Location: City Sewers -- The City-State of Thorinn, Aetheria

---

"It ain't about bein' bored, Kals." Graves responded to Kalie, lying through his teeth. It'd been weeks since he'd fought anything tougher than a training dummy, and these dire rats were lesser than even that. He'd barely drawn his sword throughout their sewer crawl- not that it was easy to swing that massive hunk of steel in these tight, stinking corridors. There was little satisfaction to be found in bodies so brittle and bites so shallow. It was nothing like the rush of that dungeon. Nothing was.

In his quiet moments he often found himself back there, despite the horror of it all. Back in the center of that gnoll horde, or on Arkaanus's back, or...

A flash of shame.

'The hell's wrong with you?'

He shook his head, returning his attention to Kalie after an awkward beat of silence. Best not to dwell on it.

"People are dyin' out there. How many outlyin' villages have gone up in smoke since that dungeon popped up? Two, three? N' here we are runnin' around, knee deep in muck, lookin' for god damned rats. We oughtta be out in the wild protectin' folks, at least. Don't just mean the eight of us, either." The frustration welled in his throat, though he'd learned to wrangle it. Kalie wouldn't take well to being yelled at, and it wasn't her fault.

Not all of it, anyway. She'd voted against him, but...everybody was scared to get back out there. She wasn't the only one with them that'd been against it, and Graves was perceptive enough to know they felt guilty about it. Nobody asked for this burden. They were just a bunch'a kids that'd gotten roped into this crazy shit. Was it fair to judge them? Was it fair to expect them to be the heroes the denizens thought them to be?

Some terrible little voice in the back of Graves mind whispered an answer, but he hated himself for thinking it.

Location: City Sewers, The City-State of Thorinn, Aetheria

---

“Nothing we can do about it, tank-for-brains.” Rael mused as she looked down another corridor with about the same results as the previous one.

She didn’t blame Graves for being annoyed they were playing ratcatcher, but it was some coin and whatever else. The sewers in these ancient cities were almost like labyrinths though and Rael didn’t fancy the thought of getting lost and running out of food, or worse. Still she didn’t see the point in whining about it or going back to the argument between Benkei and Siegfried earlier in the morning. Siegfried just was protecting his sister and held no loyalty to any of the denizens that they owed a brief allegiance to.

It made sense. Up until the glitch they had interacted with the world like it was a game.

“If you wanted to tagalong with the group that went, you could’ve done that. But you didn’t, did ya? You stayed in Thorinn with us and now you’re playing exterminator.”

Location: City Sewers -- The City-State of Thorinn, Aetheria

---

"You know's well as I do that I wouldn't go anywhere without my sidekick." He joked, shooting her a shit-eating grin. Try as he might to deflect, though, she was right. Graves had every opportunity to leave the group and go off to do the work on his own. He'd been given plenty of excuses to slip out, too, with how often Kazuki got on his nerves. But here he was, drudging through sewer water with these idiots instead. "Meant what I said when this all started, though. We stick together. All of us."

It wasn't an outright lie when he talked about wanting to fight to protect people; he cared, just not nearly in the same way the others did. In the way Alja did. The only people he really felt obligated to watch over were this group of weirdos he'd gotten himself wrapped in. Other, better men could care about the fate of cities and countries. Graves was here for them.

He looked to Alja, and the way she was gripping at chain in her hands. Graves wasn't exactly the most in-tune with other people's emotions- not like Seele was- but it was obvious Alja's guilt was eating away at her. It was a virus that'd gone around, it seemed, and all the chest-beating in the world couldn't hide it. "Woe be unto the monster that gets in the iceberg's way."

"I think we oughtta talk to Benny boy 'bout when we're done here. Maybe we can't get everybody on board with raidin' the dungeon itself, but...there's gotta be somethin' they're all willin' to do."

Location: City Sewers -- The City-State of Thorinn, Aetheria

---

Kalie slightly sighs when Graves responded to her and couldn’t tell if he was lying or genuinely believing what he was saying. She was somewhat frustrated with what Rael noted; there’s still no nest, but there is a slight hope they are getting closer to it. The labyrinth of a sewer was a bit of a time sink. That’s for sure searching for a nest is like doing one of those maze puzzles with a pen or something. Alja spoke up after Rael, and it’s good to know it’s better to be positive in this gross place. She noticed Graves looking at her, and for a split second, she thought he would do something else besides yelling at her. However, Kalie got yelled at by Graves, which was far from her hopes. It shook her slightly, but all she could do was sigh in a slight regret of her decision. She had to think of the right way to respond to Graves before he gets even angrier.

