₦airaland Forum

Fazemood:
I believe Musa will build an empire of wealth with what has been handed to it, Nebud will not recognize what it owns by that time.

As for Yakubo, I don't have any comment yet, just I know Nebud will build an army that will be loyal to it.

Better story as always.

Pls Obehid, I have been unable to log into my okadabooks account, I need to read your earlier posted short story. I don't want to open a new account yet. How do we go about this?

I haven't finished the story yet. When it's done I can send it to you if you still want to read it.

Part 6
--------

Arexon. I could not forget the commander. Of course, I’d started and ended my list with Arexon. But I saw no reason not to have Arexon’s name on the list three times, just to emphasize how much I looked forward to ripping its head off its body and watching the blood flow out into a beautiful crimson pool underneath my feet. I decided that Sophila’s death would be the most humane. I did not know Sophila personally after all, I only detested the uspec for signing its name to the document which had turned me into a serf. Sophian I would whip. One lash for each one that the uspec had ordered given to me. Then, I would decapitate it. I imagined myself tearing the uspec’s limbs from its body and then laughing as its blood coated me.

Arexon. I smiled, just imagining its death. Arexon would be last. I remembered pieces of advice from passing traders, folklores which advised that the best things ought to be saved for last, for maximum enjoyment. And so it would be for Arexon, I declared.

I leaned back, and immediately flinched when parts of my whipped back made contact with the stem of the tree.

I was sitting under a fruit tree. I did not know the fruits of this tree by name, but I could see the purple star-shaped pods. I wondered if this was the source of the common purple fruit wine. Probably not, there were so many other purple fruits.

I was mindful of my back as I rested against the tree.

Two weeks in the serf army barracks and each day was as foul as the one that came before it. Now, I was starting to get used to the whipping. I contemplated adding the drill guru to my list of people to kill, but I decided against it. Even I could see that it brought the uspec no particular joy to use its lash, it was only doing its job.

I found the drills highly vexing. Days filled with nothing more than fighting drills yelled out by an uspec who I could kill with my own bare hands. I would have done it the first time the uspec used that whip on me, but Arexon had interrupted. The uspec had gotten in my way. Just one more reason why its death would bring me the most pleasure.

Arexon had taken pleasure in telling me exactly what would happen to Musa if I ever again attempted to harm a superior officer. It advised me, advised me, to do my twenty years in peace. It even had the gall to tell me that I might learn something from my time serving in the army. It had taken a supernatural willpower to keep myself from ripping the uspec’s head off right there and then.

I sighed, my eyes drifting to the training grounds only a few feet away from where I was seated.

There was nothing redeemable about this place. I had been taken from my expensive, and slightly extravagant suite, and dumped in a dilapidated hovel which I shared with about thirty other uspecs. Each one of us had nothing more than a bed even less comfortable than the ones I’d slept in in my hovel back in the slum.

Some idiot blared a horn early at the start of the day, and we got out of our terrible beds, went into a terrible eating room with deplorable food, and had breakfast. In my mind, the gruel in the pits was better than the filth that they served here. The okun, I sighed just thinking about the dirty tiny pond that over a thousand soldiers shared. I decided, for my own sanity, to forsake thinking about that. I thought instead of the training. It was an unending stream of drills. Of course, they were all drills that I could do in my sleep. I was so much better than all the other soldiers, that I was never set against an uspec for combat training.

Not after the last three uspecs I’d maimed.

I felt bad about that, the uspecs were innocent after all. But my mood, my mood was growing darker by the day. I often contemplated reaching into the magic of the clouds, which I gained through Marcinus eye, and using it to change the identity of every uspec I came in contact with. Perhaps I would too, if I knew how to reach the magic in the clouds. I still could not produce okun. I could manipulate it, but not produce it. I found the restrictions of my spectra very annoying. Just one more source of irritation in an already irritating life.

Twenty years.

I was starting to think that I could not do twenty years in this place. I hated everything about it, how would I manage for twenty years. Twenty years.

I stared at the training grounds again, watching the inept soldiers spar with swords. This and the pugilist bouts were the spars that I’d been exempt from. I had to run the pillars just like everybody else. I did not mind those as much. Honestly, I did not mind many of the drills, under other circumstances I might have enjoyed them. But it was the knowledge that I was a serf which vexed me too much to see the benefits to anything.

There was more green here than any other port I’d been to. That, I thought, was another point of fascination. Where did all these equipoises come from? I thought of another equipoise, one I hated almost as much as the scourge in the Castle. I ignored the thought pushing it away. Manus had said that the equipoise could only be created using magic which only Chuspecip had. Why then did a Kuworyte port have so much of it? I wondered. Had Chuspecip made these equipoises as well?

Two bosses marched towards me.

I’d learnt the ranks in this army a day after I’d been forced to join. That was the first thing they drilled into you. Ranks, orders, salutes, marches. After the other soldiers were done with their sparring, I’d have to go back for more drills. I wondered what it would be this time.

The bosses had one cross on each of the silver links which dangled from their ears, unlike the empty links I had. They also carried swords. They were the lowest rank of officers, which put them one rank above the serf soldiers. I was supposed to stand and salute once they got close to me.

These bosses were both scrawny things. They did not have the height to take me, and as all bosses, they only had one imp eye, not enough for spectra. I learned that spectra eyes were also things given with rank. The bosses did not pose much of a threat.

I remembered the green room. It was yet another equipoise, but one built within a sadistic chamber. The outer chamber had polluted emotions infused in the fog, so that when an uspec walked in, it was filled with those emotions.

I’d refused to salute bosses just like this, and in lieu of having me whipped, Arexon had ordered that I be shut in the green room for three days. Three days without food, in a room so small that you cannot stand, or sit with your feet stretched out. It was a cubicle really, one so narrow that your ailerons are pushed together. You are forced to seat with your knees pushed close, so close they are almost touching your chest. It was a pose that I had seen Musa take so many times. Perhaps it would not have been so bad if it was just the discomfort, but it wasn’t.

‘Sorrow and fear’, Arexon had ordered before I was taken away. I did not know what those words meant until I was pushed into the outer fog, and immediately had my head filled with polluted sorrow and fear. Then I was in the tiny equipoise room before I even knew what was happening. In that room, I had no power in my anger and pain, no way to use the emotions to lessen the effects of the polluted ones.

It had been hell, a misery that I would never forget. I remembered my time with Gerangi after the pits. I’d been filled with those same emotions, but they had been inundating. They had been so consuming that I had no possession of the mental faculty to understand it while it was happening. It was not so in the green room. I’d had just enough of the polluted emotions to feel the overwhelming sorrow and fear, but not enough to be rendered thoughtless.

I would have killed myself if I wasn’t filled with the horrific knowledge of what would happen to Musa if I died.

My mind darted to the imp. I hoped it was well. What would it be doing now? I wondered. Two weeks without seeing the imp. This was the longest we’d spent apart since I’d found it. I realized that I was worried about it. It was a useless thought. If there was anything I’d learnt about Arexon, it was that the uspec kept its word.

I hated it even more for that. There was no soldier here who did not like the commander. None but me. I found it troubling. Arexon was not uniquely strict with me, it was just as severe with every other soldier, yet they idolized it. They admired Arexon in a way that I found solely incomprehensible. Perhaps they’d been brainwashed, maybe a pious had filled their brains with the worship of Arexon. That made no sense though. If they were going to brainwash soldiers, wouldn’t they fill their heads with worship of the Kaiser’s line? At least, the soldiers were like me in their hatred of Sophila and Sophian. But they feared the Kaiser’s line, and they admired Arexon, who was loyal servant to the Kaiser, and so they stayed in line.

I wanted to kill Arexon.

I heard footsteps and turned to see the approach of a young uspec. I frowned watching it. The uspec was reading a tome. It walked distractedly, its mind captivated by the tome in its hands.

It stopped a few paces from my outstretched legs.

The tome was closed, with a finger between pages to mark the uspec’s place. The young uspec turned to stare at me. It was very young. About three years old, I guessed. It had nothing on its body, no spectrum features, no outer eyes, nothing but the center eye it was born with.

“Salutations soldier.” The uspec greeted.

I stared at it a while. What was a young uspec doing in the barracks? At first, I thought it was the offspring of one of the soldiers, but then I looked at its empty ears. The lack of earrings showed that it was not a serf. The offspring of a free person then. Who would wander into the barracks?

“Who are you? What are you doing in the barracks?”

The young uspec walked closer to me. “I like to watch the soldiers as they are drilled. It is interesting to see them improve over the course of their training. You carry no weapon which means that you have no assignment yet. Why are you not training with the rest?” It bent its head to the side as if to get a closer look at me. “You have three outer eyes.” It said. “Interesting.”

I ignored its last comments. I decided that I was in no mood to be plagued by a young uspec that I did not know, and so I looked away.

The uspec came closer to me. “Why are you not training with the rest?” it asked again.

“Because I can kill them all.” I replied, trying to scare the uspec away.

It laughed instead and sat beside me.

“Do you doubt it?”

“Not at all.” It replied. “You have the bulk of a great fighter.” It was silent for a while. “Oh.” It said, “you are the banneret, the uspec who maliciously attacked…”

“I did not maliciously attack anyone.” I spat out. Then, “go away” I added, “I desire solitude.”

“You are a serf. You cannot tell me what to do.” The uspec stated.

I turned to the young uspec and glared at it. I was moments away from striking it when it said, “did you really fight off two gurus? I heard that commander Arexon had to stop you itself.” There was awe in the young’s gaze as it spoke.

