This episode contains topics that may be sensitive to some
listeners. Check out the show notes for
more information. Thank you for tuning in.
Good evening. Welcome to After Bells with
Regulus Reinhardt. Joining us tonight is Erasmus
van Vught from the New Democratic People's Party.
In the months leading up to the election, I will be talking to a
party leader every week about their most important topics.
Welcome Erasmus. Tell me, how are you feeling
about the chances this time? Well, first of all, thank you
for having me, Regulus. I'm feeling good about this
year. Our aim is to speak for the
citizens of New Vilirth as a whole.
And I think my team is doing an excellent job at giving everyone
a voice. We can never predict the
outcome, but I feel that whoever wins, my team and I have done
everything we could. Hmm, indeed.
And what would you say are the most important topics the NDPP
is focusing on? Rebuilding, mostly.
In the broadest sense. New Vilirth has a long history
and due to our unfortunate geographical location, we have
been struggling. Crime rates are at an all-time
high and half of the city is abandoned.
Now, that doesn't sound anything like the thriving city we once
were. The Underground is a problem
area we would like to address. There's a lot of organized
crime, drug abuse and poverty. And while Mayor Lindergaard and
her party have done a valiant job, we think it's time for a
change. We would like to rebuild New
Vilirth above ground and throw those dark places into the
sunlight, so unsavory figures can no longer hide in the
shadows. It's ambitious, yes, but the
technology is here and we can start improving this city by
using it. I'd say that's definitely
ambitious. However, I've heard more
politicians talk about the rebuilding of New Vilirth and
closing down the Underground. Are you willing to collaborate
with other parties to get a majority?
Well, that depends entirely on what the other parties are
willing to do. But we are certainly not against
discussing it now. I am curious to know how you
think you are going to displace all these civilians currently
living in the Underground. That will remain a difficult
topic, of course. But we aim to do this as
humanely as possible. Thank you Erasmus.
We'll continue on the other topics after this short break.
You are listening to Afterbells with me, Regulus Reinhardt.
Stay tuned. Wake up, New Vilirth!
Chapter 9 Burn The Powder Over the years I figured out how to
make myself valuable. I used the one thing that my
family had condemned me to. Being invisible.
For a Dökkálfar, I was rather small, allowing me to blend in
better with humans. Sure, the gray color of my skin
gave it away if you looked hard enough, but in a big city like
this, no one ever did. And whatever skin wasn't hidden
by a wide-brimmed hat or a scarf, I hid with a bit of
makeup. I wasn't exceptionally pretty,
like Nadja. Nor did I have Konstantin's
status. In this family, as a woman, I
would never be heir. The only thing people noticed
was my white hair. But when I was out and about,
I'd find ways to cover that up. I took pride in my wig
collection. Tonight, I'd change my hair for
a short and blonde number that I lovingly called Aimee.
Yes, I did have too much time on my hands.
What else was I supposed to do? I couldn't annoy my cousin all
day. On occasion, it still frustrated
me. But the invisibility was better
than my family noticing me too much and pointing out all of my
flaws. Konstantin didn't bother to
check where I was going. My father or my uncle could have
easily paid someone to follow me.
Yet they didn't. The truth was, they didn't see
me as an asset, let alone a threat.
If I were gone for bells on end, no one noticed.
The meeting was about to end. I didn't only know because the
last round of questions were being asked, but because of the
crowd's energy. Buzzing with the anticipation to
bring forth change. In this city, there were many
meetings like this. I had been to most, if not all
of them. They never led to anything.
Technically, I did not need these initiatives to succeed.
I just needed to know what they discussed.
It was my way of survival. I kept an eye on everything.
That was my currency. I even sat in the booth behind a
local pool club when they had their meetings once a moon at
table 6 in the sandbar. Most of the conversations I
heard were nonsense. Until they weren't.
I had been drinking tea in the parlor where the History Society
met. A right bunch of gossips.
