All the Dust that Falls

Chapter 92: Sleeping Like the Dead

Bee woke early the next morning, grateful that she didn’t feel more groggy. They had all dragged in their stuff last night before immediately collapsing. However, now that it was morning, the castle was thrown into a comparative flurry of activity as the family started moving in. Mary had completely taken over the kitchen and had breakfast ready when Bee wandered in. Instead of shoving some dried meat in her face and starting her day like before, she got a plate of fresh eggs pushed in front of her.

“A growing girl like yourself needs to eat up.” Mary turned back to the stove and flipped another few eggs. “The men are already outside working - honestly, I doubt they even tasted the food with how fast they ate it up.”

This was a significantly better way to start the day, she thought as she dug in. Bee thanked the woman and received a kind smile in return. Despite Mary’s comparatively low level, she didn’t seem to have a hint of tiredness to her eyes.

As she enjoyed her breakfast, Bee considered what she needed to do now. The first thing was obviously to get the family settled. Though by looking at it, there really wasn't much to do there. They were getting along just fine.

After finishing her eggs, she walked outside and found Tony and Trent harvesting the vegetables they could still salvage. Despite Tony’s best efforts, some of them were too far gone to be edible now. As they dug up the potatoes, Bee winced. Void may not be pleased if it could see them now. When she asked if they needed anything, they asked her to go grab any of the idle kids and send them out here.

They didn't seem too serious about it, so she wouldn't go out of her way to look for them, but if she saw them, she resolved to send them out. Wandering back in, Bee felt a bit at a loss for things to do. They wouldn't start making return trips today. She might be able to do it by herself, but they needed a few people to care for the animals at least. Everything had been so nonstop recently, and she hadn't had a chance to relax for months between the demon threat, healing Tony, and making sure his family was safe.

Bee wandered the castle looking for Void. Perhaps her master would have some task for her or something that she could learn. Not finding it in either of its favorite rooms, she just headed back to the library. Now that she had more free time, she supposed she could learn more about magic. It was time to go and shore up some of her foundational knowledge.

When she made it back to the library, she found Maranda browsing the bookshelves.

"Hello?" Bee called to get her attention.

Maranda turned around and gave her a big smile. "HI! Things got really busy, but I’m glad you are okay!"

As Maranda spoke, she came up and gave Bee a huge hug. Bee stood there awkwardly for a couple seconds before returning the embrace. It was odd for her to consider that Maranda was closer to her in age than anyone else nearby, but somehow she seemed so young to Bee. Perhaps she was getting too cynical.

"I'm glad I'm okay, too," Bee said with a smile. "I'm also glad you were able to come here. I imagine that wasn't a very fun trip for you, and it’s hard to be away from home..."

"Are ya kidding! This is the most exciting thing that’s ever happened to me." Maranda squealed. She was practically bouncing from excitement. "Now, can you teach me magic?"

Bee blinked at the sudden change of topic. "Uhhhh, I guess? I don't know how much I can really teach you, though."

Maranda threw her arms in the air in celebration. "YES!"

Bee started searching through the books that Void had organized. Maranda followed, looking over her shoulder. "What are you doing?"

"Looking for a book to start you on."

"Why?" Maranda asked. Bee turned to look at her.

"What do you mean why?"

"Why are you looking for a book?" Maranda asked, confused.

"So you can learn magic?"

"But why do you need a book for that?"

Bee was now thoroughly confused. "How else do you expect to learn magic besides from a book?"

"I thought you would teach me."

"Sure I am." Finding the book she was looking for, she extended it to Maranda. "Read this, and then we can talk about it."

Maranda didn't move to take the book. "Can't you just teach me?"

"That's what I'm doing. Read the book, then we can talk about it." Bee repeated. Maranda looked at the book still in Bee's hand. "Fine, you don't have to teach me if you don't want to."

The discouragement in her voice really was starting to put Bee down. She really didn't understand why Maranda was being so difficult. "I will teach you, but this is how I learned. I don't have the book memorized or anything. Besides, I don't think it would be very efficient for me to just tell you what I know. I’m sure I’d miss more than a few important things that way. Plus, I don't think either of us has time for that."

Maranda sniffed, and Bee could hear some tension in her voice as she asked. "You can't just give me an overview?"

"I could, but that's not going to let you do anything without a lot of specific knowledge," Bee said, still with a confused look on her face. For some reason, tears were welling up in Maranda's eyes. "Really, it would be so much easier if you would just read the book."

Instead of taking the proffered book Maranda turned on her heel and sprinted out of the room while covering her face. Bee swore she thought she heard a sob. This was so confusing; was it something she said? Bee felt that everything had been completely reasonable. Asking her to read the basics rather than spend days explaining it to her seemed like a fine idea.

