Chapter 144 - Interrogation (Patreon)
Content
Zeke led his the assassin through the tower, taking more than a little pleasure in the manâs obvious surprise. Since being reborn into the new world, Zeke hadnât had a lot of chances to just show off, and he had to admit that it felt good, seeing Carlosâs awestruck expression. The tower itself hadnât changed much over the past few weeks, but the sculptures ringing the ground level had grown more detailed. In addition, a couple more had been added, one depicting their three-week war against the fire ants, and the other showing Zeke bursting out of the amalgamâs throat. The entire party was represented in the carved, spiraling staircase in the center of the ground floor, which was tiled in deep crimson and white.
âWhat is this?â asked Carlos, following along behind Zeke. He ran his hand along the sculptures which made up the staircase. âThis is all of you. Who carved it?â
âThe tower,â Zeke said. âCall it a skill.â
âA skill,â was the manâs muttered echo.
Zeke still wasnât sure what to think of the assassin. Bound and restricted as Carlos was, Zeke didnât think he posed much of a threat. The runes that comprised the collar and shackles suppressed his skills â Zekeâs knowledge of runes told him that much â but they did nothing to restrict his stats. If Zeke found himself so restrained, it would do little to mitigate his ability to fight. Certainly, without [Leech Strike], he would be more vulnerable, but his endurance and vitality were high enough that it would take quite a bit to put him down for good. And in the time that that took, he could wreak all sorts of havoc.
Zeke climbed the stairs, which, after the sculpted base, were entirely unsupported, save by magic, and Carlos followed. Pudge came after, looking as intimidating as he could manage. Certainly, when Zeke looked at his companion, he saw an overgrown teddy bear. So, it was sometimes difficult to remember that when others beheld Pudge, they saw something totally different â a fully grown and extremely powerful dire bear. With Pudge following so closely, Carlos didnât dare tarry.
The staircase spiraled up to the second level, which contained the suite of rooms claimed by Talia. They were almost completely bare, with plenty of open space. Because of the undead girlâs minimalist nature, most of the space had been relegated to common use. Often, despite each level being a self-sustained apartment, complete with a functioning kitchen and all other requisite facilities, the entire group chose to eat meals together on that second level. It was also where they held sparring matches on most nights. Finally, the suite also contained a room they often used for meetings. Thatâs where Zeke led Carlos, only to find that everyone else had already arrived.
âThis is incredible,â Carlos breathed. âThis is all self-contained, right? Iâve never seen technology like this.â
Zeke waved at one of the chairs, saying, âSit down. We have questions.â
âQuestions you should answer truthfully,â Tucker said. He was leaning against one of the walls, tossing a grenade up and down in his hand. Inside the glass globe was a malevolent purple liquid that screamed danger, an overt threat if ever Zeke had seen one. âNobody likes a liar.â
âWe will not hurt you,â said Talia, sitting cross-legged on the floor, her hands in her lap. Her dark hair, which, at some point, had grown green streaks, hung around her head like dark curtain, unbound from her usual braid.
âUnless we have to,â provided Abby. âEven then, weâll be as humane as possible. We arenât monsters.â
Pudge chuffed, reminding everyone of his hulking presence.
âWell, most of us arenât,â amended Abby. âAnd Pudge is more like a mascot. Heâs harmless.â
âUntil he isnât,â Tucker added. âIâve seen him rip a ââ
âEnough,â interrupted Zeke. âCarlos here knows how much danger heâs in, donât you Carlos.â
The bedraggled man looked around at his captors, then sighed, âI do.â
âGood,â Zeke said, sitting on a stump heâd had in his spatial storage for months. It wasnât particularly comfortable; for all its magic, the tower didnât provide furniture, so theyâd had to make do with what they had. âNow, tell me who you are, what youâre doing out here in the desert, and whatâs in that shimmer out there.â
âAnd tell us about the shackles,â added Abby.
âRight. That, too,â Zeke said, his elbows on his knees as he leaned forward.
Carlosâs eyes darted around, giving him the look of a cornered animal â a comparison that wasnât so far from the truth, really. He hung his head and sighed. After a few more seconds, he raised his head and said, âMy name is Carlos Alfaro, and as weâve established, I am a member of the Crystal Spiders. I donât know what kind of dealings youâve had with my guild, but I assure you that, if you help me, itâll all be made right.â
âIâm not worried about your guild,â Zeke lied. In fact, the idea that there might be assassins waiting for him around every corner had haunted his dreams ever since theyâd been attacked on their way north from Beacon. âWeâve dealt with them before, and weâll deal with them again. What I really want to know is what youâre doing out here.â
âIâŠI donât know,â he said. âIâm not even sure where âhereâ is. I can make some guesses, but I was taken in Jariq and moved here while I was unconscious.â
âAnd imprisoned?â asked Abby.
âWho took you?â Talia asked almost at the same time.
