《Alzholme》


 Chapter One

    The Megaden, named by the Urchski that inhabited it, was every part accurate to the name. While most of their original dwellings had been in the dirt, made with long tunnels that interconnected, here they borrowed into the massive Alzbled trees that blanketed the area. Not only the Urchski inhabited it now. With little in the way of guarding and management, the forest dwellings had become rife with criminal activity. It¡¯s said you can¡¯t walk two steps into the city before getting wrapped into trouble.


    ¡°Halt!¡± An Urchski shouted, pointing a spear at someone in line to enter the Megaden¡¯s easter quarter.


    While the human¡¯s hair was messy from travel, his pale face was spotless. Saul stuck out even among the merchants nearby, mostly because he was travelling on foot. Aside from that he was dressed like a walking storefront. A sword hung at his hip, satchels and straps covered his stitched together tunic. Thankfully for the more fashion inclined, he covered the bulk of the utilitarian mess with a brown cloak.


    ¡°Is there a problem?¡± He asked in a calm, deep voice.


    ¡°You must show identification if you want to bring weapons in.¡± The guard replied, holding out one paw.


    Like most Urchski, the guard barely stood above Saul¡¯s waistline. At first they might¡¯ve looked like rodents in nature, hence the demeaning name given to them by humans of the past, but they were more akin to mustilds. The guard¡¯s tail dragged on the ground behind him twitching with impatience. Saul reached under his cloak and pulled out a journal, flipping to its front page.


    All that was on the page was an impress of gold. On the next page was a rendition of Saul himself with the name written underneath it, aside from a section left blank where the surname should be. The guard examined it closely and nodded, gesturing for him to keep moving with his spear.


    He turned the journal back to himself and flipped a few pages in. Various doodles and notes were scrawled over the cheap and yellowing pages, but they became more refined as they got recent. Eventually he settled on the latest page and pressed a finger down as he read, managing to keep up with the line as he did.


    At first it seemed like charcoal. Saul noted an image he made of a merchandise crate with a symbol drawn onto the side. But unlike processed stuff that gets sold, it was more of a makeshift creation. There are only two places that grow trees in this city, the Megaden and the Upper ring, which is where they would have to have come from. After some investigation around the area, I made sure it was from the former. All I¡¯ve got to do now is keep a low profile and figure out who is behind this.


    The line of merchants, travellers and creatures passed by quickly. Most of the time the guards let humans and Erudine pass by without a second thought. The only ones that were detained or questioned for longer were other Urchski or people trading anything that could be used as a weapon. Saul¡¯s passage took half an hour, and he found himself in the iconic first two steps of the Megaden.


    Massive Alzbled trees bigger than buildings stretched up into the sky. It would have been pitch black had it not been for the foliage avoiding touching each other. The ground was blanketed in smoothed out stones, worn down by foot traffic passing through. Every tree that he could see had some kind of outcropping burrowed into them; doors, shacks, clothes lines, everything you might find in a normal city was strapped or stuck into the forest itself.


    Despite the woodland appearance, it was as bustling as any other cityscape you might find throughout the country. Saul stood as crowds of Urchski moved past him towards various other trees and stalls set up around them. Most avoided him once they noticed the sword, but a number were brave enough to actually bump shoulders with the human. He waited a few seconds until he felt a familiar tug on his clothing and grabbed one of the pickpockets arms.


    The Urchski struggled to escape from his grasp, a small pouch of coins still squeezed in his grip. Saul crouched down and yanked it free before pulling out a quarter piece of one of the coins, pressing it into the thief¡¯s paw.


    ¡°Looking for a guide around these parts. Happen to know where I can find one?¡±


    He nodded off towards one of the trees and Saul picked up his pouch before letting the thief go again. Now with his money safely secured, he headed towards the tree-building that was pointed out. There wasn¡¯t much furnishing on the upper sections, but the entrance itself was very intricately decorated. A set of stairs rose into a double wide doorway, with a lone sign hung above it. The Welcome Inn.


    Inside was almost an alien kind of architecture. Rather than strictly planned out floor plan, there was an organic sense of flow to how the ground floor was arranged. A staircase spiraled around the trunk from the other end of the tree, but the many tables and such in the way made it difficult to reach right away. Most of the patrons were crowded around the tables. As he passed by one, he noticed that they were made of the same cut of wood that the floor was, meaning they were more than likely just carved out along with the space. Rather than join in on any of the revelry going on, Saul found a bar were the innkeep was cleaning mugs and sat down on a stool there.