” I couldn’t help but be indecisive with my decision earlier this morning. I have been thinking it over since then. I feel like I made a wrong decision, but it was right for the moment since everyone was yelling too much.” All the yelling made her gave her the reason for the indecisive maybe. Everyone is so passionate about everything they do, but it took her to think correctly.

Kalie moves one of her hands from her scythe to the back of her neck because the earlier in the morning argument is fresh on everyone’s mind, it seems. She sighs at her inability to give a better answer, all because of her indecisive decision. There were many things wrong with the whole situation, but it would probably be good to talk to Kazuma about her change of mind. She felt massively guilty with her answer to everyone because she couldn’t handle all the yelling.

It did take her a bit of time to realize that Rael looked a bit frustrated about looking down another corridor with no luck of the rat’s nest. However, with what Rael said towards Graves about a few things. It made her feel slightly better somewhat but made her feel somewhat like a coward for just making the motions in Thorinn. Graves responded with something that made her remember that they all should stick together. When Alja spoke up since she has the right thing to say in most ways, she did get superheated during that argument. In terms, she sighs a bit more in understanding that Graves is right. However, Alja said after that made her gasp slightly, but she understands she is one alright.

” Yeah, I am a coward. But I should stop being one.”

Kalie felt guilty for not helping Thorinn’s residents do what they were there to disable the dungeons. All because of the fear of dying, it was a terrifying list of things she wanted to do and wouldn’t be able to do that if she died. It would be better instead of waiting to die, fight until you can smile another day. Alja said another thing that made her a bit like, they all should do that. She put a smile on her lips with it. As such, then that’s when Graves said something essential in terms of talking to Benny about everything.

” Yes, we should, Graves. I want to stop feeling so guilty for giving a maybe. I do wonder if he has something to get everyone on board to do besides what we should do.”

Kalie wondered how much more of this labyrinth they have to go through before reaching the rat’s nest. All of this disgusting filth was truly horrible for her senses. ’ I feel slightly better now… I do hope Kazuma is happy with a decision that wasn’t so indecisive like it was previously.’

Location: City Sewers, The City-State of Thorinn, Aetheria

---

“I don't think so.” Rael uttered with a shrug, “Only thing people wanna do is hide in the city.”

Maybe it was a bit too blunt, but Rael could see the forest for the trees. She was certainly smarter than someone rushing into a dungeon by themselves, though deep inside Rael knew Alja was posturing; making up for the guilt she felt.

But her group wasn’t the only ones afraid of going into a dungeon again. The group that had gone probably hadn’t done a dungeon since the glitch happened and was getting jumpy. Had they gone with them who knows how they would’ve reacted? They could’ve been worse off than when they went into Arkaanus’ frozen tomb. Enos was one of the best healers in the game. Aaginim one of the best tanks. They still died. What if the other groups incompetence put them in Luci’s shoes? Would the group that went to save all of the villages from the evil dungeon even come back in one piece? or at all? Who was to say they were going to be successful?

The red-haired Japanese girl shrugged off the thought.

“Personally, I don’t think that’s going to work. If we don't go out and do a bunch of crap the world is going to find a way to kill us, one way or another.”

As for the sewers, it became evident. Three ways forward. Left, straight ahead, or right.

Small rats were mostly coming from the left and straight and narrow. She figured she’d put it up to a vote before a shrill high-pitched scream filled the depths of the sewers from the left pathway. A human scream.

Location: City Sewers -- The City-State of Thorinn, Aetheria

---

A scream cut through the air like a knife. The hairs on the back of Graves' neck stood on end, and a cold shock ran through his veins- excitement and anxiety in equal measure. He wasn't one to wait around and deliberate in these situations. No time for words, just feet hitting cold stone as he broke off into a sprint down the leftmost tunnel.

He began to focus.

Prickles like a thousand tiny needles raced cross his flesh. His vision swam like a fogged up camera lens. A high-pitched, piercing noise reverberated into his ears and bounced around in his skull. Senses were shifting; adjusting to the environment. Too dark to see properly. Too many disparate smells to catch onto anything specific. Footsteps thundered and rat teeth chattered too loud. Block it out.