I ignored it. Its speech had returned sanity to me. I did not know who this uspec belonged to, and so I pulled myself back and reclined against the tree. The young opened its tome. It bent its head as if it was about to read and then it turned to stare at me. “Do you like to read?” the uspec asked.

I ignored it.

“I am reading the tale of the great boga maker. It was a pious of the Order of Fabrication who the founder, Chuspecip, trained itself. Have you heard the tale?”

Silence. I hoped eventually the young would get tired and go away.

“Chuspecip was so impressed by the maker’s adept use of pansophy that it gave the maker a rare gift which it had only shared with a few others. Do you want to know what Chuspecip gave it?”

I stared at the training. An uspec left itself undefended and another took advantage of that lapse in judgement. A great deal of bleeding followed.

“Chuspecip gave the great maker siphoned route. It was the maker who created the equipoises in Chiboga and many other…”

“Siphoned route?” I asked, now that the uspec had gotten my attention.

It smiled at me. “Yes soldier.” It said. “Route like every other magic can be siphoned. But, since Chuspecip is the only one that has it, it can only be siphoned from the founder.”

“You speak with much respect for the founder, for a Kuworyte.”

“The mighty Sophila subscribes to the old Kuworyte religion.” It chimed. “The Kuwor is our god, but we respect Chuspecip as the founder that it is.”

I found this intriguing. To the young I said, “you should not walk while you read.”

It giggled. “I saw your leg, didn’t I?”

I shook my head, dismissing the uspec again. Stretching my arms out, I reclined further against the tree, ignoring the bite of the hard bark against the fresh scourge marks on my skin.

“You will not remain a soldier for long.” The young said.

“Why do you say that?”

“You have too many eyes for a soldier. It is either your eyes are removed, or you will be promoted to a rank that fits with the eyes that you have. Although, giving your relationship with the imperial one, it might just decide to take your eyes away instead of promote you.”

I was stunned. “It cannot take my eyes.” I said.

The uspec turned towards me. “It is a very common thing. The commander prefers to promote soldiers who can fight at the rank they are promoted to, like you. But the ones that can’t have their eyes taken away, and they have to earn them back by rising through the ranks.” The uspec must have seen the incredulous expression on my face, because it said, “don’t worry, commander Arexon is fair. If you serve it well during your training period, it will fight on your behalf. The imperial one listens to the commander, if commander Arexon fights for your eyes, you will keep them.”

‘Pansophy.’

The word in my head were so unexpected that I jumped.

“What is wrong?” the uspec asked, moving its head closer towards me.

I noticed then that I had stretched my hand out so far that my ring was touching the uspec’s leg. ‘Pansophy’. This uspec had pansophy. What uspec this young would have pansophy? I was starting to think I knew the answer to that. “Who are you?” I asked, pulling my hand, and all of my body, further away from the uspec.

I decided to stand.

The young stood as well. It was frowning at me. The uspec was short, so short that I had to bend slightly to peer down at it.

“I am Sophi.” It said. “Offspring of the sole imperial Sophian. It was my pater that you maliciously attacked. But I do not hold it against you. Commander Arexon teaches that once a soldier pays for the crime it commits, the offense must be wiped away. You are praying for your crime and so I have forgiven you.”

How generous, I thought with a glare. I took my gaze away from the uspec. Instead of focusing on its parentage, I decided to focus on its words. It spoke with much respect for Arexon. I found that interesting. The time had come for me to depart from this young uspec with pansophy. I did not want it stealing any of my thoughts.

“Sophi?”

I heard the familiar voice, and found my hand darting across my chest. I was saluting Arexon. It was true that after the green room, I decided that it would be best to play along. Best to salute, best to train, best to plot while I pretended that I was bending to their ways. Still, I had never saluted the uspec so quickly. As much as I hated to admit it, I knew it was the thought of losing my eyes. I did not much care for the imp eyes, but the soaru eye belonged to Marcinus, it was the only bond I had to the uspec. I would not part with it.

But even I could not deny that Arexon was a great fighter. It had bested me. It would not be easy to kill Arexon, and until I could do that, my eyes were not safe.

“Salutations commander.” The young greeted.

“Salutations sirga.” Arexon replied. It saluted the young uspec then, all while ignoring my presence.

“In clover.” The young said. Then it turned to stare up at Arexon. “Did I say that correctly?”

Arexon bent to a knee in front of Sophi. It tickled the young underneath its chin and said, “perfectly. You’re starting to sound like the general you will be one day.”

The young stood taller.

“Sirga!” Two uspecs ran to a stop behind Arexon. They saluted. I recognized one of them as the traitor Yakubo. Since coming to the barracks, I’d learned that Yakubo was part of Arexon’s personal guard. It had only been filling in at the hangar the week I arrived, because the regular uspec who had that position had fallen ill, and Yakubo was the lowest rank soldier who could passably communicate in all the tongues.

Arexon stood. “In clover.” It ordered. “What is it?”

“The imperial one is demanding your presence in your office sirga.”

Arexon nodded.

Sophi gasped. “I should be with my teacher!” It cried. “Pater will be angry if it knows I came here without permission.”

Arexon smiled at the young. “You.” It beckoned to the uspec that was not Yakubo. “Fly it back to the castle.”

The uspec saluted. “Yes sirga.” Then it walked over to the young and picked it up. It carried it in its arms before its ailerons began to flap. The uspec lifted into the sky and then it flew on flapping wings away.

“Come with me.” Arexon ordered Yakubo. It was about to march off, when it turned to stare at me. It was frowning. “You too.” It said, jerking its head.

Could I ignore it? Not if I wanted to keep Marcinus’ eye.

Arexon marched off, and I followed behind it. I heard sounds and chose to ignore the prattling of traitor Yakubo. The training ground was close to the Ante gate which in turn was close to the commander’s office, and so we reached the room within a few minutes of our departure. Arexon marched so quickly that it was hard to believe the uspec wasn’t running. Of course, I had no trouble keeping up with it.

There were two gurus standing in front of its office. “Wait here.” Arexon ordered. It went into the room with Yakubo.

I hesitated when I saw the gurus. I had to remind myself that they had imp eyes, which meant spectra and the power of the fog. When that didn’t work, I reminded myself of the green room, and Arexon’s promise that next time it would be a week, instead of three days. It was the thought of losing Marcinus’ eyes that spurred me into action.

I saluted.

The gurus saluted and dropped their hands, a clear sign that I could do the same. I dropped my hand, but remained at attention, with both arms at my side.

I hated the army.

“Where were you?” It annoyed me that I could still recognize Sophian’s voice. Over six weeks had passed since I last heard it speak, but I could not forget the voice.

“Walking the grounds.” Arexon replied.

Sound traveled freely through the light curtains.

“What is wrong?”

“News of Isthum’s death reached the plenum, and their reply reached the mighty one.” It replied. Sophian spoke in a way that was precise, matter of fact. There was no emotion in its voice, so I could not tell if the plenum’s reply was good or bad.

“Should we be worried?”

“Certainly not. We still own more than fifty percent of the mines in this existence, and we are Kuworyte. The plenum cannot go against us.”

“But the plenum own more than eighty percent of the existence. So…”

“So, we cannot go against them. They sent word that the mighty one should prepare Chiboga and all its annexed ports for inspection in two weeks.”

“Inspection from the plenum means invasion. They will come with soldiers.”

“Yes. It will mean war if we refuse them access.”

“Does the mighty one want me to start preparing the troops for war then?”

War? With the plenum? And I was a soldier in the army which would mean that I would have to fight. One the plus side, I would be killing troops of the plenum, the people who had Calam and Calami killed. On the other hand, I would be fighting to protect Sophila’s line. I could not think of a less appealing prospect.

“I will appoint dons to do that.” Dons were a rank below commander. “You have a different assignment.”

“Which is?”

“Retrieve the last brio. It is of no value to us. Since the plenum wants it, we can use it as leverage. I will leave it up to you to plan the who and the how. But we will need the item by the end of the week. That will leave us with enough time to communicate our possession of it to the plenum.”

“Yes sirga.”

A guru came marching out of the office. “Assiduity!” It yelled.

Immediately, all the soldiers, myself included, turned to face the exit of the entrance and saluted.

Sophian marched out and two chiefs followed behind it.

“In clover.” The guru ordered, once the imperial was out of sight.

“Is Nebud still out there?” Arexon asked.

I frowned at the question.

“Yes sirga.” An uspec replied.

“Send it in.”

Uhmm. A few weeks and he is already causing trouble.

obehiD:
I haven't finished the story yet. When it's done I can send it to you if you still want to read it.

What is an 'if'? Is that English? Haba! I definitely wanna read it babe kimon!

Interesting, is Nebud about to be promoted to a don? Hmm, let's watch n see

Me I sha know dat Nebud and Arexon will eventually get along.

wow.. the story is really getting intriguing

Obehid thanks for the update jare can't wait for me and nehud to take a proper bath in an okun filled with arexon and sophian blood av already gone to the nehud's list and put a zero At the back of the three times that he marked that foolish arexon name

@tunjilomo as in eh, they don't even know what damage Nebud can cause

@Fazemood great! If I end up finishing it, I'll let you know Will Nebud be promoted...only time will tell

@spixytinxy hahaha, I like this your faith oh! Unwavering...well, we shall see

@Omittesb only more and more intrigue from here

@ayshow6102 thanks for reading! lol, you want to bath in blood? Please oh, don't let Nebud drag you into such bloody pursuits, hahaha

Hello ObehiD,

Do you have your works published on OkadaBooks?
If no, please consider it. We would love to house your stories.

