" Inner demon, don't fail me now."
He silently prayed and leaped upward with the support of his inner demon. Instantly launching himself upwards but unfortunately, it wasn't enough. Amon immediately clung to the wall, slipping down from the lack of friction and grip.
" Crap crap crap."
He cursed as he clawed the wall, trying to grab hold. It wasn't instant but he soon recalled how Philomel clung to the wall and did the same, letting out a small sigh of relief. His eyes stopped glowing from his lack of concentration, his shadow returns to normal and his fangs shrunk back to his teeth.
"Well, that's just great."
Amon cursed in his mind as he looked up to ask Philomel for help. But she was no longer there, the spot he last saw her was empty, making him silently panic when he saw that.
"There's no way she would leave me if I fall behind right?! But then again this is a pretty dangerous mission. Ah, crap! I need to get up there fast!"
He mentally reminded as he pawed his way up, one hand and one leg at a time. It took him some time but he managed to make it up. Unfortunately, it was a huge strain on his body for doing so and he was already feeling winded. He quickly scans the area looking for Philomel as he breathed heavily. He found her with ease but immediately regretted doing so. She was already on the balcony of a random home.
"Ah... ha.. *sob* *sob*"
He mentally sobs out of exhaustion but took in a sharp deep breath and looks down at Philomel. The balcony was quite a distance away, he'll have to leap, land a roll onto the roof (to avoid impact damage) then swing himself down into that balcony.
That was when Amon did the biggest mistake of looking down before leaping. He wasn't a man that feared the highest but seeing how far down it was. He could already imagine what his splat body would look like from this height. Fear crawled upon his skin giving him goosebumps and making him tremble.
*Bang*
A sound echo in the far distance reminded him, that he was out in the open and he had no other choice. Philomel was urgently gesturing for him to hurry up and pointing at the guard tower. Indicating he will be seen and soon. Since panic and fear already took hold of him and he knew he would die either way. He took a running start and leaped.
As his feet pushed against the ground, he felt the strain of his leg muscles and ache. The launch was weak as he felt the pull of gravity, ready to drag him all those miles down and rupture upon impact. He could already see himself as a splat, blob of broken bones, burst organs in a pool of his own blood with the same shocked fearful expression just as his father had. His mind instantly corrected the imagination of his death when he realized that the impact would probably leave nothing to even resemble a face.
He laughed cynically in his mind at the fact his and his father's death would be slightly different. One, crushed to death by a club, and the other, death from falling... One leaves an expression of pure fear and terror, and the other leaves nothing that mildly even resembles him. He silently thanked, that at least it would be a swift and painless death. It would be just like one second, he is conscious, alive, and in the next, nothing. Consciousness just stops and therefore painless.
"Ah, so this really will be the promise I'll break."
Amon thought as tears stung his eyes when he realized that he could have used his inner demon and make the leap. If only he didn't look down... If only he didn't panic, if only... were the last thoughts of Amon as he reaches out to the other side but even he knew he couldn't change anything with "if only". He closed his eyes ready to meet his impending death.
The moment Philomel saw Amon leap, she immediately knew from experience that he wasn't going to make it. Philomel took a running start, leap out from the balcony, and grabbed his outreached hands. Her feet were caught on the tip of the railing of the balcony, she hung upside down with Amon on one end and just the strength of her feet holding them up, on the other end. She swing Amon toward a lower rooftop before her feet gave way. With ease she grabbed the tip of the building, flipping herself the right way up, and holding herself in place with the strategic placement of her feet.
Amon scrambled to the end of the roof panicking when he saw Philomel fall and disappear below. A huge relief washes over him when he saw her clinging there, just below the roof. He pulled her up onto the rooftop and hugs her tightly. So tight, he could feel her warm breath against his neck and feel Philomel's body tense up against his. He quickly steps away from her. Finally realizing what he had just done.
" Thanks for earlier, without you, I would have probably been a goner."
Amon thanked with a grateful grin but Philomel barely noticed. Her mind kept reminding her, what she had to do and that made it hard to feel anything. In fact, she felt so much until it came to the point, where she no longer wanted to feel and started blocking every emotion out. Her face was still pale and her hands were still shaky. She nodded and walked past him, continuing to leave him behind as she leap from roof to roof. Amon with much strain tries to keep up. He decided that if he caught up to her and was in a safe place, he would ask her what was on her mind.
"This has been going on for far too long and whatever she is pondering about is affecting her, a lot. I must get to the bottom of it."
The final thought his straining mind manage to decide before becoming white noise. A white noise that only lifted, just to constantly reminded him, how numb his limbs are or how jagged his breath is along with the screaming heartbeat and throbbing legs. Their dash through the City was a complete blur to Amon.
