51. The Rockspine Overlook Infiltration

After days in forests, the blasted tableland of Rockspine Overlook was a stark and exposed plain. By mid-afternoon, the group could see the first signs of buildings even though they were still a kilometre away. Two buildings stood proud of the rock and scrub, the larger of the two facing a cliff drop facing south…and home. No wonder the Empire to the north felt safe from invasion to the south. Rockspine Overlook was the southernmost point of cliffs that stretched for hundreds of kilometres east and west. The larger building was two storeys tall and had a crystal shard winking orange in the midday sun. The second building was smaller, only a single storey with no fancy decoration on its roof. Beyond, a chasm ran from the north and opened at the cliff face. Here, an installation something like a chimney jutted out from the rock. Not far away, viewing platforms facing east and south were built below the level of the plateau and were only visible by their roofs. It was clear that much of Rockspire Overlook was underground, built into the cliffside.
 
The large building had a regular patrol of armed guards who could quickly investigate any disturbance at the smaller.
“Okay, looks simple to me, frontal assault at the larger building,” Marius said.
“Ah no, funny man,” Nox grumbled, “Keep jokes like that for when we’re all safe at Tiltspire.”
 
It was only possible to get closer by exposing themselves to the guards. It was true Nox could teleport them to the front door, but that would instantly alert the guards. Nox looked up at the cloudless sky. She could make her form look like a small flock of birds if she were high enough.
“Throw me?” She asked Fureva-Yung, who didn’t hesitate. Using the momentum Fureva-Yung had given, Nox levitated to sail high into the air. From her vantage, she spotted a small bridge in the chasm, joining the east side of Rockspine to the west. Focused on Rockspine as she was, Nox did not see the large, shiny metal bird until she had levitated right into its flight path. With a sickening thud, they collided midair. The bird screamed, rattling Nox’s brain in her skull and sending her senses reeling. She couldn’t determine up or down as the ground and sky flashed by. With its two pairs of six-metre-wide wings, the bird righted itself and swept around, grabbing Nox in its metal talons. With the ground and safety an unknown, Nox opted for her worm dagger and lashed out at the bird's legs to no avail.
“Be nice,” said a voice, metallic but intelligent.
“Or what? You won’t feed me to your little one?” Nox replied as her senses slowly returned to her.
“I intend to do no such thing,” Returned the voice, “How is it you were in my flight path?”
“I was thrown up, by the big one down there,” Nox pointed, first at her group and then to the buildings. “I wanted to see the buildings better and didn’t intend to hit anything. I’m Nox. What’s your name?”
“He who is named Indomion.”
 
As they two spoke, the metal bird slowly lost height. Nox noticed that Fureva-Yung had pulled out the Purge-spitter cypher to shoot down the silver beast.
“You better land away from my friends. They don’t understand you are helping me.”
Indomion banked to better view the three companions on the ground.
“She looks like a good fighter. I will do as you suggest.”
“What is she playing at?” Marius said as the trio on the group first watched as Nox grappled with the giant metal bird, then seemed to direct it towards the ground, away from them. She was too far away for telepathic communication, and they were too close to Rockspine Outlook for shouting. As Indomion glided down to the ground, all they could do was run to intercept. Fureva-Yung used her fleet of foot to narrow the gap as the others jogged in behind.
 
Nox waved to Fureva-Yung before the metal bird landed, releasing its hold on her.
Precocious child! Marius sent via the link as soon as he was back in range.
What did I do now? Nox wailed, pointing back at the impressive bird behind her, I accidentally crashed into Indomium.
“Do not eat Nox!” Fureva-Yung threatened with the purgespitter. Indomium head swivelled, metal feathers sliding against metal feathers to face the warrior.
“I do not think she would be tasty,” Indomium’s beak clacked, proving that if that had been their intent, there would have been nothing Fureva-Yung could have done about it.
“What do you eat?” Marius asked. He had no idea what a giant metal bird would find tasty.
“Small creatures, nemijin,” Indomium replied offhandedly, naming a creature none had heard of before.
“What brings you into collision with our Nox?”
“I explore the land, taking an interest in old-world buildings.’
“We’ve just arrived,” Nox explained, “We want to know about those ones over there,”
“That complex goes deep into the cliffside and is a marvel of the old world.”
“We also come from a building from the old world, a giant spire that is a prison and…well, a teleporter,” Nox added, which meant the group spent some time explaining the Spire, its location and function. In return, Indomium shared what information they had on Rockspine Overlook.
 
“It was once a research facility, though I have yet to discover what the project was. The complex is much larger than seen from here and goes right to the bottom of the cliff.”
“We’d planned to go in the top,” Marius said, sensing an opportunity for more information, “Would you recommend another way in?”
“I cannot tell what lies beyond the walls, but,” Indomium turned back to Nox, who had taken herself away to rest after the collision, “I would be willing to take Nox here down to the base of the cliff and show her the other entrances.”
 
