Chapter Text
Martyn stared at Drake’s Tail as the ship approached Twinside.
Drake’s Tail didn’t seem to care that it was being observed.
He had been told that crystals were a Bad Thing now. The big Mothercrystal ones at least. Despite this, Drake’s Tail didn’t seem to mind that it was being slandered and called a Big Bad Crystal now. The small shard of fire crystal in his pack for lighting his campfire felt a little heavier than it did before.
All this was far, far too big to be his problem, but now it was and he had no choice but to deal with it. Cid still had a few Mothercrystals to tick off his bucket list, and that’s where Martyn had been roped into helping. Because of course the Phoenix was helping his brother and that meant that Prince Dion was also helping - and by proxy, Martyn and Gerard were helping.
Just another entry on the list of things in his life he hadn’t signed up for. What a time to be alive.
They had boarded the ship bound for Twinside early that morning, and to his infinite dismay Martyn had quickly discovered he didn’t have much of a stomach for sea travel. Short boat rides had never bothered him, but a voyage on the open waves turned out to be a different thing. He had opted to stay out on the deck in the fresh air instead of going below to the cabins with the Phoenix and Prince Dion. They seemed to have some ‘last minute planning’ still going on. If you wanted to call it that. Any actual planning that got done, Martyn was sure they’d tell him if he needed to know. The rest of the details they could keep to themselves.
Gerard had decided to accompany him to provide a - for once - welcome distraction from the swaying of the deck, and it hadn’t taken them long to start another round of word games. Apparently that was a thing they did now. The voyage had thus far added a few more things beginning with the letter S to their ‘I spy’ game repertoire. Such as Sea, Ship, and Sail, and a number of other words beginning with ‘sea’, which to Martyn felt a bit cheap and lacking inventiveness. The game was turning into ‘I spy things starting with an S’ at this rate.
It had also led them to another taxonomy debate on whether the creatures following their ship had been dolphins for D or porpoises for P, or if those were the same thing with just a different name. Martyn wasn’t sure how their bickering over sea life had turned to the topic of mermaids and if they were real or not, but he wasn’t going to ask the Phoenix if he knew the answer.
Mermaids were not a thing, and he was prepared to die on that hill, if only to get the last word. Also, those creatures were porpoises!
At first, Martyn felt excited when the top of Drake’s Tail came into view over the horizon far before they could see even a sliver of the Isles of Ark. This was his first time in the Crystalline Dominion, and now the only chance to ever see this Mothercrystal. Before they had been destroyed, he had been lucky enough to see those of Dhalmekia and Sanbreque, and once even the one that the Iron Kingdom and Rosaria had been squabbling over for generations.
The Mothercrystal just kept on growing as their ship approached Twinside. The closer they got the stronger the feeling of vertigo became. There was something terrifying about how the crystal loomed over the city, like the slightly tilted angle could make it topple over at any given second. Even Drake’s Head hadn’t given Martyn this feeling of unease on the few times he’d visited Oriflamme. They had built the city to follow the shape of the crystal, making it feel like a part of it. Twinside on the other hand seemed to want to contend with their crystal. The skyline was dotted with tall spires that looked as if they were extensions of Drake’s Tail reaching high above the city’s streets.
Even Gerard went silent for a moment when the harbour came into view. Only for a moment, though, before he started admiring the scene out loud and wondering if they’d have time to stop for some food once they arrived.
It was late afternoon when they finally disembarked at the Twinside docks. Even with actual ground under his feet Martyn still felt like he was walking on the ship’s deck, the world swaying just slightly. And his father had wanted to be a sailor in his youth! He couldn’t imagine having to deal with this feeling constantly. This day had made him reconsider his plan to escape to the Outer Continent. How many days would a voyage that far last? Even the shortest route from Storm to Ash was a few days, and that wasn’t the safe route. He knew he’d be miserable the whole journey, but maybe the payout of not having to deal with all this would make up for it.
“This way,” Martyn yelled over the noise of the crowd and beckoned Gerard to follow.
“Wow, I didn’t expect there to be so many people here,” Gerard said, his head swiveling around as he took in the sights.
“Don’t get lost now,” Martyn sighed and ducked past a group of porters sorting through a stack of crates that had arrived on their ship. “They’re expecting us.”
Maybe he should have brought a leash for Gerard. For some reason that thought along with the accompanying mental image made his cheeks heat up. He needed to stop having these random impulses about that man. It wasn’t healthy. There had to be something wrong with his head, he had never had thoughts like these about another person. He had no plans on asking a chirurgeon how to fix it, though. And he most certainly was not going to ask Cal for advice. He would never survive the ammo that would give her to further tease him.
