Chapter 1 - Part 4: An Orphan's Work

Climbing down from the open pipe was no easy task, especially for a first-timer. It jutted from a rectangular extension from the cavern wall, and descending directly under the overhang was dangerous because of the spray of water that made its surface wet and slippery. Thus, they had to round the extended structure and descend to its side.

The wall was mostly smooth, with only the occasional cracks in its surface that allowed climbers to find purchase. The five children began the arduous descent into the jagged landscape below. Unlike the shaft they came down earlier, there were no permanently fixed ropes here, so they had to make their own way.

According to Allen, the cavern wall's surface was in slow but constant motion. Like a living thing, it soon expelled foreign objects such as anchors, and any features carved into it would disappear over time. The speed at which this occurred was quite random; they had heard of people losing fingers from small cracks closing up or falling to their deaths when anchors placed only moments ago were pushed out.

"All you can do is rely on your instincts," the bespectacled boy explained while hammering in another anchor only two meters below the last. This wall was the reason they had to carry so many of them.

Sanya looked at him with concern, then stared at the surface her right hand was clinging to. The black crack before her took on a sinister, almost malicious appearance now, and she drew back in apprehension. Tightly holding onto her rope with her gauntlet, she shuddered and shook her head.

"Don't worry about it," Natalee said as she climbed back up to her level, "those are horror stories told by the adults to make us work faster."

"Don't lie to her," Dyanna called up from below, "those things do happen, but not that often."

"As long as you don't stay in the same place for too long, you should be fine," Kilian encouraged Sanya with a smile, but she could tell he was trying to hurry her.

Indeed, she could tell that they were moving much slower because of her. But since the children had a monthly quota rather than a daily one, they could spend their time teaching her for now. Luckily, she was a quick learner, and her gauntlet helped her greatly where others would have faced additional troubles.

They soon climbed low enough for her to finally get a good look at the tree-like structures. They looked both like manmade ruins and as if they had grown organically at the same time. Chunks of stone hung from round metal bars like big fruits on twigs. Rectangular metal beams formed a rough outline resembling a tree's trunk and branches.

Sanya peered back up at the wall and noted how far down they had come. At the end of the day, they would have to ascend the entire distance to return to the orphanage. Considering how long their journey here had taken, there was not that much time to search for buried fragments each day before they had to make the return trip.

"Made it!" Natalee was the first to reach the bottom and announced with a relieved sigh.

"Where are we going today?" Dyanna asked when she came down beside Natalee.

"Around the base of that root over there," she pointed to a distant pillar to their left, "last time, I saw some promising traces."

"That's what you always say, but we always end up finding only Steel Writers," the younger girl complained with a sniff of disdain.

"I know it'll be better this time!" Natalee argued and puffed up her cheeks.

"I trust you," Kilian helped Sanya belay the last few meters and called down from above.

"Well, Steel Writers are better than nothing. Another cache of them, like last time, would fulfill half our quota," Allen said with a shrug while stashing the climbing gear in his backpack.

"Is this huge area just for us?" Sanya wondered as she followed his example. The Roots of the World Tree covered the entire base of the Skypiercer, but it was separated into smaller areas by many walls like the one they had just descended. Still, this one section alone was almost half the size of Base Camp and way too large for them to search on their own.

"No, there are other entry points to this section. There are most likely already people working out there," Kilian explained with a sweeping gesture ahead of them. Once again, Sanya was reminded of her own inexperience. The groups of children that headed down the other tunnels must have long since started while these four had been slowed down by her.

"Let's get to work then," trying to hide her thoughts under a cheerful façade, she raised her shovel and led the way. The four children exchanged curious glances with each other, then smiled warmly and followed her.

Getting here had been the hard work, but now came the fun part, as Dyanna described it. According to the children, it was quite enjoyable to search for hidden fragments in the Skypiercer. It was what all people living in Base Camp inadvertently aspired to do. The only difference was where they did it, but that would change once they passed the Aspirant exam.

They traveled on what appeared to be rubble-covered roads between the ruined trees. The ground was littered with sharp shards of stone, piling up more around the trees than elsewhere. They must have been fallen leaves, completing the image of their somewhat organic nature.

As they made their way toward the bottom of the root Natalee had pointed out earlier, Kilian saved Sanya from tripping and taking painful tumbles several times. Even though she knew that the ground was precarious and the stone shards would cut up her body if she fell, she still looked around in wonder.

The ceiling high above them was broken up by patches of brightness that came from the stone itself. The cavern was as bright as the outside, but the light felt colder than the sun's. Everything here looked eerily artificial, but there were no doubts that it was also alive. It was one of the many unsolved mysteries of the Skypiercer.

