising from the bottom, beneath the basement..." Frowning slightly with a knowing smile, Fai-san paused. "Wouldn't you want to send someone to check, someone who's capable of handling the situation, just to be sure? And while you have an expert around, right within your reach, anyone would like to see what that expert would say. So in short, Kuro-pan is using my skills for free!" he laughed heartily.
"So, you have an idea about the reason of this damage." I said, thinking about what he said earlier while looking at the wall behind him.
In short, Expert was a general term? The way he's speaking and the way he's handling situations are both professional at a unique level… I guess Fai-san was experienced in a lot of fields. Could this be the reason behind the mysterious expert title?
"Hmm, we can say that… But first I have to check on something, just to be sure." He walked to the scaffolds, "Come on, let's find a lantern!" He jumped over the scaffold, then exclaimed happily. "Excuuuse meeee? Is there a spare lantern up there? Oh really? Mind if we borrow it for a second? I promise to bring it back as soon as possible." he kept talking while climbing up. "Oh you're fairly kind, thank youuuu! Thank you!"
As he started climbing the scaffold, my eyes caught sight of the dead plant in the corner of the room. To take a better look, I walked near it. The room was still poorly lit to see any detail, yet I could make out the shape of branches. When I touched the branches, I felt like they were crumbling under my touch. Pulling slightly was enough to break them, and behind the bush –or bunk of a short tree- was something we didn't notice before. Fresh air licked my face, but it lasted only a moment. I couldn't feel the wind, but there was an almost silent whistling through dead branches proving it's existence.
"Fai-san!"
"Coming coming..!" he yelled from an upper level. "Only a moment!"
He returned back shortly, with a lantern in his hand. It was a cubic cage, covered with glass at sides and bottom, leaving an opening at top for air. It was chained on a large ring for eas of carriage which seemed wide enough to put your arm through it. Inside the glassed cage, flame was burning intensely, casting eerie shadows on the walls.
"Did you find out something amiss, Syaoran-kun?"
I looked at him for a moment, trying to adjust my mind on what I just found out. Fai-san has brought light on the spot, which was enlightening a more crowded bouquet of dead branches than I assumed.
"These dead branches crumble at touch, and when I pulled it… I felt a breeze blowing in my face." I explained, pulling more of the dead branches to clear the way. "I guess there might be an opening, a crack or missing stones that had allowed this plant to grow inside the watchtower."
"Ah, you're amazing Syaoran-kun!" Fai-san said with enthusiasm. "That means if we find a crack-"
"-It might prove that collapsing wasn't due to magic. Plants don't grow indoors naturally… It might've been the weak spot of the watchtower, only prepared ground for the collapse." I continued his words for him, trying to pull the entire bush with both hands. "Or…at least it can give a clue about the reason!"
He was already cheering on my cleverness, but I guess it was something that'd only justify Fai-san's theory. I wasn't completely sure what it was, but magic wasn't an option in this situation. I could instinctively tell that something was off but answer had to be out in the bigger picture. Something everyone has overlooked, making it hard to find the real reason behind this damage.
Pulling the whole bush -even if the plant was dead and crumbling to pieces- was almost impossible. I sat on the ground –almost falling, panting, and already sweating. Even though I've been pulling it with all I had, I couldn't clear the way. Its roots were stronger than I thought; also I could see a thicker bunk behind the sea of broken, dead branches. Fai-san sighed, kneeling beside me; he looked at the stubborn dead bush.
"Looks like it won't move at all…" he glanced at me with his wide smile. "And heat seems to be getting to you finally."
"Not at all…" I murmured, wiping the sweat on my forehead with the back of my gloved hand.
"Should we ask Kuro-buu for help? I imagine he'd be quite powerful." He considered, gazing up, touching his thin lips lightly with an index finger.
"I have an idea…" I said, opposing to the idea of getting help.
Asking the commander for help would be troublesome; on the other hand, we weren't completely helpless anyway. I could get rid of the bush by myself; I only need to kick it outside if I can't pull it inside. So I sat on the ground, leaning backwards on my arms, I raised my right leg. With the first kick –which wasn't powerful intentionally, I wanted to check how strong the roots were- the bush shook and some dust rose into air. I could feel that the plant was already dead beneath my boots, it'd be easy to break it apart and one more kick was all it needed. I kicked the dead plant with all I had, and it flew out of the way with the momentum, revealing a small opening enough for one person to pass through on his knees. Fai-san leaned over to watch the bush fall down, drawing a wide route to the valley several feet beneath the tower.
"Fyuuu~… That's a long way down there. Nice kick Syaoran-kun." He said smiling cheerfully.
"Uh, no problem." As he leaned down to examine this small hole, I stood up to beat the dust off me. "What do you think?"