(‘But Gerard would look great with a collar’, his brain helpfully supplied before he could fully suplex that train of thought.)
It felt almost impossible to keep his gaze off Drake’s Tail as they made their way up the streets. How did the locals get anything done with a massive crystal shading their daily lives like this? Martyn shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. They had a mission and he needed to focus, and Gerard was no help at all. Instead, he was doing his best to distract Martyn with the food stalls they were passing by as they weaved their way through the throng of people on the street.
Twinside was a melting pot of cultures thanks to the history of the isles, and the Empire taking it over hadn’t changed that. You could hear accents from everywhere around Valisthea in the crowd, and a Dhalmekian skewer vendor was happily doing business next to a Dominion curry stall. On the other side of the street, a Waloedian weaver was peddling their wares in a friendly competition with a local cobbler. The atmosphere of the markets reminded Martyn a lot of Dhalmekia and especially the hustle and bustle of Ran’dellah. It also reminded him that he should go visit his parents there one of these days, he hadn’t seen them very often after his mother had been stationed in the Republic’s capital. Officially she was a librarian, but in truth her actual occupation was snooping around the old archives and looking for any information that might interest the Undying. Covert jobs ran in the family, after all.
His mother would probably love Gerard, and the sheer thought of those two meeting each other made Martyn wince. Gerard would instantly charm his parents, compliment his mother’s cooking - that got Martyn to preen a bit - and in the end they would rather have him as their son than Martyn. But why would he even introduce Gerard to his family, where was that coming from? He was clearly losing it. The oppressive presence of the Mothercrystal looming over him was getting to him. Maybe that was a good enough reason to get rid of it, Cid’s crusade be damned. Martyn Barker wasn’t going to be bested by a lump of shiny rock!
“Can we-” Gerard said, pointing at a fish cake shop and interrupting Martyn’s momentary family problems. His expression was definitely going for the ‘puppy eyes of doom’ direction.
“Not now,” Martyn snapped, but then relented. He was getting too soft when it came to Gerard, Flames damn it. “We can come back here after we’re done.”
Gerard brightened up immediately. It shouldn’t be cute, but it was. Promise him a tour of nibbling through an alley of street vendors and it was like he had found heaven. Martyn wasn’t quite ready to unpack the wish that they could stop for a bit to explore the markets because Gerard enjoyed them so much. Luckily, they had a job to do first so he could put a pin on that for now. However, the job at the moment seemed to consist of Gerard drooling at the freshly baked, cheese filled dumplings they were just passing, but the sentiment was there. He was focused.
“Oh fine,” Martyn muttered and nudged Gerard’s elbow, steering him towards the dumpling stall. Maybe some baked goods would help him concentrate on the mission. And Martyn himself was feeling a little bit peckish after the long journey. His stomach hadn’t been very happy about the ocean waves so he hadn’t eaten much all day.
Instead of biting into the dumpling, Gerard first broke off a piece of the dough, eating it separately before pulling out some of the stretchy, melty cheese. The look on his face was so blissful Martyn had to look away. He hoped he wasn’t blushing, even if his tan should conceal it. The dumplings were very tasty, he could admit that. They were cooked over wood fire which left a slightly smoky taste for additional spice, and the cheese stuffing had a nice amount of tang to it.
“So what’s the deal with you and food?” Martyn asked, unable to hold back his curiosity any longer. Food seemed to be the only topic Gerard was truly passionate about. He inspected each food item he tried with great interest, and even asked the vendors questions if they weren’t too busy.
“I love good food! I mean, who doesn’t? And I want to open a restaurant one day,” Gerard said, grinning at Martyn and taking another bite of the dumpling.
“And that’s why you want to try everything we come across?” Martyn said, staring at him blankly.
“I won’t know what to serve otherwise,” Gerard said with his mouth full, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
Martyn hummed in response, but he had to ask. “Are you just going to put whatever things you like on the menu?”
Gerard just nodded, his mouth full of cheese. Martyn sighed. He felt like he was signing up for something again but he just couldn’t help it. He might not know much about what running a restaurant entailed, but he’d done some traveling and spent a lot of time with people who had way more education than he did. You tended to pick up things in such company, if you kept your eyes and ears open.
“That’s not going to work, you need a focus. See all these street vendors you so love sampling?” Martyn gestured with his hand, waving the remains of his dumpling at the street lined with stalls. Some crumbs fell off and two little birds started squabbling over them at their feet. “They have a focus. They all sell just one thing, maybe two if they’re ambitious, because they can make it well. You should do the same. Make a small menu with just a few items that are really good and work together.”
