Zensuon: Crystal Age

Taking a Break Under Break City

Where our tired duo finally finds a place to rest away from guards and golems.

Nuraka's mind was focused. If each part of life was a balance between survival and dominance, then running away would surely fall to the former. The answer was in the big life-shard he found; it glowed and gave him power. He needed to get stronger, so next time he could use it to bring all of these men of metal outside- the ones with the fleshy bits and the ones without- under his strength. There was no shame in using tools to win- life-shard, halfling. They were all the same, as long as they brought victory.

That's when Nuraka's hands started hurting, and began to glow. It was weird, but the orc didn't think much of it. The only thought on the wounded orc's mind was to relieve the pain. He and the halfling walked across this smelly road, filled with big rats that you smash and eat, and water that smells too bad to eat, and go down further to make the pain go away.

Plus, Choppa told him to do so. And he is never wrong.

-Meanwhile, in Mica's Head-

Mica was too overwhelmed by the stench of the sewer to consider eating; somewhere his stomach told him he should have, but the smell made him want to evict food that wasn't there yet. He had to suffice on following the orc. It seemed that the pain in his hands subsided as he did. Meanwhile, food in the form of uncooked giant rats will have to come on cleaner grounds where he can handle the meat and his body doesn't want to just give up. A mix of disgust and envy washed over him as he saw the greenskin just gorge himself on the massive rodents.

After what felt like a day, they found themselves on a road of unpaved rock, and Mica's conscious mind began to awaken.

Did we get to some caves on the sides of the canal? No, wait, why would the sewers continue there? We were going down. This is a cave under the city. Did the leaking sewer water create it? Will I be able to find dry ground here to at least sit?

The sound of clear (that is, not sewage-oozing) liquid dripping woke him up. Even though his higher brain shouted at him that it may as well be sewage, his lower brain had him running. Nuraka seemed to have gotten the same idea.

Once clear, sparkling waters were visible in front of them, they stopped, fell on their knees and drank.

"Aaaaahhhhh!" Mica shouted, feeling as if he just escaped a cage within his own body.

"Water! Yes." He cupped his hands and drank, as the orc plunged his head in and seemed to almost breath in the water.

Mica grinned, his face hurt, as if he didn't crack a smile in a long while. He rubbed his cheeks and looked around.

It wasn't just the glow of their hands that dimly showed them the way, it was those crystals in the walls- Baetylus!

The halfling's eyes were wide open. A mine? Here? Under the city? And no one knows about it? The glittering jewels filled with magic shone from the walls. There were many, some big (though not nearly as the grand baetylus) and some small, but enough to make a man extremely rich.

If I could only mine it. Mica thought as he glanced at Nuraka who was raising his head out of the water and licking his tusks.

That'll take too long. He looked back into the water and saw movement. He grinned and pointed downward as he turned his head to the orc.

"Nuraka, fish!" And saying it in marvel more than anything else, the halfling was surprised to see the orc swim down into the pond and start delivering fish to the shore.

Only after that did Mica realize, he has the flint and steel, and they dried well enough by now, but what was he going to burn?

He considered his belongings: They were too damp to light. He sighed.

What about a Nuraka, axe and grand baetylus combination? On the boat he exploded suddenly into fire, so there must be a way to retrigger that, right? Mica started moving the trio to various positions. Axe forward, crystal on back, orc's back straight- just like before, and... no fire, nothing. He grunted.

He saw Nuraka put the smashed rats in Mica's backpack (which Mica tried to light up but couldn't) and point at the fish as if asking if the halfling was going to finish those, Mica growled.

"Why" mmHh "can't I" mmmHhhMmm "make a damn" mmHhhhhhHhm "FIRE?" ffFFFWWWwwsssSHhhh

As the halfling threw his hands in the air he felt a sharp pain from his palms all the way to his fingertips, as a burst of flame appeared before him, and following that- a stable fire.

The glow of the grand baetylus slowly faded as the glow of the fire rose.

Mica looked at his fingertips- they were fine.

The crystal? Fine.

The fire? It was burning out of nothing, but it was burning.

Did I just use the grand baetylus unconsciously? Weren't mages always making such a big deal out of how hard it is to use it remotely?

Mica was too hungry to question the meaning of this, how long the fire might last, or any other pertinent magical question. So instead of thinking- he started frying, and eating, some fish.

As the two sat by the fire eating, Mica glanced at the orc sitting by him, deciding to digest rats the raw way, even with a fire burning.

"Won't you get sick?" Mica asked, wondering if he'll get an answer this time.

Nuraka stopped, looked at the rat, and then at Mica.

"Ggrrhhh" Nuraka explained.

"I can't understand you." Mica said and sighed, it was useless.

In a sudden movement, Nuraka took the axe from his shoulder and put it by the halfling's head. Much to the smallman's surprise and fear, who yanked back his head as much as he could upon the sudden realization the very sharp piece of metal was by his head. Although it was with the broad side of the blade, and not the sharp end, it was still concerning.

He looked to Nuraka beyond the handle of the axe and gave him a nervous smile.

"Nuraka, what are you doing?" Mica asked, trying not to look as if he was considering running in the opposite direction.

The axe was retracted, and Nuraka glanced down at it as if he was trying to decipher something on it.

Maybe he's trying to see if I can tell its properties? It is magical.

"I'm a halfling, Nuraka, we only have innate wind magic. I'm no mage, I don't know much about the theorem." Mica said, realizing that the orc would likely not know the final word, or some of the first words, or maybe all of them.

Nuraka grunted in response, putting the axe back on his shoulder and the blade by his head's side.

Mica shrugged, he was too tired to figure this out now, and there was no extracting information out of the orc, but he does show some intelligence, so it's a sign that he might be able to communicate or at least educate him in the future.

The night, or day, grew long. The two found a reasonably comfortable spot to rest in the cave and finally got a decently long rest.