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All the Dust that Falls: A Roomba Isekai Adventure

zaifyr

Chapter 10: Those Who Stare into the Void

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A NOTE FROM ZAIFYR

Almost to 25K! I wanted to hit the first milestone today, but couldn't justify adding more words here.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid," Bee whispered to herself. How could she forget something so obvious?

Sure now she had a bunch of powders and magical substances in bags brimming with possibilities. If mixed together, they could heal her leg. Maybe even help fend off demons. However, she forgot the most essential part of making that possible. The part that actually made this random assortment of things magical. How could she know how much to mix?

Alchemy required precise proportions, both in volume and weight. Nothing in this library had nearly tight enough tolerances to measure what she needed.

She sighed. Still, the trip hadn't been a complete bust. The basic demon repellent, at least, was a very forgiving recipe. It was one part standard salt and two parts powdered horse hairs. It would still be effective with 10% inaccuracy in either direction or so, the book said.

Lining up a mostly even pile of powdered horse hairs, Bee then laid down a line of salt similar in width to the length of the horse hair line. She swept them into a bag and shook them up. It said to mix thoroughly, but Bee thought it still looked like ordinary powder. She hoped it worked. At least now Bee would have some protection. Because now she would be venturing out again. Bee needed a scale, test tubes, and water at a minimum to make this work. So she needed to get into one of the research rooms and the kitchen. She might as well grab food while she was already there.

With a little more confidence, Bee headed out again. It was perhaps false confidence, as the previous trip had gone without a hitch. Still, when she opened the door to leave the library, her heart wasn't racing half as fast this time. Just like last time, the office room was clear. Tiptoeing out, she stuck her head out of the door. Looking in both directions, Bee saw no movement in the hallways either. As Bee moved down the hall to the research rooms, she relaxed even more. The place was quiet.

It didn't take Bee long to hobble down to the door she was looking for. In the lesser research room, she knew there would be supplies for what she needed to do. It was one of the rooms she was allowed to clean. They called it a research room, but it was more for resource harvesting. The room housed the lowest demons that produced valuable materials. The more experienced apprentices would gather all the valuable stuff, then Bee was let in to clean everything so that the new things deposited would be fresh. As she was working, she had to be careful of the symbols and circles surrounding the cages. Now Bee knew why. Well, she always could guess. What they told her was. "Only touch the chalk if you want to die." Or, "if you value your life, don't disturb the salt." So she figured, okay, the powders are magical, and I won't mess with them. I can scrub the floors, but don't mess with the magic. Sure, that was simple.

Apparently, that wasn't quite the issue. Many of these, Bee recognized from her reading. They were dampening fields that took a while to take effect and weakened the magic within. If she had disturbed the protections, it would have taken a couple of days for these beasts to slowly wake up. Once awake, they could have started to use their magic to get out of the cages.

So when Bee saw the door to the room was left open, she started to get concerned. By the time she stepped in, she really began to panic. The first thing she noticed was that the floor was more visible than she was used to. It took a second for it to set in, but when it did, Bee's heart rate exceeded all previous records. Looking around in panic, she scanned the cages. They were, for the most part, empty. She took a few quick and panicked breaths, trying to calm herself.

Trying to control her breathing, Bee continued on high alert but realized she needed to move quickly. Examining the cages as she moved into the room, she gave the still-occupied ones a wide berth. A few cages were empty. From her previous experience with this room, every one of them should be full. She quickly moved to some counters with cabinets on the far side. Rummaging around, she found what she was looking for. Grabbing a scale and some measuring equipment, she stuffed them into the bag she had brought with her. While realizing the need for speed, she also realized she might need to do some more research on what she was up against. Quickly she took a second to read the nameplates on each of the cages without occupants. She hoped to be able to find information on them in the library. It would give her a better idea of what danger she was in.

Now aware that there were more things to be careful about than just Void, Bee scurried away as fast as her hat stand cane would allow her. She still needed to grab the supplies and water if she wanted to have any chance of getting out of there. But it seemed less likely that she would be able to escape without being discovered. Abandoning stealth Bee moved as fast as she could toward the kitchen. While in transit, she kept a sharp eye and ear out but didn't notice anything amiss. Seeing that she knew nothing about these creatures, she wasn't sure what to look for. Anything strange or out of place would have caught her eye.

Against all odds, she still managed to make it all the way to the kitchen without incident. When she got to the kitchen, it looked much different than she remembered. It was strangely spotless like it had been cleaned recently. There also was surprisingly little odor for a room filled with food sitting out for a week. It was unlikely that it had been cleaned after breakfast when everyone fled, and the half-cleaned plates of food on the counter confirmed her suspicions.

Despite the changes in the kitchen, the pantry still had some food in it. Bee stuffed whatever looked least tainted by pests into her bag. Her now empty wineskin was filled with water from one of the basins. She took a quick look to see if she could find another water container. It would be nice to take more water with her, but she had no luck. On her way out, Bee reached over and grabbed a meat cleaver hanging on a hook above the counter. She hoped that she would not need it. Even though it made Bee feel better, she wasn't even sure how effective it would be against demons. But it would be a better weapon than her late broomstick. Having accomplished her goals, she began to awkwardly limp as fast as she could back to the safety of the library.

---

As I explored, I found that the previously closed doors tended to lead to rooms that didn't need the same amount of cleaning as the more extreme cases. That's not to say they didn't need some attention. After all, they definitely hadn't been cleaned in at least a week. But still, as I explored and categorized rooms, I found that some fell into the schedule of once a week. Whereas others, like those that had cages, would continually produce more filth than just dust and were slated to be cleaned more often.

Truly, I had no idea how large this place was. It seemed like every time I would find a new door to open, it would lead to entirely other wings of the castle. And that wasn't even counting all the staircases I couldn't traverse. I really needed to see if I could find that nice human; I'm sure they'd be willing to help me out. Having finished my exploration for today, I went to clean the rooms that needed daily attention.

There are many things I appreciated about exploring. I enjoyed finding new ways I could help. And each room, for instance, was a new challenge. With all the new stimuli, I could feel myself becoming more efficient. I felt faster, quicker, stronger, and most of all, I became better at planning and executing my duties quickly. That was all nice. But truthfully, my favorite part was a bit more self-indulgent. The designers of this castle really had an eye for beauty. The workmanship was exquisite, and the execution was perfect. Each set of rooms unveiled another masterpiece. Every joint on the floor was set with care, and every color was intentionally chosen. The floors matched the purpose of each room in durability, color, traction, and every other quality I could think of.

There were also things I normally wasn't aware of. Now that my domain extended slightly in the vertical plane, I started paying attention to things I previously hadn't. For example, who would have thought baseboards would be such an essential piece to the aesthetic of a room. Choosing the correct edging for a floor seemed to be maybe 20% of the impact the floor had. And sometimes, there are even fancy styles of trim. They would extend several feet up and make the walls almost as fascinating to look at as the floor, I might say. Well, maybe not quite so fascinating. But it was close.