"There is no crack around the hole. Though I see some thins cracks between the bricks," he knocked lightly on the wall. "…these are cut stones, right? I guess that's why they did a good job on supporting the building. Bricks wouldn't have a chance, plus, a brick building can't endure any kind of siege weapon's attack." Leaving the lantern on the ground, Fai-san crossed his arms over his chest, resting them on his knees as he kneeled.
"This hole seems to be here for a while, that dead plant was quite old and huge." I pointed.
"U-huh… That's true; I guess it's been open at least for a decade." He said, putting a hand beneath his chin. "But I can't be sure of exact time, it's not important anyway." He grinned to me mischievously; I could tell he was willing to convince me into something that was coming up; probably nothing pleasant… "Are you ready?" he asked, picking up the lantern.
"Ready …?" I repeated, trying to hide my nervousness and anxiety.
"We'll be going…. Doooooown!" he said pointing out of the hole.
We were walking through an underground tunnel soon. There was a wide enough path for a man to walk around the watchtower; Fai-san said this might've been an old path which was not used nowadays. It was quite obvious, considering the collapsed portions of path we encountered from time to time...
Following the path, we walked down into a valley, where the bush I kicked had fallen into. A stream was flowing quietly through a forest of bushes and highland plants. Practically we were in enemy land, but Fai-san insisted that this was for the good of the Jinshuu Empire, and we're working for it. He sounded quite amused with the idea, his good humour continued after we discovered a cave entrance. **
"As I thought…" he said cheerfully before leading in.
And we were here, walking through a dark underground tunnel; in which the air appeared to be getting thicker in each step. Now I could feel the heat Fai-san was talking about, increasing gradually as well.
"Fai-san… The heat and humidity are increasing, what does that mean?" I asked, hoping he'd give a direct answer.
"Hmmm…. I wonder what that is supposed to mean?" he mused, no chance… "Hey, you never told why you are here, Syaoran-kun. I think we still have a long walk ahead."
"Eh? A long walk? How do you know?" I hurried to him, did he actually knew something?
"Lucky guess?" he laughed, then glanced over his shoulder with a bright smile. "Why are you here, I guess you mentioned something about countries you've been before? Do you travel often?"
"I…" I hesitated to be honest, my thoughts wandered to my family and back to the enigmatic nature of this man in front of me. Then, I decided to play my cards open; perhaps he'd open up his later in return. "I'm searching for something, a family heirloom which belonged to our family for centuries. But four years ago, it vanished and I'm partially at fault. That's why I'm travelling; I left my country and travelled along many lands to find a trace of that object." I stopped walking; thinking of home has upset me a little.
I never thought it could effect me that much, not only the guilt I accepted willingly –even though everyone was saying what happened had nothing to do with me-, but the memory of my parents bidding me farewell; it alone was heart crushing enough. My mother was about to burst into tears, father was supporting her, embracing her protectively. Yet I can't forget the disappointed look in their eyes; sorrow, pain and anxiety were shadowed with the restless disappointment they felt. I was sure it wasn't due to my inability to protect the heirloom, but I felt as if that disappointment was directed at me. Even though it wasn't what they were feeling…
"Could you find anything?" Fai-san asked kindly, I was quite surprised with the concern lacing in his voice.
"Not yet, it seems there are no records on what I seek for in those lands. The most recent record I could find was two centuries old, and it pointed the Jinshuu Empire." I smiled at the memory of the day I entered the Empire lands. "Though I couldn't find time to search the empire, I was already arrested for being a thief. I guess it has something to do with my clothing." I looked down to myself.
Fai-san chuckled at my words and probably to my gesture. I was wearing a dusty brown pair of pants, tucked into knee high, belted brown boots. There was a khaki cloth sewed at the back of the pants, beneath the belt, falling down to my knees. I was wearing a brown shirt with short sleeves; over it I wore a short cape of khaki color. It wasn't particularly different from the Jinshuu fashion, except that the quality of fabric and the design was hinting a civilization settled in desert.
"I also had a cloak, but they took it away with the rest of my belongings." I sighed, in my backpack I had mother's charm, and despite the material value, it was a dearly object.
"I can totally understand what you mean. It must be Jinshuu tradition to arrest whomever doesn't dress from the local designers!" he laughed waving a hand; he stopped turning halfway to me. "What did they accuse you of?"
"Umm… Stealing from grocery…" I said dryly, not happy with the false image.
"Ah, that's not really creative Syaoran-kun." He put his free hand on his hip, showing an amused smile.
"Guess so… Why were you arrested Fai-san?"
"Ah, they said I must be a spy! I guess they simply picked it up because of my completely contrasting looks! I scream 'foreign' with capitals, eh?" he grinned happily.
"Ah… Logical." I said, seeing that usual happy smile wasn't something I was used to.
