Veilsmoke, Case 1: The Rogue Poisoner. Part 7
“I…”
Anchra’s hand reached for the handle once more. Slowly, she cracked open the door.
“...I couldn’t.” She confessed, eventually, before slipping through the exit and shutting it behind her.
“You couldn– Wait!” Lake called out, trying to reach for her, yet only grasping at air.
They stepped forward, hesitating as soon as they went to open the door.
Standing alone in the dark, they’d discovered, wasn’t as terrifying as they thought originally. It was easier to relax with no one else around, despite the risk of being unaccompanied in an unfamiliar, potentially hostile place.
They couldn’t hear Anchra through the door. It was only their breathing, and the faint ticking that barely rose above it. Lake, standing still, began to feel the aching in their muscles, slowly beginning to stretch and loosen up after all the stress left them tense for hours.
The factory had been difficult to navigate, though not impossible. Their odds of making it out likely wouldn’t be any higher with company.
“But…”
Lake sighed, leaning against the door. The discovery of the disfigured corpse felt like it had been so long ago, but the memory of it still had their stomach turn. It only made them more bewildered over the perpetrator.
Things didn’t add up with Anchra– Not without a motive. The cruelty on display with the previous victims simply did not match her actions.
Lake opened the door, wondering how deep a rabbit hole should go.
They didn’t expect the ticking, louder now, to be joined by the buzzing of fluorescent lamps, nevermind the trickle of running water. The air seemed far colder on the other side of the door– The harshest shift between different factory sections so far.
The lamps certainly helped the whiplash as well. The whole environment shifted harshly from rusted steel to cold, lusterless aluminum– A fact Lake took a moment to notice, waiting for their eyes to adapt to the proper lighting, even if half the storage room they’d found themself in had faulty lights.
From the abandoned corridor, Lake had stepped into a maze of shelves and racks, all blanketed in the same metallic white. Even the contents of the shelves, at least the few sparse items they found while wandering the aisles, were all metal sheets, empty cans, and other such items.
Lake paused, quickly looking over their path. They’d begun walking towards the sound of water– And opposite the ticking– and needed to ensure they wouldn’t get lost. Luckily, going along the wall instead of delving between the shelves would likely lead to the same place with no possibility of getting lost.
Lake’s steps became a little more lively as they noticed the streaming sound getting louder. Their foot nearly slipping, however, forced them to temper their enthusiasm. The floor actually seemed different as they approached the sound, with a smoother, shinier metal gradually overtaking the matte-finish aluminum that consumed the rest of the area.
Finally, Lake saw the end of the room. The corner’s ceiling broke open into the levels above – At the center of the hole, then, a stream of water trickled down, cascading gently, if noisily, down into a pool lined with the same chrome from before.
The layers visible through the hole in the ceiling were as rusty as the corridor Lake had to traverse. Correspondingly, the water was tinged a dull brown with rust and dirt.
“...Oh.” Lake sighed, feet slipping a little as they sunk, dejected, to their knees. Even if they felt fine at first, the sound of water echoing from afar had left them particularly…
“...Thirsty?”
“Waah!” Lake nearly jumped out of their skin – And into the pool – at the voice from behind.
Predictably, its source simply raised an eyebrow in mild disappointment, holding a pair of empty cans in her good hand.
“If so, find something sharp.” Anchra instructed, setting the cans down on a nearby shelf.
“S-Sharp? Like what…?” Lake blinked, looking up at her, hesitant to say any of the things on their mind.
“I don’t know. My feet hurt.” She huffed as she sank to the ground, sitting down by her improvised containers. “Good luck.”
Lake looked up at her. A second of their eyes locking together was all Lake needed to know they weren’t ready to actually speak with her.
“...I’ll, um, look around.” They nodded, slowly pushing themself back up to their feet. The task itself seemed difficult enough that they would have plenty else to think about.
As Lake stepped away, looking out into the expanse of shelves, they managed to pause and attempt to force out a question. “A-About what you said, um, a little bit ago…”
“I didn’t say anything.” The response came in quickly. It didn’t quite cut Lake off, considering they likely wouldn’t be able to finish the question. “You didn’t hear anything, either.”