Witnessing all this did not spark her memory, so this was something new to her. Still, for all the wonder she felt, there was also a sense of dread. This was a completely different world from what she had seen so far. Although Base Camp had long since replaced most signs of nature with industry, animals roamed its streets, and greenery still peeked out on every corner. This place, however, was dominated by cold metal and stone, devoid of even insects.

"Over here," Natalee called out to them from afar. She had scouted the way through this sharp and deadly forest ahead of the group and returned to inform them of her discovery, "it's a straight path from here."

As with the self-repairing wall they had descended to get here, this forest was alive and changed its layout over time. A trail that had existed a week ago could have been overgrown or blocked by a fallen tree. The only constants were the root-like pillars and the cavern walls.

"So, where are those promising traces?" Dyanna asked in a cynical tone when they reached the spot Natalee had pointed out. They were near the base of a pillar, which appeared to sprout directly from the ground, or perhaps dug into it. A circle around where the root met the dirt and gravel was free from any trees as if they were afraid to grow there.

"Look, up there," Natalee pointed at the root's surface. Something out of place appeared to be embedded in its gnarled structure about a dozen meters up.

"Oh, you're right," Allen squinted before remembering that he had magnifying glasses in his backpack. Taking them out and peeking through them, he honed in on the object standing out from the pillar's dark surface, "looks like it could be a metal box."

"Whatever it is, it's worth investigating," Kilian walked ahead and readied his climbing gear.

"I'll be your partner," Dyanna offered immediately, causing the boy to raise an eyebrow. But then he realized she was trying to shirk dirtying her hands. After all, those staying on the ground had to dig in the dirt below. He glanced at Natalee, whose attention had already shifted to finding the perfect digging spot. Clearly, she had no interest in acting as his belay partner.

"Alright, then. Don't drop me," he sighed dejectedly and waved for Dyanna to follow him.

"You're heavy, so I promise nothing," she said with a smirk. Kilian was not offended by her words and mischievous expression; he knew she always came through when it counted.

"Here, let me show you how to dig around these parts," Natalee took Sanya by the right hand and announced cheerfully as she headed for the root's base. The green-haired girl let herself be pulled along as she watched Kilian and Dyanna get ready.

Allen glanced between the two pairs, then took out his notebook and began writing in it. As far as he was aware, no research on the growth rate of these pillars existed. In fact, nobody even knew where they grew beyond the tall ceiling above. And this was not the first time they had discovered something embedded in the root. Perhaps he could help find the truth by observing these objects over time.

"Draw a marker where you take it out," he called up to Kilian as he began his climb. The older boy merely showed him a thumbs-up in response.

"See this? The root doesn't grow straight upward," Natalee walked along the pillar and pointed at its grooved surface. Sanya touched it with her right hand, feeling the cool and rough material. It was hard to reconcile this sensation with it being something living. After all, it felt wholly inorganic.

"So we dig at the bottom of the grooves directly connecting to where that box is embedded?" she looked up and wondered.

"Hey, you're pretty good! That's exactly it," the black-haired girl responded and gave a pleased nod. With these words, she gauged the distance of the object above and the angle of the grooves.

Kilian had already reached the halfway point and hammered another anchor into the structure's surface. Unlike in the living wall, he would have to take these out again one by one while he descended. Glancing down, he found Dyanna observing him with her intent hazel eyes. As expected, she was doing her job properly.

He continued on his way and quickly reached the embedded box. The bronze surface was in pristine condition despite being stuck inside this strange structure. It was clear that the root had grown around it. Bringing his climbing pick to bear, he began to chip away at the pillar to get the object out.

On the third strike, Kilian's steel pick accidentally glanced off the box's surface, but that impact did not even scratch it. Instead, his arm went numb, and he had to pause. Many high-value fragments were incredibly sturdy, often bordering on the indestructible. While some could be melted down in furnaces or crushed by heavy machinery, others could indeed only be damaged by even stronger fragments. He hoped they had struck the jackpot with this one.

"How does it look?" Dyanna called up to him in a curious tone.

"Pretty good," Kilian responded and shook his hand to relieve the numbness. Perhaps using the hammer and chisel would be better now, "could be a big catch."

"Imagine if we fulfilled our quota for the month on the second day!" the young girl cheered.

"Don't get carried away," he pulled the hammer from his belt and yelled down. Even if they found some exceptional fragment, they would not earn any accolades, let alone a reward. The orphanage would still make them climb down here each day, even after their quota had been met. Although at that time, they could take their time and slack off.

While he hammered away, Natalee and Sanya began to dig where they expected the embedded box to have exited the ground. Allen helped clear the dirt and gravel they dug up while observing Kilian's progress from below. As the youngest, he usually played a supporting role and did odd jobs. Even with a newcomer, he did not complain about his lot and took the opportunity to learn.