    The smell of alcohol and food was heavy at the bar, overpowering any of the lingering woodland scent from outside. He rested his arms on the counter and noted how smoother the wood was, spotting a strange red tint over the whole area. Before he could examine more, the barkeep approached him from behind the counter. He was a short Urchski with mangy grey fur the spiked out in a number of spots along his head. Saul pulled out his coins again and broke off another quarter piece before gesturing to one of the bottles on the shelf. A small grunt was his answer before a mug got placed in front of him. The ale was hardly high quality, but it was surprisingly cheap.


    He smelled it first and winced before taking a drink and setting his cup down. The flavor seemed glued to his mouth for a while, and so he looked around for something to distract him. There was only one other patron at the bar with him, an Urchski. Unlike the keep, this one was clearly younger, with much better groomed fur and a soft brown coloration. More importantly, he was staring at Saul directly from just a seat away. His wide mouth split open in a grin when the human finally noticed him.


    ¡°You are new to the Megaden, yes?¡± He asked.


    ¡°Just walked in, yes. Are you looking to sell me something?¡± Saul turned in his seat and leaned on the bar.


    ¡°Not something, someone! Me, I mean. You are alone and do not have any big merchandise with you. That means you must be looking for some help moving about.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a bold assumption to make.¡± Saul said with a laugh.


    ¡°But a correct one! If I am wrong, then I will leave, of course. But who does not need a guide through this place? Humans are often the target of thieves you know.¡±


    ¡°No kidding, I actually caught one try to steal from me as I was walking into the main square. When I asked him where I might find a guide, I got pointed here. Hopefully you¡¯re not running some kind of racket here?¡±


    The Urchski opened his mouth to respond, but hesitated. Saul pulled out his badge for the merchant¡¯s guild and held it up for him to inspect. Rather than speaking immediately, he put one paw to his chin and scratched it in thought.


    ¡°Hm... no, my siblings are too busy being drunks and bumbling around near the border and starting fights. I could not get them to help me with my business.¡±


    ¡°Well hopefully you¡¯re as honest as you seem then. My name is Saul, yours?¡± He replied, extending a hand to shake.


    ¡°Plafluf Curva.¡± He replied, placing his right paw into Saul¡¯s hand and shaking it as much as his smaller stature would allow him.


    ¡°Ah, and I see you¡¯re enhanced as well? That must come in handy with your line of work. Depending on the ability, of course.¡±


    ¡°Yes, it does!¡± Plafluf replied before narrowing his eyes. ¡°Wait... how did you figure that out?¡±


    Saul held up the hand he shook with. ¡°It¡¯s strange though, I was under the impression that getting the procedure done was something very expensive. Least it was to me, I couldn¡¯t afford getting it done on my salary, had to actually sign up with a job for life working for the guild. How could you even get it done?¡±


    ¡°Procedure?¡± Plafluf asked, cocking his head.


    ¡°Well, in order to get an ability you need to get submerged in a tank in one of the facilities run by the Bouli from the Upper ring. Heard only the very richest Urchski can afford something like that, but why would you be doing something like acting as a guide if you were rich?¡±


    ¡°I am not rich! Believe me, if I was, I would move out of this place quickly. This job is a good way of making money though, a healthy way. Best of all it lets me put my blessing to good use.¡± Plafluf said, losing his joyful facade and staring up in thought.


    A loud crash came from behind the both of them, drawing their attention. Several Urchski were scrambling over a large tray of food. Paws gripped onto necks and tails were swung like make-shift maces. The brawl lasted for only a few minutes before three of the Urchski were chased out. Once they were gone, a jarring quiet settled over the bar before things seemed to carry on where they left off without notice. Only the broken table and bleeding Urchski hinted at the fight.


    ¡°Yeah... I can see why you¡¯d want to get out of here.¡± Saul said before turning back to Plafluf. ¡°Well, consider yourself hired. I¡¯m going to need you to show me where the access tunnel is to the center ring¡¯s sewer system is.¡±


    ¡°Not to a shop? You are crazy, but okay, follow me. I will need a full piece now, and then you can pay me the rest later.¡± He answered in a stilted voice, a hint of the language barrier shining through.


    They both stood up. ¡°The rest?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know how much we will be doing, I will tell you how much it will cost at the end. Doesn¡¯t this make sense to you?¡±


    Saul pulled out a full coin and pressed it into the Urchski¡¯s paw before secreting away his pouch once again. He looked around and noticed the start of another fight popping up from another table. The bartender muttered about westerners as they exited the inn out into the hustle of outside.


    To his surprise, Plafluf seemed to match the chaos of the outside paths naturally, even nudging him into the proper lanes as he was pushed about. They eventually broke out of the main area into a side street. More of the massive trees flanked either side of them, but these ones were more overgrown and wild than the others. Through the dim lighting through the canopy, he could even make out the wall of the center ring on one side.


