Chapter CLII

The light from the light sphere holds up despite all the chaos, allowing her to see her surroundings. The air is hot and uncomfortable, and the smell of dust hangs around them, coating everything after Nero's spell. She and Axe had managed to get through what remained of the door and find refuge in the mine's main tunnel, gaining greater protection from the blast.

Slowly getting to her feet and seeing Axe do the same, she asks at the same time as him, "Are you alright?"

The fact that they ask each other the same question makes her feel more at ease. He would only start with that question if he wasn't in too bad a shape himself. She nods a yes in response, just as he does.

With that, they both get up and go to check on the others. The three of them are tangled up together just outside of the door, but they seem to be moving just fine.

Axe wastes no time asking them, "Are you guys alright?"

"A little sore, but fine," comes Seres's battered voice.

"I think I hurt my arm a little when I fell. But I'm fine!" Adar's voice follows.

"Check the most important thing for me," Nero declares strangely, still sprawled on the ground as the other two begin to get up.

Seres examines Nero's back in particular, as though looking for something, before declaring with conviction, "A little singed. But not too badly."

Adar immediately follows up. "I can confirm it. You got lucky this time."

Resulting in a loud and genuinely relieved, "Thank god!"

Carrion can only ask Axe with her eyes, Any idea? In response, she gets a shake of the head and the same confusion she feels herself.

"You know, I'm starting to suspect that the problem isn't that new clothes are cursed. It's more that these ones are incredibly resistant," Seres comments abruptly.

Nero, who is also beginning to get up, merely grumbles, "Shut up, Blondie," before staring at his sleeves very thoughtfully, as though considering Seres's suggestion.

Carrion shakes her head and comments to herself, "They're talking about clothes!"

Given what she has just been through, the conversation is so aggravating that she can't help herself and has to ask,

"What was that?"

Everyone turns to look at her, suggesting she might have spoken a little louder than she intended.

After a brief pause, however, Nero, who should know best, finally answers without any particular expression.

"A fireball."

She isn't even sure how to respond. Does he genuinely think she was asking about the fireball? Even if the spell was exactly what she thinks it was, surely there is a more important question to address right now.

Taking a deep breath, she tries to clarify.

"I'm talking about that thing over there."

As she speaks, she points towards the ramp visible through the destroyed doorway.

He follows her gesture without expression, then looks back at her as though reassessing her.

"Wasn't for knowing things like that what I hired you for?"

For a moment, she feels as though she's about to explode.

How is that supposed to answer her question? He obviously knows everything there is to know about this mine, so why is he being so evasive about this?

Can he really be this irritating?

"Nero, she must be asking because she doesn't know. Right?" Seres interjects somewhat timidly.

"She can't know everything, can she?" Adar adds in support.

"Yes," Nero apparently agrees before continuing, "I haven't the faintest idea what that thing is called. I only know it exists here and in some ruin or other... Though I can't remember exactly which one."

"But that attack took care of whatever it is we're talking about, right?" Axe asks. Even having been spared the unpleasant experience of actually seeing the creature, he still goes to the most important question.

Nero gives a faint smile and replies in an almost amused tone, "Of course not! Those are just extensions. The core that needs to be destroyed is at the bottom of the mine, right beside a massive crystal."

"Until we destroy that part, our friend over there is merely a little hurt."

"So how do we deal with it?" Axe continues, pointing towards the problem.

"Deal with it?" Nero still doesn't seem concerned.

"I didn't even want to go down there in the first place!" he explains, sounding annoyed as he gives her a reproachful look.

Which offends her; she got in this mess due to an accident.

"As if I wanted to..." she mutters before explaining what happened.

When she finishes, Adar is the first to comment.

"So the creature had already started exploring this area?" referring to the vine she had seen at the door.

Everyone looks towards the ramp.

"Maybe it noticed the movement and came to investigate," Axe theorises. Though that does nothing to resolve the danger they're facing.

Remembering Nero's earlier comment, she asks, "You said the creature wasn't particularly dangerous, just annoying. So you have a way to defeat it?"

"Probably. Between the skeletons and the fireballs, I should be able to eliminate it. But it would be a long and tedious job," he replies with a shrug.

"Skeletons!!" Axe sighs, loudly enough for his voice to echo through the tunnel.

He immediately looks tense, having realised he has said too much.

Fortunately, she can resolve the situation with a curt, "Relax. It's summoning."

They all turn towards her, and she clarifies, particularly for Axe's benefit.

"He used summoning magic. Essentially, he created a skeleton out of thin air. If he had the magic for it, he could have created a horse too. There's nothing wrong with that."

She explains it much as her own master had taught her to understand summoning.

Her companion visibly relaxes.

Then applause echoes through the tunnels. Turning around, she sees Nero clapping with a satisfied expression.

"Congratulations! You're literally the first person to see this spell without immediately starting to scream 'necromancy'. Grumpy, remind me to give her a bonus at the end, just for that."

To Carrion, this suggests he must have been using the spell in front of people who don't know anything about magic. Which would be the most normal thing to open, and it would definitely cause quite a bit of confusion.

Still, the bonus comes at a very convenient time.

At that moment, Nero's mule appears in the distance, almost as though it had been summoned by the conversation. She can't help thinking to herself, Honestly, I can't imagine why anyone would associate Nero with necromancy. Nothing suspicious about him and that mule. Nothing at all.

"The mule's here!" Seres announces.

She tries to steer the conversation back to what matters.

"But what are we going to do about the creature? We can't count on everyone being as lucky as I was and having someone show up at just the right moment."

Which raises another question: how had they found her so quickly?

She asks them immediately.

"The same way Blondie must have found you guys so quickly," Nero replies, pointing towards Adar and Axe.

"It's time for the shift change. We only noticed the time after you were already missing, so we came straight after you," Seres explains, while the other two nod in confirmation.

That makes sense. Spending too much time underground really messes with your sense of time!

"When we got here, next to the completely destroyed door. We heard a scream, and then I went to help. While Blondie was trying to get the other two," finishes the story, Nero.

"As for the creature, we're not doing anything about it for now. Other than closing this door," Nero replies. He receives uneasy looks, and not just from her and Axe.

This prompts him to continue.

"Look, dealing with the creature now would be a lot of work, and it might not be worth it if we find what we need somewhere else."

He pauses briefly, as though weighing whether he should say any more, before continuing.

"Besides, it might be useful for now to have a mine that only one person can safely enter."

He says, pointing his thumb at himself.

She understands. Exclusive access to the mine could genuinely be valuable to him, and even if she wanted to argue against it, she couldn't.

"Then we'll have to go back to the village and buy at least a few planks and nails to seal the entrance," Axe announces, taking a practical approach. "And some shovels and pickaxes for the work ahead."

It is an idea nobody objects to, so everyone nods in agreement.

"Look, maybe we should get some rest first. I don't think we're going to get anything useful done today," Adar suggests, waiting for Nero's permission.

Fortunately, Nero grants it.

As they begin to leave, a limping Carrion, with her knee still in a mess, looks up at the sphere of light. And, remembering what it was like to be lost in the darkness, asks, "Could you teach me that spell?"

She points towards the floating orb.

Nero is the one who answers, in a relaxed tone.

"Talk to those two. And if you can, try teaching them your ice spell. Maybe it's time they started being something more than helpless."