Path of Dragons

Book 8: Chapter 25: Kurik's Defenses

“Put yer gods bedamned pendants on, you rock-brained idjits!” shouted Kurik, his rough voice echoing down the tunnel well before Elijah caught sight of the angry dwarf. The sound brought a small smile to his face that only broadened when he rounded the corner and saw his friend demonstrably gesturing at a group of miners. “Them traps down there’ll rip you to pieces if you don’t follow the rules! Now, put ‘em on!”

The group of miners obediently followed Kurik’s directions, pulling necklaces out of their pockets and fastening them around their necks. Elijah could see why they wouldn’t want to wear them. The pendants attached to those leather thongs were, in a word, massive. At least eight inches across and with deep engravings that looked more than a little uncomfortable – they were assuredly a pain to wear.

When the miners saw Elijah approaching, they quickly scurried away. They probably had a lot of work to do, and Kurik, for all his good intentions, wasn’t the most personable guy in the world. No doubt, they wanted to get away from him as soon as possible, and Elijah’s arrival had given them a good opening.

“What do you want?” growled Kurik, a little of his irritation still showing through when he spoke to Elijah.

“What was that all about?”

“Idjits, that’s what. Them tunnels are full of so many traps that even you wouldn’t survive goin’ through. Bring the whole damn mountain down on ya. That’s why we had the pendants made. But these morons refuse to wear ‘em ‘cause they’re uncomfortable. One wrong step, and they’d get blown up. But do they care? Not one bit. They’re happy to just go traipsin’ through the mine shafts believin’ they’re invincible. Morons, every last one of ‘em.” He narrowed his eyes. “Now – what do you want? I ain’t goin’ on no more adventures with you. You can handle that meetin’ in Seattle all by your lonesome.”

“Can’t I just want to see my friend?” asked Elijah, glancing down the tunnel. With his step forward in Body cultivation, his body had improved dramatically, but at the moment, the most obvious way was that his senses had sharpened to a fine point. He couldn’t see in the dark as well as he could in bright sunlight, but it wasn’t that far off. That gave the mine a different, far less ominous feel.

“You woulda waited ‘til I was outta the mine if that’s what you wanted. Spit it out,” Kurik said. “I got work to do.”

“What are you even working on? You said you’ve already covered the area in traps,” Elijah responded. He sensed a few nearby, but they didn’t feel very powerful. For anyone with any strength, they would be more like annoyances than true dangers.

Elijah had some idea, but he’d only glanced at the maps a couple of times. Even that had told him that they extended many miles underground – much further below the surface than any mine had gone before the World Tree had extended its branches into Earth.

“I guess.”

“Gettin’ good experience, too. Not like in the Trial, but still good. You ain’t got no idea how many monsters’re down there,” Kurik explained. “So, why did you come down here. And don’t tell me it’s ‘cause you want to check on my traps. You want somethin’ from me.”

Elijah rubbed the back of his neck, then said, “Two reasons, actually. The first was that I wanted you to come with Sadie and me to Seattle. And not just because I could use someone else I trust. That’s part of it – I’m not going to lie – but mostly, I wanted you to come because the last time I visited, Seattle was already doing some interesting things with technology. I figured you might be interested in that kind of thing. For your class and all.”

“Technology,” Kurik spat. “Machines and electricity addin’ unnecessary steps. They ain’t the first ones who’ve tried to do that sorta thing. Whole civilizations have gone down that route.”

“And what happened to them?”

“They either figure out that they’re muckin’ things up and end up doin’ what everyone else does, or they burn themselves out. Sometimes, they survive and rebuild doin’ things the right way. Other times, they wipe themselves out. Either way, I got no interest in seein’ how they do things. I got enough tangles in my beard as it is without addin’ all that to the mix,” Kurik explained.

“Alright, then. Seattle’s off the table,” Elijah said, even though he wasn’t so sure that Kurik’s view was as comprehensive as the dwarf seemed to think it was. Surely, someone out there had found a way to marry technology to ethera in a way that resulted in a sum that was more than its parts.