When I heard about the change of leadership in the Oneiroi
Vanguard, Ulva Räsänen had taken over from Aleksantri Räsänen as
the renewed and sober leader. My family pretended not to care
about the happenings in the Underground.
They dealt in real business, but I knew better.
To understand this city, you needed to know all sides.
The information slipped in between conversations on the
dreadful weather and the latest book on 8th century ironwork was
what I needed. Unfortunately, this meeting
hadn't yielded anything. It had only watered that small
seed of hope for change that sat buried deep in my chest.
But like any hopeful meeting, this one would soon be
suppressed. Either it would never make the
step from words into action or the leader turned out to be a
scammer only out for people's contribution.
This woman hadn't looked like a scammer though, but usually that
was the point. I filed out with the crowd and
checked the time on my transmitter.
I'd have to hurry to catch Konstantin.
I hopped on the bus, squeezing between the undergrounders.
I couldn't reach anything to hold on to, but the crowd helped
me upright. A small part of me enjoyed the
idea of Nadia's disgusted face if she could see me standing
here. I caught him as he stepped
outside. Of course, he was dressed in his
usual suit and a long coat. Yet there was something at his
belt he was fumbling with. You brought a gun?
I know how to use it. Oh no, I was just going to say,
I think that's a good idea. I kept a healthy distance from
my cousin. After our disagreement, I felt
jumpy around him. I had avoided the house as much
as I could, but I hadn't gone back to my parents either.
The damage wasn't bad. A few days of headaches, nothing
that would last. In our family, the men did these
things sooner or later. For Konstantin, it had been
later, even if I had started to hope it would be never.
I have to go. He got in the car.
I followed him in. What are you doing?
Coming with. He looked at the chauffeur.
Wait! I feigned being casual, even
though my heart was pounding. I didn't want to get him mad,
but I wanted to come along, be involved.
This was my plan after all. He wouldn't be here if it
weren't for me. I have to let them in and out of
the mines. It's not going to be some epic
adventure. Nadya wanted you to have a
bodyguard. It was a lie.
A half-lie. Nadya did want that, but she
hadn't asked me. I just made sure her messages
hadn't arrived to those she did. So she sent you?
You want me to ask one of Kazimir's guards?
No. I won't be bothersome.
You won't even notice me, I promise.
Fine, but we aren't going inside.
They're doing the dirty work. He met the chauffeur's eyes in
the rear-view mirror. Go!
We swerved around a corner and into an alleyway that barely
left a hand's width between the hover and the building.
Konstantin and I were strapped to the two seats at the back.
It was strange to meet them. Somehow, after all the stories,
I had made Rhea Räsänen and her entourage out to be epic
warriors. But they were just people.
Well, except for Rhea, who carried herself as a warrior
with her long, lean body and multitude of weapons.
Her attire looked nothing like what me or my cousin wore, as if
she didn't exist in the same world we did.
I glanced at Konstantin, who was staring straight ahead.
If his armrest had been of anything but metal, his fingers
would have left marks. He saw me look at him and
unclasped his fingers. Konstantin had suggested we take
his car, to which Rhea had promptly laughed in his face.
I didn't blame her. It did seem stupid to arrive at
a job like this with a chauffeur.
Rhea had counter-offered to take us in their less conspicuous
hover, although I suspected it was less of an offer and more of
a strict suggestion. I didn't mind.
I had never been in a hover. So far, the experience was
mostly loud and more uncomfortable than a car.
There was barely enough space to sit in the hovercraft.
To call it a four-seater was generous.
Their mechanic, Tuula, had been demoted to a bunk bed in the
cabin, although she didn't seem to mind.
She was lounging without a buckle.
Her short hair was tucked behind her ears as she read a book.
I frowned at the cover. It was the user manual for a
radio. What's that sound?
I have been able to ignore it for the first part of the
journey, but it was starting to worry me.
Oh, don't worry. It won't fall off.
