12 Miles Below

The expedition returned five days after my ‘civil disagreement’ with Shadowsong.

This was notable, since it wasn’t scheduled to return for another month. That part wasn’t quite as large a gossip point as the second reason people were paying attention - The expedition had returned with three more airspeeders than it had departed with.

Specifically, Othersider airspeeders like the ones the pirates had used. From my vantage point by the tower control, I could see the cloud of white trailing snow behind the line of distant grey and black specs.

Atius peered out, across the freeze. Hands folded over his chest, a look of contemplation across his features. We’d been talking earlier in private when servants came to inform him of the arrival. The clan lord and myself had been working together far more closely after I’d made my choice.

I’d talked to him in detail about it. Trying to understand if it was a choice, a test, or some kind of offer. I wasn’t great with politics, and the kind of subtle messages I could pick up were usually around the level of publicly posted hate mail.

He’d laughed a bit when I’d asked him about that. “At a certain point in time, all options become unpredictable. Any choice we make will bring its own hardships, and either choice we make - we will be there to handle those hardships. Consider instead, our ultimate destination. With this new resource and power, we won’t remain on the surface for long. Not within the decade. Given the scope of your discovery, I felt it was fitting to allow you a hand in it. I trusted we could handle the fallout.”

Being able to gloat was one of life’s great pleasures. However, I was already a celebrity among the clan. And the possible future threats made me reconsider exposing my hand in all this. Plus, the first option was still always available going into the future. Conversely, once the secret was out of the bag, there was no putting it back in.

He had been smiling that day.

Now, a frown came across his features as he stared out that window. “Did they send any other information on the additional airspeeders arriving?”

“No, my lord.” The man answered back without looking. “We only know they’re non-hostage and friendly. No secret distress codes have been sent.”

Atius sighed. “I have that gut feeling something off is happening. One of those days.” He turned over to another Logi staff member, one in Atius’s retenue that had followed us from his estate to the air control tower. “Call up the knights and guard, have them arrive at the hangars. Place heavy patrols around the entryway, and prepare for a possibility of infiltration. Given what’s coming, we can’t play too recklessly. The lack of distress codes only means the captains aren’t aware of any enemy activity. Not that enemy activity isn’t there.”

The staff members nearby saluted, then instantly returned to their task with renewed vigor.

“Suppose it’s time to greet new friends.” He said, turning and making his way out.

The airspeeder’s engines cut down, vector thrusters keeping the whole ship steady as the taxi slowly dragged the lumbering beast back inside. All across the outside, scavengers sat on their benches, waiting for the all clear to jump off.

It didn’t take long. The massive hangar doors slowly sealed shut behind the airspeeder, vents all across the hangar lit up with warm air once the gate were down. Engineers and repair staff from the inside of the hangar scurried over to ship, tools and instruments ready for inspection, while the returning scavengers leaped off, passing by as a wave to see friends and family first. The two groups collapsed against each other, patting backs and giving hugs or hand claps as they crossed paths.

The captain of the expedition made his way down the ramp, and next to him was a relic knight I wasn’t familiar with.

That knight’s armor was barren, like Winterscar. However, instead of accents of color and sigils, there were only a few pins on the side of the neckpiece, along with a stripe of purple color on the opposite shoulder pad. A simple fur cape and hood was the last of the ornaments, but it had no distinct color besides brown against stark white inner fur. The figure held onto a large staff, with a purple half-moon emblazoned at the tip and purple flowing cords trailing off to the side.

Whoever this knight was, no house from our clan knew the answer. Though they looked like a religious figure of some kind, given the staff.

“Don’t like that.” Cathida hissed in my ear. “Who in the twelve hells wears purple like that?”

Imperials wouldn’t wear purple, that was considered the colors of the enemy. And Cathida cared a lot for looks too, so it's not surprising she's upset about this knight's very presence.

Puritans, at least from the words I’d heard, had a far more utilitarian style of dressing. Many pockets, straps and face masks. No main color theme besides muted colors that fade well into urban environments. And hats. They liked their hats. The religion ascribed that living beings were superior to machines, with a focus on seeing machines as renegade tools to be brought back into line. It made sense they’d dress for utility.

I’d never seen purple being used like this before, which set me on edge slightly. “Not sure who that is.” I said. “I guess we’ll find out soon enough.”

Cathida grunted. “I’d keep my eyes peeled for something. Purple. Purple! What a stupid assemble. Makes my skin crawl.”

“You don’t have skin.”