Hello, Obehi.

Truth be told, if you are going for publishing, please consider Amazon's Kindle. It's far better than all these other platforms. Thanks.

OkadaBooks:
Hello ObehiD,

Do you have your works published on OkadaBooks?
If no, please consider it. We would love to house your stories.

Thank you! Yes, I do have some of my works published on OkadaBooks.

OluwabuqqyYOLO:
Hello, Obehi.

Truth be told, if you are going for publishing, please consider Amazon's Kindle. It's far better than all these other platforms. Thanks.

I use amazon, but the truth is that the platform you choose really depends on the market. For an e-book targeted at a Nigerian market, to me, it makes more sense to use Okadabooks, which is why Crimson Night is up on there

In celebration of Independence weekend, I've decided to make this update LOOONG. I hope you all enjoy it

Part 7
-------

Why me?

The question played on a loop in my head as soon as Arexon gave the order, the day before, and remained throughout the night. In my mind, I was back in the barracks, marching into Arexon’s office after Sophian left. That was when Arexon gave its order, and when I began to ponder on why it would choose me.

Now, I was standing at attention besides Arexon. Arexon’s stance was slightly more relaxed. It had its hands crossed behind it and its feet spread. Yakubo was standing on the other side of Arexon, also at attention. Two gurus stood by the curtains which led into this room.

I did not know what this room was, or why we were standing here. I did know that it was in the pious camp, in the base that belonged to the Order of Fabrication. The canoe ride which brought us here, had been swift. We’d boarded the canoe at the docks by the commander’s office, and then steered through the pious gate exit from the barracks, to the pious camp. As soon as we docked in this base, we’d been led to this room.

Again, I wondered why I had been chosen.

Arexon, Yakubo and I were without our weapons. We all stood unclad. Arexon had explained that we would be unable to wield weapons on the special mission that we were going on.

Of course, after standing outside the office while Arexon had its conversation with Sophian, I could guess what this special mission was. The retrieval of the last brio.

Again, that item. The last brio.

The same last brio that, if Sophian could be believed, was the real reason that Manus had sent Reynard to Lahooni. To Manus, the last brio was the key to the fabled wealth of Lahooni. To the plenum, the last brio was somehow connected to Chuspecip. How could the same object be a key to such diverging interests? I had to believe that Sophila did not actually agree with Manus about the last brio being a key to great wealth. If it did, then I doubted that the uspec would so willingly hand it over to the plenum. So what was the last brio then, and why was it worth so much to the plenum? Enough to stop a war. I reminded myself.

The plenum against Sophila. If I was anywhere except for Chiboga, that would have been a war I wished for. With any luck, both sides would eliminate eachother. Or they would do enough damage for some other forward thinker to drop in with its troops and finish off whoever remained.

I suddenly wished I had the troops to do that. I could have been amassing an army large enough to destroy whoever won. Instead I was here, about to go in search of the last brio, a thing that could turn the plenum away from Chiboga.

Perhaps I could steal the last brio and abscond with it. I knew the plan was foolish before I even finished thinking about it. It wouldn’t happen, not with Arexon there.

Again, I was left to wonder why the uspec had chosen me.

Arexon’s warnings from the day before still rung in my head. It said that this was an opportunity for me to prove my usefulness to the line of Kaisers. That statement alone was enough to make me stop listening. Perhaps I would have if Arexon had not taken it upon itself to reiterate what the young Sophi had shared with me. Apparently, Sophi had been right. I could not be allowed to stand out. After my training period was over, it will be decided if I should be promoted to a rank which befits the eyes on my face, or if the eyes should be removed.

Arexon made it clear that it held no grudges against me. If I served well on this mission, it would bargain on my behalf. If I did not, it would not. It was that simple.

Loathe for the uspec filled me, pumping through my veins with purpose. I thought of how I would kill it to calm myself. I thought, this mission which Arexon was stupid enough to take me on, might actually be the perfect opportunity to do away with the commander. Perhaps I might even find a way to escape from this forced servitude in the process. Of course, I knew it was wishful thinking, but I could not help indulging in it. And as much as I hated Arexon, I could not deny the validity of its words. If I could not find a way to free myself, was it worth it to antagonize the one uspec who could help me keep my eyes.

YES!

I could not forget my hatred for Arexon.

“Please take this seriously master, and please hold on to your temper.”

Musa’s words filled my head. They were words that it had said to me when Marcinus had sent for us in Katsoaru. That was before either of us knew what Marcinus would become to me. But those words seemed just as apt for this situation. Hold on to your temper, Nebud. I cautioned myself. Remembering Musa’s words, reminded me that I was not the only one who would pay for my folly. My outer eyes, Musa, the green room, I was beginning to hate just how many ways Arexon had found to leash me. I despised this. I despised it.

“Assiduity!”

Immediately, we saluted. My right hand went to the top left corner of my chest, and I was left applauding my speed. Each rule of theirs I obeyed, meant a higher chance that I could keep my eyes. I did not think that I had ever felt hate like this before.

Then I remembered Fajahromo.

Sophian halted before us. Its eyes scanned over Yakubo, glanced past Arexon, before stopping on me. It frowned. “In clover.” The uspec’s voice was, as always, deadpan.

Our arms came down to rest by our sides, but we remained at attention.

“What is the meaning of this?” Sophian asked, in its lifeless voice. Its gaze was directed at me, in a way that made it clear that I was the subject of its inquest.

“I decided that I will need a small team to retrieve the artifact. I have chosen guru Yakubo and soldier Nebud as my team.”

“I agree that a small team is the best method. But the soldier is untrained. Why would you choose it over the other serfs?”

It took a lot of effort, but I managed not to flinch at the imperial’s casual reference to me as a serf.

“Nebud has owned an imp for some time sirga. It is the only soldier in our barracks that has such a rich experience with imps. Its knowledge will be valuable for our ruse.”

Sophian’s frown lifted. “As always, I am impressed by the level of consideration you give to every aspect of your missions. You are right of course. But I worry that you cannot trust the uspec. This is an important mission, is its knowledge of imps worth the risk?”

“Perhaps not alone. But, when you combine its knowledge with its superior pugilistic skills, I cannot think of anyone in the army who would be better suited.”

“Again, you are right. But can you trust it?”

“I suppose that I will find out on the mission, sirga.” Arexon replied.

“And the guru?” Sophian prompted.

“Has unmatched knowledge of the terrain.”

Sophian nodded. “Very well then. I have looked over the plan that you submitted, and I agree that it is our best course of action. You have the mighty one’s permission to go through with it.”

“Gratitude.”

Sophian took a step back. It placed its hands behind its back as its eyes darted from me, past Arexon, to Yakubo and back. Then it said, “the mission you are going on is of utmost importance to your Kaiser. If you succeed, you will be rewarded. The founder’s grace be with you.” Then it saluted.

The three of us saluted in response.

Sophian brought its hand down and then marched out of the room. We took our hands down after the uspec left.

“Commander Arexon.” A strange voice called out. Arexon turned around, so that it stood facing the door behind us.

“Yes novice?”

“The elders are ready for you and your team.”

“Thank you, novice.” It replied. “Come.” It said, before marching off. Yakubo followed behind it, and I followed behind the traitor. The gurus standing by the curtains saluted.

We were led through a maze of sparsely lit hard fog tunnels, to a bright room. This room was unlike any that I had ever seen before. It became clear as soon as I stepped in that I was indeed in the base of the Order of Fabrication.

The room was lit with white light sources hanging from the corners where the ceiling met the walls. The white light from those sources was polluted by the red light emerging from a patch of clouds at one side of the room. There were several cylindrical chambers in different locations in the room. From the outside, the chambers looked large enough for an uspec to stand in comfortably. A stool with wheels at the bottom, was positioned in front of each of these chambers. These stools were in front of boards which reminded me of the front of the landlocked canoes which populated this burg. The boards had buttons on them, reminiscent of the control board on the panel, and a screen rising above the board. At the moment, the screens were black.

I noticed that only three of the chambers in the room had uspecs seated on the stools by them. These uspecs were makers, pious of the order of fabrication. Two novices stood behind each maker, and the novices held three crystals in each hand. These crystals appeared to be different shades of brown.

“We are ready commander.” A pious with all of its outer eyes said. This one was not seated on a stool like the others. It was with shock that I noted that the uspec was an irira like me. It had both the spikes of a boga, and the horns of a mejo, fully displayed.

"Gratitude most pious one.” Arexon replied.

Most pious one? This irira was a magistrate, I realized. A magistrate of an order in a port. It was the highest position that any pious of that order could hold. And it was filled by an irira. If I did not hate Chiboga, I might actually like it for the fact that it did not have iriras slaughtered.

Arexon turned its head and nodded at something.

One of the gurus which had been standing by the curtains approached. It held a tray.

“Take off your earrings.” Arexon ordered.

I was more than happy to comply. With gleeful hands, I took the offending things off my ears, and placed them on the proffered tray. Arexon and Yakubo did the same.

“Open the chambers.” The magistrate ordered.

The pious ones on the stools pushed a button on their boards and the strange chambers opened, revealing their interiors.

“What is that?” I heard myself asking.

It was against protocol to speak as I had, so I was not surprised when I was not given an answer.

