Chapter seven: Intruders
In the Aether, you will find others—your late friends, Tristan and Karles, as well as the Rogue. Your target. Your opponent.
21 days ago
Jack looked over the lake. He would've put his hands in his pockets if his new, Overworld-styled pants had those. He felt ridiculous in his current garments, but those from Earth had to be washed before he could use them again. Maybe he should do that right now—give himself a task rather than wait for someone to come along and tell him what to do.
His conversation with Cassandra, brief as it had been, lingered in his head. He'd suspected there were mobs who still didn't fully trust him, but only now had he gotten real confirmation. He wondered how the others felt about him.
He heard footsteps. He turned to see Mystia approach, her bag slung around her shoulder.
She gave him a curious look. "What are you doing here?"
"Nothing," Jack said, turning back to the lake.
"Good. That means you can help me." Mystia sat down next to him, dropped her bag on the ground between them and opened it, revealing a set of empty glass bottles in all shapes and sizes. "These bottles need water in them. Mind helping me out?"
Jack wordlessly sat down and took out a bottle. He removed the cork, held the glass container underwater until it was filled, and then sealed it again. He set the filled bottle on his other side so as to not mix it up with the empty ones in the bag.
He repeated the process. The water's cool touch reminded him of how Andr had gotten hit by rain that one time. He still wasn't sure if her supposed danger sense had some weakness or if Cassandra had made it up in some attempt to intimidate him. He was going to have to ask Andr herself at some point…
"I'm not saying I'm desperate for conversation," Mystia said, "but could you please do something other than lifelessly stare at the water? The silence is making me uncomfortable."
Good to know he had the ability to make a mob-sympathizing witch who made potions of death uneasy. "Like what?" he asked.
"I don't know. Punch things? You're good at that, right?"
He glanced at her weirdly. Then he glanced to the bottles in the bag.
"Not that," Mystia said. "And not me either, please."
"There's nothing else here." He paused. "Since when does silence make you uncomfortable, anyway? You live with mobs who can sneak around like no other."
"Ha! At least they talk more than you."
"Hm-hm…" He fell silent. He considered asking her if his recurring dream might have some meaning, but decided against it. Even on Earth, people weren't entirely sure why dreams were a thing. If Mystia was going to give an answer, chances were it would involve some magical explanation or theory, and he doubted his dreams fell under those categories.
The hallucination he had, though… He could still recall the blood on his hands. And he still couldn't remember for the life of him what the strange figure looked like, yet he was sure he'd seen its features when it appeared to him.
"I heard Cassandra talk to you this morning," Mystia noted.
Jack sighed. Word traveled fast in the Realm, and Mystia must've gotten the gossip early. "That's why you're here, huh?" Jack said. "To make me feel better."
"No. I heard about it, thought nothing of it, and then came here to refill my bottles. You just happened to be here too."
"Yeah… My ass."
She paused, glancing at him. "Your…what?"
Right—certain Earth words weren't known here. "I don't believe you. I've been standing here for thirty minutes; you had plenty of time to get those bottles and come here."
"So you think I came to meet you here on purpose."
"Pretty convenient that you happened to come to this lake specifically."
"It's probably the biggest lake in the Realm, and the water is pure. It only makes sense that I'm here. Your accusation is based on speculation," she victoriously added.
Jack gave her a weird look. "You're starting to sound like a lawyer."
"Again, with the strange words. What's a 'loh-yur'?"
He sighed. "Never mind."
Mystia glanced at him. "Your secret-keeping," she said. "The thing Cassandra is so mad about, with you coming from Earth? It doesn't really matter to most of us. We're an understanding bunch; we get that if you had told us your secret the moment we met, we would've thought you were crazy or something. Besides, there're more important things than your place of origin—like how you stood up to Raulyn of all people!"
Jack sighed. He didn't want to talk about this, but decided to humor her. "I would've at least been honest if I'd told you earlier."
"Alright. Let's say you had done that. And let's say we eventually found proof that those claims were true. Do you think we would've reacted differently?"
"You wouldn't have had a reason to mistrust me. Not as much as you do now, anyway."
"We would've dismissed you as crazy one moment, and then realize you were telling the truth all along. It would've come as a shock just the same, and Cassandra would still mistrust you. We don't know anything about where you're from, and that scares us no matter how honest you were."
