Alain grinned around his cheroot. “Why not? I need friends, you need friends. It’s a match made in heaven.”
Naomi crossed her arms. “Who says we need friends?”
“I do. And I know.” He patted his pouch and then sighed. “Damn it.” Took his cheroot out and placed it behind his ear. “You’re too dangerous and unaligned to be ignored. Again, I’ve overheard plenty. Everyone thinks you’re both destined for great things or will cause a ton of trouble, and everyone’s intent on getting you to work for them. All sorts of plans are being hatched by idiots who think they’re manipulative geniuses. Your wandering into the Fury Spires as you did right now is like a couple of supremely wealthy kids walking blindfolded into the Narrows back in Bastion.”
Scorio exchanged a glance with Naomi. “And you’re willing to help us out?”
“From the goodness of your heart?” added Naomi.
“Oh, come on, I already told you.” Alain’s shoulders slumped. “I’m like, desperately lonely. And bored. Bored to tears. I’d hoped you two were focused enough to talk to me, and lo and behold, you are. Which is great. So I’m happy to help you out in exchange for, I don’t know. Maybe we could grab some meals together. Go on a hike. Play some board games. Do normal people stuff. Oh, I’ve got some really dirty stories I can share.”
“No thanks,” said Naomi.
“Amity’s a Pyre Lord,” said Scorio, watching the kid carefully. “And he seems nice. You tried befriending him?”
“Amity?” Alain let out a bark of laughter. “Oh, yeah. His power’s worse than mine. I’ve seen what he does in private, he’s got this little box under his bed filled with – never mind. But disgusting as he is, I still can’t help but like him. But look. Even a wretch like me’s got a bit of pride. If my whole situation creeps you out, I’ll just fade into the background till you forget about me and spy on you for the Iron Tyrant.”
Scorio’s expression hardened.
“What?” Alain affected innocence. “You don’t like blackmail? You saying that’s not the basis of a wonderful friendship? Fine. I was kidding. No, really, I was. Mostly.”
“How does your power work?” asked Scorio. “If we lose track of you now, will we forget we knew you?”
“No, you’ll remember me right enough. This conversation, now that we’ve broken through my veil, it’ll remain clear. But the next time you see me, if I purposefully hang back, well, my power will make it so you choose not to focus on me again. I’ll just become a background face.”
“Forever?” Naomi’s tone turned curious. “You have to go to these lengths every time?”
“Thank the hells, no. The more we talk like this, the easier it’ll be for you to notice me the next time. Back at the Academy? I actually managed to become friends with a couple of folks. Toward the end they could see me with barely any difficulty at all.” Alain frowned and looked away.
“Well.” Scorio hesitated. “I can’t promise we’ll be best friends - and being best friends with us isn’t exactly a winning proposition - but if you want to grab some food and talk, that’d be fine.”
“Really?” Alain’s face lit up. “That’s fantastic! I didn’t think you’d say yes. Mostly because I always say the worst things all the time, like how - well, never mind. But great! You like fungus? This place has tons of fungus. And edible moss. Though I can steal us anything you want from the Iron Tyrant’s kitchen. He gets all sorts of things brought in on the regular from the Rascor Plains -”
“No need to steal anything,” said Scorio, laughing. “Fungus sounds great.”
“You just say that because you’ve only been here a couple of days,” said Alain, falling in beside them. “I’ve been here going on a year.”
Naomi stared at him in shock. “A year?”
“Yeah, I know.” He shrugged uncomfortably, momentarily looking like a scruffy crow. “I was all fired up when I got here, right? To the depths of hell and beyond! But I ran out of fire. I kept trying to find a way to help with the Blood Ox, but people either forgot about me, or they kept wanting to send me to spy on his forces in the Telurian Band.”
“And you didn’t want to go?”
“Oh, I went. Three times. By myself, I’ll add, which was terrifying. Mostly because I’ve got no sense of direction. I’m not the wilderness type. I loathe camping.” Alain glanced sidelong at them both bashfully. “Also, I’m not the best operative out in the field. My reports were always like, ‘Yep, there’s a big force of fiends out on the Bone Plains, not sure which way they’re going, they’re led by this big elite Lustrous Maria fiend, I ran away before it could kill me.’ Plus it always took me weeks to get back, which made all my information irrelevant by the time I delivered it. What a mess.”
Scorio shook his head, bemused. “Sounds rough.”
“I know!” Alain threw up his arms in exasperation. “I kept suggesting I go with Pyre Lords or something to scout for them in the field, but nobody feels comfortable having me along. Something about my sparkling personality. So the Iron Tyrant’s been using me to keep an eye on his own people and his guests. Just the worst.”
“You’re a Flame Vault?” asked Naomi.
“Hard to believe, but yeah. I went through this really ambitious phase. Thought maybe power would be its own reward. Turns out I was wrong.”
“Well, if you’re a Flame Vault, why don’t you head to the Silver Unfathom?” continued Naomi. “Find powerful Great Souls there who’d use you more efficiently, or at least acknowledge you exist?”
Alain winced shamefacedly. “Oh, I thought about it. A lot. Head across the Telurian Band, then make my way into the Silver Unfathom, all by myself. Weeks and weeks of traveling through hell, alone. Did I mention I’m not exactly the wilderness type?” He caught Naomi’s glare. “Oh, I was getting ready to go. Just, you know. Getting everything ready first.”
“By agreeing to spy for the Iron Tyrant for a whole year?”
Alain flinched. “I know.” His tone became subdued. “Look, I’m not proud of it. But not everybody’s cut from heroic cloth. I’m… I’m just trying to do my best. It’s just that my best isn’t very good, most of the time.”
Scorio considered the kid. “Well, let’s see where this new and exciting friendship goes.”
Alain perked up. “To the dining hall, I’m thinking.” They climbed the last stretch of the ramp and emerged into a broad room filled with random tables and chairs, lit by the ever-present golden domes, and whose air was rich with a savory, metallic tang; a serving table at one end bore a dozen metal pots filled with steaming food, while a drudge lay outstretched beneath them, heating their bases.
For a moment they busied themselves filling their plates, then gathered in a corner to devour what looked to be a creative variety of cooked fungi. The flavors were striking and bold, and Scorio found himself digging in.
“Alain,” said Naomi, washing down a mouthful. “What’s with all the Titans guarding the basement level?”
“Hmm?” The other Flame Vault raised both brows as he chewed rapidly. “Oh, that. Security. There are still channels open to the magma flows deep underground. Fiends can use those to climb up into the Fury Spires, and no Great Soul wants to sit around down there all the time on guard duty. So, Titans. Why?”
“We were looking down there, exploring, and the Titans didn’t seem to want us to get close.”
Alain frowned. “They reacted to you?”
Scorio nodded.
“That’s weird. They should only react to fiends coming up.”
“Why don’t they close the channels, then?” asked Naomi.
Alain gestured with his spoon. “The blazeborn queens need the magma to make new blazeborns. You know, when their old ones die. If we closed the channels, no more magma going into the caldera, no more blazeborns.”
“They die that often?” asked Scorio.
“Well, it’s weird, but apparently, yeah. Titans are killed all the time defending the channels. Well, not like all the time, but frequently enough that the queen has to make more every month or so.”