Before everything went to hell Graves had been a tracker by trade. He'd spent many a week following the trail of human and monster alike. Trained himself to see those subtle signs of a person passing through the brush. Learned how to distinguish one set of footprints from another. There were plenty of times where those techniques failed him, however, and he had to turn to magic.

You can blindfold him, plug up his nose and stuff his ears with cotton but he'll always know from whence the blood flows.

All his other senses fell away. He was left running in an ever expanding void, only dimly aware of each time his boots hit the floor. Time seemed to slow to a crawl as his perception of it twisted and warped. Graves could feel his lips moving- felt his throat rumbling with an incantation- but it never reached his ears. Unheard words left his mouth as a cloud of indescribable color. It expanded out into the black as a hundred outstretched hands, feeling through the nothing for a source of blood. Every single drop of it in thirty meters registered, bringing that bright crimson color into existence. It appeared in the dried up muck on a rat's back. It appeared on Graves' armor where he was last injured. It appeared in the corpses his party had left in their wake.

'Fuck, come on! Where? Where are you?'

Location: The Laughing Warg Tavern-- The City of Thorinn, Aetheria

---

Benkei watched as others left the tavern, one after another, and suddenly felt very alone. Sure there were other wayfarers, other denizens, and such clamoring about, but Benkei was worried. There was a sense of dread filling the air, the stress and fear at the question no one wanted to ask:

When were they going home? When would they hear from the moderators? Were they being left behind?

Benkei sighed and stood up, gathering his things. He noticed Sif sitting alone, Sig must have still run off, and he walked over to her. “Hey,” he said to her, “Do you want to get out of here for a little bit? I think if I sit around here anymore, I’ll either go insane or explode from Dariel’s flat cakes. I need to check with the blacksmith about fixing some of my armor, and I wouldn’t mind the company.”

Location: City Sewers -- The City-State of Thorinn, Aetheria

---

Kalie’s look on her face was white as a ghost from how bone-chilling that scream was. She shivered up and down from what that scream meant, and it terrified her slightly. It didn’t take long for Kalie to notice the tunnel Graves went down as he sprinted ahead of them. She didn’t have much time to think of any plan because if she thought about it, whoever screamed that way would probably be killed by their lack of action. ’ Oh god damn that’s utterly terrifying.’ Kalie thought with a look of slight terror on her face.

It didn’t take long for Kalie to follow Graves since he was running ahead of the group. She was making sure while running behind Graves not to trip and keeping up with him. Kalie would try to support her group with her dark sight vision done this tunnel and all the other objects of choice. Also, she put her Scythe back on her back to avoid losing it by dropping it, and that would be stupid. It would be a bad idea to be without your weapon and being surrounded by rats that want to eat you. Thankfully, she focused enough not to make a stupid mistake like that, but it would be bad nonetheless.

Kalie didn’t want to interrupt Graves searching for the human that screamed by his specific talent for blood. If anything, it’s one reason she stayed away from him when it was a game since he would have tracked her to the ends of the game world. ’ Hopefully, he can find a human that screamed with what he usually does. No matter, I will be ready to use my Scythe to help if they need it.’ Kalie thought to herself. She tried to develop a small plan to use her Scythe but other than wielding it regularly without its spells.

The Labyrinth of a maze was hell on Kalie’s legs since she’s now running instead of walking. She had hoped they would find that person who screamed that bone-chilling scream. As long as she’s with Graves, Rael, and Alja, they will get out of this Labyrinth of a maze sewer and deal with the rat’s nest. It is to get the reward at the end of the tunnel, talk to Kazuma again, and tell him that she changed her mind about the decision she made previously.

Kalie kept her eyes peeled for any different types of bodies compared to all the dire rat corpses. She was thinking about all the things she would do after getting done with this sewer, and explicitly taking a bath would be good. It causes Kalie to think of smells that were much more pleasant than what she has to deal with right now. ’ Ugh, I would rather smell flowers than this sewer anymore.’ Kalie thought to look of disgust on her face besides what is going on outside. In contrast, to her thought patterns of the yucky sewer, she tried to stay focused on Graves and the others behind her.

Location: The City-State of Thorinn, Aetheria

---

"...so since texting isn't a thing we're gonna have to do a lot of... what was that called?" Alex's features froze, a look that combined disgust with the expression people made just as something was about to collide with their face.

"Networking. Eugh."

It concerned him with how automatic of a process it had been to tolerate Thorinn's newfound dreadful atmosphere. Not adapt or thrive, but tolerate. He chalked it up to having come out of a mortal situation covered head to toe in most available bodily fluids. The old Alex that found crowds of people annoying was no longer present, instead replaced by a more weathered man that found relief in strolling past bustling streets towards his destination.

