Marangreim reared up and took off, his two allies safely riding his back. Across the canyon, under the conglomerate, and on forever. An hour or more passed before he even seemed to look around.
“Oh, uh, I think we lost em.” they found themselves atop an octagonal tower, 20 feet in diameter, connected to many other, identical towers through metal bridges. Waterfalls flowed down the towers’ sides. The ground was too dark and far to be seen, but a few dim lights could be discerned. then came a great thunderous noise.
Niyames gave his
your an idiot stare, which, to be fair to Charkan, he gave to just about everyone with little provocation.
"Poison The water? why would the Machine want that? The only reason It does not crush us is the limits instated by it's programing. Why would it let a toxin flow freely from this place? stoping us from killing several miles of it's transportation network is something well within it's allowances.
By the way, do you know the purpose of that gold-plated structure? I suspect it to be the control center for this area, so if we commandeer it the same disrupting effects of a toxin could be achieved."
A curve of the lip suggested a twinge of sadness in Niyames.
"Again, why would the machine let us control anything about it? The only one capable of that is the one in its heart. That is an old building from the homeland. A control center, of a kind, I suppose. The High palace of king Uneni. What I wonder is why the Machine would have taken and left intact its adversaries' power symbol..."
Niyames walked to the front of the structure.
The building was over 80 feet tall, at a very conservative guess. It was a blocky thing, perfectly square around the base. Twin column flanked the entrance, which was only four feet wide but stretched almost all the way to roof. The orange light was stationed directly over it. On closer inspection, it seemed a recent addition.
Niyames glared at it.
“So, Machine, and I know you can hear me, why did you bring this here? I know it’s not sentiment. I have felt your soul, and I know it contains none.”
Silence. He turned with a huff. The machine’s eye stared coldly and emotionless.
But then came a responceresponded. A great rumble shook the world. The rivers splashed and the towers shook.
As the roar waned, it became not just a sound, but voices, a chorus of voices, screaming in unison in every direction. They faded one by one, until only one feminine shriek remained, before it too was suddenly cut off. Then it spoke.
"
You know why, Niyames. It is the same reason you fear to speak my name."
With every word, its voice seamlessly shifted to another.
"
So, the king has returned to take his throne."
End of part one
