A Drow's Dilemma Ep. 39: Freedom

Caleldir breathed a sigh of relief. "This is the Monastery Road. We have four days of travel, and we will be at the end of our journey. Two days until we exit the cursed woodlands."

"Poor Dryad." Ashyr said once they had exited the gates. She was looking back at the huge oak tree. "Ugh, poor me. You, Caleldir, have corrupted me to the point where I actually feel sorry for other people." Ashyr accused light-heartedly.

A snort of laughter formed Caleldir's response to Ashyr's complaint. "Aye, I have corrupted you with pity, which is so much worse than you corrupting me into wild threesomes and an ever growing number of sexual partners. Frankly, neither of us are fit to return to the cultures from which we have spawned." There was the obvious sarcasm inherit in his words in his tone, but an undercurrent of seriousness as well. The drow did not do pity, though probably not quite to the same extent that the monks did not do sex. Of course, he was also just joking in the same vein as Ashyr.

"Glad you see it my way. Now, didn't you have something to tell me, Selene?" The older drow asked the younger.

"Not yet. I would like to get out of the forest as soon as possible." Selene said firmly. She found herself equally desperate to get out of the forest, though she did not care to delve into the reasons why she felt that way. "When we stop for the night I'll tell you everything." She had said that she would tell her after getting out of the corruption, but now she felt like putting it off even further in case things got emotional. There was, after all, a pregnant woman involved. Emotional was a very real option. "Perhaps it should even wait until we're out of the forest entirely." Selene looked to Caleldir to gauge his opinion.

Caleldir hesitated a little when Selene addressed her question in his direction. "Perhaps this is a topic better suited for when we have passed the dryad's eyes and ears. But two days is entirely too long. We only need to keep to the road from here on out, so if we still had horses we should be able to move reasonably fast..." He thought for a moment, then smiled. "Or, we could get a Spider-Tank. We can cut our time out of the forest from a two days walk to a two hours ride. I know just where we can get one. Well, are the two of you up for some ludicrous risk? If you are willing to try to intentionally distract a dangerous ancient death-machine while I reconfigure its controls to respond to me, we might be able to move at a speed greater than that of the fastest galloping horse, and be at the monastery before nightfall. Of course, it is an obscenely dangerous plan that could very easily result in our deaths, but if so, I will simply chain you ghosts to mine and figure something else out. Are you in?"

The older drow was beginning to become more worried at the news they had for her. It must have been very important if they were going to all those lengths to find the perfect time and place to tell her whatever it was. So Caleldir's idea of getting a mecha-spider to ride was extremely attractive. Well, actually, she probably would have been excited about it either way. "That sounds awesome! Count me in!" She exclaimed with that sparkle in her eye she always got when about to do something dangerously exciting.

"Ah. I'm going to have to decline." Selene responded with a awkward, worried look on her face. Her hand fell to her lower abdomen. "I'm not so fond of death." For one thing, it sounded vastly unpleasant. More importantly, she had no idea how it would affect her newfound condition.

"Bah, Caleldir would find a way to revive us." Ashyr said as she waved a dismissive hand at her cousin. She didn't seem to notice any significance in Selene's gesture.

"He may... but I'm still going to have to sit this one out. Or at least help from very far away."

"Fine. Coward. Think we can pull it off just the two of us?" The older drow asked Caleldir.

If Ashyr had known about the topic, Caleldir would have teased her by mentioning that he had been born from a ghost mom with the only side effects being poor strength, a weak constitution, and telekinetic power at will, so her baby would probably be fine even if she died. He would see to it. But that was a little more levity than he was willing to treat the topic with at the moment. "Understood, Selene. Frankly, I probably could do this by myself. But you are not going to like how." Letting the veil fall and taking on his faerie form, he gave the two drow a magically dazzling smile. "Because I am going to have to die. Again."