"Is it weird if sewers don't sound that bad to me anymore? I got covered in blood back in the dungeon and that was probably worse than, uh, whatever you'd call the stuff down there. The monsters are easier too." Then again, it was hard to accurately rank preferences now that the entire game had changed. "Oh, but smells are one-hundred percent in game now."

Their slower pace hadn't just been as a result of the increased foot traffic. For Alex at least, his surroundings carried a newfound sense of weight to them. Thorinn's many houses and establishments didn't feel like expensive props anymore, but actual buildings with owners and histories. Every road and signpost and stall felt the same way. It ocurred to him how little he knew of this city-state in comparison to a real world location, and how he'd have to make an active effort to start memorizing names to get around.

These thoughts and more flashed sporadically in his brain as they walked along. He'd usually try and fail to keep them to himself, but he figured Seele would understand. She seemed like the type, those people who were good with other people, the ones that were a godsend for awkward guys like him."I've gone through here so many times, but now it keeps feeling like the first. It's hard to explain. Like this place isn't just one giant toy anymore." The same oddly specific look spread across his face again. "Hmm."

Location: The City-State of Thorinn, Aetheria

---

The royal messenger had no intentions of taking anything from Kazuki and bid him farewell, aptly suggesting that they get their funds together for the imminent taxation.

As Kazuki figured out what was best to do, on the other side of the city Sif and Benkei had finally arrived at the local blacksmith after a long walk through the town square. The brown-haired girl had been unsure about the dungeon venture since the conversation was tabled and Siegfried knew she had been second-guessing herself. The older of the two siblings had uncharacteristically not been present when Benkei asked Sif if she wanted to join him on his walk into the market districts of Thorinn, deciding himself to wander the streets by himself.

The conversation between Benkei and Sif was fairly normal for the two of them, though the ever-changing world seemed to be a topic of constant concern.

When they arrived at the market blacksmith they were greeted by a man with raven hair and a wide smile.

Sif knew him quite well. She remembered tiny details a lot, especially regarding people and NPCs her brother commonly engaged with. Her brother took pride in his profession and Iedic, the blacksmith in question, was someone she had seen often. She gave an immediate wave and greeted him by his name.

The brown-haired girl knew while Iedic was a general blacksmith, but he often worked in conjunction with other denizens. If he couldn’t fix a sword he’d refer someone to a weaponsmith and if he couldn’t fix a few patches of armor he’d send someone to an armorsmith or master leatherworker. She doubted Benkei's armor was in so poor shape that they would need a specialist. But she supposed she would have to see how much it would cost them and if Benkei needed anything else from the blacksmith in question. However, she did wonder if Iedic had seen her brother. She still hadn’t seen him since breakfast and he hadn’t gone with Rael to the sewers with Kallie so she had a degree of worry given the effects of the glitch and his talent for getting into trouble.

“My friend here needs something from you, Ieddy.” She had uttered before looking over to Benkei whom likely wanted to get started with the business about fixing his armor.
-

-

Location: City Streets, The City-State of Thorinn, Aetheria

---

The Fraternity’s Hall of Drox had been the second guild opened after the defeat of the accursed Striga Queen thousands of years ago.

It was adorned with beds of flowers and paintings of serene gardens. It was the third largest building in all of Thorinn, only bested by the Royal Castle in the center of the city and the Grand Cathedral which overlooked the market square. Alex and Seele had seen it many times before. Thorinn was the home of all wayfarers who followed Drox and it was in the fraternity hall where they had been introduced to the world at large. The trip from the Laughing Worg to the hall itself had taken a good amount of time, though they were fortunate to not run into any unseemly distractions.

Well, outside of Alex not knowing how to navigate the city.

It wasn’t an uncommon issue. Very few of Pariah’s populace were entangled with the world’s lore and could name particular historical events. After all, most people treated the world like it was some game. A place they could go to shut off their brain and have fun. The glitch happening a few weeks ago had changed little about people’s empathy and interest for the world itself. For some, it had already made them act worse. Both of them had seen how it people in the Worg had handled it.

As the two were let into Drox’s gates this became even more apparent as it became clear how many new players had picked Drox, how many old players had panicked, and in general how both sides had begun to treat the Drox compound like a refugee center. There were plenty to interact with, but the main building itself was where the specialists and important denizens that ran it resided. Should they decide to look around the courtyard they could engage with the crowd of people, though it was probably for the best if they asked the denizens what they could do to help.

