Chapter 99: Book 2: Chapter 4

I pulled the door open, there were no messages or negative feedback from the protection field, which was always a good start. The three of us, four if you counted Ana hitching a lift in my hooded coif, stepped into the foyer of the building.

The flooring was speckled tiling and the reception area on our right was vacant. It didn’t look like it had been touched since integration, there was even a half-drunk mug of coffee perched on the counter. The stained wood counter came up to just below my chest.

I peeped over the top of it and there was a half-eaten sandwich on a paper plate sitting there. What kind of sandwich I couldn’t tell, as after two weeks it was liberally coated in green and blackish mould.

Shana scrunched her nose and sniffed distastefully at the sight.

There were a couple of doors that led into abandoned offices and toiletry facilities. The windows for these rooms faced out on the outer side of the security fence. The only way to the back half of the building, which I assumed provided ingress to the prison buildings within the fence, was behind a grey heavy-duty security door.

Curiously there was power to the building as the indoor fluorescent lighting was operational, bathing us in that familiar artificial glow from before the end of civilisation as we knew it.

There were two lights above the security door, one red and one green. The red light was currently illuminated which I inferred meant the security door was magnetically locked.

The building was eerily silent for a few seconds while we examined the surroundings and then the sound of heavy metallic clomping reverberated down the hallway that led deeper into the building and the way into the prison proper.

The sentinels were coming.

“Quix, have you interfaced with the Framework protections yet?” I whispered urgently.

<Yes, but there is a snag>

“A snag! What kind of snag?” I barked. “Do we need to make a hasty withdrawal?”

Before we entered the building, we had stowed our weaponry in our inventories. The deal signed with the governor would get us in, but we couldn’t walk around inside armed. We weren’t official representatives of the Michigan State faction.

What was worse is that the prison was under a similar field produced by my ship, Marena’s Mercy. Unauthorised individuals had access to their inventories revoked. Despite our permissions to enter the facility that included us.

We wouldn’t be completely vulnerable, magic still worked. And I could create fresh ice blades for Shana and me, while Jackson and Ana could use their magic-based attacks. But we’d still be weaker than usual and up against strong opponents.

The sentinels were the equivalent of level ten P-grade warriors. They wouldn’t be a pushover like Sam and his cronies had been.

<Calm down. There is nothing wrong with our entry criteria. We are in no danger. However, there does appear to be an added layer of security with regards to accessing the inmates and somebody is actively blocking my attempts to discern what that is.>

As Quixbix finished his explanation there was a buzz from the magnetically sealed door and the red light flicked off while the green lit up. The door clicked and then swung open. Two of the sentinels marched out. The door slammed shut behind them and the clicking of the locking mechanism could be heard, the light above the door switched back to red.

When I visualised the sentinels in my head, I’d been picturing something from the X-Men comic based on the name. They didn’t look like that at all. They were basically animated suits of burnished steel heavy plate armour. The eye sockets of their helmets glowed with an azure nimbus. They had wide-bladed halberds strapped to their backs and carried a butterfly battle-axe in their gauntleted fists.

They stopped in unison a few feet clear of the doorway, but clearly blocking the way into the prison.

“Await the overseer,” they intoned in a creepy, raspy, voice.

After they ‘spoke’ the sentinels remained motionless, not exactly staring at us, as they had no eyes, but facing in our direction.

“Overseer? Do you think that Warden Graves is still in charge?” Jackson voiced the question on all our minds.

“Quix?” I prompted the imp.

<I doubt it. Something is different for sure, but I can’t see the Framework leaving the pre-integration prison warden in charge.>

“Quixbix says it’s unlikely, Jackson. Did you see the warden at all back in Ionia before we picked you up?” I asked the lad.

“Nah,” he responded. “We heard from a few of the late shift guards that they’d been ejected when it all went down, but the warden would have gone home by then. Nobody mentioned him specifically.”

“Oi!” Anastasia screeched from my shoulder. “Tin cans, who is this overseer person,” she demanded from the sentinels.

