Chương 26: Chapter 25. Into the Burrow

Bruno stopped them in front of the District Seven orphanage. After their encounter with the would-be [Thief], Oscar had enjoyed perhaps the best meal he had ever consumed in his whole life. Or… maybe it was all the stress and fear he'd experienced in such a short amount of time that had enhanced the experience. Regardless, it was nice to feel something positive for a change. That little [Thief] had left his back feeling a bit sore, but the power of food had been enough to make him move past it.

"C'mon, around the back we go. And keep it down, we don't want to wake the children," Bruno called out to them, his voice loud and antithetical to his demands. The back of the orphanage housed a beautiful garden and a small hedge maze. Bruno led the pair into the idyllic maze, and at the center laid a statue of some regular looking man holding a bowl. Two stone benches were placed in front of the statue and aside from flowers, there wasn't much to see.

"Awesome. Cool statue," Gita said, her voice laced with apathy. Bruno rolled his eyes and clicked his tongue.

"Obviously I didn't bring you two here just for this dumb statue. Just watch." Bruno reached out and shook the statues hand. After the fifth shake, a click came from the statue followed by a faint rumbling of the ground as the statue began to shift from its position. As the chunk of stone moved, he saw the beginnings of a hatch come to light.

"Gita, Oscar… welcome to the Burrow. Or, in other words, welcome to my home." Bruno descended down the hatch first. Oscar and Gita couldn't bring themselves to find the desire in discovering what sort of environment sculpted the man that had become Bruno. The only thing the spurred them into the den was the sound of the statue starting to slowly shift back to its original location. Once they had rejoined Bruno at the bottom of the ladder, he gave them a bright smile.

Oscar looked around the place and found himself amazed with the design. It was hard to believe something like this existed down in the earth. Lush plants and fauna decorated the room; vines of ivy draped from pillars, and some moss was visible on some of the cobbled floor. It felt like he had just stepped into a terrarium. None of this changed the fact that he was in a man-made bunker sculpted underneath the ground.

Everything he saw was just an attempt to create an illusion of homeliness, which maybe worked in time, but he couldn't help but feel claustrophobic.

"It's… nice. I'm sure you had a nice childhood growing up in this… coffin."

"Gita, please don't insult my home. There's just no need to be so rude. Although…" Bruno stopped and looked around, "I suppose it is a little cramped here on this first floor. Suppose I can't fault your disappointment. Remember that this is just the beginning. Wait until you see the next floor." He hadn't noticed it before, but in the left corner of the room was a small spiral staircase that led further down.

The stairs fed into a large central chamber that looked like a common room, and featured four different hallways, each in a cardinal direction. The northernmost hallway was the largest, with different treasures and decorations laid on display on the sides of the path.

"Don't touch anything," Bruno warned.

"Plank loathes when people mess with his prized stolen possessions."

"What kind of person is named Plank?" Oscar heard himself ask aloud on accident.

"Why don't you come in and find out?" A harsh voice in the room ahead asked. Oscar heard the same voice repeat his prior question in a mocking tone. It was starting to become clear how Bruno had become so annoying. Neither himself or Gita wanted to be first to meet the voice, so it was up to Bruno to lead the charge.

"Still haven't learned how to welcome new guests, have you?" Bruno said as he stepped into the room.

"Plank… it's been a while; did ya miss your star pupil?" A lone old man stood near an opened window, his back towards the door, eyes locked onto whatever it was that the window revealed. Oscar really couldn't imagine what sort of view a window that was in an underground bunker could provide. The elder turned around and chucked something at Bruno, which was easily caught.

"I have missed my star pupil, yes. It's a shame he was killed three years ago," Plank said.

"Why have you returned, Bruno."

"Oh, come now, Plank. Drop the hostilities. You know why I had to do what I did." Bruno spoke earnestly.

"I wouldn't have returned if I didn't possess a good reason."

"Another foolish mission that your great and secretive Order has prescribed? Spare me. Find shelter elsewhere and take your two sewer rats with you. I have no desire for your antics any longer."

"It's been three years! Come on, Plank…"

"I had hoped in these long, three years that you'd have come to accept the reality of the situation. Perhaps you've grown too old after all and lost the ability to face the truth," Plank said.