It's the paneling on the outside.
I haven't had time to properly fix it.
What happened to it? I glanced at where the rattling
came from. Now that I paid attention, I
noticed the panel was different from the rest.
It was welded together rather haphazardly.
We were attacked by a neek out in the desert.
If it looks dodgy, that's because it is.
I adjusted the headphones on my ear.
They pressed into my temple. The sounds that came through the
headphones sounded more like sand than words.
Willow looked over her shoulder and smirked.
Tuula stuck out her tongue. You do it next time then.
I watched the exchange, unable to keep a smile from my face.
Nadya and Konstantin had never talked to each other or me
without sounding like the weight of the world was upon them.
Nor had anyone else I knew. These girls had fun, despite
everything. How was it to go into the
desert? I leaned forward, intrigued.
—It was- —Approaching the Northern Tunnel.
She did have that serious tone that Konstantin always had.
I turned around on my chair and leaned forward to watch the map
on Rhea's navigation screen. It showed the underground
system. A second transparent layer,
detailing the new Vilirth streets, lay over it.
Willow steered around a corner and we left a narrow alleyway.
Then we dove straight into the ground and into the underground
tunnels. I didn't even know he knew
curses. Under any other circumstances, I
would have laughed at him, but right now I needed to support
him. We were on the same side, in an
unknown hover with a group that I couldn't entirely guess the
intentions of. Even though I was the one who
recommended Konstantin to approach them.
The darkness inside the tunnels was different from the
light-polluted darkness outside. The northern tunnel was barely
used, so it wasn't as well lit. How Willow managed to steer
through here without hitting anything was beyond me.
The headlights of the hover lit up a figure in the dark.
Now I was the one with my hands clamped around the armrest.
What are they doing here? They are addicts.
They live in the abandoned tunnels.
Don't tell me you've never seen an addict.
She, much like Nadya, had a talent for making people feel
stupid. I wanted to snap back, but
remembered that this was not the time nor the place.
Konstantin looked at me as if to warn me.
I have. I just thought you were going to
hit them. I thought I had, but when I
visited the Underground, I always stayed around the centre.
Of course, I had come across addicts that dwelled around the
districts, but these people felt different, like feral animals.
It'll be good riddance. I waited for someone to protest,
but no one did. They don't deserve to die.
They don't deserve to live like this either.
Was she accusing us? Are two the ones selling
memories? All three women glared at him.
It was clear that that was the wrong question to ask.
Let's not get into who here is most guilty of the state of this
city. I silently agreed.
I glanced behind me to where Tuula sat.
She hadn't looked up from the manual, but was staring at the
same place. That seed in my stomach burned.
Not with hope, but something akin to it.
Determination, perhaps. I'd do something about this.
One day. Outside, small buildings, if you
could even call them that, lined some of the platforms, but most
of the tunnel was either empty or filled with trash and sand.
Occasionally, I spotted a figure.
Hold on! Willow turned the wheel.
I didn't blame him. I saw the building loom up in
front of us. Watch out!
It was made of corrugated sheets of metal and rotten wooden beams
and we were going to fly right into it.
Watch out! We're going to crash!
At the last second, Willow twisted her steering wheel to
the right and we came out of the underground through one of its
many exits. Hahaha!
Clearly, she was the only one enjoying it.
I guess I could appreciate that, but I still felt slightly sick.
The change was instant. Instead of buildings, a sudden
emptiness spread out around us. In the open space, we seemed to
hover motionless just above the sand.
The mountains in the distance barely came closer as time
passed. I looked out of the window and
saw the world still moving beside us.
What was once a neighborhood was buried in the sand, buildings
stuck through the desert. Most of them had crumbled to
ruins. A sandy road snaked beneath us
towards the mountains, following what I assumed must have been a
real road once. A truck rumbled past in the
opposite direction, heading towards New Vilirth.
It left a cloud of dust behind, obscuring our view, but Willow
continued along, her eyes on the radar.