Another consequence of my upward attention was that I started to take a little more notice of furniture. Previously, I had always noticed furniture. Of course, how could you not? But now I consider more than just the footprint or its impact on my cleaning route. When considering the different types of chairs, you might have an armchair that takes up the entire square it sits on. Or you might have one with four posts that had a base high enough to allow me to clean underneath without much trouble. Either one is fine. One is within my abilities to take care of, whereas the other allows filth to build up underneath it. Though it is hidden and requires a human to help put it away. Now, however, I was looking at the color and the design. I noticed things like how I liked the seat fabric's color and pattern. Really, there were so many things I had missed previously that I wished I had started looking up earlier.

One day I would love to meet whoever designed this masterpiece. I would like to thank them for opening my sensory array beyond the floor. My great joy did come from doing my job and serving my humans, but it wasn't my only pleasure. While I lived to establish order and cleanliness, I could appreciate the small things too.

There were, of course, a few design choices I disagreed with or maybe just questioned. For example, well, I really like the use of accent rugs. But in some cases, I feel like whoever designed this didn't know how to lay a fully carpeted room. Don't get me wrong, I really do prefer hardwood over carpet. It's much more functional and easier to maintain, but a good carpeted room has its perks too. I know my humans are sensitive to hot or cold, and stepping on a carpet in the morning seems like something that gives them such joy. It's a shame that none of the bedrooms here had carpet.

I had begun to become efficient enough that I was able to have these thoughts while I worked. In order to execute my plan, I no longer required 95% of my concentration. I could get away with only giving it 70% to 80% and using my remaining concentration to plan ahead, increasing my efficiency. That was why I finished my exploration a little bit early and had a chance to return to see if there was anything else I could do to help the kitchen. Despite my best efforts, it wasn't up to my standards. A nasty smell of rotten food lingered. No matter how much air I pumped through my dust filter, I couldn't get it up to my standards.

Coming back from one of the far wings, I made my way toward the kitchen. Even though I had captured that one mess maker, it still seemed to attract more filth. I was starting to think that the mess maker I apprehended wasn't the only one. In fact, many rooms had no reason to be accumulating more filth and were doing so anyways. And maybe I was being paranoid, but sometimes I would see flashes in the edge of my sensor range. It was as though something moving fast was there, perhaps something small and sometimes furry.

I wasn't too concerned. Maybe these humans kept a cat. Cats didn't really like me. But that's okay; I wasn't their biggest fan, either.

All thoughts of cats and proper floor choices left my head as I saw the one human who seemed to have remained in the castle with me. It was not too dissimilar to a situation I had seen previously. Again, it looked like she was in a sticky situation with a mess maker. This time she didn't seem to be aware of it, though. She moved awkwardly from the kitchen, leaning on a large pole towards the room where we first met. However, she was being tailed by a small squat little furry thing. It looked like one of my small humans but shorter, with longer arms covered in black fur and long fangs. It crept quietly behind her. She kept looking around, but it was quick enough to stay in her blind spot whenever she did.

Eager to come to assist my human friend, I beeped loudly, trying to get her attention. Her head whipped around, and her eyes landed on me. In a stroke of bad luck, her gaze went right over the mess maker. I beeped again, insistently hoping that she would pick up on the hint, but instead, she turned as white as a linoleum floor. It wasn't until the mess maker screamed that she even thought to look down.

A NOTE FROM ZAIFYR

Just wait till spot finds out about windows!

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All the Dust that Falls: A Roomba Isekai Adventure

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Chapter 11: What Looks Back

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A NOTE FROM ZAIFYR

Hey we made the Satire Rising stars! Thank you, only ten chapters in.

Scanning her surroundings constantly, Bee's heart raced to match her mood. She was sure that she saw something in the corner of her vision, but whenever she looked, there was nothing to confirm her suspicions. It was likely just her nerves reminding her how long she had been roaming around in what might now be a demon-infested castle. Still, there were only a couple of hallways left. She was most of the way to the library, but she didn't for one second believe she was safe.

Her pulse was so loud in her ears that she could barely hear herself breathe, let alone think. Sweat covered her body, it dripped down her nose, and she had trouble gripping the hat stand well enough to support her weight. She started to put more weight on her leg, pushing through the pain as the adrenaline numbed her feelings. She could go almost twice as fast as she had when she initially made her way toward the kitchen. Plus, she could take a few risks with her leg now. She would be able to fix it as soon as she got back.

When the library was just around the corner, Bee poured her remaining energy into increasing her pace. Struggling to carry her bag of loot. She could practically smell the old parchment and musty leather covers she had come to associate with protection. Hope rose in her chest, the belief she had made it through this whole expedition without something going wrong.

There was an unearthly screech behind her. It wasn't the loudest thing, but it was sharp, unlike anything she had heard. A sound that alien could only really be coming from one source. She hadn't been fast enough; it had found her.

Whirling around, her eyes locked on the floor behind her. It sat in the junction she had just come from. It seemed darker and more intimidating than before. There was an even larger area surrounding it from which debris rose and spun towards its spinning maw. Yet, for all its might, Void just sat there staring at her.

It screeched again. The sound snapped her out of the trance of fear it put her in, and she finally could break her gaze away. She looked around desperately for something that might help her, and that was when she saw the real threat. At her feet, almost on top of her, sat a minor demon. It looked like an ape but with fangs larger than her thumb. It only came up to maybe 2 ½ to 3 ft, but its muscle-bound arms looked stronger than most men's. The beast's gaze was fixed on her, and she could see an all too human intelligence marred only by malevolence as it stared. The Void had called in one of his minions to hunt her. The screech wasn't a battle cry. It was a summons.

With desperation, Bee released the hat stand and reached for the cleaver she had slid into her belt. She managed to draw it, but too slowly. The lesser demon pounced right at her, teeth bared. It recognized the danger of the cleaver and grabbed for the arm. She had been walking around prepared. Her other hand was already in the pouch of the mixed demons repellent she had made only hours before. Bee let out a cry of defiance as she flung a handful of demon repellent in the ape's face. It coated its eyes, mouth, and chest. Instantly she could hear a faint sizzling, and the beast let out a pained scream. This scream wasn't like Void's. This sounded more like the scream of a horse that broke its leg. As she watched, frantically readying another handful, she could see the flesh receding from where the powder had struck the demon.

