Gwyn walked quietly and with purpose. The hallways of the metallic ruins may have been long and mazelike, but he wasn’t about to let them win. He had had enough and wasn’t going to take it anymore. A chorus from earth tried to work its way into the back of his mind, but he shook it aside. It probably would have never stuck anyway, with Mina chattering at his side.

  “So, you don’t come from the Absolutism? But you don’t seem like a Nun Zenotote!” She had been pestering Amaris with questions ever since the newcomer joined—and failing to bring Gwyn into the conversation with them. The treasure hunter was either an easy mark or found sympathy for the silly elf girl since she began to give up plenty of information quite freely.

  “I come from an enclave to the Dy of Desk, we set up a small town around Forn Lake.”

  “Woooow! And the Absolutism doesn’t try to take you guys over?”

  The conversation sounded mostly like Resh nonsense to Gwyn, but he could pick up bits and pieces. Apparently, Amaris was a bit of an outcast in Harlan’s country, to the point of leaving to start another. It made him wonder what the green Zenotote might say if she were here as well, perhaps provide her own side to the story.

  “They don’t seem to care. So long as we stay out of their way, they leave us alone. Probably more trouble to try to force people who don’t want to be in that horrid place than just to let us be free. Which is good, since we only want to live in peace.”

  “Live in peace is strange for people who attacked us,” Gwyn butted in. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to start a fight or just break up some of the monotony of the endless grey hallways. Amaris was quite a moment, perhaps thinking of a response, but she was behind him, and Gwyn’s eyes were forward.

  Mina tried to intervene, “You know what Basil the Dwarf once said?” Her voice got deep as she mimicked the character, “Yesterday’s enemy is today’s friend! Hurrah!”

  Amaris snorted and broke into a chuckle.

  “I’m sorry, I never met a Netzian quite like you.”

  “I’m one of a kind,” replied the elf, her voice suggesting a smile was on her face.

  “So it seems. Anyway, to you, I will not apologize for our actions; you must understand you presented a significant threat just by wielding a Needaimus around casually.”

  “Sounds like bullshit.”

  “Bull…shit? Never mind that. You’re tone makes your meaning clear enough.”

  Amaris spoke carefully and generally gave off the aura of a more mature woman. Someone perhaps closer in age to Fiona’s mother than Fiona herself, but he wasn’t confident he could guess a Zenotote’s age so easily. At the very least, she didn’t come off as unreasonable.

  “Yeah, if you had just let us walk away, we wouldn’t be in this mess.”

  “Don’t say that, Gwyn!” Mina chimed in. “You probably would have wanted to check out the ruins once you heard about them.” He hated that she was right. The possibility of a safe trip to see ruins might have stirred his stony heart. The Nonpareil scratched at his rocky shoulder and grunted.

  “Be that as it may, we are here now, and I have agreed to assist you so we can both recover our companions.”

  “You don’t have to tell me what I already know.”

  “You remind me of a fellow back in the Absolutism. He was a cheery guy, maybe a bit weird at times, but an alright fellow all the same.”

  “Uh-huh.”

  “When the time came for his initial assignment, he was placed into the ranks of mud cleaners. A Lower Cleaner 1. Do you know anything about the absolutism’s rancastk system?”

  “I know someone with a… science rank of some kind.”

  “Oh…. Well, I didn’t know you were friends with such a bigshot. He must be an interesting fellow.”

  This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

  Gwyn couldn’t tell, but it sounded like Amaris slowed her pace and was now further back. Did Harlan actually have an impressive rank? He had heard it a couple of times, but never thought to inquire.

  “To fill you in, a Lower Cleaner of any level is the lowest of the low… uh, you Netzians would probably say it’s worse than serf rank, I believe. To say this guy was upset would be an understatement. A Lower Cleaner does the most backbreaking work, the most draining work. You are no longer a person in the eyes of Absolutism. You are barely even a tote. It breaks the strong and devastates the weak.”

  Gwyn wasn’t sure he cared about this mysterious Zenotote, who was probably Amaris herself in actuality, but it kept the halls from being quiet. Mina must have been oddly interested since she hadn’t piped up since Amaris began.

  “To make matters worse for the guy, he was assigned a mate he didn’t really seem to like. She wasn’t very good for him anyway, but they had some kids and tried their best to live on, until he just gave up one day. Locked himself up away from everyone.”

  The nonpareil felt a vein pop on his forehead.

