Arc the Lad: Twilight of the Spirits

The Endeavor, Part II

Sulfas awaited Ziekbeck and I in a grim state. We walked along the ruined highways, some still lucky enough to be recognizable. We passed trucks, other vehicles, none of which we could recognize. The ones that still had paint on them were a dull red, and they were all very military in style.

It did not bode well.

“Lots of military trucks,” Ziekbeck commented beside me. I glanced at him, and then back at the trucks. Some of the cabs still had human skeletons in them. We hadn’t yet seen any Deimos.

“Yeah,” I said. “Not familiar, though.”

He shook his head. “Still a heck of a lot more than I remembered. Something bad happened around here.”

We continued along the roads until Sulfas winked into view in the distance. There was nothing alive in our path, not even plants. We were literally surrounded by death. It was depressing, and it didn’t help answer my questions. From what we could see, Sulfas was now nothing more than a trash heap, much like the Parenz Ruins. I wasn’t sure whether or not I wanted to find out why.

Another hour’s walking brought us to the ruined little city. The metal ground was the only part of the place that hadn’t changed. Everything else was gone. Nothing I remembered was left standing. There was no sign of anyone, not even the ex-General Spencer. All that remained of his hideout and the bar that led to it was a heap of concrete and sediment.

But that wasn’t what caught my eye.

Ziekbeck said it for me. “It was occupied. Martial law.”

I nodded. The same red army trucks that we’d seen on the highway were parked at the entrance, and there were remains of roadblocks throughout the wide streets and among the city. I remembered Kharg telling me about the Dilzweld occupation of Sulfas, and this sight certainly seemed reminiscent.

The only difference being that nothing was alive.

Ziekbeck stepped daintily around a charred skeleton, glancing around. “There’s nothing left here, Diekbeck. What can we do?”

I looked once more around myself, and then at the sky. “The volcano…” I said quietly, watching a huge column of thick smoke rising from its crater. It wasn’t ordinary smoke, though. It was a bright green colour, nearly matching that of the sky. “Maybe something at the volcano can tell us what happened.”

He inclined his torso, the Ultra-Mech equivalent of a nod. “Yeah. I don’t like the looks of it.”

We turned back toward the city’s entrance. It looked even worse from the inside out. We headed back across the town, from the old rebel hideout. It was really eerie, being in the midst of what had once been such a bustling little city.

We passed what had been the weapon parts and accessories shop, and I crouched down and picked up a very old can of sapphire coating. I looked it over. “It’s still intact,” I said. “That’s odd.” I then passed it to Ziekbeck, who sprayed a liberal amount of it onto his wrist-blades.

“Thanks,” he said. “These things haven’t been used in… I don’t even remember the last time I had to use them. Back in the Squad days, I guess.”

I nodded. “Feel out of practice?”

“No,” he said. “I could never forget how to use these.” He slashed them around a few times, helping to dry the coating he’d applied.

“Good,” I replied. “You might have to.”

We once again headed for the exit. I kept an eye open for other items of value. Part of my mind was tempted to look for spirit stones, but then I remembered that there was no longer anything to use them for.

Then I glanced at another truck, and stopped dead. Ziekbeck bumped headlong into me, and stumbled back. “What is it? Diekbeck?”

I pointed. The rubble of one of the military trucks was nearby, and the name on this one was still intact. It read, “Dilzweld Army.”

“The Dilzweld…” I said quietly. “That’s what must have happened.”

Ziekbeck looked. “You think they came back?”

“I think they did more than that. From the looks of it, they took over. I think…” I paused. “I think they’re responsible for all this.”

“But…” He looked uneasy. “I thought you told me Darkham was…”

“He was,” I said. “I was there when he died. I think someone else came to power in the Dilzweld Empire.” I looked around myself. “When I first reactivated, I did a quick analysis of the ground. It was radioactive.”

“Radioactive?” he repeated. “How is that possible? There hasn’t been any hint of radiation since…” He paused. “The Ultra-Mech days…”

“Exactly. History’s beginning to repeat itself.” I looked back toward the town’s entrance. “If I’m right, we’re already too late. The technological advances that our people made back in the Squad days look like they’ve come back. Last time, the world barely managed to heal itself. This time…” I looked at the sky. “This time, I don’t know if it can.”

He shook his head. “We can’t accept that. There’s got to be some way to change things.”

I started walking again. “Then let’s go to the volcano. I still feel like we’re missing a piece of the puzzle.”

We walked, side by side, out of Sulfas and back onto the ruined, pockmarked highway, trying not to look back.

I’d never made a point of visiting the volcano before, but I was sure that it had never looked the sight that I saw as I walked among the rubble of the old Dilzweld base.

The ghastly green smoke loomed thick over our heads as Ziekbeck and I ascended. I’d expected the heat to be stifling, but according to my temperature indicators, it was even cooler up here than down in Sulfas. That didn’t seem right to me.

Ziekbeck said aloud what I’d been thinking. “I think my temperature indicators are off.”

I shook my head. “No, I’m getting the same readings, I think. It’s much too cool for a volcano.”

We climbed up the ramp, eyeing the surroundings. Kharg had told me, a long time ago, about their raid on this base to rescue the rebels. He’d told me that they’d destroyed the two giant cannons with the Big Owl’s lasers. I was thus very surprised to see not two, but three enormous guns mounted about the base. They were little more than piles of rubble with barrels projecting out of them, but they certainly weren’t the same obliterated guns that Kharg had told me of.

“So the Dilzweld rebuilt the mountain stronghold,” I said. “Improved the defenses, too.”