“Yakubo take the chamber to the left, Nebud the one to the right.” Arexon ordered.

Yakubo began marching to its assigned chamber, while I just stood there. I did not like this. I did not like it all. What were these chambers and why was I going into it? Was it a pious tool to retrieve my memories and store them somewhere? I did not know, and I did not want to find out.

“Now soldier!” Arexon snapped.

I remained frozen to the spot, staring at the interior of the chamber. I don’t know what got to me. It certainly was not the snap in Arexon’s voice. I decided that it was the fact that Arexon was going into one of those chambers itself. Surely it could not be too bad if Arexon was going in as well. Not that I had a choice. I told myself that I was moving because Arexon was willing to subject itself to the same treatment, and not because I wanted to keep my eyes and my imp.

The chamber was empty. I found that there was enough space that no part of my body had to scrape against the walls.

“Load the crystals.” I heard the magistrate order.

What crystals I wondered?

“Close the chambers.” The magistrate ordered.

The chambers were closed before I could get an answer to my question.

As soon as the chambers closed, the compartment was filled with complete darkness.

“Activate the displays.” I recognized the magistrate’s voice. “Run through the display tests. Count of.”

“Screen one activated, subject in full view, display test successful.”

“Screen two activated, subject in full view, display test successful.”

“Screen three activated, subject in full view, display test successful.”

“Create the stylus map.”

I could not imagine what that order meant.

“Activate styluses.”

I did not have to wait long to see, or rather feel, the meaning of this order. A hundred tiny needles pushed into my skin. They covered my ailerons, my tail, the scales on my neck. Everything. The pricking was not intolerable. After the scourging that I’d received at Sophian’s behest, and then during my trainings, a needle prick was nothing. But it worried me. I started to think that my initial thoughts may have been right. Pansophy was a contact magic and it was the pious working on us. It was most likely that they were using pansophy. I went through my memories, determined to relive them so that I would know the moment that anything was taken. I realized that that may not be the best solution. If they were searching for my memories and I relived them, then the memories would be out there, easy pickings.

I reversed my decision then, choosing not to remember. But then how would I know that they had stolen my memories. I wouldn’t. There was no way to tell. I could not think of one good thing about this port. Not one. I dreamt about killing all the uspecs that needed to die and then walking out of this port, never to return. As soon as the thoughts crossed my mind, I wondered if perhaps it was a little foolish of me to just think them so openly when they were most likely in my head, reading my thoughts. Pansophy. Why did the magic even exist? Just to torture me with my lack of ability to use it. Why else?

“Review displays. Count of.”

“Screen one, operation complete, review positive.”

“Screen two, operation complete, review positive.”

“Screen three, operation complete, review positive.”

“Deactivate styluses.”

The needles went away. I reached into my head and scanned through my memories. Did I feel any different? I remembered who I was. I remembered that I needed to check my memory, which in itself had to prove that I still had my memory right? If they had taken my memory, or done some invasive search, surely they would also have taken away my memory of any need to worry about such a search. I hoped so at least.

“Deactivate displays.”

“Open the chambers.”

The chamber opened and the strange red-stained-white-light streamed in. I stepped out of the chamber.

I saw Yakubo first.

I frowned.

Yakubo’s skin had been changed. It was no longer green, it was a light shade of brown. It also seemed to be short an eye. One of its imp eyes had vanished. The cyan spikes on its chest were now the same shade of brown as the rest of its body.

I looked down on myself and found that I appeared the same. My skin had been changed to a darker shade of brown. It actually reminded me of Musa’s skin. What was the meaning of this? Had I lost my eyes too. There were no reflective surfaces that I could look at, and so I could not tell. But my field of view appeared the same. I did not think they’d taken my eyes then.

I turned to stare at Arexon and found that it was also missing its eyes. It now had only two eyes on its face, the rest of them had been taken. Why would they take the commander’s eyes and leave mine?

“Is the cloud ready?” the magistrate asked.

“Yes sirga.” A voice replied. I could not see the uspec.

“You may proceed commander.” The magistrate said.

With a jerk of its head, Arexon made it clear that Yakubo and I were to follow it.

As soon as I stepped into the clouds, I realized that I should have been more wary of it. Our identities were being changed. I found it intriguing how mild this pain suddenly felt. Had my recent brush ins with the scourge increased my pain tolerance? I did not think so, I thought it was more likely, that the pain in this cloud was actually milder than that in soaru.

I did not panic as my identity changed. It actually all made sense now. Wherever we were going, it was a place that required us to appear different. I wondered what sort of animal we would be turned into for our mission. A smoke bear, I decided. They were the most common beasts in the boga ports. I would not mind being a smoke bear. From the pictures I’d seen, and the stories I’d read, they were actually quite ferocious.

The pain ended and I was out of the clouds. I could not tell if the clouds moved backwards or if I moved forward.

I stared at Arexon. One look at the breasts on its chest showed what we had been turned into. I looked down at myself and saw a penis sticking out of my pelvis region.

Not fog bears then, but imps with streaked skin.

“Why are we imps?” I asked.

Again, Arexon ignored me.

“With your permission sirga?” Yakubo spoke. It had been turned into a male, like me, and given a slightly bigger body than I had.

Arexon, now a female imp, nodded at Yakubo.

“Why have we been turned into imps sirga?” Yakubo asked, like the dutiful traitor it was.

“Because our assignment requires it.” Arexon replied. “We are going to retrieve the last brio from the Mine of Aurelion.”

I found Arexon’s words ominous. As soon as it spoke, I heard Musa’s voice saying, “The Mine of Aurelion master. It is an imp’s worst nightmare.”

Part 8
--------

I munched on a piece of bread as Yakubo asked, “why imps sirga? Could we not have conducted the search as uspecs?”

Arexon looked up from its meal.

According to the commander, this was the last good meal we could expect to get for a long time. The food at Aurelion was barely edible. I rose my cup and gulped down half of the cup’s content. I realized as the liquid made its way down my throat that I was just as eager for Arexon’s response. Why did we have to appear to be imps? Would it not be easier to go into the mine and search for the artifact as uspecs?

“We do not have the exact location. According to the map it can be in one of three digs. There are other uspecs in the mine, not to mention the imps. If anyone else found out that we were searching, they could reach the exact location before us. We cannot let that happen. We have to go in as imps and search the locations discreetly.”

Arexon pushed its empty bowl away from it. It rose its hand in the air and a guru approached. The guru handed Arexon two sheets of paper. Arexon read those sheets silently.

I filled my cup with more wine.

My sight was just as widened as it had been in my uspec form. I did not have eyes at the back of my head, as I’d had when Manus turned me into a swan. It was as if my eyes had remained exactly where they’d been. After our transformation we’d been led to a room with several reflective surfaces. I’d seen the reflection of my new self, and realized that, just like Arexon and Yakubo, all evidence of my extra eyes were gone. I was left with only the appearance of two empty eye sockets. There was no blemish on my skin, nothing to show that I was anything other than the imp I pretended to be. That was the purposes of the styluses in the chamber, I assumed, to change our appearance. It was well done.

Arexon lifted a sheet of paper and handed it over to Yakubo. “Your name is Jacob.” Arexon said. “This is your epic. Memorize it.” Yakubo took the sheet.

“But this is less than ten lines.” Yakubo exclaimed. “Surely, this is too short for a plausible life story.”

“That is as much information as anyone will care to ask.” Arexon replied. It handed me the other sheet. “Your name is Ned.”

I took the sheet of paper and read the sparse lines written in the common tongue.

“Imps speak an umani tongue.” I stated. I did not know what I thought of my voice. My height had been greatly shrunk in the crowds. I was now even shorter than Musa, and much scrawnier. Yakubo had the best bulk. It was about the same height that it had been as an uspec, and had muscled arms. I could not help but wonder why I had not been given such a body. I despised physical weakness.

But then, Arexon was much scrawnier than I, and it did not seem frazzled by this.

Arexon stared at me. “Umanis, like uspecs, speak different tongues. In the mine they will speak the boga tongue predominantly. That is how the uspecs who officiate the mining prefer it.”

Its sockets seemed to be frozen on me, because even after answering my question, its gaze did not shift. It studied me in a way that I did not like. Though, considering my hatred for the uspec, I would be annoyed whichever way it looked at me.

“We will be imps.” Arexon announced after long moments of silence. Its gaze was still on mine. “That means that we will have no pride. Is that understood?”

“Yes sirga.” Yakubo responded immediately.

Arexon made no move to acknowledge its words, it chose to stare at me instead. I ignored it, gulping down my wine.

Arexon sighed. “Do I need to remind you what you stand to lose if this goes wrong Nebud?”

Musa. I thought. My eyes. No, the uspec, now imp, did not need to remind me. “No.” I spoke through clenched teeth. Arexon quirked an eyebrow and waited for me. It simply sat there and waited, staring patiently at me, as if it knew that I would cave. “Sirga.” I spat the honorific out.

Arexon did not even smile. I think that was what I hated the most about the uspec. It did not gloat. It stole little victories from me, bent me to its will in despicable ways that reminded me too much of Fajahromo. But unlike its counterpart, it did not outwardly glory at my humiliation. No, it kept its joy on the inside. I loathed it.

“You can understand the most common umani tongue can you not?”

I frowned. How could Arexon have known that? My first thought was Yakubo, but Yakubo did not know that. Yakubo could not have known that. Musa was not comfortable speaking the umani tongue with me. It had only done it one time, once, while I was reading the tome on umanis and asked the imp to pronounce some words in it. “Not fluently.” I replied. Arexon waited. I swallowed. “Sirga.”