“Oh don’t be such a wiseass. Fine. Don’t pay attention then, I’ll just head off. I’ve got to practice saying ‘I told you so’ in exactly the right pitch. It’s a point of pride for us older folks, young man.” She said, then cut the line.

“I didn’t say I wouldn’t keep an eye out…” I put in, but she was already sulking in the background now. It’s fine, she has the memory space of a goldfish anyhow.

Lord Atius walked forward, greeting the captain with a good natured hug and a follow up amicable pat on the back. They spoke a bit, before the captain turned and motioned to the strange knight.

Shadowsong stood at my side, along with Ironreach and two other knights. We were Lord Atius’s official bodyguard retenue for today. When he took a glance at us, we knew the cue to make our way behind him and stand at attention.

The stranger stood at the top of the ramp, pieces of purple cloth flapping about lightly from all the heating vents blasting the room. Then, he walked down to stand a few feet before the clan lord.

“Greetings, Deathless.” He said with a deep bow. Given his appearance, it was a rather lighter voice. I can’t see what he looked like under the helmet, but he didn’t sound very old. “I am Lejis, a priest of the Chosen.”

“Chosen?” Atius asked, tilting his head to the side. “I don’t believe I’ve had the pleasure yet, lad. An off-branch of puritans I'd guess?”

The stranger shook his head. “No, we are a new faith that appeared in the last few months as a result of recent changes in the world.”

Atius narrowed his eyes at that. “Changes?”

“I would be most happy to discuss that in a moment, Lord Deathless.” Lejis said. “However, like you, I must tend to my flock first. We’ve followed behind your expedition, seeking temporary shelter as we make our way across the white wastes. I’d like to make sure we have that.”

“Captain Rengar mentioned he owed you a life debt.” Atius said. “Accommodations could be made, once I know more of the story.”

The captain himself came closer. “My lord, the situation we encountered the Chosen are… sensitive.” He said, face covered by his environmental suit. “I’ve ordered my crew to keep their silence for now, until we’re sure what actions to take.”

Atius raised an eyebrow at the man. “Might this have to do with the incoming raider threat?”

That caught the captain by surprise. To his credit he recovered almost immediately. “Aye sir. I should have guessed you would already be aware of it. Considering you’ve mentioned this out in the open, I take it the clan knows?”

“Aye lad. ‘bout a week ago I broke the news to the clan along with our plans. Morale remains high, we expect to be able to fight them off.”

The captain gave a hand sign for relief. “Then yes, we met the Chosen during a dire situation. An attack force of raiders had tracked our expedition and set up an ambush at a site. I admit full responsibility when I state we hadn’t been prepared. Small expeditions can expect fighting, but this was the main one with eight airspeeders and fifteen knights. I was lax in our precautions. No one in their right mind would dare launch an attack, or so I thought.”

“It seems the raiders are exactly that. Out of their minds.” Atius said. “I don’t understand their sudden change of plans either. I haven’t yet divined just what’s stirred them into this frenzy. They must know it won't end well for them.”

The captain gave another hand sign for emotion, this one signaling warm agreement. “Whoever they were, they came prepared. They attacked us with twenty five relic knights. Not enough to overwhelm us within minutes, but enough to eventually win. It was an army unlike any I had ever seen before.”

The clan lord turned to glance at the Chosen priest. “I take it that man and his followers had a hand in you being alive to tell the tale?”

The captain also turned to the priest. Lejis remained quiet, looking around the hangar, watching the life cycle of the crew. He seemed almost fascinated.

“Aye.” The captain said. “They heard our distress signal and emerged from the underground nearby where they’d been traveling. It was a stroke of fortune they were close enough to the surface to get signals in. Once we explained to them who we were fighting, they took to the field on our side. It took them some time to sprint to us, but they arrived.”

“These chosen, they’re undersiders, yes?” Atius asked.

“Aye sir, they are.”

“Undersiders that visit the surface, if they aren’t imperial pilgrims, they’re almost always a contingent of knights. Never travelers. How many knights came with the Chosen?”

“Twenty three knights came with our caravan.” The chosen priest said to the side. “The rest of the missionaries are simple men and women we were escorting to the next city. We left them underground during the actual fight.”

Atius hummed. “Left them behind? I suppose this close to the surface machines wouldn’t be nipping at your heels. Still quite risky.”

The priest nodded slowly. “We have our ways of dealing with the machines. I was confident in my people safety. I can explain later, it is a core part of our religion.”

Well, that was a shady answer.

Clearly Atius wanted the answer as well, but was polite enough to accept the deflection. “Very well, as I follow, the metal was turned on the raiders with thirty eight knights against their twenty five. How did the fight proceed?”