Shrugging, Bee thought about going after Maranda but decided she might need some time alone. She went and picked up the book she was working through. Tomorrow's trip to the farm couldn't come quick enough. Five realms she was bored.

---

I finally had time to start a project I had wanted to work on for quite a while. The others would go back to the farm soon, but I didn't think that I would join them. Between them traveling as a group and Beatrice's improved broom, they should be safe enough. That was partly an excuse, but I really wanted to get this done.

It was risky to descend down the one set of stairs in the castle that hadn't been fitted with a ramp. Still, my skills with the thrusters were enough to get me there, even if it was bumpy. Once I had conquered the set of stairs at the top, the rest of the catacombs were all easy for me to access.

I didn't think this would take me more than a couple of days to finish with my new efficiency. My area of effect was wide enough, and my vacuum was powerful enough that I could just trundle down the center of the passage. As I started down the musty old stone passage, centuries of grime and dirt rose from every surface. They swirled endlessly towards my dustbin, occasionally obscuring my visual sensors with how thick they were. Still, I could have done the same with a passage twice the width. The issue with cleaning the catacombs wasn't how wide the passages were, but how long they all stretched.

The first time we visited, it had taken hours to reach even the first level. Of course, there were extenuating circumstances, as Beatrice had to spend a lot of time fighting skeletons. That had taken a lot of time, plus I had to keep to her pace. Now, if I maintained the max speed that my vacuum would still be effective at, I would be able to get down to the first level in about 30 minutes.

I zoomed down in a gentle spiral, dirt and mold fluttering after me like one of Beatrice’s cloaks. No skeletons or other obstacles hindered me, so I was soon in the first level. The one with the plinth in the center and where all the skeletons had been resting. Now it was completely empty. The room was so massive that I actually had to resort to a grid sweep before continuing on. I was a bit sad that I couldn't clean out each individual cubby, but some were just too high for me to reach.

Things were no different on the next level. Still, all the cleaning was very satisfying, even if I knew that no one was ever going to use this room for a long time. It was part of the castle, I supposed, and therefore part of the area I was responsible for.

When I got to the bottom, I manipulated my vacuum to avoid tearing the gauzy cloth leading to the bright white room. I trundled inside, taking a moment to once again appreciate its beauty. Only this time, something was different. I noticed that the white glass floor, the one that mirrored the obsidian so many hundreds of yards above, now had cracks running through it. Nothing else had changed, and the room still didn't require cleaning. But it was a real shame to see the room’s perfection so marred.

On the way back up, I didn't have to worry about cleaning, so I was able to travel at top speed. With all my efforts, I was able to reach the entrance in only a little more than an hour. Along the way I congratulated myself on a job well done. The place looked a lot better now, to my relief. My air purifier wasn’t even picking up mustiness at this point. In fact, with a bit of accent lighting to brighten things up, it might even look welcoming.

The sun was just setting as I got back into the castle proper. I wasn't sure what everyone else was up to. But when I found Beatrice in the library reading a book, I figured that they didn't go back to the farm today. I hoped that wasn't on my account.

In hindsight, it might have been a good idea to communicate what I was doing. Oh well, next time, I would try to remember that.

As I rolled into the library, Beatrice looked up from her book.

"Hello, master," she said as she stood up and bowed to me. I waved at her, and she sat back down. Rolling up to her, I checked out the book she was reading. It was one I remembered moving, but it wasn't one that had particularly caught my attention. In fact, it was all the way down at number 2301 on my list. I didn't expect to get to it anytime this year. I wasn't convinced that vampires would be a real threat anytime soon, and even if I accepted that premise, I didn't see how learning to seduce one would be of value.

Beatrice closed the book quickly and set it aside face down. Was she trying to hide the cover? I couldn't figure out why.

"Master, perhaps you can fill me in on what your plans are going forward? I'm feeling a bit purposeless now." Beatrice asked me in a serious tone. My plans? Well, I didn't know I had any yet. I suppose I wanted to keep the castle clean. But that didn't require much of my time anymore. I could do all my tasks while everyone was sleeping.

I supposed I could work on expanding my domain. Perhaps we could find Felix's family?

Realizing that I had been quiet for a bit too long, I started trying to communicate my thoughts through a complicated series of beeps.

---

Finally, her master was laying out its grand plan. Bee wasn't sure she was fully getting everything. But by the length of the communication, it was truly grand in scope. She expected nothing less. Leaning back in her chair, she let the noise wash over her, trying to avoid listening to the exact words and doing her best to absorb the meaning. Truly it was glorious to hear the master's plan on how to bring its glory to the world.

She couldn't wait to begin.

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