Work Text:
“Have you considered going on a delve with me into the fifth layer?”
Arette looked up from the notes Bondrewd gaver her to copy down into a book, blinking a few times. “Me?”
“Yes, you.” Bondrewd sounded amused.
She had never really thought about delving again, even on the same level they were on. She had resigned herself to motherhood and transcribing. Not that she didn’t like doing that, she loved motherhood, and Bondrewd’s notes were very interesting to look over.
But she had been pretty certain she was not going to delve again, considering her heart. Sure she could do stuff again as normal, but she still had a bad heart.
“Would that even be safe for me?” Arette asked.
“The fifth layer is relatively flat in large areas. I could easily devise a path that would have minimal elevation for you, and a little exercise is good for your heart, even if it is weak.” Bondrewd explained, “We are due for another expedition to search for relics to sell and study. I would very much love for you to come with me.”
He took her face into his hands, his fingers running along her jaw affectionately. She leaned her head into his left palm, sighing.
“Well, you know about medical stuff more than I do. If you think I can, who am I to refuse a treasure hunt?”
“Marvelous. I will begin preparations right away. It should take two weeks to plan and gather everything.” He leaned down and pressed his helmet to the top of her head, before he pulled away, his hands lingering on her face a moment.
She touched her cheek and smiled. He sounded very happy that she said yes. It was cute.
Arette figured she would need to brush up on some of her skills, mainly on her whip. It had been ages since she actually used it.
She finished transcribing Bondrewd’s notes, then got up and fetched some of her gear. Her trousers, which were getting a little tight around her middle, her blouse, her corset belt, though she skipped her leather tassets.
She fetched her sword whip from its case, and set out to find a good place to practice. She decided that the long open hall that surrounded the inner part of the wall around Ido Front would be perfect.
When she arrived, Arette took a moment to admire the purple glow of the light that shown on the altar. She fiddled with her whip a few times, reacquainting herself with how it worked. A squeeze here, a prod there. Probably best to not make it a blade, lest she cut through a pillar on accident.
“Momma! What are you doing?”
Arette turned and smiled. “Prushka, I was just practicing with my whip again. Your papa invited me on an adventure.”
“Can I watch?” Prushka ran up to her, her arms wrapping around Arette’s legs and looking up at her with big pleading eyes. “Please?”
“Of course, but stay behind me.” She measured out how long the whip was, and had Prushka sit and watch beyond that. The girl sat eagerly, Meinya clutched in her arms to insure it could not get too close either.
Arette began, every crack of the whip making Meinya let out a little sound of distress. Prushka gave them a squeeze. “It's okay, Meinya. It's just momma’s whip.” She put her hands over where people usually thought ears were, “There, is that better?”
“Myaaaa.” it squirmed in her arms, and she giggled.
Prushka looked back up at Arette. “Momma, why does it crack so loudly?”
“Oh, well the tip of the whip is so fast that it breaks the sound barrier.”
“Sound barrier?”
“Mhm. I can/t really tell you what the sound barrier is, but when something breaks it, that means that it moves faster then sound does.”
“Sound moves?!”
Arette paused in her training, looking at Prushka and smiling. “Of course it does. How else would my words get to your ears?”
Prushka looked at Meinya. “Sound is fast then…” she mumbled, “I can hear momma’s voice as soon as she starts speaking.”
The two weeks went by fast. Soon it was only a day before the trip. Prushka had been a bit clingy all day, and was currently asleep in the bed with Arette. Arette moved her white hair out of her face, looking up at Bondrewd a moment.
“Will she be okay without either one of us here?”
Bondrewd pulled off his coat, folding it over a chair. “I trust Gueira with her care completely.” he assured, “Do you not trust him, Arette?”
“No, I trust him too but-”
He straightened out the sleeves of his dress shirt, looking at her. “She will be lonely perhaps but she will be safe and sound. Besides, we have left home before to see your family. Everything was fine then, yes?”
“I still worry…” Arette mumbled, and Bondrewd sighed, though in an adoring way.
“You are such a good mother.”
“So you gonna take that all off for once and wear pajamas like a normal man?” Arette asked teasingly. She knew he wouldn’t and he confirmed.
“I am afraid not, my dear.” he sat on the edge of the bed and pulled off his boots and grieves, then removed Meinya from his pillow, setting it on the foot of the bed. “Hmm. My pillow smells now.”
“I’ll tell Prushka to give Meinya a bath while we are gone.”
Bondrewd pulled the blanket back and got in, laying on his side, Meinya moving and setting itself on where his legs were. He sighed heavily, but made no effort to move it. After a while, he took Prushka’s little hand in his and pressed it to his helmet like he was giving it a kiss. “I am on the edge of the bed, but I can’t bear to take her to her room.”
Arette scooted down further into the bed and rolled over to face him. “Then don’t. We are going to be gone a while, so let's let her sleep in our bed tonight.”
“A splendid solution. Very well.” he pulled the blanket up to her chin, setting his hand on Prushka’s chest. Arette then put her hand over his, giving it a squeeze.
“Good night, my dear. Sleep well. We have a long walk.”
Arette slept very well. When she woke up, Bondrewd was already gone, no doubt for final preparations. Prushka was still in the bed, though awake and squishking Meinya in her hands, the little creature making happy sounds.
She blinked and looked at Arette, smiling. “Ah, momma!” She flopped over and pressed her face into Arettes chest, mumbling a moment. “I wanna go with you. Can I? I’m almost nine, I’m a big girl.”
“You are a big girl but you just are not ready to go out there.” Arette kissed the top of her head, and Prushka pouted.
“I guess…” She mumbled.
“Also, why don’t you give Meinya a bath while we are gone?.”
