Thirstfall - Memory of a Returnee

The Reentry Pearl disappears inside Rhayne’s hand as her fingers close around it.

"Let’s go home..."

For a few seconds, nobody moves.

The words seem to have closed something bigger than the Ferryman’s Toll, but we’re still inside the dungeon. The white light keeps falling over the Goddess, lighting the six arms and the empty basin at her feet, while the rest of us are still unsure what was really paid here.

I turn to the statue.

"We haven’t finished getting out yet."

Veric lifts Undertow, strapped once more to the arm the Goddess gave back. He’s still testing the hand now and then, as if every small movement needs to confirm it keeps working.

I circle the base of the statue.

There’s a smooth wall behind it, no handle, no hinge, no sign of a passage. In the other life nobody reached this point without completing the offerings, and for good reason.

I step closer.

A thin line appears at the center of the stone.

Then another.

The sound of old mechanisms runs through the wall, and two enormous blocks start sliding slowly to the sides. Damp air comes through the opening, carrying the smell of salt, earth, and vegetation.

On the other side is a spiral staircase.

It climbs so far that the top disappears into darkness.

"Weapons ready," I say. "The dungeon is over. That doesn’t mean the region got safe."

Freya looks at the stairs.

"You expect something up there?"

"I expect to find nothing. That’s different."

Veric walks past me.

Undertow comes up in front of his body with an ease that would have been impossible less than an hour ago.

"I’ll go first."

I look at him.

"You don’t have to prove anything right now."

"I’m not trying to prove anything."

He adjusts the shield strap and throws a quick look at Rhayne.

"I owe you all this. Her most of all."

Rhayne goes still.

Veric doesn’t wait for an answer. He steps onto the stairs and starts climbing.

That surprises me more than I’d like to admit.

After learning the real price of losing part of your own body, a lot of people would start protecting it obsessively. A fighter can turn more cautious after nearly dying. After losing a limb, caution easily turns into fear.

Veric went the other way.

Maybe he finally understood what Garen meant when he handed him Undertow.

Deciding what can’t get past you.

We climb after him.

The staircase is narrow, built from dark, wet stone. Water runs down the walls in thin threads, and roots start showing between the cracks as we gain height. Nobody talks on the way up. The sound of boots repeats through the spiral, mixed with the heavy breathing of a group that has already spent more energy today than it should have.

The smell of the ocean gets stronger.

Then comes light.

Veric slows near the top and raises Undertow before crossing the opening.

Nothing attacks.

We come out one at a time.

The sun hits my face.

I stop for a few seconds while my eyes adjust.

We’re standing on an old section of breakwater, surrounded by stone covered in slime and small structures half swallowed by vegetation. The ocean is right in front of us, beating against enormous blocks, while further down small sluice gates channel part of the water into the construction.

I move to the edge and recognize the system.

Those gates fed the dungeon’s first hall.

The tide came in through the breakwater and was led into the Ferryman’s Toll through underground channels. When the puzzle started flooding, the water wasn’t coming from nowhere. We were being drowned by the ocean itself.

Interesting.

Also irrelevant right now.

I look at the coastline, then at the forest behind us.

"We’re on the shore. That’s one of the worst positions we could be in. Stay sharp."

Veric looks around.

"Why?"

Zhang Xi answers before I can.

"If a monster comes at us from the coast or from the forest, Prince Azurea, do you trust yourself to escape into the sea wearing that heavy, shiny armor?"

Veric looks down at his own chest.

Then at the ocean.

"Fair point."

"Our only escape route would be the water," I finish. "And that’s a terrible route. We go into the forest and put distance between us and the coast."

We climb down off the breakwater.

The forest starts almost immediately, dense and damp, thick roots crossing the ground and low growth catching on our boots. We move fast, but we don’t run. Nobody has any interest in spending OXI before there’s a reason to.

The reason shows up a few minutes later.

A scream crosses the forest.

I stop.

The sound comes from far off, deep and drawn out, but I recognize it immediately.

My pulse jumps.

Freya turns her face toward the noise.

"Was that..."

"It was."

Another scream.

Closer.

Veric raises Undertow.

"Saporotug?"

"Run."

Nobody argues.

We go deeper into the forest.

The first crash comes from behind us a few seconds later. Something large is coming through the vegetation without bothering to look for a path. Branches snap, then a whole trunk gives way with a dry crack that carries for dozens of yards.

The Saporotug found our trail.

I don’t need to see it to know.

I’ve already spent enough time running from that thing.

