Chapter 22: The Gutter Highway (Patreon)

It did not take me long to reach the closest sewer entrance marked on Vigil’s map.

The entrance in question was set inside the locked basement of an abandoned building. Locking the basement door behind me, I approached the access hole.

The solid steel plate set in the floor was heavy, but the hinges were well-oiled and, after the initial struggle, easy to lift.

“Looks delightful,” I muttered staring down into the darkness. I couldn’t see the bottom, but there was a ladder leading down, so at least I wouldn’t have to jump.

“It can’t be all that bad,” Adalinda chided. “Didn’t you tell me the Raccoons are expert smugglers? They must come through here all the time.”

“I’m not so sure. Vigil did say this was one of the lesser-used routes. Judging from the layer of dirt on the basement floor, that’s no exaggeration.”

“Oh, quit being such a baby. You’re a player, remember? Anything down there is probably going to be more afraid of you than you are of it.”

“What is it about lizards and sewers?” I muttered, but not too loudly, before swinging onto the ladder and climbing down.

I held my nose as my booted feet touched down on the stone floor beneath, but after a moment, I realized there was no smell and began to breathe normally. Like the more infamous Black Sewers, it seemed these particular tunnels weren’t used to channel the city’s waste anymore.

A sliver lining.

One aspect of the sewers did live up to expectations, though. The darkness was thick and impenetrable. I had a solution for that, though.

Two, actually.

But the first was more… subtle.

Pulling out the vial I’d shoved into my belt earlier, I upended the contents in my mouth.

You have gained the buff: darkvision and can now see perfectly in the dark. Duration: 30 minutes.

It was as if a veil cast over my eyes had been removed, and I took a second, longer look at my surroundings.

The floor underfoot was curved like a shallow bowl, but not unexpectedly, given the lack of smell, was empty of excrement and other refuse. The corridor was wide enough for two people to walk abreast and stretched off both to the north and south. I knew others could be using the sewers, but no one was in sight at present.

According to the map, it was northward I had to go, and I set off immediately, walking at a brisk pace.

I had never traversed the gutter highway before, but this tunnel looked no different from the ones in the Black Sewers, although it was not buried as deep beneath the earth, nor did it appear as old.

I had been to the new city, of course—many times—but always, we’d used the regular gates. When I was young, my mother had often taken me to visit Odenna. I remembered those times fondly, but it had been years since I’d seen the herbwoman, and I was a little apprehensive at how she would react to my changed status.

Following Vigil’s map, I easily navigated the gutter highway’s many twists and turns. All the intersections were helpfully numbered which made things significantly easier. The journey passed without incident, until three quarters of the way along, I came across something that gave me pause.

An enormous web.

The web was so large it spanned the entirety of the intersection ahead. Slowly, my steps, I glanced left and right, but sensed no danger about. “Come out, Ada,” I nevertheless instructed.

I had no Soren or Alon around to shield me this time, and if danger lurked ahead, I preferred my companion by my side instead of inside.

“Is everything okay?” she asked.

“So far, but I don’t like the look of the tunnel ahead.”

Adalinda has cast manifest, taking the form of a fire lizard. She has 60% psi remaining.

The celestial appeared at my feet, and immediately, her head began darting from left to right.

“Can you see?” I asked, guessing at her difficulty.

“Not quite,” she admitted.

“Open wide.” Leaning down, I poured the contents of a second vial down Adalinda’s throat.

Adalinda has gained the buff: darkvision and can now see perfectly in the dark. Duration: 30 minutes.

“Ah, that’s better,” the celestial remarked as the darkness receded from her eyes.

I had two darkvision potions left which should be enough to see us back to the poor quarter on our return trip.

“What do you think?” I asked, gesturing to the web.

“I don’t like the look of it,” she replied. “Whatever made that must be big.”

I nodded, thinking the same. “We will have to go through it.”

She threw me a puzzled look. “But what about this side tunnel?” she asked, pointing out one. “Can’t we use it to go around?”

“It’s not marked on the map. If we venture down it, we might find our way back to the gutter highway or… we may not.” I shrugged. “This close to our destination, I rather not risk getting lost.”

“I agree. Through it is then.”

✵ ✵ ✵

Dropping into a crouch and with my blade drawn I advanced down the tunnel. Walking a few steps, Adalinda scanned the darkness.

Reaching the web, the celestial drew to a stop. “Burn it?” she asked.

I no more wanted to walk through the thick, sticky strands than she did. “Go ahead.”

Fire roared out in a single furious burst, and the web vanished.

Immediately, Adalinda snapped shut her jaws, sealing away the flames. Tense and unmoving, we both listened intently.

A second passed. Then another. Still nothing.

“It’s safe, I think,” I said, relaxing a touch.

“Something still feels off,” Adalinda muttered as she advanced again.

I agreed with her, but what choice did we have except to move on? We passed through the intersection without incident and entered the corridor beyond.

There, we encountered another web, just as big as the previous one. Wordlessly, Adalinda burned through it. Then the next. And the next.

Five minutes later, with ten burned webs in our wake, we crept up on another intersection. We still hadn’t seen any sight of whatever had created the webs, and though Adalinda and I didn’t discuss it, we both feared the creature was still up ahead.

Waiting.

Lurking.

“Stop!” Adalinda hissed, a few dozen yards from the intersection. “I smell something.”

I froze. “What?”

Raising her snout, the celestial sniffed the air. “Blood,” she pronounced. “Old, dried blood. Something died ahead.” She paused. “What’s the plan?”