Prushka giggled. “Yeah, they are smelly. Ehehe.”
Arette got up, and got ready. Prushka watched with interest. “You gonna dress warm and stuff?”
“Mhm.” Arette finished, buckling her leather tassets onto her belt, pulling on her gloves, and then reaching for her leather coat.
“You gonna wear a helmet like Papa too?” Prushka buried her face into Meinya's belly.
“No but I am going to wear a scarf.” She put it on, then put her black whistle over it, holding out her hands in a parody of Bondrewd. “Marvelous.”
Prushka stood up on the bed and copied her. “Marvelous! Hehe.”
Arette picked Prushka up and set her on her feet, crouching down and giving her a shake. “Okay, you are the lady of the house now. So you make sure everyone behaves while Papa and I are gone.”
Prushka nodded, giggling as Arette kissed her forehead. She took her hand as Arette stood back up, walking alongside her as they left the bedroom to go to the main entrance. Arette was not sure how ready they were to go, but knowing her husband, it would be close.
There was a cart with a large wooden box, and a few smaller boxes of supplies. Bondrewd was already there, the tail back as he went over everything himself. He looked up at them, sighing. “Ah you are up. Good. We are almost ready to go. I just needed you, and to see Prushka one more time before we were off.”
Prushka ran up to him, burying her face in his coat. “Be safe papa. And don’t worry I will make sure everyone behaves, like a lady of the house.”
Bondrewd picked her up and held her in the air. “That's a good girl. Ido Front will do well under your care for sure.” He pulled her in for a final hug before setting her down, “Make sure the lady of the house has no trouble doing her job, Guiera.”
Gueira sighed. “Of course, sir. Leave it to me.”
They filed out, Arette helping an Umbra Hand pull the cart, Bondrewd in the lead, and another man at the rear.
It was cold and misty. The light was dim as always in the fifth layer, but it was weirdly beautiful despite how barren it was, save for patches of Eternal Fortunes. Bondrewd touched the lights on his coat, which turned on and began shining ahead of them.
“Only walk where I walk.” he called behind him.
It was a slow trek, and the distant sounds of animals of the abyss echoed around them, giving it a strange sort of ambiance. Bondrewd pointed to the far wall of the abyss in the distance. “We will be going there. I have had great luck before finding intriguing little artifacts there.”
Soon Arette had to give up helping with the cart and settled on taking up the rear. She did her best to keep up, but in time, she felt the effects of her condition creep on her. Thankfully they were able to make it to their destination, and Bondrewd led them into the rocks, finding an alcove and walking around the area, studying the ground a moment.
“The ground here is stable, and the area is sheltered from the wind. This should be an ideal place to make the camp.” Bondrewd said, turning to look at her, “You just sit and rest. We will do the work. We will turn in for a rest once we finish.”
Arette sat on a rock and watched as Bondrewd and the two Umbra Hand’s put up tents and prep a meal for them to eat. Two to a tent to maximize heat conservation for when it was time to sleep. The cold was now starting to seep into her bones, her lack of movement causing her built up heat to wane. She tucked her gloved fingers under her arms.
As she waited, she was given a large steaming hot cup of broth, and the Umbra Hand, who she didn’t know the name of, took two rations and put them into the broth, giving them a stir. It became a sort of mush.
“Eat.” was all he said, before he went back to work.
Arette looked at it. It smelled nice for once. Savory and salty… Beef bullion perhaps. She drank it down, not quite thick enough to be a porridge, but too thick to be broth any longer. She never thought those dumb rations could taste so good. There had to be onion and garlic powder in this broth too.
It warmed her up to boot.
Finally the tent for her and Bondrewd was set up. It wasn’t super big, but it was certainly cozy looking, with multiple layers of bedding and blankets to keep the cold from seeping in. She quickly went in on shaky legs, kicking off her boots and any other unnecessary gear. She got under the blankets, and Bondrewd held out an item to her.
“It's an artifact that radiates constant warmth. Put it under there with you to help warm you and the bedding up. I will join you soon.”
It was a round orb of black stone that was quite warm to the touch. Like a warm cozy bath. She held it first until her fingers felt less stiff, then she set it down next to her hip to warm her core.
“It’s quite cold isn’t it?” Bodnrewd said as he opened the tent up and leaned over to look at her.
It started to dawn on her that this was almost like her romance novels. Expect they were in the abyss and not a quaint little cottage in the mountains. There was also the possibility of being ambushed by giant scorpions that could melt flesh. She rolled over on the thick bedding, pulling the blankets back, giving him space to get in. “If you're cold just say so.” she teased, “But, take off your boots, at the very least.”
He moved to sit on the bedding, and he did as she requested, pulling his boots off to show his grey wool socks. He rolled onto his knees and crawled the rest of the way in, laying down on his side.
“Are you feeling better?” he asked, his tail thumping against the insulated tent canvas.
“Yeah. We got pretty far before I started feeling sick again.” She reached back, and prodded the pin with her finger tip a moment. What an amazing relic.
Arette snuggled into his chest, and he threw an arm over her. His whistle was right in her face, and she gave it a kiss, and he made a sound like he could feel it. His gloved hand, damp and cold, began touching her jaw affectionately.
She shied away from the cold, goose bumps all over her arms now. He however pulled her back to him, pressing her to his chest and sighing in a content manner. He was cuddly today it seemed.
“You should take off your coat.” Arette sighed, and Bondrewd merely pulled the wool and down blankets over them.
She sighed, giving up and settling in for a nice rest. The exhaustion set in, and she fell into a peaceful sleep.
Bondrewd woke up first, more than eager for the day to start. He had been anticipating this for weeks. Just the thought of this excursion to find relics with his wife made him quite excited. What discoveries would they find?