Veric keeps the lead, opening a way when the vegetation closes in. Zhang follows right behind, Rhayne in the middle and Freya close to her. I take the rear, switching my eyes between the ground ahead and the movement in the forest behind.

Another roar.

The direction changes.

It’s trying to cut us off.

"Left!"

Veric veers without asking.

We drop through an area of exposed roots, cross a stretch of shallow mud, and climb again between trees that grow closer together. The Saporotug’s body is big. Any terrain that forces us to slow down also forces it to tear down half the forest to get through.

That works for a little while.

The forest explodes behind us.

A mass comes through the brush far enough away that I can’t see the whole body, but close enough to recognize movement, weight, and the ugly sound of something large accelerating.

"It’s closing!"

"I noticed!" Veric answers.

Nobody tries to fight.

On another day I might have weighed terrain, skills, OXI reserves, and the chance of turning this into a Rank B hunt.

Today the answer is simple.

No.

We keep going.

Freya clears a fallen tree without slowing. Zhang would normally be the most composed of the group, but even she is breathing hard when we reach a more open part of the forest. Rhayne doesn’t complain once, though I know she’s still feeling the effects of what happened inside the dungeon.

The scream comes again.

Closer than I want it to be.

I check the map.

The edge is close.

"Two more minutes!"

"It seems to disagree!" Veric shouts from the front.

The vegetation on the right starts moving.

"Don’t let it push us back to the coast. Keep west!"

We run.

The chase turns into a string of bad options and a search for the least bad one. A stretch of tight trees would slow the Saporotug, but it would force us to slow too. Open ground favors our speed, but it lets the creature make up distance fast.

I pick the middle.

The creature roars again.

This time I can hear the heavy breathing behind the sound of the forest breaking.

Then the vegetation starts to change.

The trees space out. The ground shows signs of regular traffic, and small markings appear on the trunks.

Low-Beach Mangrove Forest.

"Keep going!"

Veric crosses first.

Rhayne and Zhang right behind him. Freya passes the boundary marker, and I’m last.

The sound behind us cuts off abruptly.

I slow down and turn.

The forest is still moving beyond the edge of the Safe Zone. Branches sway where something enormous has stopped.

A roar crosses the trees.

It doesn’t come any further.

The Saporotug stays outside.

We stand there for a few seconds, breathing.

Veric sets Undertow on the ground.

"I hate that turtle."

Nobody has the energy to answer.

"Keep walking," I say.

The town is close.

We take the train back without turning it into another event.

On another day I might have felt the weight of the platform before the train even arrived. The station still manages to pull at things I’d rather leave alone. Doors opening. Cars. A girl with bear ears who should appear among the people and never does.

My brain tries to start the ritual.

I watch the doors when they open.

I wait for something I can’t quite name anymore.

Then I sit down.

Exhaustion wins.

Veric spends a good part of the ride quietly opening and closing the restored hand against his thigh. Sometimes he touches the forearm with the other hand, checking the feeling in it. Rhayne notices, but she keeps her eyes on the window.

Freya sleeps for part of the way.

Zhang Xi meditates.

I lean my head against the seat and let the train carry the rest.

When we arrive, Veric is the first to say goodbye.

He seems better until he stops in front of us.

"I’m heading out."

He looks at Rhayne first.

His mouth opens as if he wants to say something, but he’s probably already thanked her for everything he has words for.

"We’ll talk later."

Rhayne nods.

"Get some rest."

Veric looks at me.

"Sands."

"When you’re ready."

He understands what I mean.

He waves and starts walking.

That’s when I notice.

His right hand is trembling slightly.

So is the left.

It isn’t a problem with the rebuilt arm. It’s him.

The adrenaline is gone, and now that there’s solid ground, a station, people walking, and no creature trying to kill him, his body is finally claiming the right to understand what happened.

I let him go.

Freya stays with us a few more minutes before settling her gear.

"I’m heading out too."

"Going up now?"

"Not yet. I have to reach an Oathmark first."

She looks at one of the transit lines above the station.

"It’s been a long time since I went back. And now I have a longer road to walk alone."

The way she says alone doesn’t sound like an invitation for comfort.

Just fact.

"If you need anything, call me."

Freya looks at me.

This time she doesn’t answer right away with some automatic defense.

"I will."

Her hand rises to her neck.

Her fingers find skin.

She stops for a moment, remembers the necklace doesn’t exist anymore, and lets her hand drop.

"See you later, Dryden."

"See you later, Freya."

She says goodbye to Zhang and Rhayne and heads off through the station.

Three of us are left.