He scoffed. "You're just making biased assumptions now."
"Maybe." She filled another bottle. "But if you don't think the others trust you, perhaps it's about time you ask them."
Jack fell silent. He'd heard that advice before, from Athena. He knew she trusted him—along with Yaebi, Andr, Ari and Cupa. With Cassandra obviously not sharing that sentiment, that just left Sylvia and the three sisters—Gelli, Kelly and Ellie—whose names he'd always found disturbingly similar to one another.
Considering how Sylvia tended to keep her distance from him, he doubted he could just talk to her—and if he did, he suspected she would lie and say she fully trusted him despite his secret-keeping. Like Yaebi, she'd been forced to grow up quickly, and she was clearly afraid of most humans, still. Mystia was the only exception to that rule, but she'd been a sympathizer for a lot longer than Jack.
Among the three sisters, Ellie—the youngest—would either react however her sisters would tell her to react. Ellie wasn't as old or as mature as Yaebi and Sylvia. As for Gelli and Kelly… He wasn't sure. They might not even agree with each other. He hadn't interacted with the three sisters much so far, and had no idea what their view was on the whole matter.
"Think about it all you want," Mystia said. "Just not now. You're getting that look again."
"There isn't much to talk about."
"What about the weather? Or your first name. What's your first name?"
He glared at her. "Who told you?"
"Tell me, and I'll tell you."
He shook his head. "Guess we're not going to be talking much after all."
Present day
Mobs were approaching. Athena heard their footsteps. She gave Kai an alerted look.
Without pause, Kai turned and headed back to the intersection they'd passed, keeping his step as quiet as he could manage. Athena followed. They rounded a corner ahead—only to see that that way had collapsed further in.
Athena turned back and peeked around the corner, just in time to see two shadows emerge at the end of the hallway. If she and Kai would move back now, they'd be seen.
They were trapped.
"…do you think we should do?" asked a male voice.
"Ask questions," another voice responded. This one was much deeper and more growly.
"I should've known better than to ask for your opinion on this," the first voice sighed. "I meant after that."
The darker voice just grunted.
"Maybe we should kill her," the first voice said. "She's a mob hunter. If we let her go, she'll alert her friends."
"If she doesn't come back, her friends will look for her."
"Yes, but they don't know where she is."
"They'll find her. If she's dead, they'll get revenge. If she's hurt, they'll also get revenge."
"They'll kill us no matter what we do."
"No point in killing her. You've hurt her enough."
"Oh, you think I've hurt her enough? You think my interrogation tactics are bad? Okay then, big-brain, what do you think we should do to get her to talk?"
"Wait. Give her food."
A sigh. "You know those mob hunters are trained to never trust a mob…"
Athena was frozen. Mobs that could walk around so quietly usually had enhanced hearing. She might be able to sneak away, depending on how good their ears were, but with the mobs this close, Kai was at risk. There were mobs who wanted to see all humans dead, even the sympathizers.
Kai had his sword at the ready.
The footsteps were getting closer. They couldn't move.
As quietly as she could, Athena leaned towards Kai, thankful he didn't reflexively step away from her. "I have an idea," she whispered in his ear. "Follow my lead and let me do the talking, but be ready to fight if things go bad." She lightly tugged at his arm, indicating what she was going to do.
He hesitated.
"I want to find Jack," she whispered. "I need you for that. I won't let you get hurt."
Kai clenched his jaw, but he nodded. He brought his sword to his other hand and held it where the blade met the guard, the pommel facing forward.
The footsteps stopped. "Did you hear something?" said the lighter voice.
"Hm," said the darker. "I smell something."
"Someone's here?"
No going back now.
Athena straightened her back and raised her chin. She stepped forward and rounded the corner, gesturing for Kai to follow her. He obeyed, cautiously going after her.
The two mobs that stood there froze. Athena looked back, hiding her nervousness behind a mask of curiosity. The mobs apprehensively looked back.
Athena instantly noticed some blatantly inhuman traits; the shorter fellow seemed to have foxlike ears that poked out from under his orange-red hair. A tail swished behind him, and his nails were shaped like claws. His companion—a huge beefy bearded man with wild brown hair—had similar traits, albeit more like a bear's.
