As Athalia crawled onto the mouth of the slide, the burning pain lessened slightly. However, she could still feel intense heat from behind her, and definitely didn't feel safe where she was.
The slide led down to a large clearing. Athalia peered over the edge, raising her eyebrows in interest when she saw a classroom. Beige tiles, building blocks, white boards with erasable markers, and a carpet with four different colors of stripes—red, yellow, blue, and green. The classroom was set up on the floor in the center of a large chamber, and wasn't walled in. A ring of chairs was positioned around the outside of the classroom, all of which were empty.
A classroom in a mine… Why would this be part of the race? It doesn't fit with the theme of the scenario…
In the center of the colorful carpet, a fort of sticks had been erected. Athalia could see the shadows of four children inside, talking to each other in soft voices. The instant her eyes landed on them, their whispers went silent. She wanted to draw her eyes back, but for some reason, she couldn't.
Four shadows twisted as each of the children stretched out their right hand. When their hands met, they blinked out of existence.
Athalia rubbed her eyes. Just a trick of the light? Was someone making shadow puppets?
As she looked around for the source of the illusion, she suddenly realized she was leaning too far forward. She tumbled down the slide, picking up speed quickly and crashing into the floor.
The first thing she noticed when she got up was an obvious cloudy feeling in her head. It was like the stupidity she had felt earlier had increased, and it wasn't from the impact just now.
This mental affliction seems to be getting worse as I descend. Is there some kind of toxic gas down here that's messing with me? I suppose that functions as a time limit of sorts.
She walked closer to the fort of sticks. She peered through the gaps, but didn't find any humans or any other signs that it had been occupied recently.
Looking around the chamber, she saw two large doors on either side and a dark passageway off to her left. She examined the first door, which was covered with a large mural.
A yellow brick road wound through an endless field. Three boys and a girl had their arms linked, walking together into the distance. One boy wore a helmet of tin. Another was clutching a lion's fur wrapped around him. Another wore a pointed hat, with a belt of rope. Clumps of straw stuck out from the bottoms of his pant legs. The girl wore a dark green dress. While her right arm was interlocked with the one to the right of her, her left arm was held behind her back. She was crossing her fingers.
The door didn't have a label or an engraving. There wasn't a doorknob, either…
It can't be opened from this side?
She walked to the next door. Ivory, gold, and marble, floor to ceiling. She had never seen such intricate designs before. It immediately inspired her to add more decorations back home in Alavieska.
Most of the designs were abstract, but there were two large characters in the center of the door, separated by a dash.
M-5
Athalia stared for a long moment.
Back there at that office, it said 'M-4 Caretaker'.
Does M stand for mine? Mine number four caretaker? And this door leads to mine 5? That's a weird way to name things. Why would it be called a different mine, and not just a different section?
She came to the open passage. On the outer wall, a large red arrow had been painted, facing inside. There was a set of tracks on the floor with a minecart placed further down, almost fully concealed in the darkness.
Seeing the red arrow, she thought it was slightly funny. If you're just going to tell me where to go, why even put multiple doors? Either way, I'm not forgetting about these other doors. I'll come back to them later.
With her first step into the tunnel, the temperature dropped immensely before she had even reached the minecart. Her teeth started chattering, and she quickly stepped backward.
I don't know how long that path goes for, but I wouldn't be able to stand more than 30 seconds with that kind of cold! I don't have anything I can use to keep myself warm, either… Damn, this is a weakness of only having one pair of clothes meant for all terrain.
She looked down at her simple brown clothing and thought enviously about Enza's suit. I need an upgrade…
Anyway, there's no reason to try brute-forcing this, even if I could accomplish it. The cold would make my muscles too weak to be effective, which is likely a death sentence—or at the very least, the loss of the game and the prize. Judging by Azarias's clue, I can save Sariel if I win, or at least he thinks there's a chance. I can't act rashly.
Athalia looked over her shoulder at the classroom. Her eyes focused on the carpet, which was very fuzzy.
That might work…
She looked at the fort of sticks. I'd rather not topple this in the process. Wait, I can use that one trick, can't I?
She tiptoed across the cluttered classroom floor, crouched down at the edge of the carpet, and grabbed it with both hands. With a single swift pull, she removed it from under the fort without compromising its structure.
This definitely should be warm enough; It's almost like a winter parka.
With the carpet around her, she tiptoed back out of the classroom. Wrapped in her four-colored cloak, Athalia stepped into the darkness once again. The wave of cold struck her, but the insulation was working, and she reached just before the minecart. Right before it, there was a green line of paint on the ground, marking a short step down to the tracks.
Athalia stepped across the line with her right foot, down a step.
But then it hit the floor, sooner than expected…
Or did the floor hit her foot?
No, 'hit' is wrong. As she had stepped down the single stair, the floor had gone through her foot.
But she was sure there had been nothing blocking her way…
Disoriented, she made circles with her arms and collapsed backward instead of stepping all the way down. The floor wasn't going through her foot anymore.
