Chương 211: Nodes and Keepers

We were the first squad to return to the surface, and that also meant we were the first to reach the smithy. Since there was no line, we could afford to take a little longer than normal. Brawl set the crystal down on the counter, and Sage placed down the jar of Labyrinth Keepers.

"Levi, your plan?" Sage prompted.

"We've got this," I said, motioning toward both the crystal and the jar. Drywsone and Shatter approached the counter, staring curiously at the crystal we'd brought in. When they stared at me curiously, I tapped the crystal.

"The Labyrinth Keepers were unusually interested in this crystal. Unlike any other monster I've seen, they were swarming around it."

"It was from a Keeper Topaz Dragon," Sage provided.

"What do you want to do with it?" Drywsone asked.

"I want to know if we can crush it up into a mineral powder and use it as a final tempering ingredient for our armour," I said.

"The goal, of course, is to attract Labyrinth Keepers to our armour with the crystal's exceptionally impressive pull, and for them to constantly repair it from the damage we take in battle." I glanced at Shatter, hoping to let him know I had one more idea, but that would have to wait until Drywsone wasn't around.

"I could test it," Drywsone replied.

"It will take a few hours to grind this into a fine enough powder, however. Come back tomorrow evening to test it." Shatter leaned over the counter and checked the jar of Labyrinth Keepers Anchor had set down. He rolled it in his hand, checking for any leaks.

"The bigger problem," Shatter began, "will be resetting their goal. They'll want to take the dust out of the armour and turn it into the same crystal as before."

"How do we prevent that?" I asked.

"The Topaz Dragon had a way of resetting their goal," Drywsone said.

"The dragon is not a natural feature of the Labyrinth, but it has adapted well. Those crystals, as I understand, used to grow in deposits on the walls. In theory, the Keepers should have torn apart that dragon's armour and restored the crystals to their original place. They didn't."

"So there's something special about the crystal itself, then?" Anchor asked.

"I suspect something different," he said.

"The crystal itself is acting as a guide for the Keepers. It's summoning them to it. But it needs something else to link them permanently and reset their goal, to make them understand that this is the new form they are meant to always restore."

"Something else from the dragon?" I asked.

"Something else inside the dragon."

"It would seem so. But we can still test it. Come back tomorrow, and I will know more conclusively." ~ ~ ~ That evening, as they were closing down the smithy, I returned. Yeah, I was way too early, but I had no plans on checking on the dust yet. I found Shatter near the back. He was sweeping up some debris around the hearth with a broom.

"Levi," he said.

"What is it?"

"How much dust have you managed to grind off the crystal so far?" I asked.

"It's about halfway done," Shatter replied.

"Why?"

"Grab a handful, plus the jar of Keepers, and meet me in the library."

"Levi?"

"I have an idea, and it's not related to the armour. Don't worry. Sage will be there, and she'll make sure neither of us get hurt."

"That's supposed to make me trust you more?"

"Uh…" I winced.

"Come on, Shatter. This is a chance to help you. You've done a lot for us, and I think we could return the favour."

"... Alright, if you say so. I'll be there in a moment." It took a few minutes—in fact, probably closer to half an hour—but Shatter eventually arrived. I sat at the library's main table, and Morph made himself into a stool beneath Sage, carrying her around the library. Shatter stood in the central aisle, carrying the jar of Keepers and a handful of crystal dust. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

"Do you enjoy never telling anyone your plan?" Shatter asked.

"We're going to use the Keepers to repair your leys," I said.

"How?"

"Your leys are damaged because your nodes are damaged," Sage explained. She crossed her arms.

"I can only heal physical flesh wounds, and the same goes for regular healing potions. To repair your leys would require me to repair your nodes."

"Those are physical, though, correct?" Shatter asked. He paced nervously in the middle of the library, and glanced around as if he was a wild animal looking for a way out. It was late enough at night that we were the only ones here.

"Do I have to start calling you a dustbrain as well?" Sage shook her head.

"Your nodes are stone. I can't repair that."

"But they're made of stone from the Labyrinth," I said.

"Now, I believe that, in constructing us, the Warlord or his fleshknitters or his special seers or whoever's involved in that operation managed to decouple the Labyrinth stones from the Keepers. They won't try to get in and repair it. We've been in the Labyrinth many times, and they haven't touched our nodes."

"Unless we guide the Keepers in," Sage said.