    Before he could get his bearings further, Saul was brought to a sudden stop by Plafluf. He looked down, only to notice his guide staring at a passing group of Urchski. They were rough looking, tufts of fur sticking out from their clothing. Each of them was carrying a spear similar to the guard at the front, but with a more expensive look to them.


    ¡°Who are they?¡± Saul asked.


    ¡°Nobleworkers. Children of big families or husbands. They like to swing their weight around and pick fights.¡± He answered, not breaking his watch of them.Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.


    ¡°Ah, and since they¡¯re nobility, can¡¯t touch them back?¡±


    ¡°No, Urchski families are different. These are more like... idiots with money. You should stay away.¡±


    They loitered and bickered for a while before a noise in the treeline drew their attention. All of them quickly ran into the treeline after whatever stray animal caused the noise. Saul checked with Plafluf to confirm when he should start moving again, and noticed him holding something. A dagger. More specifically, it was one made of a strange looking metal he wasn¡¯t familiar with. Before he could ask, the Urchski started off down the road again.


    ¡°You sure this is the right place to go?¡± He asked, catching up.


    ¡°Of course, this place always has a little danger to it. If you can¡¯t handle that, what are you even doing here?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect a guide to try and dissuade me from staying and paying him.¡±


    ¡°I do not like idiots. That does not mean I would not demand money, but I wouldn¡¯t want to work for someone that was going to complain the whole time. I would take his money and then tell him to get out of here. He can go to a church for that kind of guidance.¡±


    ¡°How fortunate that I¡¯m not an idiot then.¡±


    ¡°This is true.¡± Plafluf answered, nodding his head.


    Without the cacophony of traffic from the more populated areas, the subtle sounds of nature started to become more apparent. The first to be noticed would be the breeze shaking the leaves far above their heads. Only occasionally could you hear animal noises poking out from the shadows of the thicker foliage. Saul would occasionally watch a bird soar over head, or small critter scampering across the road for food.


    Some time later they managed to get close enough to the border wall to see it between the trees. The wall served as a direct barrier to the center ring, a section of the country that was more populated and civilized than the untamed Megaden and farmlands below. Eventually they left the trees behind entirely and found a metal door leading into the ground right in front of the wall. Plafluf stepped forward and began lifting open the old entrance.


    ¡°You sure this is the only entrance? It doesn¡¯t look very... legal.¡± Saul answered, crouching down to place a hand on the door.


    ¡°If it were illegal, they would put a sign or yell at us to stay away. Since no such thing or guards are here, it is very legal. I¡¯ve explored this place a lot of times, trust me! In fact, this is actually connected to the place where I got my blessing from. That is for another time and another charge though.¡±


    Seems like this was made by the Urchski. This is just basic iron, low quality stuff at that. Can¡¯t begin to imagine why they would want to seal it up if there wasn¡¯t a door here to begin with though. Saul thought, analyzing the material.


    Plafluf opened it with a small amount of effort and hopped on the ladder leading down. Saul checked around to make sure no one was watching and followed after. To his surprise, the descent was fairly long, taking a couple minutes before he finally touched the ground.


    The chamber he ended up in was a small dome connected with multiple tunnels. A canal of dirty water ran through the center of each tunnel, moving rapidly beneath a sheet of clear glass. Every wall was made of the same smooth stone that the wall to the center ring was composed of. Despite the depth, the lighting was more visible than one would expect, aided by some chandeliers hanging from the center of every terminal area. Aside from the sewage itself, it was almost like an abandoned street.


    ¡°To be honest, I was expecting a lot more of a filthy smell from a place like this. Not that I¡¯m disappointed.¡±


    ¡°Whoever made this place was clever, covered it all up. This also means it was made to be explored, right? This is obvious to the Urchski, but not so much for the other denizens I suppose.¡±


    Both of them moved down the tunnel opposite the ladder they climbed down, until they reached a second terminal. There were more signs of activity at this one, with scraps of wood being strewn about against one of the walls. Saul crouched down and picked up a spare piece.


    ¡°Seems like it was broken recently. It¡¯s a waste to just tear the crates apart like this. Wonder if they were caught by someone. Maybe they were just getting rid of the evidence.¡± He said, more to himself.


    ¡°Why not burn it? It¡¯s wood.¡± Plafluf asked, moving beside him and sitting down.


    ¡°Smoke inside a tunnel is not exactly a smart move. Besides, even if they did vent it out somewhere, that would likely draw just as much attention.¡± He stood back up and tossed the scrap back into its pile. ¡°That being said... where could they be hiding out down here? Looks like it¡¯s just tunnels and terminals for miles.¡±


    ¡°Hm, maybe, maybe.¡± Plafluf replied.


