"Here's your room"
Another trek through the maze city. Twist and turns, narrow alleyways, stairs that go up and down and in spirals, stone platforms perpetually oscillating, ferrying people and goods up and down the city.
At the end of the trek they have arrived at a golem hanger. Hulking giants of stone stood silently in their hanger slots. Runes and mana circuitry wired on their chest. Some of the larger golems matched Hikari's height and mass.
It was already late at night. Only a handful of sand benders remained on duty. Quiet chatter, scribbling reports, checking the runes on the golems.
The scout master showed Hikari to an empty hanger that was to be her room. The top of her bulky hair brushed against the ceiling as she walked inside.
The room was empty. Filled with nothing but the brownish golden stone surfaces of its walls and the row of lights attached to the right angle where the wall meets the ceiling.
Hikari unloaded her backpack and her swords. She bent down and grabbed the edge of her thick cloak and lifted it off over her head, leaving it in a pile beside the wall.
"Hmp, that's quite the fine armour you got there. I look forward to the endless report I'll be writing on it." the scout master quipped as Hikari began disassembling her boots.
"Now, your Ahem* 'companion' here can take the next hanger." He turned and looked up at Ella. The giant woman was nearly twice his height placing him at her hips.
From his angle, he could see the face of a normal woman. Black hair, pale skin, golden eyes with peculiarly shaped pupils. The scout master, having served with Hikari for years, stood quite comfortably in the presence of giants.
Hikari nodded to Ella who followed the scout master into the neighboring hanger. He raised an eyebrow as the back of Ella's cloak suddenly bulged outwards for a brief moment.
He turned to Hikari and gave her a look. But before he could say anything, Hikari pulled the hanger curtain shut on him.
"Ah. Ahem! Just rest now. We're in hearthstone territory and they are quite friendly with us. Your support detail will arrive within the hour." The scout master's muffled voice came from outside the curtain.
Hikari disassembled her boot, the pieces floating off and piling up against the wall.
As her barefoot touched the stone ground, a surge of energy rushed into her. She felt a link forming between herself and the superstructure.
It speaks to her. Feeding her images of all of the surroundings. She could see the bard standing at the side of the street, plucking away at his ukulele several floors up from where she was.
She could sense the scout master making his way back halfway along the route they came.
In the next room, Ella had removed her cloak and spread her wings, curling up with her tail touching her nose.
"I'll study this tomorrow" Hikari was exhausted.
She placed her hands on either side of her and relaxed. The wyvern scales on her body ringed in synchrony. Piece by piece, they peeled off into a swarm of tiny pieces, filling the air in the hanger bay like snow flakes.
With a wave of her hand, the scales gathered in a ball formation before being gently glided into a pile.
All that was left was the black salamander skin, covering her body from her neck down to just below her knee caps. She remembered how Ria had mentioned how pricey it was.
It was worth every coin. Throughout the campaign, the salamander skin kept her body temperature in check, absorbed her sweat and cushioned her joints, allowing her to keep herself healthy out in the field.
She looked around the room again. It wasn't exactly empty. There was a rectangular bump in the ground and a drainage grating at the end of the room. Her connection with the stone allows her to see a water tank installed in the wall.
'Golem wash bay. Open gate water.' words etched into the stone reads.
She stepped into the area, there was indeed a compartment in the wall with a pipe whose opening was just over her head.
Just as she lifted arm in an attempt to manipulate the mechanisms, it moved on its own. Warm water flowed out of the pipe and splashed onto her hair, flowing down her body.
"Ahhh…" She let out a relaxed gasp.
Just before the warm water flows into the drain, she telekinetically lifts up all of the warm water suspended in mid air. Using the water she gathered, she engulfed herself in a whirling cocoon of warmth.
She couldn't remember the last time she had a warm shower. In fact, she might have never had a warm shower once she grew beyond a certain size. It was curious that she would receive one while away from the RazenHeir estate but she was enjoying herself too much to question where the warm water might have come from.
The water had started to go cold before she finally allowed it to drain.
She was clean. But she was soaked from head to toe with tiny water droplets with no towel prepared for her. There was no bedding either.
Feeling exhausted, she lay down on the cold stone ground and fell asleep instantly.
It was quiet.
Badum. Badum. Her heart gradually slowed as she relaxed, falling deeper and deeper into her subconscious.
"Hikari…" A man's voice.
It was faint and muffled, as though hearing it from underwater.
Boom… Boom… a booming sound from afar.
"Wake up…" Hikari felt a gentle nudge on her arm.
She opened her eyes. As her blurred vision came into focus, a man's face came into view, shaven perhaps a day ago.
"Gerald?" she whispered sleepily.
"Yes, your 'ladyship'. Your humble servant Gerald greets you. Would you like a warm cup of tea? I'm sure the abyssal creatures would very patiently wait until you have had it."
Hikari sat straight up. She was in full leather armour, covering her from the neck down to the top of her boots. Despite being rigid, it was quite warm and cozy inside the suit. She could feel her feet being wrapped in a clean pair of thick boot socks.
"Oof" another man grunted as he lifted a huge rectangular metal contraption that spanned the length of his arm plus his torso onto a counter.
"Time is short, you're gonna have to learn how to use this baby on the fly." Gerald walked over to the table, giving the curious metal block a knock with his knuckles.
"The orcs?"
"Huh? Your 'ladyship' must have slept too long. That's a completely different front. Do you miss it already? Ha! I too miss that roast we had at the end of our last job."
