Apocalypse Reset: My Crab Can Heal the World! - Chapter 77

Chapter 77: Lantafort
Barns’ first descent into Lantafort didn’t exactly give him time to soak it all in. After an intense and sleepless night, he doesn’t even recall how the city looks. He anticipates dark, dreary corridors and the smell of stale air. Instead, the passages are alive with brilliant colors and lively sounds as Skado guides them deeper into the subterranean stronghold.

The underground city is massive, hollowed out into the Chatran cavern with a scale that is hard to define – at least to Barns. From their vantage point on the highest tier of Lantafort’s sprawling levels, Barns looks down and sees glowing lanterns of every color imaginable, suspended in the air like fireflies.

Bridges crisscross the void between buildings carved from the rock, and everything is as clean and pristine as the day it was built – the city has been maintained with the utmost care.

The air is thick with the scent of roasting meats, strong spirits, and an earthy musk that Barns can’t quite place.

There’s a trepidation in the air, too – Adon did attack only hours ago. But as the morning emerges and the lingering unease passes, the city starts to come to life. It’s the type of place Barns never thought he’d see again – a fully functioning, active society (albeit one that’s underground).

“Welcome to Lantafort,” Skado announces, standing proudly with his hands on his hips. “Home to the last free humans who haven’t been resurrected by you, Barns.”

“Oooh, I like this place,” Osmond smirks, arms crossed. “Dark, cozy, and smells of questionable morality. Just like home. I bet my darling Maria would be delighted to visit!”

Eldrie doesn’t comment, his single red eye flickering in the dim lamplight. He’s been quiet since their journey here, likely still reeling from his newfound power. Barns doesn’t press him on it. Not yet.

“Stick close,” Skado warns. “Most folks will be thrilled to meet you, Barns. But not everyone’s keen on outsiders. We’ve kept hidden this long by not trusting easily. And you, Osmond…can you put those horns away or something?”

Barns nods as Skado and Osmond begin to bicker about demon biology.

The group follows Skado through the upper ring into the hidden streets, their footsteps echoing against the metal walkways.

They pass shops built directly into the cavern walls, their owners hawking goods from stalls crammed into every available nook. It seems like everything is sold here, from strange luminescent mushrooms to glass bottles filled with misty potions and daggers meticulously crafted from blackened bone.

At some point, they pass an opening to a spiral staircase leading downward. From deep below, Barns can hear raucous laughter and booming voices. A few dwarves, short and stout, spill out from below as they swagger unpredictably through the streets. They’re singing a song in a language Barns doesn’t recognize, their arms slung over each other’s shoulders as they stagger down a shaded alley.

“Don’t ask,” Skado mutters, waving off Barns’ curious glance. “They own the lower levels, and they’ll spend half the night drowning themselves in ale and the other half challenging people to duels for no reason. You don’t want to get caught up in that.”

“Curious,” Osmond muses. “I thought dwarves were a thing of myth.”

“I have never been to the lower levels,” Skado thinks aloud. “The partying they do down there is legendary – well, perhaps ‘notorious’ is the better word…”

Barns snorts but keeps walking. There’s something comforting about seeing a city full of people simply… living. After everything, it’s nice to be somewhere that doesn’t feel like the end of the world is clawing at the doorstep.

“Any chance we can grab something to eat, Skado?” Barns asks, his stomach grumbling. The talented poisoner smiles with his eyes.

“I know just the place.”

They stop at a small diner nestled along the cave wall with many other shops. It’s warm inside, and the aroma of delectable spice and meat is thick in the air. The owner, a burly woman with a salt-and-pepper bob, tells them they can sit wherever they like.

The menu is short, thought Skado insists that the soup is to ‘die for’. Unnerving words, coming from a poisoner.

Barns, still riding high on the energy of Lantafort, orders “whatever the house special is” along with Skado.

Osmond asks for “anything with meat”, and when he orders, it’s like the shop owner notices him for the first time. Her eyes fixate on his horns and she finds herself unable to look away.

“He’s with me,” Skado says happily. “Don’t you worry about him. He fought off the vampire, you know!”

“I’m not that hungry,” Eldrie says quietly, averting his gaze from the others. He tries to cover his red eye with his fluffy brown hair, and decides to order nothing.

The food arrives quickly, and Barns is quick to dive in.

“Holy hell!” he exclaims, the bowl trembling in his awe-struck hands. The broth is rich and thick, with hints of smoky heat and something floral. Chunks of slow-cooked meat practically melt on his tongue.

The owner grins at his reaction. “That’s Red Moon Stew. Is it your first time here, kid? Haven’t seen you before.”

“It’s his first time to Lantafort,” Skado says. The owner looks back at Skado, shocked. “You’ve heard of the humans who reclaimed Dimartino, haven’t you? These here are the folks who made it happen!”

“Who needs women when food like this exists,” Barns declares, taking another bite. “I might retire here and just get fat and lazy off this food!”

Osmond groans as he digs into his meal. “This place is wondrous,” the demon says. He can’t help but let his excitement pour out of him – Osmond has never once been in a ‘functioning society’.

The Lantafort native, smug as ever, leans back. “The Hidden City has its perks. Even before the Apocalypse, the place I lived was nothing like here. We had a community, sure, but nobody really talked to each other, you know? A community of strangers…”

Barns wipes his mouth and downs the rest of his broth in one go. “Alright. Let me just get one more order and then we can get moving.”

After their early lunch, Skado informs the group that they’ll be heading to meet the leader of Lantafort, who happens to be his direct supervisor. He leads them to the middle levels, into a stone passage that leads away from the large open hollow.

Their destination is deep within the stone passages, in a building with a fortress-esque facade. The walls are lined with old banners, presumably to represent the civilizations that the citizens of Lantafort hail from, and all the furniture is sturdy and practical. It’s a place built for war meetings, not politics. Perhaps the early settlers of Lantafort had a lot more on their mind than just minding a city.

Barns sits down across from Lantafort’s leader as their meeting begins.

She’s an older woman, with long, stark-white hair braided down one side of her shoulder. Her posture is impeccable, her expression unreadable. Skado stands at her right, and another attendant – a sharp-eyed woman with dark skin and an ornate rapier at her hip – stands at her left.

Barns sits relaxed, one leg crossed over the other – he lacks the leader’s refined and deliberate poise, but Barns has never been one for social etiquette in either of his lives. Osmond and Eldrie flank him, standing like statues.

‘Kind of cool, they’re like my ‘subordinates’,’ Barns snickers to himself. The legendary hero lifestyle isn’t so bad.

The leader, cool as ice, folds her hands on the table between them.

“So,” she says smoothly, her voice carrying a quiet authority. “Skado informed me about an incident in Ordella. Let’s talk Sentinels, hmm?”