That was why he noticed somebody was watching them from the shade of the forest. He did not immediately point it out to his friends and kept his eyes on their surroundings. It was rare but not unheard of for children from different orphanages to attack each other over fragments. Due to the dangerous nature of altercations between wielders of climbing picks and the punishment for when they were discovered, it only ever happened when a particularly rare treasure was involved.

Allen glanced back at his companions, who were engrossed in their tasks. Natalee and Sanya's digging would take a while longer, but Kilian was close to getting the embedded box out. He would inform him once he was back on the ground before they figured out what kind of fragment they had uncovered. After all, the observer hiding in the shadows would not attack them without making sure it was worth the risk.

"Oh, I found something!" Sanya suddenly exclaimed, causing Allen to spin his head around in surprise. She found what appeared to be a handle and grabbed it with her glove to pull on it. To her surprise, she ripped it from the earth as easily as yanking a fish out of the water. In an eruption of dirt, she swung a roughly one-meter-long rectangular case over her head and fell on her back from the momentum.

"Woah, careful," Natalee patted the dust off her clothes and shook her hair.

"What happened over there?" Dyanna called out to them after hearing the loud noise. She could not see from her position and looked up at Kilian impatiently before trying to reposition herself.

"Pay attention to your job!" the boy above her yelled when he noticed her focus slipping. Even though she was usually reliable, Sanya finding something during her first dig had drawn the younger girl's attention.

Sanya spat out the dirt that had entered her mouth and blinked her eyes in surprise. In her overeagerness, she had not taken her time to gauge the size of the buried object. And she had never expected that her glove would give her enough power to pull out something this large regardless. She would have to be more careful and learn how to use the glove before she hurt somebody.

"What is it?" Natalee looked at the dirt-covered case curiously. Only because it was buried here did not mean it was a fragment. They had found far more duds than treasures in the past, so she did not get too excited just yet.

"I don't know," Sanya took out the large brush that was part of every dredging kit and cleaned the dirt off the case. An unnatural blue color was revealed underneath, still as pristine as it must have been when it was first made. It appeared to be a container rather than a fragment.

"I got it!" Kilian suddenly exclaimed from above, and everybody looked up. He carried the bronze cube in one hand while holding onto the hole it came from with the other. Even in his moment of triumph, he remembered to remain safe.

"Come back down then! I want to see it," Dyanna shouted impatiently.

"We might have hit the jackpot," Natalee commented with a wink at Sanya. Two potentially high-value fragments in one day would fulfill their quota with extra to spare. She noticed that Allen was unusually quiet and turned to him with an eyebrow raised, "what's wrong?"

The boy scanned their surroundings but could no longer find the person who had been watching them. Perhaps they realized he was aware of their presence, or they had seen enough when Sanya pulled the case from the ground. They could be on their way to report this discovery to their friends and plan an attack.

"We should move," he turned to Natalee and Sanya and spoke hushedly, "we can check out their contents on the way back up."

"What's wrong?" alarmed, the black-haired girl asked while looking around. She had an inkling about what concerned Allen.

"Kilian, hurry it up!" but instead of responding to her, he called out to their oldest and spurred him on.

"Hey, hey, no rush," ignorant of Allen's worries, Kilian stopped to wave at the boy on the ground with a grin. He then gestured at his backpack where he had stashed the box, "we got this in the bag. Literally."

"Damn," Allen turned away and looked at the surrounding forest again. Maybe he was mistaken, and the observer was not hostile. Either way, they would find out on their way back up.

"I think this is enough for today," came Natalee to his help and yelled up at Kilian, "let's head home with what we got."

"We still have time. We can dig for some more," Dyanna complained while keeping her eyes on her descending climbing partner.

"No, we're done here," the older girl walked toward her and put her foot down in a tone that left no room for arguing. Finally, Kilian and Dyanna understood that there was something wrong. Instead of asking, they upped their belaying pace, but it was still too slow for Natalee, "leave the anchors for next time."

"Man, we'll get yelled at by Mistress Patch..." Kilian muttered under his breath but did as he was told. He took the belaying rope from Dyanna and latched on before quickly rappelling down by himself. As he landed on the ground, he quickly checked that the bronze cube in his backpack was alright, then swept the surroundings with his eyes, "so, what is it?"

"Somebody was watching us and left when Sanya found that thing," reported Allen while pointing at the blue case.

"Let them come," Dyanna growled and took out her climbing pick demonstratively.

"We're not fighting," Natalee chastised her, and the brown-haired girl furrowed her brow in displeasure. Looking back at their dig site, she sighed with regret, "let's get out of here."