These particular ones looked mostly like smaller versions of humans, but with greenish-blue skin that reminded me of metal. It wasn’t an unlikely resemblance; some kobolds worked in mines, and they tended to take on characteristics similar to the metals they worked.
They weren’t known for being very smart, but they were generally peaceful. Humans traded with them on occasion, frequently metals for other types of metals.
I didn’t like seeing their bodies, even knowing they were probably just illusions.
Mara approached the closest one, cautiously ducking down and flipping him over with a foot. I would have complained about her callous treatment, but I realized she was probably just being cautious about the possibility that they were faking and laying in ambush for us.
After all, the lights were still on.
That implied there was something still alive down here.
And if it wasn’t the kobolds, it was undoubtedly something worse.
We spent the next few minutes searching the area, but we didn’t find much of note. Mostly mining equipment, more bodies, and some old clothing.
We did, however, find the next step of the path — a long shaft descending into darkness.
“Think this is a lift.” Mara walked around to the other side of the shaft, finding a raised metallic box. “And this is the control for it, I think.”
I cautiously circled the pit. “Yep. Looks like we’re supposed to raise the platform somehow, then use it to get down below.”
I scanned the ceiling and the area inside the box, but I didn’t see any sort of rope leading down or a pulley system. That implied whatever moved the platform was down below, rather than up here.
“Ah!” She opened up a panel on the side of the metal box. “Think this is what we need.”
We took a look inside the box. It had a simple lever control, currently flipped down, and a socket with a single rune etched into it.
I knew what I was looking at — it was a slot for a power source.
“Looks like this is magically powered. And we need an essence crystal to operate it.”
Marissa nodded. “Great. Maybe there’s an essence crystal back with the kobolds?”
I glanced back that way, turning on my attunement.
The kobolds were glowing, since they were some kind of illusions or magical constructs. I was pleased to know my school hadn’t imported dead kobolds (or murdered live ones for just a test).
I didn’t see any essence crystals, though.
And I was pretty sure I knew why.
I think Marissa came to the realization at the same time. “Uh, Corin?”
“Yeah?”
“I don’t suppose that power source might have looked like a green rock, would it?”
I pictured the crystal she’d throw at the spider monster’s head. “…Yeah.”
“Oops.”
I sighed. “Yep. I don’t suppose you took it with you?”
She shook her head. “You?”
“Nope. Was too busy trying to get out of there alive. Completely forgot about it.”
“Well, doesn’t that just caw the roost.”
“Yeah. I think. I’m not really sure what that phrase means.”
Marissa just nodded. “I don’t think I do, either. Anyway, should we go back?”
I shook my head. “Probably not. Give me a minute.”
I took a look at the control box more carefully, searching for other runes. I only found one more, and it wasn’t a good sign — it was a targeting rune, indicating that the main runes for operating the device were down below.
That meant if I wanted to try to operate it from up here, I’d either have to completely rewrite the runes, or find it an alternate power source if I wanted to operate it in the intended way.
Checking the rune for the power source, it looked like it was built for a Class 3 Transference Mana Crystal. I could make mana crystals, but nothing even close to that magnitude.
Maybe I could make it work briefly with a weaker crystal? It might be worth an attempt.
“I might be able to power this on my own, but it’ll take a lot out of me, and I’m not sure it’ll work.”
I was already pretty exhausted from all the enchanting I’d done earlier, so I wasn’t sure how much more I could manage.
“How much of your mana do you think it would take to get it up and running?”
I considered that. “Somewhere in the sixty range. That’d be one class lower than the amount that it’s supposed to run on.”
“And you’ve got, what, eighty total?”
“Eighty-four.” I checked it obsessively enough that I was confident about that.
She shook her head. “Not worth it. Might need that mana for something more important. Like, ya know, fighting.”
I knelt down, looking into the depths of the pit. “Did you think to bring rope?”
Marissa winced. “Wasn’t counting on climbing.”
I have some, but it’s in the Jaden Box, and that raises the same problem as before. Maybe next time I need to figure out which items are likely to be used in my tests and keep them in a separate pack.
“I didn’t, either.” I admitted. “Maybe we can find some with the mining supplies?”
We searched for a bit, and we did eventually find a coil of fraying rope, but it was only about ten feet long. Dropping a rock and listening for the sound, we judged the total depth to be about twenty five or thirty feet.
Mara took the rope and walked back over to the control area. “Could attach this, climb part way, and then drop the rest. Shrouds and shield sigils will take care of us, shouldn’t be hurt too bad.”
She was right, but I didn’t like the idea of even minor injuries if we could avoid them. And draining the shield sigils wouldn’t be a great idea, either.
I had a better solution, though. I was wearing it.
I lifted my hand to remind her about the ring. “This doesn’t just help me jump, it slows down falling, too.”
“Great! That should let you get down easy. Maybe you could catch me?”
I winced. “Not confident I could manage that without hurting us more.”
Another idea did come to mind, though. I was almost sure it would work, but I didn’t like it.
“Corin? I know that expression. What you thinkin’?”
I sighed. “I could just pick you up and jump down. The ring doesn’t distinguish between a number of people — it just applies a certain amount of force. It should have no problem slowing the descent for us both. Or getting us back to the top, now that I think about it. That’s going to be pretty important later.”
Mara nodded. “Sounds good. You ready?”
No. Definitely not.
“One second.”
Marissa didn’t even seem the slightest bit awkward.
I had to take a minute to regulate my breathing.
“Not good with heights,” I explained awkwardly. “Could you do that shroud extension thing and keep us both inside your shroud to soften the fall, just in case I mess this up?”
“Oh, sure. Won’t matter much now that you’ve got your own shroud, but it might help a little.”
Just talking about something else helped steel my nerves a little bit. I tried to ignore the itching sensation at the back of my mind that happened any time I had to touch someone.
It helped that I was the one who was going to be carrying her, not the other way around.
It also helped that she was familiar. A friend, even.
But that couldn’t smash the feeling entirely.
I took another breath. “Let’s do this.”
I ducked down, and she wrapped her arms around my neck.
Don’tpanicdon’tpanicdon’tpanic.