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Chapter 224

  COMEDIC TIMING ASIDE, the only 'funny' thing he wanted to expose himself to was the mildly off-putting aroma of he and his brother's tent, the smell coming from his brother's bodily insistence of farting up a storm through the night. He let the tent air out a moment, then slip inside, where he fell asleep so fast, it was gift to his weary soul.

  Whiskey shook him awake. He opened his eyes and rubbed out the crap which always formed if he kept them shut too long. "Wakey-wakey," Whiskey said. "Full day ahead of us."

  "You mean, a fun-filled field day?" he asked sarcastically.

  "Yup!" Whiskey shot back. "With games and prizes and the hands of lovely maidens to be won by uneducated but well-meaning farm-boys turned warrior grandmasters of ancient orders."

  "Ah, shet! I best get out there, then! My future wife is waiting for me and all I have to go on is my taut skin!" he said, rustling himself from the bedding.

  Whiskey only rolled her eyes at his joke and left the tent. He emerged several minutes ready fully dressed and ready to kick some butt. Stupidly, though, he did wonder where the maidens were -- but only for a moment! -- before he remembered it had been a joke. Squinting in the sun, he wondered where and how the day would end up.

  He sat by the campfire, now only a dull flame, and basked in the mid-morning glow. He grabbed the drinking cup and dipped the cup into the pot of black tea now nearing its end. "Let's finish this off," he told his crew. "Otherwise, it will be cold and stale by the time we return."

  "So, we're going back in the bunker?" Jiehong asked, more impatient than usual, likely from being up for hours, he thought, and having little to do.

  "Of course. What else would we be doing?" he replied.

  "Didn't you want to look into the village situation?" his brother said. "Those warriors, the fieldhands, maybe even the cables from the bunker?"

  His brother was right, of course. They should look into getting some fields going outside of their bunker. Plant some foods... and yeah, the cables. He said, "Sure. You're right. But we can't ignore the bunker. We have no idea how deep this thing goes."

  "Maybe we should divide and conquer?" Whiskey suggested.

  "Divide? With the number of threats in the bunker, I don't think that is a good idea," he said.

  "But we don't know that for sure. And besides, sometimes we have to take risks, don't we? It isn't any different from being in battle, not really..."

  "It doesn't have to be all or nothing," Jiehong interjected. "Maybe something like this: Zan. You and I can enter the bunker and do what we can. Whiskey, you approach the village and look into this cable issue while getting going, as well, on the fieldwork we want done. Then, assuming that doesn't take all day, come and join us inside the bunker. How does that sound?"

  Whiskey looked to Zan, then Jie, and said, "Sure. Fine by me, I guess. Just be careful, you guys. Remember to play your roles and cautiously advance. And the Slipstream is out, so remember to fill up on magic."

  With everyone knowing what they were doing, and the black tea finished, Whiskey wandered off to town as he and his brother entered the bunker.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  "'Morning, Screen Master," he said upon entering the hub chamber which held MAC's visage.

  "Good morning, Ranger-Knights! You are all rested by the looks of you and ready to continue cleansing the fae constructs from our territory," MAC told them.

  "That we are. Whiskey is in town doing vital order business, as you've probably overheard, you listen in on us twenty-four seven like Simulacrum, don't you?" he said.

  "I do, but this is merely a necessity of our work. As Order initiates, you and entities such as us Screen Masters and their Warden attendants, must be in constant communication at all times."

  "Yeah. I've heard before... Wait! Where is your attendant? Simulacrum has Sigma-Prime. Aren't you supposed to have a helper?"

  "By Shiv Order tradition, yes, I am supposed to have an assistant. However, as I am a Screen Master entity which only recently came to your order during this recent period of rediscovery and reformulation, I am not likely to see an assistant for a long time. Not unless you can discover an inactive model and assign them to my code-core," MAC said.

  "I don't know what that all means," he said, thinking over how MAC and they met. He remembered this idea from before, where MAC might have been, once upon a time, part of a group which opposed the Shiv Order. In his time and day, this distinction was pointless, backed, even, by Simulacrum, who said something to the effect of 'swaying allegiances as the centuries wane is to be expected from martial orders such as theirs's because of the long-lasting nature of 'cycles'' or something. He had no clue about a code-core or how he would find an 'inactive model,' whatever that meant, though he thought MAC meant a gem-golem such as Sigma-Prime?

  "In time, you will. There is much for your new Order to learn. Should you discover an inactive model on your travels, I will be sure to let you know."

  "Okay. Wonderful! With our mental stimulation for the day out of the way, shall we continue, Jie?" he said, wanting to get a move on already.

  Returning to where they had left off the previous day, he half-expected to find the fae-construct returned. Perhaps a new fae had grown from where the old one died. Or one from deeper within the construct came up to take the recently destroyed one's place.

  But no such thing could be seen.

  He saw only the damaged wall and the remains of the already slain fae creature. At the end of the room and to the sides, were two doors at the end of two small alcoves. Both were locked. A (1) appeared before each door along with the same padlock and chain image as the other magically locked doors.

  "Both are sealed. Which tickles your fancy first?" he asked Jie.

  "Let's go left," Jie said.

  Both held their hands to the door and channeled magical radiance. Quickly, the door's demanded allotment had been reached. Swoosh, it opened. Only a minute or two to secure its opening. Both boys stepped through the passage, this time, Jie being the one to stop them and say, "Check for Poison Needles, remember."

  They each checked. Finding nothing, they passed through the door and entered room twenty.

  It was a hallway. And although it was filled with stacks of instruments, perhaps field tools or spears of some such, their use was likely hampered beyond pragmatic from the thousands upon thousands of years they were sitting and rotting away here while the outside world moved apace.

  "MAC," he called. Receiving a response beep, he continued: "What are these things in these racks?" He said of the many tools.

  "These are as you have said, tools and elementary spears, and weapons for Eraferaw. You've likely already guessed, but if you've assumed these tools are in no shape to fight, then you would be correct. With sustained mending magic, however, it is possible to use them again."

  He thanked the Screen Master for his help. Then they resumed their trek: continuing down the twentieth room's righthand side, they saw two doors facing opposite each other. Choosing the locked door on the right and seeing a (2) on the door's counter, he and Jie quickly filled the door with magic. Took them a little longer than at the previous door, obviously, since it needed twice as much, but not by much. Though he was starting to wonder if every door from this point on would require them to use magic to open. He sure hoped it wouldn't...

  They unlocked the door, checked for Poison Fae, found nothing, and walked on inside to find another barracks chamber, except this one was at least twice the size of the one they discovered yesterday. Walking inside to investigate, they expected to find some knowledge of their martial order -- perhaps some crusty old sheets containing an old order lorebook? -- but found instead a fae alert blaring in their ears.

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