“That will do. As I was saying, we will be imps. We will call all uspecs we see domina. Is that clear?”

“Yes sirga.” Yakubo replied.

I did not respond. Arexon continued anyway. “It is imperative that the imps see us as one of them. If they even suspect that we are uspecs, they will kill us. There is no great love for uspecs amongst imps, especially not the ones in the mines. Do not, under any circumstance, use spectra. Imps cannot be killed. The worse that our magic would do, is render them comatose for a period of time. We shouldn’t be in Aurelion for too long, but if we get stuck there, it will be best if there are no imps who know of our true identity. While we may appear as imps, we are not, which means that we are not immortal as they are. They can kill us, and we can die. There are over tens of thousands of them down there. No amount of spectra will allow three uspecs defeat so many imps.”

Yakubo took a deep breath. “This is starting to sound less and less appealing sirga.”

Arexon smiled at it. It was a closed lip smile, but it was the first time I’d seen Arexon smile in a while. “You were stationed at a mine in your home port for some time, you know your way around mine digs. You also know how to read a map.”

“Yes sirga.”

“That is why you were chosen, and why you cannot be replaced.”

“Of course sirga. It will be my honor to serve with you on this mission.”

The puzzling part was knowing that Yakubo truly meant it. I did not understand the uspec. I did not understand how it could so easily accept its servitude and admire the commander that ensured that it defended the uspecs who enslaved it. I would never be as foolish as Yakubo. It actually felt good to know that Arexon would not be using spectra in the pits. It meant that I would get my chance to kill the uspec. When I got that chance, I would not hesitate.

“Sirga!” A guru called.

Arexon turned and nodded at the guru standing by the curtains which led into the small eating room. “Your mobile is here sirga.”

Arexon stood. “It is time.” It announced.

Yakubo and I both stood. We followed the commander. We were led down a narrow corridor to the base docks. There was a serf seated at the stern of one of the canoes. The canoe was unlike any landlocked canoe I’d ever seen. It had only a tight space at the stern, space enough that only the serf steering the canoe could sit there. A flat base extended from the back of that tight space. The base had two long benches on either side of it. Arexon stepped onto the base and sat on one bench. Yakubo and I sat on the other.

“My name is Alexa.” Arexon stated. “From this moment on, we will answer our imp names. Remember, you are to be courteous to everyone.” Now Arexon stared me in the sockets. “If you do anything to disrespect anyone, and they take it upon themselves to discipline you, I will not intercede. If they decide to slit your throat, thinking that as an imp you will heal, I will not intercede. If they choose to kill you in anyway, I will not intercede. If you die in there due to your own foolishness, I will make sure your imp is sent to Aurelion before your corpse turns cold. Perhaps your precious Musa will be the one to clean up your remains.” Arexon watched me. Its gaze shifted to my clenched fists and my tight jaw, before moving to Yakubo. “No pride. We have a job to do. If we keep our head down and do it properly, we will be out of the mines in under a week.”

I had to stifle the urge to let Arexon know that it would be dying in those mines.

“Move!” Arexon ordered, pounding into the wooden back of the stern divider.

“Yes sirga.” The serf responded.

Moments later, the motion in the canoe was activated. I felt the canoe moving at a slow pace. It continued at this pace until it made its way out of the docks. The canoe turned left as we steered by another base, belonging to another pious order. I noticed that the serf made no move to increase its slow speed even as it continued steering straight down an empty road. Several minutes passed before I could make out the gates which led into the pious camp.

The serf stopped at the order of several bosses standing guard by the gates.

One of the bosses marched over to the right side of the canoe. It examined the stern, before moving along. Its eyes scanned over each of us carefully. I did not know what the soldier was looking for, but it took its time, walking around the mobile. It spent so much time that I was starting to get irritated. I expected Arexon to snap an order at the boss, revealing its true identity. Arexon disappointed me. It stayed silent, its head bent as if it was looking into its hands. I noticed that it appeared nervous.

Finally, the boss’s search was over. “Ajar!” It yelled, before waving the serf on.

The motion slowly returned to the mobile. We eased past the open gates, emerging into one of the major burg roads. I caught a glimpse of the hard fog gates which led to the barracks. It was only one of four such gates. The serf turned left, boosting the motion of the canoe as it proceeded. It made a sharp right turn, and I was suddenly at a part of the Acropolis which I’d never seen before. The area to the left of the road was covered with an ominous black wall. The serf made another turn, left this time, and we were suddenly in view of another set of hard fog gates.

I couldn’t say exactly how I knew. Perhaps it was the armed novices standing guard at the gates, the marks on their neckcloths making it clear that they belonged to the order of Fabrication. Or maybe it was the aura of the place. My nostrils were suddenly filled with a particularly foul stench.

The canoe stopped.

A novice walked up to the side of the canoe. It glanced over us, before fixing its gaze on the serf. “More deliveries for us?” it asked in a way that made it clear that it was familiar with the serf.

“Yes sirga.” The serf replied.

“They’re a scrawny lot. Hope our elders didn’t waste too much money on them?”

The serf chuckled. “Makers are smart sirga, I would assume not.”

The novice laughed. “Were you told what purpose they would serve? We surely don’t need any more cooks or cleaners.”

“They are miners sirga.”

“Miners.” It scuffed. “Well, I guess we can’t be too picky. The better imps find masters.” It poked its head out and stared at us again. “Although, one of them looks quite capable of the work. Not all bad then.” It moved back. “Ajar!” It called out.

The gate opened and the serf steered us in.

We went from the bright natural light of the daylight dots to almost complete darkness. It was impossible to see. Perhaps if I had aqua-sight I would be able to see through the barely lit area, but I didn’t.

I could smell though, and it was foul. I had never smelled anything as foul in my entire life. It smelled worse than death. I would never forget the smell of death, it was linked with one of the few early life memories which clung to me. I’d thought that I would never smell anything fouler, but I’d been wrong. It was so putrid that I tried not to breathe in too much of it.

It was obvious that the serf had a lot of experience in this place, because it did not seem the least bit perturbed by the lack of illumination. It just kept steering the canoe, until we emerged into an area which was much better lit. It smelled just as foul, but at least we could see the walls.

The tunnel we steered in was narrow, much too narrow to take more than one canoe at a time. It was so narrow that our backs scraped against the walls as we moved. After a few bumps with uncomfortable calluses in the wall, I bent, leaning away from it. I tried to think of a good way to describe these walls. Hard sludge I decided, very hard sludge. But they were not smooth sludge walls like those of the dwellings which we’d stayed in on the inter-port trail. No, these walls were filled with bumps. Some hanging like growths from the top walls, others emerging from the bottom. The bumps on the bottom were made obvious by the rocky motion of the canoe.

Finally, the canoe came to a stop.

It docked in front of a break in the callused wall, covered by closed curtains.

The serf came out of the stern and walked through the curtains. “Salutations pious one.” I heard it say through the curtains.

There was a long pause before I heard a croaky response. “Yes?”

“I have a delivery of miners pious one.”

“Are they newly dead?”

“No pious one, they have served in the spectral existence for years.”

“Is there any length of service time prescribed?”

“No pious one, their length of stay here has been left to your discretion.”

A gruff sound, like that of a throat being cleared, was followed by, “bring them in Jojo.”

“Yes domina.”

An imp dressed solely in brown knickers walked out through the curtains. It drew the curtains open and said, “well, come down.”

It had been a long time since an imp spoke to me with so much disrespect.

Arexon stood. Yakubo and I rose more slowly. We climbed down from the platform and walked in through the curtains.

There was a pious one seated in a chair, behind a crowded desk. I could tell from its fraise that it was a maker, a pious of the order of fabrication.

The serf waited for us to file into the tiny office space, before walking out. The curtains were drawn behind it.

I could tell from the walls and the floor in the space, that the uspec had made an effort to make it comfortable. It was obvious that the bumps on the walls had been filed and that some sort of scent had been added here, to reduce the putrid stink of the air outside the space. The scent did not make this air comparable to that outside the mine, but it was an improvement. I took a deep breath.

The maker kept us waiting for a while.

The imp returned to its task of arranging documents onto shelves around the space. There were several such shelves. There were shelves behind me which were filled with tomes. Several of those tomes appeared quite intriguing.

“I suppose we can handle them ourselves, since its only three.” The maker said.

“Yes domina.” The imp replied.

“Very well,” the maker sighed, “fetch the logbook.”

The imp walked over to a single shelf at the right of the room. That shelf had several worn looking tomes. It picked up the tome at the top and took it to the maker’s desk. It flipped the tome open and pulled out a pen.

“Names and genders.” The maker ordered.

“Alexa, female, domina.” Arexon was the first to reply.

The pause between Arexon’s response and Yakubo’s was just long enough to be noted, but not too long to be offensive. The maker’s attention lifted. “Jacob, male, domina.”

I was the last. I was already prepared, seeing as this had been the first line on the sheet which Arexon had given to us. “Ned, male.” I swallowed. “Domina.” The word sounded forced; I knew it.

“Do any of you have the ability to produce lust?” the maker asked curtly.

The imp’s head rose, and it stared intensely at Arexon.

“No domina.” Arexon replied.

“No domina.” Yakubo stated.

“No… domina.” I added. This had also been covered in the sheet which Arexon had given us.

