Tunnel Rat Chapter 392

The statue simply stood where it was, unmoving and not speaking further. Milo examined it carefully, sure this was the statue he'd seen standing in the water fountain. He stepped closer to it and said, "Is that the name of this city? Finditurpetram?"

The statue looked down at him, its carefully sculpted head moving, the rough stone body staying still. Even the eyelids and face of the statue moved realistically, "Bring forth the Heir to Finditurpetram." Nothing else Milo said could get an answer from it. He looked at Sledgemonkey. "Your turn."

The Chief Engineer strode forward. "Greetings. I am the Chief Engineer of the Deep Rock Engineering Guild. I think we used to trade with this city. I may even have been here a time or two, but I lost a lot of my early memories during the centuries of isolation."

The statue inclined its head. "And greetings to you, Chief Engineer. In ages past, your people were valuable allies of the King and people of Finditurpetram. But you must pardon me; I must speak with the Heir of Finditurpetram. If you know of the Heir, please convey my need for instruction."

Sledgemonkey nodded, "I'll get right on that." He stepped over to the Engineers. "This reminds me of Boomboom finding out he was engaged and hadn't known it. Does anyone of you have a dented crown in their pocket or an unfinished quest to claim a kingdom? Strange tatoos you were born with?"

Peenhammer stepped forward, "I've got a beauty of a tattoo on my left butt cheek, no idea how it got there. Maybe I should show it off?"

Several Engineers laughed or cringed. Peenhammer might not remember how he got the tattoo a week before after trying to outdrink three Scavengers from the Orca, but they did. Sledgemonkey shrugged, "Go ahead and say hello; can't hurt. But keep your trousers up!"

A disappointed Peenhammer walked up to the statue and said, "Greetings. I hear you are looking for me." The statue didn't blink or say a word. Sledgemonkey looked at the Engineers, "Let's solve this logically. Line up by seniority and walk up one by one until we eliminate everyone." One by one, the dwarves marched forward, bowing or waving, without any reaction from the stone statue. The last two in line were Vari and Shiftstick. The statue ignored Vari and focused its eyes on Shiftstick.

"Greetings. I am called Carver. The blood of Clan Shadowforge runs in your veins."

The newest Engineer looked up at the statue, and his stomach did flipflops. "I'm not in my clan anymore. They disowned me. I'm an Engineer now, and happy."

"Blood is Heritage. Heritage is blood. I am bound to this place until my tasks are complete.

Bury the dead, that they will be remembered.
Keep the City in good repair, so it is ready when the clans come to reclaim it.
Create Order from Chaos so that corruption does not spread.
Seek out the Heir to Finditurpetram, that the city may live again.

I have labored for centuries, and my tasks are nearly done. I was summoned and bound by Arnak Stoneshield as he lay dying.
I have worked untiring through the centuries, doing as he ordered to earn my freedom. And now I am weary, so very weary. Only a few tasks remain.
The Heir must take up his duties.
The nineteen must be buried.
The Chimera must be slain.
Then I may rest."

Slipstick looked the statue in the eyes, seeing its despair and hope. "I don't know if I can do all of that, but I'll give it a try."

The statue knelt, "I acknowledge you as the Heir to Finditurpetram. Your crown lays in the throne room where the Chimera lairs. The bones of the last king and his royal guard are there as well. I cannot face the Chimera to claim their bones so that I may bury them. In all other things, I will aid you so that I may rest."

"Damn, sounds like I'll need some help with that." The Engineers laughed, and Sledgemonkey brought up a transluscent screen. "Adding some things to the job board. We've got three full crews here, most of us packing a lot of firepower. But we need more info on what the hell happened. Did this Chimera thing kill everyone?"

Carver said nothing. Milo approached Shiftstick. "Maybe you should appoint a governing board? Or call it a group of Royal Advisors? And ask Carver to talk to us."

"Good idea. Thanks. I'm a little rusty on my 'How to rule a city' lessons. Shit, this should have been Burnock, he'd know just what to do."

Milo shrugged, "But he's not here, and you are." From what Milo remembered of Burnock Shadowforge, he was much happier that it was Shiftstick. The young Engineer might think he had a checkered past, but he'd worked hard and was trusted by the rest of the Deep Rock Engineers. And Milo had seen him risk his life in battle, which he didn't remember the older cousin doing at all.

Shiftstick turned to the statue. "I want you to talk to my advisors when they ask questions. Can you do that?"

"Of course. Name them, please."

Shifty looked out over the three score people in the room, pointing to them. "Senior Engineers Sledgemonkey, Two-Screws, and Milo." He looked at Milo. "Anyone else?"

"Yes, Master Craftsman Clawhammer, Master of Caravans Brutus, and Master Healer Gendifur."

Carver seemed puzzled, "The ratkin are not allies, and I am confused how a ratkin is also a dwarven engineer."

Sledgemonkey chuckled, "Yeah, we're still confused about that too. But if there's a big fight coming up, I advise Slipstick to offer an alliance to Limburger Hollow. We can work on the details once the critter is dead."