  “And what made me remind you of him?”

  “That way you talk. The forced tone of anger that you layer over a dead-sounding base. I thought it was strange on the beach, how much of a pushover you seemed, and now how you are just raging to cover up…. Sev…. That man I knew was the same at his worst.”

  Gwyn scoffed. “And what? You just decided you wanted to share a little story?”

  “The more you talk, the more I see I have made a troublesome ally. Annoying as they can be, I do care for Daisy and Collin. I would like to save them.”

  Gwyn gnashed his teeth and spun around with a wave of his Needaimus-bonded arm. A splash of liquified wall burst over Amaris and slammed her into the opposite side. It hardened into a shell, fusing her to the wall.

  “Gwyn. Gwyn. Calm down!” Mina stammered.

  Gwyn’s head throbbed. On both sides, on the top, on the back, in his eyes, and deep in the center. He clutched his hair, crying in agony while swaying across the floor like he was trying to do some drunken dance.

  The medicine. How could he have left the medicine? But it wasn’t just the medicine. It was her. The Zenotote woman. She was trying to mess with his head. Make him do something he didn’t want to. He was tired of doing things he didn’t want to. He would do what he wanted. And that started with silencing Amaris.

  Gwyn looked at the trapped Zenotote with murder on his mind. The floor below him began to turn to mush as he slowly stepped closer. Mina jumped in the way and wrapped her arms around him, doing everything she could to hold him in place. The whites of Gwyn’s eyes turned red as blood vessels burst. He screamed like an animal.

  “What is this?” Amaris asked, more shocked than scared.

  “He’s just a little sick! He’s really not like this!” Mina cried. She was abnormally strong for what her size or frame would indicate, but Gwyn still slowly pushed forward all the same.

  “Shut up. Shut up. Shut up. Shut up. Shut up. Shut up. Shut up!”

  Amaris took a deep breath and looked back at Gwyn. Her cool yellow eyes met his red ones. She continued to talk as if nothing had happened.

  “The man’s mate came home one day and found him dead. He had killed his eldest daughter, then himself.”

  Gwyn stopped for just a moment.

  “His mate and their two youngest were only spared because she was out with them that day. At least that’s what she thinks. He was sick too, in a way. Not quite like you, but not quite disimilar either. He could be prone to outbursts too, even threw a vase at his mate once.” She paused and looked at the hardened restraints that kept her to the wall before looking back at Gwyn. “Who are you going to kill? These people you plan to rescue?”

  Gwyn grunted. He shouted. His good hand clenched onto his head, and his bad hand lay on top as he fell to his knees. The restraints on Amaris turned to liquid, and she quickly moved away from the wall. Gwyn was breathing heavy when she kneeled in front of him and produced some pills from her pocket.

  “They are all-purpose sorts, some painkillers for injuries, some poison prevention, and a special one that is supposed to stop anything.” She pulled Gwyn’s good hand away from his head and dropped the pills into it. “Take them. They won’t be as good as whatever you should have, but it will help. Treasure hunters don’t skip out on the good stuff.”

  The earthling wasn’t about to complain. He shoved the pills into his mouth and crushed them between teeth. It was bitter, beyond bitter. He wanted to spit it out, but knew he needed something to break his current state. A few minutes later, his breath felt steady. He stood up and took a deep breath.

  “I’m sorry.”

  “It’s alright. You remind me of him.”

  “The one who died?”

  “Yeah….”

  Perhaps she thought Gwyn was a second chance to redeem herself, helping someone with the same issue get over it when the first guy didn’t make it. He didn’t care.

  “Aren’t you a little worried to have an ally like me? What if I snap again?”

  “If you do, just make sure it is directed at our enemies next time. I’ll figure out how to get you calmed down after.”

  “Ha. You’re an odd one!” Gwyn smirked. Amaris smiled back with her long face.

  “You have to be in my sort of work, lad.”

  “Don’t call me lad.”

  “Boy then?”

  Gwyn spat. “Whatever. Lad then.”

  Mina suddenly sucked in a bunch of air and let out a gasp. “OMC, I wasn’t sure what was going to happen there. I am soooo glad you two are okay though.” She wrapped her arms around Gwyn again, though this time it was a softer embrace.

  “Well, lad, lass, shall we keep moving?”

  Gwyn stood up, pulling the light Mina along with him until her feet dangled over the floor. She let go and winked.

  “Yeah,” the nonpareil said, “we need to find everyone.”