All the Dust that Falls

Chapter 289: What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

We all flew along high over the trees at an impressive pace. Beatrice was the limiting factor of our traveling speed, as carpets could only move so fast. As much as I enjoyed a good carpet, I considered that they might not have been the best method transportation. I could fly circles around it. Though I could also do the same around Daedalus if I tried. So maybe it wasnt so bad after all.

We continued pretty much straight in the direction that the illusion Lieutenant had been going as Archibald and Daedalus took us to the location they had discovered. It was just as they described: a giant mountain. As we got closer, I could make out the scorch mark trail occasionally dotting the landscape as the demon had made its way here.

We landed in a small clearing on the mountainside just below the tree line. As we touched down, Beatrice got off her carpet and shivered. "It's very cold."

Archibald waived his fur-covered hands. "That's why you always bring gloves when you're flying."

"You know, that would have been a good idea..."

He tossed her an extra pair from his pocket. Beatrice nodded gratefully as she caught them. "Thanks.

I followed Archibald to the cracks where they had last tracked the Lieutenant. Daedalus had to wait outside as the three of us squeezed into the tight space. Archibald was only able to make it a few dozen feet into the very narrow cave before it got too small for even him. But he pointed out signs that the Lieutenant had actually come through this way.

After analyzing them myself, I agreed they had 100% entered into this cave and gone further in than either of the humans could. I, though, was able to turn sideways and keep going. Every once in a while, I had to shave off a little bit of rock with my laser to clear the path, but it wasn't too hard to find a small, narrow opening to get several hundred feet deeper into this seemingly endless crack.

Eventually, I made it through enough twists and turns that my audio started to pick up something. There was a breeze. A gentle whistle of air from a crosswind farther down in the tunnel. Not just that, though. I also heard chattering. A series of weird voices speaking in a language I didn't understand.

I opened my soul sight to see if I could find anything, and it clearly showed what we were looking for. At least one Lieutenant was there. In fact, I could feel the power radiating off of a collection of souls. Ones that indicated we were dealing with more than just the flame Lieutenant. Sorting through all the data, I found the jagged red souls of six Lieutenants in total.

I thought to myself. The illusion one and the flame one had to be here, I assumed, but there were four other lieutenants. Ones whose shapes I couldn't make out directly as I could only hear them and see their souls. But maybe I could put my newly optimized echolocation subroutines to use here.

I quickly analyzed the audio feeds coming from the room, combing through the data streams to get an estimation of the rooms size and shape. A predictive model appeared in my processors. It was a massive hollow sphere at least a couple hundred feet in diameter, with no openings on this side. On the other side, though, there was an archway that seemed to be engraved with runes in the wall, but again, there was no opening.

Was this a trap? Had they gathered here to lure us to them so they could fight us when we were outnumbered? Maybe, but I was fairly certain that the four of us would be a match for them. Maybe. Regardless, I headed back to tell the others what Id found.

When I got back, both Beatrice and Archibald had left the cramped cave and were chatting with Daedalus. I came out, and they all looked up expectantly. "There are Lieutenants in there."

"Lieutenants?" Archibald asked with an arched eyebrow.

"I think six," I replied. "The illusion and fire ones were both there."

A curtain of silence fell over my companions at my report. For a moment, no one spoke. "Can we take that many?" Archibald asked, doubt clearly written on his face.

Beatrice also looked concerned, but Daedalus seemed satisfied. "Yeah, we can do it," he said. "I can take two and distract them, at least. And if you and Beatrice work together, I'm sure you can take another two."

That would mean that I would have to fight two, something that I wasn't exactly pleased about, but I was fairly confident in doing. Especially at this point. When no one objected, I projected another message. "Well, let's make a plan."

***

20 minutes later, we circled around to the other side of the mountain. It was a bit of a long flight, but we stayed low, hoping we hadn't been detected yet. My advanced sensors scanned the mountainside until, eventually, I found a very well-hidden and matching arch of runes carved into a recess on the other side of the mountain. Excluding damage from wear and general imperfections in the rock, it was a 98% match to the one I had detected within the mountain. I assumed that it was the entrance of their meeting chamber.

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Beatrice started to write them down and pointed them excitedly, picking out runes and talking about them with Archibald. I let them do it for a minute. It seemed like they were having fun. And besides, I had another issue to solve.

I came to hang out with Daedalus and asked how he was doing. He let out a huffing sigh. "I'm glad you found an entrance, but I don't think there's any way I can fit through there."

"We can't leave you behind," I insisted. "You're too much of an asset for our fighting plan."