The captain of the airspeeder turned to look at the priest, as if giving permission for the man to explain. The chosen priest inclined his head in gratitude and continued, “We struck from the rear of their attack. Our knights overwhelmed and captured a few of their airspeeders, before a general retreat was called by their side. Your people did manage to kill two of their knights in the fighting, impressive given the odds against them.”

“We’re surface dwellers.” The captain said to the side. “Othersiders serve only their own interests. Clan knights fight for far more than just their own life.”

The priest nodded, “And to see them fight was truly something to behold. I’ve heard stories of surface knights, seeing them in combat was something else. The reputation was well deserved, with exception to the claim that you're savages. I see only men and women of compassion and humanity here. You’ve done well for your people Lord Deathless.”

“And the casualties? As strong as my knights are, the odds were still stacked against them.” Atius asked, taking a look at the airspeeder hull. Signs of bullet holes appeared on closer look, along with frozen blood streaks. Small enough they hadn’t been visible from a distance.

“We lost about thirty scavengers in the fight to gunshot wounds. A dozen more are wounded and kept within the medical bays of the airspeeders.” The captain answered. “The majority were killed early into the fighting before we could establish a defense. Once those had been setup, we were able to entrench ourselves. Their lives are on my head, my lord. Had I been prepared, many of them would still be alive. Our knights saved us. None of them had their shields broken, they held off the enemy long enough for the Chosen to flank the raiders.”

“We’ll talk about mistakes later, captain. Always lessons to be learned from any mistake, no matter how senior you are. You paid for this lesson dearly, I have faith you'll make sure not to pay that price again.” Atius turned his gaze back to the priest. “I suppose we owe your people a life debt to be settled then. You asked for hospitality?”

“We did, Lord Deathless. Traveling underground has taken its toll on my people. I would like them to be refreshed and perhaps taught more about the finer aspects of environmental suits. We are still new to using them and hope to travel to the next city across the surface.”

Shadowsong stepped in at this point, “Priest. You’ve avoided explaining anything about your religion, twice so far. Instead you seem to wish to confirm hospitality before anything else. I find this suspect.”

Ah. That’s a good point I hadn’t noticed.

The captain of the expedition gulped. “My lord, that’s… something else I wished to discuss with you. We had a hard time accepting it ourselves, but a life debt is a life debt. But I swear to you, they are little more than normal people in need, and harmless.”

The priest in question turned to look at Atius, which the Deathless simply answered back with a sweep of his hand, a curious expression on his features. Proceed, tell us about your faith.

Lejis nodded. “Very well. Forgive me for seeking safty first. The religion we follow is not particularly... popular with people who hear about it first."

Atius glanced at the passanger manifest nearby. "It seems to me you have plenty of members. Can't be that unpopular."

"We do have a great many things to offer. Some life-changing. But most of us did not join the faith willingly. Life sometimes offers only a single path forward, and leaves us only to make the best of that single choice."

"I take it this has something to do with the machines? You mentioned you had a method of keeping your people safe from them underground. Safe enough to leave them without knights."

"It is as you guessed, Lord Deathless. Recently the machines have… changed. In the past, they’ve always attacked humanity without reason or method. Even the machines that could speak don’t care to speak with us for any terms. The ones that seem lucid and sane, the Feathers, your sworn enemies, seem to only care for destruction.”

He turned to look at his staff, the purple moon that would have surely pissed off any imperial to no end. It’d be a cosmic joke if these Chosen were the mirror opposite of the imperials.

Atius peered at the purple half-moon. There was a look across his face that I couldn’t quite read.

Lejis continued speaking in the meantime, “My people were refugees once, cast out of our city by circumstances of misfortune. In our travels to find a new home, machines harried at our side, slowly whittling us down. Until one day, they stopped. And then one came and gave us an offer.”

It almost seemed like the hangar slowed down, people no longer talking, paying attention to the conversation happening here. Surface dwellers were incurable gossips. Of course they were all listening in on this. They still looked like they were ferrying goods and fixing items, but in truth I could tell they were all paying attention to our chat.

“An offer?” Atius asked, voice strained.

“Surrender.” Lejis stayed stock still. “Renounce our gods and faith, and swear ourselves to their service. As I've said before, we had little choice, so we did as they asked.”

There was now total silence in the hangar. If a spanner dropped, it would probably be the noisiest thing in the whole room.

The clan lord slowly turned to face Lejis directly, one of his hands subtly resting on the hilt of his sword.

“You what?”

Next chapter - Debts to be paid

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