Chương 26: Gate-dodgers

Jordan and Canyon inched their way into the darkness, nothing to guide them other than their instincts to go forward. The passageway was well and truly cut off from all light. Too dark, in fact, for human eyes to adjust. A simple [Light] in spell form would've been mighty handy here, and that clearly had been the expectation of the original architects. Couldn't blame them for failing to account for a pair of spell-less spellcasters. Strictly speaking, Jordan did possess a light source of sorts.

Namely the tiny speck of mana attached to the bottom of his Vessel. But 135 cc really was just that: a tiny speck of rosy iridescence. With the cauldron turned on its side, it did absolutely nothing. Baby steps, Jordan tried to convince himself. My next overarching goal is to find more sources of mana. I'm sure the army could help with that, one way or another. And before long, this bad boy will be brimming with shiny-pink goodness.

Who needs [Light]—or a working cell phone, for that matter—when your Vessel could be its own torch!

"The smell is awful." Jordan glanced at the patch of darkness that had spoken with Canyon's voice.

"Yeah," he panted in response, still straining with effort as he rolled the cauldron through the homestretch.

"This tunnel must be hundreds of years old. And butting up against the city's sewage systems, judging by the smell."

"No, I meant us." Jordan subconsciously gave himself the sniff test. The result was inconclusive, but that likely had more to do with sensory adaptation than anything. The fact was he'd been soaking in his own sweat for a good week at this point.

"What do you, uh, Stormvasters do to wash up?" A second of silence. Even in the utter absence of visuals, Jordan thought he could see Canyon's raised eyebrows.

"Baths. Showers if available. Why, is it very different with you, uh, Westerners?" A clear note of sarcasm accompanied Canyon's version of'uh'. Whatever nonsense Jordan had been selling about his origin story, his companion had bought none of it. Putting that aside, however, he was absolutely floored by her latest revelation.

"You guys have showers here? Well, now that I think about it, we almost had this exact conversation earlier in the cabin, didn't we? You have the, uh, technology for it?" But he realized his misconception even as he voiced it.

"We have the magic for it, yes. Though it's somewhat mana-intensive, so you'll normally only see it in public bathhouses where the proprietor can charge a pretty copper for the service. They might also have showers in the city barracks, though I suppose you'll find that out soon enough."

"People pay to take showers instead of baths? But baths are so much nicer, though!"

"… Would you want to share a bath with someone like m— ahem! —with someone in our current state?" Jordan nearly tripped over his cauldron. He too let out a loud cough, even though he had nothing in his throat to clear. He knew what Canyon had meant, of course. A perfectly reasonable observation about the shower's hygienic advantages over the bath. What had nearly come out instead had been but an innocent slip of the tongue. Nothing to get worked up about.

Even so, the pair fell into silence, both (thankfully) unable to see the expression on the other. At least in this instance, the darkness was a blessing in disguise. Crazy how weirdly'modern' this Stormvast is, though, Jordan mused by way of distracting himself. You have showers, password-protected automatic doors, and even something like cloud storage, if I understood [Transmit Ink] correctly. What's next, motorcycles? Jordan found himself excited to see Featherift City in its full glory.

To experience and learn more about this strange yet strangely familiar world. A new day. Sunlight and all that it would reveal and… … wash away.

"I never did ask you," Jordan broke the silence, though rather quietly at that.

"Why were you headed for this city, anyway?" More silence. Long enough for Jordan to wonder if Canyon had chosen not to answer. But then…

"I've been chasing a lead on a story. Featherift City just so happens to be the next stop where I expect to gather some clues." This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. Fair enough. A Chronicler's answer, through and through. Jordan had no reason to pry any more than he already had… … or did he?

"You think, uh, you might be here for a while?"

"… A vague question that deserves a vague answer. Or perhaps none at all. Why do you ask?"

"Oh, you know, I just thought…" What? What did he think? That Canyon might wait for him while he fulfilled his blood-sealed pledge to the Imperial Army? So that they could what, go on a merry globe-trotting adventure together? Just the two of them, clicking their heels and holding hands. Just Jordan and this cold, aloof, snobbish, enigmatic, raven-haired, porcelain-faced, fire-eyed, angel-voiced, kind, smart, brave, and maddening Chronicler whom he'd only met all of six days ago.

