Chapter 17

Let There Be Light

Janus wasn’t feeling much better when he woke up. In fact, he was frustrated that he had even fallen asleep in the first place. Thankfully, it appeared that the [Beast Master] did not discover him, or maybe they just didn’t care to look.

A quick survey of his surroundings showed that the foe was nowhere to be seen. Janus let off a sigh of relief.

He shifted into a standing position and approached where the demolished tower used to stand. Moving around bits of stone, he set about looking for Devon.

After nearly an hour of searching, he was ready to give up. It was possible that Devon made it out already. There was no telling how many hours had passed since the tower fell.

Janus’ throat was dry as he turned the other direction, heading into the station, and away from the Backwash.

The streets were familiar and unfamiliar at the same time. He could see the imprints of buildings that used to stand tall, but were now just a pile of stones. The station plaza was a complete wreck. Janus stood where the fountain used to be, now just a mess of water and mud. He dug around, cleaning around the small stream of water coming from the ground. Cupping his hands, he drank deeply.

Janus was going to head directly to the rail line, but decided to take a detour and visit his home. Most of his neighborhood was still standing, the exception being that many of the buildings themselves had large chunks torn out.

It was here that Janus finally spotted other people. Dissolute souls wandering the destroyed station in much the same way he was. Some were digging through the remains of their homes, others were openly weeping in the streets.

His home was still standing, but the second floor had been all but shorn off. It was almost comedic and Janus had to stifle a bout of nervous laughter. Only his room had been completely destroyed. He stepped inside, not really knowing what to expect. His father shouldn’t have been home when the whole mess had started.

His stomach twisted in hunger, and he stepped into the kitchen. Light was shining in from above, the roof completely missing.

Rummaging through the cupboards, Janus grabbed at some canned carrots. He greedily wolfed the whole thing down. He was reaching for another can when he heard shouts from the street.

Janus stood and tried to run to the door, but his battered legs fell out from beneath him. He stood again and, this time approaching more slowly, opened what remained of his door.

Outside was a man and woman being viciously attacked by a [Winter Wolf]. The man was lying on the ground, arm in the wolves mouth, attempting to wrestle the beast into submission.

The sight enraged Janus, to his surprise. He had never felt so angry. The [Beast Master] had already taken so much, destroyed so much! And yet, the bastard was still clearing out the very last scraps of civilization.

Janus formed four replica arrow point arrays, two on either side of the beast. As the mana arrows loosed, it was a gruesome display. The beast was beset by projectiles on both sides, blood bursting from its wounds. The arrays had cost Janus a not-insignificant amount of his mana, but his thoughts were mangled by rage.

The man shouted when the arrays made mincemeat out of the beast.

[Your party has defeated a dangerous enemy: Winter Wolf]

It was only now that the man could free his arm from what was left of the wolf. He turned and spotted Janus.

“Oh, thank you, delver. Thank the stars!” The man half shouted, half wept.

The woman rushed forward, checking the man’s ruined arm. All at once, the Janus deflated. Instead of anger, he felt only weary and upset.

“The beasts.” Janus Said. “They are still here?”

“I don’t know, we have been hiding since the earthquakes. I… I wanted to find my brother…” The woman was sobbing as she tore strips of the man’s shirt.

Janus looked on while she did her best to create a makeshift bandage. He didn’t know what to do. Devon was the one with the healing potion, not him.

“You should, uh.” Janus cleared his throat. “You should shelter in one of these buildings. It isn’t safe to be outside if there are still beasts roaming around.”

Perhaps I should take my own advice.

The woman nodded, helping the injured man to his feet. The pair shuffled through a splintered door and into a nearby home.

-

The grand entrance to the rail line was completely caved in. Janus could only stare at the massive boulders blocking his way.

He was numb. The surrounding destruction was a surreal caricature of what Crow Station used to be. He could make out places in the wreckage from memory. The small clearing before the station rail line, the remains of the station hall, and the border where the neighborhoods started and the commercial district ended.

There were more beasts roaming around this part of the station. They crept between the rubble. Janus assumed they were looking for survivors. It was a miracle that he hadn’t been spotted yet.

He began to move, looking for a place to hide himself. This part of the station had seen even more destruction than the rest. Here, Janus even spotted telltale scorch marks littering the ground and the cavern wall.

Dario must have been here.

The thought wasn’t comforting. Where was Dario now? The [Beast Master] hadn’t appeared to be injured when Janus had identified them.

Janus knew that he had to act. Staying in Crow Station was suicide. Disregarding the beasts roaming around, just the vibrations from the battle would attract monsters from who knows how far.

Getting into the rail line would be basically impossible. The boulders blocking his way had to weight multiple tons.

Wait. I have a map of the Delver’s Guild tunnel system.

Janus had filled the inner pockets of his robe with anything he thought would come in useful. Dario had given him the map after their first expedition into the tunnels and Janus had almost completely forgotten about it.