Gerard chewed thoughtfully and then swallowed his mouthful with determination. “That’s a great idea! I should have thought of that too,” he said brightly, before his face fell. “But there are so many good foods, it’s going to be hard to decide.”
“You could change the menu every now and then so you would eventually go through all the stuff you like,” Martyn said placatingly. Sad Gerard was… upsetting to see. He was always so cheerful. The world felt a little bit brighter when he smiled.
“I should take notes…” Gerard said, patting at his pack and stuffing the remains of the cheesy treat in his mouth, his cheeks puffing out.
“We can plan this later. Eat up, we have to go find the meeting point.” Martyn sighed to himself. Why had he said ‘we’? The restaurant was Gerard’s idea, not his, and he wanted no part in it. He headed up the street, not caring if Gerard followed.
He didn’t glance over his shoulder, just to make sure he hadn’t lost Gerard. He didn’t.
Despite arriving on the same ship as Martyn and Gerard, the Phoenix and Prince Dion had entered the city separately, to draw less attention in case someone recognized Dion under his travel cloak. Not to mention, having everyone together if he did get noticed would complicate things. They needed to stay undetected to pull this off. Cid had arrived a few days in advance to scout out the place with Lady Warrick and Torgal and to finalize the whole plan he had.
Martyn wasn’t happy about that plan. It was a bad plan. Actually, not just bad, it was terrible. And it was going to go awfully, if you cared about Martyn’s opinion - which no one had asked. It was a better plan than Cid’s first draft, which had involved a lot more busting through the front door while someone created a diversion. Cid was a pretty straightforward guy, so Martyn hadn’t been surprised when he first heard it. However, after Prince Dion had informed that he knew another way into the sanctum Cid had thankfully revised his original idea - all the while looking a bit crestfallen about not getting to kick down doors. The Phoenix was on board for this version, so Martyn didn’t think his opinion would matter. He probably should have voiced his concerns, if for no other reason than to get to say ‘I told you so’ when everything went pear-shaped. Not that he would say it to the Phoenix’s face, that wouldn’t be appropriate.
Martyn didn’t know how exactly one got rid of a Mothercrystal, apparently there was a core somewhere? And destroying that core would make the crystal disappear into thin air. It seemed impossible to make something that big just vanish, but there had been nothing left of Drake’s Fang so Martyn had to believe it. Unless it was because Titan had gone critical mass there. That possibility was a terrible prospect when you thought about four dominants going in for the mission. If any of them lost control… Well, it would not be a pretty sight once the dust settled.
Terrible, just terrible. But at least it was a plan, and Martyn had nothing better to offer. If he acted fast he might still catch a ship to the Outer Continent.
Martyn had expected something discreet, on a side street. Instead, they found the inn where Cid and Lady Warrick were staying on the main thoroughfare of the city. To his ever growing annoyance, Martyn discovered that he wasn’t really surprised when they stepped in. This was textbook Rosfield behaviour, and they had already gotten him used to their antics. Come to think of it, he should write a textbook on this for future agents of the Undying. Knowing Cyril it would just get stashed in the forbidden tomes section with all the juicier stories about Natalia Rosfield, but maybe he’d do it anyway, as a form of therapy for putting up with all this.
The ground floor was packed with patrons having a bowl of curry and a mug of ale for their evening meal, and Martyn had to tiptoe a bit before he spotted Lady Warrick by the stairs to the second floor, waving them over. Gerard of course only had eyes for the food being served, which was another thing Martyn had already gotten accustomed to. They were the last ones to arrive, and if anyone asked, Martyn was going to blame that on Gerard for wanting to stop and buy some snacks to bring to the others. He even got a skewer of roasted meat for Torgal.
Lady Warrick guided them upstairs, and the first thing Martyn did when they entered the meeting room was to check behind every tapestry and inspect the windows. He was still a bodyguard after all, so he was going to do his job and do it well. The Phoenix either trusted him to perform his duty, or he had not even noticed him. Martyn’s gil was on the latter option. His Grace was huddled together with Prince Dion, poring over something in his notebook. You couldn’t fit a sheet of paper between them, it was like they were attached together.
They were all so lackadaisical about this, going through the details of The Terrible Plan in a packed inn. If someone wanted to intrude on this meeting they’d have to go through Martyn first, since nobody else seemed to pay attention to security. Cid trusted his dog as the best spy alarm system a man could get. Martyn had his silent doubts about this as well, since the so-called best spy alarm in the realm was currently napping under the table with a full stomach after scarfing down the treats Gerard had gotten for him.
