Kingdom of Rust Chapter 37 (Patreon)

And we're back!!! I just wanted to thank you all for your patience while I rested and recuperated from the writathon. It was needed. But now we are back to our weekly double posts. Hope you enjoy.

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Getting out and enjoying the festivities had been just the thing everyone needed to relax and put the past few weeks behind us. The smiles on everyone's faces as we walked back home said more than any words could.

I spent the next day studying in the library. There were just so many things I didn’t know and every time I came to this room I learned something new. At the moment I was reading an account of the monarchy that ruled Feteron. That was apparently the name of the kingdom we were in. It was named after the first King, Lucius Feteron. The book listed the dynastic line back over a thousand years. It was baffling to think that one family had been in power since the inception of the Order. It seemed like a curious coincidence but knowing what I knew now, I somehow doubted it. Maybe I would ask Master about it.

Speaking of Master, he had just walked into the library. “Ah, Bakus, good that you’re here.”

“Master… sorry, I mean Mgumba,” It still felt weird for me to call him by his first name.

The man huffed in amusement. “I would have spoken with you sooner but I wanted to give you and the rest of the initiates time to mourn and properly recover from the mission. How are you doing by the way?”

“I’m ok. Matteos’ death didn’t hit me as bad as the others and while the mission was dangerous and I was terrified, it wasn’t so long ago that I was trying to survive the city. I think that helped.”

Master nodded, “And what about the other part?”

I sighed, putting my book down. “I won’t pretend that killing civilians didn’t affect me. And I will likely have nightmares about it for the foreseeable future…but I understand the reason we had to do it, even if I didn’t agree.”

“The choice to take one life to save thousands is never an easy one. I have had to make the same choice on more than one occasion throughout my long life and it never gets easier, as it shouldn’t. If killing becomes routine, you should step away from the act and re-evaluate why. But enough about that. I came to ask how your powers are coming along?”

I flexed my hand into a fist, feeling the newfound strength flowing through my muscles. “I still have the enhanced speed and reflexes. It was like my entire body was remade; better?”

“Yes, it is the same for most Chosen, though it usually happens over years as their energy works its way through their body, repairing damage and enhancing their bones, muscles, etc. Going by what you told me, I’m not surprised that you kept the enhanced physique. You are probably as fast, if not more so now than a Chosen who has had their gift for a decade.”

“Will it just keep improving?” I asked.

Master let out a little chuckle. “No, if it did, I would be a literal god of muscle. You may see a bit more growth in both strength and agility but not a whole lot more. The human body is only capable of so much. What about your reserve of energy? You said it grew during the mission, has it remained in that state?”

I shook my head. Less than a day after we returned, this flame of energy I felt had shrunk by half. It was still over double the size of what it had been before I went on the mission, so that was something. It was like a stomach, if you overate, it would stretch but eventually, it would shrink back down a bit. “It’s a bit over double what I started with, I don’t know if it will continue to shrink away though.”

“There is no easy path to power,” Master stated, “have you mastered those exercises I taught you?”

The exercises he was speaking about were the energy circulation ones. Trying to keep my energy within my body. With my enhanced form, it was easier but I still hadn’t quite gotten it down yet. “It’s frustrating,” I replied, “every time I fail, I have to wait a full day to try again.” A day was better than the week it took my energy to recharge previously but it was still so slow compared with others.

Master patted me on the arm. “You are still young, there is no need to rush this, it will come in time. And I don’t want you going near those cities to try and accelerate your growth.”

I froze, how had he known that was on my mind.

Master smiled knowingly. “When you get to be my age, you become an astute observer of people and few things people do will ever truly come as a surprise. Slow and steady Bakus, this isn’t a race but a marathon.” With one last pat of my arm, Master Mgumba stood back up and walked out of the library.

Master had given me a lot to think about. While the thought of going back to the ancestral cities had occurred to me, I hadn’t truly considered that an option. I didn’t want to brave those cursed cities ever again. Had I truly known before, what I know now, I would have never attempted it in the first place. My foolish pride and overeagerness had nearly gotten me killed. I needed to endeavor to be more educated on the risks.

That was why I was in the library instead of practicing with my blade. For too long I avoided any knowledge that didn’t help me with my goal of becoming a Chosen. Even then, I failed to take advantage of the plethora of information available to me except what was taught by the Masters. Those days were over.

***

Auron couldn’t believe his son had actually stepped foot in the city. Of course, he had kept an eye on the kid from a distance through the drone. There was nothing he could do to help the ignorant youth but somehow his son managed to survive the ordeal and was even rescued from the city outskirts by another. With his job as a father complete, he recalled the drone and began to pack up.

