Elysia got up early. She removed the sheets that sheltered her and got out of bed. Her athletic body worthy of a gymnast stretched out in her majesty without her clothes, she was motivated that day.
Although it was rare, she had had a night of riotous passion with Frey; She was sure that if she were human some of her bones would have broken, but the monstrous side of her allowed her to be able to withstand more savage treatment, finesse was for the weak.
Although her financial situation was precarious and they were in an unhealthy place, all those things were irrelevant to Elysia; she just wanted to enjoy life a bit, because what she was plotting to do that day required that her mind be in the best possible state and her body freed from any stress and tension.
"Where are you going?" Frey asked as she kept her eyes closed, her stocky body barely covered by the light sheets, which were impregnated with surrounding sweat and other bodily fluids.
"Somewhere, I must look for something" was the only thing Elysia answered as she glanced sideways at her companion and lover, Frey.
"Is it a dangerous place? Do you need me to accompany you?"
"No, it won't be necessary. It is located a few streets from here."
"Good." Frey said as he nodded with his eyes closed. "I hope you don't mind if I stay to sleep a while longer."
"No problem, rest" Elysia said as she began to dress. She knew that Frey was still tired, at night he barely slept; Well, worried about her safety, he kept watch most of the night.
He made his way down the muddy streets of the Barrio Nuevo, ignoring the pall of smoke that rose from the shantytowns near Cheap Street. 'Another fire,' he guessed. Well, he was lucky the wind hadn't blown the flames in the direction of old Zorin's boarding house, otherwise he might have died while he slept. And right now she couldn't afford to die; she still had things to do.
She turned into the Rotten Passage and came to the cobbled streets of the Trade Road. Carriages rattled by with merchants heading to the cafeterias before beginning the day's work. He found his way to the Archive Room and made his way to the division of the planning office responsible for sewers.
He knew that there she would find what she needed. After three-quarters of an hour, a lot of rummaging through dust-covered files and old maps, two threats and a bribe, he discovered that he was right. Pleased with himself, Elysia headed off to the guard's office.
They were immediately assigned to assist the rest of the guard in the area that had caught fire to bury the dead and inspect the area for any living persons. They headed towards the shacks to take a look. The fire had affected many huts, and the dead, burned and disfigured, were everywhere. A small boy with a soot-smeared face was sitting next to an old woman who was moaning softly to herself.
"What has happened here, child?" Elysia asked.
"It was the demon rat who did it" replied the boy. "I saw her. He killed the men who lived there and took them downstairs to eat. Mom says that next time she will come for me if I don't behave."
Elysia exchanged a look with Frey. Wild interest flashed in the dark hero's eyes.
"Are you sure he was a demon rat, boy? Don't lie to us… We are adventurers." Frey's voice that possessed a hint of interest; while Elysia was anxious, if he was another demon rat like the one found in Riverheim they would be in trouble.
"Yes it exists. I saw her with my own eyes. She was taller than you and heavier than that great armor. It was commanded by a smaller rat-man, gray-skinned, with horns on its head."
"Did anyone else see her?"
"I do not know. I hid. I thought they could take me too."
Elysia shook her head and went to inspect the ruins of Hef and Spider's hut. Little remained of the pitiful building, apart from the burned remains of a woman's corpse.
"No trace of Hef and Araña?"
Frey shook her head, and pointed with the tip of one foot at something gray and sharp lying in the ashes.
"That's Hef's knife."
Elysia bent to pick it up. The metal was still warm from sitting on her embers. Elysia looked down at the corpse, and the smell of burning flesh from her filled her nostrils.
"Gilda?" she almost asked herself.
He shook his head, filled with sadness and anger. The brothers liked him. They had been good humans, not discriminated against her for not being human. He wanted to avenge them.
♦ ♦ ♦
"You have engineering knowledge, Frey. Tell me what this means."
Elysia ignored Frey's incredulous expression, and she proceeded to clear a space on the guardroom table where she spread out the maps. Rudi watched curiously as he smoothed out the cracked old parchment on the table and placed a tea jug at each corner to keep it unfolded. Frey turned his attention to the documents.
"These are sewer maps, Elysia; maps of the Old Quarter, it is written in dwarf."
"Correct. They show the area below Supreme Magistrate Helstaff's mansion. If you look closely, you'll see that it's not far from where Gant was killed. And I'd also bet that if we look for him, we'll find a path that leads from the sewers to his house."
"Are you suggesting…" Rudi began with a frown. "…that we break into Fritz Helstaff's house! They'll hang us if they catch us. We might even lose our job!"
"That would be a shame. What do you say? Are you in it? Rudy?"
"I do not know…"
"Frey?"
"Yes...on one condition."
"Which?"
"That if Fritz Helstaff is an enemy, a friend of the ratfolks, or the disgusting little fellow we saw in the sewers, let's kill him."
The room fell into an eerie silence. The significance of the dark hero's words took shape in everyone's minds. Elysia felt her mouth go dry. What Frey was suggesting was murder outright.
"Nope." she decided, thinking of Gant and the dead in the New Town. "It is not murder, but justice." She agreed with the proposal.
"Good."
"In that case, no backing down. Rudy?"
The bald man looked shocked. He was pale-faced and fear shone in his eyes.
"You don't know what you're suggesting."
"Are you coming with us or not?"
For a second Rudi didn't respond.
"Yes," he said at last. "I accompany you. I just hope you're wrong."
"I'm not," Elysia assured him.
"I'm afraid so."
♦ ♦ ♦
To Elysia, the sewers had never seemed so ominous. Shadows danced back in the light of the dark lantern, and every time she heard Rudi's heavy footsteps behind her she had to fight the urge to look back. The sound of the dark hero's constant tapping of the short sword's blade against the walls was beginning to get on his nerves. He knew that Frey was only looking for a hollow area, but that didn't make it any more bearable.
There was something in there, he knew it; something that had killed Hef and Spider, and their mate as well, and would surely kill the rest of them if they let it. It was the unknowing that was so terrifying. Not knowing what was hunting them; not really knowing why; not knowing how many ratfolks might appear, nor what kind of demon servants they might have. The brothers had been formidable fighters and both were dead.
Worse, half the slum dwellers on Cheap Street had died with them. Whatever the dark thing was after them, he had no qualms about killing a lot of people to get the ones he wanted. He wondered why he hadn't just fled the city.
He could be on his way now, instead of sneaking down that stinking filth hole. Why did she have to be cursed with this urge to interfere in things that weren't really her business?
She already knew the answer to that question. She had to commit to defending something, anywhere. If he didn't, he'd be just like Helstaff and all his ilk, pretending they didn't know what was going on, making deals with the Dark to leave them alone, or denying there was anything wrong with the world, even though they knew. that was not true.
Knowing that something was wrong meant having to do something about it, even if the only reason for doing so was to keep her own self-esteem intact and allow herself to feel a sense of superiority over those she despised. And if that made her feel a little more like the heroes she'd only heard about in fairy tales.
Reflecting on the reasons that moved her kept her mind occupied with her and allowed her to forget her fear. She forced herself to focus on what she knew. The only real clue she had was the knowledge that the head of the city's secret police was in cahoots with the ratfolks. She had seen it with her own eyes. She had no idea why she did it, but she knew that it was so and that this situation had to be put an end to.
"Stop daydreaming, cat girl. We've been down here for hours and we still haven't found that secret entrance of yours. Soon it will be dark up there, and we will not have advanced a step." Elysia returned her attention to examining the walls. A little further away, the pounding of Frey's short sword continued.