The Archive: Part One

Above the hearth, the greatest treasure ever pulled from the Archive hung in pride of place over the mantle piece. With intricate golden scrollwork running up the edges, its silver face gleamed in the semi-darkness of the empty bar room. On either side, despite their cost and history, the twin sabers from the Peninsula War paled in comparison.

That piece, the gilded bit of history, was a manuscript from the Ancients themselves. Determined to be of greater importance than anything else in their massive collection and gilded to show its value. Luckily for humanity, and for the honour of the Robbers, it had long since been decoded; otherwise, the brilliance of literature from a dead age would have hung unappreciated for its true beauty, instead prized only for its age and obvious importance.

With a gentle click, the door to the room unlocked and an old man puttered in. He wore a plain blue and grey uniform, one chosen to mimic drawings from texts found deep underground. The Archive held infinite secrets within its branching, shifting pathways, and some evidence of the vanished Ancients. Evidence apart from the labyrinthine structure itself.

Raiden smiled as he touched his forehead with the first finger of his left hand, the one closest to his heart, in honour of the manuscript. Though his friend Janos had been the one to actually discover the tablet, only he had survived to bring it home. Janos’s name was listed first on the Wall of Honour, and that was a fitting place for him. The wall was for those who died in exploration, and Raiden was honoured to not only have carried his friend’s treasure home, but to see it hanging in its rightful place.

Moving with quick, careful steps, he took the chairs that were upended on tables down and arranged them just so. He was too old to brave the depths of the Archive anymore, but he could still serve his club as Master of Servants. Some of the other Robbers laughed behind his back, the young ones that is, and only when the full members were not around to hear them.

He was a person to be respected. He and Janos had survived uncounted missions underground and come up with some of the finest Ancient treasures the world had ever seen. Not just the one that hung on the mantle, but others that had brought more wealth and renown to the Grave Robbers than any other single person, or exploration partnership, in the whole history of Delving.

Not even those pompous ingrates at the Company could hold a candle to them. Even if the Royal Charter hung in their offices, rather than behind the bar in the club as would have been just.

Then again, he had to concede as he polished the spotless brass bar top, it made sense that a public enterprise held the Charter. Just as private enterprises held Royal Monopolies across the world, there must be one in the Archive itself. They had the resources to pull out the tawdry, everyday treasures that the world relied on. Leaving the most valuable, and the most dangerous to the club. Mostly.

An hour later exactly as the clock struck, the doors swung open, and a young woman named Erdene who Raiden might have asked on a date if he were decades years younger strode through. She wore a uniform of similar pattern to his own, though distinct cut, marking her as a regular servant. Distinctly beneath his class, if he left their matching colours aside, yet beautiful, nonetheless.

Smiling at her, imaging how he would have invited her to dance when he was younger and wondering how he could get either her or Jadzia to confess to the other, he waved and kept working. In less than ninety minutes, the first club members would arrive. That meant that everything had to be ready and he, as Master Servant, refused for the house to be less than perfect.

-0-

Pushing through the double doors a not quite fashionable ten minutes after official opening as if she owned the place, Jadzia had to smother a smile when she saw Raiden quietly counting something into a box at one of the smallest tables. He wasn't at his usual place behind the bar which meant two things, firstly that the club was expecting a large crowd, and second - following naturally from the first - that another servant was somewhere just out of sight. Given the time and the day of the week, it most likely Erdene.

Raiden winked at her, knowing exactly what was on her mind, and jerked his head towards the door behind the bar. Technically speaking, there was nothing stopping her from pushing through and talking the beautiful bartender. Nothing except social expectation and approval.

But, since when had she let that stop her from doing what she really wanted? Well, she had to be honest and rephrase the question. When had she done what she really wanted when the risks of getting caught were as high as they were in the club after the official opening hour.

Normally, it was considered uncouth to walk through the doors less than a full hour after opening. But then, that only really applied to the members who had abandoned Delving as their occupation. For active Delvers like her, there was no strict code on when she could turn up.

