Chương 27: 194. No Retreat

The open air of the city ruffled Alex's cloak, contrasting with the arid environment. Artificial light sources hung around the city, making the moonlit area glow bright enough to remind him of a night in the city. The mounted dais that hung suspended over the arena was the same sort of VIP box he'd seen in movies of Roman gladiators. Robert's frustration at the small figure seen in its shadows confirmed Kinley was in attendance for the fight below.

Several other normal humanoid figures sat or stood around him, along with the broader figures of the Koru'qai.

"Droq'shan, separate before we go below," Shael'quir said as their path drew them closer to the arena. Alex kept his head low while trying to take in as much as possible of their surroundings. They had moved from the middle layers of the city to the sections meant to allow seated viewing of the arena below. There were many Koru'qai in attendance, watching the fight below with a stoicism that didn't fit with Alex's perception of a spectator sport.

It was eerie to move through the "crowd" and not have people cheering and jeering like at a football game. On the opposite side of the arena, adjacent to where Kinley and his close party sat, was a section of humans in attendance. Most wore the same black and red uniform as the guards they'd seen below. They were rowdy and watched the fight with a blood-thirst Alex expected.

As the group descended the stairs to the railing that started the drop into the arena, Droq'shan split away from the group without further conversation. Robert's head turned to track the creature's movements before turning back down to play the part of a miner. They soon reached the base of the stands, giving Alex a clear look at the arena and those fighting below. It was a circular space, depressed roughly thirty meters below where he stood, leaving steep walls on all sides.

There were several pillars within, all made of the same stone that the city appeared to be carved from. The only exception was the large square pillar in the center of the arena. It was made of something a shade darker that matched the reddish-brown sand of the arena floor. A single woman stood alone against three hound-like creatures in the arena. She held a spear and a shield, constantly repositioning herself, her head tracking each of the creatures as they tried to circle around her.

Her spear was steady and had been bloodied in a previous exchange. She moved with confidence in her skill, and judging by the level of the creatures he'd seen so far, Alex had a feeling she'd win if her level was close to the peak of E Rank. Before he could scan her, Luis nudged him and tilted his head toward the group. Shael'quir had continued to lead the group to the right.

They were moving in single file and were just taking a second right onto a second set of stairs that doubled back to an area under the stands of the arena. Nodding to Luis, Alex moved swiftly to catch up with the group. No one seemed to pay attention to them as they descended the narrower set of stairs and arrived in a damp and large open space that curved in both directions, forming a ring that outlined the arena.

"Why did you send Droq'shan away?" Robert asked once they were away from the majority of people above.

"Rumors spread quickly. You are known here, and your absence was noticed. Four days gone is too much." Robert cursed under his breath in response.

"We can't stay here then. Why have you brought us to the galleries?" Aisha seemed to tense at the question, and Luis calmly turned and looked behind them as they walked.

"There is a hollow vein where others wait. Must travel to the Kiy't section. You three are too recognizable, so must hide like slaves."

"I see. So to get us to the other side, you had to bring us through here."

"Mmm, risky— but the only way. Come." The group grew quiet once more as they passed into another section of the lower floors, into a hallway that connected to several doorless rooms. It took considerable effort not to peer into each as they passed, only picking up on the snippets of sights or sounds he could. It wasn't until they passed to the other end of the corridor and into another open section, like where they'd first entered, that he saw more humans. More captives. Many, many more captives.

His blood began to boil when he saw the real scope of what was happening in the Rift. Unlike the first section they'd entered, this one was split down the middle lengthwise by a floor-to-ceiling metal grate. It acted as a divider from the hallway section they passed through and the holding area beyond. There, dozens of half-dressed men and women moved, talked, and ate. None of them were bound, but they were all dressed in little more than undergarments.

They were covered in dirt and sweat as if it had been days since they'd bathed. Some of them joked with each other; others ate in silence, staring at their platters with empty eyes at the wooden tables. Scanning a few of them, they all showed normal, modern names and System readouts. He had no doubt that these were the missing people he'd been searching for. All of them showed signs of combat experience.