Hikari walked over to the table. As she studied the contraption, she realized that it was a cannon of sorts. She could sense the runes and mana circuitry embedded into the interior.
"How do I use this?"
The armsmaster behind the counter gave her a confused look.
"You should have already been trained with the mana form back at the depot. Has it worn off already?"
Hikari grabbed the handle and lifted up the cannon. It actually felt heavy even for her. The center of weight was in front of the handle support point which strained her wrist as she aimed it.
"It's not loaded, do your drills before you leave."
Hikari aimed the cannon up at the ceiling of the tent. The mana circuitry within the cannon responded to her will. A sudden sharp movement in the cannon accompanied by a deafening sound as the internal chamber cocked itself.
"Good, let's hope the bugger doesn't jam this time."
Thud! The armsmaster dumped another rectangular object onto the counter. He panted as he finally relieved himself of bulky weight.
It was a rack of cannon balls arrayed in two rows with thick straps attached that were long enough to wrap itself around Hikari's waist. A compartment below stores cartridges filled with gunpowder.
"In case you forgot, you load the shots from the top and the cartridges from the side. Good luck."
Hikari nodded and strapped on the ammo pack.
"Hey!" A half-open ration pack flew towards Hikari. She caught it with her hand and pushed its content down her throat. It was dry and hard to swallow, but she did anyway.
Gerald stood at the tent opening. He wore several pieces of plate armour. A smaller version of Hikari's cannon strapped onto his back. A revolver and a sword on his belt.
He took out a mask and strapped it around the back of his head. Once he was satisfied with his gear, he grabbed a larger mask and held it up to Hikari with both hands.
"I know you're immune to the smog, but better safe than not."
Hikari strapped on the mask. Another man brought her her sword, wobbling as he carried the long chunk of steel that was almost his height.
"Alright, let's move!" Gerald left the tent. Several more men in cloaks followed him, green crests nailed to their chest armour.
Lowering her head, Hikari emerged from the tent into a hellscape. A red mist filled the air, emerging from a chasm. The ledge was mere metres away from them.
On the other side, swarms of insectile creatures slithered up vines made of a coagulated thick red substance. A cannon shot exploded right in the middle of them, knocking off a patch of the swarmers only for more to take their place.
"Move! Don't stare at that!" Gerald took the lead. The men in the masks and cloak followed.
They trudged through the rocky surface. Ten men, five front five back with Hikari in the center.
The red mist surrounds them though not thick enough to obstruct their vision. The stone itself had stains of eerie red.
Gerald stopped before a ledge and held up his left fist. The troops halted, getting down on one knee, Hikari doing the same.
Gerald turned to Hikari, flicking his fingers to beckon her. Hikari shuffled along the ground.
As she peered over the ledge, a continuous swarm of abyssal creatures slithered under them. Their grey carapaces, red tentacles slithering out of their mouths.
"Psh. Look up, over there." Gerald whispered. Hikari turned her eyes in the direction he was pointing.
A yellowish pulsating tumour growing out of the blooded goo stuck on the cliff face.
It seemed small in the distance, but Hikari could feel its pulse from where she was.
"You think you can make the shot?"
Hikari paused. It was quite the distance. Far enough for even a cannon ball to lose its straight trajectory.
She mustered up her cannon and pressed the butt against her left beast. It felt as though she had rehearsed this a hundred times.
She took a deep breath and held it. Badum. Badum. Her heartbeat slowed.
A violent recoil as the cannon cocked, the steel ball flew straight at the tumour, splattering its yellow insides onto the cliff side.
The screeching sound of the swarm below.
"That's it! Time to run!" Gerald got up and began jogging in the opposite direction. The troops followed.
As they ran, screeching sounds followed them. The skittering of hundreds of legs along the stone surface.
They approached a bridge. The sentries posts on either side had been claimed by the red vines.
Uniforms of soldiers still recognizable, their muskets leaned silently against the wall.
A group of skittering abyssal beasts was gaining on them.
"Over the bridge!" Gerald ordered.
Hikari's senses tingled. She suddenly dashed well ahead of the group onto the bridge. Abyssal creatures appeared out of the chasm on either side of her, their tentacles squirming hungrily as they sensed her beating heart.
They lunged. But while their bulky bodies were airborne, they made easy targets for Hikari's sword.
Bang! Bang! The sound of musket fire behind her, the sound of steel drilling into gory flesh.
"Reload on the move!" Gerald barked.
Hikari drew her cannon and aimed at a spot down into the chasm. To the eye, there was nothing but stone and vines. But she sensed something.
Without hesitation, she fired. A splatter of juices squirting out of the smashed stone. The red vines allowing the abyssal creatures to climb up receded. The bridge was clear.
Bang! Bang! The troop behind her stopped for another volley at their pursuers. The first man had stepped onto the bridge.
A pack of abyssal creatures appeared on the other side. Hikari dashed forward to meet them, her sword in her hand.
The nightmarish creatures could slowly catch up to a running man before devouring them with their tentacles. But they were sitting ducks as Hikari ducked to their flanks, piercing the flesh between their armour plates.
The area was cleared. Hikari turned to see her companions running across the bridge.
Then, she sensed something. Something big.
"No"
The ground rumbled. She began running towards them.
A mass of vines shot up from below the ground, throwing the men into the air.
Hikari could only watch as the tentacles rip them from limb to limb, their insides splattering onto the massive flesh, coalescing into it moments later.
They were gone.