Rise Of The Godking

There were crows feet around his eyes that crinkled when he laughed, and he always seemed to have a smile on his lips. He was smiling, even now, as Daneel stepped inside, and after slapping him on his back, he said, "Don"t be so terse! Gerard is almost family. Anyone he trusts is a friend of this house. Come, come! Let"s sit!"

Tossing back the l.u.s.trous, black mane on his head, the man gestured at a table nearby.

Daneel hadn"t been expecting any where as warm a welcome. When he had taken Zackary"s answer to Gerard and despaired about how he had to find a way into the third layer, he had been quite taken aback when the old man had said that he might have an answer.

Truly, Reese"s father had turned out to be an indispensable help in almost everything he set out to do. As Daneel had looked at him excitedly, the man had talked about how the former accountant of the Refinery who had taken him in had a son, who had been promoted to the third layer because of the promise he had shown at a young age.

Gerard had always been kind to him when he was a boy, even playing with him many times when his father was busy. The relations.h.i.+p continued despite the large gap in their social status later on, but still, he hadn"t promised that it would definitely work.

He had given him a letter that he deposited to the enforcers who had laughed, at first, before seeing the exact address that was written on top of it. Only those who really did have contacts in the Courtyard would be able to write such a thing, so they had grudgingly sent someone into that purple clump of crystals.

That had been followed by the entire ordeal that Daneel had suffered through before coming here. He was still thinking of it when he took a sip from a gla.s.s that had been pointed out to him by the man, and all the thoughts flew out of his head when a rich, yet sour liquid went down his throat, warming his insides and making his face go red.

Letting out a boom of laughter that echoed in the house, his host shouted, "That"s my boy! I always did hate anyone who couldn"t keep down their wine… I see that I might finally have a drinking partner!"

"W-wine? I thought it was water!"

A wave of dizziness appeared out of nowhere as soon as he got this thought. Understanding what the man had said, though, he fought against it, and with great effort, he stopped himself from swaying even a little bit and just smiled in response, a pleasant drowsiness engulfing his mind.

Slapping him on his back again with so much force that his face almost planted into the table, the man took a long swig from his own mug. Wiping his magnificent mustache that was dripping when he was done, he threw out his hands and announced, "I am called Merry, and this is my merry house! I don"t know what got into my father when he named me… but somehow, it"s G.o.dd.a.m.n perfect! Haha!"

Another boom of laughter erupted from his mouth that made Daneel"s ears hurt, and another long swig was taken from the mug.

Daneel opened his mouth to thank the man for accepting Gerard"s request. The old man had only told him that he was asking for Daneel to be shown the ropes of accounting in the third layer, and repeatedly, he had emphasized how skeptic he was about whether his old master"s son would accept. As for the reason behind it, he had only stated that Daneel"s ambitions lay elsewhere and that he was extremely skilled in the art of accounting.

Daneel had known that he would have no problem proving the claim, if it came to it. After all, he was confident that no one would be able to go up against the system, so all he had hoped for was that he would get a chance.

It seemed that his wishes had come true. Just as he was about to spurt out his profound grat.i.tude, though… a knock sounded on the door, and both of them glanced towards it.

Squinting, Mr. Merry looked at his hand, where Daneel saw a small watch. It was a common sight on the surface, but in the Pit and Refinery, he had only seen large ones in the few places that they had even been present, at all.

Slapping his forehead, the accountant roared, "Oh, d.a.m.n my poor sense of time!"

Rus.h.i.+ng to the door, he opened it and raised his hands apologetically. Before he could say anything, though, a brusque voice appeared from the one beyond.

"No apologies necessary. This has happened enough times for me to understand that it"s hopeless to even think that you would stick to the schedule given. I came before hand, this time, so that my father wouldn"t be made to wait. You know how much he hates it if he has to stop the Art before it takes its course…"

Nodding profusely, Mr. Merry replied, "oO course! Still, I must apologize. I was staying back to welcome the disciple of an old friend from the Refinery… say, would it be okay if he comes with us? Your father does enjoy an audience, after all…"

A head peeked through the doorway as the man said this. It belonged to a refined, clean-shaven young man wearing a purple suit. Raising an eyebrow, he sneered in Daneel"s direction and bent back before saying, "Why not? Let"s go."

Mr. Merry waved Daneel over with his hand. They had soon set off down the road that Daneel had been escorted through before, and on the way, he felt curiosity bubbling up inside him, intensifying with each step that they took towards their destination.

Although he had been so excited to finally find out just what the refinement in the layer below did to the crystals that he was able to absorb with no trouble whatsoever, he had stopped himself as they were still a bargaining chip that had to be kept intact. In the worst case, if things really did progress in a manner that would require him to report Zachary, he would need all the blocks of crystal he had taken to corroborate the old accounts with the valuable ore that the man had stolen.

He had always been puzzled about exactly what took place in this layer, especially because the inhabitants were said to be a cultured bunch who even mingled with those on the surface, at times. So far, in each layer, he had seen that the nature of one"s work was tied to the way they lived, so he had really wanted to find out exactly what these people did that made them deserving of such a free and esteemed life.

They were soon at the doorstep of one of the houses situated right in front of the fountain. It was one of the largest all around, with stone columns holding up a slab of marble to result in a shaded front area that led up to a set of doors each tall enough to let in the 12-foot brute whose past he had come here to find out.

Taking out a key from a pocket near his breast, the man opened the door and went inside. Daneel followed, and came upon a house as richly furnished as many he had seen on the surface.

It was far removed from the simple, yet genteel taste of Mr. Merry that he had observed in his house. His gave one a cozy feeling and made them feel at home, but here, one would always be on their toes, convinced that they should always hold a modic.u.m of stateliness due to their surroundings.

There were at least six rooms in the house. It was completely made of polished stone, with a gold wainscot and gla.s.s chandeliers that hung from above. It was laid out in a fas.h.i.+on reminiscent of Lord Burrow"s residence; a large area was present in the center with rooms branching out to the left and right, and as they made their way to to the one in the very back of the house, Daneel held his breath.

The young man softly opened the door and entered, holding it open for the two of them to step in. Mr. Merry shushed Daneel before entering, and following his cue, Daneel tiptoed inside.

They came upon a wizened man sitting on a wooden stool, wearing a strange contraption on his head. A transparent, multi-faceted diamond was present right in the middle of his forehead, held in place by a circlet of pure gold.

His face was scrunched up with concentration, his chin dripped sweat. His hands were aloft; one held a palm-sized, transparent block of refined crystal, and the other held a red stone figurine in the shape of a man with folded legs.

Daneel was captivated by the sight as soon as he laid his eyes upon it. He was watching something that he expected none of the others could see, though; dots of light were traveling between the diamond on the man"s forehead, the stone figurine, and the crystal that slowly started to turn red.

With each second that pa.s.sed, the color intensified. The pattern of dots here was once again different than anything he had seen, yet, and when the man was done, his shoulders fell before he chucked the crystal that had turned crimson into a pile nearby.

Mopping his face with a cloth nearby, he looked at Daneel and spoke in a condescending tone…but as he heard him, a fit of laughter bubbled to Daneel"s lips, and he had to put in a lot of effort to swallow it down.

"A trainee from the Refinery? How strange! Count yourself lucky, boy. You"ve witnessed something your kind can never hope to understand! I bet you didn"t even know that these things you called crystals can be manipulated by humans! Well, count yourself educated, today, and rejoice!"