He did his best to resume resting, to give her more time. But soon he could not help himself. He had to wake her up. But gently. He rolled over and wrapped his arms around her middle, warm and content. What a marvelous feeling this all was.
She sighed, her legs stretching under the blankets, but she settled again into sleep, murmuring something about cats.
His hands moved to her chest without him really thinking about it, giving them a squeeze. It was almost therapeutic, just to hold them.
Arette woke up a bit that time, groggy, voice a bit hoarse in a surprisingly alluring way. “Mmm. if you need breasts to grab, get a princess bosom.” She mumbled, and Bondrewd chuckled.
“Yours are better though.” His helmet nuzzled the back of her neck, and he rolled over, pinning her under him.
She woke up more. “I thought you were more cuddly…” she mumbled, reaching back and touching his helm, stroking where his jaw would be.
“I am thrilled to have you with me.” Bondrewd said, as was evident by the growing tightness in his trousers. Arette sighed, no doubt able to feel it on her backside.
“Apparently more than thrilled. I hope you don’t do this every time in the future.”
Just the thought of her going on more delves with him after made him that more excited. To share the wonders of the abyss with her.... “I can not make any promises.”
She hummed in a pleased manner. “I suppose that's not a terrible promise to fail at keeping.”
She never refused him when he did feel the rare instances of sensuality. Bondrewd knew well he was detached from his humanity. His lack of his human body dulled him. He rarely felt strong emotions now, though he did feel them, and physical things that many found pleasure in were just not all that stimulating any longer.
Food, drink, sex… He got hungry but taste no longer mattered. He was thirsty but he didn’t care for anything more fancy than water. And sex, while certainly no less pleasurable, he rarely if ever craved it.
Right now though he certainly was craving it.
Arette elbowed him in the ribs and he lifted off of her a moment, watching as she rolled over onto her side to undo her belt and trousers. Bondrewd in turn undid her corset belt, pulling her blouse up and freeing her breasts. She laughed, lifting an arm to lay it over his shoulder as he leaned down to press his helmet to them.
He so very wanted to feel the skin on his face, but the helmet had to remain on. She could not know, not yet at least, about the manner of his existence. Regrettable to withhold such information, but it was not necessary for her to know.
Besides, she didn't seem to mind it. In fact she seemed to find his unwillingness to undress around her charming in some weird way.
It was warm in the small tent, despite the cold outside. It only seemed to get warmer as Bondrewd helped Arette shimmy her trousers down. His gloved fingers sank between her folds, and rubbed, sticky wetness clinging to the leather as he rubbed her clitoris. She kissed the face of his helm, little sighs of bliss leaving her lips.
His other hand cupped her face, thumb running over her cheek, her lips, fingers along her jaw. “I love you.” he sighed, pulling away regrettably to sit up and undo his belt.
She stroked his erection once he freed it with her calloused fingers, smiling at him in a way that made his heart race. “I love you too.”
It was a little cramped, but he got Arette situated in a position that was comfortable and stress free for her. On her side, one of her legs draped over his thigh. He could pull her back against him easily like this. He took her thigh in his hands, and she helped him slide inside her.
“Marvelous…” so warm and wet, so strangely comforting. He began rocking his hips, his fingers sinking into the flesh of her thigh. She was relaxed, her fingers buried between her legs and stimulating herself, her face one of contented bliss.
It was a slow languid pace, allowing him to savor every movement, every sigh she made. His hand returned to her face, tracing her jaw delicately.
“How are you feeling?”
Arette sighed loudly, adjusting so she was half on her side, half facing him. She took one of his hands, placing it on her breast. “You always ask that now. It's gonna take more than a little fun to make me keel over and die.”
He gave her breast a squeeze, his other hand groping her thigh. “That's not what I mean this time.” he moved his hips a little faster, and her eyes fluttered closed, giggling.
“Oh. Well in that case- ah…”
He watched as her fingers rubbed her clitoris faster, biting her lip. He felt her grow a bit tighter and tense around him, and so he thrust a bit faster, a tensing sensation growing in his groin. She moaned his name, and the thrill it caused was indescribable.
She finished with a few little twitches, shoulders tensing as she let out a shaky breath. He followed after her, giving a few languid thrusts as he chuckled breathlessly. “A good way to start a day of relic hunting don’t you think?”
Arette moved her hand from between her legs, taking his hand and lacing their fingers. “Yeah, I feel fantastic.”
He leaned over her, setting her leg back down as he nuzzled her. “Rest a little more. I will get everything set up for the day.”
He rolled over, covering her back up with the blankets and giving her the orb to hold and keep her warm. He put himself back together and then zipped the tent open, taking his boots out from the cubby he had carved into the side of the vestibule he had dug for the tent, putting them back on.
Very chilly. That got him out of his post coitus haze for sure.
One of his men was awake. Zaavetti. He looked up at him from the fire, and nodded. “Sir.”
“You got the fire ready. Good. Get some snow melted and get rations ready for breakfast. After we eat we will head out.”
“Yes sir.” he got up, and gave the other tent a hard whap. “Get up you lazy oaf.”
Bondrewd got the equipment ready, turning a moment to assess the environment. They had no cartridges so elevation would be something he would have to take note of. He looked back to the equipment, getting a relic that could sense other relics ready.
It was for Arette to use so she could work as efficiently as possible and not over work herself.
Hopefully they found something interesting. Though even lower grade relics sold for quite a bit, to have a new special grade relic to examine would be certainly exciting.
Arette stayed in the bed until the urge to pee was too much to ignore. She fumbled at her clothes, having not even bothered to straighten them up yet. Once she was sure she was all back together she pulled on her boots, stepping out into the cold and ducking behind the tent to do her thing.
