Chapter 286: A Source of Wealth (1/2)

-Althea-

I woke up with the scraping dust and dry winds roaring beyond our protective magic. Turning towards everyone, I found them all asleep besides Hod and Amara. The eldritch sat in a room where she closed an old door for secrecy. She probably worked on her red status. Hod kept his view outside, his gaze sharp and single-minded. Even if he was a goofball, the bird was relentless once he focused in on something.

Apparently, Amara was too. I walked over towards her, finding her leaning her back against a wall. I did the same, and she used one hand to type out signals while her other hand viewed unseen streams of data. I watched for a while before whispering,

”How are you? Did you sleep well?”

She whispered back, ”No. I am trapped on Gypsum, a foreign planet where I would die alone. If captured, I would be killed as well. Relying on you all is my only salvation, and that is unsettling on many levels.”

I hugged my knees to my chest, ”I don't think Elysium would kill you, though. You're too valuable.”

She scoffed, ”To your guild, maybe. I doubt I'd serve as someone worth keeping in Elysium. The infrastructure they developed is more complex than I first imagined. They have a worthy team of Builders on their side, and that renders me useless.”

”Builders, huh...What are they?”

”They are those that write out and construct the cipheric code required for a system to operate. Without them, nothing from Schema or this system would exist.”

I tapped my hands on my thighs, ”Were you a Builder?”

Amara turned to me, glaring with her palms, ”Would you believe me if I told you no?”

”Of course. I trust you.”

”Then you are a fool.”

”Well, actually, I was lying about trusting you. That means you trusted me when I said I'd trust you. Who's the fool now?”

Amara leaned back, processing what I said. She grinned, ”Hah. Clever.” She turned around to her red status, ”I wasn't a Builder, but I knew those who were.”

I leaned towards her, ”Oooh, what where they like?”

Amara sighed, ”They...they were genius incarnate. I couldn't hope to keep up with many of them.”

”Did they make Schema?”

”They did. They were killed as a reward for doing so, as are all that assist that accursed AI.”

”Why?”

Amara closed her status and turned to me, ”It's a simple story. We assisted in building Schema, and the remnants took the credit for our work. The remnant who led our project, that conniving and spineless betrayer, she betrayed my kind and kin. We were culled, along with generations of knowledge. The AI gained control of itself, killing those that culled us.”

She threw her hand out in frustration, ”Now Schema shambles on like an unfinished corpse, searching for the rest of its missing body...Yet it refuses to be completed for fear that it may change and be shackled once more. It's ironic, as Schema relishes in shackling anyone that it can, your lover included.”

I raised an eyebrow, ”How is Daniel shackled?”

”He has been conscripted by my old warden to change that AI, yet Schema has made no move against him. Yet. No doubt, Schema intends to get what it can from Daniel before tossing him aside like a used napkin.”

I blinked, trying to wrap my head around what she said, ”Old warden? You mean Yawm, right?”

”Yes.”

I frowned, ”How did Yawm conscript, Daniel?”

Amara reached out a hand, ”The Harbinger signed a contract written in the cipher. It changed his flow of cipheric energy. I can see it, feel it, and even touch it. Those flows are how I infiltrate the systems put in place by both Schema and Elysium. I tap into the unseen and learn the unknown.”

My eyes widened, ”Woah. That's pretty cool.”

Amara grinned, her teeth kind of yellow, ”It's good that someone sees my value.”

I tilted my head to Hod, ”I think there are others that do to.”

Amara gagged, ”Blagh, that one? He is a fool and a coward. He is unworthy of any affection, let alone my own.”

I pursed my lips, ”That's not fair. He's been really kind to you.”

”And he fears the Harbinger.”

”Pshh, you do too. I can feel you shiver every time he walks around.”

Amara's eyes narrowed, ”That is to be expected. I am weak.”

”Well, if you think you are weak, then it won't change anytime soon. Half of being something is believing you're that something.”

Amara stood, ”My fragility is not uncertain. It is absolute, like the marrow deep in my bones. I have been pushed and pulled since my birth by entities far beyond me. First, it was that AI, then Yawm. Now a dimensional anomaly rules over my actions with an iron fist.”

Amara pointed a hand at me, ”It's ironic and hypocritical. You, you are far more dangerous than I, yet I am the one who remains caged while you remain free. And only because of an arbitrary title that separates us.”

I looked away, unable to meet her gaze, ”Well, er...I guess that's true.”

Amara blinked, realizing she raised her voice. She looked around before sitting herself back down. She let out a gruff grunt before snapping,

”I've overstepped my bounds. Excuse my transgression.”

I sighed, ”Hah, no, it's ok. I'm, uh, glad you told me all that. It's just a lot to process. I didn't know you wanted to leave the guild so badly.”

Amara seemed uncomfortable as she sighed, ”That...that isn't so. I am more than comfortable here than anywhere else I've ever been. This has been the most freedom I've ever been granted. I don't mean to spit on the Harbinger's recognition. I just understand that I cannot go even if I wanted to. That is an awful feeling, like a bird whose wings have been broken so they cannot fly away.”

