220: Underground Negotiations

Vir fell silent, a torrent of thoughts running amok within his mind. He’d just managed to push aside Saunak’s revelation when the thaumaturge sprang this dilemma upon him.

He began deliberating the merits and drawbacks of each option, but immediately stopped.

This is wrong. He wants me to think these are my only options! This, too, is a trap.

Vir didn’t know if he could believe Saunak. He didn’t yet trust the thaumaturge, despite his gestures of good faith, recalibrating the device and shedding light on Vir’s past. Certainly not enough to subject himself to the demon’s experiments.

What if something went wrong? What if Saunak crippled him?

The same went for Shan. If he didn’t trust himself to the mad thaumaturge, there was no way he was about to subject the Ashfire Wolf to Saunak’s mad schemes.

There has to be another way. A third option…

Vir yearned for Cirayus’ advice, but the demon had gone suddenly silent, and Vir was sure Saunak had muted him again to prevent him from doing exactly that.

What can I do that would get us out of this? Vir thought desperately. No. I need to think in terms of what Saunak wants.

Things like money and fame didn’t drive someone like Saunak… Not that Vir had any to give. No, Saunak craved information. New and exciting challenges.

What do I have that would… Wait!

A smile formed on Vir’s face. He did have something, didn’t he?

“I can’t accept those choices, Saunak, and you know it. Would you subject yourself or those close to you to someone you’ve only just met?”

“Yes?”

Vir did his best not to roll his eyes. “Well, most people wouldn’t. But I can offer you something else. Something you might find interesting.”

In fact, he had a few somethings. There was the communication orb Maiya had given him. He ruled that out almost instantly. It likely wasn’t complex enough to interest Saunak, and even if it was, that orb was his only hope of communicating with Maiya. He couldn’t risk jeopardizing that. If he had to compare it to his Artifact chakram, he’d place it above in importance.

In fact, he wanted nothing more than to get Cirayus to try it out—to see if he could reach Maiya. He’d attempted to do so a dozen times during their time in the Ash, but had never once met with success. He could only pray the results would be different in the Demon Realm. He couldn’t risk having Saunak tinker with it until he was sure it wouldn’t work.

The Artifact chakram was an option. Vir doubted Saunak could do much to damage the weapon given its Imperium construction, and he’d be stupid to even try, given its lethality.

That said, he had something even more interesting that Vir suspected Saunak would salivate over.

“Would you like to know what the Mahādi Realm is like?” Vir asked. “I bet you won’t meet very many people who’ve been there and survived.”

Vir had been going for dramatic effect, but even having expected Saunak’s reaction, he was left surprised. He’d thought the thaumaturge would scoff, refusing to believe his tale. It sounded like a lie—most wouldn’t believe him.

Instead, Saunak simply turned to the nearby wall.

“Is that true, Cirayus?”

There was a short pause before Cirayus’ voice came through. Vir could hear the suspicion in his voice, but the giant had thankfully understood enough to play along. “Aye. Vir has been there. Saw him fall through the Ash Gate myself.”

Saunak turned back to Vir, and in his eyes was a deep hunger. It was accompanied by an unhinged grin, and suddenly Vir wondered if he’d made a horrible mistake.

“Boy? You have yourself a deal,” Saunak said. “Tell me everything.”

— —

Vir spent the next five hours talking himself hoarse, narrating his tale, and pausing only to sip on some water that Saunak’s automatons had brought him. He had to steel himself when describing Ashani and how she’d sacrificed herself to help him. The mere memory of her threw his emotions into chaos.

He'd used  the opportunity to ask Saunak if he knew a way to the Mahadi Realm, but to his dismay, the thaumaturge did not, apart from stumbling across stable Ash Gates that led there. He'd been sorely tempted to ask Saunak to research possible methods, but he didn't know the demon nearly well enough to ask. Perhaps with time, once their relationship had progressed, it might become an option.

All the more reason to get him on our side, Vir thought.

Standing soon became tiresome, so the two of them had taken seats on the floor. While Vir had negotiated for Cirayus for chime in, the giant hadn’t said a word the whole time. Perhaps he felt he had nothing to add. Or perhaps he’d been too absorbed in Vir’s tale.

Saunak devoured Vir’s information, activating a recording tablet that captured his words for later playback.

Unlike Cirayus, the thaumaturge was anything but quiet. He peppered Vir every minute for clarifications and further questions, sometimes asking about the tiniest detail, like the composition of the Imperium’s doors and the texture of their lamp posts. Vir could almost feel the gears in Saunak’s mind, grinding away at the mysteries of the ancient race.

“What you say is most intriguing. The structures you mention bear passing resemblance to the Imperium workings I’m familiar with, but the level of advancement is incomparable. These preservation inscriptions are especially interesting. To have survived the cataclysmic events that led to the demise of the Gods… They must be quite the magnificent working.”

“What do you think triggered the explosion?” Vir asked, hoping Saunak might have some clues. With his formidable intellect, Saunak might very well have new insights that Vir had missed. For Vir, the mystery of the Imperium’s end was far greater than any of their workings.

Sadly, Saunak only shrugged. “I don’t have nearly enough information to comment on that. Anything I say would be nothing more than mere supposition. But we can assume a few things, I think.”

Vir raised a brow, waiting for the thaumaturge to continue.

“For one,” Saunak raised a finger, “whatever happened was both sudden and unexpected. In a society where information flows so freely, secrets do not last long, barring exceptional circumstances. I’m unsure how differently the Imperium’s minds, but from what you say in your interactions with Goddess Ashani, they sound quite similar to us.”

