Rise of the Godking - Chapter 44

Daneel was quite happy with the answer. He was even almost convinced that that was all the old man knew…but still, he continued to the dining table, curious to see just what the retiree was so anxious to hide.

Reaching it, he tapped around with his foot, looking for a clue. Even though he had been proud of his plan to save his crystals under the floorboards, it wasn't hard to believe that others could have come up with the idea, too… and sure enough, after a few seconds, a hollow sound echoed from the one directly under the table.

"No! Stop! Stop! I gave you what you came for! Just get out of here! I'll leave you alone if you go right now! Otherwise, I'll hunt you down! No… Please!"

It was interesting to see how the old man went from threatening him to begging as soon as Daneel reached with his fingers into the gaps between the floorboards and began to pry the one he was looking at loose. The begging continued behind him, but he ignored it… and took a step back with a gasp when he saw what lay underneath the floor.

'Jackpot!'

He was so excited that he wanted to jump up into the air, but he controlled himself as that wasn't the reaction that should be expected from a worker in the Refinery. Still, he remained with his back to the tied up old man, taking some time to control his expression before turning around.

Under the floorboards… were ten small cloth bags, each filled to the brim with refined crystal.

Daneel had no idea exactly what the refining process did. He only knew that the refined product was much more valuable, and hence, might be investigated if he was ever found out, so he had gone ahead with his plan to steal normal crystals. His prisoner had been much more courageous: all of the bags held neat blocks of that glistening, silvery material, ready to be absorbed and have its secrets uncovered.

It could be said that luck hadn't really graced Daneel that much since his journey into this body, but he sincerely thanked the gods now due to this stroke of good fortune. The old man had finally fallen silent, but when he hefted up one of the bags and turned around, he whimpered, "No… No! No one was supposed to know! Dammit!"

Walking up to him, Daneel caught his beard and pulled his head down painfully. Looking straight into his eyes, he raised the sack in his hands and asked, "Out with the tale. What did you plan on doing with these things? We both know the punishment waiting for anyone found smuggling away these precious crystals… so either talk, or I'll go straight to the enforcers. Yes, I would get a punishment, too… but it's nothing compared to what's waiting for you. You can't hope to wriggle your way out of it, either; I bet that if the accounts are checked, there will be enough proof that you are the ones stealing them based on the correlation with the dates of your visits to the Refinery. So… I really see no choice but for you to spit it all out."



Zachary stared between the blocks of crystals and Daneel's tar-covered face. He seemed to be looking for some way out, but finally, when he found nothing, he slumped against the chair, the fight going out of him like air leaking out of a balloon.

It was only then that Daneel noticed that the man had been so absorbed in his attempt to escape that the ropes had chafed against his skin until they had drawn blood. Deciding that the stick would be enough, he brought out the carrot in the form of bandages that he had found while rummaging around the house before.

He had a slight hunch that he wanted to confirm… and sure enough, even when the ropes on his hands were untied, the man didn't move to fight. From this, it became abundantly clear that this man wasn't a veteran thief, either; the fear of getting found had been in the background of his mind for all this time, and now that that fate was so close to coming true, it had surged forward with full force and taken over his entire consciousness.

After he was done bandaging wounds, Daneel didn't even bother tying the man up again. He just sat there, his eyes fixed on a faraway place, and after a minute, Daneel had to prod him to get him to talk.

"We don't have all day."

He said in a soft voice, but the old man snapped his head up as if he had shouted in his ears. For a brief moment, it looked as though he might leap onto Daneel and make him regret been the decision to leave him free, but then… he leaned back, and began to speak.

"Crystals. That is what we call these things… but we know so little about them. We don't even know their real name! And we can never begin to guess just how valuable they are. I'm only telling you this as I now see that I wanted to put the truth out there ever since I've lived it. I don't even care whether you choose to believe me, or not. I… only sold out my friends because I was promised that they would be sent into the Pit after being whipped to within an inch of their lives. I was sure that if they went ahead with their uprising, only death would await them...so I just wanted to save their lives! Oh, on that day, when they went up to the gibbet… their gazes burned right into my skull. I'll never forget the way they looked at me, as if I had betrayed them… which I did, even though my intentions were pure. I really wanted to take my life. I was just a step away from ending it all… but I was stopped by a knock on the door by one of their sons. He saved me… and gave me a new purpose. I worked hard. Harder than any of those bastards up there deserved. But while groveling to them every day… I learned their secrets. I learned that even in the refined form, before it is sent to the third layer, these crystals are more valuable than anyone can imagine. I… just wanted to give a good life to the families of all my deceased friends. They live just a few houses away, and they detest me… but the only consolation is that they still take the money I give them, as they need it. My hope… was to sell these things somehow, and obtain enough money to escape this place. It's all… gone to ruin, now. It's all over…"

It was hard to keep a gobsmacked expression out of Daneel's face as he listened to the true tale from Zachary's lips. He had told himself that he wouldn't judge people based on what he had heard about them… but still, such a thing as causing the deaths of so many who trusted him had made him automatically think that the man's heart must be as dark as the Pit.

Daneel squinted, wondering whether to believe him directly. He immediately dispelled the notion after seeing how wrong he had been so many times already. Deciding to investigate and come to a conclusion only after finding some evidence, he turned to the old man and said, "Yes, I don't believe you, but you can't blame me for that. Either you're a very experienced liar, or someone I hope to rely on and trust in the future. Either way, this is what I'm going to do: I'll be taking some of these crystals for safekeeping. Remember; if you tell anyone about what happened here, I'll have enough proof to turn you in. I'll also be watching you… so stay put. Stop your visits to the Refinery. If anyone asks, you've fallen sick. Wait for me to return. If I find anything a little bit suspicious… you're done. You understand?"

Zachary nodded weakly. His face had drained of the little blood it had left when Daneel had said that he didn't believe him, and that had made him feel a bit guilty.

There was no way around it, though. Pulling a chair in front of him, he sat down and asked, "Tell me more about the third layer."

Zachary looked at him through heavy-lidded eyes for a few moments. Then, when he began to give the answer… the first thing he said, itself, made Daneel do a doubletake.

"The third layer. It's called the Courtyard… but only by those who live inside it. They believe that they are one step away from the nobility who live on the surface… but in truth, they're only half a step above the rest of us. That doesn't stop them from being arrogant bastards, though… so if you go there, I reckon that they'll look at you like a turd that has floated up from below. In essence: it's worse than both of these layers in some ways, but on the surface, everything is fine and dandy…until one looks beneath, and finds the festering rot of fools desperately trying to escape their past."