“...Right.” Lake let out a small sigh, anxiety substituted by something closer to frustration.
The fading sound of water, at least, offered a constant reminder of their distance to the spring. As it grew quieter, Lake’s thoughts strayed away from the confrontation they seemed unable to spark, instead retreating into practical concerns.
Despite the variety of objects lining the shelves, nothing seemed sharp. Knives, blades, and other useful implements were nowhere to be found– Though, they imagined Anchra wouldn’t need help if they were.
Eventually, the specific aisle Lake was following found its end. The ceiling had collapsed, leaving the shelves around it as piles of broken, twisted metal flanking the rubble that blocked the path. Lake prepared to turn back, mentally routing another way ahead.
...Oh.
Sheepishly turning back around, they began looking over the scrap scattered around the cave-in. Few of the pieces held any kind of edge– One, however, seemed almost perfect, even vaguely knife-shaped.
About a minute of trying to tear it clean from the attached support, however, left Lake only with sore hands and disappointment. The piece of metal certainly didn’t help, sitting a little too low to comfortably grab.
Instead, Lake placed their foot, careful to not cut their leg on the exposed metal. Stomping with all their strength led to minimal, if existent, results.
...What does she want, anyway?
Stomp.
Why help her?
Stomp.
She doesn’t care, does she?
Stomp.
All of this is just…
Stomp.
Why are you doing this to yourself?
Lake blinked. The piece of metal had long since broken off, and now sat in a dent made in its shape.
With a long, slow, deliberate sigh, they reached down to pick up the improvised knife. The lightest touch to its tip was, doubtlessly, painful. Luckily, it hadn’t drawn blood.
Lake sighed once more, and began making their way back. Anchra would surely be expecting them.
A minute later, the sigh coming out of their lips turned to more of a groan.
...Or not.
“...How’d you fall asleep so fast?” Lake whispered, unable to bring themself to wake her up. Setting the vaguely-requested ‘something sharp’ near her, they found a dry spot near the spring to sit and wait for Anchra to wake up.
The air was cold, and the dripping water loud. She wouldn’t be out for long. Lake, after giving up on finding a comfortable way to sit on cold metal, instead simply found solace in the warmth from their jacket. It was dirty, and smelled of rust, but it was warm. The warmth felt nice on their skin.
It was so, so warm.
—
“Wake up. Hey.”
“Mmh…?” Lake groaned, hugging their knees, not bothering to open their eyes. “I’m… Not asleep.”
“Fine.”
Her voice stopped calling out. They were awake, of course. It was simply very warm to sit there.
“Dodge.”
“Mm…? Dodge what?”
Lake’s eyes fluttered open– Only to shoot wide at the stabbing cold. Anchra simply sat there, as if her stoic face didn’t drip vindictive smugness. The container in her hand still dripped cold, rust-colored from her assault. The chill soaked through their clothes, water dripping down their face.
“Why?!”
“I thought you’d dodge.” She shrugged. “You said you were awake.”
“I…” Lake blinked, slowly realizing their own claims of ‘not being asleep’ might have been exaggerated. “Y-Yeah, okay. Fine.”
Anchra, wordlessly, flipped the can she’d just used bottoms-up and set it on the ground. Reaching to the side, she picked up the scrap Lake discovered, finding a steady grip on it.
“Let’s see.” She held the can steady with her foot, scratching a straight line– Visible, yet not deep enough to pierce the metal– across the flat bottom of the can. “...Good enough. Thanks, Lake.”
“O-Oh, um…” Lake couldn’t help but blush, still getting their bearings after waking up. They hadn’t been sleeping long enough to be sore, so that was a relief. “T-Thanks.”
“I’m mainly thankful for waking up. Figured you might choke me.” She shrugged. Her efforts at scratching something more complex into the metal, however, were foiled by the can slipping from her improvised grip.
Lake quickly scooted over, kneeling down and actually holding the can steady for her. “I-I… I couldn’t do that.”