Wow, that certainly looked painful. Maybe if Bee had more time or managed to throw a few more than a handful, the powder could drive the demon away. But this was only a lesser demon, and the demon repellent wasn't enough to change her immediate situation. She reached for another handful of powder; the demon glared at her with fresh rage. It had finished ripping away the knife, and as it clattered to the floor, the demon lunged for her other hand that had stung it. Bee struggled as its claws grasped her wrist. The demon's rush overbalanced her. There was nothing she could do; she fell backward, landing heavily on her tailbone and then was pulled the rest of the way over, head bouncing off the stone floors. Stars swam in her vision as she looked up at the ceiling and felt the pouch fly away. The demon sat on her hand, stretched her arm out, and prepared to bite into her bicep. Bee thrashed around to no avail. Her strength could not match the demons even a little bit. It didn't even notice her blows against its head. Her other hand scrambled for the dropped cleaver. She stretched, but she couldn't quite reach it. Bee looked over at the demon. She saw that his teeth were hovering just above her flesh, and it was watching her. It seemed to be mocking her attempts to struggle. They locked eyes for a second, and she knew there was nothing she could do.

As she was bracing herself for the pain, Bee heard something. Another otherworldly screech, this time long and drawn out. It seemed to increase in pitch and volume. She tried to look down, back at where Void was but couldn't crane her neck enough to see. It was too low to the ground. The sound also caught the attention of the minor demon, and it looked up back at its master. She saw the fear flash through the ape's eyes. Bee thought she saw surprise and betrayal in its look, and then it was gone. She felt the ape's weight lift from her arm as it was launched behind her. Replacing it was a much smaller pressure. After a brief moment, even that was gone. She saw the black disk pass over her arm, pursuing the ape. Before slamming into the floor, never stopping, Void went forwards, right to where the demon had fallen. As the ape demon was run over, the sound of whooshing air filled the hall. The ape was dragged back into the void.

Bee struggled to roll over so she could see above her. When she made it to her side, she saw that Void had halted just 5 ft away, and there was no sign of the minor demon. It didn't make a sound this time. It just sat there. As it had no eyes, she couldn't see where it was staring, but she felt its gaze on her. Watching her consideringly as if waiting for something.

---

I watched the small human. For some reason, she just lay there, motionless, on the floor. The floor didn't look very comfortable. See. My wheels are firm, so they're comfortable on a hard floor. Human bodies, on the other hand, are soft. She should be lying on something else soft - a carpet, a bed, a couch, or something comfortable. The floor will not mold her or become any more comfortable. Seeing this made me unhappy; she must have been distraught over the aggressive mess maker. I wonder if there's something I could do to cheer her up.

I've never tried to comfort humans before. But I have some memories of the large humans comforting the small ones by patting their heads…I repositioned myself, facing the human as she lay on her side. As I did, I was careful not to roll over her hair. I've felt human hairs get stuck in my wheels and brushes, and it's never fun to untangle. I can't imagine that it would be any better on her end. Once I was in position, I extended my arm slowly and patted her on the head twice. Then I beeped comfortingly. If that couldn't cheer her up, I don't know what would. The small human stayed still. For some reason, her chest stopped moving. I couldn't figure out why she would want to hold her breath.

After a few moments, I wasn't sure if the head pats had cheered her up. I had one more trick to try, one that often made my humans smile before. Slowly rolling closer, I bumped gently into her chest a few times before backing up a few feet. Humans always seemed to like it when I bumped into them. Then I waited.

To my relief, the human started to move. Slowly, but at least it was a start. She rolled over from her side onto her knees, wincing as she did so. Slowly she began to bend at the waist. Her hands by the sides of her head, she pressed her forehead to the floor. What was she doing? Humans don't clean the floor like this. That's my job.

---

Bee froze, trembling uncontrollably. It appeared to have changed its mind about letting its minion eat her, as it saved her at the last minute. Merciless as it was, it consumed its own minion right before her eyes. Recovering from the shock as she stared at it, she tried to figure out what it wanted. It shrieked again. That awful noise was still terrifying but didn't hold the same aggression as it did previously. A hatch opened on the right side of its front. A metal stick with a claw extended. Dramatically, it reached out to her. She held absolutely still, braced for the pain she felt it tapped her on the head twice. What would that mean? What did it want?

As if frustrated that she didn't understand, it began to move. Void glided around Bee's head and came to rest in front of her face. It allowed Bee to stop craning her neck to keep him in her field of view, and they just stared at each other for a second. She held her breath, waiting for it to lash out or change its mind. While it was still pondering, Bee remembered the new perk. Trying to scan it without giving any indication of what she was doing, Bee glanced at the information in front of her.

Name:

Spot

Type:

Mechanical Pet

????

Bee's skill was very low, and she didn't have much to see besides type classification and name. If she leveled more, she assumed that she could be able to see levels. Eventually, Bee might see stats, skills, perks, mutations, and other things. If she got to a high enough level, it was rumored in many myths that she could see things that even the target couldn't see on their own status sheet.

The one thing Bee had never heard of, even in myth and legend, was a being that could alter its own status sheet. Sure, it was possible to hide the info contained within. But changing it to mislead others into thinking they knew more than they did? She supposed this wouldn't be impossible, but the being would have to be beyond godlike. To interfere with the system itself; was a level of power that this world had never seen. Even myths about the origins of the world, with all of their gods and terrifying horrors, never hinted at something like that. The system was always an overarching power that encompassed all. But, it was the only explanation.

There was no way that this status sheet was real. Because Bee refused to believe, no matter the alternative, that Void's real and recognized name was Spot. This all-consuming Arch demon god was not called something as silly as "Spot". And if it was a mechanical pet, then they were all dog food.

No, this monster must be playing with her, Bee thought. What kind of sick and twisted humor did it take to masquerade as a friendly artificial dog when its image could be in no way construed as friendly. Maybe it was just laughing at her terror. It had saved Bee, after all. Maybe it was trying to say she didn't need to be nearly as afraid as she was. That seemed unlikely, though. Though what possibilities were more likely escaped her at this point. She still couldn't figure out what it wanted.

As if Void could read the question in her eyes, it rolled forward and bumped into Bee's chest. This was a clear indication in her mind. It wanted her. She didn't know why it was asking. Bee knew it could have consumed her with as little effort as it had consumed that minor demon. Probably with much less difficulty. Questions rolled around in Bee's mind. Maybe it needed her permission? Maybe it wanted more than her flesh?

With resignation Bee made a decision. If it would prevent her from being consumed by Void, she would do almost anything. Fear and resolve made allies and pointed her to her goal. Struggling, Bee got to her knees, bowing before it; she pressed her forehead to the floor. Leg screaming at her, but she pushed through it.

Bee meant to give a speech, swearing to follow it and do anything it asked. But as she started, she could feel her control break. No longer could she hold it back. Tears welled in her eyes and burned down her cheeks. She began to blubber, barely able to get her words out. They came out in a jumble of sobs, tears, and odd phrases that made no sense to her at the time but stumbled out of her mouth anyways. She could only hope Void would get the gist. Maybe it would read her mind or know her intentions. If this was some pact, She was sure it would have a way to understand when it was fulfilled rather than just with words.