She decided instead to slip behind the bar and switch on the radio. Tunning it to the proper channel, she quickly scuttled back around and took one of the stools. She could feel Raiden's amused dark eyes on her as she lounged against the backrest of the stool, trying to look as if she were just patiently waiting to be served.

He could see through her, of course. And it was a mark in the old man's favour that he neither said nor did anything about what he saw. Of course, he could cause her some trouble if he ran his mouth about her interest in Erdene. Not just for the obvious reasons of class distinctions, but also considering the marriage her parents were contemplating.

Kasumi was a lovely young woman, no doubt. But she could never hope to match Erdene. In shallow terms, they were most likely equal when their appearance was judged - she should get her brother to confirm that - but there was something special about Erdene. She simply -

Warrick pushed through the door and called out to her, shattering the steadily building sense of expectation and letting the sounds of the club filter back into awareness. Taller than almost any man she had ever met, he all but glowed with barely constrained exuberance, bouncing over to the empty seat beside her.

“Oh, good,” he beamed at her. “You've already got the radio on. Listen, a friend of mine in the Department of Antiquities told me that Archive Delvers Limited found something the other day. Word is that it's one of the biggest finds ever! Raiden,” his head snapped around to look at where the old man was just closing his box, “you mind if I change the channel?”

“Not to worry, sir. I'll take care of that.”

Levering himself to his feet, Raiden moved behind the bar and clicked the knob a few degrees to the left. It always felt odd for the old man to call anyone 'sir' or 'ma'am.' He was a living legend, and technically speaking a higher rank than either of them both within and without the club.

“Warrick,” sighed Jadzia, “what are you doing here so early?”

“Same as you,” his smile nearly split his face in half. She wondered if it had frozen like that when he was a child, or if simply had the world's most positive outlook. If the latter, then she needed to learn his secrets. “Hoping to be the first one to get a license today. Anyways, didn't you hear me? The suits found something worth taking an interest in, figured that would be enough to get anyone out of bed, even you!”

He paused for a moment, taking a long slow sip from the coffee that Raiden placed before him. Then, eyes flicking from the old man to the spot he had been sitting then to the door behind the bar, he grinned at her.

“Although... I admit I'm surprised to find you here,” he said, “never would have thought you'd be first through the door. What would mommy and daddy think? You, showing so much initiative first thing in the morning?”

“Much as I appreciate your concern, you don't have to make fun of me. I just... woke up early and thought I'd get a head start today. Like you said, there's licenses to be claimed.”

“Uh huh. And if I went through there,” he pointed with his cup at the door behind the bar, “I wouldn't find anyone... else? Oh, good morning, Erdene! Hope you're doing well.”

A blush broke out across Jadzia's face, and she purposefully did not turn around to look. Instead, she accepted the cup that Raiden put before her, and blew gently on the coffee, pretending for all the world that she had missed what Warrick said. There was no reason whatever for her to turn around. No reason in the world to do anything other than wait for her Expedition Partner to finish what he had been saying.

“Gods above,” said the soft voice that almost broke Jadzia's resolve. “Do we have to listen to this?”

“There's an important announcement coming out of Antiquities today,” said Warrick, then his eyes narrowed, flicking to look at Jazdia as a grin overspread his face. “Jazdia was just telling me what she thinks it'll be.”

Wicked man.

“I heard a rumour that the company pulled something impressive out,” she proffered lamely.

“Right. You said, but didn't you also say something about a Guardian?”

He was making fun of her. The twinkle in his eye as he stared into her face proved as much. He was taunting her into engaging with the pretty server. Trying to provoke a reaction with which he would entertain himself through their next expedition. Then again, her friend was always at least trying to be helpful.

