The Rift in the Domain- The Auranos Stories Book 2

Chapter 28 - Under the Plateau

(Just an FYI: I'm posting 2 chapters today as I forgot to post on Friday. -S)

Settling into life in a new city would be daunting, so I threw myself into the work of getting the rebels settled in Kaonon. It was all I could do not to think about Reinon. I'd hardly known him for three months, but guilt weighed on my conscience heavily. I felt as if someone had blown out one of just a few candles in a dark room. He had been so essential a part of our group- the voice of caution, someone with information and logic in spades. And he was gone, like a flash.

There was only one thing I seemed to be any good at. So I worked. We conducted a second census, Eclipse brought me news, and I planned our settlement in the city. I drew up maps from what meager information we had. I talked with Lykar about structures of command, forms of rudimentary government. I wrote up new constitutions and speeches every hour. Even if it was all just a coping mechanism, it was a highly productive one.

As the sun rose on the morning after our arrival, I set out with Thunder, Comet, our resident energy-specialist Flip Tripwire, and our three best technicians. The rebels were left outside, where Lykar was gathering the farmers to discuss food supply, and Urtam and Kaian were keeping an eye on everything else.

"Ready?" Comet breathed as we pushed through the front door, stepping into the entrance hall. Immediately I was taken aback. The room was carved of pale stone archs that wound through each other like vines. Light filtered through the door weakly, barely illuminating the space within. The entrance hall had an air about it that made it feel as if something was sleeping inside- something massive and ancient and invisible. Every cushioned step felt a dozen decibels louder than it should've been, and every hushed breath had a powerful echo. We were all on edge, though the hall had been abandoned for years.

The hall in question was nearly the size of the Hall of Lyte in Lagoki, but with granite pillars lining the sides. The floor was cracked, cloaked in a half inch of dust. Debris and broken stone were everywhere- chunks out of the pillars and even the walls were scattered like bits of an unsolved puzzle. There were also two sets of staircases, spiraling up on either sides of the room. We decided to check those later.

I walked to the furthest wall from the entrance, where an ornate archway framed a dark corridor that would presumably lead us inside, to the city. I trailed my fingers along the stone, peering into the abyss as Nietzsche warned against. But with a glance backward at my accompanying party, I suspected Nietzsche's hypothetical abyss-gazer didn't have quite the support group that I did.

Nervous but undeterred, our team of intrepid explorers made their way towards the dark hallway that led into the heart of the plateau. The inside of Kaonon was supposedly almost three quarters of a square mile- a fair bit bigger than your typical American city. But after a minute of walking, when the hall opened up into the main downtown area, we couldn't see beyond the reach of our torches. The cieling soared away, vanishing into obscurity, and the plaza on which we stood seemed to be just a blurry island compared to the night that surrounded us.

Breathing quiet, I held my light up into the darkness. It seemed to stretch forever and ever- or maybe end just a few feet ahead.

"Oh, this is going to be quite the quandary," Comet murmured, slipping into a Lagokian dialect. I saw Thunder smile a little, looking down.

Thinking to myself, I stepped forward. If we could find a map or some other means of direction, we could find our way to the reactors without having to search the whole city. I opened my mouth to suggest this.

Then, a voice rent the silence. "Hello, visitor."

Out of nowhere, a glass kiosk appeared in the dark, lit from below by blue light. A welcome sign appeared on the surface, pulsating gently as we watched.