Empyrean Interlude 007: The Black Sewers (Patreon)

After another slow minute of creeping down the corridor, the four guards came into sight.

Up ahead, the passage opened up into a small chamber. I paused for a moment, studying the layout. There were two doors, one leading into the room and the other exiting it at the far end. Both had been left wide open.

The four Devils lounged around a wooden table in the center of the chamber, and judging from their ongoing conversation, they had not yet caught onto our presence. But given the tight confines of the room and the well-lit surroundings, there was no way we could sneak past or approach unseen.

“What’s the plan?” Adalinda asked. “Do we rush in?”

“No,” I said, eyeing the second open door. “If we do that, they might flee.”

“What then?”

My thoughts drifted back to Alon. “We bluff.”

✵ ✵ ✵

It took only a moment to finalize the plan, although naming it such was perhaps an exaggeration. It was no more than a hastily conceived ploy spurred on by necessity.

Unbending from my crouch, I strode forward. My steps were firm, and my gait exuded confidence. The celestial trailed after me, her long tail flickering lazily through the air. We made for a strange sight. Me, covered from head to toe in black, and Adalinda with eyes too intelligent for any mere lizard.

My clothing effectively disguised my face but did nothing to hide my own unusual eyes. Their soft gold color was a dead giveaway for anyone who knew me, but I couldn’t worry about being recognized now.

It took the enforcers longer than they should have to notice our footfalls. When they did, their conversation stopped abruptly, and they jerked erect. Our scheme had worked, getting us into the chamber and close to our targets with none bolting.

Walking into the sudden pool of silence, I stopped before the largest Devil. He was covered in tattoos and heavily muscled. I marked him as the leader of the four.

“Who the hell are you?” Muscles asked.

Summoning light’s fury, I let its warm yellow glow bathe both my hands. The thugs’ eyes widened in a most satisfying manner. “I’m the goddess’ sworn,” I said with as much arrogance as I could muster. “I’m here to inspect this facility.”

Silence followed in the wake of my words. I’d been hoping for instant obedience, but I could work with silence too.

Muscles’ gaze darted between my still-glowing hands and the lizard at rest beside me. Both clearly marked me as a player.

I was banking on the fact that the thugs as proles could no more tell the difference between players than I could yesterday. For all they knew, I really was a high-ranked sworn. Unfortunately, Muscles did not fall in line as quickly as I’d hoped.

“We can’t let you through,” he muttered finally.

“And why’s that?” I asked with affected disinterest.

“Orders from above,” he said, biting off each word.

“From your ganglord, you mean?” I asked lazily. “I just met with him. Cantos was quite clear: you four are to do as I say.”

My words did not have the desired reaction.

Instead of causing the thug to back away uncertainly, they only served to stiffen his spine. I knew I’d said something wrong, but it was too late to take back my words.

“I don’t believe you,” Muscles sneered. “The boss would never relay his orders through an outsider.”

It was time to change tack. I glared at the Devil. “You dare to stand in my way, toad?” I hissed. “Get out of my way.”

Muscles folded his arms across his chest. “No.”

Urgh. It appeared the thugs feared their ganglord more than they did Arinna’s followers.

Perhaps he just needs to be reminded of what he is truly facing. “I will remove you if I must,” I said, intensifying the glow around my hands.

The threat was a mistake.

Muscles stepped back and drew the oversized knife at his hip. “Do your worst,” he growled.

I hesitated.

Another mistake.

I’d surrendered the initiative, and Muscles used my momentary inaction to bark an order, “Joost, go! Get help!” In response, the rearmost enforcer—one on the other side of the table from me—spun around and fled the room.

I cursed. That was stupid, Elana. My dithering had caused enough damage, and there was no time for further delay—the other thugs were reaching for their weapons. Dropping my light spell, I whipped my right hand forward and flung the throwing dagger concealed in my palm.

My aim did not let me down, and the blade lodged deep in the throat of the rightmost thug.

You have killed a level 4 human.

Muscles’ eyes darted from the downed Devil to me. “Die!” he roared and charged. On my left, I sensed the other enforcer also advancing.

“You take the leader,” Adalinda said. “I’ve got the other one.”

I had no time to reply. Trusting the fire lizard to do as she said, I flipped the stiletto in my other hand into my right palm. A second later, the leader was upon me, his dagger searching for my heart. Acting on deeply-ingrained reflexes, my own blade flickered out to parry away the attack.

