The two were sitting in a little coffee shop, which was located beside a lonely street. No one seemed to be there, except for the occasional drunken cyborg wobbling down the streets. The atmosphere inside was warm and cozy, unlike the scene anywhere else in Fhroreevere Town. The coffee shop was nothing more than a block of cement, dwarfed by the gigantic but abandoned buildings surrounding it.
In front of the shop was a picture of a coffee mug with the words 'Linqolm's Coffee' written in cursive. Neon lights were haphazardly strung around the shop, as if to make it livelier. The only one who was in the shop besides Crimson and Jake was a man they presumed to be Linqolm. He was in the corner of the room, pouring them some coffee and bailing some scones. The fluffy glowing clouds that hung from the ceiling made the metal parts of his body glow.
The sight of the cyborg material made Crimson flinch. She glanced over at Jake, who had taken on a new appearance to make sure he wouldn't be identified. Now, instead of sandy white hair, he had a black hair styled in an afro. He also made his skin turn tan, and added some cyborg detail onto his body. His eyes were still dark brown, though specks of amber flickers in and out as the clouds swung in the slight breeze.
All Crimson could have done was grab a cloth she found laying on the floor and wrap it around her head. She had also taken off her jacket, tying it onto her waist. The two hoped that was enough coverage for Crimson to not be identified. "It's pretty unusual for someone to cover their face," the sound snapped Crimson back into reality. "May I ask why?" Linqolm, their barista, turned around as he cleaned some mugs.
He was basically all metal, except for his eyes, his lower arms and some patches of elsewhere. Crimson stared at those eyes for a bit. They reminded her of Otis's eyes. They both were roughly the same colour and held that same gleam. However, Otis's was a more bright yellow, like Earth's star. Linqolm's eyes on the other hand were more of a honey yellow. A heartbeat passed in silence, Crimson absorbed back into her thoughts.
Jake opened his mouth, seeing as Crimson seemed to have lost her voice. "Her religion makes her do this," he replied to the question hastily. "She found news about a religion from another planet and decided she wanted to follow it. It requires girls like her to wrap their head in cloths so their hair can't be seen. I told her she couldn't go join religions willy-nilly but she wouldn't listen," He was making it up, hoping the barista wouldn't understand or get suspicious.
Before Linqolm could ask any further questions, the built in alarm on his arm started beeping. "Oh!" He chirped. "That means your meal is ready!" He turned around and started busying himself preparing the coffee and scones for his two guests. He poured the coffee into mugs which were wrapped in something fluffy before placing the freshly baked scones onto plates.
As he was doing this, Jake shook Crimson, his dark brown eyes worried for a split second. Th amber specks in them seem to grow, almost making his eyes look more of a reddish brown than brown. Crimson blinked and nodded, focusing back to the real world. She couldn't let herself blow their cover just because she was preoccupied with the thought of the fight that had happened. "Don't worry," she reassured him in a hushed one. "I'm fine."
"Here you are," Linqolm spoke set two plates and two mugs down. Crimson dug into her backpack, searching for some money. She hoped they accepted gold coins here. Suddenly she froze. All her money now looked weird. She brought her money up and placed them on the table. She was about to dig further into her bag when she saw Linqolm scoop up the glowing coins. It seemed that as soon as they were brought here, the money changed to Fhroreevere currency.
Crimson furrowed her brows. She just remembered another reason (which wasn't eating) that she and Jake was here. As she wondered how to ask some questions, she sipped her coffee. She had to say it was delicious. Sweet and milky with a hint of bitterness to balance it. She wondered why, even with such delicious coffee, the shop wasn't packed. "Out of pure curiosity, do you know anything about Arden? I learnt that he built the Ashi Stone. He must have been talented," she asked, acting casual as she drank some more.
Linqolm paused, surprise filling his eyes. He pressed a button behind his head and a projection appeared, seemingly coming from a little dot in his forehead. The projection was a holographic image of a man in his mid-40s. He had smooth black hair tied in a man bun, with honey yellow eyes that shone behind his glasses. He was wearing a brown coat lined with a fluffy innercoat, presumably made out of wood. But the most eye-catching thing was his large hands and feet.
"This is Arden," he said, pointing to the image. "You can find him in most information sites, as he's pretty historical to us. He built the Ashi Stone after all- but was never credited... and it is one of Fhroreevere Town's most prized monuments. Most say it is the most prized monuments we own," Linqolm explained, a glint in his eyes. He was very enthusiastic as he spoke about this subject, watching the image shift from Arden to the Ashi Stone.
"Some people say that the Ashi Stone is very important to Arden, or whatever name he had given himself back then. We was a very secretive man. Though most legends say that a part of the Stone does contain a jewel which he had said was a gift from his wife." The barista winked at the children, who were fascinated as the hologram shifted into a different image. This time it was the image of a jewel. "The jewel is located somewhere on the Ashi Stone. No one knows where it is, though, since Arden disappeared after creating the stone monument."
Unconsciously, Crimson's hand gripped the letter in her jacket's pocket. "Well, it is very beautiful," Jake piped up. "I can see why it'd be a famous monument." He cleared his throat, making Crimson look at him. "Anyway, we should eat quickly and get on out way. You've been a great he-," he caught himself and hastily spoke, "a great barisata. Truly great."