All Amon could focus on was Philomel's back, following her as closely as he could as they duck, leaped, hid, dodged, and weave their way through. Heck, at some point, Amon even did a cartwheel by accident when he tripped on his own feet. A feat that would have made him ecstatic since he never accomplished it before. Unfortunately, his mind was too dead from exhaustion to even register it. Even so, for some miraculous reason, his mind did manage to constantly register one thing despite it all. And that was "Damn! Philomel is fast!'"
Philomel finally slows down in front of a lively mansion. Amon happily joins her side, hunching over, his hands holding his knees for support as he panted his lungs out.
" Are we there yet?"
He questioned as he turns, just to see Philomel sitting on top of the wall gesturing for him to climb up. Amon lets out a painful sobbing groan at the realization that they still needed to sneak into the beast's place and fight the darn creature. Never had he ever wanted to be leaning against the cold sandy entrance of the cave, bored out of his mind. But right now he found his heart, lungs, and other internal organs screaming suddenly for such a wonderful dream.
"Just a bit more, just a bit more."
He mentally cried to himself as he take Philomel's hand and climbs up the wall. They sneaked through the mansion's grounds heading toward an elevated outhouse on stilts. Creeping under it and pulling open a trap door that leads down to the sewers.
" We aren't there yet? How much further?!"
Amon exclaimed in a hushed tone as he closed the trap door above them and climbed down the ladder. The sewer immediately open up to a huge area that had arches over them, many rivers were joining and parting under the whole city. Pathways ran alongside all rivers with bridges over some. Along every wall were inscriptions saying something in the old language.
" We're actually two houses away from it. It's better to travel to our destination underground than above."
Philomel finally talked in a slightly steady small voice. Amon never felt so glad that she was finally talking to him and giving him some information on this question.
" Then why didn't we travel through the sewers the whole way?"
Amon dashed to join Philomel's side as they walked on an arched bridge over one river.
" Reasons."
She vaguely answers as she jerks her head toward the river. Amon looks down at the cloudy water just to notice something scaly swimming about as a snapping sound of sharp teeth, echoes from below. He instantly inhaled sharply when he finally saw the alligators swimming about.
" Don't look at them and don't touch the water. As long as you're passing through and haven't been down here for more than 3 minutes. They won't bother you."
" That's oddly specific."
" That's the spell the mages placed here. That's what the inscription on the walls is, a major spell that ties the alligators to this place. Oh and also a purification spell that purges anything dirty in the water. Which is why don't touch the water. It's like mild acid to us dark elves."
Philomel added as she headed down the pathway. Amon nodded at the information and seeing that now seemed like a good time to ask.
" Mel, if something is wrong. Please tell me, talk to me. You can't keep leading me around in the dark like this."
"There's nothing wrong."
She snapped as her gaze avoided his.
" No, something is wrong. Tell me or I will go no further."
Amon snaps back at her, turning to face her and blocking her path. His maroon eyes glared down into her shocked pale blue eyes. She immediately shifted her gaze to the ground as she bite her lower lip.
" To be honest... I'm terrified... I'm terrified of the consequences of facing such a monster would bring to me. I don't want to face this creature but the tribe has decided. For the tribe, I'm willing to do anything to keep it safe... but for this mission... I truly doubt that I would do it ... that I could bring myself to do it... I really don't want to do this..."
Philomel finally admits in a trembling voice as tears stung her eyes.
" Hey, it's going to be okay. I'll help you. We can do this together and face the consequences together."
Amon instantly leaps to reassure her, seeing that she was just an inch away from bawling her eyes out. He places a hand on her shoulder as he steps back to her side. No longer blocking her path.
" Will you truly help me? Can we really face the consequences together?"
" Of course! That's what I'm here for."
Amon chimed, silently hoping this was enough to lift her spirits. Philomel knew that Amon's words were hollow.
"If he knew what the mission was. He would never say these words."
Philomel's mind reminded her heart as she quickly continue to lead the way. Amon's hand on her shoulder slipped off but he silently stayed by her side. For the tribe, she was willing to shoulder the burden. Even though she silently wishes, that it was Amon, who was tasked with such a cruel task instead of her.
They climb up a ladder, returning to the surface under the outhouse of the grand church of the light elves. Amon was quite shocked at the sight, wondering how the fearsome creature was kept here but then again, the sewers had a weird system.
"Maybe the fearsome creature is a mage that summons the souls of monsters? "
Amon wondered in his mind as he followed Philomel and climbed up the drain pipe of the church to the highest window. Philomel holding on to the window ledge, pulled herself up to peek through the window, and narrowly duck her head when candlelight was suddenly lit.
______________________________________________