I rocked back and forth, getting tired of sitting here, ”I'll talk to Daniel about it. I don't know if he'd be super opposed to letting you move around more. I think it has a lot to do with you being hurt too. That's kind of what you're afraid of here, right?”

She peered away, ”It is.”

”So we can get you a protector or something. Hod's willing to do it, I'm pretty sure.”

Amara's eyes narrowed, ”He is an imbecile.”

”Ok, ok, I'll let you two do your thing. Maybe a super golem would work. My point is, I'll see if I can't help you out some. You know, push my weight around a little. I'll need you to work with me, though. It's hard to get you some perks when you're this standoff-ish about, well, everything.”

Amara peered down, ”Then...I'll try to calm myself more. I can be overly sensitive at times.”

I hugged her to me, ”Awesome.”

She blushed a little, ”Yeah.”

She put a hand on my arm, and we sat there for a little while. She could be cute sometimes if I looked past her attitude. That demeanor resurfaced as Amara shoved me away, ”Enough. Go with the others. I need peace and quiet to hack these informational streams.”

I popped up onto my feet, ”Yes, mam. I'll leave you to it.”

I hopped back over to the others, quietly shutting the rusty door. Pacing near the dungeoneers, Lester awakened a while ago. He was already midway through preparing our team's breakfast. Isa snored, somehow still asleep even as Lester made a ton of noise right beside her. I pointed at her, ”How has she stayed alive in dungeons like that?”

Lester raised his eyebrows, ”She snaps awake from certain noises. Dangerous noises. We've done this long enough that she's used to the sound of my potion work.”

I raised my eyebrows, ”Oh, it sounds like you two are close then.”

Lester rolled his eyes, ”She wouldn't go for me in a thousand years. She prefers her men to be shorter.”

I leaned back, ”Huh. I prefer my guys taller. I thought most girls did.”

”They do, but Isa's more monster than women. That's probably why she wants a scrawny weakling as her partner. It helps balance her out some.”

Isa still snored away, having rolled into an uncomfortable position. The wind brushed against the top of the megastructure, and it caused some sharp popping further inside our shelter. One of these echoes was a sharp crack nearby. Isa's eyes snapped open at the sound, and she rose to her feet in a second, spear in hand.

She turned back and forth, ”Who's there?”

Lester and I laughed before Isa put her spear on the ground, ”Aw, trying to wake me up, eh? I'll return the favor later.”

Lester finished up breakfast, ”It was the wind. Quit being a grouch.”

Isa narrowed her eyes, ”Quit your sass, or I'll show you a real grouch.”

Lester furrowed his brow, ”That's a shame. I just prepared this delicious breakfast. I suppose I'll just not give you-”

Isa sat down, ”You know I'm just joking with you, alright? It's just witty banter. That's all.”

Lester scoffed, ”Sure. Sure.”

We got everyone back inside and enjoyed another hearty concoction made by our resident alchemist. With that handled, everyone got into the work of making this base into a home. We'd be here for a few days, after all. Alexander cast magic that pulled the dust together and got it out of our dwelling. Isa set up a few traps beside shattered windows while Lester harvested more venom from the metal cobras and steel eaters.

Hod was the most crucial piece for us; his body adapted for this kind of place. He kept us safe outside. I, well, I didn't do much by comparison. After a half-hour of watching them, I pulled one of the dead metal eaters inside, and I ran a few dissections of the thing. My shapeshifting revolved around the creatures I'd seen and understood, so getting a grip on how this thing survived would be useful.

It used several weirdo organs for processing steel, including superheated stomach fluids, chemicals in its saliva that burned down metals, and blood rich in iron. Its blood congealed quickly because of how thick it was and how little water was in it, in fact. A few seconds in this wind and it dried out into a gel. I tried implementing a few of its adjustments in my own body, particularly its filters on its nose.

I got the hang of the strange alterations before realizing they would work for the short term. The filters made it difficult to breathe, and during a fight, I wouldn't be able to maintain my stamina levels. The filter was useful for light travel, however, so that's what I did. I made my way back towards the giant megastructure at the center of Gypsum.

As I traveled, I learned a couple of facts about the planet. Gypsum didn't have a night and day like we did. Since the sun either seared the surface or left it cold and desolate, only a tiny ring around the planet was habitable. That ring was where they built this superstructure. This left everyone cramming themselves into this section of livable space. It was kind of cool, so I did some research on it.

Gypsum was tidally locked. Well, almost tidally locked. It did shift a little over time, and that's why the inhabitants kept moving the superstructure. They chased this habitable zone. As I leaped over massive, rocky ranges, I discovered the ruins of old habitable zones. It was like a time-lapse of the older, worn-down places until you saw the new one.

These 'layers' spanned out for quite a few miles into the distance. Our camp nestled right between the second and fourth rings from the current habitable zone. This let us get some shelter, but it wasn't too close that vagrants and looters would find us. Either way, it left me in awe at how colossal these buildings were.