"Did you know Kiera still cries herself to sleep most days?" All Oscar and Gita could do was watch the exchange. This had been a conversation three years in the making and left no room for the inputs of two outsiders. The only thing he knew was that this was related to the man that Bruno had killed.

"I haven't come here to make you not hate me," Bruno said wistfully.

"You know I can't hate you, son," Plank said, the edge to his words finally dulled.

"But… I can't love you any longer either." Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.

"I know, and I have long accepted the rift between us would never be fully mended." Bruno's eyes shifted downwards, unable to look at the old man's face any longer.

"Still… I have to ask for your help. You may rightfully curse me, but don't let the hurt I caused bleed onto them…" Plank followed Bruno's gaze and looked harshly at Oscar and Gita.

"Enough with this sad act. Melodrama never fit you, so speak plain what it is that you what from me." The sharpness returned to Plank's words, causing Bruno to look back up.

"You sure? I've developed a knack for the act in my time away. You'd be impressed at my improvisation skills these days," Bruno said as he returned back to his normal demeanor.

"I reckon I could even persuade Romulus to step down and pass me the crown."

"Has he always been so… annoying?" Oscar asked. Plank took a step towards Oscar and just stared at him once more. His eyes still had that youthful eagerness to them that didn't match the rest of his old body that was in a losing war against time. A losing war it might be, but this man clearly wouldn't give in that easily. At least, that was the impression he'd given him so far.

"Oh yes, Bruno has always been Bruno," Plank said, his keen gaze moving over to Gita.

"Which is what makes it all the weirder that he'd suddenly return back home with two fledglings under his wing. The Bruno that I raised would never willingly tether himself with two brats. What makes you both special enough to make him return after all this time?"

"Well, he basically kidnapped Oscar. I'm just along for the ride." Gita said.

"No sense in delaying this little reveal. Hopefully this buys back some trust between us," Bruno said.

"Oscar here has been in contact with the legendary [Scholar] himself, Calus Caloway."" Calus? Don't joke so casually of that tragedy-born man!" Outrage and fear were written upon the elder's face.

"Everyone in the world has either forgotten or moved on, but I've studied the chaos that demon unleashed upon us. Tell me the truth this time or I'll bring the law down on you myself." When no one spoke, Plank uttered what sounded to be a curse. It wasn't a word that Oscar recognized, but it had that same weight behind it.

"Why haven't you killed the boy then? If what you speak is true and he can commune with that monster, then why not slay him? Derek wasn't much older than him, so don't feed me some lies about it being his age," Plank said.

"I've thought about it. That'd be the easy option for sure. But… what if I use Oscar against him instead? Calus has found a way to be able to speak with one person, so what's to say that he won't find someone else once Oscar is dead?" Oscar felt tense listening to these people discuss his right to live in front of him. He also felt he should maybe step in and advocate for himself, but ultimately there was no point. There was nothing he could say that'd persuade them.

Gita had taken a seat at Plank's desk and was watching the ethics debate. Since he felt helpless, he decided to join her and plopped himself down onto an empty spot on top of the desk. They both watched and listened to them speak for awhile until finally the discussion turned to the heart of their visit.

"You want me to just grant you three permission to stay here? The two kids can stay, so long as Oscar controls himself." Plank let out a sigh.

"But if you want to stay, then you're going to have to be honest with me. I have a lot of questions." Bruno flashed a toothy grin and cracked his fingers.

"You sure that old heart of yours can handle the truth?"

"I have faith that this old heart of mine will outlive yours," Plank replied.

"Especially if Kiera catches wind that you're back." Oscar let out a loud yawn, accidentally drawing attention onto him.

"Uh… sorry, didn't mean to interrupt. Continue with your… whatever awkward encounter this is."

Bruno lead them down the south hallway which spilled into a large open communal space. It felt surreal to see just how massive this underground bunker was. Something like this must have taken forever to build. Then again, there was likely to be some [Builder] or [Architect] class that could rapidly complete projects like this. The room they were in was empty despite the number of doors he saw. It was late sure, but even still he thought that there'd be some night owls lurking about.

Bruno had briefly mentioned that tons of people were housed here, all of them working for Plank. That felt like a huge lie right now because of how absolutely pristine this place was. Nothing was out of place, no little pieces of trash on the ground or tables… just a perfectly clean space.

