Post by Aurelia on Jan 9, 2012 17:32:09 GMT -8
Some said it was cursed, that nondescript building, sitting back out of the way. They said at night if you listened closely you could hear the desperate cries of the dead. Of course, none said it too loudly, and certainly never where an untrusted ear might hear it. Rune was not the sort of place to be caught speaking of secrets. No, not the sort of place at all to be caught doing that. A man who told one secret might tell others.
Aurelia had made it her business to ferret out all of the city's secrets when she had first come into possession of the estate. Well, maybe not all, though it galled to admit it there were likely a few even she had not dared to probe too deeply into, and others too small to be noticed. She hoped hers was among those that were overlooked, dwarfed as it was by the greater secrets of Rune.
It had been with precise care that she had seeded the rumors, weaving into them just enough of the bigger rumors in the city that, she hoped, no one dared to look too closely at her own. Since then those rumors had truly flourished, taken on new life.
None of them came near to the truth. The building, that was referred to only as Facility 14, was at first glance a distribution warehouse. Many saw nothing beyond that at all. Carts arrived and departed from it loaded with parts for mechanical golems from various foundries and forges across Elmore, or at least they normally did. What few knew was that the warehouse was only the tip of the iceberg. Beneath the warehouse, was a series of narrow tunnels and small dark rooms.
She found herself once more realizing just how unpleasant these catacombs were as she once again walked their halls. The cramped oppressive tunnels did not allow for elegant dresses, nor high heeled boots, nor were furs and silks a practicality. So she had, set aside her silks and furs for a still fashionable if perhaps vintage set of Rind Leather. Still, the outfit did not make the place much more pleasant. Not pleasant at all, but Facility 14 had gone too long without inspection. As she often reminded herself, peasants especially those of lesser races were fickle creatures, if they thought they could do so, they would grow lax and complacent in their duties. If left long enough they would fall completely idle, and still collect coin for their labors. Idle or lax workers meant time wasted, and that was one thing she could not afford to waste. How much time was left? No, far too precious to be wasted. Next to the time the coin was a small thing indeed.
The corridors were lined with heavy wooden doors, bound with dark metal she could not quite make out in the poor lighting. She seemed to recall an engineer insisting on a mithril alloy. Metals really did not interest her, well except for the quantities she was missing for her project. That certainly interested her. It was the slumped, whimpering, or sometimes vacantly staring forms that were the reason for all of this. The further she walked through the tunnel, the more she frowned, there were all too few of those forms huddled in the recesses of their cells. Too few indeed. Her escorts, beautiful as they were, made an effort to not look into the cells. She had only brought two into the halls, though all would have gone if allowed, there was just not room for twelve men in these tiny confines.
Eventually the hall curved and stopped suddenly at a door unlike the others. Where the others were merely solid this one was as heavy as any vault door. Gesturing to the door she waited, while one of the striking dark elven men rapped loudly on the steel. Now, she would find out how that human's research had been going. Her escorts moved to flank the doorway, they knew they would not be allowed inside. Such faithful hounds. While she waited she approached the first and ran her fingertips across his chiseled jaw. Faithful indeed, perhaps she would give him a treat. Tonight perhaps. Business, however, did come first, and so she retracted her hand and and turned to await the human's findings. What was his name again?
Aurelia had made it her business to ferret out all of the city's secrets when she had first come into possession of the estate. Well, maybe not all, though it galled to admit it there were likely a few even she had not dared to probe too deeply into, and others too small to be noticed. She hoped hers was among those that were overlooked, dwarfed as it was by the greater secrets of Rune.
It had been with precise care that she had seeded the rumors, weaving into them just enough of the bigger rumors in the city that, she hoped, no one dared to look too closely at her own. Since then those rumors had truly flourished, taken on new life.
None of them came near to the truth. The building, that was referred to only as Facility 14, was at first glance a distribution warehouse. Many saw nothing beyond that at all. Carts arrived and departed from it loaded with parts for mechanical golems from various foundries and forges across Elmore, or at least they normally did. What few knew was that the warehouse was only the tip of the iceberg. Beneath the warehouse, was a series of narrow tunnels and small dark rooms.
She found herself once more realizing just how unpleasant these catacombs were as she once again walked their halls. The cramped oppressive tunnels did not allow for elegant dresses, nor high heeled boots, nor were furs and silks a practicality. So she had, set aside her silks and furs for a still fashionable if perhaps vintage set of Rind Leather. Still, the outfit did not make the place much more pleasant. Not pleasant at all, but Facility 14 had gone too long without inspection. As she often reminded herself, peasants especially those of lesser races were fickle creatures, if they thought they could do so, they would grow lax and complacent in their duties. If left long enough they would fall completely idle, and still collect coin for their labors. Idle or lax workers meant time wasted, and that was one thing she could not afford to waste. How much time was left? No, far too precious to be wasted. Next to the time the coin was a small thing indeed.
The corridors were lined with heavy wooden doors, bound with dark metal she could not quite make out in the poor lighting. She seemed to recall an engineer insisting on a mithril alloy. Metals really did not interest her, well except for the quantities she was missing for her project. That certainly interested her. It was the slumped, whimpering, or sometimes vacantly staring forms that were the reason for all of this. The further she walked through the tunnel, the more she frowned, there were all too few of those forms huddled in the recesses of their cells. Too few indeed. Her escorts, beautiful as they were, made an effort to not look into the cells. She had only brought two into the halls, though all would have gone if allowed, there was just not room for twelve men in these tiny confines.
Eventually the hall curved and stopped suddenly at a door unlike the others. Where the others were merely solid this one was as heavy as any vault door. Gesturing to the door she waited, while one of the striking dark elven men rapped loudly on the steel. Now, she would find out how that human's research had been going. Her escorts moved to flank the doorway, they knew they would not be allowed inside. Such faithful hounds. While she waited she approached the first and ran her fingertips across his chiseled jaw. Faithful indeed, perhaps she would give him a treat. Tonight perhaps. Business, however, did come first, and so she retracted her hand and and turned to await the human's findings. What was his name again?