    The Urchski crouched down on the ground and closed his eyes tight. Saul watch in silence while his guide moved around the entire area of the tunnel. He eventually got to one of the walls of a tunnel. There was a small hesitation before Plafluf stood up again and pointed to Saul.


    ¡°This must be it. First though, you must tell me what your blessing is. I am about to show you mine, so it is only fair.¡±


    I suppose there¡¯s not really any harm if he knows the gist of it. Saul thought.


    ¡°Not quite sure how that¡¯s important, but fine. My ability allows me to analyze the things that I touch. Gives me physical information about whatever I¡¯m touching specifically. Now, yours?¡±


    Plafluf nodded and suddenly vanished.


    Saul rushed towards the spot he was at and felt around for him. The sound of small skittering drew his attention to the same wall Plafluf disappeared by. There was a soft click from the tunnel and a seam split in the metal surface. It stretched into an opening as a hidden door moved out of the way.


    Plafluf stood by the entrance, one paw holding a button in place. The inside of the secret entrance was dimly lit, strange purple bars glowing at the part where the wall met the ceiling. Once he stepped inside, Plafluf let go of the lever and dusted himself off.


    ¡°I suppose I don¡¯t need to ask what your ability is now, do I?¡± Saul responded, placing a hand on a wall and squinting his eyes down the path ahead.


    ¡°You could, but it would just get you a better understanding of it. I close my eyes, I can see where empty space is, then I can move there. Very easy to get. Air is the best to do that in though, water feels heavy and weird, and solid stuff does not work.¡±


    ¡°Sounds like you¡¯ve had a lot of practice explaining it.¡±


    ¡°I have. Nosy siblings and guards. Not common for someone like me to have one, after all. They never believe me about the soup though!¡± Plafluf answered with a more solemn tone before moving further ahead.


    Saul opted to avoid asking for more.


    The walls of the corridor were slightly damp, but had a metallic tinge. Saul¡¯s analysis poked him with more info, but with something as vague as the wall he had trouble discerning anything relevant.


    It¡¯s definitely made out of the same stuff that¡¯s part of the older sections of the city. That stuff is usually just part of the infrastructure of Alzholme though, why would they build a secret path like this? Saul thought to himself. I suppose the obvious answer is that it¡¯s just a maintenance tunnel of some kind. If that¡¯s the case, who could have known about it?


    A sharp yelp of pain echoed from ahead of them, and the pair froze in place. It was more human than Urchski, but the way that it was cut off suddenly was their main concern. Plafluf drew his dagger and lowered down, nodding to Saul at the same time. He drew his own larger blade and changed his step.


    There was a sharp turn after a few yards, and more natural looking light was bleeding in from around the corner. Another sound washed over them, this one almost strong enough for them to feel it. With Saul¡¯s height, he was able to peer over the head of his guide as they reached the end.


    It was a large rotunda built similar to the terminals outside. Unlike them, there was more detail in the walls. There was a different smell in the room as well, like someone lived in it. That scent was mostly overshadowed by the powerful smell of blood. Three Urchski were laying on the ground dead. A human was just barely visible to Saul, but he was very badly injured.


    ¡°Your conspirators are dead, now tell me what I want to know!¡± A soft voice demanded of him.


    The survivor collapsed to the floor and a padded foot of another figure pressed down onto him. Saul peered a little further over the edge to get a better view of the assailant.


    Their frame itself was human at first, but it became more apparent that there was something off. All of the legs and arms were very slender, and the whole body was androgynous in appearance. The black clothing they were wearing was vaguely familiar to Saul, but his attention was more focused on the mask they were wearing. Strange symbols and foreign words were carved into a clay covering that obscured every feature. The only sign someone living was behind them would have been the eyes one could just barely make out from their appropriate holes. They were an Erudine.


    ¡°Not getting anything from me...¡± The man replied, struggling to breathe through his pain.


    Saul felt movement around his leg, and noticed Plafluf slinking away back down the hall. He grabbed his guide by the shoulder and pulled him back, crouching down to get at eye level.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± He whispered at him. ¡°That man could die if we don¡¯t help.¡±


    ¡°He was here doing illegal things, probably! If he dies doing something stupid, then he deserves to die.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not going to let someone get murdered when I¡¯m supposed to be investigating illegal activity.¡±


    Saul stood back up and rushed around the corner, pointing his weapon at the stranger. Plafluf hesitated for a second, briefly cursing under his breath in his native tongue. When he followed him out, he saw that the man was still pinned to the ground, but the masked figure was now staring at them.