The sentinels remained stoically silent.

“Humph, can’t say I didn’t try.”

I shook my head at her antics. We stood there like lemons for close to five minutes and just as I was on the verge of forcing the issue, we heard somebody new coming down the hallway.

Unlike the sentinels earlier, this person wasn’t clunking methodically down the hallway. It was more of a slapping followed by a dragging sound. And whatever it was, was quite slow and seemed to forget what it was doing or get distracted. I guessed the hallway was only fifty feet, the sentinels had covered the distance in a few seconds, whereas this person took closer to a full minute with the stops and starts.

Unfortunately, although there was a letterbox shaped hatch that had been left open midway up the door that allowed us to hear what was happening on the other side, we couldn’t get a good look unless we got closer. Something which the sentinel’s stance suggested they would not permit, and I didn’t fancy pushing the issue and messing up what we came here for.

Eventually, the click from the locking mechanism activated again and the door swung open slowly.

[Get a move on will you.] A slightly feminine voice echoed in my head.

I could hear her in much the same way that I could hear my imp, Quixbix.

The creature that shuffled out stood at four feet tall, though with a hunch that made it seem shorter, and the creature certainly did not match the voice I’d heard.

It wore prison scrubs that were too large for it, and that didn’t help its poor mobility. The creature had grey, rocky, skin and a downturned mouth shaped a bit like a beak. It had a pair of rigid grey leathery wings that protruded from the scrubs it wore and a thick tail that lay on the floor and was the source of the dragging sound we’d heard. Finally, it had a pair of insipid mustard-yellow eyes that couldn’t be more disinterested if they tried.

“Is that a gargoyle?” Shana asked curiously.

I tried to analyse the ugly little beast but was blocked.

Any answer to Shana’s question was drowned out by the gales of laughter from Quixbix that assaulted the inner ears of those of us who could hear him.

<Quinntexxis, is that you? It is, isn’t it? This is just too rich.>

“Quixie, who is Quinntexxis?” Anastasia asked with an edge of mischief.

[Uh, of all the nasty little imps that I could run into, it would have to be you wouldn’t it] the voice Quix had labelled Quinntexxis groaned.

<Quinn is a pompous and self-righteous fairy that has been attached to that gargoyle. Give me a second and I’ll make it so you can hear her> Quixbix supplied, answering Anastasia’s question.

I kept to myself the fact I could hear what she had said before Quixbix had offered to channel her words for us.

[What are you doing here?] Quinntexxis demanded.

“What’s happening?” Jackson asked urgently at the same time.

“Shush! There’s a fairy in the gargoyle and we’re going to talk with her,” Anastasia replied to Jackson’s query.

A surreal statement even in the new normal of the Darkwyrlds.

“Great,” he huffed. “More conversations I can’t hear. I’ll just twiddle my thumbs shall I,” he muttered under his breath and slumped down on a royal blue plastic chair opposite the reception desk.

[I asked you a question, Quixbix. What are you and your porter doing here?] Quinntexxis demanded once more.

“Porter?” I said, quirking my eyebrow.

<Just a little bit of imp slang for our gracious hosts, nothing to worry about> he said to me and then addressed the fairy again. <A better question is what are you doing here, Quinn. Last I heard you were living it up with the lamer-in-chief, he of the ostentatious title Grand High Marshal Vonnit. Did somebody finally do the Darkwyrlds a favour and cut his fucking head off?>

[Don’t speak of him in that manner. Carolus was a fine and virtuous man on a noble endeavour to rid the Darkwyrlds of corrupting influences. He was not a lamer, as you so ineloquently put it. What about you? Last I heard you were bonded to the sixteenth scion of the Xannis Imperial Collective.]

<I walked that chump into an early grave. Traded up for this fine piece of piratical potential you see here.>

“Excuse me,” I grunted, while Shana covered a giggle with her hand and Anastasia cacked wildly. She even fell over in the hood she laughed so hard.

[Humph, a Soulbinder. Why am I not surprised?] Quinntexxis remarked scathingly. [You were always attracted to the worst sorts.]