"We use the dust to paint a target on your nodes, and the Keepers fix them once they get close. The dust should reconnect the stones to their awareness." Shatter shook his head, but didn't say anything. A moment later, he nodded, then said, "That might work, but won't they tear apart the node completely and try to return it to the Labyrinth?"

"I doubt it," I said.

"Those nodes came from far away, and they're still mostly cut off from the Labyrinth. Besides, they've been cut off for years. Like the standing stones, they're not connected to the Labyrinth, but the Keepers will still repair them without trying to return them."

"But you don't want to try?" I tilted my head.

"Don't worry. You're a valuable blacksmith. Even with repaired leys, I doubt they'd send you out to the front lines. But think about it this way: how much better of a blacksmith could you be if you had functional leys and could advance like the rest of us. How hard could you hammer? Could you get an Art to help you build better tools?"

"Levi—""What if you could do more with your life than just be an assistant for a more skilled smith? Drywsone is a Path-walker, and that's the only reason he's able to make the kinds of armour he does." Shatter was silent for a moment. He glanced at Sage, then asked, "What about you? Do you think it will work?"

"I think you should try," Sage said.

"A—alright." Shatter took a deep breath.

"Let's try with one node, first. How are you going to paint the nodes with the powder, though?"

"First, I will need a smear of your blood," Sage said. Morph wobbled closer to him.

"Uh, miss druid, my lady, I don't know if I can do it. I've never hurt myself on purpose. Levi, maybe you could draw some blood for me, without me thinking about it—" Before he could finish, I scraped the back of his hand with my spearhead. It was a light cut, and enough to draw only a few droplets of blood. Shatter gasped, then said, "That was fast. I barely even saw you move."

"That's what you get with advancement," I told him.

"Now, are you ready?" He glanced down at the cut, then over at me, and he nodded.

"Yes, sir. I'm ready. Do what you have to do." I glanced at Sage.

"It should not be too painful," she provided.

"But it would be wise to take a seat anyway." Shatter sat down at one of the library desks, and I stepped up beside him, flanking him on one side. Sage moved into position on the other side. She whistled to Morph, and he reached out with a branchy tendril. It snaked up out of the stool as an extra appendage, completely separate from the rest of the chair. First, Morph wiped up the blood dripping down the back of Shatter's hand, covering the tendril with it.

Then, on Sage's command, he dipped it into the dust, coating the tip of the tendril. It thinned to a point, finer than any needle I'd seen, but more durable too, given how strong Morph and Sage were getting.

"Hold still," I said. Drawing Shatter's attention away with a snap of my fingers, I motioned toward the books on the counter.

"See? We've been doing lots of research on the Labyrinth monsters, and—" Then Morph reached up and sank his needle into the back of Shatter's neck. He pulled it out, and a glob of blood welled up on the outside. Shatter gasped, but the prick was too thin to cause any real damage.

"Sage?" I asked. She handed me the jar of Labyrinth Keepers, and I opened it a crack. They swarmed on the lid, trying to get out, but since it was an organic material, they couldn't pierce through it. I lifted them up to the back of Shatter's neck. It was also organic, of course, but I knew they could touch organic material (given that they'd survived their jar). They just preferred not to. But if it meant getting to a target?

They crawled onto the back of Shatter's neck, then crawled into the hole we'd made, going for the dust. I glanced at Shatter. He gasped and squirmed as the Keepers crawled into him. I didn't let many escape—only about ten or so—then said, "Can you feel it? Are they doing their job?"

"I can't tell…" he said, eyes bugged. His throat shook, like he was about to gag.

"I can only feel their little legs pulling at my skin as they work their way in."

"Sage?"

"They're not damaging his skin anymore than we did, but they're not repairing it, either." I glanced at her.

"What can you sense? How good are your arcane senses?"

"Much better than before," she replied.

"I can feel them…they've reached the physical stone of the node. And—" Her eyes widened.

"What?" Shatter asked.

"What's wrong?"

"They're fixing it."

"You weren't sure if they could?" Shatter exclaimed.

"It's one thing to have a theory," she replied.

"It's another to actually enact it." We waited. A half hour passed. The candles flickered, lowering, and a light snowstorm began outside. Flakes tapped on the window, occasionally reminding me of a bird's talons clicking. Finally, Sage said, "They've repaired one node. Five more to go."