Chapter 2
As she walked out of the district tower that housed the local telepad station, Lucia shivered as the cold night air of the Ruskol District blew around her. She looked over her frost-covered surroundings slowly. Sturdy stonework buildings made to weather the exact elements that chilled her to the bone covered the lower parts of the rocky mountain terrain that were level enough for building on. Other dreamkeepers around Lucia were funneling in and out of the tower on their own business, giving life to the otherwise quiet atmosphere of the area.
A sudden gust of icy wind caused Lucia to recall the first line of Azel's written directions: Take telepad to Ruskol District. IMPORTANT: Bring a coat! Pulling her coat tighter over her shoulders, she instantly regretted that it had holes in the back for her wings. Good advice for anyone other than a bird, she thought, silently envying the people around her that weren't as punished by their respective anatomies.
Putting that thought aside, Lucia reached into her pocket to look at the next part of the directions. Continue down north road, turn at the third right. At least Azel wrote the directions clearly. Having to figure out what he'd written would have made the trip even more frustrating. As she followed the directions, she took care to pay attention to her surroundings and avoid looking too conspicuous as she went. Lucia realized that she would probably have to find somewhere to stay the night, as the telepad stations would probably be closed after Azel's show was over.
Eventually, Lucia came up to her destination. A small sign marked "Dry Vein Pub and Brewery" over the door pointed it out among the other similar buildings in the area. The eagle-girl pulled the directions out one more time, to recall the password to get into the pub's more dubiously legal secret venue. Ask the bartender for a "Diony Mirage." Gathering herself for whatever came next, Lucia entered the pub.
The warmth of the building made Lucia reflexively sigh in comfort as she made her way in. The Dry Vein was rather small on the inside, with a couple of tables and chairs in the open area across from a modestly stocked bar. A fireplace lit with a hearty fire was built into the wall, warming the building's interior. Despite the welcoming atmosphere, the pub had only a few patrons. An unremarkable canine bartender in dull dress clothes leaned on the bar's counter, lazily eyeing Lucia as she made her way in.
"Welcome to the Dry Vein. Are you here for a drink or just to get out of the cold?" The bartender asked.
Lucia was quick to respond. "A drink, actually. Do you have Diony Mirage? A friend of mine recommended I try it." I think Azel counts as a friend… she thought.
"The Mirage, huh? Not sure if we have any ready right now. The boss might be brewing some down in the cellar, though. I could get you someone to show you around down there."
"Okay, that sounds good." Lucia replied, already starting to see how the password's scenario would play out. The bartender pulled back from the counter, then walked through a door near the fireplace. Just a few moments later, he came out with another employee, a much more energetic looking bee girl with a more tidy uniform than his own.
"Mead, this young lady's here for the Diony Mirage on a friend's recommendation, take her down into the cellar to see the boss, see if the latest batch is ready."
"Okay!" Mead replied with predictable enthusiasm. Turning to her, Mead said, "Follow me, the cellar is just this way!"
The cellar, as it turned out, looked more like a mineshaft than a proper underground installation. Wooden support beams lined the stone walls, with the occasional fermentae brewing equipment and supply crates stocked between them. Every so often, there would be passages along the main shaft, some lit with glow orbs but most left dark and unused. I guess that's where the name "Dry Vein" comes from, Lucia mused as she followed behind her lively guide.
"So, a friend told you about this place, right?" Mead asked, as if sensing Lucia's attention turning to her.
"Ah, yes. Azel actually, he insisted that I come see his performance."
Mead did a double-take as Lucia mentioned her reason for coming. "Wait, wait. Azel of all people actually asked you to come? And you're friends?"
"Well, not officially, we did just meet today. I think we could be friends, anyway. Is there a problem?" Lucia wondered aloud.
"Well, Azel's a pretty quiet guy, he usually just keeps to himself. I've known him for years now and he barely says a word to me," remarked the bar worker, looking slightly less upbeat for a moment as the words left her mouth. Her expression quickly switched back to a more cheery one as she continued, "You must've made quite an impression on him if he asked you to come!"
Lucia considered that thought for a moment. Was her conversation with Azel such an uncommon thing for him? He seemed friendly enough, even if he had been rather awkward right at the start. "So if Azel keeps to himself so much, why is he putting on a show now?"
"I don't know, maybe he just got tired of being so lonely," replied Mead, putting a hand to her chin. "I overheard him talking to our boss Mister Laurent about it a few weeks ago."