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<Like you are anyone to judge. For all Carolus Vonnit’s pious bleating he was a fucking butcher with as much blood on his hands as the most egregious of warlords.>

“Who is this Carolus Vonnit person you are both talking about,” I asked forcefully.

The conversation had already spiralled out of control, and I needed to retake the reins of its direction.

[He was a hero and a defender of the weak] Quinntexxis asserted.

<More like he was an interfering asshole who launched a galaxy-spanning crusade against anybody and everybody that didn’t follow his abolitionist creed. He founded and led the Liberation Army of Moral Emancipators. LAME for short, hence he was the lamer-in-chief> Quixbix contradicted the fairy.

[That is not what the organisation was called, and you know it. The Liberation Army and the Moral Emancipators were different branches of the Valiant Coalition. Imps, liars the lot of you] Quinntexxis retorted hotly.

<Fairies, stuck up bitches to a fault> he snapped back.

“Enough,” I commanded the pair. “As interesting as the galactic history lessons sounds, daylight is wasting. We need to crack on with what we came here for.”

Quix, stop baiting her, please. It looks like she is the added layer of security here. I thought at the imp privately.

<I’ll try and you’re right> he thought back at me.

[What are you doing here was the first question I asked] Quinntexxis responded in a wounded tone.

That was mildly interesting, perhaps I had a modicum of control over the fairy. She certainly seemed to have been affected by my command to stop arguing with Quixbix, then again maybe she was just a bit thin-skinned.

“Quinn, we are here to initiate the transfer of the prisoners in this facility, and the three other facilities nearby, into my custody. If you examine me, you should see that I have been granted the permissions by the Governor of Michigan via a legitimate Framework Contract,” I explained calmly.

I was, however, to be disappointed by her reaction.

[Absolutely not] she firmly declared. [I have been given a solemn duty to maintain the integrity of this facility and the three others. To keep the prisoners incarcerated until such time as their sentences are served and I intend to see my duty done. My directive comes from the Framework administration themselves and supersedes any regional authorities.]

That did not sound good for our chances.

<Solemn duty, my ass> Quixbix snarked.

So much for the imp trying not to bait her.

Quinntexxis pointedly ignored his needling and this prompted the imp to keep going.

<You’re attached to an effing Stoneskin Gargoyle, Quinn. Their thought processes are so slow they barely count as intelligent, and because of it, you can never properly mesh with one. Just getting those lumps to move is a miracle, all they want to do is sit in place and petrify. What’s more these facilities are supposed to protect themselves.

<This is a punishment detail if ever I saw one> he accused.

To punctuate Quixbix’s assessment of the fairy’s current ride, snot began to slowly ooze from the gargoyle’s nose and down his beaky upper lip. He made no effort to clean the greenish goo away as he continued to stare limply into nothing.

[Yes!] Quinntexxis screamed in an over-the-top theatrical manner.

[Are you happy now that I’ve admitted it, Quixbix, the barely clever enough to tie his own shoelaces as it takes him half an hour to figure out he doesn’t have any.

[This is a punishment. The Liberation army grew too large, and Carolus couldn’t control it any longer, and he trusted the wrong people. They perverted the cause for their own ends and atrocities were committed. All by rogue elements, might I add.

[After Carolus’s execution and my return to the Framework, headquarters accused me of being partly to blame for the death toll. A terrible and unfounded disparagement of my millennia of hard work and spotless record. I encouraged him to embrace his calling and begin his crusade, of course. That’s what we’re supposed to do, push our charges to make the most of themselves. The head of the department wouldn’t listen to me and sentenced me to this wretched state of existence.]

Somehow her voice had managed to get ever more strident as she had continued. Also, not needing to take a breath had helped keep the ranting confession rolling without pause.

Those of us who could hear her stood there in stunned silence for a moment. Jackson might be a bit miffed at being excluded, but sometimes it was a benefit, not a hindrance.

<Your insults could use a little work> Quixbix said finally, but his tone lacked its earlier barb. I might even go so far as to say he sounded mildly sympathetic.

