Heading up towards the upper part of the trading district, we followed Balruth through alleys and shortcuts he used to hide away from guards. Victor barely fitted through some of these narrow paths Balruth took, But I was able to manage with all the dragging I was doing. I find it absurd that Victor was still unconscious from all these subtle movements and the occasional bumping into walls….I guess my punch I did on him really put him out.
Both Korbyn and Elena kept vigilant on crossing civilians in this area. There weren't actually a lot of people here, some traders who were out strolling around and a few noble people who were out for a stroll. The whole higher part of the Trading District was quite empty to be honest, it seemed most people decided to stay inside and minded their own business. This part of the whole kingdom seemed to be the quietest out of all the other districts, maybe due to the class differences?
"Almost there! Just around this corner! There will be a bridge that has a gate underneath it!" Balruth called out, the old man was jogging at a slow pace. Slow enough that it seemed I was actually able to outpace him. "There's a door you guys leave unguarded, mostly because nothing goes on around here. Once we get in, we'll need to follow my trail in the sewers!"
"Old man, how much do you know of the sewers?" Korbyn asked. "The whole system?"
"Enough for me to figure out shortcuts and make sure I avoid the weird things down there."
"Weird…things?"
"Those weird looking monsters I saw you guys fighting, those things."
Korbyn let out a sigh of frustration. "Ugh…Really?"
Soon we found ourselves looking at a bridge, just like the one previously. Though there were some steps to the right side of the bridge. Adjusting my hands around Victor's arms, I followed the three adults down the stairs. Taking him down the stairs wasn't hard…well except for the fact that his right leg dangled into the water.
Korbyn looked at me and smiled. "Woah, I wouldn't want him pissing himself. You know how that works, putting the body part in water."
"I don't think that works on dead people, Korbyn." Kale replied back, raising a brow. He then turned his head to Balruth. "Balruth, how much longer to your place?"
The jingling of the iron door and the water splashing accompanied the old man's answer. "Once we head in, it'll be another ten minutes or so."
"Well let's not waste more time!" Kale irritatedly said. "We got three kids we got to save!"
With what he was saying, I agreed. Even when I was containing my anger, I couldn't help but feel that anger leaking out of me the more time we spent doing this. We should be doing this with urgency, going as fast as we can to save Kota!
I know Kota will be alright, but still…Leaving him by himself doesn't sit well with me. Which is why we even took this old man's deal, so we can save Kota.
"Hold on! Hold your pants, We'll ge-" Bulrath tried to say something back to Kale, But it seems Kale's patient was running thin. He slammed his foot against the iron door and forced it open. Bulrath looked back at Kale momentarily, surprised by him.
Kale leaned in towards Bulrath, his face as serious as ever. The old man backed up, his feet shuffling down the stairs that descended into the sewers. "There are kid's lives at stake, you understand? Or are you just more grateful that you're getting what you wanted?"
"No! I-look, I'll get you guys to my place and I'll show you where Victor stayed! Of course I care about some kids, but that guy is what I've been looking for!"
"Ease up, Kale." Korbyn said. "We'll get them, don't let yourself get too worried. I think we all know what's at stake right now. Right now, let's focus." The dark skinned elf grabbed Kale by the shoulder, slowly pulling him back from Balruth. "If the old man is giving us wrong information, I'll let you get the first punch on him."
"Ah-Hold on! I'm not lying to you!" Balruth pleaded. "Alright, we just need to take Victor down there! Just toss him down."
Eh? Just like that? I dragged the unconscious man closer to the door, peering down it. The stairs went deep into the ground, torches lighting the way down. The sound of rushing water echoed through the hall of the stairs, and a faint smell of sewage wrinkled my nose.
It was a long flight of stairs, meaning if I did toss Victor down here…I'm pretty certain that heyhave some broken bones or something. But what do I care, he probably deserved it…
"…so do I just throw him down?" I said, looking back at Balruth. "You aren't worried that I'll break something?"
"A dead man is easy to repair. Plus that metal arm of his won't bend to anything, so go ahead and toss the man!"
I dragged Victor's body into the stairwell, just enough for his whole body to be in. I then moved back outside, heading up the stairs to grab him by the leg. I found this whole situation…Not the most reasonable way of doing things, but if it meant getting Victor faster…
"Ok." I said as I practically made Victor do a back roll down the stairs. The sound of metal clanging and the walls scratching as his arm connected with it echoed loudly. The sound of him falling down the stairs was the only noise to be made as all of us stood staring as his body descended down the stairs.
A few seconds passed before one final clang erupted from the depth of the stairs, indicating that Victor had made it down the stairs.
"…huh. I didn't really think you'd just throw him down." Korbyn was the first to speak. "I thought the old man was fucking around, but I guess you played into it."
"Wha-you guys didn't say anything when he said that I should!" I turned out, facing Korbyn and Kale. "What'd you want me to do?!" A feeling of hotness brimmed on my cheeks.
"Enough with the arguing, the dead man's down there now. Let's stop wasting time." Elena seemed to have enough of the situation, she moved towards Korbyn and started leaning close to him, yanking at the man's elf ear. "And you need to focus as well."
Korbyn flinched at the pain, slapping at her hand. "Ow, alright! Enough joking from me, I'll be serious!"
Ignoring the two bickering, Balruth made his way past me. The old man hobbled his way down the stairs, mumbling to himself.