Once she was all done, she took a moment to properly prepare for the day, dress wise, finishing it all off with putting the heated relic into her coat for a few minutes to warm herself back up.
Her breath was visible in the air, and there was a fresh layer of snow over everything. It was quite pretty. She made her way over to the three men, sitting down on a rock they had rolled over.
Instant coffee and type four rations dissolved in a bouillon broth. Pretty much the same when they first set up, but still the closest thing to fine cuisine one could get this deep in the abyss aside from hunting for food. She sipped her coffee. Bondrewd had his helmet raised over so slightly, and he was spooning the last of his helping past it, to where his mouth was. She swore she caught a glimpse of facial hair occasionally.
The other two men were nowhere near as ‘shy’, their helmets raised enough to show off their lower faces. One had a nasty scar on his mouth, making his lip curl in a constant snarl, while the other had a five o clock shadow and a cleft chin.
“This is pretty good.” Arette said, breaking the silence.
“Hmm. A good change compared to the usual.” The one with the scar said, “Those rations are so bland usually but bullion really livens them up.”
He cleared his throat after a moment. “I am Imaru, ma’am. Pleased to speak to you officially.”
“Pleased to meet you too. How did you become an Umbra Hand?” Arette asked, curious. She only knew of Gueira's past, him having been a notable black whistle from Orth before he joined Bondrewd.
He coughed awkwardly. “Ah… Well you see, I was sent to kill Bondrewd, ma’am. It was about seven years ago. I was one of the last ones that came down here to try.”
“Oh…” Arette had of course known about the bounty hunters. Rumors were founded in fact. But she had thought Bondrewd killed them. “Bondrewd, are most of your Umbra Hand’s like Imaru?”
Bondrewd laughed, “Oh yes. the others are delvers from Orth, or other nations. Zaavetti hails from Beolsk.”
“Your husband is very persuasive.” Zaavetti added.
Arette nodded, sighing. Oh she knew that quite well. She noticed Bondrewd set his metal cup down and put his helmet back into place. She smiled at him. “Did you enjoy it?”
He hummed. “It was quite nice, though I never minded the rations as they are.”
They headed out, though they paused when they found faded tracks in the snow, human ones for certain, seeming to be circling around the camp before heading into the distance.
“They were made last night.” Imaru said, looking out over the wasteland. “Judging by how deep they are, the person who made them is either heavily stocked on supplies or quite hefty.”
“We are not alone out here, then.” Bondrewd mused, “Odd to see only one set. Most delvers come down here in groups to ensure a safe assent. In either case, be on your guard. It could simply be Srajo, but it could also be a rival delver from another nation.”
They made their way into the odd rock formations of the area. The wind had carved them in strange ways. On the surface they would be considered ruins of a man made structure, but Bondrewd was quite certain they were natural.
“It is a bit of a maze in here. Nothing terribly confusing, but keep note of where you go.”
Zaavetti and Imaru went one direction together, and Arette decided to go her separate way from Bondrewd. She took the relic that sensed others and turned it on. Bondrewd told her to use it sparingly, as they often broke after only a handful of uses. There was something in the wall of stone rather close to her, as well as a few others in her vicinity. She made a few fast notches into the walls where she thought they were.
She then picked the closest and began digging with her pick, grinning as that old feeling came back with every strike to the stone.
She had missed this. Oh god she had missed it.
She found a small little cave and turned on her head lamp. Within it, something shining dully in the beam. She widened the opening and pulled it out. It was a conch shell of some kind. Carved delicately with thorny vines. She remembered being a child on the beaches that dotted the coast line around Orth, and how she would hold shells to her ear. She cautiously lifted it to her head, but after a moment thought better of it.
A rock from above her fell, and she looked up with a jolt. Nothing was up there, and she remembered the foot prints. They had gone away from here though, hadn’t they?
She got back up, putting the shell in her pack, and moving to the next spot she marked, starting to dig again.
Arette felt like something was watching her most of the day, and when they got back to camp for the day, she gave in and put it to her ear to calm her mind. There was the soft sound she remembered, and she smiled a moment, until she heard a child’s voice excitedly speak into her ear.
“I want to be a delver just like my aunty Arette was!”
She jerked it away from her head. Aunty Arette? Her?
“Is that something you found Arette?” Bondrewd asked, curious.
“Yeah. it’s pretty right?” She held it out to him, “It's weird, I clearly heard someone speak in my ear when I tried to listen to the ocean in it.”
“Interesting. Perhaps you should study it when we return to Ido Front, find out what it does.” he took it from her, “I will put it in the cart for the trip back.”
She smiled and nodded.
She moved locations the next day, and went back to the old fashioned way of digging. Clanking her pick on the wall and listening for a hollow sound to indicate a pocket in the stone.
She managed to find one after several attempts, and began to chip away at the rock.
Suddenly there was a loud sound. The sound of someone blowing on their whistle. She froze, looking away from the hole she had dug and looking to where it came from.
There was another clear sound of a whistle blowing, and Arette stood up from her digging, listening.
It did not issue again and she got up, taking her whip off her belt as she ran towards where the sound came from, weaving through the labyrinth of wind beaten stone.
She froze when she rounded a bend, blood cold.
It was a stingerhead. It was too far away from the nest for there to be one, at least that's what Bondrewd had said.
Below it, was one of the men who had come with Bondrewd, very dead and half melted. It was Imaru
The beast keened, its chelicerae picking at the liquidized flesh. It then turned on its legs, making a rattling hiss. Arette didn’t waste any time to see if it was going to attack or not, her whip becoming a blade.
She rushed forward, and gave her wrist a flick, the blade cracked over the chitin, cutting through it. The giant scorpion shrieked loudly, scuttling away from her. She gave it another good lash, cutting off one of its tails as it fled.