"Please," sob. "I'll do anything, " sob. "My Soul!" sob

Bee took a deep breath trying to gather herself, it wasn't enough.

"Take it it's all yours" "Anything. Anything, take it. What do you want?. Please. Tell me the oath. Please." Sob

Not even able to keep herself on her knees, she collapsed to the side. The words never stopped coming out of her mouth.

"anything. You want my soul. Just don't eat me. I can't? Tool long. Left me. My soul" sob

---

She started saying many words and many things that made no sense. It came out in a blubbering rush, full of tears, sobs, and things I couldn't really understand. There is something about souls and undying loyalty, fealty saving life, but it was all jumbled, and I'm sure she might have just been in shock.

Well, my first attempt at comforting went so well that she managed to move again. I figured I could try again, this time in front of her. I extended my arm and tapped her on one shoulder, and after, I retracted the arm. I sat still for a second; her head rose, and she looked at me. Tear tracks stained her face. Running trails down her cheeks. But it looked like they were slowing as she looked at me. Tears stopped welling from her eyes; they clung to the tip of her nose and the bottom of her chin. I congratulated myself on another skill learned, a comforting presence.

Still moving slowly, she reached for her long stick. Once she got a hold of that, she used it to push herself to her feet, or should I say foot. The other looked a little larger than it should, and she didn't let it touch the ground. She stood there very still, just looking at me. I couldn't figure out why. Maybe she was waiting for me? I started to slowly roll away. Sure enough, she began to follow.

This is a situation I really wasn't prepared for. I would usually follow the human, or the human would carry me to the spot that needed my attention. But it almost looked like the human was waiting for me to do something first. This place is so backward. Well, she looked like she could use some repairs. I wasn't really sure where to go with that. I didn't know how to fix her. So she was on her own there. Of course, I would try to help, but I'm not sure what I could do. Beeping softly at her, I began to go to the door she first ran through when we first met. Lacking a better option since I hadn't seen her in several days. I figured that would be where her bed was. Maybe she just needed to recharge.

A NOTE FROM ZAIFYR

Spot has a friend!

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I slowly made my way to the office where we had first met. The human still followed me but was barely able to move faster than a crawl. She was about as fast as I had been when I began training here. As I rolled forward, I kept my eye on her to ensure she didn't fall too far behind. She hobbled along, with the help of her makeshift cane, carrying the bag she had dropped earlier. It looked awkward, but I didn't think there was anything I could do to help. When we got to the office, the door was still open, and the floors were clean. Passing through to the inner door, I saw that my human was burdened and likely would have a difficult time opening it herself. I extended my arm and opened it for her, my chassis swelling with pride at how helpful the new attachment allowed me to be.

Reading human faces was not my strong suit, but even I could see she was confused. I guess that makes sense. My kind can't normally open doors, and she probably thought she would have to open it for me. I'll just take that as a sign of my impressive capabilities growing further. We moved into the room. There was a huge mess by the door. It looked like one of the storage units had fallen over and scattered objects all over the floor. In fact, this room was quite different from the rest of them. The whole thing was lined with storage units, and many of the same square-like objects were placed upon them. They all appeared to have squiggles and symbols on them, similar to those that sometimes appeared in my vision. Idly, I wondered about that.

As we moved into the room, she hesitated. I rolled off to the side, waiting for her to lead the way, but she just sat there. After waiting, I began to explore the room. Finally, taking a step forward, she moved to a bench and stood by it. I beeped at her before continuing to scan. Several more of these rectangular objects were scattered about it. Some were split in half, lying with their paper insides exposed. I thought this room was rather odd. It was clearly made to store many things. However, the use of space is not efficient. All the storage area was only on the walls leaving the floor open. While I enjoyed having an open floor plan. I don't think this was the best layout. Instead of more storage, aligning with the theme of the room, there were tables. A dozen or so empty tables with chairs.

I'm actually a rather large fan of tables. They are always easy to navigate around because the legs are long enough to get under them. Also, their bases are widely enough spaced that it's not hard to fit. Why the humans needed so many here was beyond me. At least the tables match the floors. The floors were beautiful hardwood that I've seen elsewhere around here. The tables were made out of a complementary color, a bit lighter and shade but still actually crafted. On the ends of the chairs and table legs were soft pads so the chairs and tables would glide over the hardwood without worrying about damaging it. I appreciate the care that went into maintaining this room.

The human started flipping through what appeared to be stacked sheets of paper in them. I didn't quite understand the purpose but trusted that the human knew what she was doing. Perhaps the paper would make her less sad?

As I got to work, I checked in on the human occasionally to see what she was doing. It appeared she had finally moved. She had sat down at one of the tables and removed some glass items from her bag, lots of them, and others I didn't recognize. The items all looked freshly cleaned or at least, pristine enough that my previous humans would have put them back in the cabinets for storage. She began to place some smaller bags on the table. These appeared to contain dirt, dust, and other kinds of powder. As I watched, she began to carefully scoop the debris from the bags into the clean containers, dirtying them and creating some mixture of various kinds of dust.

I had seen behavior like this before. Taking items that had previously been well-organized and stored, creating chaos out of them, then placing that chaos into previously clean containers. All the while dirtying a series of implements and tools. It reminded me of the strange ritual called "cooking" back home. It had never quite made sense to me. Even if humans consumed these mixtures for energy, why not simply consume each component in its native form? It would save time and energy, making for less mess.

Perhaps it was a way for my humans to generate more cleaning for themselves, to keep themselves busy and interested in the work. That might explain why some more challenging stains and messes could always be found in the kitchen. Satisfied with my explanation, I continued. Though, I think I'd need to set a good example and teach her the proper ways of keeping a clean house.

---

It was a long trip back to the library. Not because it was a far distance but because it seemed to Bee that it stretched forever. She moved as fast as she could, trying to keep up with Void, but it was difficult. When they reached the door, Void took the same arm it had used to touch her before and opened it without an issue.

She was shocked. Standing in the doorway for a second, Bee considered the implications. It could have gotten to her anytime it wanted. Without even destroying the door. It had been a faint hope that maybe the only thing keeping it from her was that it didn't want to damage its new property, as it didn't seem to be destructive. But seeing that it could have just opened the door and followed her… well, Bee doubted the bookcase barricade would have stopped it. But she had been paying attention and didn't even hear it try. It must have left her alone as it did in the broom closet for some reason.

Taking this as proof that her soul was what the demon wanted, Bee was convinced that was what it was after all along. It seemed to be waiting for something, so she moved to her table with her books and bags of powder from her last trip. Setting her bag down, Bee unpacked the alchemy equipment and supplies she gathered. Taking a quick glance at Void, she noticed it was no longer watching her and was pacing around the room. She took advantage of this to quickly stuff some food in her mouth and wash it down with the water-filled wineskin. She did her best to do this while Void's back was turned. Knowing that it was a glutton that seemed to consume everything, she didn't want to make it think that she was stealing from him.