They moved with athletic grace and confidence, sported scars from battle, and had the telltale enhanced physiques that came with awakening. Spread throughout the area were many of Kinley's men watching with careful attention. Most were positioned within the holding area at strategic points, giving them a clear line of sight over the entire area, but a few stood near the entrances in the hallway as well. A level of tension Alex had rarely experienced filled him as they walked past a pair.

They were in a confined space without much recourse if they were discovered. His mind ran rapidly through a series of scenarios and how they could get out of their current predicament if things went south. With care, he and the clones all formed spell circles with the mana thinning technique to hold prepared in case of an emergency. Though the need to use them never occurred.

The two men standing at the holding area door gave Shael'quir a nod as they passed and didn't give the group carrying pickaxes a second glance. They crossed to the far end of the segment and into another corridor that continued to curve to the left. Their Koru'qai guide took an unexpected turn into one of the open rooms in this hallway before ushering them to the far wall. Seated on a stool against the far wall was a Koru'qai who stared blankly at them.

Shael'quir stopped and knelt next to them for a moment, taking the time to grasp their large hand. Its head slowly turned to its hand as Shael'quir moved it to their throat and began to hum a low tune. The seated Koru'qai closed their eyes and seemed ancient. As Alex inspected them closer, he saw that much of the muscle he'd seen on Shael'quir and Droq'shan was shrunken on this creature. Leaning its head back, eyes closed, bubbled scarring on the side of its head could be seen. Shit…

"These are the deafened?" Warrior asked, catching sight of the same scarring on each side of the Koru'qai's head. It felt like an awkwardly long moment considering the rushing and hiding they'd been doing moments before. As the tune finished, Shael'quir stood slowly and moved to a large piece of furniture nearby, and began to push at it. Robert moved to her aid, knowing what she was looking for as she pushed a heavy dresser out of the way. While they worked, Alex noted the tools and items in the room.

There were various collars and metal designs that looked like cattle brands. His mind struggled to adapt and grasp at everything that was happening around him, even with his enhanced mind. In less than a day, he'd gone from a modern American city, crossed through a tribal jungle, and had entered some Roman twist on a tribal desert city where humans were keeping other humans as slaves and mutilating the native populace.

It made him feel sick to his stomach and created a juxtaposition in his head that boggled the mind. The crude implements that surrounded him, the heat, the dirty floor, and the rank smell felt like he had stepped into an episode of Spartacus. The difference was, he knew the stakes were all too real. Doing one more circle to observe the room and cruel tools of Kinley and his men, Alex squashed his emotions and the churning thoughts in his head.

His Willpower pressed down hard on the more irrational parts of his mind and focused solely on his goal. He'd entered to gain more power for himself and to gather more information. Robert had said that Kinley wouldn't hand over the item without a fight, and the more he saw, the more Alex hoped the older man was right. Aisha hissed as the wall stone shifted with a scrape after Shael'quir pressed a concealed button.

The noise made them all freeze for a heartbeat before they quickly filed into the narrow tunnel beyond. Aisha watched the doorway as the others entered the tight space, then pulled the stone closed behind them. The group descended into the darkness of the tunnel, dropping several more feet before turning sharply to the left and back into a curve in their original direction.

Light soon seeped into the tunnel, which had head height, and Alex realized it was a grated section of the arena where he could still see the fight taking place. It was an odd angle, with the grate being angled likely at the base of the arena wall, just above the level of the sand, giving him a strange ground-level view of the fight. The woman still stood against her foes, though one beast lay dead a short distance away.

It left her facing off against two of the deadly-looking dogs, though even at a glance, he could tell she was exhausted. She bled from her shoulder and a leg, her shield drooping lower and lower by the second. He did his best to watch the scuffle as they moved through the dark space. He was almost thankful when Shael'quir motioned for them to stop.

"I will check the exit. Stay." The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Glancing at the group ahead, Alex saw that all of their eyes were fixed on the fight. The next clash would decide the woman's fate, and it was hard to watch and not do something to aid her. The idea of casting a spell briefly flashed through his mind, but with his emotions suppressed, the clear idiocy of the plan quickly became apparent.

