Chương 9: 5B. Call Of The Abyss

"How did a Cambridge scholar end up a scavenger?" The boss asked.

"The Seekers should've found you."

"Sammy here was named as one of the parties responsible when the Fall of Cambridge began," the hooded woman said.

"It was all bullshit and political, of course. They needed a scapegoat when things started to fall apart, and it was easiest to point fingers at his department. I imagine faking death and disappearing was easier and safer."

"What she said." Sam nodded.

"My studies focused on essences, spirits, and awakening seeds. I suppose to the people it was adjacent enough to beast studies. The perpetrators ran experiments and bred creatures. A few even tried to keep a live Inhuman for research and experimentation. They didn't even bother with a proper stasis, as you have.

"Meanwhile, I focused on the more magical elements, namely spirits, their origins, domains, and whatnot. So, when things started going wrong, and the responsible parties were the first to die, they had to pin it all on someone, and my department became their focus." He rolled his shoulder.

"For the record, I didn't exactly have to fake my death. It was easy to disappear in a sea of injured, almost dead refugees. The Inhuman almost ripped my arm off, and the healers had to cut off my clothes to fix it. Without the uniform, I looked no different from the service staff and students."

"We made assumptions, and you didn't come forward to correct us," the hooded woman stated.

"And you didn't try to make something of yourself?" The boss's questions persisted.

"After the plateau fell, everyone was claiming to be a Cambridge scholar," Sam answered, struggling not to show his discomfort. He disliked reminiscing.

"Some of them were, but didn't have anything exciting or useful to offer. Even the groundskeepers and housekeeping staff had stolen uniforms and were making claims. I tried desperately to find a sponsor, but failed. At one point, I hoped to be employed by one of the big organizations or families as their in-house research scholar. That obviously never happened. The jobs at the academies were the best I could hope for as an unawakened."

"We who chanced upon or earned talents early are spoiled," the hooded woman said.

"Don't you say that often, boss?" She finally lowered her hood covering and mask. Her face was familiar and hadn't aged a day since Sam last saw it, except now a pair of pale, parallel, almost white scars ran across her right eye, starting just above the eyebrow and stopping at the cheekbone.

"Do you recognize me now, Sammy?" His eyes widened.

"Iris?" Sam's first instinct was to hug her, but he stopped himself.

"You're alive." Iris smiled.

"We never ended up getting that drink, did we?"

"Challenging when everyone is blaming you for everything going wrong in Cambridge." Sam shrugged, trying his best not to let bitterness mar the reunion.

"They blocked me from getting my awakening seed, claiming I had something to do with the Inhuman regaining power and doing what it did. I was more concerned about clearing my name. Not to sound callous. I was eager for the date until everything started going wrong."

"I could've helped if you were honest with me, you know," Iris said, flashing him an apologetic smile. The scar only added to the fiery aura Sam remembered. She hadn't aged a day since the last time he saw her. He guessed she had earned her seed not long before the fall, or encountered something that awakened her talent during it, slowing down her aging and starting on her path to immortality.

"Perhaps provided an alibi."

"So the thing with the essences wasn't just luck," Fred stated.

"You knew what you were doing." This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

"A little, I suppose," Sam replied.

"I might not have an awakened's ether sense, but I know how to feel for the necessary stimuli."

"Useful."

"Iris, how come you didn't get roped into Sam's mess?" the boss asked.

"I was in the year below him and still in general studies. The fall hit a couple of days after I submitted the forms declaring my specialization." Iris flashed Sam a little smile. Her eyes wandered to a nearby roof. He almost jumped out of his skin on spotting the horse-sized bird watching them. Its beak was crooked and as long as Sam's arm, and it had three eyes on either side of its head.

"You convinced me to go into Essence and Spirit Studies."

"Fascinating stuff," Fred said.

"If no one is opposed to it, let's return to the task at hand. Any objections?" He checked with the others.

"Good. Anyway. As Seekers, our job is to investigate anomalies. Often it's just an unusual spirit interacting with and changing its environment, but sometimes, on rare occasions, it's more.

"A party saw buildings dismantling and rearranging themselves on Level Three, reasonably close to one of our inter-floor paths," Fred continued.

"When they tried to get close, a swarm of snakes attacked them. They had to ditch their bags when fleeing, and the beasts went straight for all the essence they had gathered."

"That's not regular behavior." Sam frowned.

"It's not?" Sophie interjected.

"Beasts will prioritize live prey and the flesh of awakened over essences," Sam clarified.

"Spirit activity, perhaps?"

"That's what we're going to find out. Things are likely to get chaotic as these anomalies often attract Inhumans. So, you need to know what we can do. If things get hairy or you see something, it's vital you know who to alert or hide behind." Fred tapped the buckler strapped to his left arm.

"My talent makes me shit with offensive techniques and spells, but you'll struggle to find a better four-star defender. And my domain involves earth and weight control. In a typical party, I'd be the vanguard."

"Weight control?" Sophie asked.

"That's a gravity domain, right?"

"No."

"Mage," the boss said. She had yet to share her name.

"My talent allows me to store spells in crystalline structures." She held out her hand, and a sphere of boiling, luminous water manifested, floating above her palm. It rapidly evaporated, releasing a cloud of steam into the air.

"My primary spirits' domains include water and light."

"Rearguard." Iris threw up a hand. Her eyes remained focused on the giant bird tracking their movements.

"Don't come after me, no matter how bleak my situation appears. The more hurt I inflict, the faster I heal. Spirit domains include blood, wind, and impaling."

"Impaling?" Sophie raised an eyebrow. Much like Fred, Iris didn't elaborate. Sam was sure they had left much unsaid, but in Sam's experience, it was more information than any ascended usually shared. It instilled trust and suggested they were different. He knew Iris and had heard of the Seekers. However, a tiny nagging voice also told him not to let his guard down. The trio might also plan to use the pair as bait, meat shields, or tools.

He had heard enough horror stories from other scavengers and had experienced one himself. The Iris that Sam remembered was a wonderful girl whom he loved to talk to. They used to discuss everything, ranging from their studies and theories to their dreams of the future. It had taken several weeks of self-affirmation to find the courage to ask her out. A lot had happened since. The world had ended a second time for them. They had both lost people, and she was also probably betrayed by people she trusted.

Iris had also spent several years as an ascended, fought monsters, and maybe even killed people. She was a different person now, and he couldn't be sure whether she'd sacrifice him for her mission. The few friends, more like acquaintances, that Sam had called him paranoid. He didn't care. Paranoia had kept him alive since the Fall of Cambridge. In his experience, people were just as dangerous as the monsters that walked the world outside of the safe havens.

The fact of the matter was, the Seekers' offer felt too good to be true. However, their need for his knowledge and expertise somewhat calmed Sam's concerns. He was sure that since their last meeting, Iris had picked up more practical knowledge about spirits than he ever learned as a scholar. Theory had little use in the field.