It was more difficult than I expected, and I staggered back from the blow.

The Devil smirked. Stepping forward, he thrust at me once more. I jumped back, barely evading the second attack. My foe’s grin widened. “You’re no sworn,” he said scornfully. “I bet you’re just a noob!”

My lips tightened, but I didn’t let myself be baited. Stance set and blade held defensively, I waited.

Predictably, Muscles charged again.

Sidestepping the burly Devil, I counterattacked, my stiletto flashing forward. But despite his size, Muscles was faster than I credited, and he twisted out the way of my blade.

The thug had forgotten what I was, though, or perhaps he’d disdained the threat. Whatever the case, his evasive maneuver left him unbalanced and a step too close to me.

I flowed forward, unafraid to close with my foe despite the disparity in our sizes. In the same motion, my left hand darted forward, palm suffused in a warm glow.

You have cast light’s fury.

Muscles’ eyes widened as he glimpsed the blur of light hurtling towards his face. Frantically, he tried to backpedal, but it was too late.

My hand made contact.

Light leaped eagerly from my fingers and onto the Devil’s face, scorching skin and bone. The thug shrieked and staggered backward, arms windmilling.

I pursued.

Recasting light’s fury, I bathed the dagger in my right hand in its warm glow and chased after my foe. It was time to finish him. One step, two, then I was in striking range.  I darted forward.

A level 5 human has injured Adalinda!

The Adjudicator’s words startled me, spoiling my perfectly timed strike. My blow went wide, and the tip of my dagger plunged through the thug’s meaty arm instead of his heart as I intended.

You have injured a level 6 human.

Bloody hell.

My foe screamed again, and he struck out wildly. I ducked beneath the blow but didn’t counter. His threat had decreased, and right now, I was more concerned about my companion. Backing away, I risked a quick glance to my left.

Adalinda was struggling.

She and her foe were locked together. The fire lizard had clamped her jaws around her foe’s right leg. At the same time, she sent waves of flames rolling into him.

It was a good tactic, and if only Adalinda was larger or had managed to reach a more vital limb, the fight would already be over.

But she wasn’t, and she hadn’t.

Using the leverage afforded him by his superior height, the Devil struck down on Adalinda in a frenzy of panicked motion, trying to force her to release her death grip.

A level 5 human has injured Adalinda!

A level 5 human has injured Adalinda!

I winced as I watched the thug’s club bash into my companion’s armored back. The air was thick with the smell of roasting flesh and burning leather, and soon I suspected he would pass out from the pain, but in the interim, he was inflicting huge swaths of damage with each hit. The celestial needed help, and soon.

First, though, I needed to take care of my foe.

My gaze darted back to Muscles. He had given up the fight and was attempting to flee but, in his pain-addled state, had run up against the far wall.

Dashing forward, I leaped onto the Devil’s back.

Wrapping my legs around his torso, I used my weight to bear him to the ground, and before he could react, I plunged my light-infused stiletto through his neck.

You have killed a level 6 human.

Not pausing for breath, I bounced back to my feet and raced to Adalinda’s aid. The thug didn’t notice my approach. Slipping unseen behind him, I wrapped my glowing left arm around his neck and yanked hard. Caught off-guard, the thug fell backward. “Finish him,” I said between gritted teeth while I struggled to hold him down.

“My pleasure,” Adalinda growled. Her eyes glowing red, the lizard climbed onto the thug’s chest and seized his neck in her powerful jaws.

One single bone-crunching bite was all it took.

Adalinda has killed a level 5 human.

Panting in relief, I shoved the corpse off me and rose gingerly to my feet. I was a mess. Blood and gore were splattered all over me, but I paid them little heed. Game messages were vying for my attention.

You and your companion have reached level 6!

You and your companion have 3 attribute points available.

Adalinda’s fire magic has increased to level 3. Adalinda’s tooth and claw has increased to level 2. Adalinda’s natural armor has increased to level 3.

Your light magic has increased to level 4.

Celestial trait triggered!

Your fire magic has increased to level 3, mirroring your companion’s skill. Adalinda’s light magic has increased to level 4, mirroring your skill.

I banished the alerts almost as soon as they appeared. In the distance, I could hear voices. More Devils were coming.

So much for retaining the element of surprise, I thought sourly.

My gaze skittered to my companion. The scales on her back were cracked and bleeding, but before I could voice the question on my mind, she answered. “I’ll manage. Let’s go.”