He was forced to watch as the first hound leapt at her and was impaled on her spear. Its momentum and weight carried it forward and cracked the spear in her hands. She quickly discarded the wooden shaft, completely unfazed by the loss of her weapon, and switched to holding the reinforced wooden round shield with both hands. She braced herself just in time to intercept the second beast as it lunged for her neck. She tumbled backward, but curled under the shield as she did so.

Rolling up onto her shoulders, she extended her legs under the shield at the same time, causing a springboard effect that sent the hound yelping and flipping over its head into the sand behind her. A skill was used that moved the human in a blur, flipping backward, and when she settled, she stood over the dazed beast. Viciously, she brought the metal edge of the shield down on the monster's head several times. She stood panting, bloody, covered in sand and sweat.

After a long moment of silence, she held up both arms and yelled in triumph at the stands around her. It was then that the Koru'qai in the stands came alive. They cheered, clapped, and celebrated her victory. With their overwhelming numbers, the sound of their humming chant quickly took over the smaller section of Kinley's men in the stands. A small smile was creeping onto Alex's face until he noticed an odd movement of mana within the arena.

It took him a moment to realize that the blood from the hounds was shifting, and mana was seeping from their bodies as if pulled on a current. It streamed toward the square pillar in the center of the arena, spiraling around it in a pattern before disappearing completely. Whatever magic was at play was powerful, and Alex had no idea how to analyze what was happening in the pillar, though it intrigued the inquisitive part of his mind.

He watched it in fascination, his eyes only pulled away when the crowd abruptly ceased the chanting cheer. Whatever had happened out of his limited field of view had caused them to almost all instantly go quiet, like a conductor slicing his hands at the end of an orchestra's set. The only thing to be heard was a set of low drums that had begun playing a steady beat.

"He wants silence," Robert whispered.

"Good. Fucker is probably pissed," Aisha said with a feral grin.

"We move. Come." Shael'quir's whispered voice came from the end of the tunnel a short distance away. With relief clear on their faces, Robert, Luis, and Aisha all moved to ascend the tunnel and out into a different tunnel. This section of the indoor area looked nicer than where they'd entered, and Robert made a big deal about staying inconspicuous.

"If you see a guard, keep your head down. Look at your feet the entire time. Even if they speak to you, just answer how you can and keep your head down." Alex raised an eyebrow, but just bobbed his head while adjusting the cowl to hide more of his face. The group walked at a clipped pace through the section of the building and soon emerged through another side exit, this time emerging in a space that operated as a kitchen. Many Koru'qai bustled about, working on separate tasks at stone ovens and wooden countertops.

Most surfaces were covered, and various herbs hung from lines running along the ceiling. The smell of spice hung thick in the air, and Shael'quir moved the group through the back room quickly, speaking in a clipped tone as they passed. An angry Koru'qai repeatedly gestured at the group of six pickaxe-carrying figures before slapping the dough board in front of them with force. Less than a minute later, they were exiting a back door and onto a craggy section of the outer city.

Looking up at the high walls of the arena and stands made Alex feel small, marveling at its construction. Many questions filled him, and he let a few of them escape as he heard a collective sigh from Robert's group upon exiting the arena.

"What was the magic with the blood after the fight? The crowd went quiet after the fight… that was Kinley, right?" They continued to move, following behind the stocky figure of the Koru'qai through an area that was almost deserted. Sounds resumed from within the arena, and they could hear the bustling of the city overhead, but they seemed to travel through a network of connected alleyways, far from the normal flow of traffic.

Robert answered his question, falling back and switching positions in line with Luis to be closer to Alex.

"That's the skill or trait that makes Kinley so strong. Whenever someone or something dies in the arena, he gains a bit of their power. On the surface, he seems weak. His level is lower than mine. But his stats… his stats are inhuman. It's not even comparable. With the cleanse around the corner, he'll likely join in the fights, since he loves the blood bath that sees his power grow."