"Does anyone else live here… or are they all just super neat freaks?" Gita asked.

"It isn't too common for the place to be this clean, but it does happen sometimes. There will be periods of an overabundance of jobs… and then there'll be times where not much work comes through. Just the nature of business," Bruno said.

"Wait… just what exactly does Plank and the others do here?" Oscar asked.

"Plank? Well, he mainly just oversees the operation these days. Vetting contracts, employers, and scouting potential new recruits from the orphanage above are his big duties. Back in the day though… Plank used to be this city's most notorious [Thief]."

"Using orphans as fuel for his whole thieving operation seems…"

"Smart," Gita said, cutting off Oscar while he searched for a word opposite of hers.

"Smart? Hmm… I don't think I'd describe it as such," Bruno said with a shake of his head.

"It's nice for them to be apart of a community, and Plank does care about the kids he brings in here… but they are being exposed to a dangerous lifestyle," Bruno shrugged before continuing.

"Although, he saved my life and enabled me to become the brilliant, handsome, intelligent, stunning man that I am today."

"Out of those four…" Oscar started to point out how the last two were synonyms of the others, but he didn't care enough.

"Yeah, thanks Plank."

"Just show me to my room already. I need a break from your stupid ass," Gita said.

"Gita, I want you to know that I will teach you manners even if it's the last thing I do," Bruno said jokingly.

"You can save yourself the time and effort by bringing me along with whoever you find to teach them to you first."

"Rude, but well played." After a bit more of meaningless quips, Bruno found each of them their own vacant room. The rooms weren't that large, but it was more than enough. The walls were bare, and aside from a chest at the feet of the bed, and a small desk, there wasn't much of note. As Oscar threw off his dirty clothes and laid down onto the bed, he felt himself melt into the softness. Then he shot up in alarm and disgust as he remembered how long it had been since he'd showered.

Oscar exited his room to see Bruno still lingering nearby, smoking a cigar.

"Uh… does this place have a shower somewhere?"

"Was wondering which one of you two would be first to ask," Bruno said, releasing a mouthful of smoke out.

"Down the hall, to the left. If you need me for anything else, then fuck off until tomorrow. I'm gonna scope out Plank's armory and see if he's kept anything of mine." He thanked Bruno and left for the showers. He entered the shower and immediately disrobed just to realize… he didn't know how to turn the water on. Weirdly enough, there was a standard looking shower head, but no knob. Attached to the top of the shower head was a stone engraved with strange markings that looked like rain drops.

"Uh… is there an on switch for this thing?" Oscar said to himself. His hands smacked the stone a few times, and on the third hit, warm water gushed out of the shower head. Steam filled the room, and once the water had reached the warmth he preferred, he stepped into the shower. There was no soap, but apparently the waterstone… thing… had magical properties because the grime flowed off his body as if it were nothing.

After enjoying a few more minutes of just letting the stream wash over him, he stepped out and dried himself with a towel that was already in the room. As he dried his hair, he approached the mirror and wiped away the fog. He hadn't seen himself since coming to this world, and he was curious if there were any changes.

"What the fuck?" Oscar cursed and stumbled backwards, hitting the wall. His face looked normal, perhaps a bit more lean, but it was his left shoulder that caused the panic. There was a black spot that had other vein-like stripes emitting out of the edges. The coloration in the veins was a mixture of purple and black. It looked… wrong. It was like a plague that had begun to slowly spread across his body. While he didn't know the exact cause, there was no doubt this was coming from his class.

Perhaps this was the cost of using [Negate]? He'd have to assume that was the source as there wasn't much he could do about it otherwise. Leaving the shower, he scurried back to his room and slammed the door shut. This was just another secret he had to carry. Just how much more could he possibly carry? Soon or later, Bruno was going to discover one of his secrets. Likely the big one about his origins. There was only so much ignorance that he could have before Bruno got truly suspicious.

Oscar's thoughts were a mess of conflicting emotions as he tried to fall asleep. Whatever was going to happen to him, things seemed to be mostly out of his control. He'd just have to find solace in that fact, and do the best he could to survive while still being himself. Then again… he had wanted to change, hadn't he?