Hopefully that would make it go back to the nest.
She turned as Bondrewd rounded the bend. “Oh dear…” he said quietly.
“I heard him blow his whistle… I should of come running right away and-”
“He would have been dead already.” Bondrewd said, “The venom kills instantly.”
He stepped up to the corpse, head tilted. “But how did it get him? Stingerheads are not particularly stealthy, nor is a lone one dangerous to a delver of Imaru’s skill. How strange.”
Bondrewd kneeled, pulling the Imaru’s coat away, examining his body as best as one could a half melted corpse. He sighed after a moment. “I can’t tell if something else happened…”
Bondrewd lay the coat back down over the mass of flesh, looking up as Zaavetti arrived too, “Get his whistle, Zaavetti. We will take it back with us when the dig is over.”
The man wordlessly took the whistle out of the mess, giving it a few wipes with his hand before pocketing it. Arette went back and got the things she managed to collect, and the trio returned to the camp.
She could not believe a stingerhead was so far from the nest, and that one of Bondrewd’s men was dead.
Bondrewd set his hand on her head. “Don’t be sad. Things like this happen.”
She nodded. She wasn’t sad persay, certainly upset. She didn’t even know him well, having only learned his name for the previous day. Truth be told she didn’t know too many of the Umbra Hand’s by their names. There was Gueira, Bido, Gyarike… Prushka mentioned a Suumama, but she didn’t think she ever met him, or maybe she did? She didn’t know.
The next two days were a little tense, but uneventful. They didn’t discover any more footprints, and so figured the person was gone, however they remained a group in the meantime.
On day three, they found a bone flute. Bondrewd was fascinated by that one. “Arette, do you know the Pied Piper?”
“Uh… Yeah I heard of that fairy tale.”
Bondrewd’s tail was wagging. “It's not a fairy tale, my love. Its fact. This is the flute, not the exact one, but the same relic. This flute when played makes animals dance and follow the musician blindly.”
“... Not children?” Arette asked. She was pretty sure the tale said that the piper lured all the children away from the town when the Pied Piper was not paid for his work.
“Well, fact may be too strong of a word. People like to… Dress stories up a bit as the years go by. It does not affect people at all. Still, this will fetch a good price at the auction.”
Arette was left to wonder what other tales were based on relics taken from the abyss. People had been coming here for thousands of years, who knew how many legendary figures in mythology wielded the powers of the abyss.
The next day brought about another discovery, though not a relic. It was the frozen partially preserved body of a delver who had died some time ago. Bondrewd gathered their whistle, showing it to Arette.
“This is quite old.” he said, holding it up and showing it to her in detail. It didn't have the same design as the standard black, “This is a design from over two-hundred years ago. The designs of the whistles change periodically. See, It is narrower where you blow into it, and it has filigree. They simplified the design and widened the mouthpiece.”
“I see you fancy yourself an archaeologist.” Arette teased, and Bondrewd chuckled.
“One of the first things I did, when I came here, was look at those praying skeletons. I wondered why they were praying, why they were there. Why every two thousand years.”
Arette’s eyes moved to look at his whistle, two identical hands clasped in prayer. She thought how his men sometimes clasped thier hands like his whistle. She let out a soft laugh. “Those old bones are what made you into the man you are today.”
Bondrewd looked into the distance. “Hmm… Perhaps they were.”
Bondrewd then turned and looked at Zaavetti, who was looking at him. His head tilted slightly, like a confused dog. He shook his head then and turned away, back at her. “I think this would make for a nice gift for Prushka. Don’t you think?”
“A dead man’s whistle, really?” Arette folded her arms over her chest and looked at him incredulously.
“Oh you know she would love it.” Bondrewd said, setting his hand on the top of her head and ruffling her hair.
He pocketed it, and they resumed, moving to another spot to dig. Arette watched Bondrewd dig, his strikes with his pick precise. He was a master excavator. His passion in his digging oddly made her think of her father.
He loved the abyss too. Though not for the mysteries. He loved it for the life that lived within it.
Her father had been a black whistle and he had in his time found a good artifact or two, but his true calling was the flora and fauna of the abyss. He would paint and draw them, make prints of those, and then sell them.
Even now his art was used for books on the Abyss.
She could remember being taken down as a little girl into the first layer for the first time with her new red whistle. He dug that same way, an eagerness so apparent in his movements as he showed her how to use a pick.
That night, warm in her husband’s arms, she dreamed of that very first delve.
“Daddy, look what I found.”
He looked at her from his canvas, and smiled. His face was blurry, obscured and the only inclination was that she was dreaming. Had it really been so long that she forgot what he looked like? “That's a sun sphere. Give the top a twist.”
Arette’s small fingers did as he suggested, and it turned on, making her gasp.
“Here, stand just like that. Your daddy’s gonna draw you, okay?”
“Okay!” She watched as her father sketched in his sketchbook. She was sure to stand as still as possible. He finally stopped, and motioned her to come over.
He wrapped his arm around her middle and squeezed her against him as he showed what he drew. “I look really happy.” Arette said, pushing her father’s face away as he kissed her cheek, his stubble scratching her.
“That's because you are happy. My little girl is going to be just like me, I know it.”
Arette woke up then, wiping her eyes quickly. She took notice after a moment that Bondrewd was gone. She sat up. “Bondrewd?”
There was no response, and Arette pulled her coat on and grabbed her whip. She opened the tent, pulling her boots on. Zaavetti was up, looking at the fire. He turned to look at her, and Arette felt uneasy.
She made her way to the fire. “Have you seen Bondrewd?”