I sheathed my stiletto. The danger seemed imminent, and by now, whatever lay ahead had surely been alerted to our presence by the repeated puffs of flames. There was no use trying to hide further.

“Cast your buff,” I said. While she did, I drew mana and wove it into a weapon.

Adalinda has cast claws of fury, increasing the damage she deals with physical attack by 10% for 1 minute.

You have cast ethereal bow.

The ghostly construct appeared in my left hand. Flexing my shoulder, I tested my arm. It was still not one hundred percent, but it would do.

“I see movement,” Adalinda said abruptly.

Retreating a step, I dropped to one knee, and held my bow ready, while Adalinda planted herself in the middle of the tunnel.

Peering beyond her, I saw what had attracted her attention. There was another web ahead, and this was one was occupied.

Three spiders danced lightly on the web. They were like no spiders I had ever seen before, though. Each was about as large as Adalinda. Their legs were long and thin—almost to the point of being non-existence. What body they had was concentrated almost entirely in their bulbous torsos that shone pale green.

“What do we do?” Adalinda asked.

“Move forward a bit,” I replied, repressing the shiver crawling down my spine. “Let’s see how they react.”

Adalinda didn’t argue. She advanced a step. Then another. There was no reaction.

A third step.

This time the response was immediate. Jumping off the web, the three spiders scuttled forward. Their legs a blur, they seemed to float through the darkness.

Drawing back, my bow I fired. Once. Twice. Not needing to be told, Adalinda held her position.

My first arrow reached its target.

And sailed on by, missing by a hair’s breadth. The second fared better.

You have killed a level 10 water spiderling with a fatal blow!

My eyes widened. A kill from a single arrow? I wasn’t about to complain though. The remaining two spiders barreled down on Adalinda, seemingly unaware of their danger.

The celestial let them get close, then she opened her jaws wide.

Adalinda has cast fire-breath.

Your companion has killed 2 water spiderlings.

Frowning, I lowered my bow. Was that it?

The battle—if it could be called that—had been too easy. But a spiderling implied a… spider. Did something else wait ahead?

“There is more incoming,” Adalinda said.

I tightened my hands around my bow. “How many more?”

“Lots,” was her succinct response.

A moment later, I saw for myself what she meant. A small horde, the spiderlings was boiling out of the intersection.

I raised my bow. No words were necessary. It was time to get killing.

Or risk being overrun.

✵ ✵ ✵

I worked fast, firing my arrows as fast as I could, barely aiming—there was no need to, anyway. Up ahead, flames fanned out of Adalinda’s mouth in an unending wave.

The spiderlings died in droves.

Still, more than a few got through. Ignoring me entirely, they swamped Adalinda, stabbing into her with their needle-like feet. Each blow was no more than a nuisance, but taken together, their effect was considerable.

A water spiderling has attacked Adalinda.

A water spiderling has attacked Adalinda.

…

…

Adalinda’s health has decreased to 91%.

I didn’t know what else to do but to keep firing. I considered closing to melee range and using light’s fury, but if the spiderlings came at me, our predicament would only worsen. I could endure much less damage than Adalinda.

“Hang in there, Ada!” I sent and kept churning out the arrows.

Adalinda’s health has decreased to 76%.

…

…

Adalinda’s health has decreased to 65%.

Eventually, the tide receded, and spiderlings withdrew. Setting down my bow, I heaved a sigh of relief.

“What happened?” I panted.

“They were called back, I think.”

Called back. That did not bode anything good. Glancing past Adalinda, I took stock of our foes’ numbers. Less than two dozen spiderlings were still alive.

That, at least, was some good news.

“We should retreat,” I said, eyeing the blood trailing down the celestial’s back with concern. “Regroup in the poor quarter and come back tomorrow.” And find some healing potions in the interim.

“No.”

“No?” I asked, looking at my companion in surprise.

“Before the spiderlings came, I saw where they emerged from.”

I waited for her to go on.

“The intersection is filled with eggs. Only half of which hatched.”

I stared at her. “So if we return tomorrow…”

“… it might only be to find the other half ready to hatch,” she finished.

I bit my lip. What Adalinda said made sense, but I was not sure we were in any position to continue. Turning my focus inwards, I took a moment to review our status.

Your health is at 70% and your mana at 30%.

Adalinda’s health is at 68% and her mana at 20%

You and your companion have reached level 14!

Your summoning skill has increased to level 8 and your light magic to level 18.

Adalinda’s fire magic has increased to level 20, her tooth and claw to level 13, and her natural armor to level 14.

Celestial trait triggered! Core skills mirrored.

“But Ada,” I asked gently, “are you sure you can continue? Your health—”

“—is only a little lower than yours. If you are determined to get to the new city this way, I say we’re better off forging ahead now.”

I sighed, conceding the point. “Alright. But let’s take a few minutes to rest. My mana is low—yours is, too, but we can’t do anything about that—and I see we’ve gained a level. Let’s put the new attributes to use.”

✵ ✵ ✵

Your Constitution has increased to rank 3.

Adalinda’s Perception has increased to rank 2.

Adalinda and your darkvision potions have worn off.

You have replenished 100% of your mana. Your channeling has increased to level 17.

Minutes later, I opened my eyes and saw… nothing. Thankfully, I had anticipated this earlier, and held the last two darkvision potions ready in my hand.

Downing one, I gave the other to Adalinda.

You and Adalinda have gained the buff: darkvision.

Refreshed and ready to do battle again, I rose to my feet.