The maker rose its head then, making us the sole focus of its attention for the first time since we’d walked into the space. It placed its hands on the table, twining its fingers together. It had four outer eyes on its face, and a bare chest. This was not a boga. It did not have horns or neck scales. It was either a kute or a soaru then. But as it was seated, and the bottom of the desk touched the ground, I could not tell.

“You are in Aurelion now. Your job is to mine. You will learn how to perform your job and you will do it to the best of your ability or you will be whipped. You earn your meals by mining. If you do not mine enough on any given day, you will not eat. You will mine until you earn the right to have a term of service fixed. When that day comes, should it ever come, you will learn how many more decades of mining you have in store for you. Less than ten percent of the imps who come here do a good enough job to leave. I will let you decide if you will like to be amongst them. Do you have any questions?”

At this point, the maker had already dismissed us and was staring intently at the open document on its desk. Its dismissal made it clear what the expected response was.

“No domina.” We all replied. Although, I only said the ‘no’ and let Arexon and Yakubo say the ‘domina’.

“Show them around Jojo.”

“Yes domina.” The imp bowed to the maker. “Come.” It stated, walking by us.

Arexon led the way, Yakubo followed, and I brought up the rear. I took one last deep inhale of the scented air, before resigning myself to the foulness I was about to be submerged in.

We were just out of the space, the stink forcing its way up my nostrils, when the imp turned around to regard us. It smiled at Arexon in a way that I found troubling. Arexon did not seem to mind. It had its head bent slightly, as if it was shy. I did not understand how Arexon could take to a plot of subservience so easily. It was a commander. It had been an imperial one. How could it bow to a pious and call it domina? How did it serve the line of Kaisers that stole its home and call them sirga? It was weak, I decided. Not that I cared. Arexon’s days were numbered.

“Welcome to Aurelion,” the imp said, with a smirk.

Thanks Obehid! You gave Saturdays and Wednesdays another meaning, always look forward to those two days

obehiD:
Thank you! Yes, I do have some of my works published on OkadaBooks.

Obehid I propose you post your stories on ficool app. Its easier to access and also pays with extra credits earned from readers who wish to gift you coins and other gifts. Try it out ok?

Nebud be kiaful, I yam warming you now!

Nehud thanks for the update jare since arexon is now female can we rape him black and yellow before we kill him

Nebud don turn ned nwoko.... lol.. Been silently reading tho... Thanks for the update obehid

How I wish we can be celebrating independence day every week so that u can b giving us dis knd of long update. Thanks obehid I really enjoyed d update

@obehid today's my birthday so for that this wednesday I plead with you to make the update lengthy... thanks

One hell of adventure for Nebud, hating on Arexon wnt do him good, though i see two future emperor abt to be bond..THANKS OBEhiD

@RealLordZeus thank you!!! that's so nice to hear

@Fazemood I've actually never heard of that app, but I'll look it up. Thanks for the suggestion

@cassbeat happy birthday in arrears! Hope you had a great day! This update is not as long as the last one, but it's longer than average. Hope you enjoy

@spixytinxy Thank you for reading!!!

@Madosky112 As in real adventure for Nebud. Two future emperors? Hmmm...what are you seeing that I'm not?

Part 9
-------

The stench only grew fouler as we emerged into a dimly lit tunnel. A low hanging stalactite scraped against the imp hair on my scalp. Pushed past reason, I reached above me determined to knock the structure down with my hands. I found that I was not nearly strong enough to do any damage to the stalactite. My hand hurt instead.

I hated this fragile imp body.

The tunnel we walked through now was so narrow that we had to walk in a single line, one person after the other. Bumps on the side walls scraped against my arms as I tried to force my way through. I could see that Yakubo, due to its larger bulk, was having an even more difficult time making its way through. I caught sight of another stalactite just in time to dodge it before it banged against my forehead. The dangling obstacles and the bumps on the walls combined with the calluses on the ground to make for a truly unpleasant passage.

We walked in silence for minutes, though with the discomfort, those minutes felt like hours. As our voyage continued, we drew closer to an archway made prominent by the lack of lighting behind it. The imp, Jojo, stopped just in front of that archway and turned to face us.

“Everything in Aurelion is either a dig or a tunnel. The tunnels are the passageways. That’s most likely where you’ll be sleeping for your first few years here. If you sleep in a tunnel, make sure your awake before the mining starts. Never clog the tunnels during mining times. The digs are where the mining occurs. We are lucky here in Aurelion, we get to mine bonbons.”

“Bonbons?” Arexon asked. I noticed now that when Arexon spoke, the pitch of its voice was higher than when it had spoken as an imp in the pious base. How did Arexon manage this? Why did Arexon do this?

The imp smiled at Arexon. It winked, closing its right eyelid over its empty socket for a second before opening it. Its gaze lingered over Arexon in a way that I found intriguing. “That’s what we call the metal we mine here.” It replied cheerfully.

“Why?” Yakubo asked.

The imp did not look at Yakubo as it had Arexon. “Because it tastes good.” It replied curtly. “As I was saying, we mine bonbons in the digs. Some digs have been fully mined, and overtime have come to be used for a different purpose. The eating room, for example, is a stale dig. Every once in a while, a bonbon appears in those, but it’s rare. There are other stale digs which the gangs use as their headquarters. That’s where they sleep. Never wander into a stale dig, it’s the best way to get yourself snuffed.”

“Snuffed?” Arexon asked.

The imp smiled. “Yes beautiful.”

“But we are immortal.”

“Indeed.” The imp’s smile widened. “But our body still functions mostly the same. We cannot be killed, but we feel pain. And so in Aurelion, we choose to refer to attacks that would have killed us as humans, as snuffings. For example, if you are starving. You won’t die, but your body would feel like you were. The hunger pangs would be unbearable, you’ll be weak, you’ll be in pain, you’ll be snuffed. If you’re stabbed in the heart, your body will heal, but before it does, you may or may not bleed your blood volume out. Snuffed. But don’t be scared, it won’t happen to you. Them,” it gestured at Yakubo and me, “definitely, at least a million times. But you, no. Not if you join a gang, and all the gangs will want you.”

“Gangs?” Arexon again.

The imp nodded. “They run this place. Occasionally, the novices walk around, but mainly, it’s the gangs. The easiest way to survive is to join one. And you will have your pick.” It stepped closer to Arexon and stroked the side of its face with the back of its hand. “I can introduce you to one if you want.” The timbre of its voice dropped.

“I would like that. Thank you.”

“Anytime. It is Alexa, is it not?”

Arexon nodded.

The imp took a step back and stretched out its hand. “Jojo.” It said. “Nice to make your acquaintance.”

I watched the imp’s face as they shook hands. It was turned towards us, so I could note its smile as it continued to study Arexon, its gaze moving over every inch of its body. Finally, it let go of Arexon’s hand. It took a step back, cleared its throat, and glanced dismissively at Yakubo and me, before returning its smiling gaze to Arexon.

“Until you learn this area thoroughly, and you will, in a year or two, don’t go wandering about. If you move too far away from the eating room, you may starve before you find your way back. It is bad if the gangs catch you laying weakly in the tunnels, but it’s even worse if the novices do. So, just don’t do it, because I can guarantee that you will get lost. We’re walking into our first dig now. Stay close to me.”

It turned around then, and walked into the dark alcove.

I did not know how it was possible, but it got even fouler the further in we went. It took some time for my eyes to readjust to the darkness. It was just lit enough to make out the shapes of things, but not enough to see their colors. There was one advantage to this space though, it was bigger. The top walls were higher up, giving enough room for me to walk without worrying about stalactites. The side walls were much further away, so that we could walk side-by-side if we chose to. We did not. The ground, however, was more callused than in the previous place. There were so many sharp bits on the floor that I started to feel as if I was walking on shards of glass. Then I stepped into a small pool with a sticky substance. I could not see what the substance was, but I could tell from the feel of it, that it was not okun.

“We call these the midnight digs. You can’t tell day from night in the digs, but these are the worst lit ones. Believe it or not, the gang that runs these digs, removed the lights themselves. It’s smart too, they have the least fights. Who wants digs like this right? That’s the moon gang, by the way. Get it, moon, midnight.” The imp laughed. “Human humor. Don’t worry, you’ll learn all the gangs by name and clothes, and after some time, faces too. Unless you want to join their gang, or get snuffed, don’t stay out after dark.” It laughed again. “Get it, midnight, after dark.” It laughed some more, and then it sighed, leaving me thoroughly confused. I did not see any humor in anything that it had said.

I frowned at the sight of a form hanging from a stalactite. I could tell from the silhouette that it was an imp with its legs wound tight around a stalactite. One of its hands held onto the stalactite, the other held an object which it struck against the stalactite.

“Once you start really mining, which won’t be for a long time, because you need to get pickaxes to do real mining, and almost all the pickaxes have been taken by the gangs. But once you start mining, you’ll find yourself in odd places. Our bonbons are tricky metals. They can sprout from any walls. Roof, stalactite, doesn’t matter to them. They’re like uspecs in that way, they don’t care about the pain they cause us.”

A stream of white light came into view. We emerged from the dark space into another narrow tunnel. We were squeezed between the walls. I had to dodge some more stalactites. We came to a cross-section where the tunnel could either go straight, left or right. The imp turned left and continued walking. Soon, we were close to another archway. This one had bright yellow light streaming out of it.

“Welcome to the bright side.” The imp turned around to smile at Arexon before walking in.