I didn’t question her assessment. “I’ll lead,” I rasped. Pausing only to retrieve my stiletto, I plunged through the far door of the chamber and deeper into the underground complex with the injured lizard in tow.

✵ ✵ ✵

Only a short distance past the guardroom, the passage divided.

I skidded to a halt as I reached the crossroads. The cries of the Devil reinforcements were coming from the right fork, but none of them were in sight yet.

Without hesitation, I swung left and raced blindly down the tunnel. I didn’t know where the corridor led and didn’t care. Right now, all that was important was putting distance between us and our pursuers.

The encounter in the guardroom had ended on a less than satisfactory note. I’d made mistakes. Too many of them. And now the Devils were aware of our presence. But while that made my task harder, it was still within reach.

All I had to do was find the crate of Game-gifted items before the Devils found me. They didn’t know why I was down here, and hopefully, before they figured that out, I was long gone.

I wasn’t worried about getting out either. On any ordinary night, the Devils would have blockaded the exits and gone through the sewers with a fine toothcomb until they found the intruders.

But tonight was no ordinary night.

After Alon delivered his news, things would change. Once Cantos heard the raid was happening tomorrow morning, the Devils would flee their hideout like rats abandoning a sinking ship. Both Alon and I were certain of it. Getting out thereafter would be easy.

Or so I told myself.

Adalinda and I came up on another fork, and without slackening our pace, we took the right one. We continued in that manner for the next while, taking turns at random. Now that we seemed to have entered the underground complex proper, there were multiple branches in the tunnels. The place was a veritable maze.

Five minutes later, I could no longer hear the cries of our pursuers, and I finally slowed down. During our flight, I’d seen no one, and I suspected we were in a less-occupied section of the sewers. Still, I was not about to get careless. Spotting a darkened room, I ducked and closed the door behind us.

“You hear anything?” I asked once my chest had stopped heaving.

“Nothing,” Adalinda replied, her mental voice strained.

Kneeling down, I inspected my companion’s back more closely. Her armored hide was torn, the protective scales ripped off entirely in some places, and oozing blood. The lizard’s red coloring had camouflaged the extent of her injuries, and the damage was worse than I’d originally assumed.

How had she managed to keep up with me during our flight?

“Is it as bad as it looks?” I asked worriedly.

My companion did not have to ask what I meant. “I’ve lost a third of my health,” the celestial admitted. “But I can still fight,” she added stubbornly a moment later.

I wasn’t so certain. The fire lizard was not moving freely, and the breaks in armor made her vulnerable. “If you re-manifest, will that heal you?”

Adalinda shook her head. “No. I will materialize again as I am.”

I cursed softly.

“We should see to our progression,” my companion said. “That will help if we need to fight again.”

I frowned. I didn’t want her to risk fighting as she was, but I knew as well as Adalinda did that we might not be given a choice. “You have three attribute points, right?”

“I do.”

Lowering my mask, I tugged at my hair while I thought. “I think… I think that this time you should invest your everything in Constitution. I will put all my own points in Faith.”

“That’s a sound plan,” Adalinda agreed. “Light’s fury is your strongest attack, and you should advance it as much as you can.” I sensed more than saw the lizard wince. “I, however, have to see to my defense.”

I nodded. “Let’s do that then.”

Adalinda’s Constitution has increased to rank 4.

Your Faith has increased to rank 5.

Celestial trait triggered! Adalinda’s Faith has increased to level 5, mirroring your attribute.

Almost immediately, my companion’s breathing eased.

I assumed it was her increased Constitution at work and felt a measure of relief. Still, Adalinda remained far from hale. I hesitated. “Perhaps you should unmanifest.”

“No,” she replied firmly. “If I take more damage, I will. But for now, I can still fight by your side.”

“Alright,” I said, not doubting her further. Rising to my feet, I slipped out of the room and glanced in both directions. We had passed multiple rooms and side passages on our way here, and I was uncertain as to our precise location.

“Where do we begin our search?” Adalinda asked.

I’d been wondering the same thing. “I’m not sure,” I thought for a moment. “Wherever the stolen goods are, I doubt they’re in this section. This area appears deserted, and Cantos, I’m certain, will not leave such valuable items unguarded. We’ll have to enter the more populous regions of the sewers.”

Adalinda nodded. “Lead on then.”