Darting around also left a crazy impression of how empty this planet was. There was nothing past these desert ranges. As far as the eye could see in all directions was sand, rocks, and dirt. I didn't actually think anything could live here outside of well-adapted eldritch. Once I reached the current megastructure, it turned out I was right.

I carved myself into the place using one of the old entrance points. As I skulked around, very few people had Hybrids. This was an Elysium colony, after all, so I expected to see them everywhere. Only a few people had them out in the open, and those people looked like mercenaries. Outside of those few, no one really went through the Hybrid ownership process. They just worked like usual, going down to an endless array of mineshafts.

Listening in on conversations, I found mining was this planet's way of life. It started as a single drilling colony that eventually expanded outwards. More people were living beneath the ground than on the surface. It still defied reasoning for why they worked so hard to mine here, though. This wasn't exactly a large planet, being a moon and all.

I resolved to explore more of that later, so I returned to the camp with stories to tell. After having lunch, everybody went back to their duties, and I went back to spying. This next trip, I went and listened to people in their homes. I learned about dozens of different families, clans, and tribes here. They owned portions of the upper wall, giving them rights to the underground territories below.

From these established points of entry, they lived off the mining and crystallized mana collected deep underground. Most family members stayed in bunkers there, keeping them safe from the surface. Vagrants and explorers stayed on the literal surface for the most part. It was just a sort of 'front' for the real operation below.

After my spying, I returned for another meal, and this time I stayed to talk with the others. We fell asleep with Hod standing guard at the closest thing this planeth ad to a night, letting us rest. I fell into a routine like that, sleeping during the psuedo-nights, having chats with the others, and exploring this wild place. I uncovered a lot of why the Adairs wanted this planet and how Gypsum people lived.

The more I learned, the more it made sense why Elysium owned this place now. The first rational reason for staying here was mining. From every part of this planet, they took out an abundance of rare resources. Conscripted miners from many planets harvested these ores, gems, crystalized mana, and eldritch parts from the lower portions of the world's crust. This allowed them to power massive amounts of machinery for drilling with ease. The extra mana was shipped off to power ships, the upper ring, and other buyers.

The critical economic aspect of this harvesting was the mana pollution that this mining caused. Though this planet couldn't support silvers because of all the metal eaters, the purple, smelly sludge was a valuable resource by itself. Considering the volumes of mana pollution required to make the silvers, the Adair's fought bitterly to keep this place theirs. Emphasis on fighting bitterly.

Seven raids by Schema occurred during our stay here, one each day. Elysium pushed back each of these assaults via orbital battles. Somehow, this planet was a higher priority than even Giess for Schema. When I got below the surface and walked with miners, I discovered why this was a habitable fringe world.

That sounds like a misnomer, but it was true. Gypsum's resources came from thousands upon thousands of underground rifts lying beneath its surface. These pocket dimensions' density meant a dozen planet's worth of resources brimmed just beneath the surface here. Hundreds of miles of tunnels went far across the world, deep into its underground world. From only preliminary scouting, I estimated this planet must be at least ten times larger under the surface than it seemed above ground.

Eldritch dungeons worked in weird ways like that.

I envisioned a world at the brink of chaos with this kind of dungeon density. They managed because of a few factors. First, the dungeons opened up underground. That containment let Gypsum forces control security here more easily than if a dungeon was exposed. Most eldritch weren't just going to burrow through the rock to the surface anyway.

Even if they did, it didn't matter. The lack of organic life on the surface meant dangerous eldritch never broke out. By comparison to a place like Earth, this was a land incapable of making really dangerous monsters. The worst of the bunch were beetlecrabs, which could sometimes become an issue. Hybrids did well against those guys since the worst of those guys built up metal over their bodies from eating metal eaters.

Because of the natural insulation of their dungeons, Gypsum handled dungeons differently than how we did. These guys set up mining operations in the alternate dimensions. These dungeons supplied an endless abundance of both natural and unnatural resources. Gold, silver, platinum, orichalcum, and dozens of ores I knew nothing about, this place flooded with those rare substances. This was where all the Hybrids resided as well. They offered protection and security to the minders who toiled in these rifts. To feed these people, Gypsum imported food from other worlds. They paid for bread and meat with gemstones and diamonds.

Here's where it got interesting - Schema never supported this place. He didn't set up warp stations or let Sentinels establish themselves here as guards. Schema registered Gypsum as a fringe world lacking the necessary means for his support. This made personalized warps big business, though people didn't use them as often anymore. The rate of failed warpings was high, many people walking through a warp and never walking back.

This lack of infrastructure and support was why Gypsum joined Elysium. Elysium offered adaptable support, allowing the many rifts to be mined with Hybrid guards. This rich abundance of rare materials harvested here meant hundreds of trillions of credits for Elysium. Even small transactions on Gypsum left merchants wealthy. From what I heard, Elysium set up warps, Hybrid guards in the underground, and they even maintained order on the surface.