Animal mobs. Like how Ari and Cassandra had spider traits.
"Hello there," said the shorter fellow. He was the one with the lighter voice, and his teeth looked sharper than a human's. "What's this? A visitor?" He smirked. "And a good-looking one, too."
The tall one nodded to Kai with a snarl. "Human."
"Yes, I saw him too," said the fox. He kept looking at Athena. His voice was mocking, but there was something friendly about it too. More like humorous banter. "What's a pretty girl like you doing in a place like this…with a human?"
"I could ask you the same," Athena said, trying to add some haughtiness to her voice. She'd never heard of a mob noble, but if she wanted her deception to work, she was going to have to sound like someone who was used to being in control.
"We live here," growled the bear. "Mobs are welcome." He pointed to Kai. "He's not."
"He is now," Athena said calmly.
The fox put a hand on the bear's arm. "Let's take it easy for a moment, big fellah," the fox muttered. To Athena, he said, "Bear's telling the truth though; we do live here. How about you, pretty?"
She kept her composure. "I found a…contraption. It took me here with no way back."
"Ah, the lift. That thing's been broken for a long time; only goes one way. It resets on its own after a while though."
"Then we should go back before it does."
"If you walked from there all the way to here, it's probably already reset. Lucky for you, this place has other exits."
"How?"
"Before I tell you that, m'lady is going to have to explain what the human is doing here first. Judging from his armor, I'd say he's…hmm… Bear, what do you say he is?"
"Mob hunter," responded the bear—whose name was apparently Bear.
"Oh, that's right—a mob hunter." He gave Athena a look.
Athena glanced at Kai, who had remained silent the whole time. "Not anymore," she said.
The fox grinned. "Ah, I knew it. Even humans can't resist the beauty standing before—"
"No," Athena said. "Humans just follow my command."
The fox let out a chuckle. "What, so you can control humans?"
"Proof," demanded Bear.
"That would be nice," the fox agreed. "We've never heard of a mob that can do that."
"If you insist," Athena sighed, looking at the human and extending her hand. "Give me your sword."
He did without pause. Athena was caught off-guard by Kai's obedience, but also relieved. He knew what game she was playing, and he trusted her to do it right.
It was probably convincing enough; no human would willingly give their weapon to a mob. He even made sure to keep his gaze down, not looking at her directly. He knew what he was doing.
The fox's grin widened. "Ah… That's amazing." He made an exaggerated bow. "Forgive me, m'lady, I don't think I introduced myself. My name is Crevan, and this here is Bear."
"Crevan," growled Bear. "The human."
"Don't mind him," Crevan said to Athena. "He's not dumb, he just has trouble expressing what he wants to say, sometimes. He also tends to use as few words as possible to get his point across, so no one understands him half the time."
"You use too many words," grumbled Bear. "I meant us. We have a human. Make her talk."
"Ah…right. You're smarter than you look. Sometimes." He bowed again. "M'lady, if we may take another moment of your time, I think we've got something that could interest us both."
"What?" Athena said.
Crevan gave another grin. "We've got a prisoner. A mob hunter. We're trying to get her to talk about where her friends are, but she's been quiet so far. Maybe you can help us, and we can help you get out of here?"
Athena remained silent for a moment. Saying no might look suspicious and leave the unnamed human at the mercy of these two. She thought quickly, and soon made a decision.
She sighed, pretending to be annoyed. "Fine. Take me to her."
Crevan nodded. "Yes, m'lady. Hey Bear, why don't you get our esteemed guests some food and something to drink. Get them our finest meal!"
"Bread and water," growled Bear. He turned and stomped down the hallway.
Crevan approached the intersection Athena and Kai were at. "That'll keep him busy for a while…"
"I heard that," Bear hollered, but he didn't break stride.
Crevan grinned. "This way, m'lady."
He led them through the tunnels, walking next to Athena. Kai stayed behind them. He was surprisingly good at keeping up appearances. Did he learn that during his time in Slaenone? Humans never used spies to infiltrate mob groups—they thought that would always result in the spy either dying or defecting—but maybe they found it useful to look harmless?
Then again, Kai knew mobs weren't inherently bloodthirsty, so he should also understand that spying on them was possible. If he acted on that knowledge and pretended to be a sympathizer, he'd be more dangerous than Raulyn ever was.