âI wasâŠlisten, I know you have some preconceived notions about what the Crystal Spiders are,â Carlos said, glancing from Zeke to Abby, then back at Talia. âAnd outside the of Red Wastes, theyâre probably accurate. But here? In Jariq, weâre not just assassins. We help keep the peace.â
Tucker nodded, saying, âThat tracks. Iâve been to Jariq a few times. Itâs run by gangs like the Spiders.â
âOkay, so letâs assume youâre not a hired killer,â Zeke said. âWhat were you doing when this mysterious âtheyâ took you?â
âItâs no mystery,â Carlos said. âI know exactly who took me. It was the Jaguars. Specifically, a man named Itzli. Maybe youâve heard of him. I donât know.â
âI have,â Tucker said, once again confirming that he was the most worldly of the group. âRegenerating powers. Uses a club. Kind of reminds me of Zeke, actually. If Zeke was a couple centuries old and from a culture that routinely practiced human sacrifice.â
âFantastic,â Zeke muttered. âOkay, this Itzli. You implied that he was part of a group, right? So, are they responsible for the shimmer?â
âIâŠI donât know,â Carlos admitted. âMaybe? Itâs all so confusing. I donât even know how you see that rune formation. To me, itâs justâŠnever mind. Thatâs not important. Whatâs important is that thereâs a keep over there, and below that keep is a series of caverns and caves. I donât know ââ
âItâs always got to be caves,â said Zeke, shaking his head. âWhy does it always have to be caves?â
âAt least itâs familiar territory,â said Abby, flashing a smile in his direction. âAnd you wonât be alone this time.â
âSo, weâve already decided weâre going in?â Tucker asked. âWe donât even know whatâs down there, and ââ
Zeke held up a hand, asking Tucker for silence. Then, he turned back to Carlos, saying, âContinue. Whatâs down there? Why is this keep here? And why do they want to conceal it?â
âNightmares,â Carlos said. âWhen I first woke up, I was interrogated byâŠbyâŠone of the leaders of my guild.â
âCalled it!â Tucker said.
âYou didnât call it,â Abby said, rolling her eyes. âYou just said he was evil.â
âHe is,â Tucker said. âI mean, look at him. Dressed all in black, shackled, and with that tattoo on his chest â how could he be anything but an escaped prisoner, huh? He probably kills babies.â
âI do not kill ââ
âJesus Christ, Tucker â can you please just let me do this?â Zeke sighed âWe need information, and what youâre doing is not helping.â
âFine.â
Zeke motioned for Carlos to continue, and after taking a deep breath, the man said, âFor the record, I donât kill babies. Just wanted that out in the open. I donât kill anybody who doesnât deserve it.â
Zeke nodded, but he couldnât help but wonder who made decisions about who deserved to die. But he knew the answer. The strong got to decide. Everyone else just had to live with their judgment. Even so, he didnât really have much room to talk, did he? So, he didn't say anything about it. Instead, he listened as Carlos continued his explanation. He told of how heâd been captured while investigating a series of disappearances and how heâd escaped captivity, only to find himself stranded behind enemy lines. Over the course of a few days, heâd managed to climb his way out of the caverns and escape the keep, but not without seeing a host of disturbing sights.
âI knew some of the people there,â Carlos said, shaking his head. âBut it wasnât them.â
âWhat do you mean?â asked Zeke.
âI had â have â a friend,â he explained. âHeâs the whole reason I got into this mess. His neighbor went missing, and I was trying to find her. I donât know. Rhoda wasâŠdifferent. In the keep, I mean. Iâd only met her a few times, butâŠwell, she looked different down there. It was like she didnât know me. No â it was like she wasnât even human anymore.â
âWhat are you trying to say?â asked Zeke
âI think thereâs something controlling the people in there,â Carlos said. âI donât know what theyâre trying to do, but those people, they didnât act like people. The ones aboveground are mostly normal, but in those caverns? They move like zombies.â
Talia blinked, which for her, was almost like flinching back from a hot stove, and it wasnât that difficult to see why. The mention of zombies cut far too close to home for her.
âNot like, literal zombies,â Carlos said, oblivious to he reaction. âThe ones over in Farindale Forest, I mean. More likeâŠI donât know. Itâs so hard to explain. It was almost like someone or something else was driving their bodies.â
His eyes flicked to Talia, and he swallowed hard as he made a connection. Zeke said, âTalia isnât one of them. Sheâs one of us. And if you keep looking at her like that, I might start to get angry.â
âAnd I wouldnât like you when youâre angry?â said Carlos.