And so he lead the way along a smaller road that branched off the main thoroughfare, until they came to a warehouse-like building standing like a sentinel along the side of the street. "So..." Caleldir mused. "In that warehouse there are seven Spider-Tanks. We only need one of them though. So, here is the plan. Selene, if you know any magic to conceal, mute, or give understanding of all tongues, use that to cast on Ashyr, along with any other buffs you can manage. If you do not know a comprehend language spell, I do. Ashyr! I am going to have you sneak in to the control room, past the mechanical guards, and use the control panel to deactivate machines 1-6 by putting them into Repair Mode. Everything is clearly labeled, and made up of intuitive switches and buttons, so it should not be too hard. There is a passcode, but I will deactivate that from here by hacking into the remote enchantment matrix by the road. Once you have deactivated six of the seven machines, I will trigger the alarms and the seventh will attack. I will let it kill me, and then Goelon Duvainor, or whatever my alter-ego calls himself, will take control of the Spider-Tank using ghost powers." He looked at the two drow with something like insanity in his eyes. "Any questions?"

Selene frowned as if she had a bad taste in her mouth. "Can't I just summon something and have it distract the thing while you take control? I can keep something around for about a minute. Then at least you have a chance to get it under control without resorting to drastic measures." Frankly, Caleldir's alter ego terrified Selene. She was also of the opinion that they shouldn't treat Caleldir's... abilities as a trick to strong-arm themselves out of every situation. Magic that powerful had to have some sort of consequence that they didn't realize yet. That was what Selene had always been taught, anyway. She could be wrong, but didn't really want to risk it; she preferred Caleldir the way he was.

Ashyr nodded. "I'm with Selene on that one. I like the plan up until we let the thing kill you." But that was mostly because she hated watching him die. It was and instinctual, illogical thing that she couldn't quite shake.

"Also, if your 'wife' is around to see it, there's no telling how she would react. Seems a bit of a drastic solution when we can walk just fine. But other than that issue, I know a comprehend language spell and I can make Ashyr nigh untouchable." Selene confirmed.

Caleldir slapped himself in the forehead. "Actually, yeah, that is a way better plan. I get to used to relying on the 'die my way out of problems' angle, and had not considered how Naliira might react. Badly, I assume. Besides, every time I use that technique, it shaves a century off of my lifespan!" He laughed somewhat psychotically. Probably because the curse on this land was getting to his head. Or something of that nature. "Not that it matters, since I am immortal!" He went calm again. "Frankly, I do not know the actual cost of my resurrection, beyond all the death needed to revive me, and so you are right not to want to risk it. But the main reason I wanted to ghost is because ghost-me can fly and merge through solid matter, making taking control of the mech pretty much effortless. It will be way harder to take control while physical. But, with telekinesis, it can still be done."

With that, Caleldir went to an ornate post by the entrance to the warehouse, and flipped open a sort of compartment on it. A variety of floating sigils and three-dimensional maps and diagrams appeared above the cover sticking out. "Good to see the enchantment matrix still functional." He observed. "I can get you into the second floor control room from here. Move cautiously and only use the devices that are glowing green. If you use anything that is glowing yellow you will trip the alarm. If anything glows red: run. Do not allow yourself to be spotted by the roving mechanical armors; they are on auto-patrol and therefore I cannot control them from here. Other than that, follow the directions, and you should be good."

"Right. Green good, red bad. Stay hidden. Put six autonomous spider thingys in 'repair mode' from the control place on the second floor." Ashyr concluded.

The drow turned to each other and Selene took about half a minute putting various buffs on Ashyr. "Be careful, cousin." Selene said when she was finished. "Would rather not meet your ghost either."

The older drow grinned at the younger and gave her a quick kiss on the lips. She was about to do the same to Caleldir, but then thought better of it. Damn jealous dryads. "Stay with Selene, Bard." Ashyr ordered her animal companion. He whined at her, but sat obediently next to Selene. Then mischief flashed across Ashyr's features and it was almost as if she melded into the terrain. Some had told her before that she should have been a rogue, not a ranger. It was at times like these that she felt they might have been right. Now she was performing better than she ever had done, due to a couple of Selene's spells.