She was confused for a moment, then figured out what was really going on.
When any part of my body goes below this green marking, it loses feeling. When it's retracted, I gain the feeling back. How does that even work?
She shuddered as she considered the implications.
What if I had fallen forward instead of backward?I would have lost feeling in both feet, leading me to collapse to my knees. Then, my knees would be below the line, and I'd lose feeling there too. After that, I'd fall forward, flat on my face. If I lost feeling in my head, wouldn't I just be paralyzed forever, in the absence of an external force pulling me out?
This is a puzzle, isn't it… But what am I supposed to do if I can't even get started?
She decided there couldn't be any harm in exiting the tunnel and trying the handle of the extravagant door labeled 'M-5'. As she put her full strength into pulling, she felt a tiny budge, but it was only a centimeter or so. She wasn't even close to opening the door.
Why so heavy? Am I supposed to find a tool that can open this? Surely it can't be opened by hand.
Since the other door, the one with the mural, couldn't be opened from this side, Athalia had no choice but to turn her attention back to the dark passageway with the minecart.
Wrapping the fuzzy carpet around herself tightly, she carefully stepped into the tunnel. She crouched down and felt around on the walls and floor, looking for something specific. After a few seconds, she found what she was looking for.
Click
After Athalia flicked a small lever, there was the sound of an engine whirring to life from under the minecart. The wheels started to move almost immediately, and it began to crawl down the tunnel. Athalia opened her eyes in shock.
I didn't think that would make it start moving?! Why would this be engine-powered? I thought the lever was going to disable the barrier, or turn on the lights. If that minecart leaves, and I can't follow it on foot because of the invisible barrier, what happens? Will I have to retreat? No, I can't retreat! Sariel's future is on the line.
She had a sudden burst of inspiration.
She took five steps backward, enough to get a running start. Then, she made a leap of faith into the tunnel, awkwardly flying like a baby bird below the invisible barrier and into the minecart. She didn't have time to prepare for the sensation as her entire body went numb.
After that, all she saw were changing angles and flashing images. She wasn't even sure which way was up, much less where she was headed. Even though she had been scared to begin with, Athalia found herself disappointed that she didn't get to experience the ride. By the speed of the changing images, she could only guess she was traveling downhill very fast.
Maybe I shouldn't be too disappointed, though. I'd definitely get nauseous if I had all my senses right now. There are few things I hate more than being nauseous… Oh, what a detestable feeling it is. People speak of life being cruel, but only in broad ways. There are so many subtleties to life's cruelty.
She had a thought, "I didn't really need to warm myself up if I was going to lose all feeling in my body." had started to appreciate how clear-headed she was feeling without the attachment of all her senses. But then, the minecart slammed into a wall, bringing the ride to an end. Athalia had crossed another invisible barrier and suddenly regained all the feeling in her body. She screamed as she felt the pain of hundreds of fresh bruises. At the same time, that biting cold in the tunnel earlier had come back with a vengeance.
She managed to turn around as she whimpered in pain, looking at the minecart track she had come from. It twisted, curved, and looped at insane angles. The section of 'tunnel' she had just come from was practically vertical.
A seatbelt would've been nice.
She wiggled over the edge of the cart, and her body spilled out onto the ground, bringing another round of pain.
Numbing my senses seems like it was meant to make that ride more bearable. Why ease my suffering just to leave me in pain afterward?
Her pain suddenly became secondary as she heard footsteps from somewhere ahead. She forced herself to her feet and pressed her back to the wall, trying her absolute best to be silent. She took out her blowgun and held it to her lips.
Then, she had another thought and put the blowgun down. The sets of footsteps numbered at least four. Azarias wouldn't just put fodder in her way to waste her time, so Athalia figured she was probably outmatched by this group without seeing them. She also remembered the likely identities of these people—Hymylän villagers, natives of the third stratum. She had no idea what kind of Instruments they might possess. No matter how much she hated them for past events, she had to set it aside right now. She stepped out into the open.
Four men stood in front of her, none of whom reacted in shock when they saw her. They were covered head to toe in dark soot. One of them was holding a power drill. Another was holding an old-fashioned pickaxe. Another held a chisel. The last one held a watering pail with flower designs printed on the side.
The other three were looking at the man holding the drill like they were terrified for their lives. They were barely looking at Athalia.
"Say your name," said the one with the drill.
"Athalia Darwin Bathory…"
As Athalia said her name, she felt a sinking feeling as she realized the voice of the man with the drill was familiar.
"Are you…"
Without waiting for her to finish her sentence, the man with the drill gestured to the man with the watering pail.
A trembling hand showered the face of the man with the drill with water. He closed his eyes and enjoyed the refreshing feeling.
Now that his face was rinsed off, Athalia could be sure. With her improved eyesight, she was already pretty sure, but now she was certain. There could be no mistake about who that was.
"Kismet?? What the hell are you doing here?"