    ¡°Who are you? Are you working for them as well?¡± He demanded, his voice now masculine enough to discern his gender. He held up his hands in a martial pose.


    ¡°I¡¯m an investigator, working for the merchants¡¯ guild of the center ring. Want to explain all the corpses in this room?¡± Saul replied without breaking his own stance.


    ¡°First the Erudine, and pox upon us now the Merchants¡¯ guild...¡± The wounded man muttered. ¡°This job was supposed to be a cake walk. Bastard lied to me...¡±


    Saul took a look around the room, only now noticing the chamber¡¯s lay out. There were only two other tunnels exiting the area, but both of them were sealed just like the one they had come down. To their right was a few crates stacked up on the side. Saul lowered his weapon and pointed to them.


    ¡°Wait a minute, those look like the same crates I¡¯m looking for.¡± Saul said, pulling out his journal, displaying the seal of the Merchants¡¯ guild on it. ¡°What happened here?¡±


    ¡°Oh, I suppose that¡¯s what you humans would have as an equivalent to a law enforcement. While in pursuit of my target, I tracked this human down to this meeting. The Urchski did not hesitate to attack me, and I was forced to dispatch of them. As the human was able to be incapacitated, I am currently extracting information. Do not interfere with my duties, if you¡¯d mind.¡± He responded before stomping on the man.


    Saul winced at the sound, but focused on moving over to the crates. He grabbed one side and tilted the crate around, revealing a symbol just like the ones from his notes. He placed a hand on the wood.


    Undamaged. Guess they hadn¡¯t gotten to these ones yet. Saul thought to himself as he analyzed the wood. Need to find a way to contact the guild, let them know there¡¯s some merchandise to reclaim from here. Now all that¡¯s left it to track down who did this.


    There was one crate partially opened, and Saul lifted the lid further to peek inside. Inside was a dozen or so spears with shining steel tips to them. He started to reach inside to touch one, but a yelp of pain drew his attention back to the wounded man. His eyes were closed now, and the masked man was rifling through his pockets.


    ¡°I certainly hope he¡¯s still breathing down there. I¡¯ll need to ask him about who was taking these crates, and eventually put him in a cell in the center ring.¡± Saul told him.


    ¡°I have gotten all the information possible out of him already. This was nothing but a meeting of pawns it seems. Whatever information you want about where these trades are being orchestrated is better hidden than that. Personally, I believe I¡¯m done with this part already.¡±


    ¡°Mind explaining what you¡¯re doing dealing with Urchski and human criminals then? I thought you people only dealt with other Erudine.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re allowed to follow into other sections of the city, should our targets of interest be attempting to hide out in them. These men are connected to my target, but when I tried to get information out of them, they resisted.¡± He answered before pulling out a piece of paper from the man¡¯s inner coat pocket. ¡°Looks like he had a set of instructions on him as well. Nothing about my target, so you might as well take it.¡±


    Saul took the paper and started reading. It appeared to be a list of directions, but written in incredibly vague and general means.


    Guess it was written so only the person with it would understand. That or whoever was handling this deal is an idiot. Saul thought to himself. My ability says this kind of charcoal pencil was the same type used to make the markings though. Whoever wrote this is clearly wrapped up in all of this.


    ¡°You mentioned that your mark was down in the Megaden, right? Well if they¡¯re connected to this deal, maybe we could pool our information and find out where they¡¯re hiding. If whoever is behind this is connected to them, we can get two birds with one stone. Sound like a deal?¡±


    Saul extended his hand out for a shake. There was a slight pause as the masked figure stared at it before ultimately clasping it with his own. His grip was a lot stronger than the lithe arms would imply.


    ¡°My name is Xen. What are yours?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m Saul, and the Urchski with me is called Plafluf.¡±


    Plafluf finally entered the room properly and extended his own small hand towards Xen. Unlike Saul, he still had his dagger is his hand. They both glared at each other for a while before ultimately stepping away, when Plafluf let out a sigh.


    ¡°This is quickly getting out of hand. I do not like having to deal with conspiracies and such in my life.¡± Plafluf lamented, sheathing his dagger.


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t want to force a citizen into helping with matters of the law. You can leave my service if you want.¡± Saul responded.


    ¡°What, and not demand to get paid more? Don¡¯t be silly. I will help for payment so long as it does not endanger my life. Do not expect me to care about all of this mystery you are talking about.¡±


    ¡°That would be preferable in my case.¡± Xen replied with a shrug. ¡°You might as well make arrangements for this man to be arrested. I would say the surviving Urchski should share a similar fate, but I¡¯m somewhat doubtful about the legal system of the Megaden.¡±


    Saul moved over to the man and place a hand on his neck. Though he could feel a faint pulse, his analyze told him the blood loss was just a symptom. A few bones were broken, but he couldn¡¯t spot the exact ones. He turned to the Urchski and noted that they weren¡¯t as beaten up as the human. They had large gashes cut across their bodies, as well as some having pieces missing from their paws or tails.


