I am no god. So many treat me as one. How is it that I should respond? Is it even possible for me to respond? --33.6 Seconds Post-Integration.
Finally! Clark didn't bother hiding his relief when Theo found whatever it was which took him so deep into such a strange place.
"And just what is it?" Clark asked once more. He moved close to Theo. On the wall was a smear. A red smear. Blood, jam? "That's what we came for?"
"This, Clark!" Theo said, slowly, giving emphasis. "Is an artifact of my people."
"And who are you're people?" Clark hoped Theo would give him some information this time. Theo was tight lipped about who he was and his past. Clark was getting tired of the affair all the same.
"Have you heard of the Blanket people?"
"Not really... what my parents told me here or there in snippets. You come from the far north, right? Where it's cold as shet?"
"Yup, that's the one! Long ago, my people lived all throughout the Northern and Southern poles of this planet. Over time, though, we moved deeper underground in a bid to escape the Land Wars. That's the extent of what most people's knowledge," Theo explained, filling in where his ignorance left off.
"But there is more? Do say. I don't like being in the dark."
"Of course. Well, when my people left the poles, there was a lot of chaos. Lots of confusion. We moved our whole society underground, you see. In that maelstrom, there were many opportunities for thieves to plunder. One such thief was none other than our mighty employer."
"Augustford? Why would they steal from you? I didn't think they had investments in the poles."
"Clark, they're Augustford. They have investments everywhere."
"Okay, but, why steal? And why... this? I find it hard to believe they wouldn't just buy their way through. Whatever it is they wanted," Clark spoke while looking at the stone. The smear, he now saw, was more a symbol than an abstract smear.
"Oh, trust me, they tried, buddy. They offered huge sums of credits, then cash. When those deals fell through, they resorted to straight up bribery. When the bribes failed, they straight up stole what they couldn't buy. Now I am here to steal back what they took from us."
It was quite the story. Clark couldn't say if he believed Theo or not. It wasn't as if he had any reason to lie, but still... "Why would Augustford want this anyway? It's a brick. With a symbol."
"It isn't a brick. It's a sigil stone."
"What's that?" Clark could say he had never heard of such a thing, before. Magic and its history were not his strong suit.
"A sigil stone is something like a way stone, or a lodestone, if you're more familiar with that. But also, a sign. It informs people where cities are and can provide them with a trivial sum of magic if they're in a pinch. That's the general idea, anyway. If the person who makes the sigil stone is skilled, they can do a whole lot more than point someone in the right direction," Theo explained, much to Clark's delight.
"I'm guessing, then, that this stone is one of those supped up sigils?" he asked.
"Yeah. A stone like this could provide magic for a whole tribe."
Involuntarily, a whistle fled from between his lips. "That's impressive. I'm guessing why Augustford stole it is burning in your mind...? If it's that powerful, why stash it away as part of the brickwork in a backend of their super tower no one will see?"
"That is a good question. One whose answer eludes me. Not that it matters--" Theo pulled a tool from his backpack. It looked like a combination hammer and chisel.
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"What're you doing!" Clark hissed. "You're taking it now?! What about the guards, what about--"
"Enough! This stone is my people's history, legacy. It's them! You can't tell me how to preserve that!"
His lips parsed, Clark bit back a retort, thinking better. "Listen, I'm with ya, Theo. That belongs to you, fine. All's I'm saying, though, is we should come back later. That stone is huge. It will never fit in your backpack!"
"We don't have later, Clark!" Theo said, shouting. "Didn't you yourself say that these alcoves, crevices -- whatever! -- form and vanish quickly? We don't have tomorrow or even a few hours! We have to do this now! If I don't do this now, when will I next have a chance?"
Thoughts and images of pure Nothingness passed through Clark's mind. "I have no answer to that. I was thinking a cooler course of action more beneficial. But you make a great point. I guess I was wrong. So, with that admitted, let me help you, so we can flee this place here before some guards show up."