Or maybe they had, and the result was what Kurik described as the way everyone else did things. Elijah was no authority on the matter, so he couldn’t know for sure, but it was an interesting subject nonetheless. And he was more than eager to see what Seattle had come up with.

“You said there were two reasons?”

“Oh. Right. The first one wasn’t the main one. Mostly, I came here with an invitation. Sadie and I are hosting a kind of memorial for Dat. I know it’s been a while, but we kind of wanted to get everyone together and just remember him. Kind of for closure, but mostly because he deserved it,” Elijah explained.

“Closure,” Kurik frowned.

When Elijah had revealed the news of Dat’s fate to Kurik and Ron, they’d spent most of that night drinking their sorrows away. It really wasn’t effective – after all, the next morning, Elijah felt even worse about Dat’s passing – and on top of that, Elijah didn’t want to leave things like that.

Dat deserved a night of happy remembrance, not the drunken and sullen couple of hours they’d given him.

In the end, Kurik agreed, and they left the mines after only a half hour he spent tying things up. Elijah watched the dwarf work on his traps, but as always, he couldn’t really tell what was going on. He could track the ethera, but the abilities Kurik used were too complex for him to understand.

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“How close are you to ascendence?” Elijah asked as they exited the mines.

“Close enough. Few more levels, and I’ll get there,” Kurik answered. It wasn’t a very specific response, but the dwarf was always a little cagey about his progression. Maybe that was normal in the wider universe. Keeping that kind of information to oneself was probably a defense tactic.

For Elijah’s part, he had no real desire to hide who or what he was. It was one of the reasons he’d mostly ignored the Ring of Anonymity. Sure, he’d used it a few times to try to conceal his identity, but those had usually ended poorly.

Soon enough, they found their way to the clinic where Ron had set up shop. To Elijah’s surprise, he found the place empty, save for Jess and Ron, who were sitting in one of the offices engaged in deep conversation. Elijah only needed one look to know that something was going on between them, and if he was honest with himself, he wasn’t really surprised at that development. After all, the pair had been working closely together for a while now, and they shared enough in common that Elijah had already expected them to strike up a friendship.

But seeing the way they looked at one another made it absolutely clear that they’d gone well past simple friendship.

Of course, Kurik didn’t pick up on that, and the second they walked into the office, the dwarf started talking about an infection he’d gotten on his feet. He even jerked off his boots and wiggled his somewhat green toes at Jess. “What do you think? Anything to worry ‘bout?” he asked.

“Kurik. We’re not here to get checked up. And I could have healed you back in the mines if you needed –”

“You ain’t a real Healer. ‘Sides, my granddad always told me that when you visit a Healer, you take advantage,” Kurik said. “So? Is it the deep rot? It smells like the deep rot.”

“Deep rot?” asked Elijah.

“It’s a fungal infection common among miners,” Jess said with a sigh. “Left untreated, it’ll completely destroy a person’s flesh, eating it right down to the bone.” Then, she looked at Kurik. “You really should have visited me sooner.”

“I ain’t gonna lose the foot, am I?”

“No,” Jess stated. “But if you would have waited even a week more, I might not have saved it.” She rose to her feet and gestured for him to follow, “Come on. I’ll get you sorted out.”

Kurik did, leaving Elijah alone with Ron. “Is it really that serious?” he asked the Healer.

“God no. With his Constitution, it would take at least a year before it really started to affect him. But Carissa wants to keep the miners clear of it because she claims it really stinks up the place,” Ron answered with a slight laugh. “I’ve smelled some of the worst cases, too. It’s like a high school locker room got skunked.”

“Gross.”

“That’s the point. Carissa doesn’t want her mines smelling like that, so she spread the rumor that the deep rot can be fatal or result in lost limbs. They come to us pretty regularly now,” Ron answered. “Jess will make a big deal out of it, act like she’s casting some pretty powerful spells. You know, to hammer home how serious it is. But in reality, it’s a low level infection that even an un-classed Healer could handle.”

“Oh,” Elijah said. “All that to prevent a little odor?”

“It’s a really bad smell. Plus, it can get serious in a small minority of cases if left untreated. Do you know how infections work in this world?” Ron asked.

Elijah shook his head, saying, “Not really.”