The dig we walked into was filled with imps. There were not so many that it was crowded, but there were enough to be shocking. All of the imps were naked. They scratched at the walls with their fingers. I found this extremely odd. It took me a while to realize that this dig was not as foul as the areas we’d just walked out of.

The imp leading our tour stopped. “These are the daylight digs, they belong to the sun gang. That is the biggest and most powerful gang in Aurelion. Their leader is a man called Zane with a girlfriend, Aliyah, as beautiful as you Alexa. They’re one of the few here with lust. They shouldn’t be here, but they lied to the pious, and now, this place won’t run without them. Aliyah serves in the kitchen, she’s one of the cooks. Nice girl. Anyway, they are kind enough to allow the strays to mine their nearly stale digs.”

“What are strays Jojo?” Arexon asked.

“I like the way you say my name.” The imp replied. I frowned. “Strays are naked imps. All clothed imps belong to gangs. Of course, there’s really not enough bonbons here for a stray to earn a meal with, but it’s something.”

Jojo’s gaze wandered to a side of the space where an imp was putting its fingers into its mouth. Jojo’s mouth twisted with disgust. “Never eat the bonbons.” Jojo warned. “They may taste good, but they will make you sick. Enough of them and you’ll snuff yourself.” Right after it’d said that, the imp who’d put its hands into its mouth, bent and a strange cyan retch came out of its mouth. It vomited. Then it let out a loud shriek. It scooped up the vomit with its hand and put it back into its mouth.

It was a truly disturbing sight. I looked away.

Jojo shook its head, but then it sighed. “Strays.” It spat out, before turning around and continuing to walk.

“Why would they eat the metal if they knew it would make them sick?” Yakubo asked.

“It’s probably better than nothing.” Arexon replied. “At least with the metal, they can feel as if they’re eating something.”

Jojo turned around to flash a smile at Arexon. “Beautiful and smart, I think I might be in love.”

In love. I frowned at that. Was this love Musa had described an imp trait then? Could they so easily love a stranger?

“You’re right Alexa, that’s part of it. The truth is, the system is rigged against strays. If they find a piece of bonbon big enough to earn their meal, a gang member would take it from them before they made it to the eating room. But, if a stray does manage to get into the eating room, it can eat in peace. No one would take its meal. The eating rooms are run by the worst gang, the cooks. They live separate from miners, and they are solely in charge of the food. If they decide not to cook, the miners will not eat. It is a terrible system, but it works for strays, once they get into the eating room, that is.”

We walked into another dig. This one was mostly empty, save for a single naked imp, striking a pickaxe against a slight bump sprouting from the corner of the room. It stopped as soon as it realized that it was no longer alone. I could tell from the stricken look on its face, that it had gone to much pains to ensure its solitude.

Jojo walked towards the kneeling imp. “That’s a beautiful piece.” It said.

“I thank.” The imp replied. This imp’s boga tongue was not as good as Jojo’s.

Jojo whistled. “You must have spent weeks mining that one, without anyone seeing. And it looks just about ready to fall too. A stronger imp would have it in one strike.”

The kneeling imp did not speak.

“Sadly, stray, today is not your lucky day. Give it to me.”

The imp shook its head. “Beg you, beg you. One piece, one month. Beg you.”

Jojo put its hand on the back of the imp’s head and pushed it forward. The imp’s head smashed against the rough wall. The imp fell, with blood on its face. Jojo bent to take the pickaxe from the imp’s hand. The imp, though fallen, struggled to keep a hold on its instrument. Jojo was obviously stronger. It grabbed onto the pickaxe and pulled it from the struggling hand. Then it rose the instrument up and struck the fallen imp in its face. The imp’s limbs twitched. Blood came out from the wound in the side of its head, where Jojo had struck it.

Jojo rose the pickaxe again, much higher this time, and brought it down hard against the bump on the wall. A large piece broke off. Jojo picked the piece up and brought it over to us.

“This is what our bonbons look like.” It said, handing the piece over to Arexon.

“Can I hold it?” Arexon’s voice was filled with awe, as if it had never seen the metal before. It was a truly inspiring performance.

“Please.”

Arexon took it. Drawn by my curiosity, I walked closer to the metal. Most of it was brown, covered in sludge, but the part that had been sheared, was a glittering cyan crystal. It was large enough to fit fully in Arexon’s palm.

“It’s beautiful.” Arexon said.

Jojo nodded. “Hold onto it for now. I’m going to have to take it from you at the eating room though.”

“Thank you.”

Jojo continued walking. As we walked, I stared at Arexon. If I did not know better, I would truly believe that Arexon was the imp it pretended to be. I had never seen a better performance. It was subservient, it was subservient in a way that I could never be. And Arexon was by birth an imperial. Yet, here it was, playing the part of an imp, and playing it convincingly. A voice in my mind pondered at what other roles Arexon played. I silenced the voice. I did not care about Arexon and all the parts that it could play. All I cared about was its death. And from what I’d seen so far, fatal wounds here were not an uncommon thing. I would not have a better chance to kill Arexon, than here in the mines, especially since it was doing its best to appear as an imp.

I was pulled to the present when we walked into a crowded space. I could tell from the size of the space that it was a dig, but it was so filled that my body scraped against imps as we made our way to the front.

“Beg you!” I heard a naked imp cry.

I heard other cries, but in tongues that I could not understand. I did understand the word ‘beg’, but in an umani tongue. It was said in the most common umani tongue, the only one that I had a shallow understanding of.

A naked imp reached for the piece of metal in Arexon’s hands. As if expecting it, Jojo turned around and struck the imp’s hand with its pickaxe. The imp pulled the hand back with tears streaming down its face.

“I’ll take it now.” Jojo smiled at Arexon, before taking the piece from it.

“Pickaxes are not allowed in the eating room. The fog won’t let you take it in.”

I heard a loud whistle. Now we were pushing past clothed imps. Several imp hands struck out, grabbing at Arexon. I noticed that several of them where grabbing onto its breasts.

Jojo turned around. It did not strike these imps with its pickaxe. “Be gentle.” It pleaded. “She’s new, it’s only her first day.” When its pleading was not heeded, it looked around, and then smiled. “Zane!” It yelled.

A space was cleared in front of us. Through this space I could see a fog door, and beside the door, a short stand. The stand had a basin at the top which reminded me of the ‘address’ in Katsoaru, from the day of the kaiser’s bout. This was a different type of address though. I had wondered how the eating room worked. Now I understood. The piece of metal was most likely put into the basin, and, depending on the size of the piece, the fog softened to allow an appropriate number of imps in.

“Jojo!” A tall imp, dressed in worn trousers and a shirt, called out. It stood to the side of the stand.

“Please tell these boys to be gentlemen.”

The tall imp’s gaze darted to Arexon. It stared at it for a while, before turning back to Jojo. “Why should I care?”

Jojo tossed the piece of metal to the tall imp. The tall imp whistled and all the hands reaching for Arexon fell away.

“Come on.” Jojo said. It led us to the fog wall. The imp turned around, and then pointed at the stand. “Once you have a piece of bonbon, put it in there. If it is big enough, the fog will take it, and allow you access to the room. If it is not, it won’t take it. Depending on the piece of the metal, you may be able to have more than one person get into the eating room with the same bonbon.”

It rose its hand in the air, and flung the pickaxe towards the back of the room. The naked imps rushed at it.

“Why’d you do that?” The tall imp drawled.

“I have to give back to the strays.” Jojo replied with a smile.

It touched the fog wall and it softened. “You three, go in. This is a first day only treat, so I would advice that you take advantage of it.”

“What about me Jojo, do I get a treat?” the tall imp asked.

Jojo sighed. “Only you and five of your imps.”

“Thank you.”

Arexon walked in first, then Yakubo, and then I. Six clothed imps walked in after us, before Jojo came into the room and the fog hardened behind us.

I took a deep breath.

It was a reflex. It took some time for my brain to catch up to my nostrils and realize that I liked the smell of this room. Maybe it was the hard fog at the entrance, but the foul odor everywhere else in Aurelion had been purged from this room. It smelled clean. There was no scent like there’d been in the pious one’s office, but I preferred the plain cleanness of this room to that one anyway.

The room had a simple set up. It was by far the largest space I’d seen so far in Aurelion. The smoothness of the ground was a welcome relief from the calluses everywhere else. It was in standing on this smooth ground, that I finally noticed that I was bleeding from the soles of my feet. I looked down and saw that Yakubo was also leaving bloody footprints. Arexon, however, was not.

“Your feet will get used to Aurelion.” Jojo stated, looking at the blood.

It led us down a space between two rows of rectangular tables and long benches, which imps were packed together on. “There is always a cook in this place, so, whenever you have earned a meal, you can come in here and eat. If you’re smart, that can work to your advantage.”

We stopped on a line in front of a short table. There were several imps wearing tunics, standing by the walls behind the short tables. The wall they stood by was made of hard fog. We reached the front of the line and Jojo said, “first timers Alex.”

The imp wearing a short tunic behind the table nodded. Jojo got out of the line. “Find a bench and eat.” It stepped towards Arexon then. “I’ll talk to Zane and see if he’ll allow you into his gang.”

“Thank you Jojo.”

The imp winked at Arexon before walking away.

We were each giving a bowl, filled with a light brown soup, and a roll. With our meals in our hands, we walked towards the first empty spot we found, and sat together on the table. Yakubo sat close to one end, and I sat on the opposite bench. I found it irritating that Arexon chose to sit beside me.

There was a bit of space beside Yakubo and Arexon. The space was large enough for four more uspecs, two on each side.