Strength DC 30: failure Zhurong:"By Naraka, quit your prattling! If that's what you want, then why the hell not?" Why the hell not? Jordan could think of so many why-the-hell-nots it wasn't even worth getting into. He instead swerved into a conversational U-turn like his life depended on it.

"Oh, you know," he said with as much airiness as he could muster, "I just thought… in case Foxhill turns up one day, looking for his horsehead fiddle. Would suck to have a missed connection, right? After all the trouble we've been through, Foxhill especially." The darkness went still for but one moment. Then the darkness let out a soft chuckle. One of tender amusement? Or one of relief?

"Never you fret, Jordan Yu. Our Pathfinder's sweetheart is safe in my custody. I'll be sure to get it to him, one way or another." And that was that. The pair completed the rest of their tunnel dive in silence. Said silence was sometimes heavy, mostly companionable. Though both descriptions could just be in Jordan's imagination. The passage ended roughly a quarter-mile from its starting point. The cauldron was the first to bump up against a solid wall—a dead end.

A few minutes of blind patting and fumbling, and Jordan found another suspicious stone block, smoother than all the rest. It didn't ask for a password on the way out. Outside, night had well and truly fallen. Whatever Jordan had imagined of Featherift City's glory, it would have to wait until tomorrow. The pair found themselves at the end of a blind alley, lined on either side by dilapidated wooden buildings. A waxing moon shone high overhead, but that was about the only light source in the vicinity.

They pushed out of the alleyway and into the adjacent street. Jordan's first thought was that they were in a shantytown of sorts, all rotted walls and missing roofs. His next thought was that the place was completely deserted. Perhaps only appropriate as the waystation on a smuggling route. Nothing guided the pair other than their instincts to keep moving. Now that they were officially among civilization, Jordan felt more and more self-conscious about the noise his cauldron made.

Rolling a big chunk of solid bronze wasn't quiet work at the best of times. That went double on a street littered with pebbles and loose pieces of timber. Jordan was just about to call a halt and discuss some alternative plans, when…

"Halt! Who goes there?" Ah, the classic. The four most feared words in the English dictionary… at least when said English speaker was in the middle of a forced stealth segment. Bright lights flooded Jordan's vision as multiple silhouettes rushed in with lanterns raised. After spending such a long time in total darkness, just this was enough to momentarily stun him.

"City guards." Beside him, Canyon whispered the obvious. This was followed by the nine most dreaded words in the Common Speech.

"I'm afraid this is where I must leave you." Jordan should have been ready. If not locked and loaded with a memorable farewell line of his own, then at least prepared to face the inevitable like a functioning adult. Instead, he could only blink and sputter as Canyon grabbed one of his hands in both of hers. Her palms were dry like kindling. Her touch burned like the inside of a furnace.

"Farewell, Jordan Yu. If fate should bring us together again, let it be as our first meeting. Beneath an open sky that calls us to adventure." And just like that, she was gone. Jordan couldn't see where, and judging by the city guards' non-reaction, neither could they. The silhouettes and torches converged on the one man's position, perhaps having deemed a bird in the hand to be worth two in the bush.

Before Jordan knew it, someone had his arms behind his back as another clobbered him in the face with what looked to be a wooden club. Critical hit! JORDAN YU lost: 15 HP. Excessive and totally unnecessary. Especially when Jordan was already willing to cooperate fully. He'd entered the city on schedule and without going into a debt he could never pay off. Now, the only thing left was to find his way to the city barracks. Well, perhaps these arresting officers could be his shortcut to the latter.

Assuming the fellows could first get through their prepared statement, the very first words of which already proved to be a stumbling block.

"G—gatekeeper Jordan Y-Yu." One of the patrolmen stammered as he shoved a lantern in the detainee's face. Up close, Jordan could see the man's faraway look—an NPC struggling to comprehend some wacky new information.

"Under the power invested in me by the Governor of Featherift, I hereby place you under arrest for the crimes of gate-dodging and loitering after curfew. What have you to say for yourself?" Not quite like having his rights read to him, perhaps, but there was a first time for everything. The Jordan of even a week ago would've perhaps shat bricks right about now. But the Jordan of this moment was just so over it. He just wanted to have a good cry in the shower.

"By the power invested in me as a free denizen of Stormvast," Jordan grumbled with as much petulance as he could muster—almost definitely more than was wise, "I demand you take me to see Pyromancer Heron Catchgrain of the Imperial Ranger Regiment. He's the only reason I even had to dodge your stupid gate."