Thebes was cradled in Rip’s arms as the dust settled around them. She was out like a broken light. Rip set her gently on the ground and listened for breathing. He was no medic, but her breathing seemed normal to him. Hopefully she’d wake up soon. He was already beginning to feel the aftereffects of the adrenaline rush. He knew the biocomp was already kicking in with dopamine to numb the pain and more hormones to compensate for straining himself so hard, but damage had been done. Even though he could not feel it, he knew he had torn several muscles. He would have to rely on his improved juicer healing factor for that. Nevertheless, as he glanced down the tunnel towards the exit, he saw that it had collapsed just like he hoped it would. To add a bit of grim satisfaction to his endeavor, he noticed what seemed to be a metal spider leg sticking out of the rubble.
“Good riddance,” he muttered, but it made him keenly aware of how narrow the escape had been.
Luckily, the cave-in had only occurred behind them and not ahead of them as well—or on top of them. So they weren’t trapped. But if they were going to explore this Neeman ruin Thebes had discovered, they were going to have to find another way in. Rip walked over to Thebes, rifled through her knapsack for a canteen and medical kit, and then dripped some water down her throat. He sprinkled a little on her face to see if he could get her to come to. She sputtered a bit and roused as if from a bad hangover. “Gods what happened?”
Rip dampened some gauze from the medical kit and used it to clean some of the cuts and dirt on Thebes’ face before answering. “Barely made it out alive is what happened. Don’t know what those spider ‘bots were, but they can outrun me. And that’s sayin’ something. If we hadn’t had an impressive lead I doubt we’d have made it.”
“If the legends are true, the Neemans had incredibly advanced technology. It’s possible those ‘bots have stood as guardians for centuries. That doesn’t surprise me.”
“Yea, well, my guns weren’t doing jack-shit. And I didn’t care to stay around to engage in fisticuffs with a ten-foot tall metal spider. We’re gonna have to find another way in.”
“Hold it,” Thebes said, sitting up and grabbing Rip’s arm. “I got lost in these sewers looking for that kid and spent like, three days mapping them out. I know every inch of them by now. There is no other way in. We’ve got to find a way past those things.”
“Sister,” Rip said, looking her straight in the face, “I’ve been in the mercenary business for ten years. I’ve been a juicer for five of those years. I know an unwinnable fight when I see one. We ain’t gettin’ in that way.”
Thebes wiped her forehead with her sleeve. It didn’t accomplish much other than to spread the dirt around. She was covered in dust from the cave-in. “Frag it,” she grumbled.
“Maybe you don’t understand how close we both came to dying back there. You see that pointy piece of metal sticking out of the rubble right over there? That thing was looking to impale you and me as soon as it got close enough. A few more seconds and it would have. Now you give me a platoon of mercenaries or just a handful of juicers with rail guns or plasma weapons and maybe I can deal with that shit, sure. But as it stands, all you got is me, and I don’t think you can afford much else. So unless you’re feeling suicidal, we find another way. Maybe you think just because I’m a juicer I don’t care about death, but I plan to live straight up ‘till Last Call. I got juiced so I’d have a half-way decent chance of surviving a few years into adulthood, not so I could go out in a blaze of glory.”
They were both quiet for a few minutes. Rip pulled out some dried smoked ham and drank some water from his canteen while Thebes pulled out a fairly bright electric lantern and began to pin her notes up on the wall. While Rip wasn’t a cartographer, it quickly became obvious to him that Thebes had made a very detailed map of the area. She clearly was not lying when she said she had mapped the entire sewer complex.
When Thebes hired him, she told him that she had initially discovered the ruins of the pre-Rifts city of Blacksburg, Virginia quite by accident. A small kingdom by the name of New Roanoke had its capital in a town nearby and a child of the ruling house from that town had gone missing. Thebes and an elf wilderness scout by the name of Lorr had set out to find the boy and tracked him to what appeared to be an old cave. However, upon further investigation, it turned out to be an old sewer drainage system. Although the earth had apparently covered up much of the ruins of the city above, the drainage system below continued to feed into a nearby river from an unknown source. It had remained relatively intact since the Great Cataclysm, and they were able to identify the name of the city above by plaques written in American located at various points in the sewer.
During their exploration of the sewers, Thebes and Lorr got separated when they heard an unusual noise. Lorr told Thebes to wait for a moment while he went to investigate. But he never returned. Thebes wandered the sewer for three days, using some of the mapping notes Lorr had left with her and building upon it on her own until she finally found the exit. At that point she found her way back to New Roanoke. Though she never found Lorr or the child, she had come across the tunnel that led to the Neeman ruin. It was at that point she decided she needed some muscle if she were to go back. After interviewing several potential applicants in town, she found Rip, a veteran of both the Juicer Uprising and the Siege of Tolkeen and hired him on the spot.