"Biggest Mythobeast in recent history wasn't it,” she asked, hoping that was what he had tried to set up. Guardians themselves were nothing special. But only full Mythobeasts were rare and important enough for him to prompt her with. “Though I didn't hear anything about casualties. Maybe this time they got off scot-free.”

“Funny enough,” but Warrick was interrupted by the radio suddenly shifting from background music to the chorus of the National Anthem. Once the last bars of the 'Sacred Banner' faded away and an appropriate minute of silence was observed, the announcer spoke.

“Late in the afternoon on February the 27th of this year, an Expedition from Archive Delvers Limited surfaced at the facility in East Koldrum. Speculation has been running wild since their emergence given that the last team to emerge from that door was led by the famous Master Delver Ackroyd Small more than twenty years ago. Experts had agreed that the East Koldrum facility, the oldest known entry point to the Archive was a dead end.

“No Expedition since Small had emerged from that point, nor had any Expedition launched from the site made it further than a twenty-hour march before having to turn back due to the blocked tunnels. Doctor Wright from the University of Shicklow, national expert on the Archive, proposed that the shifting nature of the structure logically meant that some entries would fade into and out of use over time.”

“Wright,” Raiden actually snorted the name. “Fucking blowhard. Never even been underground and he calls himself and expert.”

Erdene scoffed and turned the volume down. “It's bad enough I have to stand here and listen to you all go on about that place. Now you want me to listen to National Radio talk about it?”

“Hey,” Warrick sounded injured, and made a grand display of having heart pains. “I don't complain when you talk about your interests.”

“Maybe that's because it's rare I can get a word in edgewise with you lot.”

The easy banter nearly distracted Jadzia from the gentle words flowing out of the radio. A fascinating invention that some of the Grave Robbers Club were trying to adapt for use in the Archive, but she didn't think it would ever work. The nature of that place seemed opposed to being fully understood or mapped, it was as though the very Archive itself wanted them to be as lost as possible while inside it.

Some people thought that the Ancients, whoever or whatever they really were, had designed the place to be an enigma. An infinite fractal puzzle that would never and could never be solved. She didn't hold with that line of thought. Anything physical could never be infinite, and as far as anyone knew, the ancient scientists and architects that built the Archive had not been wizards.

Whether or not they had been human was the subject of furious debate among the Robbers who fancied themselves very clever. But the question was irrelevant to Jadzia. They had built and stocked the Archive, then vanished. That was the only information she needed.

But the Guardians and the Mythobeasts in particular, defied reason and logic. They were not natural, so much had been long understood; many prominent Archive experts theorized that the Ancients had engineered them in much the same way that crops or roses were often bred for different results. The only lingering questions were why and how. Questions that not even the people who spent their lives dissecting and experimenting on the remains left behind by Delvers had answers for.

Not one of the invaluable works rescued from the Archive even mentioned the monsters that the Ancients had set to guard their treasures. Assuming, of course, that it was the Ancients themselves who had created them.

“Archive Delvers Limited has announced that the expedition which unexpectedly emerged from the East Koldrum facility has made the discovery of a lifetime. According to reports from the company, Able Delver Seamus Green discovered the relic after the Expedition successfully defeated a rare True Mythobeast which attacked them unexpectedly. The corpse of the beast has been sold to the University of Shicklow for further study.

“The Company then invited Dr. Wright among many others to verify its age and authenticity before announcing to the world what they had found.

“Speaking in front of the University Main Offices, Dr. Wright announced that the relic had been fully verified and is of extreme cultural significance but declined to answer questions about its monetary value. Reports from Archive Delvers Limited have since confirmed that the relic is one of the immensely rare 'manuscript tablets.' The company is now in negotiation with the Department of Antiquities-”

“I knew it!” roared Warrick before Raiden cut in with, “dullards must have stubbed their toe on it. Only way they could find something like that.”

Jadzia could only wonder what was on the tablet. Those specific relics, typically flat rectangles approximately 30cm corner to corner, came in a wide variety. Though they were always exceedingly rare, no duplicates had ever been found, and the ones of the highest value were - exactly like the one hanging over the mantle - bordered in gold.