Arexon broke off a piece of bread, dipped it into the soup, and ate it. It said nothing as it ate. Yakubo looked around. I was not hungry. We’d had a full meal before leaving the pious base, but prudence told me to eat while I had the chance. I could not help but notice that the three of us were the only naked imps in the entire eating room. My mind filled with the vision of an imp so hungry that it ate its own vomit. I took a chunk off my roll and placed it in the bowl. The soup had several small chunks in them. A bite into a chunk showed that it was meat, but what kind, I could not tell. I lifted the bowl to my mouth, as I had done so many times in the pits of Hakute, and drank some of the soup.

It was not good. It was not worse than the food I’d had in the pits though. I much preferred the roll.

Yakubo dipped its roll into the soup and took a bite of it. It coughed loudly, as if gagging on the food. “This is terrible.” Yakubo said.

Arexon’s mouth parted, but before it could speak, another voice broke in.

“It’s not that bad handsome.” It said.

There was an imp standing by our table. The imp was dressed in a short tunic, like the server. It had a basket filled with rolls. It took two of those rolls out of its basket and placed it on the table by Yakubo’s bowl. “The rolls are better.” It said with a smile. “What’s your name handsome?”

Yakubo’s mouth hung open. Its gaze darted to Arexon and I could tell that it was nervous. Then it cleared its throat. “Ya…Jacob.” It said.

“Jacob. That’s a beautiful name. I’m Aliyah.” The imp stated.

I wanted more rolls too, so, I grabbed onto the imp’s wrist. “I want more rolls.” I said.

The imp’s gaze shifted to me. Its shocked gaze moved from my hand on its wrist, to my face, and then back to my hand, as if it could not imagine that I had touched it. I was beginning to get irritated.

“Take your hand off her.” An angry voice spat out.

I turned to find the tall imp, Zane, glaring at me. There were five imps standing behind it.

Arexon leaned into me. Its fingers wrapped around my upper arm. “Take your hand off now Nebud.” It snapped in a whisper to me.

I tightened my hold, before releasing the imp.

“Please forgive him domina.” Arexon said, staring at the tall imp.

I frowned at Arexon. Him? Arexon clearly knew what it was doing. And domina? It called an imp domina? I did not know how those words could come so easily from Arexon. Did it have no pride? No wonder it slaved away for the uspecs who murdered its progenitor and stole its port.

“She called me domina.” The tall imp said. “I like her.” The imps standing behind it laughed. “Tell your boyfriend to keep his hands off my girl. I won’t accept apologies next time.”

Arexon nodded. “Thank you do…”

“It’s Zane.” The imp cut Arexon off.

Arexon bent so close to me, that its lips were by my ear. “If you ever do something that stupid again, I’ll kill you myself.” Arexon whispered. Then it pulled back.

The imp with the basket of rolls smiled at me. “It’s okay babe.” It pulled out two more rolls and put them by my bowl. Then it did the same for Arexon. “You’re very beautiful by the way.” It said to it.

Then the imp moved around and went to sit beside Arexon. “We should get her clothes babe, or none of your miners will be able to get any work done.”

Zane smiled. It sat beside the imp and pulled it into its arms. Then they kissed. It was a strange thing, one that I had only seen in the tome which I had read. I did not understand this locking of lips and the twining of tongues. But these two imps did it, and they did it for a long time. Long enough for Arexon and I to finish our meals. Yakubo ate its rolls, but it did not touch the soup.

Finally, the imps stopped their kissing. “I should go babe.” Zane said.

The other one nodded. “Can I shelter them for the night?” it asked. “They’re so cute, aren’t they?”

Zane glared at me.

“Come on babe, it’s their first night.”

“No one sheltered us on our first night.”

“Kindness towards strangers Zane, that is what makes us better than the rest.”

Zane sighed. “As if I could say no to you.” It placed a kiss on the other imp’s head before walking away.

“I am Aliyah.” It said to Arexon. I found the way it smiled at me puzzling. There was something about this imp that reminded me of my own. I thought of Musa then, and I realized how much I missed the imp’s company. If I survived this ordeal, it would make a great story, I thought with a smile.

“I knew you had it in you.” Aliyah said.

It wasn’t till the imp spoke that I realized that I was smiling. I wiped the smile off my face. “Don’t worry,” it leaned towards Arexon, “we’ll work on him.”

Arexon giggled, leaving me even more befuddled by it. How did it play its part so well?

“I really do need to get you clothes.” Aliyah said.

“I thought only gang members wore clothes.”

Aliyah sighed. “Miners and their stupid rules. I’m a cook, so it’s very different for us. Still, I’m sure I can talk to Zane. He said he liked you, he’ll want you in his gang.” Aliyah looked up. “All of you.” It smiled at Yakubo and me. Yakubo smiled back at the imp, I did not. Aliyah turned its attention back to Arexon. “You really are too beautiful to walk around here naked. I remember what that was like, and I wouldn’t wish that on anyone. They may not have lust, but they remember what it felt like to have it.” It sighed. “Even without lust, we are still attracted to ourselves.” It laughed. “I suppose that is the human way.”

“Thank you.” Arexon said.

Aliyah smiled. Its gaze turned to Yakubo’s bowl. “Are you done eating?” it asked.

“Yes.” Yakubo replied, smiling back at the imp. “Thank you.”

“It really is not so bad. You will get used to it soon. Wait for me, I will be back.” It rose and took its basket of rolls with it.

“That is a kind imp.” Yakubo said.

“It is. Not that we deserve it.” Arexon said the last part glaring at me.

I ignored it.

“Let’s go!” Aliyah announced once it returned, its hands empty. “I’ll show you to my shelter. I share it with Zane, but we’ll all share it tonight.”

“What do we do with the bowls?” Yakubo asked. It was starting to mimic the deference in Arexon’s mannerism.

Aliyah smiled at it. “Leave it. The cooks take care of all that. While the miners mine, we cook and clean this room and the kitchen.”

“Where is the kitchen?” Yakubo asked.

“Behind those fog walls.” It jerked its head to the wall of fog behind us. “Now, come on, Mr. Inquisitive.”

We stood and followed Aliyah out of the eating room. I took one last deep breath before we left the room. As we walked forward, into the crowd of imps standing outside the eating room, a space was created for us. They did not reach out to grab Arexon as they had before. I could tell from the way that Aliyah smiled and greeted some of the imps, that it was familiar with them.

We made our way through a maze of tunnels and digs.

“It is a hard life.” Aliyah said, after we walked out of a room filled with strays. “I was one of them once.” It said. “Zane and I.”

“Were you really?” Yakubo asked. “What happened?”

“A fluke occurrence. I found a big enough bonbon and snuck into the cleaning room at an odd time. I started speaking with one of the cooks, and she decided that I had the makings of a good cook. She knew one of the runners, the imps like Jojo, who assist the pious, and asked the imp to put in a good word for me. A month later I was a cook. Zane joined the sun, and the rest is history. I think he didn’t want me in a gang, and he couldn’t join one without me.”

“You and Zane are close?” Arexon asked.

The imp nodded. “Our church was burned down right as we were about to say our wedding vows. We died together, came to this existence together, lived our first few decades together, and were sent to Aurelion together. We’ve never spent a day apart since we turned ten in our human lives. We’ve always had each other.”

“That must be nice.” Arexon said.

“What about you and…” it broke off. “I never even asked for your names. I was too carried away with Jacob’s smile.”

Arexon laughed. Neither Yakubo nor I joined in. Again, I did not see the humor in the imp’s words.

“I am Alexa, and this is Ned.”

“Nice to meet you. And what is your story?”

“Too long to tell while walking.” Arexon and Aliyah laughed. Again, I did not see the humor.

Finally, we reached a small dig. This dig had curtains covering the archway leading into it. Aliyah pulled the curtains aside. “Come in.” it said. “This is our humble abode.”

“Are there any okuns nearby?” Arexon asked.

Aliyah nodded. “Come with me.”

“You two stay here and wait for us.” Arexon said, before leaving.

They turned around a few bends and were lost. I was suddenly left feeling as if I should have gone with them. I did not like Arexon, but I could not imagine anything better than sinking my sore feet into okun.

“I have been to mines before Nebud, but none as wretched as this.” Yakubo stated.

I glared at it.

“What is wrong Nebud?” it asked. “Why have you been ignoring me? I had thought that after all the time we spent together in your suite, we had formed something of a friendship.”

I snapped. I don’t know why I chose that moment, but it was as if I suddenly realized that I was stuck with Yakubo and Arexon in the most depressing place I’d ever seen. Both uspecs I hated.

“A friendship with a traitor?”

Yakubo pulled back. “Traitor?” it frowned. “What makes me a traitor?”

“I brought you into my suite and allowed you to see my interactions with my imp, and in exchange, you told Arexon about our close bond. That was how Arexon knew that it could use Musa as a way to keep me in line.”

“I did not. I would never…”

“Keep your lies.”

I stormed off, deciding that the thought of okuns was too tempting to resist. Especially not when the alternative was spending time with the lying traitor Yakubo.

“Where are you going Nebud?” Yakubo yelled. “We were told to stay put. You’ll get lost in these digs!”

Nebud is just too stuborn for my liking

Ultimategeneral:
Nebud is just too stuborn for my liking

Too stubborn? You seem to have missed a lot. Was it stubborn in the beginning of his life? It has been through a lot, and just as we do, has built a shield against the world. Isn't that what we do too, particularly towards betrayals?