It was an offer too good to pass up, and soon, Indomium and Nox were soaring out over the cliff's edge. They plummeted down twenty metres into the dry valley, passing the viewing platforms only hinted at and two bridges that spanned the chasm. Indomium glided into the chasm, showing Nox the tiny stream and two sets of doors. The first were large double doors closest to the cliff face. It was guarded by an armed Redboot mounted patrol on the hairy beast similar to the creatures they had arrived on. The stream trickled into the chasm from outside, entering the complex through a stone conduit in the rock face. Passed the stream and a narrow path the mounted guards were too wide to walk, a second set of double doors stood at the end of the chasm. Leaving the chasm and following the cliff face to the west, Nox spotted a small hole on the western side between two lookouts. Flying past, the light from outside showed a small round room dominated by a crystal like the one on the larger building.
 
“From my research, the bulk of the old facility is housed in the eastern section, below the two buildings,” Indomium instructed Nox as they emerged from the chasm. Gained height once more they returned to the others to share their news.
 
“Sounds like we should have Nox teleport us to one of the two bridges and then see if we can find some friends,” Marius said excitedly at the thought of action.
“That is a bad idea,” Jaden squashed that idea almost instantly, “We know one side is constantly staffed with lookout guard, and we’d be open to attack by whoever cam to help them from the other side. Fighting a two-front battle and alerting everyone to our presence simultaneously.”
“Well, we could teleport straight to the front door,” He added, which was equally as unappealing.
 
The bickering about which way to enter the Rockspine circled between Jaden, Marius and Nox. All the while, Fureva-Yung took note of Indomion’s metal feathers.
“Metal flyer, I like your feathers. Can we trade for one?”
“You wish to trade for one of my feathers?” Imdomion sounded surprised at the idea, “I need my feathers to fly? What do you have to trade?”
Fureva-Yung rummaged around in her bag and pulled out a cypher that when activated dripped a glowing line of luminescent paint. Though almost useless to Fureva-Yung, their interest in Indomion and the cypher’s rareness swayed the metal bird into handing over a secondary flight feather from close to the body.
 
“What if we teleport into the small room? If it’s inhabited, it would be easy to defend, and if we don’t like it, I can safely teleport us out.”
“Wrong side though,” Marius noted, which Nox did agree. They would have to travel through the western side of the complex to find the main installation.
“The guards on the ground can’t reach those small doors to the back of the chasm. Why not go there?”
Jaden suggested and it was quashed for the same reasons as Nox’s suggestion.
 
All afternoon, ideas were suggested and rejected. Marius would suggest an attack on the small buildings, the others would say the guards to the large building were too close. Teleport into a lookout? Instant fight with guards that would draw others. The sun was dipping low when Nox suggested the small alcove again.
“It looked empty. From there, we may see somewhere else we can teleport to. It may even be a good base for us if it’s forgotten. We wouldn’t lose anything by looking.”
Without a better idea they could all agree on, they all grudgingly accepted. Jaden and Marius put on the uniforms of the guards they’d surprised on the road, and with a wave to Indomion, they teleported into the alcove.
 
The alcove was dark, only lit by slanting light through the hole Nox had noticed from the outside. The room was small, a little more than four metres across, with a yellow crystal in the centre. A passage out of the room was collapsed and full of boulders. It was clear that it had been a long time since anyone had visited the room.
 
Jaden looked out the crack out onto the valley below the cliff. Marius and Fureva-Yung went to see about the collapsed passageway and started moving rock to make a small passage to see what it led to. The yellow crystal entranced Nox. Scanning it, she could tell it was dense and could store kinetic energy, which was intriguing. She flicked its translucent surface with her index finger. The crystal glowed and hummed, turning the tiny shock into light and sound.
“Why must you play with things?” Both Marius and Jaden face-palmed at the potential implications.
“Let’s not do anything hasty,” Jaden pulled the weakly protesting Nox away from her new toy. Fureva-Yung stopped her work and asked everyone to be silent as she listened to the spaces around her.
 
Using the sounds of life that bounced through the complex, Furreva-Yung constructed a detailed plan of the floor they were on just with sound. She could hear footsteps as they bounced down passages. She could hear doors open and closed, defining those hallways. She heard wooden staves hitting heavy padding and the grunts of exertion defining a training room. She could hear the clang of metal on heavy metal and the roar of a furnace, a blacksmith nearby. She heard the bubbling of water, the short, sharp chopping sounds of vegetables being prepared, a kitchen preparing the evening meal.
 
Marius made a small gap in the rock fall enough for him to slither into the hall beyond. To the right, the upper bridge across the chasm he’d wanted to teleport to lay. To the left, the passage split, one going to a lookout and another deep into the rock. He even dared to sneak onto the bridge. Down a level, a broken bridge led to a pair of doors in the western wall of the chasm and a dark space to the east. When the sound of marching feet caught his attention, he quickly returned to the safety of the room.