“I don’t follow…” Vir said. “What does that have to do with the explosion?”

“It matters a great deal, boy,” Saunak said. “If their physiology is similar, there is a decent chance they think similarly to us. And if that’s accurate, we can predict their behavior to a degree. Difficult to predict the actions of a deranged madman, but a normal person? Far simpler.”

Vir wondered if Saunak grasped the irony of those words. Doubt it.

“In this case, we can assume that the destruction of their entire people is distinctly not something a majority, or even a large minority of people would have desired.”

“Well, sure,” Vir thought. Saunak’s point felt like common sense, but the demon was right. It was only ‘common’ sense if Ashani’s people reasoned similarly to humans and demons.

“We cannot know if this explosion was intentional or accidental. But if it was done intentionally, we are likely looking at the actions of one bad actor, or perhaps a handful at most. Either that, or an external force antagonistic to the Imperium and strong enough to end them. Though, if there ever was such a cosmic force… I certainly haven’t heard of them.”

Even as he said that, though, his eyes landed on the Ink of Clarity.

Vir’s brows furrowed. The idea of someone even stronger than the gods sent shivers down his spine, and he found his heart beating faster. Then again, the Ink of Clarity was unlike anything he’d seen in Mahadi. Its design and its capabilities were just far too different from most Imperium construction.

Relax, Vir, he told himself. Saunak just said there’s no evidence of such an entity, right? You’re overthinking this. Besides, none of that matters right now.

“Well? Are you satisfied?” Vir asked, eager to escape the thaumaturge’s clutches.

“Hmm? Oh,” Saunak said as he paced. “Yes. Yes, very well. A pity I won’t have the chance to experiment on you, but well, there will be more opportunities in the future, I’m certain.”

Opportunities, huh? Vir wondered, breathing easier. From the beginning, he’d hoped Saunak might prove to be a powerful ally rather than a bitter enemy. That he’d just successfully negotiated with Saunak proved the demon wasn’t as deranged as Cirayus believed.

Saunak operated on his own set of priorities, and now that Vir was aware of them, he thought he understood what made the thaumaturge tick.

“Good,” Vir said. “Then I’ll be leaving with Cirayus now. I trust there won’t be any issues?”

“Hmm? Oh! Er, right,” Saunak replied distractedly. “Of course. One moment. Wait! Promise me you’ll restrain Cirayus.”

Vir rolled his eyes. “Cirayus?”

“Aye, lad. I won’t harm him.”

Vir could almost hear the not until we’re safe that Cirayus was surely thinking.

The thaumaturge played his fingers over a floating image that popped up over his arm, and the wall separating Cirayus from them disappeared.

The giant immediately bounded to Vir’s side, giving him a once-over before shooting a gaze of pure loathing to Saunak.

The thaumaturge raised his hands and shrugged, smiling wryly.

“Don’t,” Vir said quietly. Too softly for Saunak to hear. “We have a deal.”

“Lad, you think you’ve entered into a bargain, but I know Saunak. He will take everything he can get, promises or not.”

Vir narrowed his eyes. “He just needs to let us out of here…”

“Even so, he’ll pull something. Mark my words. Remain vigilant.”

Vir didn’t want to believe his guardian. If Saunak allowed them all to leave, then it’d prove that leveraging his intellect was a future possibility. But if he did betray them…

“You follow from behind,” Vir whispered. “I’ll stay up front. That way, we’ll have him surrounded if he tries anything. He’s weak on his own.”

Cirayus nodded, and Vir saw a hint of approval in his expression.

“Well then,” Saunak said, dusting off his white coat without a care in the world. “Follow me, if you please?”

Cirayus and Vir complied, with Vir staying in front as they’d agreed. Saunak summoned no automatons—they had the demon surrounded. Vir was sure that if Cirayus wanted, he could break Saunak’s neck in a single second.

It was why Vir stepped into the elevator with Saunak confident that nothing would happen.

The capsule rose rapidly, ascending up the tower. Brightly lit subterranean rooms blurred by, before all went dark and they were surrounded by rocks. Then the central atrium appeared, falling away below them as the elevator gained height.

Despite it being his third time riding the lift, Vir couldn’t help but gawk at the amazing sight. The tower was so immense—so… grand. Once again, a pang of regret and nostalgia hit him like an Ash’va. Judging by its automatons and architecture, this tower was likely ancient, even by Imperium standards. Despite this, it was far beyond anything humans had ever achieved.

Or would likely ever achieve… Vir thought bitterly. The Imperium’s downfall—and the loss of their knowledge—wasn’t just a shame. To Vir, it was a crime.

The atrium disappeared as they ascended through storage floors before passing by more labs until finally coming to a stop at their residential floor.

Vir stepped out, keeping Saunak in the middle, while Cirayus brought up the rear. Thus far, the thaumaturge had taken no action, nor did any of his movement felt even slightly suspicious.

Even after they entered Cirayus’ quarters, where he picked up his oversized backpack, Saunak had done nothing. As they neared his quarters, Vir grew increasingly confident that the giant had simply been paranoid.

Vir approached his door, which dematerialized in front of him, and stepped through.

Instead of a single pair of eyes staring back, as he’d expected, there were ten, and none of them belonged to his wolf.

Vir whirled, katar in hand.

Damn you to the Ash, Saunak!