Martyn gave the room one last once over and sighed. There had to be something contagious about Cid’s specific brand of crazy, it was the only explanation why people just rolled with his ideas. He hoped he wouldn’t catch it. He went to stand next to Gerard who had taken up a guard post by the door, while Cid spread out a map on the table. Torgal sneezed in his sleep under said table, possibly indicating that all was well in the spy alarm land.
“Okay, here’s the plan,” Cid said, his hands resting on the map of the city streets. “We move after midnight.”
“We tracked the movements of the guards so we’ll have about half a bell to get into positions,” Lady Warrick said.
“You two,” Cid said and pointed at Martyn and Gerard. Martyn perked up and Gerard straightened to attention like a good imperial soldier. “You will stay on the lookout here, and create a distraction if it looks like an alarum has been sounded.” He tapped the main sanctum entrance on the map.
Martyn nodded and gritted his teeth. It was too late to back out now. He could have spoken but he had remained silent, and this was it. He could only hope everything went without a hitch. He felt Gerard place a hand on his shoulder, and he almost pulled away. Almost. The touch seeped some of the tension away from his frame and he breathed out slowly. When the hand retracted after a moment it left a lingering feeling of emptiness.
“Meanwhile, Prince Dion will lead us through the old tunnels to the sanctum,” Cid said and nodded to the Prince.
“The entrance is here,” said Prince Dion, extracting himself from the symbiosis with the Phoenix. He pointed at the map, several blocks away from where Martyn and Gerard’s position would be. “There is a whole network of tunnels built under the city. Once we are in, we can reach the sanctum undetected.”
“We go in, we deal with anything that might be down there guarding the core, and take it out along with the core itself.” Cid’s voice was full of determination.
Flames, it sounded so simple the way he said it. But Cid was also a dominant who had destroyed several of these crystals before. Martyn had to trust he knew what he was doing, even if the wreckage left at Drake’s Fang was telling otherwise. Would the same happen here, or would it be a clean cut like Oriflamme had been? He glanced at Gerard who was bouncing on the balls of his feet, seemingly excited about the night’s mission.
Yeah, this was going to go swimmingly.
Martyn climbed up the wall to reach the top of the tower. As far as lookout points went, a regular roof would have done, but this tower was right there, calling out to him. ‘Climb me.’ He wasn’t going to pass up on this chance. Gerard had merely grinned and winked at him like he was in on some secret when Martyn had pointed at the tower and told him that he would be up there. Guess it was too tall for even a dragoon to jump up to the top? Which meant that Martyn would have a few bells of peace and bliss with just his own company, while Gerard stayed on the street level.
Whoever had built the tower had been pretty good at their job, but not good enough to keep Martyn at bay. Or maybe the blame was on the salty sea air that had eroded the walls just enough that he was able to find purchase for his grapplers. This climb wasn’t child’s play but it was exhilarating, and he would have been fully enjoying himself if the terrible, awful, no good plan wasn’t nagging at him in the back of his mind. If the destruction at Drake’s Fang was repeated here, in the middle of a busy capital city… He just couldn’t stop worrying about it.
The tower he had picked for his lookout point seemed to serve no actual purpose. It was very decorative, almost graceful in its shape, but there was nothing of note at the top. It also seemed to be a newer design, added much later to embellish the roof. A clear sign that the owners of this mansion were in possession of too much money and not nearly enough common sense, but that seemed to be the norm in these bigger cities where the upper class folk congregated. They had probably wanted a crystal spire of their own, but had fallen short on the actual crystals. Martyn attached his escape rope and signaled down that he was ready and they could set the plan in motion. Far below he saw Prince Dion leading the others to the direction of the tunnel entrance.
Standing so close to the Mothercrystal was unnerving. Drake’s Tail filled Martyn’s entire field of view if he faced it, and maybe the original purpose of the tower had been to bring the viewer closer to it. It felt almost like you could touch the crystal if you reached out. Martyn turned his back on it and looked over the city. The view was stunning, he had to admit. The hillside leading to Drake’s Tail sloped down towards the coast and the city flowed with the terrain. The buildings got taller the closer to the crystal they were, as if to compete with it for the skies. The tower he had climbed was the tallest building on this street, the neighbors having settled for more sensible and moderate architectural goals.
