“That’s citricite,” she whispered as she tipped her head back, the hood revealing a little bit more of her face.
“Raw stone, yes,” he said. “Have you ever seen it like that?”
The mineral illuminated the dark, and set off the paint that covered many sections of the rock, illustrating what different openings led to, like directional signs but more artistically done. The deeper they headed, the more that glow accentuated, giving everything a glow of vibrant color among the shadows of the stone.
“It’s volatile, in that state, isn’t it?” She asked.
A Kantenan walked by, and he stared at Adryel, and she stepped closer to Stron, grabbing his arm.
Stron glared at the male, and the male continued on.
If she noticed the exchange, she didn’t say anything.
He continued, like they hadn’t been distracted a moment before. “Citricite is volatile in any state if not handled correctly. But that raw version is more.” He guided her further into the tunnels, and kept his arm around her, if only to keep eyes off her.
She pulled the hood down so it covered more of her face, as she remained in his arm’s protection.
Other Kantenans walked as well, some in a hurry, others at more leisurely paces. Footfalls created an ongoing echo of sound that mixed with the reverberation of conversation, creating a kind of noise that filled the wide tunnel they were in. The foot traffic grew as they reached a more centralized area, where markets and stands stood, with vendors pushing their wares.
Adryel looked like she was walking straight ahead, but from slight moves she made, he could tell she was examining each booth as they walked past them.
“You didn’t tell me there was a market,” she whispered.
“How else would others get marginally legal things?”
“This is an entire world down here. You can get everything,” she whispered. Foods and drinks that were imported from other worlds, and not easily found filled the booths. Everyone had their supplier who brought in something special that supposedly no other vendor had.
Each one had their unique pitch.
Either in the Kantenan system or outside, there was always an angle.
“What did you expect?”
“Bars and sex workers and drugs,” Adryel said. “Maybe not in that order.”
He chuckled at her bluntness. “Maybe I need to journey off world and see what the undergrounds that you’ve experienced are like.”
This area started to gain popularity with a certain level of criminal activity and ideas that didn’t always mesh with the Kantenan teachings, but Stron didn’t venture down here very often.
Caves and unseen places were where secret meetings were held, deals made, and itches scratched. For someone in his position, just being down here could cause issues in the future.
Probably why he’d ventured down here on occasion in his youth. It made his mother so very frustrated with him.
Which only entertained him immensely.
“There’s an underside to every society,” Adryel said as she walked with him. “This is almost legit, comparatively.”
She gestured to a bottle on a table. “That’s Nevillian wine,” she said.
He paused and picked up the bottle. “Any good?”
The vendor scooted toward him.
“Not from that winery.” She stepped closer. “And certainly not for that price.”
“Hey, I have good wines!” the vendor snapped.
Adryel’s whole poster shifted. “You think you can get this much for that swill?”