"Hmm…" Fai-san leaned his head slightly to the left. "Rested enough? Shall we continue our journey? I know the heat is increasing as well and I do have an idea where we're heading to, but I want to see how far we can go!" he said, turning over his heel.
"We're going further?"
For the rest of the way, Fai-san kept asking riddles, and as a penalty he wanted me to ask some in return. He was good at guessing the answers but he usually dragged the topic somewhere completely unrelated, so most of the time I was left confused. After a while, I realized I couldn't walk any further, for how long have we been walking in underground really? I had to put my hand on the stone surface of the tunnel, panting as if I've been hiking for an hour. I was pretty sure we walked for fifteen minutes or so since our last break. Fai-san stopped too, seeing as I was trying to catch breath; he walked back and kneeled on his feet before me.
"Syaoran-kun?" he called; I looked up at him, realizing now that I was already on my knees. "Don't force yourself, we can continue whenever you feel alright." he said calmly.
I shook my head, my muscles weren't aching; it was only that I couldn't breathe.
"I.. I'm… fine."
"Heat will get denser, hence the air will get thicker and you'll be breathless before you take a few steps again. Take it easy, it should be alright soon." He gave an assuring smile, like he'd been through this a couple of times.
"How..?" I started. "How do… you know?"
Fai-san didn't respond, he sighed and sat on the ground, leaning his back to the tunnel's walls. Stretching his legs long, he looked up to the dark ceiling for a while.
"I know because we're heading down to the center of the world." He said, blue eyes still staring to ceiling. "Before you ask again and waste more breaths on the matter, yes that was my aim from the beginning. It was my theory on the mysterious collapsing of watchtower." He smiled as he looked back at me. "Now, sit still and concentrate on catching your breath, once we're down there, I'll explain the rest of the story."
After the break, we were again on foot, walking silently this time. Fai-san said I should concentrate on breathing only, that talking would leave me breathless again. Like he said when we reached to the end of the tunnel, a wave of hot air hit my face, leaving me breathless for a second. It was the opening of a big cave which was hotter than the tunnel; my shirt was already soaked with sweat in tunnel, but I think it was going to dry off in here soon –if only I knew I wouldn't sweat more. Fai-san pointed a crack in the middle of the cave ground, actually it was a small opening, and the ground was feeling hot even through our boots. At first I couldn't take a look, even a greater heat was rising from the crack. And when I could finally look down the crack, I was completely shocked. A river was flowing, but it wasn't a river of underground water, it was a river of intense yellows, reds and oranges. I was lost for words, this was a scene I could never imagine in a lifetime.
"This… is a magma river Syaoran-kun." Fai-san said, breathing deeply. "It's a mixture of liquid metals, like a liquid flame, only hotter than fire."
"How… is this... possible?" I turned to look at him, I mouthed 'magic' but he shook his head.
"It's not magic Syaoran-kun, simpler… It's nature. This has nothing to do with magic." Then he turned back to the tunnel we came from. "Come on, time to head back."
"Where have you been?" was the angry roar ringing above us when we were back to the watchtower's basement again.
Kurogane-san jumped down right in front of us, making us take a few steps back from the shock of his sudden appearance, and closed up the small distance slowly, as if stalking his prey. His blood red eyes were glaring dangerously at me and Fai-san. Gritting his teeth he reached for his sword on his left, only to be stopped by the magician. Who sounded quite surprised as he spoke, as if he was actually a kid asking to borrow a toy from another kid, who was too possessive of his toys.
"Now now, Kuro-buu…" he started raising his hands in a surrendering manner, smiling widely like this whole thing was a joke. "Why don't you calm down before chopping us into pieces?"
Kurogane-san's eyes widened, he was still frowning but now he was also quite shocked. I noticed as a pulse starting to beat on his forehead, it was easy enough to guess that his fury was the result of usage of his name…
"It's KU-RO-GA-NE!" The Lieutenant yelled.
"Ah, well. You'd be happy to know that we discovered what caused the watchtower to collapse, Kuro-tan!" Fai-san said cheerfully, drawing the boss' attention to the main problem.
"You did? What was it then?" Kurogane-san left his sword where it rests, and straightened up from his offensive stance.
"Well… you see…."
Fai-san explained the magma river beneath the ground, according to him there was a sea beneath these lands made from the same magma substance, and the lands were swimming over it. This caused some crushing and bumping to each other while doing so, which caused earthquakes. An earthquake was the cause of the collapsing not an enemy assault or any kind of magic spell like they thought.