“Guess you're not so special anymore,” said Erdene with a grin, elbowing Raiden in the chest. “They've got their own to go and hang somewhere for everyone to gawk at.”

“Do you remember the name of the second man to step foot on Blanatalia? Or the second person to find a relic in the Archive? Didn't think so. The first one is always the most special, and Janos is the one who found it, so I was never special anyway.”

Excitement built in Jadzia's heart, the thunder of her pulse drowning out the friendly bickering between the two servants and Warrick's begging for quite so he could listen to the rest of the report. Her feet itched to be away, to march down to the sub-basement of the Manor where the Grave Diggers kept their own private entrance to the Archive.

Her shoulders suddenly felt too light without her expedition pack weighing them down. Eyes unfocused, she gazed longingly at the door, dreaming about what the next expedition would show her. The vaulted, cavernous chambers of the Archive called to her, promised her adventure beyond the scope of mundane imagining. Or at least, that’s what she told herself.

Erdene stepped out from the behind the bar and waved her hand before Jadzia's eyes. The other woman was polite enough not to notice how flustering this was, glancing away as she fought to control the rising heat in her cheeks.

“You're as bad as Warrick,” she said, earning an exclamation of protest from him, “with that far away look on your face. You're really going back down there?” There was something in her voice, something almost like... concern? Was that something to pay attention to, or was it the kind of thing she felt for any of the Robbers?

“Of course,” said Jazdia, her voice soft, bordering on apologetic. Why should she feel bad about it? The Archive was dangerous, its very air could be lethal and, despite the extinction of Mythobeasts, other lesser Guardians were still legion. But she didn't owe Erdene anything, much as she wanted to.

Before she could speak again, before she could finish processing the naked concern in Erdene's eyes, the door to the bar crashed open. Jadzia twisted to see Ferelith, Prime of the Club, striding into the bar, a brown envelope in her hand.

In a long dress tailored perfectly to her with the Grave Robber's crest emblazoned across her breast, she looked every inch the noble lady that she had been raised to be. Dark hair cut and styled by her family's servants, and makeup done to exacting specifications, gave her a haughty expression when her blood was up. Or maybe that was just how she looked. The Grand Master never seemed to be in a good mood.

The heels of her expedition boots, despite her retirement from exploration she had never lost the habit of wearing the eminently practical footwear, clicked against the smooth stones of the floor. Without sparing the foursome at the bar a glance, she made straight for the hearth and stared long and hard at the tablet mounted there.

For a long moment, she stood perfectly still, her gown slowly settling around her ankles. As she stood, staring at the priceless artifact, the unheard drone of the radio only added to the eager silence, Ferelith would have laced behind her back if they weren't holding the brown envelop. Displaying it for the crowd, taunting them.

Jadzia had the thought that the Prime was disappointed in her lack of an audience and was letting their anticipation build before speaking. She was always something of a performer - her metier, as the aristocracy would put it - but that was before she discovered the Robbers. Now she was all but the Queen of an Imperial client kingdom.

“I see you've heard the report,” she said without turning from her study of the tablet. “The company has found something impressive, though I doubt that whomever it was will be remembered.” Her last words were scornful, almost pitying. Every member of The Grave Robbers looked down on the Delvers employed by the Company - men and women who risked their lives for pay, rather than love or glory - but the Prime's voice always carried the most venom of them all.

“So, you know that we're behind the eight ball right now. We have the first one, but not the only one. We need to correct this imbalance. I have here,” she raised the envelope over her head without turning around, “official licenses from the Palace, signed by the Sovereign himself, giving us the right to enter and explore the Archive. Even better, they give us freer range to operate down there; his Majesty's writ gives our expedition teams freedom of movement. Complete freedom.”