“I can’t be certain, but I’m fairly certain that bacteria and fungi have levels,” Ron explained. Then, he went on to posit that waging a war against a person’s immune system – and winning – would result in that infection gaining power.

“The same as us, then?” Elijah asked.

“Not the same, but not that different, either. I’m still studying it. Most of the guides that touch on the subject are incredibly expensive – to the point where even if everyone on Earth pooled their ethereum, it would probably only cover a tenth of a percent of the total cost. I think the system does that so that people don’t weaponize the idea.”

“That’s terrifying,” Elijah breathed. It wasn’t difficult to imagine someone slowly leveling a specific bacteria until it was powerful enough to wipe out an entire world. Hopefully, there was more to it that would make that route impossible.

“I know,” Ron said. “The only good thing is that there are Healers that specialize in combating that kind of thing. They can do normal healing, of course, but they focus on combating diseases and viruses. I’m fairly certain I’ll get offered something like that when I reach the point of evolution.”

“Will you take it?”

Ron shrugged. “Probably not,” he admitted. “It’s an attractive option because those classes normally come with huge attribute bonuses due to their rarity. However, with the state of the world, I don’t know if I want to hamstring myself by concentrating my class on a situation that may never present itself. It’s probably better to keep a broader focus.”

Elijah nodded along, and when Ron finished, he asked a question that had been on his mind for a while. “How is Hope’s condition?”

The girl had been hanging out around the island for a while now. She never stayed for very long, but she very clearly had made a connection with the grove. However, even Elijah could tell that she still wasn’t entirely well. Better, maybe, but a long way from being cured. Or in remission.

“It’s slow going,” Ron answered. “We’re keeping her condition stable, but she’s still not strong enough to cultivate. If she tried right now, she would die from the stress. The only option is to keep treating it with Biggle’s potions while we wait on her to level up a little more. Once she reaches that point…well, we hope for the best.”

“Have you asked for Nerthus’ help?”

“He’s the source of most of my information on it. If it wasn’t for his advice, we’d have already tried to push ahead. He stopped us from making a huge mistake.”

“Is there anything I can do? Maybe if she stays on the island permanently?”

Ron shrugged. “Maybe,” he said. “But I’m just not sure about anything. These diseases don’t always work the way they should. Not anymore. I’ll think about it, though.” He sighed. “At least she’s made some friends here. And she won’t stop talking about your nephew. When is he coming back?”

Elijah shrugged. “Not sure. The last message we got was that they’d dropped Wilhelm off in Argos and were headed back when they discovered a dark elf encampment. Essex sent Colt and some reinforcements so they could check it out, but we haven’t heard back since then.”

“Are you going to look into it?”

Elijah shook his head, saying that he didn’t think it was his place. “People here need to learn to take care of themselves,” he stated evenly. “I can’t always be here. If I step in every time they get into trouble, it’ll stunt their growth.”

It was a difficult thing to accept, especially because his nephew was out there and might be in danger. That was just the reality they lived in, though.

As the conversation between Ron and Elijah went on, they moved to other, happier topics. Like the growth of Ironshore or the upcoming meeting in Seattle. Like Kurik, Ron refused to go along, citing his need to run the clinic. Eventually, Elijah asked Ron to attend Dat’s memorial, which the Healer accepted without an ounce of hesitation, and when Kurik returned – with a comically large bandage around his foot – they set off for the island.

What followed was a bittersweet night where the group – including Sadie – reminisced about their friend, drank to his memory, and expressed their hopes that he was now in a better place. None of them knew whether an afterlife existed, but if anyone had earned a little peace and happiness, it was Dat.

In the end, they tried to focus on the good memories rather than the fact that their friend was gone. And though they were mostly successful, quite a few tears were shed on his behalf.

Even Kurik wept a little, though he tried to hide it by claiming that something was in his eye. They all accepted his excuse, and the night wore on.

Finally, everyone went their separate ways. Ron returned to Ironshore, while Kurik headed up to the treehouse where he passed out on the floor. That left Sadie and Elijah alone, where they huddled close together, taking some solace in one another’s presence. It didn’t cure their sadness, but knowing that they weren’t alone was a step in the right direction.