"Maybe he wanted to come out of his shell, so to speak." As Lucia suggested this, she and Mead approached a passage in the mineshaft with a wooden facade obscuring whatever was behind it. A heavy-looking door that looked like it could be barred from the inside was set in the middle of the facade. Mead knocked rhythmically on the door and after a moment, it opened revealing a sturdily built goatlike man with large curved horns extending from the back of his head. His uniform was rather dusty and covered in differently covered fermentae stains.
Mead's expression quickly brightened and she started speaking to the guard. "Mister Laurent, we have a new customer! She says Azel wanted her to come!" So the owner is watching the secret bar's door, thought Lucia as she looked over the apparent owner of the Dry Vein.
"Azel wanted you to come, huh? Guess he finally took my advice to open up a little," the man smirked as he extended a hand to Lucia. "Name's Petru. Since it's your first time here, and since Azel invited you, I'll waive your entry fee. First drink's on the house, but you'll have to pay for anything after that."
"Oh, thanks. I'm just here to watch the show though," Lucia replied, unsure if it would be a good idea to get illegal drinks after Azel suggested she wouldn't have to do anything shady.
"Just here for the show, huh? Should've guessed. Azel didn't tell you much about it, did he?"
"No, just that he thought I'd enjoy it."
"You're in for a treat, then. I've been watching him practice and prepare every so often since he suggested performing down here, and I can say he's got something big planned for tonight." Petru reported with a smile. "But I've been keeping you at the door long enough. Come on in, get comfortable."
At this, Mead moved up to her boss. "Can I watch the show, too? I've been waiting to see just what Azel's come up with!"
Petru took a quick look behind himself into the bar. "Yeah, I think everyone's shown up that's going to already, anyway," he affirmed with a nod. "Besides, for as hard as you work around here, I'd say you've earned a nice break."
Mead was practically glowing with excitement as she heard this, her translucent wings flapping so hard she nearly rose from the ground. "Thanks, Mister Laurent! I'll make sure to enjoy it!"
"Alright, alright. Get in here already, you two," Petru responded, backing up to let the girls in. Mead immediately rushed in, taking a seat at the bar counter. Lucia moved at a slower pace, but no less interested in whatever awaited inside.
As Petru closed and barred the door behind them, Lucia took in the sight of the underground bar. A much more lively looking bartender than the one staffing the ground level pub immediately caught her attention. The slender, pink scaled dragon man was already having a conversation with Mead over the counter, admirably keeping up with the bee girl's hyperactive speech. Behind the bartender was a healthy supply of fermentae bottles, most of them being the infamous Scinter's Mark as denoted by their signature conical, laboratory flask shape.
Turning her attention away from the bar, Lucia looked around at the rest of the room. Glow orbs suspended from thick ropes tied to the ceiling's support beams illuminated the central area, which had tables and chairs set up around the floor. Most of the bar's patrons were seated around the tables, talking or drinking.
A strange detail caused Lucia to turn her attention to the walls. She noticed there were more ropes bolted evenly along them for some reason. The ropes continued along the floor, leading up to the floor of a modest looking stage raised about a foot off the ground opposite the bar. A curtain hung behind the stage, slightly parted to show a glimpse of a back room where Azel was likely preparing for the show. That's where Azel will be performing, but what are the ropes for? She wondered to herself.
Mead's voice caught Lucia's attention before she could think deeper about the ropes. "Hey! Don't just stand around looking, come over here!" Lucia walked over to the bar, taking a seat by her guide. "I almost forgot, I never got your name!"
"It's Lucia. So Azel's going to be performing on that stage over there?"
"Yep! He should be backstage right now, getting ready," Mead chirped with enthusiasm. "You should get your free drink, Lucia!"
Lucia shrugged. "I think I'd rather go without." Especially since their drinks include black market fermentae, which is not what I came here for.
"Then can I have your drink? It's just the thing I need to unwind after a hard day's work!"
"You're still technically on the clock, Mead," the dragon bartender chimed in with a chuckle, "No hard drinks for you until after work."
"Aw, Percy, you're no fun! It's a special day after all!" Mead turned to Petru, a hopeful look in her eyes. "Please, Mister Laurent? Just for Azel's show?"
Petru turned to look Mead in the eyes. "Sorry, rules are rules. You can have a bottle after the show. After we're done cleaning up."
Mead looked deflated. "Awww…" Lucia fidgeted slightly. Hoping to move the discussion away from drinks, she turned to the barkeeper to ask a question. "So, Percy, right? When does the show start?"
"Ah, right to the point, eh? No need for a drink, you already know what you came for." Percy replied with a smile. He turned around briefly to check a clock on the wall behind him. "It shouldn't be too long, now, just a few minutes if I'm reading that right."
"Really? I didn't think it would be so soon," Lucia remarked with some shock. She turned to Mead, who was sulking and looking at the bottles behind the bar longingly. "Hey, Mead, do you want to go find a table closer to the stage with me? You were looking forward to the show, right?"