It was an uneventful afternoon, but it was at least probably better than being in the sewers...


Traversing the tight tunnels into the major pathways of the Thorinn Sewers was hard enough, but for people toting large or long weapons it became evident how difficult it was when you were running full speed toward someone who needed your help.

Fortunately for Graves and the others, this would not be a situation they would play on repeat in their heads like it had with Enos and Aaginim. A group of inexperienced adventurers had crowded themselves in a corner as the third of the group stood in a corner beset by another dire rat. This one was heftier but also quicker on his feet, but much like the other passage they had come from the four members of Benkei’s group found themselves with another threat that appeared to be not much of a problem. Though as Graves and Alja would discover, it was a rat that was noticeably stronger than the one they had taken down only minutes prior.

Something didn't feel right. And it wasn't the rat.

Location: City Sewers -- The City-State of Thorinn, Aetheria

---

All five of Graves' senses exploded back into his skull the moment he'd found the victims. An overwhelming bout of sensation ran from toes to fingers to the top of his head. It was what he imagined a defibrillator felt like- yet the shock if it never slowed him. If anything, Graves threw himself forward even faster as his vision came back into focus and his foe loomed in front of him. Bigger than any of the previous dire rats, and looking to chow down on a bunch of schmucks that would've been rat food if he and his team hadn't gotten there in time.

Graves never so much as glanced their way.

His attention locked on the enemy, his hand tracing down to the hilt of his sword. His fingers shook as he felt its hefty weight in his hand. Lips curled, eyes grew narrow. Exhilaration. The massive weapon left its sheathe with terrible haste, blade shining in the fading light of a dropped torch. No care for the fading light, attention absorbed. The beast with which he danced turned, beady eyes bearing down on him. The nodachi swung around, a blur, until it kissed fur and flesh alike. A gush of crimson, a rush of desire. His sword tore across its side, dragged along dense body mass and leaving a trail of blood in its wake.

If the dire rat was wounded it didn't show as it leapt forward, its bloated form crossing the gap with blinding speed. Graves was too slow to escape its path- though he never moved- and found himself face to face with the creature. Stinking, gaping maw mere inches from him. Eyes lock for a second. A mad gleam mirrored in an empty one.

Teeth long as daggers sink into his shoulder. Another spray of blood, an unnatural shifting of bone and muscle. Something snaps. If not for the thick, lacquered armor his arm would've come off. Pain burns through his nervous system like a fire through dry kindling. It muddles everything else. Smothers every errant thought, every gnawing doubt, every hanging dread. The world, his friends-- it all drops away.

'Just me and you.'

Graves only just swallows a howl.

'Finally.'

Location: Drox Fraternity House -- The City of Thorinn, Aetheria

---

It was bittersweet to see the hall so busy. Outside of the occasional holiday event, outsiders generally didn’t have much reason to travel all the way to Thorinn for Drox’s sake. She liked those days; the people who came through were happy, seeking help and willing to help others. Now it was overwhelmingly more of the former. In the back of her mind she knew this was what the hall had been designed for, originally, to be a place for the new and afraid to take shelter and find helpful souls to guide them, but in practice…well, even the best hospitals suffered during pandemics. And that’s what the fallout of the glitch was: a pandemic of fear. Missy...

Seele led the pair of them inside, smiling and nodding to the plethora of faces she’d become familiar with over the past few weeks, wayfarers and denizens alike. Most were much to busy scrambling about to do more than nod themselves, but a few smiled back. Seele was apt at making herself useful, especially so if that meant easing the workloads of her fellow attendants. Her arrival meant that some of them might get a sliver of downtime. It killed her to look at them, to see the bags under their eyes, and know that some of them would have begged on hands and knees for sleep in the hours she’d wasted staring blankly at the dark.
...you sleep too much...
The guilt brought the nausea back, briefly, but Seele managed to compose herself. Before long they came to one of the clerical desks, to the lone attendant who at first seemed impatient, then relieved to see more and familiar assistance.

Seele beamed, keeping her voice chipper. “Good morning! Seele and Alex, reporting for duty! Point us at whatever’s most urgent and we’ll do our best!”

Location: City Sewers, The City-State of Thorinn, Aetheria

---

The snow white hair of the girl who stood in front the assortment of inexperienced adventurers felt a sense of relief. Before the arrival of another group of wayfarers she had certainly thought this might be the end.

