Knights Apocalyptica

Chapter 157: Rat's Tale

It was five days later that Garin found their first tangible lead. With at least a hundred birds scouring the city every day, and only ten or so rats, they got lucky. One of the fuzzy little vermin appeared in the morning per its instructions once spotting Seven-Snakes.

But there was a little rat, sitting there watching them with its twitching whiskers. “…We should hurry.” Garin rubbed the back of his head. “He isn’t patient.” The rat spun around as if on cue, giving them an irritated squeak.

With how the plan had gone so far, the sudden rush of progress was both welcome and unnerving. Because of who was left to lead it. “…Boldwick is with the subcommittee and the Duke,” Erec said, tapping a foot on the ground. “Dame Robin is out—same with Dame Juliana.”

“We have to inform her, Erec. Morgana will be fine,” Garin offered, “I’ll grab Liv too, since she’s still bound to the hotel, Colin. The five of us should be enough for a scouting party; we find where he last was, see if it was useful, and if we know where he’s hiding out, we can make a plan to raid it.”

With that, he was off, leaving Erec pacing. His blood boiled as he paced outside; he almost didn’t want to wait. Any second here was a second not tracking down the man with answers, and he could make Seven-Snakes talk. Full of Fury and his baffling progress because of it, he didn’t think Seven-Snakes and his tricks would stop him. Even without Armor. There was just no affording to wear it outside without causing a stir, or the Magi asking questions. Part of him wanted to already get to it, to find his fight and make things even between them.

He already knew how to win. Enide showed him. One swift and decisive attack.

It wasn’t that long before Morgana came sweeping down with Garin, Colin, and Olivia. The Knight wore a bright smile and didn’t even carry a sword. Going off to lead their expedition with only a sundress and a wide-brim hat, two things she’d boughten in Vega.

“You forgot your weapons,” Olivia called coldly to the woman as they formed in front of her.

“The world is a weapon, dear! Come now; there isn’t a moment to spare. Fate is moving quickly, and we must ride the current. Garin, let yourself grow to be one with the world; this is the first step on a path that will lead you to the potential within yourself. Whether or not we encounter this monster today, know that I am proud of your efforts and the fruit they have borne.”

None of them had time to digest that, as the Master Knight was off flowing down the street. The rat picked up on her will and ran forward to lead them.

Garin shrugged, and they were off. Following a vermin out from the hotel and the busy strip of Vega and shattering through the bubble of life that formed the core of the city. Outside of the strip, things rapidly took a quick shift to industrial. Almost as if it hid in the shadows of this city; the machinery lurking in the background that held up all the glittering lights and shows that made Vega what it was. Dotting the streets were factories for metalwork, food processing, and commodities. The further they dived into this new world, the more reality of life steeped in; the spell of Vega slowly broke.

Though one more mystery remained; they had places shipping and storing food, but where did it all come from?

They passed by a place that concentrated on the hub of food, a garden with an almost army full of Magi overseeing shipments, but it wasn’t the destination of the rat. They went past it and further from the hub of the industry to warehouses and offices. Following the rat led them to an abandoned warehouse, and then to a tunnel hidden in an office.

“More secret tunnels. Why does this guy seem to have an obsession with places under the ground?” Erec asked, shaking his head.

“Comfortable down there; what isn’t to like? It offers security from above, and provides a lot of protection,” Colin declared. “Besides, it’s not as if any place out here, aside from that city, matches the comfort of our family’s estate.”

“I doubt this place will be comfortable,” Garin said.

“Ah, so this is where our road leads, to the depths of the earth! Well, shall we enter?” Dame Morgana clapped her hands, look at the rest of them.

“Shouldn’t we wait and call for reinforcements?” Garin asked, leaning down and looking at the rat staring back up.

“There are missions we must tackle on our own in life, journeys we must make if we are to grow to our potential and be one with the world. Besides, the earth is the domain of life; the root of our souls. Whitest he may hide below, I am confident within our element and with you that our force will be enough to surpass any of life’s challenges.”

Taking her vote of confidence, Garin shrugged and took the lead as they dived into the tunnel. The path was winding and steep, pushing into the sewers, and after several twists and turns, to a narrow gap. Just wide enough for a person to squeeze through. Once past that, they were left in a simple room with a steel slab blocking a doorway. The slab had intricate glyph work scrawled over the surface; all it took was a single glance at Erec to know it was magical bullshit. Of course it was. They were dealing with one of the Magi’s resources.

The rat scurried off into a pipe and temporarily vanished.

Garin rubbed the back of his head. “So, uh, he’s beyond there. Apparently, there’s a way through those pipes—but we can’t follow.” The rat came back out and gave an angry squeak—Garin leaned down to reward it with its bit of food, honoring his promise.

“…A vault?” Olivia frowned.

“No, at least not an old-world one.” Colin said, moving past their group as he inspected the ‘door’—he traced it with his finger, frowning as he took in the problem, “This door uses mana to change the state of the steel… It’s advanced glyph work, but only half of it, needs a spell to complete the missing portions and to activate. Once that’s in place, the spell activates, and you appear to go through, somehow. Modern and magical, therefore not a vault.”

“…Beyond the door, Colin.”

“Fine, wench. Look around us. Does this look old or recent?”

“It could’ve been repaired by the Magi—“

“Quit it, please you guys?” Garin broke in, throwing himself between the two. “Doesn’t matter, Squeaky says that it’s not that big on the other side.”

“So you can talk to animals?” Colin said.

“No, that’s not how it works. But old-world or new, it has a door with a glyph now, and is a safe house, clearly. Which means how do we get past it?” Garin said.

“I can’t fathom what the exact spell is that they used to complete the glyph, as it’s some deliberate fanciful design.” Colin followed the line carved in the steel. Almost as if he gave up caring at all about what was on the other side of the door, a scowl on his face. “It would take a long time to break through by brute-forcing the spell.”

“The universe has provided all we need at this moment to surpass the barrier. Some doors have a single key, yet this one surely has a pathway through. We are but pawns in the current of time.” Dame Morgana said.

The four Initiates shared a confused look as Dame Morgana smiled at them.

“So… no help,” Garin asked.

“It is unnecessary. Go forth, young ones, and answer the challenge set before you. That is how we grow, isn’t it, as creatures of the earth?” Dame Morgana gave them all one last thumbs up, before moving over to the nearest wall and plopping down.

“Uh.” Garin stared at her. She wasn’t even going to offer them any suggestions. Not send anyone to watch out for the other lead Knights?

Erec looked at the door, at the massive slab of steel—it wasn’t even welded into place. Put flush against the surface with too much mass for anyone other than a monster or a monster of a man to move.

“Right,” Garin said, before sliding right over and throwing an arm over Erec’s shoulder. “So buddy. How the hell are we going to do this? I think we might be kind of fucked.”

“…Maybe,” Erec shook his head, already feeling the fire alight within. All he had to do was get past this door, and he would. “But we’ll come out ahead anyway.”

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