Brutus smiled. "Sounds good to me. Fight first, talk second."
Rosie and Buttercup began to jump up and down.
Buttercup yelled, "Fight! Fight! Brave Guards are ready!"
Rosie agreed, but pointed out a key point, "Big battles aren't like a patrol. We need ribbons on our helmets. Big battles are colorful and special."
"Lots of ribbons."
They ran to their Mama, who sighed and pulled out a box of ribbons from the caravan wagon and began to turn them into large bows for their helmets.

Shiftstick pointed to the ratkin of the Hollow, "We have an alliance, and I'm taking those three as advisors. Does that work for you?"

"It does. It is good to have allies."

"It is. Now tell us what we are up against and what happened to the city."

"As you wish...The tale begins long ago, in the Halls of the Mountain Lord...
He ruled the first great city of the dwarves, Fjyrk Baor, created near the beginning of time. Its people were mighty warriors and craftsmen, creating a paradise in the depths and always pushing outward. As the city expanded, their scouts went upwards, seeking confirmation of the outside world, hoping to make new discoveries and find new creatures to trade with or battle. Over time, many other cities were founded, but I know little of them. Fjyrk Baor endured, a wonder for the ages, but the Mountain Lord grew bored, even after the surface world was discovered and great alliances were forged with seven other cities whose power rivalled the first city. It was the craftsmen of Fjyrk Baor who created the Crystal Seer Stones that allowed the rulers of the Wheel of Eight to communicate and the intricate gateways that allowed limited travel between their realms.

But a ninth stone was carved from the primordial crystal vein, and from this last stone, a more powerful artifact was created. With it, the Mountain Lord could see into hidden places of this world and even beyond. He observed many strange beings, but only one talked back to him. This was the beginning of the madness, as the Lord of the Mountain welcomed the thoughts of an entity of the outer darkness. He demanded that his name and heritage be stricken from all books and carvings, proclaiming his new title of the All-Seeing Sage of Many Eyes. The more he peered into the secrets of the world, the more erratic he became. Strange creatures were welcome at his court, and his advisors were sent away or into the deep prisons. One of the strange visitors from the outer darkness let loose a corruption in the city that could not be eradicated. Things became worse and worse as the city slipped into madness.

From somewhere, great creatures attacked the city. Beings of metal and fire, cleansing the city of corruption, but also killing living things they encountered. The Mountain Lord and his new allies countered with primal spells not unleashed since the dawn of the world. The earth shook, caverns collapsed, and huge chasms divided the underworld.
Seven of the outer clans took their people and fled upward, using one of the largest cracks to escape. They traveled for years, stopping at times for weeks, as the scouts found new routes. Finally, they emerged in the cavern that would become the throne room of a new city. This city. Finditurpetram, meaning 'Cracked Stone' in the old tongue. A new king was elected, and the way down was filled with rubble, but they left the last bit of the chasm unfilled, a reminder of where they came from. Thousands of years passed, and all was well. Artistry and trade flourished, and if corruption was found in any cavern, it was purged with fire.

The end came suddenly. The earth shook again, and caverns and tunnels collapsed. The city was spared, but only for a day. The crack in the throne room opened wider, spewing fire and noxious gasses into the city. Most died immediately unless wearing the heavy protection of the King's Guard or artisans who worked in the hottest of forges. My creator, Arnak Stoneshield, was one of those, and he told me this tale to pass on to others. As the remaining citizens worked to seal the crack, the fumes subsided, but a greater threat emerged. One of the terrors that had attacked the first city had followed. It crawled on many legs from the chasm, with sharp jaws that cut warriors in half, breath of fire, and gleaming eyes that conquered all. Arnak fled to this forge room and summoned my spirit to inhabit this stone shell, having only time to carve his likeness on my face. I have worked ever since to fulfill my duties. I look forward to resting."

Shiftstick whistled, "Oh boy. That does not sound good. So what does this Chimera look like?"

"It is different. Always different. A Chimera."

Brutus scratched his head. "Like the thing in the legends that Mulpheracles slew? Lion, Dragon, and Goat heads?"

"Different. Heads, tails, legs. Different. A Chimera. I have seen it seven times as it hunted, and I stayed still with water cascading over me. Always different."

Milo thought of the snake and other creatures they'd fought. "Is part of it shiny metal?"

"Yes."

"And is part of it corrupted and rusty?"

"Yes."

"And parts are made from other creatures?"

"Yes. I have said that. A Chimera."

"That name fits; one meaning of the word is a creature made of other creatures. The creatures we fought, especially the snake, were like that. Is that why you call it a Chimera?"

"It is what Arnak called it. When you see it, you will understand it better."

Slipstick took a deep breath. "Not sure I'm wanting to see it, but I supposed someone has to do the job."

Sledgemonkey slapped him on the back, "That's the spirit. But we treat this like any other job. Talk it over, assemble the right tools, and then blow things up. I want an assessment of how much firepower we have with us and who doesn't have a good, long-range weapon. No sense getting too close to it."

Brutus looked over to where the girls looked like they were ready to run into the fight this moment. He turned to Milo, "You'll have to excuse me. I need to take the girls aside for a story and some hot milk. We're going to talk about big, scary noises and why you don't want to be on the wrong end of a dwarven rocket launcher."

Milo heartily agreed with this idea and wished he had time for a snack. But the more he heard of this thing, the less happy he was. He needed to get to work on converting a drilling rig to a laser cannon.