She counted them: one-two-three-four.

More than enough to take down a dire rat of this size. She smiled widely, removing from her face any fear she had as she slammed the brunt of her staff onto the sewer floors as a bright light began to surround her weapon. As the mace-wielding woman called out to one of her charges she herself would focus on the rat’s newest target. Before Graves could deal with the pain from the rat’s teeth digging into his shoulder a boost of adrenaline and healing light surrounded his body, illuminating the sewer for a few seconds before dimming back out. As the magic surrounded the man a magical force resonated in a loud 'thwoom' as the rat itself was knocked with incredible force into the wall furthest from the group in the widely-spaced corridor.

A girl with red hair spun her spear around with her brows narrowed. No words were shared as the rat tumbled back to its feet and turned and snarled at the lot of the group.

“Let us, you know, focus on the rat.” She responded to the woman before Yasmin could reply in kind before directing orders to the group behind her. “Is your arm feeling better, un mec?”

The fighter who had been injured when the rat nearly tore his arm off looked to the newcomers and then her, though he seemed more annoyed he was unarmed and that his sword was a few paces away. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

Yasmin nodded, in agreeance. “You show up at the strangest times.” She directed at Alja.

The final member of the trio remained quiet, though she looked a bit battered. She imagined the group did not expect that the monsters in the sewers would be so strong, and in their defense neither did she. Dire rats had been decidedly weaker before the glitch, but she supposed everyone was on equal footing now; including the monsters. Had this been a more dangerous area she wasn’t sure she would’ve been able to save Lando’s arm or saved Farrah at all and she unlike these three had been playing the game a lot longer. Still, she wondered if she should've advised them not to take this job. But then again, if she did not volunteer to go with the three they would probably be all dead.

She took a light breath as the fight continued.

Location: Blacksmith-- The City of Thorinn, Aetheria

---

“My friend here needs something from you, Ieddy.”

Benkei hefted a thick leather bag from his shoulder, unveiling its contents. He was used to quickly paying for his armor to be repaired without much worry, but now things had changed. His armor looked worse for wear, from wearing it during the dungeon fiasco, to the recent few small jobs he’d taken. It was partially why he wasn’t on the rat job; he desperately needed to get his armor patched up.

“I’ve been pushing myself too much,” he admitted, both to himself and Sif. “If this armor gives out, I’m dead.” And that was another admittance. He was simply a human now; and he lived by human rules. Once he died, that was it, no do-overs, no respawns, no extra lives. He knew he was no good to anyone if he was dead, but his mind wandered to those who’d gone to challenge the dungeon. Were they all dead too?

Part of him wanted to take a small team to investigate, to look and see if anyone had survived. After all they were badly hurt after their foray into the dungeon; it was only dumb luck and the skill of the party that they’d even come out alive. Could they do it again?

Not that everyone would agree. After what happened...after all the words were said…

Would Kazuki ever agree to do something so dangerous again?

Location: City Sewers, The City-State of Thorinn, Aetheria

---

Rat was dead. Alja was talking to the survivors.

The rest were getting their bearings as Kalie made sure the rat couldn’t pull a Frankenstein.

Alja’s remark about being close to the nest made sense. Each dire rat was growing stronger-and-stronger as they found them. But as they grew in strength so did this feeling in the air. The Japanese girl had assumed that was the sewer being a sewer, but it felt something beyond the smell of things. Rael tightened her grip on her staff as a response before looking over at the group. In the time before the glitch a three-man with an experienced healer would’ve been more than enough for a “kill the rats in the sewer” quest, but things were different now. Rael hadn’t ventured beyond Thorinn since they returned from the dungeon, but she doubted the normal fauna of the southern wilderness were quite so dangerous, especially to wayfarers with the kind of weapons they had.

A faint sound filled the tunnels, drawing Rael’s attention toward the dark part of the main passageway, parallel to the group.

The sound… running water?

Rael looked back to the group—their backs weren’t against a wall, their backs were against a pit going further down into the depths of the sewers. Before she could say anything she turned back to the opposite direction and saw it. A wall of water. A wall of water that was going to sweep them away and there was no way any of them were fast enough to dodge it. Not even Rael or Kalie. Even if Alja threw up a wall of ice it would not hold for more than a few seconds and there were no escape tunnels to force themselves into.


The water would flush them down the pit and underneath the sewer lake several stories below.