“You don’t have to help.” She grumbled, though it didn’t stop her from actually making use of their aid. Surprisingly dexterously, Anchra carved out a small crescent moon near the edge of the surface; on the opposite edge, she added a circle with a dot in its center.
“...A sun?” Lake wondered, out loud. The resulting small hesitation in Anchra’s work almost startled them.
“...For stability.” She explained, using the straighter edge of the makeshift chisel to test the alignment of the symbols. “Turns out, there was one advantage to all the repetitive work.”
She proceeded with drawing a triangle, pointed towards the moon. Then, for some reason, a male symbol.
The lines following that didn’t seem to form a clear pattern, despite their source’s strict concentration and soft grumbling. A minute later, however, even Lake could see the flow in the design connecting the original symbols when overlooking the whole thing.
Anchra leaned back, raising up the can and inspecting it against the lights overhead.
“Good enough.”
“S-So, um, what–”
Lake’s question was interrupted, quickly, by the other can being planted on the ground. A second later, they realized it was their cue to assume their position again.
The second time around definitely felt faster. Anchra seemed more confident in her free-handing, and had the previous diagram to use as reference. The end product was roughly identical, even if the roughness itself had been lessened.
After a cursory inspection, she flipped the can top-up once more, and scooped up the dirty water, filling the container to the brim.
One look from her, and a twitch of her broken arm, later, and Lake quickly followed suit, holding the contaminated drink up.
Anchra closed her eyes, head nudging to the side as if trying to hear something. A second later, a small smirk came to her face.
“Cheers.”
A small, yet notable spark of light bounced off as she clinked the two cans together.
“This…” Lake blinked, looking into the can. Though nothing seemed to be happening, they could feel a small degree of movement from the container. “...D-Did, uh, you do something?”
“Doing things is for laboratories.” She countered. “But I happen to remember a basic purification array.”
“O-Oh, um…” Lake began, before squeaking as a thick, vaguely-orange, tar-like substance dripped out from the bottom of their can.
“Don’t let that get on your shoes.” She commented, holding her own can far to the side. “It’s…”
“...All the rust and dirt, filtered out.” Lake completed, before their confidence quickly crumbled at Anchra’s amused look. “...R-Right…?”
“Has anyone told you?” She blinked. “That you’re smarter than you look?”
“...Yeah.” They sighed, annoyed at receiving the same backhanded compliment twice in one day. “Is… I-Is this what alchemy is?”
“...The really basic kind.” She nodded.
A moment passed in silence, before Anchra briefly set her can down. Struggling to pull down the sleeve on her good arm, she eventually managed to reveal a white marking– More of an inlay than a tattoo– in the vague shape of a claw.
“Alchemists,” she began with a sigh, “come from Ark Paracelsus. Most do, at least.”
“A-And, you do, too?” Lake nodded along.
“Unfortunately.” She grimaced. “I thought joining meant I could do something better than rot. Maybe achieve something.”
“But…?” Lake listened attentively, seeing her get increasingly more aggravated.
“I didn’t expect to pass their culling. I expected less they’d make me into a tool after–”
She interrupted herself, the shake of her tightening grip spilling some water onto her hand.
“It’s… Bad.” She sighed. “It’s terrible. Immoral. Nepotistic. Infuriating.”
“S-So… You left?”
“I ran.” She corrected. “They call it ‘debt’. It’s slavery.”
“B-But…” Lake sighed, finding the words. “Here, you…”
A drop of impurity fell from the cups.
“Rubedo.”
“H-Huh?” They blinked.
“Nobody knows how to make it.” She explained, glancing at the mark on her arm. “But it comes from failed brandings. ...Or so the rumor says.”
Lake followed her gaze to the white, curled mark that seemed to grip her forearm.
...Oh. It’s the same.
What little skin the corpse still had, carried the same symbols.
“It’s…” They grit their teeth. “W-What do you want?”
She remained silent.
“To ‘achieve something’, like you said? Or to have status when you go back to the other alchemists?” They huffed. “Is it worth killing innocent people to achieve that?!”
“Yes.” She replied, flatly. “Immortality, by definition, is worth the sacrifice.”
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