Athena recalled Rayallv mentioning Kai's bloodlust, and she felt an uneasy feeling creep up her spine. So far, she'd assumed Kai became more tempered because some experience gave him a better understanding of mobs…but what if that wasn't right? What if his ability to slaughter mobs by the dozens was a result of his ability to walk among them—which in turn was a result of him pretending to show sympathy and understanding?
She glanced behind her, suddenly feeling uncertain. Kai had given her his sword, but he still carried a dagger at his belt. She was going to have to keep her eyes and ears open.
"Ah," Crevan said. "This place used to be more…lively. If only a little."
She glanced at him. "That's no longer the case."
"Glad you noticed."
"What happened?"
He showed a wry smile. "There used to be six of us here. Three sets of siblings. Then… Well, I guess some of us just got tired of living in a cave. Vix and Polar were the first to go—they'd heard rumors of some place in the Elevated Fields that mob hunters didn't go to. Lupa was captured by mob hunters; we think she's either dead or imprisoned. Her brother Lorcan was devastated about it. He eventually left too." Crevan scoffed. "An Aether portal… What was he even thinking…"
If Athena's heart actually worked, it would've skipped a beat. She glanced at him, trying not to show any emotion. "An Aether portal?"
"After what happened to Lupa, he got desperate," Crevan continued, his eternal smile gone. "Heard rumors about some Aether portal in the Skyfound Hills. For him, it was a choice between escaping the Overworld and all of its problems, or facing whatever the humans had in store."
"I'm sorry to hear that."
Crevan paused, then stopped and turned to Kai. "Actually, maybe we can find out more about what happened."
Kai gave him an unreadable, submissive look—the same look he'd been keeping up so far. The look of someone whose will wasn't his own anymore.
"You," Crevan said. "Human. What do you know about Lorcan?"
Kai said nothing. Clever; he had to keep up appearances, meaning he wouldn't obey just anyone.
Crevan turned to Athena, looking expectant.
"Answer him," Athena said to Kai.
"I know nothing," Kai immediately said. As expected.
Athena narrowed her eyes. In part thanks to her enhanced senses, she was extremely good at knowing when someone was lying. It wasn't definitive proof of dishonesty; if Kai was lying right now, she had to admit he was good at it, but she did notice something—a slight fidget, a minor shift in facial expression.
"Anything involving a hunt at the Skyfound Hills?" asked Crevan.
"No." Another lie.
Crevan didn't see it, apparently. "What about Lupa?"
Kai shook his head.
Crevan sighed and turned. "Worth a try."
Athena shared a glance with Kai, then continued walking. The earlier thoughts about Kai being a spy among mobs still haunted her.
She then realized Crevan hadn't asked about Vix and Polar. She decided not to bring it up.
Crevan led them to a door.
"Behind this door, m'lady," he said, bowing again, his grin returning, "Bear and I have sealed the true face of evil and sass—"
"Just let me in there and we can get this over with," Athena snapped. "But after that, I expect to be taken to the exit."
"Of course." He opened the door.
Beyond it was a small room. A woman sat tied to a wooden chair, wearing ragged clothes. Though her long hair obscured her eyes, Athena could tell she was looking at the ground. Padded gear and some steel plates lay in a corner. Armor. There was a scabbard, but no weapons; Crevan must've taken those away.
The woman had superficial scratches on her cheeks, abdomen and legs. Claw marks. No doubt the work of the two mobs here.
The human looked up, and Athena froze. It was Flamma. One of the Hunters of Ironhand. What was she doing here?
"So, m'lady," Crevan said. "Do your thing."
"Wh…" Flamma grunted, her voice hoarse. "H… How…dare…"
If she spoke, she'd blow their cover. "Shut her up," Athena calmly told Kai.
Kai didn't hesitate. He walked over and slapped Flamma in the face, silencing her.
"In order to take control," Athena said to Crevan, "I need time and concentration—two things you can offer me by leaving."
Crevan smirked and bowed yet again. "As you wish, m'lady." He paused, then added, "How long?"
"It differs per human…" Athena glanced to Flamma, who looked up at her with hate in her eyes. "But they all break eventually."
"Ah. As you wish, m'lady. I'll tell Bear to leave the food at the door."