Take a right here. He didn't allow the shaking of
his hands to sound through in his voice.
The road signs will stop, but you can continue towards the
mountain. No one will come this way.
Can't you get us through the main gates?
She turned onto another sandy path regardless.
It didn't show on her map. Konstantin had refused to share
it with them. Why it was that after all he had
shared, he got stuck on that part, I couldn't understand.
I supposed he wanted to keep some of the power.
Not a bad move, but next to their weapons, it seemed kind of
pointless. It's better if we aren't seen.
I looked at my cousin. Is the press still there?
Oh, yes, probably. He was looking up ahead.
I frowned. Konstantin glanced at me.
Look, no one is using that entrance.
It's far easier. Perhaps it's best if you turn
the lights off too. It sounds a lot like a break-in.
It does! Willow sounded more excited than
was appropriate. She turned off the lights.
Besides the occasional truck in the distance and the city behind
us, we hovered in complete darkness.
For a moment, I was too distracted by the beauty of the
landscape. I had never gone this far away
from the city. As I watched the desert pass
underneath us, it began to dawn on me.
You didn't tell Kazimir, did you?
About the plan? Should I have been surprised?
What we were doing wasn't exactly legal.
Still, Konstantin was usually one for rules.
He didn't respond. Ooh.
We have a rebel here. I opened my mouth to ask more
questions, but Konstantin shot me a warning glance.
For once, I listened and got my mouth shut.
I stepped out in a cloud of sand.
The hover stood near an entrance that, from afar, hadn't looked
that big. Now that it towered above me, I
felt smaller than ever. Abandoned mining equipment stood
in the opening of the cave and a mine cart track dove into the
darkness. Next to the opening, an elevator
shaft was carved out of the stone.
The elevator, which comprised of nothing more than a few metal
bars, looked like it hadn't been used in a while.
Lead the way. The walk will take a while.
He was already wearing his full-faced mask and air filter.
I put on my own mask, adjusting it until it felt somewhat
comfortable. Right.
Willow shouldered her sniper rifle.
Rhea was carrying a sack with whatever weapon she had brought.
It only now started to sink in what they were doing.
I brought extra guns. I glanced at the girl and
laughed nervously. Tuula returned it with a nervous
grin and held out a bag. Do you want one for security?
She wasn't kidding. Uh, no, thanks.
I'm good. We aren't here to fight.
That's your job. He clambered out of the hover
and dusted off his suit and coat.
Sure, I wasn't wearing a jumpsuit like Tuula, but at
least I'd opted to wear pants that could get dirty instead of
going for a tailored suit. We'll lead the way and then you
can do your thing. Good.
Get walking, then. Since that's your job.
Konstantin gritted his teeth. Before long, they would be at
each other's throats. I just hoped it wouldn't be
while we were deep in the caves with a krenir on the loose.
I readjusted the dust mask and followed Konstantin.
He walked up to the panel next to the elevator.
He blocked the code, he typed in with his body and turned a key
in the panel. The elevator rumbled to life
with the least confidence-inspiring sound an
elevator could make. We filed into it.
It was more of an iron cage than anything.
Konstantin flicked on a flashlight and hung it from the
raster ceiling. He stepped into the corner,
holding his arm stiffly next to him.
The elevator shut down. The walls of the cave slipped
past us. The rattling of the elevator
sounded worse than the hover had.
I never thought twice about elevators, but I would hate to
get stuck in this one. The elevator came to a clanking
halt and stepped out into complete darkness.
Konstantin unhooked his flashlight from the elevator.
Our four flashlights flicked on. The minecart tracks continued
here, leading further into the maze of tunnels.
Konstantin was holding an illuminated map in his hand that
bathed his face in a green glow. In this light, with his long
coat and his leather bag slung across his chest, he looked more
like a detective or even an adventurer than a businessman.
Perhaps my cousin had dressed for the occasion.
