He had wondered for some time if there really was a whole insane underworld below the city, as Gant implied. Were there colonies of outlaw mutants that sought refuge in the warm darkness, sneaking out at night to raid the market and collect scraps of food? Could cellars really exist where forbidden cults performed gruesome rituals and offered human sacrifices to the Evil Powers? Was it possible that huge rats really scampered through the depths? Elysia knew, all of Gant's wild tales were true, as she had already confirmed them all elsewhere.
Elysia froze, deep in thought of her, remembering the events that had happened in Riverheim and the rumors about the tunnel network that stretched across the entire continent. Gant tugged at his sleeve.
"Well, let's get to it," said the sergeant. "We don't have all day."
♦ ♦ ♦
"I've never been here before," Hef whispered, his voice echoing away down the narrow corridor.
"And I never want to go back," added Araña, as she rubbed at the blue arachnid tattoo she had on her chest. For once, Elysia was forced to agree with both. Even if she judged this place by the rest of the Bergheim sewers, she was grim. The walls had a chipped, rotten look. The small gargoyles on the supporting arches had been consumed by time, to the point that their features were no longer visible. The stew was bubbling, and little wisps of steam rose as the bubbles burst on the surface. The air was stuffy; it was fetid and hot.
And there was something else there… The place had an even more oppressive atmosphere than usual. The fur on the back of her neck rose on Elysia, as it sometimes did when she sensed an undercurrent of sorcery nearby.
"It doesn't look like a safe place," Rudi commented as he cast a doubtful glance at one of the support arches.
"Nonsense" replied Frey. "These tunnels were built by dwarves many years ago. It is easy to notice his technique."
To prove her point, she punched the bow. Maybe it was just bad luck, but the gargoyle chose just that moment to fall from its perch, and the dark hero had to jump to the side to avoid being hit on the head, and narrowly avoided sliding into the stew.
"Of course," added Frey. "A part of the work was executed by human artisans. That gargoyle, for example, is the result of typically botched work by humans."
No one laughed, and only Elysia dared to smile. Gant looked up at the ceiling, and the lantern at her feet lit his face from below, making him look fantastic and demonic.
"We must be below the Old Quarter," he commented wistfully, and Elysia realized that she was looking out over the palace district. A strange expression of melancholy transfigured her face. The catgirl wondered if she was meditating on the difference between her life and the golden existence of those who dwelt up there; if she was thinking of the splendor she would never know and the opportunities she would never have. For a moment, she felt a certain compassion for the man.
"There must be a fortune up there," said Gant. "I wish I could go up and get it! Well, there's no point in wasting time. Let's get to work."
"What was that?" Elysia asked suddenly, and the others looked around her, startled.
"What was what?" she wanted to know hef.
"And where is that what?" Spider inquired.
"I have heard something. Over there." All eyes followed the direction indicated by Elysia's outstretched finger.
"You're imagining things" replied Rudi.
"Elysia can't imagine a thing. I also heard something" said Frey
"Come on, sergeant, do we have to go look into that?" Rudy groaned. "I want to go home."
Gant rubbed his left eye with the knuckles of his right hand. He seemed to be concentrating, and Elysia could see that he was undecided. She wanted to leave and go to the tavern as quickly as the rest of the others, but that was her responsibility. If something bad happened under the palaces and someone found out they'd been there and done nothing about it, it was her neck that would end up on the scaffold.
"We'd better investigate it" he finally answered, ignoring the groans of protest from her companions.
"I don't think it will take us very long. In any case, I'd bet we won't find anything."
Betting my luck, Elysia thought. "It's a bet I won't make."
♦ ♦ ♦
Water dripped from the arch of the tunnel. Gant had narrowed the aperture of his deaf lantern so that only the faintest glow was visible. From somewhere ahead of them came the sound of voices, which even a human could hear.
One of them was human, with an aristocratic accent, but it was impossible to believe that the other belonged to a man. She was sharp, creepy, trembling. If a rat had been given the voice of a human being, it would have spoken like that.
Gant stopped and turned to look at the men following him; he was pale and worried. It was obvious that he did not wish to continue, and looking at the faces of her companions, Elysia realized that it was the same for all of them. They were finishing the day's work, they all felt tired and scared, and there was something ahead they didn't want to meet. But they were sewer guards, workers whose only virtues were bravery and a willingness to face what others would not be able to face, in a place where others would not enter. They had a certain pride.
Frey tossed the short sword into the air, which spun up; the blade caught a glimmer of dim light. With no apparent effort, the dark hero caught her by the hilt as she descended. Spider drew his long-bladed knife from its sheath, and shrugged. A savage smile appeared on Hef's lips. Rudi looked down at his short sword and nodded. He was in the company of the kind of maniacs he could understand.
Gant nodded gently, and they moved slowly forward, placing their feet carefully and silently on the sticky ledge. Turning around the bend, he opened the black lantern to illuminate his quarry.
"Your payment, a proof of my esteem. Something for your personal use," Elysia heard the aristocrat's voice say. Two figures froze like trolls in a fairy tale, petrified by the sudden brilliance of light. One of them belonged to a tall man, dressed in a long robe like a monk's. He had a fine-boned patrician face, cold and haughty, and his black hair was cut close short and peaked low over his forehead. At that moment, he reached out a hand to give the other figure some otherworldly glow.
Elysia recognized the object, for she had seen the substance before with the Ratfolks below Riverheim and in the abandoned dwarven stronghold in the fortress-city of the Peaks. It was a mana stone ball. The recipient of the item was a short, inhuman being, covered in gray fur, with pink eyes, and his long bald tail made Elysia think of a worm. As the creature turned to gaze at the light with narrowed eyes, its tail flicked. She thrust her forelimbs into the long patchwork robes that covered him, and grabbed something with her clawed paws. At her waist hung a scabbardless sword, rusty and jagged.
"Ratfolk!" Frey roared. "I challenge you to a duel!"
"Stupid-stupid; You said that you had not been followed "the being snapped at his human companion, with a shrill voice. "You said no one knew."
"Stay where you are!" Gant told him. "Whoever you are, you are under arrest on suspicion of treason and unnatural practices with animals."
The sergeant had regained confidence from the fact that there were only two enemies. Even discovering that one of the wrongdoers was a monster seemed to leave him undaunted.
"Heph, Spider; take them and tie them up."
The wererat suddenly threw the sphere that he had just taken from his clothes.
"Die-die, you stupid human-things."
"Hold your breath!" Frey yelled, at the same time he threw the short sword.
The Ratfolk smashed the object between its forepaws to the ground: a sphere that tinkled and shattered like glass. An unhealthy looking cloud rose from her. As he pushed Elysia back down the corridor, Frey grabbed Rudi and dragged him with them. From within the gas cloud came gurgling and choking sounds, and the catgirl felt her eyes begin to water.
Everything went dark as the flashlight went out, and Elysia felt trapped in a nightmare by the smoke that blocked her view. She couldn't see, she was afraid to breathe, she was in an underground corridor and somewhere there was a monster armed with incomprehensible deadly objects.
She perceived in her hands the viscous touch of the slime that covered the walls. She pawed around her, and suddenly she felt nothing, and she realized that her hands were hovering over the stew. She felt that she had lost her balance and she was afraid to move, as if she could suddenly lean in any direction and plunge into the dung canal. She closed her eyes to prevent them from stinging and forced herself to keep going. Her heart was pounding, her lungs felt like they were about to burst, and the skin between her shoulder blades stood on end.