Caleldir turned to the enchantment matrix. "This was supposed to be a simple access point to the Astral Archives." He observed to Selene. "Much of our society was linked through ports like this. But since the security wards in our Sentinel Stations were regulated through a similar style of spell matrix, cunning users can manipulate them remotely. I just need to bypass these layers of security..." So saying, he chatted on with Selene about how the spells and technological devices worked together while he unlocked the door for Ashyr. The ranger would have been bored with his speech, he knew, but Selene drank in the information with fascination. "Pretty much everything is still in perfect working condition." He marveled. "Our mottoes were 'build for eternity', 'never simply build when you can massively overbuild', and such like, but I was surprised that everything is still perfectly functional after twelve hundred years. We had some pretty talented mage engineers..." he smiled ruefully. "If we had been a little less arrogant and quarrelsome, we could have ruled the world." Shaking that thought away, Caleldir focused on the device. "Ah! I have managed to access the Eternal Scryers. See? There is Ashyr right there." Indeed, as if looking through a crystal ball, a small illusion of Ashyr and her surroundings appeared on the three-dimensional information feed. "She seems to be entering the facility. I can use the internal security to monitor her progress. It is quite a maze in there, but by opening only the doors that she needs to get to, I can guide her through the base."

Ashyr moved through the eerie facility, observing everything in the dim light of unblinking yellow that emerged from everywhere and nowhere. She walked on cold stone floors smooth as marble: not a single line of masonry or brick to be seen, for it seemed to be grown from a single seamless stone. It was filled with bizarre devices of unknown purpose quietly whirring, clinking, ticking, and whooshing in the rooms. Despite its age, there was not a speck of dust to be seen, as small golems continued their ceaseless work of repairing and cleaning the huge, confusing facility. She would have been lost had the lines of light on each sliding door that the drow came to not turned green and opened with a slight hiss. At last she was in the middle of the station, in a massive control and monitoring room with a myriad of machines stretching out across the tiered floor. To her languages magic, everything was labelled with names such as Third Astral Geomechanics Laboratory: Room 458, accompanied by a scrying spell permanently watching over said room. Control Levers and Buttons were everywhere, all labeled with their functions. Somewhere in the logically ordered cacophony, seven levers were labeled Spider Tanks: Functional. All were set to "Security Standby." Though most of the stuff before was beyond her, Ashyr could understand a lever. She set six of the seven to "Repair."

Seeing the remote notification activate, Caleldir brought his hands together to rub them with glee. "Excellent! She has succeeded. Now, It is time to launch an attack. Selene? Would you mind hitting those doors with the most powerful spell you are comfortable using? If you would rather not, I can simply hit them with a sword, although the spell would be faster. Either way."

Selene was more than happy to provide help by way of a powerful blast of fire against the doors. It wasn't the most powerful spell she could have used; that, she would save just in case things got really dire. For example, a spider death machine that felt like she was a threat to whatever it was it thought it was protecting. The spell went off, the large door hissed open, Caleldir drew his staff and blade, and a monstrosity of gears and pistons whooshing and whirring burst forth, trailing steam and magical distortions in its wake. The body of the mechanical creature was the size of large carriage, and each of its eight legs was wider than two men, but it moved with blinding speed and power. A female voice, distorted and modulated by machinery, issued warnings and gave functionality updates.

The machined voice assessed, for those who could understand, that the threat was rogue hell-hounds having broken free from the control of an unsanctioned summons (which Selene had helpfully summoned and was completely in control of.) The distraction was brief though, as the huge mechanical arachnid squashed the hounds with series of devastatingly rapid attacks: vaporizing them with a line of concentrated crimson flame from its eyes, others with missiles or bullets, or simply by severing them in half with it sharp legs. The voice continued with a hollow "THREAT NEUTRALIZED: SEEKING SOURCE" in its native language before turning towards Selene with its countless red gemstone eyes. They began to glow, revving up for an attack. But Caleldir had not been idle. He dodged past the strikes and slashes to get behind the robotic spider, leaping up on its back. There, he reached within the whirring gears and pulled out some wires. "SABOTAGE DETECTED: REVERSAL MODE INITIATED." The spider declared, before leaping in the air and spinning around, trying to crush the figure on its back as it came down. But Caleldir shot out at the ground with a burst of telekinetic force, and the creature suddenly stopped in midair. "CRITICAL ERROR." The spider declared.