“You just gonna keep tacking up pages from your notepad all day?” Rip asked. “’Cuz I’m gettin’ bored. And juicers don’t like bein’ bored.”
“Calm down, Julian Amici,” Thebes said with a smirk. “I believe I have a plan.”
“Good riddance,” he muttered, but it made him keenly aware of how narrow the escape had been.
Luckily, the cave-in had only occurred behind them and not ahead of them as well—or on top of them. So they weren’t trapped. But if they were going to explore this Neeman ruin Thebes had discovered, they were going to have to find another way in. Rip walked over to Thebes, rifled through her knapsack for a canteen and medical kit, and then dripped some water down her throat. He sprinkled a little on her face to see if he could get her to come to. She sputtered a bit and roused as if from a bad hangover. “Gods what happened?”
Rip dampened some gauze from the medical kit and used it to clean some of the cuts and dirt on Thebes’ face before answering. “Barely made it out alive is what happened. Don’t know what those spider ‘bots were, but they can outrun me. And that’s sayin’ something. If we hadn’t had an impressive lead I doubt we’d have made it.”
“If the legends are true, the Neemans had incredibly advanced technology. It’s possible those ‘bots have stood as guardians for centuries. That doesn’t surprise me.”
“Yea, well, my guns weren’t doing jack-shit. And I didn’t care to stay around to engage in fisticuffs with a ten-foot tall metal spider. We’re gonna have to find another way in.”
“Hold it,” Thebes said, sitting up and grabbing Rip’s arm. “I got lost in these sewers looking for that kid and spent like, three days mapping them out. I know every inch of them by now. There is no other way in. We’ve got to find a way past those things.”
“Sister,” Rip said, looking her straight in the face, “I’ve been in the mercenary business for ten years. I’ve been a juicer for five of those years. I know an unwinnable fight when I see one. We ain’t gettin’ in that way.”
Thebes wiped her forehead with her sleeve. It didn’t accomplish much other than to spread the dirt around. She was covered in dust from the cave-in. “Frag it,” she grumbled.
“Maybe you don’t understand how close we both came to dying back there. You see that pointy piece of metal sticking out of the rubble right over there? That thing was looking to impale you and me as soon as it got close enough. A few more seconds and it would have. Now you give me a platoon of mercenaries or just a handful of juicers with rail guns or plasma weapons and maybe I can deal with that shit, sure. But as it stands, all you got is me, and I don’t think you can afford much else. So unless you’re feeling suicidal, we find another way. Maybe you think just because I’m a juicer I don’t care about death, but I plan to live straight up ‘till Last Call. I got juiced so I’d have a half-way decent chance of surviving a few years into adulthood, not so I could go out in a blaze of glory.”
They were both quiet for a few minutes. Rip pulled out some dried smoked ham and drank some water from his canteen while Thebes pulled out a fairly bright electric lantern and began to pin her notes up on the wall. While Rip wasn’t a cartographer, it quickly became obvious to him that Thebes had made a very detailed map of the area. She clearly was not lying when she said she had mapped the entire sewer complex.
When Thebes hired him, she told him that she had initially discovered the ruins of the pre-Rifts city of Blacksburg, Virginia quite by accident. A small kingdom by the name of New Roanoke had its capital in a town nearby and a child of the ruling house from that town had gone missing. Thebes and an elf wilderness scout by the name of Lorr had set out to find the boy and tracked him to what appeared to be an old cave. However, upon further investigation, it turned out to be an old sewer drainage system. Although the earth had apparently covered up much of the ruins of the city above, the drainage system below continued to feed into a nearby river from an unknown source. It had remained relatively intact since the Great Cataclysm, and they were able to identify the name of the city above by plaques written in American located at various points in the sewer.
During their exploration of the sewers, Thebes and Lorr got separated when they heard an unusual noise. Lorr told Thebes to wait for a moment while he went to investigate. But he never returned. Thebes wandered the sewer for three days, using some of the mapping notes Lorr had left with her and building upon it on her own until she finally found the exit. At that point she found her way back to New Roanoke. Though she never found Lorr or the child, she had come across the tunnel that led to the Neeman ruin. It was at that point she decided she needed some muscle if she were to go back. After interviewing several potential applicants in town, she found Rip, a veteran of both the Juicer Uprising and the Siege of Tolkeen and hired him on the spot.
“You just gonna keep tacking up pages from your notepad all day?” Rip asked. “’Cuz I’m gettin’ bored. And juicers don’t like bein’ bored.”
“Calm down, Julian Amici,” Thebes said with a smirk. “I believe I have a plan.”
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