"Come on, Lilith." Kale put a hand on my shoulder as he passed me on the stairs, He still kept his serious look on as he went down the stairs. This whole situation was probably a big stress on him considering the stakes. He had three lives on the line at the moment and one of them belonged to his other apprentice's son. I feel bad for Kale right now…
But I can't blame him, I feel the intensity of the situation too. Kota was missing and we just don't know where he is, Or even why the Pink haired freak took him in the first place. And now we have to follow this old man down the sewers in hope that he'll lead us to him. And I bet all of that is probably going through Kale's head too.
If only I could just…Talk with Kale, but he's so sporadic with me in how he talks with me…
Both me and Kale traversed the stairs, heading deeper into the sewers. I took a glance behind me to see both Elena and Korbyn now heading down the stairs, they were a far distance from us so it was just me and Kale. Balruth was nowhere to be seen from my view, so most likely he was already down there waiting…I hope.
"Lilith, I can see your worried look." Kale's voice broke through my thoughts. I noticed he was looking back at me. "Something on your mind?" He stopped his pace and turned to look at me, giving me a small smile. "If it's about me, I'm fine. Don't worry about it."
"You can't just say that with how you're acting." I said back to him. "Are you worried about Kota?"
"…I think I'm more worried about what his mom will do. But it's not just him, it's those girls too." Kale's gaze shifted to the steps just below me. He didn't look at me as he continued on. "I was supposed to keep them safe this whole journey, and that ended up all being for nothing. They got home and ended up still caught up in all this…I should've gone with you guys to their home and made sure."
"It's not your fault. None of us knew what was going on." I took a step towards him as I said that, his eyes averting to the side. "You can't put the blame on yourself like that."
When Kale heard me say that, his eyes drifted towards me. It was like he was…nervous? Why's he nervous to look at me? Did he not want to see me to see him down? He probably doesn't want his own apprentice to see him like this
"Kale, it's ok to look at me." I told him. "I know how much stress there is on finding them, but I know they'll be fine. I bet Kota is probably with them. He has to be." Maybe I was shooting in the dark with that comment, But I don't think Mandy would just take Kota to some random place. They must have taken him back to where they stayed.
Kale finally looked at me, something about the way he looked at me made me feel a tinge of sadness. The same look he gave me yesterday night, when he hugged me.
For a short moment we looked at each other, unsure of how to proceed. It didn't even seem like either of us blinked, he just stared at me while I did as well. But then Kale let out a long sigh, closing his eyes as he seemed to have gotten more relaxed.
"…You're right. We'll find them, both of them. I guess the stress has gotten to me." Kale let out a small smile as he opened his eyes. He then put his right hand on my shoulder. "Thanks, Lilith."
Kale doesn't usually touch me, so him doing this felt kinda weird…Though I didn't mind it. It was good that he was showing some sort of reaction instead of staring. I wish I could tell him how I feel about him, being a father figure and all…But this wasn't the right time.
There will be a time.
"No problem, let's just help the old man so we can get to Kota and the others." I said, lifting my right arm and putting my hand on his hand.
Kale nodded, pulling his hand away and turning to head down the stairs more. I followed behind him.
After some time, me and Kale eventually heard the sound of rushing water coming from the bottom of the stairs. We then saw an iron door that was opened, a torch was lighting up the entrance to guide us. As me and Kale got to the bottom of the stairs, the smell of sewage hit my nose. It wasn't the most pleasant smell I've had to inhale, but I had to bear it. And just at the bottom of these stairs was Victor, who was still unconscious.
"…Huh, I guess he didn't wake up." Kale said, looking down at the man. "…or maybe the fall did more than intended. We should probably move him into the sewers."
Nodding, I moved through the iron door and grabbed Victor by the arms. As I dragged the big man out to the other side of the iron door, I saw what was meant to be the sewers underneath Ozoth.
The sewers seemed to be made of stone, with multiple paths that had water streaming through them. The water here wasn't that deep, just barely above my own feet, though I wouldn't really consider stepping into it at all…Gross. I could tell by the multiple paths that this place would be a difficult place to move through if you didn't know where to go. Luckily there were torches lit up, but that seemed to be the efforts of Balruth, who was steadily lighting the way.
"Took you guys long enough! Nooow hurry it up! Bring that fella over where I'm at and follow the torches I make!" Balruth said to us. "If you don't follow the torches, those damn things will get ya!"
"Hold on, we need to wait for Korbyn and Elena." Kale said back to him, looking back at the stairs. "They should be here in a moment…"
Sure enough, those two made it down the stairs. Korbyn peered through the iron doors, looking around the sewers before he was unceremoniously pushed through the door by Elena.
"Damn, haven't been down here in some time." Korbyn looked back at her, rubbing his back. "A little more softer on the pushing, would ya?"
"You were in the way." Elena said, pinching her nose. "Eugh…Hate being down here."
"Enjoy the smell, you'll get comfortable with it." Korbyn smiled, which caused Elena to roll her eyes.
Elena then looked at Balruth, who was waiting with a torch in hand. "Well…I suppose you all were waiting on us. Let's get to it."
"Yes ma'am!" Balruth saluted her. "Everyone, follow me! And stay close together, or else them monster will be lurking around."
"Oh come on. Those things we fought earlier? Piece of cake. lead the way, old man." Korbyn made his way through the water before stopping and lifting one of his feet. "…Oh man, this is gonna suck."