He left, closing the door behind him. Athena listened for a moment, waiting until his steps had faded away.
She nodded to Kai, who straightened his back and turned to Flamma. "Sorry about that," Kai whispered. "But if you had talked, you would have thwarted our plan."
Flamma's eyes turned confused. She looked from Kai to Athena and back.
The mobs hadn't been friendly with the Huntress—and, as Athena overheard earlier, Crevan had considered killing her. Athena never liked spilling blood like that, but part of her understood. A mob's life could be…frustrating…to the point where human lives—or lives in general—meant nothing.
"Now," Kai whispered, drawing his dagger. "I will cut you loose, and you will stay quiet. Understand?"
"What…" said Flamma. "What is this…?" Despite her wounds, she didn't seem to be doing too badly. Her voice was mostly clear, if a bit numb.
"I could ask you the same thing," Kai hissed, cutting the bond that held her right arm. "You were supposed to stay in Ironhand!"
"And… And leave you all with those things?" Flamma said, glancing to Athena. "You were outnumbered, and they were too powerful."
"You had your orders."
"It was not right."
"That is not for you to decide."
"You lied," Athena cut in.
Kai stopped, looking at her.
"I'll admit, you're a very good actor," Athena said. "But when Crevan asked you about the Skyfound Hills, you lied. I could tell."
Kai paused. "I have heard of a hunt in the Skyfound Hills, yes. It is said that the mob they hunted called himself Lorcan. He had similar ears, claws and a tail, albeit more wolflike."
"Was Raulyn in on that hunt?"
He hesitated. "I believe so."
"Is it where the portal is located?"
"I do not know."
"But it would make sense, right? Raulyn's the only one who's seen the portal, and he just so happens to have had a hunt at a place where the portal is suspected to be."
"He is the only one who really knows where the portal is," Kai sharply said. "That is why you accompany us, remember?"
"And the only reason he's not telling us is because we'd be able to beat him to it if we knew where to go."
Kai's gaze darkened.
Athena sighed quietly. "Kai. If Raulyn gets there, he'll hunt Jack and the Rogue down. You know that's not right."
"If you knew anything about the Rogue, you would understand," he whispered. "His powers are the only lead we have. If what the files say about him is true, it would change everything. Elektra's terrorism would be nothing in comparison…"
Athena fell silent. Kai seemed genuinely concerned about this, with the way he appealed to her morality. Maybe he wasn't a bloodthirsty spy after all? It wouldn't be the first time she let her paranoia get the better of her.
Then again, that paranoia had helped her survive so far.
Footsteps.
Athena raised her hand. Thankfully, Kai obeyed, sheathing his dagger and returning to his submissive role.
Someone outside set something on the ground. "Food's here," Bear's voice boomed, like gravelly thunder. "Done yet?"
"It takes time to assume control," Athena responded. "I'll find you when I'm done here."
"Just don't mistreat her," he grunted. Then he stomped away.
Athena was surprised at Bear's apparent concern for Flamma, but decided not to dwell on it. When Bear's footsteps were gone, Athena turned back to Kai. "I've got an idea," she said.
"To do what?"
"To get out of here."
His gaze lightened. "How?"
"We should run," grunted Flamma. "We should kill those mobs, then run."
"No," Athena said. "Too risky, and I'm not going to kill them if I don't have to. We don't even know where the exit is. We're going to have to play along if we want to find out."
"Then Kai and I will kill them," Flamma persisted. "We can find the exit on our own."
Athena sighed. "They're just…trying to live their lives here, after losing so many friends…"
"Live their lives! Can you not see what they have done to me?!"
"Of course we can see," Kai told Flamma. "But this is not a mob hunt. There would be deaths on both sides. We should avoid confrontation." He turned to Athena. "What do you have in mind?"
"It's easy," Athena said. "We do the same as before." She glanced to Flamma. "With both of you."
Kai cut the last bonds, and Flamma briefly clenched her fist. "Us…as your servants?" she whispered. "Never."
Kai sighed. "So…you need Flamma to stay calm, composed and submissive when there are mobs nearby. What could possibly go wrong?"
Athena raised her eyebrows at him. "Was that sarcasm, Kai?"
A smirk crossed his face. "Maybe."