Melody of the Builders 2

“Ugh. Just shut up already.” 

It was a fairly normal request for the maid who spoke though she herself and her circumstances were anything but. Possessed of the ability to hear the Builders’ Song the maid of fifteen springs was prone to hear it from where she lay in a pile of earth, rubble, and stone. Though she could hear it, it could not affect her like it could the world at large for she was possessed of what was known as a Relic. These mysterious artifacts from the Age of Ash that granted their wielders distinct power were an enigma in many ways but the one that the maid possessed was particularly unique. A suit of chainmail that nigh fit the maid as though it were her own skin covered her from her chin to the soles of her feet with not a sign of strap, buckle, or seam. Though difficult to see where the long, brown haired maid laid a black cape seemed to grow out of the mail starting from where her pectorals ended at the shoulder. Opening her large, round, brown eyes the maid looked up through the clouds of dust that wafted about and into the blue sky beyond the mountain peaks that framed the pit she lie in.

“So I’m alive, but what about Varen?”

Sitting up the maid demonstrated an impressive strength despite being too thin to put to any use the curves of her slender figure, beyond her acceptable bosom, as the chunks of rock and stone that should have pinned her fell away with ease. All except for that which pinned her blood soaked left arm. The limb would have hung limp and unresponsive at her side had it not been pinned so but as it was her attempts to sit up put strain on the limb and it tore at her shoulder causing the maid great pain.

“CRAP!”

The shout of pain erupted from the maid and she near bit her tongue as she clamped her teeth together to stop herself from yelling out further. Putting her lithe body to work she twisted against the pain and curled into a ball with her feet positioned against the stone that pinned her unresponsive arm. Stretching out her legs the maid shoved the stone away and it tumbled away down the side of the rubble pile she was in.

“Dammit!”

Standing up the maid looked at her blood drenched left arm as it hung unresponsive at her side but rife with pain at her shoulder. Gritting her teeth she grabbed the limb and shoved the joint back into its socket with her tremendous strength. The motion, while effective, was extremely painful and the maid did her best to hold back the feral sound that rose up from her chest and sought to pass her clenched teeth. Arching her back against the pain the maid stared off into the blue sky above as her eyes watered. Eventually the pain began to numb and the maid exhaled as she won her battle against her throbbing body.

“Alright Chain, you’re alive and things should start to get better from here.”

Speaking aloud the maid identified herself as none other than Chain, an infamous adventurer from the Southern Kingdoms who had found herself in the Stormroot Mountains and embroiled in a quickly brewing plot. None of that concerned the maid however at this time as she was more concerned about her own well being. Looking down at herself there was little sign of her injuries beyond the blood that soaked her as her chainmail showed no signs of damage. Of greater concern to Chain was the empty scabbard hanging from a thread of shadow on her left hip.

“Crap. I did throw it didn’t I?

“So now what Chain? You’re alone, injured, and unarmed. To make matters worse from the looks of this cavern there’s no getting back on the road.”

Taking her attention off of herself Chain scanned her surroundings. The sky above was visible only because the top of the grass filled cavern she now occupied had completed disappeared, though at least some remnants of it remained as Chain herself had been half buried in the rubble. Beyond the rubble pile and grass the cavern was strewn with remnants of an ancient ruin carved from the mountain rock and light bleached white in color. Red stripes of paint along with numerous symbols decorated the ruins but the meanings of the symbols were lost on Chain. That meant little to the maid though as the sight of the ruins caused a light to come alive in her eyes.

“Don’t tell me… It is isn’t it?”

Skipping down from the rubble pile Chain sprinted over to and quickly began studying a smooth column that once rose to the missing ceiling of the cavern. The obvious man made structure further lit Chain’s eyes and she could not hold back her jubilation and a joyous laugh escaped her.

“It really is! These are ruins from the Age of Ash, and since I’m in the Stormroots they’re likely the ruins that Melody was talking about. Ugh! If only I wasn’t caught between Highroot and Bright Rift right now I would totally lose myself in these. Eh? What’s this?”

Chain’s enthusiasm was replaced with confusion as she noticed that the red paint on the column was starting to emit a soft glow. Poking at a the paint with a finger the maid knocked loose a flake of the old paint but instead of falling away it glowed brighter for a moment before returning to its place on the column. Intrigued as Chain was she looked away from the column as she noticed a very slight decrease in the volume of the Builders’ Song around her.

“It couldn’t be. Is this the same technology that Automina used to dominate the Builders?”

Standing up Chain more closely studied her surroundings and noticed that the red paint as far as she could see had indeed started to glow. Narrowing her eyes Chain frowned before closing them and sighing.

“Ugh. I already knew I couldn’t hang around here for long but now I really can’t. It’s bad enough that Highroot and Bright Rift will likely investigate the Builders erupting into song on their own, but if this stuff takes too long to do whatever it is it’s doing then they may start fighting here just to get their hands on it. What a pain.”

Snapping the fingers of her right hand Chain summoned a sphere of magical light into it as a distinctive ringing sound echoed forth. Lifting her hand to her left shoulder Chain closed her eyes and began an incantation.

“~ Light of life that resides in the Fifth Well, I summon thee from your sanctuary ~
~ Fill this wounded flesh with your warmth and wash away the shadow of injury ~”

Chain did not finish the incantation and instead pressed the light into her shoulder. As she pulled her hand away no trace of the light remained but a change had come over the maid. As she opened her eyes to look over her handiwork the brown color of the orbs had been replaced with a brilliant green. That was not the only change as Chain’s left arm at last responded to her as she flexed the fingers of her left and gingerly raised the injured limb. Inhaling sharply against the pain Chain gritted her teeth together before talking aloud to herself.

“Well I guess it’s better than nothing and it’s a lot better than if I had just cast the spell on its own. And at least down here no one will find out about this little ability of my chainmail. Well no one except for the two idiots who should be around here somewhere, but since they’ve already seen me use it I guess it should be alright.”

Looking back at the rubble pile that filled a good deal of the chamber Chain groaned as she placed her hands on her hips.

“Well, I guess I better find them, especially since one of them should have my sword.”

Copyright © 2018 Joshua D Tarwater