I hurried to catch up with him. Did you tell your father?
He knows some parts. Just not the part where you
bring three Oneiroi into his mines?
He asked me to fix it. He is too busy to discuss all
the details of the plan with. I doubted Kazimir would be too
busy for this, but it was after all my idea, so I kept my mouth
shut. We kept walking, Konstantin's
map leading us onward. I didn't allow myself to think
about what would happen if we got lost.
With the only sounds to distract me being our footsteps, it was
hard not to. Rhea kept up with us, striding
fast with long legs. Willow was on our heels, but
Tuula had fallen behind. I stopped.
Even Konstantin waited. Tuula averted her eyes.
She hurried to catch up. Sorry, the leg needs tweaking.
Confused, I glanced down at her boots, noticing nothing out of
the ordinary. Tuula held up her metal arm.
What percentage of metal do you need to have to officially be
considered a cyborg? It didn't seem that funny at
all. I stood for a moment, unsure
what to say. Let's continue.
Willow was already walking ahead.
Rhea and Tuula glanced at each other and followed her.
Their looks did not give me confidence.
I could still go back. I didn't have to be here.
I ignored my hesitation. The tunnels seemed endless.
How people could stand working here day after day was beyond
me. We're here.
It wasn't Konstantin that spoke. It was Willow.
You've been here before? I'd say it's clear we're here.
It wasn't. Not until I showed my flashlight
around. The walls sparkled in response.
Riches blinked back at us. I stared.
But Riches weren't the only thing that stood out.
Parts of the cavern had collapsed.
A lone helmet lay on the ground, flattened by a rock about the
size of a head. Is this where the miners are
stuck? Yes.
It happened down that shaft. He pointed to the right.
It was mostly crumbled rocks. Only a small opening remained,
or was dug out by the rescue team.
There were likely people under those rocks.
My stomach rolled. Tuula stepped forward, but Rhea
took her arm. He's still there!
We can see if we can do something after we're done.
It isn't safe here. While she said it, she looked at
Willow. It seemed like a request for
help, but Willow wasn't paying attention.
She was staring ahead. It's time for you to go.
She scanned the cavern with her flashlight, planning.
She was right. It was time for us to go, but
still, curiosity kept me there. I wanted to see what she could
do. Suddenly, Rhea halted her light
at a latch halfway up the wall. Fuck.
Five large quartz stones lit up in the flashlight.
Willow exchanged looks with Rhea.
Are those...? Eggs.
We all turned to Konstantin. You failed to mention that.
It didn't feel necessary. Those eggs will be taken out of
the cave as soon as we fix the problem at hand.
I looked between him and Rhea. Not necessary?
We're dealing with a mother here.
The way Rhea spoke made it clear she didn't mean the sweet and
caring kind. The sudden urge to get out of
here overwhelmed me. Shame washed over me.
Did Konstantin truly understand what we sent those miners into
every day? I certainly hadn't.
Is this a problem for you? Rhea stared him down, but
Konstantin stood his ground. We can still go ahead with the
plan? There was a wobble in her voice.
Her hands were white around the barrel of her rifle.
Apparently I wasn't the only one doubting their choices.
Rhea didn't seem to notice, though.
Go. With that one word, both Willow
and Tuula came into action. Tuula took a device from her
bag. It was flat and unassuming.
She placed it in the middle of the cave.
Willow started loading her sniper rifle.
It's time to go. Nerves crept in his voice.
Oh, no you won't. She didn't break eye contact as
she took out a gun. For a moment, I thought she was
going to shoot him. Konstantin!
Let's call dear mommy, shan't we?
No! Wait, Sasha and I need to get...
Before Konstantin could finish his stumbling sentence, Rhea
fired. The blast of the bullet broke
the egg from where it sat nestled against a wall.
It tumbled down. He started forward, but I pulled
him back by the back of his jacket.
The egg smashed onto the floor in a thousand shimmering pieces,
and the sound seemed to do the same.