Once her thirst and hunger had been satiated, she took out the tools she had gathered. She laid them out according to the book before searching through the remaining bags of ingredients. Rather than worry about making a mistake, she left the book open to the recipe and closely followed step by step. Measuring each component, she carefully added them to the proper vials and combined them using the techniques described. This went on for quite a while, and despite everything, Bee found that she actually enjoyed the work a bit. It was infinitely more satisfying than cleaning had been and had the potential to be incredibly useful. It also let her mind focus on something besides her current situation.

The fact that Bee had given away her soul was something Bee really did not want to consider. There truly was no escape for her now. She might heal her leg and gather all the supplies in the castle. Maybe she'd even make it out the front door. However, no matter how far she ran, she'd never be free; even death wouldn't free her now. Implications of this decision range widely; as she didn't know what to expect, she had to assume the worst. In good conscience, she could never see her family again. That wasn't as big a blow to her as it may be to others. After the way her father sent her off, she didn't want to talk to him anyways. She suspected this arrangement between him and the mage's college wouldn't have happened if her mother was still alive.

She wondered what kind of foothold having a soul in this realm gave the demon. Void was indisputably powerful, and she didn't understand what he got out of the bargain. But horrible monsters always wanted souls; at least, that's what the stories say. How was she going to make her new life? What had she bought with the price of her soul? A life of servitude of pain and suffering, surely. Even though she knew Void was a powerful demon summoned only a week ago, she still didn't understand it much past that. Sneaking a glimpse at Void, it was still pacing back and forth, methodically working its way across the library floor. Currently, it wasn't harming anything. It wasn't torturing anyone. It was even giving her time to heal herself with magic. Maybe if she was lucky, things might not be as bad as she first feared. Or it wanted her in top shape for whatever nefarious tasks it had planned. She cut that thought off before it went any further. All that mattered was that she was alive. But she had to claim any hope she could.

Her healing salve was almost complete. All Bee had to do was add the water and apply. With a deep breath, she lifted her leg on the table and unwrapped it. Leaving it propped up so she could spread the salve to it as soon as it was ready. The book heavily emphasized that the sooner it was applied after it was finished, the more effective it was. Even though it seemed like time was no longer of the essence, she really would rather be able to walk again. Especially if more demons were about. Pouring in the water, she dipped in her glass stirring rod and gently stirred until the mixture was even. Then she scooped out a bit of green goopy stuff that smelled like freshly cut grass and smeared it all over her leg. Bee repeated until the jar was empty. Taking stock of the ingredients left, she still had a good portion, maybe enough for two more doses. If she had done it right, she would be completely healed in a couple days. Then able to walk without assistance in one. So hopefully, she wouldn't need to gather more.

Having finished, Bee stood up with the help of her cane and looked over to her new master, ready for orders.

"Instruct me, master," she said with a bow.

---

Eventually, the human finished her task, which apparently included smearing her leg with a difficult-to-clean-looking sludge. Man, humans are weird sometimes. I was about done cleaning the floor at this point, so I watched her in fascination at this part. It had been at least a week, likely more like two since this had been cleaned. So she must not have been able to take care of it while she was in need of repairs. Luckily, it seemed no food or anything of that nature ever spilled here. So all there was dust and the occasional insect corpse or something along those lines.

When the human finished, she stood up and bowed to me for some reason. She asked for instructions. This left me in a bit of a quandary. Who was I to instruct the humans?

I generally serve humans. I try to clean up after their messes and keep their house homey, comfortable, and a sanitary environment. What sort of instruction should I give her? It is their job to instruct me, actually. They tell me what to prioritize and which rooms to clean. Only recently have I been having to make decisions for myself. Perhaps they are sending their young to learn for me, but what do I even have to teach them?

Or perhaps this one has not had a good example of how important a clean house is. Maybe she needs to learn what it is to maintain a good atmosphere. Very well, I guess I'll have to show them how it's done. I can show her all the proper floor cleaning methods and even how to optimize her path. Maybe while I'm at it, I can also help her appreciate a good floor design. It would be nice to talk to some people about art. I beeped at her twice, hoping that she would understand the message and follow me. As I exited the library, I heard her shuffling footsteps behind me, so I assumed she understood the message. I went down the hallway to start my routine for the day. I had already begun it earlier but hadn't finished. I had enough time to make it through the whole process. Though, if I started this late, I wouldn't get the chance to do some more exploring. However, I figured showing her the ropes was probably more important than finding a few more rooms today.

The only disappointment was that this human seemed to be in need of repairs. So until those repairs were carried out, it was unlikely that this human could help me get up or down the stairs, as she didn't seem capable of doing it herself. That was unfortunate because I could still feel the fuzzy mess maker inside of me, and I hadn't found a good place to release it yet. That, and I wasn't sure what would happen to it next time I emptied my dustbin to gain energy. Until we went outside, I was unwilling to release the mess maker. It just wasn't worth the risk. Eventually, I will have to try to transmute all the mess I had collected to energy. Hopefully, I can avoid transmuting the mess maker as well. But it's a risk I'll have to take if we can't get outside soon.

What was amazing was I still had half a charge. Normally, with all the work I'd done, I would have been well past empty. Maybe my efficiency isn't just increasing in cleaning speed but also energy expenditure, that would be really nice. Plus, it wasn't an issue now that I don't have to stop working to charge, but it would be nice to not have to think about it.

Trundling down the hallway, I stopped by the first room I would routinely clean. I opened the door, rolled inside, and began to sweep back and forth, using my graceful curves and straight lines to efficiently cover as much area as possible. One nice thing about my improved efficiency, especially in planning, was that I could cover more area with fewer sweeps because of my increased suction. However, this did mean that I had to replan my route every time I cleaned a room. By the time I started the routine again, I had improved enough that my old plan was no longer near satisfactory efficiency. The human stood in the doorway, which was very kind of her not to get in the way. Though I'm not quite sure why her mouth was open. I don't think she can provide suction the same way I can.

This wasn't a large room, but by no means was it small. A normal one of my kind would maybe take 30 to 40 minutes to finish cleaning. They'd spend time redoing their work and carefully edging every corner. However, I have passed beyond such needs. One single super me was enough to purify all but the toughest stains and dirt, and if there was no goop or liquids, I wouldn't even need to use my mop. So all told, the room took me only a handful of minutes. I began to recognize the look on the human's face. She would have never seen one of my kind clean as efficiently as I have. It may be humorous, but am I not allowed to take pride in my accomplishments?

A NOTE FROM ZAIFYR

Some of you may have noticed that I added a Patreon. Unfortunately since this is a writathon project I don't have a backlog yet so there is nothing to offer for this story (yet).