The ancestral bunker had been a recent find of his, most of the technology had failed eons ago but there were a few working things like the drone. There was also an entire room filled with weapons but he didn’t need any of those, besides they weren’t exactly known to weather the test of time well. No, he packed away the scanner he found and a few round orbs labeled pulse grenades. He had an idea of what they did but wasn’t sure if they were operational after so long.

There was a beep and Auron turned toward the dirty monitor. He hissed in annoyance. Six forms were moving toward the bunker entrance he had come in through. He had hoped for more time but he had planned for this eventuality. Auron rushed over to the drone control and set it to destruct. He would deny these men what they saught. With one final look around, he grabbed his bag and jumped down onto the long-unused track that led into the distance.

There was a muffled boom from above as the dust was shaken free of the ceiling. Auron cursed, they should have taken a few more minutes to arrive. He quickly realized his error, they had known he was going to be here, so they had prepared and likely spoofed the camera for as long as they could.

Auron activated the explosive charges, attached to the roof of the tunnel, then engaged his control interface. His eyes glowed red – a red that anyone familiar with the Father’s monsters would recognize – to show he was accessing the controls. He felt his body swell with power as he tore down the tunnel at inhuman speed with only the eerie red glow to mark his passing.

There were a series of loud pops behind him and the ancient tunnel caved in, preventing anyone from following him. He couldn’t let them stop him, he was getting close to an answer.

***

A man in a regal blue and gold outfit strode down the stairs and into the dusty old room, making the six men stand at attention and salute him.

“What happened?” he growled.

Knight Pollinis was the first to speak, “My Lord,” the man bowed. “Our device failed before we made it to the door, giving our target time to escape through an old tunnel. He set some sort of explosive charges making it impossible to follow without clearing the debris first.”

Lord Janus Feteron glared at the Knight. “Is there anything else of value, or did the man steal it all?”

The knight gulped before replying. “There is a weapons locker but other than the metals, there isn’t anything of worth. One of my men is examining a drone station. It seems our target was monitoring someone before he destroyed the drone. We recovered a few images, if you would like to see them?”

Janus waved him off, “figure out who it is and recover them, we might be able to use them as leverage. Get the rest of your men digging out that tunnel. I want to know where it leads and I want that man found. Nobody steals from the Feteron’s and gets away with it, am I clear?”

“At once my Lord,” the Knight gave one last bow before scurrying off to complete his task.

Janus pulled out a silk handkerchief to cover his nose and mouth from the incessant dust in this ruin. He gave the place one last disdainful look before he headed back up the stairs.

Once back outside, he was surprised to see his sister waiting for him. He glanced at her guards with barely hidden mirth. She was far stronger than either of the guards but you wouldn’t know it by looking at the tiny waif of a woman.

“Ah, dear sister, what brings you to this backwater location,” he said with an exaggerated bow. Her guards grumbled at the lack of title but they knew better than to reach for their weapons.

“Rumors, dear brother,” she replied flatly. Her voice carried a hint of menace that caused Janus to smirk.

He offered his hand to help her off her horse and she accepted with grace and aplomb that belied the previous tone of voice she used.

“Walk with me,” Janus said.

The two walked, leaving her guards behind.

When the two were out of earshot, Janus spoke. “So what rumors have gotten you out of Father’s estate?” he knew there were people in his employ that relayed information back to his family but there wasn’t much he could do about that.

“Rumors of an ancestral cache,” she said, clearly glancing back at the hole he had climbed out of only a few minutes before.

“That,” he said, waving toward the hole, “merely a waystation. You are more than welcome to go down yourself and have a look. Although you would ruin your beautiful dress by going in that filthy place.”

She gave him a sidelong glance as they walked hand in hand. One that said she didn’t believe for one moment that it was truly just a waystation. But she couldn’t call him out on it without going down and seeing for herself. Not that it would matter if she did, she would only find a rundown bunker with little more than scrap remaining.

“If the King learns of this, he may not take too kindly to you digging into the past.”

Ah yes, the King, his uncle, Eustis Feteron. As if the man didn’t have people scouring the country looking for sites just like this.

“Oh, I assure you, sister, I didn’t go looking for this place. We were chasing a thief and came upon this location by mere happenstance.”

Her smile turned thin. “Be that as it may, be aware, there are more of the King’s enhanced roaming about lately. It's like they have been riled up by something.”

“Oh,” he replied, keeping the curiosity out of his voice. “Any idea what they are searching for?”

“Not as of yet, and that has me concerned. Whatever it is they are after, they are being extremely tight-lipped about it. Father wants us to keep our heads down until they find what they are looking for and leave again.”

“Yes, well father was always a bit spineless,” Janus replied dismissively. “But perhaps you are right. I think it's time I returned home anyway. My knights can complete the task of hunting down this thief by themselves.”

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This marks the end of the first arc. Let me know what you thought of it. Your comments really do help.