âSomething like that,â Zeke said. âTaliaâs special, but sheâs notâŠnothing else is driving her. I can guarantee that.â
Some of the tension left Carlosâs body, and he sighed. âFine. Whatever. I can accept that, I guess. But the point is thatâŠI need to figure out whatâs going on. I donât know how close we are to Jariq, but Iâm pretty sure weâre close enough that this is a threat. I have people I care about in the city. So, either kill me and get it over with, or release me so I can figure out how to get these shackles off. When I do, Iâm going back in there and ââ
âThe shackles? Thatâs easy,â Zeke said. He reached out, touching one of the manacles. In seconds, heâd identified the glyphs that bound the underlying runes together. He severed them and was rewarded with the telltale clink of the metal bindings falling to the tiled floor. He did the same to the other manacles, then repeated the process with the collar around Carlosâs neck. âThere. All better, right?â
âW-what? How did youâŠâ
âThose bindings were based on a really crude set of runes,â Zeke said. âTheyâre actually kind of genius, though. They donât actually block your skills. Instead, they redirect the mana you would normally use to activate them. That mana is then used to reinforce the bindings. After a few daysâ rest, someone with enough mana could have overloaded them, though. So, I think they were only ever meant to be temporary. Genius design, but horrible implementation. Like a masterpiece drawn in crayon. By someone with no fine motor skills."
He picked up the length of chain which was attached to one of the shackles, then casually pulled it apart. The links broke without much protest. âBrittle, though,â he said. âReally brittle.â
Rubbing his wrists, Carlos said, âThey usually use normal chains and extra shackles with anyone they think has a high strength stat.â
âAh. Makes sense,â Zeke said.
âT-thank you,â was Carlosâs response. âWhy help me, though?â
Abby stepped in, saying, âBecause we made a mistake last time we were dealing with the Spiders. We let a girl die. And youâve done nothing to hurt us. It wouldnât have been right to just kill you.â
âBut we will,â Tucker said, still tossing his glass globe up and down. âOne wrong movie, and Iâll toss this at you. You donât want that. Unless you want to melt from the inside out.â He shrugged. âTo each his own, I guess, but I wouldnât recommend it.â
âStop it,â Abby said. âWeâre going to need his help.â
âNot the way I see it,â Tucker said. âI say we just blow everything up. Iâve got these grenades â special combination of force and fire â that I can brew pretty quickly. Iâve even got enough ingredients for at least a hundred of them. We zip in, plant the grenades, then get out. Zeke can toss one of those exploding rocks at one we leave exposed. Itâll go boom, which will start a chain reaction and bring the whole place down. Easy peasy.â
âWhat about the people inside?â asked Abby.
âI have friends in there!â Carlos half-shouted. He started to spring from his chair, but before he could move, Talia was standing over him, a glistening, green claw hovering only inches from his throat. All around them, shadows deepened, elongating into spikes.
âStop!â Zeke bellowed. Everyone turned to look at him. âJust stop. Weâre not going to kill anyone until we know what weâre dealing with.â Then, he cast a glare at Carlos, saying, âIf you keep building that skill, itâs not going to end well for you.â He held up his hand, spacing his thumb and forefinger only an inch apart, adding, âIâm this close to letting Talia do whatever she wants with you. This close. So, for your own good, let that skill go.â
After a tense moment, the shadows retreated. Carlos muttered, âSorry. Iâm already on edge, and I canât just let those people die. Not unlessâŠnot unless itâs the only way.â
âWeâre on the same page, then,â Zeke stated. Then, he ran his hand through his hair. âOkay, so we need to investigate. We need to figure out whatâs going on. If those people can be saved, we save them. If notâŠwell, weâll cross that bridge when we get there.â He looked at Carlos, asking, âIs that acceptable to you?â
Carlos nodded. âItâll have to be,â he said. Then, he sighed. âIâm being unfair. Youâve treated me better than I could have expected. Thank you.â
âYouâre welcome,â Zeke said. He turned to Talia, saying, âCan you show him to the bathroom so he can get cleaned up?â
Talia nodded, and then, without a word, turned and walked from the room. Zeke nodded in her direction, saying, âBetter follow her or she might resort to dragging you.â
Carlos leapt to the task, leaving Zeke and his other friends alone in the room. Once he was sure they wouldnât be overheard, Zeke said, âTucker â make those bombs. One way or another, that keep is going down. I hope we can help the people inside, butâŠâ
âBut if what Carlos says is true, and those people are being controlled, we have to cut it off,â Abby supplied. âI think weâre all in agreement."
âYou had me at âblow everything up,ââ said Tucker.
âNobody said that,â Zeke stated.
Tucker shrugged. âThatâs what I heard,â he said. âI can have about twenty of them ready in the next couple of hours. More if we wait until morning.â
âGet to it, then,â said Zeke.
Tucker didnât waste any time, instead heading back to the stairs to climb to his suite of rooms. There, he had a full alchemy workstation; it wasnât as well-stocked as his tower had been back on Micayneâs estate, but according to the alchemist himself, it was still elaborate enough that it would be the envy of any other alchemist.
âI donât trust that guy,â Zeke said once Tucker was gone.
âTucker? Or the new guy?â Abby asked.
âEither?â he said, shrugging. âI mean, Tuckerâs loyal, at least. But CarlosâŠheâs a Spider. Do you really think we can trust him?â
âI donât know,â Abby admitted. âBut we canât go through life thinking the worst of everyone we meet. Thatâs just a recipe for unhappiness.â
Zeke didnât say anything for a few seconds, but then he stepped closer to Abby and wrapped her in his arms. âSo long as we have each other, I donât think we have to worry about unhappiness.â