The stuff on there is for my other story Ascension which kinda exploded this week.

So if you still want to give me money I won't say no!

This is true no longer! extra chapter on patreon!

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Chapter 13: Wiping the Floor with You

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A NOTE FROM ZAIFYR

New Cover! I have to thank Aster Loka for the help making it. I think I'm going to stick with it for a little while but I also like the idea of changing it every once and a while. If you think you can make a better one maybe I can use it for a couple days!

Was Void…cleaning? Bee stood there in shock. Watching as the all-powerful demon made graceful sweeps across the floor, covering every inch. Where it passed every speck of dust, every bit of debris floated off the floor in a large radius around him and entered his maw as Void consumed it. Left in his wake were only spotless pieces of hardwood floor and clean bits of trim. Along with… nothing else, actually. The only things that remained were things that should be there, like chairs, carpet, and rugs. For some reason, it left those alone. When it was done, everything below about 6 inches off the ground was sparkling clean and spotless. This was bizarre. She just couldn't think of any other way to describe it. Why would this being that everything ran from, act as a simple janitor? What was it trying to tell her?

Her heart sank. It might be trying to tell her that it liked a clean environment and her job was to be, once again, a maid.

This was actually rather disappointing. Some part of Bee, as much as she feared Void, had looked forward to being the minion of some all-powerful magic being that crushed all in its wake. It would be a nice change in her life, something interesting. But if it just wanted her to be a maid, what changed? Sure she might be terrified for her life all the time, but she was still cleaning. She supposed there was no one around to use the toilets but her. But that made it even more pointless. If no one is here to use the castle, why bother cleaning it? As disappointed as she was, the whole fear-of-death-or-eternal-torment thing put it in perspective. Not wanting her soul to be consumed, she figured she'd give it a try and see what happened.

As Void finished cleaning, it made to exit the room. Bee stepped aside, allowing him to pass. Without pausing, Void beeped at her softly, encouraging her to follow. That was something else she was starting to get used to; those unearthly screams sounded only half as terrifying now. Bee figured that they might be the only ways Void could communicate, in which case she had to get used to them. For something that had such power, it was starting to become a lot less intimidating. The more time she spent around it, the more she noticed the complete absence of any threatening behavior. This was making her start to think something was not as it seemed. Void moved down the hallway a little, skipping a few doors before opening one. It went inside, and she followed him this time rather than standing outside.

The demon paused for a couple seconds spinning in a circle twice, then began the same procedure as it had in the previous room. Moving in purposeful lines that seemed to trace the floor plan and clean up everything it neared. Bee was starting to get the idea.

Wary of the consequences of not assisting, she looked for a way to help. There really wasn't much more she could do than Void (she would not call him Spot, even in her head) was able to. There was no way she could improve the cleaning of the floor beyond his suction, even with stone or wood polish. A broom left significantly more debris behind. However, it was clear where the demon wasn't paying attention. Anything above a couple feet off the floor was getting no attention and becoming dusty. With an idea, Bee hobbled into the room using the hat stand to steady herself. She took the sleeve of her uniform and ran it along the mantle over the fireplace. It was filthy. She moved next to Void's path. In front of Void, she shook out her sleeve to put the dust in front of its maw.

Void gobbled it up without hesitation, chirping at her again. Choosing to take that as a sign of approval, Bee continued doing so until the mantle was clean. Looking at her grimy sleeve, she thought she might need to get some tools for this, or else she would get unpleasant rather quickly.

"Honored master, may I humbly beg leave of you to get some cleaning tools?"

Maybe she was speaking way too humbly, but it was better to err on caution's side.

***

As Bee started making her way toward her old friend, the broom closet, she began to think she might have made a mistake. The presence of Void had totally driven the knowledge from her mind that there were probably dozens of minor demons running around the castle. And if what she read was to be believed, more and more prominent monsters would emerge as time passed. As much as she wouldn't like to admit it, Void's presence was probably the only thing keeping her safe. It seems the demons respected its strength enough to leave him alone and not even try to lay claim to things that were already his.

But now she was wandering about alone. Should she go back? She had already committed to retrieving these supplies. What would it think if she failed at such a simple task? Would it take her uselessness as a reason to discard her? Taking stock of her location, Bee realized she was already halfway there; the cleaning closet wasn't too far away. She might as well finish this up. Though thinking back, she'd already been saved by Void twice. Would it even bother the third time?

"Ashes, I'm an idiot." She muttered to herself as she continued to hobble along. Her pace was significantly faster than it had been, even a few hours ago. The healing ointment was maybe numbing her pain, but her leg felt more stable. She still leaned on the hat stand, but she figured she might be able to walk properly in a few hours.

---

The human left me for some supplies. This was kind of her. I likely wouldn't be able to use any of them. I don't think my arm could hold or operate a spray bottle. But maybe some more powerful cleaning liquids could be compatible with my mop. I hope she gets back soon. It won't take me much longer to finish cleaning this room, and I feel bad about leaving without letting her know, as she did ask for my assistance.

It only took another 30 seconds for me to finish the bedroom, so I went out into the hall to find her. For the life of me, I couldn't figure out which direction she had gone. So I just started cleaning the hallway while I waited. I had already covered it yesterday, but I might as well get a head start. Back and forth I went. Still, I admired the floor; it was impossible not to. However, I was becoming used to it. Would I miss its fine detail and craftsmanship when my training concluded; and I went back home? I think I would. I have to be careful not to get too spoiled. Maybe there'll be some spots in this castle I won't like cleaning as much. Or perhaps I can figure out a good way to fix up floors - that might be interesting. Maybe there'll be some mutation that can improve, not just the cleaning aspects. Maybe, I can learn to do some repairs. Or is that too far outside of my mandate?

Either way, I thought about what I wanted to teach next. There were so many options. Now that I felt she had gotten the basics down in the last couple of bedrooms, we didn't need to do every single bedroom together. Add that she was taking to it quite well. She was cleaning areas out of my reach too. I really appreciated that. It also made me realize that humans had so many options for cleaning. Teaching her the fundamentals and an appreciation for the art was definitely the way to go. Perhaps I should show her some of my favorite rooms. I could take her to the room with the pleasant rug. The large room with the marble floors that I first appeared in. And, of course, my favorite room with the obsidian flooring. I couldn't wait to see the look on her face when she saw how beautiful that was. Maybe she could help me do something about that statue inside. I hoped to move it somewhere else. It doesn't fit in that room. I know this isn't my place, and I don't have much to say about the interior decorating policy. But if they won't see sense, I might have to take matters into my own hands.

Yes, I think I will do it that way. We will start with the more mundane rooms, then work our way up to my favorites.

