Ariane had never been to the Underworld Markets and was hesitant to join Kimo and Jumanah. "I'm not like you two…I don't think I'd belong."
"Oh don't worry about that," said Jumanah. "There are no rules, no capability requirements. If you can find it you can enter."
The nearest market entrance was at a mosque at the edge of the city. The building was quiet, appearing abandoned yet not closed down. It would be a hotspot for the homeless, but the market entrance had a way of deterring non-users by releasing an unattractive odor or moving prayer rugs across the floor to give the impression of something lurking inside. To non-users, the building was haunted.
They moved through the prayer hall, stepping over the dusty rugs, calligraphy faded on the walls, spiders growing webs in corners and crevices. They approached the minbar at the end of the room, mounting the stairs, and at the top Jumanah removed a rug on the floor. Beneath it was solid blackness, a hole tunneling down into the earth that looked like it lasted forever.
"We're supposed to go down there?" Ariane asked, her knees beginning to shake.
"Don't worry," said Jumanah, "it's not that long a fall. Only looks that way." Ariane began to make a small step backwards but Jumanah grabbed her wrist and pulled her down. "In ya go."
She screamed for 2 seconds, landing on brick ground, looking at an opening before her, and realized she was inside a chimney nestled between vendor tents. She crawled out into the alley and Jumanah and Kimo jumped down to join her. They dusted off their clothes and Ariane looked around at the tents and vendors lining down alleyways, walls made of rock, and other entrances scattered at random points across the paths that swerved and snaked endlessly under the crust of the earth.
Bright lanterns lit the paths, floating in the air above the heads of customers and vendors, walls shifting from stone to concrete to splintered wood. There were arcane apothecary stores that sold ingredients with mystical properties. Some vendors sold potions that could cure depressive and anxious moods, immune elixirs that could strengthen an immune system that could fight off any diseases, dried herbs hanging from poles that glowed in the shade, jars on shelves that held fluttering butterflies with wings that could fold and create a human face on their backs. There were fruit stands carrying produce that attracted Ariane's eye, having never seen fruit that was not found on the surface. Grown in enchanted orchards, there were ripe berries that could grant temporary flight, apples that could conjure visions of the future, corn of a blue color that could allow gills to grow on one's neck. Some of the vendors and salesmen looked human, others had unnatural skin tones, things growing from their heads or arms, and Ariane tried not to make too much eye contact with anyone, attempting to focus on Jumanah as she led them to the spots to pick up the needed supplies.
The tracker they picked up last. Ariane was unnerved by the various types of animals that adorned the tracker shop, biological oddities that somewhat resembled surface animals, but with a twist of deformity. There were crow-like birds with two beaks and four eyes, black hamsters with glowing white eyes, small serpents with bones that glowed through their skin. She also noticed the marbles Jumanah had used in her mother's office, contained in jars on an exceptionally high shelf.
Kimo and Ariane followed Jumanah across the store, letting her take her picking. She headed to the back of the shop where some of the larger trackers were held in cages with thick bars. There was a dog with three heads, drool pooling from the open jaws, a large cat with leathery skin and 4 ears, but the one Jumanah was drawn to sat in a corner cage, the size of a large dog with a long thin body that could allow the animal to curl up like a snake. It's fur was black that absorbed light, making it appear as if a shadow, except for its massive white eyes and large feathers around the neck that fanned out in stunningly bright color. It's colored tongue lapped out of its mouth to reveal shining teeth.
"What is it?" Ariane asked in a whisper.
"Can you answer that Kimo?" Jumanah asked.
"Furtivagilis traceptor. Also known as the blaanarak beast. I've read that its fur can be used for blackhole enchantments. It operates best in low light environments, it's sight and hearing surpassing most animals, making them excellent trackers when their consciousness is focused. But they suffer from delirium and they don't live exceptionally long. But they do have a talent for hiding in the shadows, which I suppose would make them hard to detect in a place like The West."
"Luckily this one is under a year old," said Jumanah as she gazed at the animal, which was now lifting its head at the observers. "The younger they are the better their senses. They also see in infrared, which will be advantageous, as the beasts do not emit any heat, so it'll be easier for it to locate a human in an otherwise cool environment."
Ariane crouched down and peered at the blaanarak, its head lifted, her reflection appearing slightly in its bright white eyes. It stuck it's tongue out at her, swiping it across its muzzle, leaving shining drool on its face. When she expressed a sour expression, a growl vibrated in its throat like it was laughing.
Jumanah purchased the animal at the front counter and the clerk brought out a shock collar and leash. The blaanarak accepted it without struggle, enough consciousness to know it was being free of the cage. It yanked on the leash a few times as they walked along the tunnels of the market, but with a quick flick of the wrist, the animal shrank back from the shock.
"Should we name it or something?" Ariane asked as they approached the fireplace they had emerged from.
"I wouldn't," said Jumanah. "If it survives, I'll just sell it when we're done."
"I'm going to call him Hermes."
Later at the apartments, Ariane had gone back home, instructed to arrive the next day in the getup they had purchased at the market, and Kimo helped Jumanah bring the rest of the items into her place. She tied the blaanarak to a pipe in the living room, giving the animal enough room to move around but keeping it away from anything important or valuable.
"Do you think we're going to survive this?" Kimo asked.
"I honestly don't know," said Jumanah as she began to prepare the hookah.
"You'd risk your life to save Ariane's father?"
"I'd risk my life for a dangerous adventure. Now I must ask why you are willing to risk your life for Ariane's father. Got a bit of a crush?"
"Nothing like that. I knew her a little when she was in school, working at a pizza joint. Quite frankly she kind of annoyed me. I had completely forgotten about her until she approached me a couple of days ago and she was nothing like the girl I once knew. She showed me up on snap judgments and first impressions. She needs help and I think she deserves it. And like you said: there is very little known about the Occidens realm, and if I could uncover some knowledge perhaps I can be bumped up to the next level of classes at Clilmeth."
"Well, whatever the reason, I hope you're up for this because it won't be easy."
"Nothing ever is," said Kimo as he exited Jumanah's apartment and entered his own, exhaustion sending him straight to bed.