"You two are coming with me. I need to tell you something before we go up."

We leave the station.

We find a small square a few streets away, with stone tables scattered under low trees. There’s nothing special about the place. People eat, talk, rest after work or a hunt. After the Ferryman’s Toll, that ordinariness is almost pleasant.

We sit.

I lean my forearms on the table.

"We need to coordinate our return. Rhayne, you can’t go back before we do, okay?"

She nods.

"Okay."

"When I get back, I can reach you in a few hours."

I stop.

There’s a piece of information I shouldn’t know this easily.

I look at her.

"From your accent... you’re in District 3, aren’t you?"

Rhayne’s eyes go wide.

"How do you know that?"

Shit.

I think for a second.

"I knew someone from there."

She keeps looking at me, suspicious.

She doesn’t push.

"Which clinic?"

"Esmeralda Quarter. In the suburbs."

That I can work with.

I know part of the routes in District 3. Depending on traffic and what time I get back, I could reach the clinic in about three hours by bus.

I look at Zhang.

"And you?"

She explains where she did her Dive.

I run the numbers.

After she returns, Zhang would need about five hours to reach District 4, or about six to go from the same point straight to District 3 and the clinic.

Six hours on Earth.

At that moment, the difference between the worlds finally becomes useful.

Three hours in Thirstfall for every hour on Earth.

"Zhang goes first," I say.

She nods.

"You need six hours on Earth. I need three. So after you go up, I wait nine hours here before I do my Reentry. Three hours will have passed on Earth. When I show up, I’ll still have my three hours on the bus."

Rhayne is following the math.

"And me?"

"You come back already inside the clinic. So you have to wait out Zhang’s full six hours."

I multiply.

"Eighteen hours here."

Rhayne looks at me.

"Nine hours after you."

"Exactly. When you wake up in the clinic, I should be arriving. Zhang too."

She nods slowly.

"Okay."

Zhang looks at the Pearl in her own hand.

"Then I should go now."

"The sooner, the better."

She stays quiet for a few seconds before speaking.

"Dryden."

I look at her.

"Thank you."

Her voice is calm, but there’s something different in her smile.

"I know a good part of my time on the surface will go into helping you. Even so... I didn’t know when I’d get another chance to go back and see the people who still matter to me."

She closes her fingers around the Pearl.

"I wasn’t sure I’d ever get that chance again."

I smile.

"You’re a good friend, Zhang."

Her eyebrows lift slightly.

"That was almost kind."

"Don’t ruin it."

Her smile widens.

"Next time, I’ll get you a Pearl without you having to sacrifice another gift from someone you cared about."

Zhang studies me for a few seconds.

"I’ll see if that’s true."

"You can hold me to it."

She stands.

The nearest Oathmark is inside the urban area itself, so we go there together.

Zhang stops in front of the structure and activates the Reentry Pearl.

The light starts wrapping around her.

Before she disappears, she tips her head to us.

Then she isn’t there anymore.

I open the system.

Rhayne does the same.

I set the timer.

[REENTRY COORDINATION][DRYDEN SANDS: 09:00:00][RHAYNE: 18:00:00]

The counter starts dropping.

Now it’s just the two of us.

We go back to the square.

Rhayne sits on the bench, but she seems smaller than before. Maybe it’s only exhaustion. Maybe I’m finally paying attention after spending hours solving problems that threatened to kill someone every five minutes.

I sit beside her.

"How are you?"

"I’m fine."

I look at her.

Rhayne looks away.

"I’ll be fine."

That answer I know.

I raise my hand and touch her face.

My thumb passes lightly over her cheek, near where the blood ran from her eyes after the Link with Veric. Zhang’s healing left no mark, but I still remember seeing her on her knees on the dungeon floor, vomiting while she tried to stay conscious.

Rhayne goes red immediately.

"Den..."

"Just checking."

"With your hand?"

"Advanced technique."

She almost smiles.

I keep the touch a few seconds longer.

Rhayne is probably the most sensitive person in this group. That doesn’t mean weak. Maybe it’s the opposite. She feels everything and keeps walking anyway.

I take my hand back.

She keeps looking at me.

The embarrassment fades slowly, replaced by an expression I can’t read.

"Den..."

"Hm?"

"You really don’t remember?"

I frown.

"Remember what?"

Rhayne hesitates.

Her fingers touch the one earring she has left.

"The rainbow metal ring."

I wait.

Nothing comes.

Rainbow metal.

Ring.

The words feel specific enough to open some memory.

They don’t.

I look at Rhayne.

"What ring?"