Warsinger by James Baldwin (most important books of all time txt) 📕

to need your help to get up there, though. Her Queenieness probably had scaffolding to mount... so can you ninja your way to the top and set up a line?”

I nodded, rolled my shoulders, and sprung off the ground. The Warsinger's knee was just out of Jump range, so I Spider Crawled over it, barely made it in time, and pulled myself onto the ledge formed by Withering Rose's greave. It was a long way up. I tied the first rappel line while standing on her wrists, and threw the rope down to Suri. Without Inventory or armor, Suri was able to Rambo her way up, arm over arm, until she reached me. We were able to see the gently swelling expanse of the Warsinger's breastplate, all the way up to the bridge-like collarbones. A second Jump, and a third, and I was able to catch hold of the edge of the gorget and swing onto a small platform between neck and collar. After setting up the line, I went to explore. The side of Withering Rose's neck was a flexible metal matrix that reminded me strongly of the Gauntlet of the Arch-Smith. I hovered my hands over it, searching for a door. There was nothing around the jugular area, but as I went behind, I spotted a small recess in the back of the Warsinger's neck that was protected from above by the starburst crest of her helmet, and on every other side by the gorget. It had to be the door.

“Hector?” Suri called from around the front.

“Back here. I think.” I held a hand out, and a red magic sigil swum into view on the surface of the metal before winking out.

Suri joined me, her boots clumping on the metal walkway. I stood aside so she'd have access to the door. As soon as she pressed a drop of blood to the sigil, we heard a hiss. Bolts all around the rim of a six-foot circle of metal sunk inwards, then rolled across to reveal a dimly lit tunnel and a metal ladder leading down.

“Well, looks like it still works. It might even have some juice left in it.” Suri drew a deep breath, then stripped the rest of her clothing off. I arched an eyebrow.

“It said not to take anything in, right?” she said. “Just my Capital-N Name, which implies I'm not supposed to wear anything but my birthday suit in this thing. Now, give me a kiss for luck and get back in case the damn artifact explodes. I'll see if I can show you guys the inside of it.”

I chuckled as I leaned in, shared a long, lingering kiss, and then withdrew. I saluted her as she padded in and started down the ladder. The door rolled back and sealed with a puff of stale, metallic air.

“I'm worried.” As I started down, Rin finally spoke over the voice chat. “This machine is so old. The fact that it works at all...”

“I know,” I said, hopping over to Withering Rose's shoulder and sliding down to the edge of her breastplate. The machine was so large that I could comfortably walk along it... the aurum trim was as wide as a sidewalk. “If she dies, she'll respawn at Kalla Sahasi. That's my only consolation right now.”

“Right.” Rin trailed off into tense silence once more.

When I reached the Warsinger's knee, I set up a belaying line through the same decorative loop I'd used for Suri and threw the end down to Karalti while I tied knots and connected carabiners. “You know what to do?”

“Not really!” She chirped. “I know I'm not meant to drop you!”

“You sure know how to reassure a guy. Just run that rope through your harness and let it slide through at a not-too-ridiculous speed.” I put my back to the ledge, checking the tension on the forward rope.

“Okay! I think it's right!”

Bracing myself, I hopped off backwards into open air, falling about ten feet before Karalti figured out what she was doing. The impact caused me to bounce, rattling my teeth, and then I twirled elegantly the rest of the way down.

“How're you going in there?” I asked Suri.

“Needles,” she replied. “Dealing with a whole lot of needles.”

“What?” Rin chimed in. “Needles? Where?”

“Hang on.” Suri fell silent while I disconnected my ropes, shucked the harness, and folded them into my Inventory. Karalti and I split Suri's load between us so she could move at full speed and back well, well away from the giant robot that was apparently full of needles. A blue camera notification with a blinking red dot appeared in the corner of my eye.

[Suri Ba’Hadir would like to share video with you.]

I approved it with a thought, breaking into a jog just ahead of Karalti. A HUD screen came up, showing a POV camera from Suri. She was looking at the face of a dark crystal ring that curved all the way around behind her. The camera swiveled around to show a magnificent chair that immediately gave me throne envy, until I noticed all of the cables, needles, and straps that were attached to the arms and headrest.

“Wow.” Rin let out a nervous giggle. “That's awfully spiny, isn't it?”

“Guess we know why it's called the Heart of Knives. There's one for each limb,” Suri said. “Hang on.”

The camera shifted to third person, showing her standing in front of the chair. She eased down into it, grimacing. Rin and I watched anxiously as she pressed her hands down, and the arm-rests shifted around and positioned themselves around her limbs. She was shivering.

“You okay?” I asked.

“Yeah. The seat's cold, and I'm starkers. It's just giving the girl downstairs a little nip, you know.” She gave us a nervous smile. “Now, how do I use this bloody thing...?”

As she said that, a small rumble passed through the machine. Rin and I watched as the needles shuddered, and then began to move. Suri stiffened as they hovered around her on mechanical arms, and then, one