"I would never be left behind," Daedalus protested. "I might just have to burn a hole through the top of the mountain to come in."

"Hmm," I thought, "how fast does your flame eat through rock?"

"Faster than any other flame," Daedalus said defensively.

But I ran some quick models from my experience with his flames. From what Id seen, it would take a long time. Too long. Not to mention be a pretty obvious indication of our presence. Why don't you just try to dig the tunnel a little wider as we go through?"

"Me, a dragon, dig? No way," Daedalus flatly refused. Thats beneath me.

I tried to convince him more that moving dirt around was, in fact, a high calling and putting it in the proper space was a very important task that was beneath no one. But Daedalus didn't want to get his claws dulled by the dirt. Sadly, I had to let the matter drop for the moment.

My processors ran through other possibilities. I probably couldn't move that much material quickly either, even though my abilities did allow for quick cleaning. That sheer amount of dirt to be moved meant it wasnt really cleaning anymore. It'd be a bit of a stretch to call it that, and Daedalus's massive size and strength definitely gave him an advantage for that task compared to me.

"Well, once we get inside, there's space for you," I said. "But we have to get you through about a quarter mile of rock first."

"Hmm," Daedalus grumbled with a frown. Maybe we can bring the Lieutenants out here? Though it seems very difficult to fight them in an open area where they might get away"

I had an idea, but I wasn't sure how to propose it. It was a risky one to be sure. One that Id rather save as a last resort. "What if I can bring you inside?

Really? Do you have one of those skills that lets you call a friend to your side?"

I perked up. A skill like that existed? If so, I would definitely prefer that option. I focused on the description and scanned to see if any skill made itself readily available. But sadly, no. I did have a see through rock skill, though. I tried to look into the mountain, but it only penetrated about ten feet. Still, that might be useful for the future. I added it to my general suite of sensor-related abilities that I could flip through.

With that done, I continued explaining my idea to Daedalus. "No, I have a pocket dimension."

I used a word that I'd read in textbooks to explain it. Hopefully it would make more sense that way than saying my dustbin was really big. "Unfortunately, there's some effects that it might have on living beings. But as long as you're not in there for too long, it should be fine. I mean, dragons are extremely magical, right?

"Hmm," Daedalus said, "we are very magical"

Then maybe itll be ok. When I put an apple in there, it imbues it with magical properties."

As Daedalus considered that, Beatrice came jogging over to us. "Hey, we think we figured it out. The runes allow us to open a tunnel, and it should be a quick, straight path into the mountain center. Unfortunately, it'll open the whole tunnel at the same time, so they'll have some warning before we get there."

I gave a beep of disappointment. That wasn't great, but still. At least we had a way in. "Do we have any idea what the other Lieutenants are? So we can prepare a bit more."

She shook her head. "No. No idea bout the other four." Beatrice replied. "Though I would like to fight against the illusion one, if possible. I have a good ability that lets me see through deception."

"Thats fine with me. I would like to fight the fire one," Daedalus offered, "and whichever other one comes to help it. We will see who can burn hotter between me and that upstart."

That was fine with me. I wasn't going to deny him his chance to get revenge on the demon that attacked his brother, so I agreed, not really caring.

"So, Archibald asked, How are we going to get Daedalus in? I don't think he's going to fit through the tunnel."

"Well, Spot here has a way to maybe transport me briefly. It should be safe enough," Daedalus explained for me.

Beatrice looked concerned. "You don't mean..."

I gave her a beep of confirmation and she frowned. "Is it truly safe, master? I wouldn't dare question you, but..." She hesitated. "Well, things come out of there changed more often than not."

I agreed, but we didn't have much choice. Besides, things usually came out stronger, didn't they? So maybe it would be a good thing! I communicated that to her.

She nodded, but still seemed to hold reservations. "Right. They did come out stronger, but..."

"It will be short," I reassured her and Daedalus both. "We don't have other options."

"Alright." Beatrice finally agreed. "Then let me know when you're ready."

We gathered at the entryway, and Beatrice muttered something and tossed some magical powders at the door before placing her hand on one of the runes. It glowed with a purple light, followed by the rest of the runes in the arch, and then the rock within the tunnel vanished. Quickly, as soon as the tunnel appeared, I allowed my void to expand outward and pulled Daedalus inside.

The massive red dragon seemed to stretch impossibly as he was sucked into my dustbin through the largest void bubble I had ever created. Inside, I could feel him settle into place in his own space, unable to interact with the rest of the stuff in my dustbin. I kept him there, quarantined as best I could manage for his own safety. And with that, we were off like a shot through the tunnel, ready to fight the Lieutenants.