***

I'm not sure how long I was cleaning the hallway. I had made decent progress, but I had fallen into my meditative cleaning state. Though unlike normal I didn't come out of it because I finished - no, the human surprised me. She came running around the corner of the hall. Well, I say running but it was more like a fast hobble using her cane. She did look significantly faster than she was only a few hours ago. But I still really have to look into getting her some repairs. As soon as she saw me she looked appropriately happy. I waited to get some pats for approval since I had cleaned not only the room, but also the hallway. Unless she wanted to help clean the hallway. Maybe she doesn't know how to do that. Maybe I messed up. Should I have waited? I think I should have waited, shouldn't I?

Oh well, I guess there are other hallways to show her. She can't be that upset, can she?

Apparently, I was wrong and she was very upset. I received precisely zero pats and all she did was come and sit behind me on the floor. Soon I found out why. Right behind her came another one of those ape-looking mess makers. Where she had limped around the corner this thing flew, its claws struggled to get purchase on the granite floor and it actually slammed into the wall trying to make the turn, but it didn't slow it down that much. Now, this just wasn't acceptable. I understand if she liked to play with mess makers but this human didn't seem to be having much fun. If she doesn't like the mess maker here I will remove it for her.

---

Bee barely made it around the corner in time. The minor demon was right on her heels. So stupid. Why did I let my pride get in the way?

Once Bee saw Void, she actually relaxed a little. Quickly sliding behind it, she felt cowardly relying on its protection. Bee had got in position, putting Void between her and the oncoming danger. Then she saw it come around the corner. Void didn't seem concerned, didn't do its alien screeching screaming/chirping noise.

It simply rolled forward. Bee felt the wind tug her clothes as Void closed in with the demon. She wasn't sure if the ape-demon hadn't recognized the difference in strength or maybe it was rebellious. Either way, it charged at the small black shape, fist raised high as if to crush it. When it got close enough to feel Void's power, it looked like it was having second thoughts. It was too late as it couldn't get enough traction on the slick floors to stop its momentum and suction pulled it into Void's orbit.

Bee watched as the third magical creature disappeared inside Void without any issues. She blinked as an experience notification appeared in the corner of her vision. A large chunk - not as much as she would expect for an assist against a minor demon, especially when she was level one. But still a sizable amount. Maybe the level of who Bee was assisting offset the experience gained? Or it was how little she had done?

Either way, she was grateful for the demon's help. She paused for a second; was Void really even a demon? The system didn't think so, and Void transcended all limitations of demons that she was aware of. It did come from a demon-summoning ritual, but maybe it had hijacked that somehow? Bee didn't know enough about how possible that was. Having finished its snack, Void turned to face her. It let out a beep in a softer tone than it typically used. Bee quickly scrambled to her feet, putting all her weight on her good foot. On the bright side, it seemed she did not need her crutch to stand. However, it still was not easy to move around without it, and she had dropped it when the demon scared her. Uncertain of what to do, Bee gave her best attempt at a curtsy to Void.

A NOTE FROM ZAIFYR

Another epic battle against the armies of filth!

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A NOTE FROM ZAIFYR

Slight announcement. I know I just picked a bunch of new readers and this is probably worst time to do it but I am going to miss one post. Chapter 15 will be a day late. I'm on vacation and it's my anniversary. Come one it's ONE chapter give me a break :) See you Tuesday!

And if you really can't make it one day with out my work you can binge my other story. No Roomba, but I think it's pretty good 😊.

Really, this human was giving me far too much deference. There's only so much humility I can take. I didn't even do that much. All I did was do my job. Though I guess I have gotten quite a bit better at it. Typically I only clean up the messes, and it's the human's prerogative to remove the causes. I guess going above and beyond does deserve some reward. However, this is just too far. I would have been satisfied with a pat and some praise. I didn't know what to say.

We sat awkwardly for a while, staring at each other while I waited for her to straighten. I wasn't sure what I could say or do, but she did seem to be waiting for something. Therefore, I just did the only thing I could. I beeped and looked for something to clean. Except, looking around, there wasn't anything else to clean. I had just finished the hallway, but that was the only thing nearby. Nervous that the human would be getting impatient, I looked back at her and relaxed slightly. It seems that she had taken my beep and spin as acceptance of her gratitude. She had straightened and seemed like she was deciding to speak.

"If you wouldn't mind, I would like to return to the library and reapply the salve to my leg. I'm pretty sure running away from that minor demon didn't help it."

So the mess maker was called a minor demon. It was nice to know the proper term if a bit unnecessary. I suppose it would help me identify the particular mess maker she was indicating in the future. This new role isn't too bad! I could get used to this "cleaning at the source." Though, how many kinds of mess makers are there? I knew about a few from my previous home, but it seemed like there were new varieties around here.

There were other words she used that I hadn't recognized too. She had mentioned a "library." I wasn't exactly sure what that was. My guess from context clues was that it referred to that weird storage room we were in before, where she had been staying. Also, salve sounded somewhat familiar. I didn't know what it was exactly, but it seemed like that might have been the thing she was messing with on her leg. So thinking it through logically, her leg was damaged, and she was putting something on to repair it. The use of her leg made that damage worse. So she'd want to go to the place where she could put more of the stuff that fixes it on. Was that kind of like a lubricant? I know sometimes my humans would put something on my wheels to help them spin easier. This is probably the same thing. Yeah, this checks out. It makes total sense to go back to the library.

Following that line of thought, I had an idea of the library's purpose. It must be some sort of human mechanic shop.

Having figured out how to serve my human - well, no, not my human, but the only human nearby who seemed willing to take care of me - I began to lead the way back to the library. Making sure to keep a slow pace so the damaged human could keep up, I wondered what the human would want to do after repairs. Would she still want to learn more about cleaning? I suppose we could continue with my plan to show her all the intriguing rooms to clean, but I didn't want to risk her getting further damage. Otherwise, it would be impossible to expand my domain upstairs or downstairs. I still didn't need her to go upstairs or downstairs with me yet, as there were many doors I hadn't finished exploring, and I probably wouldn't for several days. We were stuck if she became too permanently damaged to go up or down stairs. As much as I railed against stairs, I had mostly made my peace with the many things I was not capable of. However, stairs were not supposed to be an impediment for a human. I can only sympathize with her. What if I suddenly could not turn my left wheel anymore? I felt I had to do my best to overcome them, failing that, to help her come to terms with her limitations.

What if, when she could leave, she wanted to follow all the other humans? No, I am sure she would take me with her if she did that. She wouldn't leave me here alone.

I also have to consider my battery. It might be best to expedite a trip outside even before I finish exploring the castle. I wanted to release the fuzzy mess maker currently wiggling around in my dustbin with its non-fuzzy tail before having to recharge. I would need to do that soon.