"Shit, seriously? I haven't even heard of something like that." Alex wondered almost immediately how his stats would stack up against Kinley's.

"And your other question, about what made the crowd go quiet, that was likely the item you're looking for. The Cadence Stone is an item of importance to the Koru'qai and symbolizes the power of the chief. Kinley takes it with him and uses it as a signal during ticket fights. He holds it in the air to cue the drums you heard, which quiets the crowd since it breaks their rhythm."

The tunnels and route they took seemed to mirror the path that had brought them into the city in the first place, though there were several noticeable differences. The main one being that the traffic to this section of the mining operation seemed to be all but deserted. There was no abandoned equipment waiting to be picked up when the next shift resumed; most pulleys and temporary structures appeared to be rotting and forgotten.

"Where are we going?" Alex asked, taking in the expanding cavern around them.

"A hollow vein. It's a space in the mines that the Koru'qai normally stay away from. Whatever minerals are there interfere with the rhythm they naturally sense and use for magic."

"Why there? Actually, more importantly, why are the Koru'qai taking this kind of subjugation from outsiders like Kinley? There are hundreds of them, and only a few dozen of the humans. Even if they are out leveled, they have to be able to out number them, right?"

"Mmm," Shael'quir's humming rumble could be heard as she listened to his question, though when she didn't answer, Robert did.

"The answer is actually the same for both of your questions. A long time ago, Kinley had some of his men create a huge magical net that covered the entire city. The way that Droq'shan described it to me was his people's greatest work and their greatest tragedy. The Koru were forced to aid some mages who followed Kinley in creating a net that worked off the same resonance that the tribe uses for their magic.

"Originally, it was used to empower them, letting them think they were ushering in an age of prosperity for the tribe. But Kinley had other plans. After he'd challenged and beaten the chief, the Conductor Stones were adjusted, and they now work to actively suppress the entire city. The arena is the only intentional exception in the net. It's at the center, and allows for the Koru'qai to wield their magic at full strength when fighting in the arena, but that's it."

"Wait," Alex said.

"So it works as some sort of anti-magic? You can still use your skills, right?" He'd just been using his mana to prepare spell circles as they moved, and he'd seen mana in the air throughout most of the city.

"It's not an anti-magic. It just targets the rhythms of magic that the Koru use. It allows humans to have a significant power advantage over them. It doesn't completely turn off their magic either, it just suppresses it and apparently makes it feel like pushing a rock through the sand." Robert shrugged, likely repeating information he'd been given.

"So how does that answer my other question? Why are we going back into the mines?"

"I mentioned that the arena was the only intentional exception in the net. There are various veins throughout the mines that are called hollow veins. They are uncomfortable for the Koru to begin with because they mess with their magic. It turns out that they're also gaps in this magical suppression net that Kinley has set up. We used one of those same hollow veins when we entered the mines." Realization dawned on Alex, and what had been bothering him about the explanation so far became clear.

"That's why I didn't see any sort of magical net when we entered. We entered through a section where the net didn't reach?"

"Exactly. It was how my group escaped in the first place."

"Some Koru'qai have decided to brave the hollows rather than follow the false-chief," Shael'quir said.

"Several of the deafened have joined us, as they don't find the same discomfort that most of us do. Most that you will meet here, though, are the desperate and unfortunate."

"Some of them willingly follow Kinley?" Alex asked, somewhat surprised by the inclination. The air grew colder as they continued to descend. The rocky ground beneath their feet lost much of the uniformity it had on the higher levels near the surface.

"Do not think less of my people for their choice. It has always been Koru way to follow the strong. Kinley was once weak. Now he is strong. That shows promise and skill that many seek to follow."

"I see…" Alex said, allowing the conversation to taper off as he processed the information. The rest of their journey passed in silence, and soon they were moving through the tunnels once again, guided only by a rope and the Shael'quir. The only comfort Alex had in the situation was that he could feel the constant pull of the Rift exit in his core, and if worst came to worst, he could abandon any immediate plan and head for the exit to return with reinforcements.