    ¡°He¡¯s too injured to move much without possibly turning his injuries into fatal ones. Guess the best I can do it send for someone that can pick him up and bring him safely to a trial.¡± Saul answered, getting back on his feet.


    ¡°It would be easier to just execute him now, you know.¡± Xen answered.


    ¡°Yes, well, that¡¯s not how humans do it. Least not anymore.¡±


    He made some strips of cloth from one of the Urchski¡¯s clothes and bound the man¡¯s hands behind his back. Xen moved towards where Saul had come from and looked down the long path ahead. Once Saul was finished, he moved to follow him, breaking the Erudine¡¯s focused stare.


    ¡°I¡¯ll have to guide them back to this place. Shouldn¡¯t take too long though, I¡¯m sure the merchant¡¯s have some cart nearby that could be paid into carrying him back. We¡¯ll need someplace to meet up again though. Maybe the inn we met at, Plafluf?¡±


    ¡°The public is not exactly somewhere I would trust the spread of information. Especially not with how the Urchski tend to crowd around you.¡±


    ¡°Well then why not just come back to my house? It is quieter there.¡±


    Both of them stared at him in silence for several seconds.


    ¡°I thought you said you didn¡¯t want to be involved with this more than you had to be?¡± Saul asked him.


    ¡°Yes, but, having you two around is likely to make my place seem more important. Plus it is good to show my family what honest work is like. You must set a good example for siblings, right?¡±


    ¡°I will hope that you are not seeking to deceive me for any reason. My reaction will be swift and inevitable.¡± Xen replied, pointing a finger at him.


    ¡°Of course not! I am very blatant when I intend to trick people. Don¡¯t be dumb and you will not be tricked. That makes it your fault if you do, right? Here, follow me and I will take you there.¡±


    Before Xen could properly process or respond to what he said, Plafluf grabbed his hand and led him away. Saul took a look around the room. All the carnage and stolen merchandise left a bad taste in his mouth. Pushing away the feeling, he followed after them.

 Chapter Two

    On the border of the eastern Megaden and the west, a building poked out among a tangle of vines and roots. It was dwarfed by the trees of the area, which seemed unable or unwilling to grow directly around it. They instead tried to color the blank stone cube with their overgrowth. Only a small square near the front was cleared for the doorway.


    The inside was starkly empty, aside from a few pillars and tables with chairs around them. Unlike what would be expected of buildings of this size, there was no fireplace or sconces to produce light. Instead, a few chandeliers hung from the ceiling. In each of them was a massive crystal, which seemed to gather the outside sunlight and shine it through the interior of the building.


    Opposite of the building¡¯s front door was a smaller one that led to a set of stairs down into the ground. Beside the other door were two people, one crouched on the ground and the other staring towards the entrance as he leaned against a pillar.


    One of them, a man had tan skin, and was fairly well built. He was wearing a loose linen shirt dyed brown to match his pants. His eyes were shallow, but with bright mahogany irises that made them stand out. With a crack of his neck, he stopped eyeing the entrance for a moment to look at his partner.


    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t be messing with the ground too much you know. This whole operation is supposed to be hidden. Thought you would be the one with the most discretion given your background.¡±


    His partner, an Erudine woman, looked back at him with a glare. Her skin was pale and stretched thin over her face, something common for her kind. Unlike almost any Erudine, she didn¡¯t hide her face behind a mask. Jagged scars ran the length of her cheek and neck, and the tip of her nose was cut short, her right earlobe severed just the same.


    ¡°I¡¯m killing time. Do you have any idea how boring it is to be in a place like this? Only one entrance, only one exit. There¡¯s nothing to scout out or explore; I doubt anyone will even come by here after we leave.¡± She stood back up. ¡°It feels like we¡¯re just being led in circles, searching for whatever it is that talking book downstairs wants.¡±


    ¡°Her name is Olivia, Twenty-Two. Besides, having someplace that¡¯s easy to guard is better than one we have to constantly stay vigilant for.¡±


    ¡°Not to me, and especially not when you¡¯re being persistent in glaring at the entrance the whole time. Do you even know what we¡¯re supposed to be waiting for?¡±


    ¡°No. I¡¯m not partial to understanding the King¡¯s plans.¡±


    ¡°Yes, well, you never seem to question him at all. Even when I do try and look into things, I just get the run around and end up on missions like this.¡±


    ¡°His methods are¡ª"


    ¡°Yes, yes, yes, I know, Jason! His methods are mysterious, incredibly complex. Truth of the matter is that he¡¯s probably not telling us anything so we can¡¯t snitch on them if we end up getting captured by whatever group is after him now.¡±


    There was a deep crash from the stairwell and a drawn out hiss. Both of them stared at the way down, but a woman¡¯s laugh reassured them the one down there was alright. Jason uncrossed his arms and moved closer to the stairwell going down.