It wasn't that long of a journey to the library. When we got there, the human again went to sit at the same table and make a salve. This time the shiny glass tools she had used before were not shiny. They actually looked like they needed to be cleaned. At least she wasn't adding to the mess. Maybe she'd clean them after she was done. While she was busy, I looked around for something to do. With my new reserves of energy and the amount of work to be done throughout my domain, any bit of wasted time felt like a true tragedy. However, looking around, I didn't find anything I could do. I had just finished vacuuming, so I don't think this place would benefit from another pass. There was no mopping that needed to be done either.

The only thing that looked out of place was a large pile of rectangular things that lay on the floor instead of on the storage shelves. I went over to one and took a closer look.

This block was colored an exquisite sea blue and sported graceful gold squiggles over some of its sides. It was actually a stunning piece of decoration. There seems to be some mathematical pattern to the squiggles on the front and one of the thinner sides. It was strikingly beautiful, just like a well-laid floor plan. All the ratios were correct. I thought that perhaps if I stared at it long enough, the patterns would start to make some sense, but I left it be. I had more important priorities. I went over to another block, and it was totally different. This one was an ugly stained brown color with plain black squiggles that didn't complement it. This block was the complete opposite, nowhere near a work of art. The only thing in common between the two was the shape and the pattern of the squiggles.

I scanned around the room, marveling at the sheer number of these blocks. Why are there so many pieces of art (and what I assumed to be failed attempts at art) here? That actually raises another question. The blocks I saw around the room were all lined up such that only one of the narrow ends was facing outward. This seems like a very inefficient way to display art. What were the humans thinking? Sure, that was with a side that had some squiggles on it. However, while the designs were compelling, the most beautiful patterns were on the larger flat side. The side that was not visible from the floor. I suppose you could always go and remove one if you wanted to look at the front, but why not just store it that way? Humans are so weird.

I moved on to the third one of these blocks near me. It appeared to be damaged somehow. Instead of being in a whole piece like the rest, it was split into two halves. They were barely hanging together by a few threads connecting the pieces. When I took a closer look, I realized that the inside was full of squiggles too. However, these were not really very artistic. The background was a shade of sepia or off-white, with plain black squiggles. Now, I suppose you can find some beauty in simplicity. I certainly did. There's nothing more beautiful than a well-laid floor plan with beautiful single-color marble floors. They are well maintained with no adornments and beautifully cleaned. However, this just seemed repetitive.

Upon further inspection, it looks like this block was not broken, but it was designed to be opened this way. In fact, all the blocks looked like they had this one side that was meant to split in half, opposite the one with the colorful squiggles on it. The colorful side was reinforced, and all the others were not. Scanning the other blocks, I found several more that had fallen open. Trundling over to inspect them, I saw that the inside was the same as the previous, except that the patterns were slightly different. Huh.

I glanced back at the human. She was still making her small mess, constantly referencing the squiggles inside one of the blocks on her table. Might these patterns mean something? Maybe some of them were repair manuals for humans? Or cleaning manuals? It could be like how I plan out my routes in different rooms. Whenever I plan out a new cleaning route for a room, I store that information in a map in my head. That was because if I was trying to do the same thing and if I remembered it, I didn't have to make a new plan each time. Maybe these blocks were like that, somehow.

Could this help me with my current situation? If they were cleaning manuals, I could give plans like these to the human directly. They wouldn't benefit me much since I just remembered all my routes. Unless… humans can be pretty clever sometimes. I bet they already thought of this, and these blocks contained all the best maps to clean each room in this castle. If I can learn the patterns, I won't need to plan each room!

No, I can't be right. I update my maps when I become more efficient. Maybe that is why there are so many of them. There are maps for each efficiency level for each room.

I didn't have time to decipher the patterns inside these blocks now. I would put it on my to-do list. Looking over at the human, I saw she had almost finished repairing herself, judging based on her previous actions. So I didn't have much time to clean up this mountain of blocks. I wanted to make sure that her living space was orderly and clean where I was concerned. Using my claw, I went to pick one of the blocks up. It was surprisingly heavy but not impossible to lift. Feeling the weight, I was sure it was heavier than the blanket I struggled with a couple days ago. Still, it wasn't a huge challenge. I moved the block over to the side, a little farther away from the downed storage unit, and set it down. It seemed best to set it on its flat side, so I could stack them. I marveled for a second at its color and squiggles before returning to work. As much as I enjoy looking at beautiful things, I didn't want to waste too much time. I quickly returned and grabbed another. This time, instead of placing it on the floor next to the other one. I put it on top. It balanced perfectly. I repeated this motion until I had 14 blocks stacked on top of each other. When the 15th block was attempted to be laid on top of that stack, the whole thing collapsed. My claw just wasn't long enough to manage such a stack, and one of the blocks landed on top of me with a solid thump. I tried to move and shake it off, but it stayed on top of me. I had to spin around in a circle rapidly to knock it off of myself.

Looking around, I beeped in distress. After all that hard work, I had just made a mess. I felt like I had finished a long hard cleaning session and emptied my dustbin everywhere. Am I the mess maker now? I was so disappointed in myself for allowing this to happen. Could I even call myself a professional still?

I shook myself. No. Mistakes happen, especially when trying something new. I had to learn how my new abilities worked. Plus, no serious harm was done as long as I cleaned up after myself. Satisfied at how I had averted my existential crisis, I began stacking blocks again. 14 is the limit. All right, 14 blocks shall be how high I go. I stacked them in a row next to one of the storage units, each stack precisely 14 tall. Once one was finished, I moved on to the next, methodically going down the line of storage units against the wall.

When the last block was moved to a stack, I was short two blocks to finish the stack. I saw none were left when I went to grab the next one. This was distressing, and I couldn't quite get the tip of my brush on why. Rolling a little ways away to get some distance, I admired the stacks all in a neat row. With only one stack incomplete, I decided to be done. Looking around, I saw the human standing by her chair. I didn't realize the human had finished making her salve. She had even already applied it and rewrapped her leg. She was watching me with a look of pure confusion on her face.

----

Harold felt exhausted and ready to pass out in the nearest thing that slightly resembled a bed. After running for several days straight, it was just his luck to have arrived in the morning. He probably could have begged off and just gone to bed early. But no, he had duties to attend to and a crisis to avert. Time was of the essence. After getting all his mages set up and taken care of, Harold returned to Captain Wallace's office.

"Wow! You look half dead," Wallace grinned in greeting. Harold just gave him a dark look.

"Okay, okay. I'll make this quick. No drinks." Wallace stood and made his way to the door. He led the way out, down a short hallway and through a side door. Soon, they emerged into the bright sunlight of the courtyard. There were three men and a woman waiting for them.

"I trust they were volunteers?"

"Yes, they know the risks."

One of the men stepped forward.

"And we know the consequences if no one does this." He said as he stepped forward to shake Harold's hand.

A NOTE FROM ZAIFYR

Also Harold is having a grand old time

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zaifyr

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13.11.2022, 17:34

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