The silence of their travel allowed him to mull over a few different options to move forward and how best to talk with his new allies about them. Before long, they reached the site they were looking for. Steady, bulbed lights lit a tucked-away cave filled with makeshift tents and resting Koru'qai. Many of them perked up as the group entered, tensing at first upon seeing humans but adjusting as they saw Shael'quir and clearly recognized Robert. The greeting was warm, and even some children were present.

They were smaller, cuter, and chubbier versions of the stocky Koru'qai Alex had seen so far, and their desire to jump on Luis made him smile. Especially when several of them accidentally landed on Aisha's toes, causing the woman to turn and curse quietly. Once they were settled, Robert asked the Koru'qai for some space and time to talk with his companions. Their group of six soon sat around a small fire near a wall, a crack in its ceiling pulling the smoke from the cave.

Alex wove a spell circle under their group and pulsed power into it. Everyone tensed, and Aisha even stood back up as the circle flashed into existence for everyone to see.

"It's just a heating spell. It will warm up the area around us," Alex said. Aisha glanced at Robert and back at Alex with a huff. Robert waved her back down to her seat and thanked Alex.

"That's a nice bit of magic. If you can repeat it, some of the others might really appreciate it. A good way to get on their good side early."

"Sure, it's not very mana-intensive to cast. First, I want to talk with you about the next steps. I'm not sure if it was your plan to bring me here, and if it was… then it worked. But I will help you get your people out. Seeing humans from Earth held as slaves and forced to fight for their lives is horrible on so many levels. To know that Kinley is suppressing them and the natives for his own benefit makes my blood boil." He clamped down on his emotions again, reining them in.

"But I need to ask. Are you sure you want to do it this way?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that we made it here without being discovered. There is time for us to get out and come back with an entire army. Or at least my own team and a team of the HA special operations. We don't have to do this with only the four of us."

"Six," Luis corrected him.

"Yeah, you know what I mean," Alex said quickly, keeping his eyes on Robert and willing the man to answer. Robert was already shaking his head.

"We won't go to the hunters. It was made very clear while we were here that they were in with Kinley's men. They would often brag about how they had the government in their pocket and no one was going to stop them from bringing more people in."

"That isn't even considering the cleansing. We have no more time to waste."

"The team that I killed outside said something about the cleansing, and you're mentioning it now… what is it?"

"A year is shorter here, only about 200 days. But twice a year, the sun and moon switch places, changing the seasons in the Rift. It used to be a time of celebration for the tribes, though Kinley has turned it into something of a nightmare," Robert said, clenching his fist in his lap. Aisha picked up the explanation.

"Twice a year, during the season change, he picks around fifty people and puts them into unwinnable fights in the arena. Normally, the people who are starting to get too strong or too much favor."

"Jesus… so he's basically just trying to kill them off? Why? Just so he can get stronger?"

"Yes, and make room to bring in fresh fighters…" The implications of Robert's words hung heavy in the air.

"Just the traveling to the exit and the few hours we spent preparing to come back in wasted precious time," Aisha said. As always, she sounded angry, but this time, Alex could understand her frustration after seeing the state of things.

"Even if you decide to leave and try to return with help, we won't stop you, but we won't join you either. Now is our time to try and free our brothers and sisters." Robert stared at the small fire as he spoke. Alex sighed.

"Well, I just had to check. I'll help you get your people out. Once they're free, I'll focus on killing Kinley. I still want his stone, but I'm starting to want his head more…"

"Damn, don't go all evil villain on us here," Mage said. Shut up. Robert, Aisha, and Luis all looked at him in surprise.

"You'll stay?" Robert asked.

"Of course I'll stay. Jesus, after seeing that? Who would leave?" Alex shook his head and pressed forward.

"What we need to do is make a plan. I know you guys are in a rush, but if Kinley is this strong, then I don't think going in and kicking doors down is our best option. Let's take a day or two, scout things out, and make an actual plan. If we can figure out how to sneak in, set people free, and then strike at Kinley all in a single move, then we might be able to topple this whole thing without a bunch of needless bloodshed."