He shook his head no, and returned to gazing into the flames. Arette turned away, looking around. After a moment of scanning the area, she saw in the labyrinth of stone a light. She followed it, and found Bondrewd was digging with his hands in a small alcove.
“Why are you digging with your hands?” Arette asked.
Bondrewd looked at her from over his shoulder. “I had a hunch.” he explained, “While we were out here earlier, I saw that this area had been… distrubed. I was curious…. Tell me have you noticed anything odd about Zaavetti?”
“Odd? I don’t know... I barely know him.”
Bondrewd made a thoughtful sound and resumed his digging. He stopped after a few more handfuls of the loosened permafrost. “Ahh. I had a feeling something was wrong.”
She looked at the hole he had dug, and there in the frozen slush was the pale blue face of a man, dead.
Arette looked at him. “Who is that?”
“This is Zaavetti.” Bondrewd said, looking at her… No, he was looking past her. “He is supposed to be the man standing behind you.”
Arette got a shiver down her spine. She jumped away, spinning around and looking at the man behind her.
He moved, his hand grabbing his helmet and tossing it off. He was a dark skinned man, with an angular face and dark eyes and hair. He lifted Zaavetti’s weapon up, aiming it at Bondrewd.
“My my my. I’ve not had a man after me in so long I got a bit sloppy didn’t I?” Bondrewd held his hands up, “Still, quite impressive. You killed Imaru and Zaavetti both, and made it look like only Imaru died. How did you get the stingerhead so far out here?”
“Shut up and don’t talk. I am sick of your voice.” the man said darkly.
Bondrewd ignored his request to shut up. “What is your name? Perhaps we can discuss something-”
“My name is Galel, and there is nothing to talk about! You took my daughter, Nura, you sick bastard.” The man hissed, “You brought her down here when her sorry excuse of a mother dumped her in the orphanage while I was trying to get more money for us.”
Arette clutched her chest at what he said, her stomach twisting and her heart skipping several beats. It made her feel sick.
Bondrewd held out his hand to him, still calm. “I see. I am sorry. I had no idea she still had a family who wanted her. Please know, what ever happened to her was for the-”
Galel fired the weapon, a metal spear shooting out and impaling Bondrewd, pinning him to the rockface through his side.
“I’m not like the others you suckered into your little cult. I’m going to kill you, here and now.” He spat, “You are not sorry. You don’t feel guilty about what you did.”
“My my my. This is... Unpleasant.” Bondrewd said. He didn’t sound like he was in pain, which threw Arette off a moment, “We do not need resort to violence, perhaps we-”
“I said shut up! This is justice, not just for Nura, but every child you dragged down here!”
“How noble of you to kill me for all those I have hurt. But where would the world be without my efforts?”
Galel’s face contorted in rage, and began to reload the weapon. Arette snapped out of her horrified shock, grabbin gher whip and lifting it, cracking around Galel's wrist. She yanked, making Galel turn towards her.
He looked at her, expression impassive. He gripped her whip in his hand, and pulled. She dug in her heels, taking the handle of her whip into both hands and pulling as hard as she could. Was she always that strong, or did the thousand men pin make her a little more stronger over all?
She yanked the whip out of his hands, and that allowed her to crack it over his face, leaving a large welt.
“Stop it.” he snarled.
“And let you kill my husband? Fat chance.”
“He is not worth saving! He deserves to die and you know it!”
Her stomach twisted and she froze for only a second, before gritting her teeth and glaring. Arette turned her whip into a blade, and struck with the intent to slice him in half, but the whip struck his side, cutting through his coat and revealing the standard combat armor of an Umbra Hand. He had looted everything off of Zaavetti’s corpse.
He wrapped her whip around his forearm, and this time twisted his whole body, yanking her with in his range. She was punched hard in the face, and Arette staggered back into the snow and mud, her hand over her nose as blood started flowing down her lips.
Galel did not even spare her a second glance, tossing her whip aside and starting to load the weapon back up. “This does not involve you. Just stay out of the way and maybe you will see your daughter again.”
“Did you…. Did you just strike her?” Bondrewd asked, his tone shaky, but not from pain. Arette had never heard him talk like that before. His voice was always so level and pleasant no matter what. But now it shook with a barely contained emotion she had never seen him display.
Anger.
He lifted his arm. The sparagmos on his left elbow began to glow and with the beem he cut through the metal. Bondrewd then pushed himself away from the stoneface, the spear sliding out of his side and his flesh sizzling from the heat. Despite the cauterizing, blood started to flow heavily from the wound.
“Gonna keep talking my ear off, freak?” Galel asked, weapon loaded again.
“No. No, I think I am past reasoning.” Bondrewd said, He lifted his hand, his visor glowing brighter. He gave an elegant swip of his fingers along the gap, and a beam of light shot out.
The man dodged, but the beam reflected off the ground, then bounced off the ravine wall, ricocheting off it and striking the man in the back, making him stagger with a grunt.
“You come into my domain-” Bondrewd said, his pleasant tone dissolving fully into one of a cold burning rage. He lifted his arm and fired two metal spikes. The other man lifted his arm to block them from striking him in the torso.
“-You kill my subornanants.”
Galel clutched his stomach, drool spilling out of his mouth as he gagged, pulling the spikes out of his forearm, chunks of his flesh coming with it like the metal had fused with his skin.
“-And you harm my wife.”
Bondrewd’s tail moved, stretching and striking the man in the gut, tipping his obvious nausea over the edge and making him vomit. He lifted the weapon again, and fired, Bondrewd ducking under it. He lept upon Galel in a frenzy, his hands grabbing Galel around the throat, his tail beginning to stab at him repeatedly until the armor he had stolen from Zaavetti began to crack.