It echoed through the cave, bouncing back and forward.
Are you crazy? My words joined the echoes.
That thing weighs ten times as much as you!
Quiet! I glared at her, but kept quiet.
We listened. We should be getting the hell
out of here. Konstantin grabbed my arm and
put me back. We need to go!
True fear shone in his yellow eyes.
What did we have between us? One gun?
It cut through me. I pressed my hands over my ears.
It felt as though they were bleeding.
Rhea recovered first. Get ready.
Tuula stepped back from the device she had placed on the
ground. Willow set the rifle against her
shoulder and Rhea pulled out a gun.
That's not going to do anything against it!
Pure terror rang through his voice.
Stand back! —Stay behind me!
—What?! No, I'm not going to hide!
Is there a tunnel that leads to the front entrance?
—What? —Check it.
Now. Where do these tunnels lead to?
There were two. If you didn't count the one we
just came from, nor the one that had collapsed.
That one, left, leads to the front entrance, sort of.
Tuula, take Sasha and head to the other side.
If anything goes awry, you get out.
—Got it. —Sasha, wait!
Konstantin held out the map, his finger moving over the glowing
green lines. We're here.
This road leads to the front entrance.
Get out! If you start running now, you'll
be far away from here once that thing comes.
We're distracted. I took the map.
I'm not running, Konstantin! Tuula, wait for my signal.
Rhea, turn to Konstantin. You, get out of my way.
Run! I ignored him and ran after
Tuula, who was already halfway across the cavern.
Running felt strange. My legs barely wanted to listen
to me. I had no fear, but I had never
felt this terrified. And now that I thought of it,
I'd like to stay alive for a bit longer.
Tuula halted before the collapsed part of the wall.
We'll have a good overview here. She didn't move.
On closer inspection, her hands were shaking.
She clasped them tighter around the small object she was
holding. Tuula, get ready.
It spurred her into action. I followed and tried not to
think of what might be under here.
In my haste, I slipped multiple times.
My knees were scraped and bruised, but no more than my
ego. Tuula already stood at the top
of the pile of rubble, watching the entire thing.
She held out her hand. It was cold and clammy, but
strong. What is that?
I nodded at the device in her mechanical hand.
A remote? To what?
Tuula pointed at the thing she had put in the middle of the
cavern. Something I made.
The sound sliced through me, and then something burst through the
wall, straight through the wall. In between the explosion of the
sound of rock bursting apart and the beast roaring, I heard a
voice scream. Now!
I had one chance to look at the beast.
It was reptilian, but that was where the comparison with
anything I knew stopped. It was big.
I didn't know what I had expected, but it was bigger than
that. It crawled on four large claws,
and it was fast. Its skin, if you could even call
it that, was made from stone and gleaned with a layer of copper
dust. Konstantin cowered at the mouth
of the shaft we had come out of, and Rhea and Willow sprang into
action. What can I do?
Sit still and wait. I hate that!
There's power in that too. In waiting.
Until the right moment. I guess she was younger than I
was, but still, the weight of her words made her feel older.
Next to her, I felt young and inexperienced.
She had already lived through a lifetime.
I looked back and saw Rhea jumping around the beast.
Muffled shots came from her gun. They didn't do anything to the
beast, but make it mad. And that was apparently exactly
what they needed. Rhea dashed the beast by her
hair as it jumped towards her. Konstantin, watch out!
I wasn't thinking. He stood in the shadows staring
at the beast and seemed in no place to move.
But my call didn't just warn Konstantin.
The beast turned, its black eyes glinted in the light of Tuula's
flashlight and it started running.
Tuula, now! The beast was right above
Tuula's device. Tuula pressed the button.
And nothing happened. No, no!
Why isn't it working? She pressed it again and again
and she slammed her fist down on it.
But the moment it passed, the beast was closing in on us.
Run! Thank you for tuning in.
We hope you've enjoyed your stay.