Ziekbeck looked at me, confused, and I explained what Kharg had told me. “Wow,” he said, “those humans were more powerful than I thought.”

I nodded, and looked back to the mess. “Those ramps over there lead to the interior of the mountain. We should take a look.”

We headed up, through the rubble of the doorway and into the volcano. We walked along, through the cavern. The green smoke was still thick, and my sensors detected a high level of toxicity in the air. The crater was alive with poisonous gas.

“Nothing alive in here,” I said. “It’s not possible.”

Beside me, Ziekbeck nodded. “True. But the temperature is still abnormal. I wonder why that is.”

We got our answer a few seconds later. We’d walked a few more paces before I felt the texture beneath my feet change. I took another step, heard a soft splashing sound. Then I looked down.

The cavern’s dirt floor was flooded.

“What’s all this?” Ziekbeck said. I couldn’t even answer. The interior of the volcano was quite literally flooded. We were standing in water an inch deep, and walking forward, we felt the ground slope dramatically, leading to deeper water. Whatever pathways had been here before the eruption were long gone, but as opposed to a lava-filled crater, all that was left was an impossible lake that stretched as far as we could see.

Ziekbeck crouched, dipping a sensor into the pool. “It’s pure,” he said, surprised. “The water’s pure.”

“Pure?” I looked at him, and then stooped to dip one of my own sensors into the water. “You’re right… It’s perfectly drinkable.”

“How, though? The air’s full of toxic gas, and yet there’s nothing wrong with the water. That makes no sense to me.”

“Me neither,” I replied, “but I’m planning on finding out.”

I then heard a soft roar from some distance away, and I spun around, gun at the ready. Ziekbeck’s blades shot once more from his wrists, and he stood poised to strike. “What was that?” he said.

“It came from the other end of the lake,” I replied. “It was alive, whatever it was. Let’s check it out.”

We followed the water’s edge around the crater. An old, charred plank from a walkway that had been destroyed by the eruption thirty years ago floated by us, but otherwise everything was still.

I looked down into the water as we edged along. Far deeper down, I could see the corpses of Deimos buried under the unnatural lake. Lakeltas, for the most part, but there were some other creatures down there that I couldn’t name.

The edge of the lake we were following eventually widened into a broad plateau that rose above the water level. I stepped onto the damp, reddish dirt, checking once again that my gun was armed.

The green gas was much thicker here, and I could barely see three feet in front of me. I was alert for any sign of movement as I slowly walked forward, waving the gas away with my right hand. Both Ziekbeck and I tried to make as little sound as possible, but I was sure that our rusty joints were creaking somewhat, as much as I was praying they wouldn’t.

We heard the roar again, piercing the air, but we kept going, slowly and silently. The roar sounded familiar, but I had no way of placing what it was. I kept creeping along, as did Ziekbeck beside me, knives at the ready.

And then we finally saw the creature. “My God,” said Ziekbeck. “What on Earth is that?”

Meanwhile, I’d lowered my weapon. “It’s the Pyron.”

“The what?”

I didn’t reply. I could see it quite clearly now, the fur of flame attached to its long, cone-shaped frame, and the many weak legs dangling toward the ground. This creature had been Darc and the Deimos’ equivalent of Kharg’s airship.

“I can’t believe it’s still alive,” I said. “I had no idea Pyrons were this resistant to airborne toxins.”

Ziekbeck’s wrist blades zipped back into his wrists. “I had no idea what a Pyron was to begin with. How exactly do you know about this thing? And what is it, anyway?”

I reached out tentatively to pet the creature. It didn’t shy away at my touch. “I’m not exactly sure,” I said, “but I know they’re capable of flight and can grow or shrink to meet the needs of their environment.”

Ziekbeck walked to my side. “Then, couldn’t it help us find out what’s going on?”

“We could theoretically fly over to Halshinne and take a look around the old Dilzweld Empire,” I replied, “but Pyrons need to be near fresh water and there’s only one oasis on that entire continent, as far as I know.” I turned to him. “Even if it’s still there, it’ll mean a lot of walking.”

He scoffed. “My joints have had more than thirty years of rest. It’s time I gave them a little exercise anyway.”

I nodded, and then turned back to the Pyron, whereupon I realized that I didn’t know how to communicate with it. “Er… can you understand what I’m saying?” I asked it feebly.

The frontal portion of the creature’s body bobbed up and down, a gesture I took to mean ‘yes.’

“Okay,” I said, “then can you take us to Halshinne?”

At this, the Pyron shrank away, drifting over to the water. Puzzled, I walked over to it. “I don’t think it wants to go there,” I said to Ziekbeck.

The Pyron made a gesture similar to a shake of the head.

Ziekbeck followed. “Looks like your hunch was right, Diek. Halshinne must have gotten the worst of whatever happened here.”

“Yeah.” I turned back to the Pyron. “If you take us to Halshinne, you don’t have to stay,” I said. I was feeling somewhat silly talking to the animal like this, but it didn’t seem as if I had much choice. “You can return here, or go somewhere else. It is important that we get to Halshinne, and you’re the only one that can get us there.”

The Pyron took a drink from the curious lake, and then turned back toward me. After a few moments, it made its nodding motion again.

“Good,” I said, patting its back. Then I turned to Ziekbeck. “Come on,” I said. “It’s time we found out what’s been going on here.”

He performed his Ultra-Mech nod, and joined me at the Pyron’s side. It wasn’t long before we were holding firmly to its back and soaring out of the volcanic crater, headed across the eerie green sky to the desert continent of Halshinne.