"I win." Caleldir said with satisfaction. He let the wires he had rerouted fall back to into the body of the machine. Sitting on the chassis above him, he dropped his levitation spell, and the creature came crashing down, only to stop its fall with its legs. Then, it flipped back upright. Caleldir made the machine scuttle forward, then back. Satisfied, he dipped his hands back into the mess of machinery. A few seconds later, the machine began to bubble and mutate as parts twisted and flipped into position. Soon, there were three chairs on its back, nestled into a small chamber created to house them. Caleldir patted the controls. "That was exciting. Well, shall we be off?"

Soon after, Ashyr came slinking out of the mostly destroyed front door. Her gaze followed one huge leg up to where Caleldir sat victorious. "You are so fucking sexy right now." She declared to him. Indeed, she had all sorts of wicked ideas involving him. Not that she didn't have them before. She simply wanted to follow through with those naughty thoughts that much more. Unfortunately, she had to keep her face more neutral than she would have done otherwise. Prying eyes and ears may not have been able to interpret her words, but they would have no problem interpreting her expression.

The younger drow bit her lip. She had to agree with her cousin at that point. She, too, was thinking of much better uses for his telekinetic power.

"I am, am I not?" Caleldir said with uncharacteristic swagger. After all of his failed moments of glory these last few months, all of his humiliating deaths, kidnappings, imprisonments, and ravishments, after all of the feeling helpless and useless, he had just subdued a ten ton monster of magic and metal. So perhaps his sudden burst of confidence was justified. It may even last. Until whatever thing humiliated him next.

"You could not have come up with a better chariot for your drow ladies, my love." Ashyr commented as she ran a fascinated hand across the part of the body that was nearest her. Despite the joints - through which she could espy the inner workings of the robotic arachnid - overall the dulled and darkened brass-and-steel creature had a sleek, smooth appearance, almost but not quite reflecting the colors of the world around it in dappled patterns on its muted frame. "You think we'd be able to keep it?"

Getting the wolf and the nymph up was not so hard, as Caleldir lowered the body of the creature from where it towered some twenty feet in the air so that it was crouched and easily accessed. He chuckled at Ashyr's words. "I am aware of the thematic appropriateness. I believe that some of our drow technicians were instrumental in the design. As I said, we were a religion, not a race. As for keeping it: eh, I do not know. This thing will not last all that long without returning to base for repairs and recharging. I could modify it for use away from its pod, but its ability would be severely diminished as a result. But, as I said before, there are blueprints and design specifics for all our machines in the Eternal Archives of the library I worked in. I can retrieve a few copies of the most useful designs. And until we can build our own, we can surely squeeze as much use out of this thing as possible. Now, fasten those harnesses around yourselves, Bard, and my sleeping cousin, and protect your eyes. The wind will be substantial." With a series of groaning clicks and whirs, the gargantuan machine pulled itself upright and turned to the road. With an initial jerk, it started scuttling along. Soon its movements were as smooth as could be, even as it stepped around the smaller trees. The thing started running at faster and faster speeds, until the winds whipped around him. Ashyr let out a whoop of joy. There could be no doubt that Ashyr was enjoying herself. Even Bard looked incredibly pleased with the new arrangements, hanging his head out of the side.

Selene looked dubious about the whole situation. Even as smoothly as it ran, it upset her increasingly delicate stomach. "I don't think I can handle being up here for too long." She yelled at Caleldir so that he could hear her over the wind when he wondered why he hadn't thought of this before. we should take a break after we get out of this forest." Then she leaned back and closed her eyes. If she could pretend that she wasn't here, that she wasn't moving, maybe her stomach would settle down. It didn't have quite the desired effect, but at least she wasn't puking. Yet.

"Then we will stop once we exit the forest." Caleldir's reply came back to the younger drow. He had manifested his own goggles, in keeping with his endlessly useful runes. "This is not the gentlest method of travel, I will grant you. This model is not normally meant to be ridden. There are others better suited for that purpose. Still, I cannot believe I did not propose this earlier." Caleldir said. "I suppose I thought that it would be much harder. Perhaps these things have decayed a little in the last twelve hundred years. At any rate, we should be out of the forest in about two hours."