Mead's expression brightened a little. "I still think it'd be better with a drink, but yeah, let's go find a good seat to watch." With that, the two girls got up from the bar and moved towards the center of the room. As it turned out, there was a table fairly close to the stage that no one was using. Lucia and Mead took seats facing the stage and waited for the show to begin.
As Percy predicted, Azel came out from backstage a few minutes later, his tail slightly rattling as he made his way to the microphone, taking in the sight of the crowd as he did. For a brief moment, his blue eyes made contact with Lucia's, and she noticed that his expression seemed calmer and his tail wasn't rattling as much afterwards.
Azel was dressed in a fancier outfit than the casual clothes Lucia first saw him in; now he wore a white dress shirt with a red tie and black pants cut to fit his digitigrade legs. Lucia noticed that he went without anything covering his feet. She thought back to the appointment, recalling he had worn leg wraps to cover them back then. He must have thought they wouldn't go well with the rest of his outfit, Lucia mused.
Azel's voice over the microphone interrupted Lucia from her thoughts. "Ahem. T-thank you all for coming tonight, it's good to see even just a small crowd show up for this," he stuttered slightly. "Well, I guess I should get on with it now…" Azel seemed to steel himself for getting on with the show proper. The audience remained quiet, with an occasional cough breaking the silence. Is this his first time in front of a crowd? Lucia wondered to herself. After a moment, Azel continued, seeming to show more confidence as he moved on to the rehearsed part of his speech.
"Powers. The word alone is enough to send a chill down the spine of most people these days. Every dreamkeeper has one of these powers, but a scarce few can, or even would, use them. Understandable, given that a law passed twenty years ago made them completely illegal under penalty of exile or worse. But the stigma against powers goes back even further than that."
Azel seemed more animated now, taking the microphone from its stand and pacing as he spoke. "For centuries, powers and the dreamkeepers who use them have been vilified, a taboo of both society and morality. The media shows us the horrors of powers use infractions tearing through structures and lives alike, while schools and scripture decry powers as a temptation against all that is good, and a violent force unnecessary for a peaceful society to function.
"But was this always the case? In our most ancient histories, powers are presented as a gift, abilities which gave their wielders a crucial edge against their enemies. In the oldest stories, dreamkeepers would use their powers to fight back against otherwise insurmountable threats. War, natural disasters, and other such trials were overcome by timely and inventive uses of powers. Even Sacrare, the bastion of morality which demonizes powers nowadays, used to advocate for responsible powers use in veneration of the Spirits.
"I don't see powers as something to be feared and hidden away. If everyone has a power all their own, is it truly right to keep that part of ourselves locked away in the past? Is it right to hold ourselves back like that? I believe powers can exist in the modern day, used to leave this world better than we found it. To show this, I plan to showcase the history of powers on this very stage over several performances. But these won't be just any performances, in fact, I'd argue that you won't see their like anywhere else in Anduruna!"
What happened next stunned the audience. With a whirr of energy, a bright red halo appeared over Azel's head. Many of the audience members, including Lucia, gasped in surprise. Everything made sense now: Azel wasn't simply interested in powers, he was a power user himself. Lucia's thoughts began racing. Spirits… What have I gotten myself into? A show in an underground bar is one thing, but actually using a power? This is way more than I expected… Should I try to leave? She looked around at the audience, who for the most part seemed to be in a similar state of shock, though no one seemed to be in a hurry to leave. Notably, the bar workers didn't seem to be as fazed; Mead in particular was staring in awe at her coworker's halo. Lucia paused to think. If no one was leaving, it seemed like a bad move to start doing so herself. Besides, she reasoned, Azel invited me. I can't just walk out now…
As the excitement died down, Azel continued his speech. "Of course, how better to show off the history of powers than with my own power?" With his power active, he seemed almost like a completely different person, one radiating with confidence rather than the uncertainty he displayed earlier. "I assure you, it's one of the least dangerous powers out there, better suited for the stage of entertainment than for the stage of battle. I can create illusions, summon sights and sounds to stun the senses, but never actually harm.
"With this power, I will make history come to life, and hopefully leave you with a better impression of powers than what society has told you. But this has all just been talk, a preamble before the real show. I think a demonstration of what I mean is at hand: Just a small example of what you can expect from the coming shows!" So this is the real show he was talking about, Lucia commented to herself. Using an illusion power to recreate historical power uses… It may be shadier than I was expecting, but if he's serious, this could be interesting…
Lucia focused her eyes back on the stage. The audience went quiet. Azel's halo flared, and the show truly began.