Being a lookout wasn’t the most thrilling job, especially when the city below was already asleep. The docks were still lit up, night fishers going out for the catch that would be sold in the morning when the markets opened. The entertainment district wouldn’t quiet for a few more bells, going asleep around the time the fishers returned. Guess those guys never got to enjoy the parties there. Martyn glanced down, but Gerard’s guard post was hidden in the shadows. He suppressed the urge to wave down at him.
Martyn sighed and turned his attention back to the street below. No movement in either direction. Cid had mentioned there should be a night patrolman going past every bell, but from experience Martyn knew night guards weren’t often the most diligent at keeping their schedule. The patrol had passed just before he had started his climb up the tower, and that had been at least half a bell ago. The others should be in the tunnels by now. Everything seemed calm and quiet.
Maybe this mission would go without a hitch after all, but he was certain there had to be more ways to get to the core. Covering them all would have been impossible even if they had called in more agents from the Undying. And the Phoenix still kept up the ruse that Cyril didn’t know Martyn had been exposed.
Whatever. If he and Gerard weren’t needed for some other ridiculous plan right after this, maybe they could stay in Twinside for a few days, just so Gerard could try out more local specialties. Like the seafood market. It was bound to have some freshly caught delicacies, the city was famous for the fish curry after all. They could even stop for breakfast after this nonsense. Martyn groaned and shook his head. He was actually planning to willingly spend time with Gerard now, what had his life become?
Thinking of food vendors had made him hungry. Dinner had been bells ago, so he rummaged through his tool bag for the snacks he’d stashed there.
Another bell or half passed in blessed peace while Martyn chewed on a piece of jerky. He had nothing to tell the time, but the Moon and Metia were still high up, so it hadn’t been that long. How long did it take to destroy a crystal core? Surely they should be done soon. Martyn glanced over his shoulder, but Drake’s Tail was still there, rising towards the clouds in the night sky. Would have been funny if he’d looked and suddenly it was just gone, blinked out of existence. Poof, just like that. He chuckled to himself at the thought.
Suddenly there was a ringing sound from deep below. Martyn dropped down to a crouching position, his head turning around to try to locate the source. Something was happening, but what and where? Were they at the core now? Was this an alarum? He held his breath for a moment, trying to hear the sound again. He couldn’t see anything amiss, but something felt off. It was like a vibration that got under his skin. Not nervousness, he knew that all too well. He put his hand against the roof tiles and realized they were vibrating.
The humming of the surface under his hand died down, and the silence and stillness that followed was deafening. Martyn held still, ears straining for any out of place rustle. Then the sound returned, and the whole building resonated with it, making him feel like his bones shook to the marrow.
“What the…” Martyn whispered to himself before he bolted up and toward the edge of the tower’s roof.
Was this an earthquake? Below him, the lights were turning back on in the buildings along the street. As he peered over the edge he spotted people coming out of the houses in their night dresses, looking around confusedly as another blast of the sound rang, causing his teeth to rattle. Someone shouted something Martyn couldn’t make out, and then a man carrying a child started running, down the street and toward the crossing that would lead to the harbour. That didn’t feel safe if this really was an earthquake. The other option was no better, because it meant something had gone wrong with the plan. A diversion might not cut it anymore if there was a stampede of people trying to escape the area.
The world went silent again, but the ground was shaking intermittently. There were no guards that he could see coming this way, most of the people had cleared off the street to what they probably perceived as safety. The remaining ones were heading away from the sound as well. He wondered if Gerard had left his post to investigate what was going on. If he had, Martyn had missed him in the crowd.
Another sound, followed by a more violent quake. This time he had to slam his hands over his ears. The building shook with the tremors, and then it felt like it lurched downwards. Everything shifted sideways and Martyn almost lost his footing as the tower swayed like the sound itself was making it shudder. He realized that his lookout post was tilting now, shaking as the precarious foundation it had been built on was failing. It was going to topple over at any moment. The rope he’d secured for a quick descent was useless, if he took it he would be crushed under the rubble.
He needed to get away from here and fast. He scrambled toward the safer side of the tower, his feet slipping as the tiles started coming loose.
“Oh fuck, fuckfuckFUCK! ”
Martyn went over the edge with a scream, putting all the force in his legs into leaping across the street to the next building. This was going to hurt and he might break a few bones but it was a better option than going down with the collapsing tower.
If he even made it all the way across.
He had to make it.
He didn’t want Gerard to find his broken body among the debris. He reached out with his hand, trying to extend the jump.
The distance was too far. His stomach lurched when he realized that he didn’t have enough momentum.
He fell.