    ¡°We¡¯ve been over this before, there¡¯s something bigger than the both of us. Even if you don¡¯t believe in what he¡¯s doing, you can understand the gravity of it all, right?¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t see past what¡¯s happening right in front of me, and what¡¯s happening right now is a whole lot of nothing and no reason for doing it.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll see soon enough. I have faith in my King, he could be asking us to head into danger, but he avoids doing so when he can. All of our labor is for the best.¡±


    Twenty-Two rolled her eyes. ¡°At least the dangerous missions are more interesting.  I can work out some frustrations. The animals don¡¯t even come near this building anymore since we scared off the first few when we arrived.¡±


    ¡°Are you really so bloodthirsty that you¡¯d rather the building be besieged?¡±


    Twenty-Two didn¡¯t respond verbally, but the way she hid her face let him know she was smirking. Before they could start their bickering again, footsteps echoed out from the stairwell. Both of them stood up and got closer as a short figure dressed in a heavy white coat and mask rose to the top.


    The coat was padded and heavy enough to completely mask their outline. Similarly, the mask was built to protect the wearer from any sudden fires or falling objects. The masked lifted off, and a cheery young woman¡¯s face was revealed beneath it. She patted the sweat from her brow with one gloved hand and looked between the two of them with a cheery smile.


    ¡°Glad to see you two getting along!¡± She said.


    ¡°What is it, Olivia?¡± Twenty-Two asked with her arms folded.


    ¡°Oh, um, well I just wanted to bring you both downstairs to help me. I think I¡¯ve cracked what some of the machinery does, but I¡¯ll need your help moving some pieces down there.¡±


    ¡°Are they stuck to the walls?¡± Jason asked.


    ¡°No... I just can¡¯t reach them. There¡¯s not really anything for me to stand on to get up that high,¡± Olivia admitted.


    Twenty-Two let out a small laugh before passing Olivia on the way downstairs by slipping past her right side. Jason gestured for her to move down first and they followed suit. A brief noise drew his attention for a second, and he stopped at the top to look around. He glanced down the stairs and noticed both were already around the turn, only giving the room one last look over before heading down there himself.


    This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    The stairs bent a few more times, descending several floors into the ground. By the time he reached the bottom, Olivia was already giving Twenty-Two instructions on which pieces to move and where to put them.


    At the bottom of the stairs was a massive rectangular room, lit with a deep blue color from strips on the ceiling. The walls were made of a bronze colored metal, and every meter or so was some kind of mechanism jutting out of the wall. At the far end was a large pile of broken gears and mechanisms on top of a table that spanned the entire back wall.


    Jason quickly caught up to them and started bringing the heavy pieces aside. Once there was more cleared away, it revealed the far wall having a series of metallic buttons. They were arranged in a rectangular grid, all of them having the same kind of blue strips like the ones on the ceiling. Jason finished setting down one of the last heavy gears and moved beside Olivia.


    ¡°Anything you can tell us from this?¡± He asked her.


    ¡°Yes, but not much. This place was very clearly built by whoever made Alzholme to begin with! I mean, I already suspected that much from the metal and strange location, but these lighting paths make it obvious.¡±


    She put her hand on one of them, rubbing over the metal material with her thumb. There was a slight warmth where the strip was, but the metal itself was very cool to the touch. Olivia swallowed hard and pressed down on the button. It moved very slightly before catching on a hidden brake.


    ¡°I expected as much.¡±


    ¡°What do these things even do?¡± Twenty-Two asked.


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s the issue with a lot of the old spots in Alzholme. This place was very clearly abandoned, but on top of that it seems like they were trying to cover up whatever these are for.¡±


    ¡°If they didn¡¯t have a use for them, and didn¡¯t want anyone else to use them, why not just break them off or close down the whole building?¡± Jason asked.


    ¡°Exactly! I can¡¯t tell what they were thinking here, but it¡¯s possibly they just wanted to hide it away temporarily? It¡¯s possibly these were a part of some more arcane functions, or they could have been connected to some mechanism involved in the ascension two hundred years ago!¡±


    ¡°The what?¡± Twenty-Two asked her.