“You have done something that very rarely happens.” Despite the violence Bondrewd was displaying, his voice didn’t rise over the usual level.
“You have upset me, deeply.”
Galel struck back, a hard blow to the side of the head that made the glow of Bondrewd’s helmet flicker a moment and halt his assault with his tail, however he looked back down at the other man, the other sparagmos glowed and with a swipe of his arm, Galel’s hand disintegrated.
Galel bellowed in pain clutching what remained of his forearm as Bondrewd stood up, lifting a foot, and bringing it down on the man’s knee, making it crunch below his boot.
Arette was too shocked to turn away, watching as Bondrewd continued to calmly crush the other man’s legs, as if he was simply stepping on a bug that was in his way. She had never once seen him be this upset. The only time she could remember him getting anything close to annoyed was when she didn’t refer to that little boy, Noah, by name,
“You see, I love my wife.” Bondrewd said evenly, crushing the Galel’s other knee next, “I love her more than I have ever loved a woman. I worked so hard to save her, to make her resemble something that is healthy, to love her, and you dare, you dare strike her?”
“A man like you doesn't know what love is. You lost the ability to love anything the day you got that whistle.” Galel hissed out, breath labored as he tried to keep himself from screaming in pain again, “This family you have, your wife and your brat, is just you playing house for-.”
Bondrewd audibly inhaled. “Do not talk ill of Prushka.” his tail gave one last strike, breaking through the armor and impaling the man through the stomach.
Galel grabbed the tail, blood spraying out of his mouth.
Bondrewd’s shoulders rose and fell with his heavy breathing. He pulled his tail out with a squelch, and he stood straight. The rage was gone as soon as it came. “Are you alright Arette?”
“A-am I alright?” She stood up, her injured face forgotten as she ran up to him, her hands at his side, blood flowing past her fingers. “You are hurt worse than I am, we need to get back to Ido Front.”
“I will be fine.” Bondrewd said calmly, his voice pleasant again..
Galel gurgled and Bondrewd turned to him and took a few steps closer until he stood over him. He looked down at the man. “You’re daughter… Nura was it?”
He bared his teeth in a snarl, spitting his blood onto Bondrewd’s boots.
“I remember Nura. She wanted to be a mother more than anything in the world. She came with a baby doll. Was that a gift from you? I am sure she missed you.”
Galel begane to cry. More tears flowing down his face with every word Bondrewd said, choking on the blood he was vomiting up as he sobbed. He coughed, managing to choke out a single word. “St... stop…”
Arette knew Bondrewd was trying to help in his own weird way, but it was cruel. It was pratically emotional torture. She grabbed his arm. “Bondrewd, stop it.”
“She would have been an excellent mother.” he raised his hands, in his typical revelry. “Such an adorable girl, with a… gap in her teeth.” His voice trailed off and his knees gave out. Arette grabbed his arm, throwing it over her shoulder as she tried to support his weight.
Arette squeezed her eyes shut as the assassin’s breath rattled. After a few moments, she adjusted Bondrewd to be draped over her back, and slowly started to try and carry him back to Ido front.
“You really don't have to do this, Arette.” Bondrewd said quietly.
Arette ignored him, and kept walking, her heart was pounding, and tears were falling down her cheeks.
She walked, hoping she picked the right direction. The cold seeped into her bones, and all she focused on was Bondrewd’s breathing. Light, a bit shallow, but he was breathing.
Her thoughts could not help but wander to the man and his daughter. She understood, she sympathized. She would destroy anyone who harmed Prushka, even Bondrewd himself.
She closed her eyes, her tears now cold, and her thoughts moved to what he had said in his anger. The way Bondrewd had spoken of her had felt so… Artificial. How did one work to love someone?
It was those thoughts that upset her the most. How horrible she was to care more about herself than the fate of a child.
Arette walked for as far as she could, before her knees started to shake, her heart palpitating and her head dizzy.
Stupid heart. Couldn’t it hold up long enough to get them back home? She sank to her knees, panting as she started crying again.
“There they are!”
Arette looked up, and she could see Gueira running towards her, followed by a few other Umbra Hands.
“He… He lost a lot of blood.” Arette panted.
“The cold should have helped slow it down.” Gueira said calmly.
Bondrewd was removed from her back, and marched away quickly over the hill. She hoped he would be alright, but if the man could come back from the sixth layer, then death really wasn’t something that could hold him back.
“Come on, let's get you cleaned and warmed up.” Gueira said. He turned his back to her and crouched down, and she got onto his back.
They made it over the hill, and Ido Front was visible in the distance. She had managed to walk that far with him on her back? No wonder she felt so bad.
Thankfully Prushka didn’t see Bondrewd like that, but she guessed it was only a matter of time until she knew her father was injured.
Bondrewd meanwhile had already moved to another body, long before they had gotten help. He was the reason help even came. He was currently patching Bido up. The man turned to look at him, his scarred face a grimace. “Is she alright?”
“Yes, Geuira is cleaning her up.” Bondrewd snipped the twine for the stitches on his intestine, and moved to fix a laceration in his pancreas. It was fortunate that Bido had survived, his body was a very valuable asset. “It was only a punch. At most she will have a broken nose.”
“She carried me a long way...”
“She did yes. I don't think it will hurt anything too much.”
Bido’s head fell back on the table and he let out a shaky breath, running a clammy hand over his beard, “Though how are we going to explain you being fine, and me bed ridden?”
“Hmm. That is a conundrum. I will think of something. Perhaps I will take it easy for a few months.”
“That's a joke right?”
Bondrewd finished up the final sutures, and then cleaned off his hands. “Perhaps it's best if you stay low for a bit, I will say that you took a trip into the upper layers.”
“Yes sir.”