That meant that, with the license in hand, that even the Company couldn't stop the Robbers from using any entrance they saw fit. Including the usually monopolized official gateways. Naturally, none would stoop so low as to use those gates, but they now had the right to. Legally, that also meant that any of the Delvers from the company couldn't stop them from doing whatever they wished underground; of course, laws tended to lose their power once one passed out of official Crown control. Once they ventured deep enough underground.

Turning so that her dress flared as she moved, Ferelith's eyes came to rest on Jadzia and Warrick. However, she spoke to Raiden first, “I don't suppose I could coax you out of retirement, old friend. We need our best to help us catch up.”

“Much as I'd like to,” said the old man, his hands almost trembling as he splayed his fingers across the brass bar top, “it's a young person's game. I wouldn't be much good down there anymore. Never useful to have someone along who can't hump their pack through the training course, let alone fight the Guardians.”

“I doubt Mythobeasts are going to be a problem, even the Company doesn't encounter them often.”

“But they still do, and we don't have access to the same equipment as them. And Mythobeasts aren’t the only Guardians, after all. Sorry, Prime, but I think it would be best if I stayed where I am.”

“Then that leaves you two,” Ferelith turned her coal-black stare on the two active Robbers. “Since you're here, you get the first license, though I had hoped there'd be more.”

“Still early yet, boss,” Warrick grinned. “You think after an announcement like that, the others are going to sit on their hands? Anyone who was awake would have heard that broadcast. Bet you'll run out of those long before you run out of people who want one.”

Ferelith snorted. Warrick had a bad habit of deflating the air of drama that other tried to put on. At least, he did when he was involved. The man loved to push buttons, and with the Prime, it was always easy to get a reaction.

“In that case,” she said, opening the envelope with deliberate slowness, “this is yours. I suspect you'll be going with Jadzia?”

Jadzia jumped in, “naturally. Who else?”

“Traditionally our Expedition Partners are set, but sometimes things change. It's good to double check. So this,” she produced a letter on stiff paper from the envelope and held it out, “is your license for the expedition. As usual, feel free to requisition anything you'll need from the club stores.”

Warrick leapt to his feet and crossed the floor with quick strides. He moved well, sure and confident, with a ready smile as he took the paper. Briefly, Jadzia fantasized about setting him up with a nice girl she knew from her brother's boating club, but suppressed the instinct. The man had never even expressed interest in a girl to her. Maybe that nice young man from... but no. That was a dead end too. Whether or not he was interested in anyone was beyond her, and wondering about it would achieve nothing. As Raiden always said, all things in their own time.

The older man took the place Warrick vacated and spoke in hushed tones to the Prime. Despite her status as the elected head of the club, everyone knew that there was another power behind the throne, whispering advice and opinions in her ear that would never be made fully public.

“Much as I hate to tear you away from her,” Warrick said, coming to stand beside Jadzia and nodding towards where Erdene stood arranging liquor bottles with a taunting smile on his face. “I think it's best that you and I get to planning, eh? This license isn't valid until midnight, so we should get started. I want to get an early jump on this. Before everyone else hauls themselves out of bed.”

With a regretful look over her shoulder at Erdene, Jadzia nodded and slid off the stool. Her partner was right, there would be time for mooning over the beautiful girl after they claimed a prize.

“Let's just make sure we get something spectacular,” she said, lips set in a determined line.

“Sure, sure,” his voice was pure confidence with a hint of mockery. “Have to give you something to brag about over drinks, eh? Just inside her hearing?”

He winked and she barely suppressed a groan. He wasn't going to let up through the whole expedition; like a dog with a bone, he would keep going until she broke, or he got bored. More likely the former.

-0-

The above was inspired by a conversation I had with the Estimable Donna Fox (HKB) a few months back during her "The Graveyard Challenge." I highly recommend you go and check it out so that you can find all the wonderful stories in Vocal's very own Archive. Make sure to pack provisions, it's a long journey but trust me, it's worth it.

Part Two

Part Three

Thanks for reading.