[Be that as it may] Quinntexxis replied, regathering her comportment. [This is my last chance. My task was to at the very least keep these prisoners exactly where they are supposed to be until the plexus activation in five and a half months’ time. Preferably until the completion of their respective sentences.

[Should I fail the minimum requirements of the task I have been set, I will be deleted. No matter what permissions you’ve been given by regional authorities I will not allow you to remove the inmates from here. The sentinels respond to my commands only and this gargoyle, laggard though he is, is incredibly hardy. If you seek to harm him to remove me, you will soon come to regret the attempt.] Quinntexxis said with finality

<She’s right about her porter gargoyle. They’re called stoneskin for a reason. They are practically invulnerable until you get to a much higher level> Quixbix commented.

“Have we wasted our time then?” Shana asked.

“Maybe or maybe not,” I said as an idea struck me. “Quixbix, can you show Quinntexxis my repeatable Corsair’s Canon quest?”

<I don’t know, I’ve never tried to share with a fairy before, it’s unnatural>

“Just do it,” I ordered.

<Fine> he mumbled. <Okay, Quinn can you see it?>

[I can] she answered, [but I don’t see how this quest changes anything. I can intuit what a Dungeon Corsair Captain is doing here. Building a crew of criminal malcontents for nefarious purposes, no doubt. I wouldn’t be surprised if you were hoping to feed the less useful or salubrious inmates to your pet dungeon as well.]

She had me dead to rights on that one.

“If I sign enough high potential inmates to the Canon in exchange for springing them from here, I can level up,” I told her.

[That doesn’t make me any more inclined to endanger myself by helping you out.]

I followed up with my real offer. “At which point I can commune with Dean for my level-up consultation. Whom, if I hadn’t mentioned it before, happens to be the lead administrator of the Framework. Where I might be able to have a word on a certain fairy’s behalf that might extricate her from her sticky wicket situation.”

[Quixbix, is this true?]

<You betcha. Would I lie to you?>

[Yes]

<Fair enough, but not about something like this. Pissing off the higher ups isn’t good for one’s career prospects.>

Quinntexxis grunted. [That much I can attest to myself.] Then she paused as she thought it over. [I’m sorry Torin, you seem like a decent young man for a soulbinding Acheronian pirate, but I can’t take the risk. I’m confident in my abilities and I’ve got a sure thing here. If it’s a question between you and me, I’m picking me.]

I couldn’t help but chuckle as the fairy expressed the very same sentiment I’d used to justify most of my more questionable acts thus far. My hopes had been hoisted upon my own petard, so to speak, but I did have one last card to play.

“Are you quite positive about how sure, your sure thing, really is?” I asked her leadingly.

[What do you mean]

“What he means,” Anastasia announced, stealing my thunder. “Is that you are only twelve miles downriver from a genuine Criminal Kingpin who has already seized control of the largest city in the area. Do you really think you can last six months when you have a veritable candy store of foot soldiers ripe for the plucking here?”

“What she said,” I remarked with a sigh.

[Oh no!] Quinntexxis wailed. [That underhanded little bastard. He knew this would happen. He knew I couldn’t complete the task. He’s been toying with me all along. It’s an execution by proxy. He’s always favoured the imps over the fairies.]

I didn’t know which Framework program she was referring to, though I doubted it was Dean for once. From what little I’d learned about Dean he had seemed like the type to delegate and do as little actual work as possible. And I refused to accept the idea that Dean’s influence over me was so deeply ingrained that he could have predicted the deal I’d made with Governor Reynolds and set this up in advance.

“So, will you reconsider your position?” I pressed her.

[Alright] the fairy said finally. [I will give you access to the prisoner records and let you add enough of them to your Canon to get to your next level. But you can’t leave the prison with them. Not unless you successfully negotiate me an out from this death sentence. If you can’t do that, they aren’t going anywhere, and I’ll take my chances fighting off the Kingpin. This is my only offer.]

“Agreed,” I told her with a big grin on my face.

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