He pulled the map from his pocket and squinted at it. There were a series of small labels, describing various locations. If he followed the map correctly, he could get back to safety. He used his finger as a guide to follow a series of tunnel, finally stopping when he reached a label he recognized: Bear Station.

That’s my way out. I have to make it to Bear Station.

There was a moment of despair as Janus realized he had almost the entire station for nothing. That the delver tunnels were now about as far away as they could be.

However, Janus steeled his resolve. If his father was still alive, surely Bear Station was where he had gone.

The trip back to his home was interrupted only once. Another wolf had somehow spotted him as Janus had inched from cover to cover. The fight was over as quickly as Janus had killed the last beast.

[You have defeated an enemy: Winter Wolf]

[You have gained 1 level]

[Your Spell Weaving skill has gained 1 level]

Many of the beasts roaming around were a higher level than Janus, but his replica mana point array still made quick work of the one that had spotted him. He noted that the system only called the [Winter Wolves] a dangerous enemy when he had defended the man who was attacked outside of his home.

And, speaking of his home, he had nearly returned. A strange mood fell over Janus. He hadn’t come home from this direction since the day he had left to see Dario at Bear Station.

Dario had nearly gotten him killed by a massive snake, but the skills and experience he had gained from the man had saved his life multiple times today. It left Janus with mixed feelings.

Will I ever see Dario again?

The thought struck Janus harder than he had expected. Dario had seemed like an invincible figure. He was a hero in the stations! If Dario couldn’t handle that [Beast Master], then who could?

Janus stepped back through his home’s ruined door. His father’s pack was near the couch and he upended it. Various knickknacks fell onto the floor, and many of them were like a punch to the gut as Janus spotted them, each one a memory of his father.

He’s not dead. Everything will be fine.

Janus took the pack to the kitchen and starting shoving whatever food they had into it. He was a little disappointed before he came to a realization, nearly smacking himself in the head.

I can get food from wherever I need to. It’s not like the station police are going to stop me.

Janus spent the next hour or so scouring the nearby empty houses. He checked in one last time with the pair he had saved from a [Winter Wolf] and bid his goodbyes.

The pack was heavy and uncomfortable on his back, but he pressed on. The food and water inside would be his greatest resource. Bear Station was usually only a 45-minute trip away by rail line, but taking the delver tunnels would significantly increase the distance.

Without a sub-train it could be weeks before Janus reached the other station. The thought was nearly enough to make Janus rethink trying to get into the station rail line, but he remembered the size of the boulders.

For all I know, the entire rail line is collapsed.

It was not a comforting thought.

The Backwash had seen most of the destruction, it seemed. Ravines hadn’t sprouted in back in the station, but they were nearly everywhere once Janus had returned to the Backwash.

He did his best to navigate the wreckage.

I should see if Fao and the others made it out.

It was labyrinthine. Janus followed winding pathways only to be cut off by another crack In the earth. He wasn't even sure exactly where he was. It was too difficult to tell. He remembered the Jacks hideout being carved into the cavern wall and continued to push through. He scoured the edge of the Backwash and finally found the chalk drawing of a playing card. The entryway below had been completely collapsed. The discovery deflated Janus. He wasn't sure if Fao survived or not.

He could not afford to spend time despairing, however, and continued along the edge and towards the guild. His route was cut off by another ravine and his frustration was mounting when he finally spotted the Delver’s Guild. Or what remained of it.

The pyramid had collapsed inward, leaving only the square base behind. He had already seen the guild as it was being destroyed, but this was different.

Delvers were his childhood. Every day he would read books about their adventures and escapades. How some even went to the surface in search of treasure and glory. The Delver’s Guild had represented an unstoppable force in Janus’ mind.

Now, it was basically indistinguishable from the rest of the Backwash. Just another destroyed hovel. The only signs that this had even been the Delver’s Guild were what seals remained over the tunnels in the cavern wall, and the sparring platforms.

The damned sparring platforms.

It was such a strange thing to finally break over seeing, but it brought tears to Janus’ eyes. He sat on a bench and looked onward, pretending in his head that nothing had happened at all. He was just waiting his turn to spar while Dario was busy inside.

The self-imposed delusion was comforting, if only for a moment. Standing, Janus made his way to one of the platforms. He kneeled, knees crying out in agony, and placed his palm on the platform’s hard surface.

Janus never thought he was one for sentiment, but this platform may be the last he would ever recognize from the Crow Station Delver’s Guild.

He shifted his pack, undoing the loops on the back of his robe. With quarter staff in hand, he turned towards the tunnels. He fished the map out of his robe and headed towards a vault.

His fingers pressed into the metal, but no runes lit up in response. Grabbing a handle, Janus pulled back. The seal slowly screeched open in response. The tunnel ahead was surprisingly clean after all the destruction Janus had seen today. It was a newer tunnel with supports and [Torchstones].

Janus turned, giving one last look at the ruined guild. In his mind, he could hear the sub-train intercom.

Departing to Bear Station.