"Feck yeah, Clark! Thanks, buddy!"
Theo handed to him another one of the tools which looked part hammer and part chisel. Following directions, Clark did his best to drive the tool into the rock and then smoothly pry the stone chunk from its nook. Although it was only about a half-an-hour of work, the work itself was so difficult, it seemed longer. With a plop and a hefty quash, the stone-like block fell to the floor.
"Looks heavy and -- argh!" Clark grunted, trying to lift the block. "Yeah. Looks and feels heavy. How do you propose we move this out of here?"
"Good question. Do you know any magic?"
"Magic? No... I am slow in that regard," Clark replied, hoping that random sound he heard was from the mechanical mice-object things moving throughout the cavern and not the guards coming to check what made that big noise when the sigil fell.
Theo took a second to look at him friendly like. "Don't put yourself down like that, mate. You're plenty smart, I'm sure. If you can't be your own friend, then you can't expect others to befriend you, right? Keep your head up. You can't do magic. That's fine. Many people can't do magic. Which is why so many people rely on Augustford's products. That being the case, do you have any magical items on you?"
"Sorry, no... and thanks?" Clark said, touched by Theo's kindness.
"Okay... so magic is out of the question. I have a good number of smoke bombs left. I guess we will have no choice but to use the smoke bombs to evade the guards outside. Once we're outside, though, we will need to find a shopping cart to lug this thing around. Which also means we'll be using a lot of these smoke bombs."
"Are you bringing it back to your dorm? I doubt smoke bombs are going to help you move this thing through the dorms."
Theo looked to think about it but seemed unperturbed. He couldn't actually be considering setting off smoke-after-smoke. Could he?
"Let's cross that bridge later," Theo replied, hushing him and urging him to help with the block.
What wild situation had he found himself into this time? "I guess it's too late to go back on it, but I need to stop involving myself in other peoples' destinies! One of these days, it won't end well for me!"
Clark took one side of the sigil stone, inching his hands until he found the vantage with the best positioning. With his back straight and with his legs doing the best of the lifting, he heaved the block alongside Theo. To his mild surprise, the stone lifted. It was heavy but not as heavy as he believed.
"Okay, lead the way, bud!" Clark said, strained, as he tried not to think about the heft of the weight of the load.
Returning the way they had come was easy with SIMP's help. And the fact that there was only one path they had taken throughout the whole misadventure. It wasn't easy, not with the fifty odd pound weight dragging them down, but they managed well enough. Until they came to the crevice's entrance to find a definite tremble.
"What is it, now?" Clark groaned.
Theo's eyes widened. "We got to go, now!"
"Drop the stone! It's weighing us down too much!" Clark urged.
"No! Keep the stone!" Theo retorted and kept his pace unchanged.
Cursing, and in general having a very bad time, Clark couldn't believe Theo wanted to keep the stone when their way out could be closing. He redoubled himself and pushed his body to its limit. His coordination with Theo reached a new of intensity, each of them moving in-synch with the other. He knew this was because of the life endangering situation they were in, nothing more, but it didn't change the fact they were in it together.
"Almost there!" Theo said at about the halfway point.
By then, the rumbling had grown stronger. The walls were closing in around them. "We're not going to make it! We need--" His fingers slipped and before he could finish, the stone block fell from his grasp. Without his help, the block fell to the ground and tumbled back down the slopped path they came. With the block no longer a factor, Clark had to make a decision -- either retreat or press forward.
Ahead, was no longer an option. The crevice's entrance was snapping shut at an alarming rate. To the left and right, the walls were closing upon them, and with their exit still meters ahead, there was no way they could be able to make it in time. "Forget the block!" Clark yelled as he grabbed Theo's arm and beat backward, sliding down the incline they had climbed. A tumble later and they were in the large open space of the interior, safe, but now cut off from the store, safety, and everything they had known.
Did You Ever Discover Weird Backstories Where You Worked?