He was speaking with a soothing voice, reasoning with the patience of a mother. And Kurogane-san was listening to this smaller man with great interest, asking questions regardless if they sound dumb or not. He was determined to understand the whole ground of the situation, probably weighting facts in his mind as well. I thought, at that moment, that they were actually walking on the same path. There was a silent communication between them and without words of approval on the smallest details; they were coming to an agreement quicker than most people. At least they were getting along much better then I predicted; Fai-san knew how to escape from Kurogane-san's wrath…
"So," Kurogane-san started. "…you're saying that we can't continue repairing the watchtower since it'll collapse anyway?"
"No, I think you should continue with rebuilding the watchtower, since it was the order." Fai-san said calmly.
"But you said another earthquake will happen and the watchtower will collapse again, perhaps making a greater damage this time. Then it's useless effort, why bother?"
"I said," Fai-san tilted his head to left as he put his hand under his chin, resting his elbow over his other hand. "…an earthquake would surely happen. Maybe three days from now, three decades or a few months later… But you should continue anyway."
"So, do you have a solution for this?" Kurogane-san asked crossing his arms over his chest.
"Ah, of course. If they asked my opinion, I'd have offered something different than repairing a doomed-to-collapse building!" he said chuckling. "But, meanwhile you should reaaaally continue obeying orders Kuro-buu." The magician patted the tall man's shoulder.
"It's Kurogane, you bastard!" was the growl rising from the scary soldier. "And if this goddamned watchtower collapses because you slack your crappy work at the basement, I'll kill you!"
It has been a week since we discovered the unstable ground issue. Fai-san couldn't offer a solution on that matter, but he could prevent the abnormal heat rising below the ground. Which saved us from a delirious week, I believe… After that trip to the underground, Fai-san gladly answered all my questions on this new discovery. Now that I know more about the magma core below and within the earth, I can understand the gravity of the situation better.
Fai-san asked for two dozens of fluorite, a special stone with a special magical attribute. These stones were known to absorb the properties of whatever elemental or energy source left around them and then mimicked them perfectly. After leaving them in a chest full of ice cubes for a day –which our magician especially asked for as well - they were imitating coolness of the ice.
"Three for each wall." he instructed the workers on how to place the manipulated fluorites. "One for the past, one for today and one for the future." He said as if he was repeating a charm rather than explaning the logic. "Then there'll be a circle of six in the center of each wall, and five to form a smaller circle inside it. Finally the last fluorite will be placed to pinpoint the seal we're creating." He added with a cheerful smile. "This would block the heat coming beneath the ground and will add more to the lifetime of the watchtower."
"So, your magic is at work…" Kurogane-san murmured, eyeing the workers like an eagle as always.
"No, it's simple dynamics. I won't use magic for such a trivial matter." Fai-san smiled as he explained.
Now as I look down from the roof of the watchtower, I can feel the effect of the fluorites clearly. The temperature around the watchtower is lower than it was before even under the sun, making it very easy to work on it. I've wondered about the stones, and asked Fai-san if his family name was somehow related to the stones. He just gave a childish smile and said; who knows? But thinking it this way, I guess I might understand a little more about Fai-san. As he said, who knows?
I rested my chin on my right knee I had pulled up; something about sunsets is always calming. Bright golden colors slowly fading into the crimson aura the mountains in horizon were giving, soon the sun will disappear behind the mountains and another night will start, I thought lazily. Hearing the angry objections of Kurogane-san and the carefree voice of Fai-san had a calming effect as well; it reminded me of aunt Meilin and father. They used to fight and quarrel a lot; I guess I'm getting homesick…
"Syaoran-kuun!" Fai-san's enthusiastic voice woke me from my reverie; I looked over my shoulder to see him waving at me. "Come here and see the magnificent handwriting of Kuro-myuu!"
"SHUDDUP BASTARD!" the commander roared over the other with a scary face matching a beast's.
I smiled, feeling sorry for the blonde magician. As I leaned back a little to stand up, something whistled right next to my ear. It rang alarms in my mind; I quickly looked back and saw Kurogane-san shove Fai-san just in time to escape the arrow that passed through between them. I crawled backwards hurriedly, glancing back to the valley. I thought I saw some metallic shines in there, and I jumped back to the lieutenant's side in order to escape the range of the bows aimed at me.
A.N.- Ohohohoh! A cliff-hanger! I know you wanna kill me now XD
As you've noticed, science isn't in its brightest age in this universe. Fai's title is explained a little on this part; which brings out another question I should answer immediately. Yes, Fai is the only one at the moment, one of the elite few who hold knowledge on physics, biology, geology…etc. and most of the scientific fields. And for a long while it'll be like this ^^ Syaoran's knowledge is limited with magic, history and basic science. Thus, Syaoran is quicker on catching up with Fai's words. Kuro-bun merely accepts facts he can't understand, since Fai seems to be telling truth. Also he trusts his scariness in case Fai might try fooling him (not that he'd do anyway, as we all know XDD). Hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I did, expect a vivid action scene on next part! 8D Take care!