Jake cringed, hoping Linqolm wouldn't notice his mistake lest he became suspicious. Crimson almost choked on her coffee in fright. However, they couldn't see Linqolm's expression because their barista had turned around and started wiping the countertop. But, if they had been able to look, they would've seen a peaceful yet oddly sad smile on Linqolm's face as the coffee machine started fixing up another coffee.
The two finished their delectable scones and their soothingly warm coffee before exiting the shop. "That was a good pick-me-up right?" Crimson grinned, patting her belly. "I was getting really hungry. We hadn't eaten the whole day, right? Wish we would've gotten more scones though. Those were delicious. Plus, I'm still hungry," Crimson commented, seeming to have forgotten about their fight with the cyborgs, which had plagued her mind before.
"Yeah," Jake agreed half heartedly, his mind preoccupied with the clues that were given by the barista. He placed a chin on his hands, his hair shifting from the black he had picked to an agitated red. "Hm.... He kept talking about the Ashi Stone. And he was also pretty excited to talk about this jewel thing Arden had," Jake mumbled to himself, staring hard at the ground. His hair, which had almost turned completely red, turned back to black.
"Let's go there then! Maybe Arden was hidden inside that stone? It could be a possibility, right?" Crimson piped up, which made Jake jump a bit in surprise. He didn't know Crimson was so close she could hear him mumbling. Still shaken up with surprise, he nodded slowly. Crimson chuckled nervously. "Heh, sorry. I didn't mean to surprise you like that," She rubbed the back of her head sheepishly.
•••
The two had made their way to the heart of the city, where the Ashi Stone lay. Thankfully, none of their cover was blown. They were safe, but probably not for long, since there were so many cyborgs near the Ashi Stone. Though, they all seemed drunk and completely ignored the two as they made their way to the Ashi Stone. Crimson pulled the cloth, which was wrapped around her face, a little tighter. "Let's quickly make our way to the center. I want to get out of here as quickly as possible," she murmured to Jake. He nodded in reply.
"If I was an architect, I would probably place my jewel where everyone could see. But if no one knew where the jewel is hidden, it can't be in an obvious place," Jake reasoned. "But other than that, what other clues do we have? We can't go rummaging all around the stone without attracting attention. So we need to make each place we look really count." Crimson frowned before looking down at her jacket. She brought out the letter and when she saw Jake's confused expression, she explained what it actually was, what was contained inside and why only she could see it.
"So.... He wrote a letter to his wife, who we can presume was also trapped here, saying to leave him. He also managed to make it so that only a Roth family member," Jake mused. "Maybe, maybe... This was a just a theory but maybe, the jewel we need to find can only be seen and accessed by a Roth family member? Which means you have to look for it and I'll stay guard." Crimson gulped. She did not want to be caught rummaging around near the Ashi Stone but for the sake of it all, she nodded in agreement.
So, they both walked towards the Ashi Stone. Jake stood there, pretending to check out his arms as they pulsed. Crimson walked casually towards the Ashi Stone, though he steps were a bit stiff. She got close and stared at it. The stone somehow looked very soft to the touch. She could see fain carvings in the paw making it look furry. Slowly, Crimson walked around the stone, her fingers gently brushing the stone. When she finished walking the entire length without seeing or feeling anything, she gazed up.
Maybe it was pure dumb hopefulness, or maybe it was fate, but Crimson swore she saw something sparkle on top of the paw. "Jake, I'm climbing it," she spoke. Jake was about to protest but the gleam in Crimson's eyes made him stop. Instead, he turned around and kept an even sharper lookout. Crimson pressed herself against the cool stone and wrapped her arms around it. Her fingers couldn't touch each other but they were close enough to provide a comfortable grip. She slowly inched her way up, knowing she was safe because Jake was looking out for her.
Her hand reached the top of the paw and she hauled herself up. There, in the middle of the paw, was an emerald green gem. She called out to Jake and he started climbing up the paw. Crimson reached out, pressing her hand onto the gem. It was cold to the touch, yet soothing. A deep hum seemed to resonate through the gem, like the drone of an engine. Her hand clasped the gem tighter, and she could feel it wiggle slightly. Jake finally made his way up. "Is the gem here?" he questioned, for he could not see it. Crimson did not answer, because she felt her hand tingle in excitement.
She twisted her wrist slightly and could hear a hollow clanking sound. Jake grew silent, able to hear that noise. Crimson gritted her teeth and twisted the gem even more. It was really hard to twist. Wether that was because it was made to be that way or because of rust was anyone's guess. Sweat beaded Crimson's brow. She was scared anyone sober would hear the grinding noise the gem was making and call them out, but it seems only drunk cyborgs were up this late.
With a final twist, it grew silent. The two waited for a bit, wondering what would happen. Then slowly, as if she was afraid, Crimson pushed the gem. A hidden trapdoor connected to the gem sprung open. A gust of musty air smacked Jake and Crimson in the face. And all they could see was a long ladder that went down and down and down, into the darkness.