He threw the gloves and surgery gown away, and made his way to where Gueira and Arette were. He turned as he heard the familiar slap of feet, and he kneeled and held his arms open, prushka running to him and hugging him.
“Welcome back papa! How was your adventure? Did you and momma find anything?”
“It was eventful. Your momma was hurt a little bit. But It’s not serious, so don't fret okay?” he pet her cheek, standing back up, “As for finding anything, A few little things. I am sending Gyarike out to fetch them. We had to come home suddenly with no time to gather them.”
He picked her up, chuckling as she kissed his helmet, and the two of them went to see Arette.
She was of course, confused… Possibly angry.
“How are you up?!” Arette snapped, her voice nasally from the gauze pushed up her nose. “You should be in bed and recovering!”
“I am fine. As I said, you didn’t need to put in all that effort.” Bondrewd set Prushka on her feet, and the girl ran up to Arette and took her hands.
“Momma, your hands are all cold.” Prushka did her best to rub her hands over Arette’s fingers to warm them up, She then looked back at him a moment, “Why should you be in bed? Were you hurt, Papa?”
“He was very hurt!” Arette said, bordering on fury. She couldn't believe he was up after being impaled.
Bondrewd put his fingers over her lips, pinching them together. Her face went red, and she glared at him. “I am fine. You needn’t ever worry about me, Arette. How are you though? You carried me back all that way in the snow.”
“We are still working on easing the cold out of her.” Gueira spoke up, tidying up the first aid items he had used. “Her nose isn’t broken but it's swollen. She has a chipped incisor too. Nothing serious however, there was no need to repair it.”
“And her heart?”
“The P2 sounded good. Barely any accentuation.”
Bondrewd made a pleased sound. The pin was still helping keep her heart’s strength up then. He ruffled Prushka’s hair. “Go leave with Gueira, I need to speak with your momma. Alright?”
“Okay but you gotta tell me everything!” She threw her arms in the air for emphasis and Bondrewd chuckled.
Prushka and Gueira left, and Bondrewd turned to her. He had to be sure the confrontation had not shaken her. The thought of losing her affections was unpalatable. He began to speak, but she beat him to it.
“Am I just some pet project to you?” She asked, looking at him with a pained expression.
It was not the line of questioning he was expecting. Given her altruism he thought she would surely be more mad about the child Nura. He could tell it always upset her when she had to be reminded of what he did. “What makes you think that?”
“You said you put… Effort into me. Like I was a project.”
He could not deny it, though he would never say it. She was one. Just like how Prushka was a project. That, however, did not diminish his love for either one of them. They were his precious loves. The most important and valuable things to him, right along with Nanachi and Mitty, who he missed and thought of often.
Their value to him was immeasurable. Their worth impossible to calculate.
He kneeled down, sitting before her and taking her cold hands into his. “Arette, you are my wife. You mean the world to me. You are more valuable than any artifact in the abyss. You and Prushka both.”
He squeezed her hands and rested his helmet on her lap. She leaned over him and set her hands on his shoulders.
they sat like that for several long minutes, before Arette moved to hug his head to her torso.
“I am very tired.” Arette said quietly, “Can you help me get to our bedroom?”
“Of course. Your heroism has no doubt exhausted you.” Bondrewd stood and lifted her up, carrying her gently in his arms. “You were fantastic today. Thank you for helping me.”
He took her to bed, covering her up in her quilts. He nuzzled her cheek, and she lifted her hand to press his helmet closer to her face. “Please don’t leave that man to rot…” She said quietly, and Bondrewd was touched by her tender heart.
“I had no intention of doing that.”
He went to Gyarike once Arette fell asleep. “I need you to go out and pack everything up, at these coordinates.” he explained, motioning to the map of the sixth layer. “Collect what you can of the dead as well.”
“Yes sir.” Gyarike said dutifully, “it might take a day or two to locate everything, but it will be done.”
Gyarike returned in two days, and Bondrewd set to work cataloging the relics they found and would send them back up to auction after a few rounds of testing to see what they did. They had not found anything he intended to keep, but it always was fun to see what a relic did.
He paused at a familiar one. The shell Arette found. Bondrewd picked it up, admiring the carvings. After a moment, he lifted it to his head. He remembered how everyone said you could hear the sea in a shell, and he wondered if that was true.
He also wondered if he would hear the voice Arette mentioned.
For a moment, he heard nothing, and he wondered if it was better suited directly over his ear. But then, through his helmet, all he heard was the sobbing of children and the crying of the hollows in the garden.
“How fascinating. I wonder what-”
“Papa!”
Bondrewd pulled the shell away from his head at the second voice, looking at it for a moment. He set the shell back down on the table, turning to Gueira. “Gueira, prepare this one for the surface to auction off. It should fetch a decent price.”
“Yes sir. Have you figured out what it does already?”
Bondrewd turned to look at him. “I do not know for sure, but you hear voices from within.”
He left the room, slipping his notebook back into his pocket. He paused and pulled out the black whistle he had found on the ancient delver. He had taken the whistle from Bido’s coat.
That was right. He was going to give this to Prushka. He sought her out, kneeling down to her level and presenting it to her. “This is for you, Prushka.”
Her red eyes sparkled and she took it. “Papa, oh wow I love it!” She held it up above her head, in front of Meinya’s face. “Look Meinya, it's a black whistle!”
Meinya gave a few sniffs, then let out a little ‘nya’.
“That whistle is two-hundred years old. Treat it carefully, understand?”
She nodded, jumping up and down, before throwing her arms around his neck. “I will put it on my shelf where it will be safe! Thank you, Papa! I love you.”
“I love you too, Prushka.” He pet her cheek, and he watched as she ran off to show it to Gueira and Arette.
How adorable she was.