    ¡°The ascension. Don¡¯t you know anything about history? It¡¯s the most important part of our modern life!¡±


    ¡°Believe it or not, my training didn¡¯t include things like ancient history.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s talking about when Alzholme launched itself into the great night. This whole country used to be connected to the planet you can see nearby at night. At some point about two hundred years ago, the entire place shot off of the ground.¡± Jason answered. ¡°Bit sad you weren¡¯t taught something as easy to notice as that though. You know they say that those who don¡¯t remember their history are doomed to repeat it.¡±


    ¡°The maskless don¡¯t have to worry about that. I was taught that nothing I did would ever be recorded in history books. Why bother learning about history if you¡¯re never going to be remembered yourself?¡±


    Jason stared at her with concern, but held his tongue. Sensing the tension in the room, Olivia climbed onto the table and started marking down notes about the buttons and their placement. After a few seconds of idly waiting, Twenty-Two cleared her throat and grabbed the researcher¡¯s shoulder.


    ¡°Are we done here then? We kind of need to check back topside.¡±


    ¡°Oh dear, I¡¯m sorry, I forgot you were here. Yes, I¡¯ll just be busy marking notes for a while. Once I¡¯ve finished I think we can head back to the hideout before going to the next location.¡± She replied before closing her journal and looking to Jason. ¡°I really need to tell the king that I¡¯m glad he sent me out here in my next report! I had no idea there were so many locations like this in the Megaden. Even after 200 years, there¡¯s still so much to learn about Alzholme...¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be sure to pass on your gratitude if I see him.¡± He replied before heading back.


    The two of them left her to the tedious work and began the long climb back up to the surface. Once they were a floor away and out of earshot, Twenty-Two let out a short laugh.


    ¡°All this work and just for a set of useless buttons. You know, even though I complained about being here, it¡¯s almost worth it to find out what a joke these places turn out to be.¡±


    Jason paused for a second and held his hand out. They were close to the top now, enough to have light from the main room fall on the turn in front of them. Twenty-Two looked past him just in time to see a small movement in the light on the stairs. Both of them bolted ahead as fast as they could.


    The main hall was as empty as it had been when they left. All the entered was a small bug, fluttering near one of the lanterns. Jason paced out into the center of the room, giving his partner a quick nod. Twenty-Two returned the gesture and knelt down to the ground.


    She looked at the spot where she had toyed with the dirt, spotting a small footprint inside of it. Her eyes defocused and she stared forward. A slight tingling sensation radiated off of her skin, slowly stretching around the building like a field. Her breathing slowed in tandem with her heart, her ears twitching as the beetle buzzed overhead. After a few seconds, the beetle landed, and the room shifted ever so slightly.


    ¡°Projectile, pillar right, 3 heads high!¡± She shouted.


    Jason¡¯s right hand shot out from his side before his head could turn. There was a black ball frozen in the air just ahead of his fingers. He grabbed it and chucked it back from where it came. An Urchski dressed in dark brown clothing from head to toe lept out. He scrambled for the door just as his smoke bomb detonated at his former location.


    Before he got close, his feet suddenly locked onto the ground. He looked back to see Jason holding out his hand against him. Twenty-Two bolted ahead, holding a knife out in her right hand. The Urchski attempted to throw another bomb, but she snatched it out of the air and tossed it to the side. As she got closer, he pulled out his own knife. Before it was even out of its sheath, she had her own on his side.


    Jason released his hold and started towards them himself. The Urchski continued to try and hit her, but his every blow was parried or blocked. Eventually she disarmed him entirely, placing her blade on his neck and stepping on his toes. The spy let out a yelp and tried his best to squirm away for a minute. By the end, he was panting and Jason was between him and the doorway.


    ¡°Well, that was fairly entertaining for one little spy.¡± Twenty-Two said with a laugh. ¡°Now tell us who sent you and we might be inclined to let you live.¡±


    ¡°This is Eastern land! Votesks Land! What you are doing is trespassing!¡± He hissed at the both of them. ¡°You are not allowed to be here, and you must leave immediately.¡±


    ¡°Strange for someone enforcing the law to try and spy on us first.¡± Jason commented.


    ¡°Oh dear, breaking Urchski law though? I had no idea what were doing was so criminal. Maybe we should get rid of our furry little witness here...¡± Twenty-Two said, bringing her face closer to the prisoner¡¯s.


    ¡°W-Wait! That would only make things worse! I was only spying because we didn¡¯t know what you were up to here. If you kill me... they¡¯ll have to send more people!¡±


    Twenty-Two looked back at her partner and cocked an eyebrow. Jason knelt down beside the Urchski to get at eye-level and moved the blade away from his neck. The spy gulped heavily and rubbed his throat gently as he looked between the two of them.


    ¡°So, you work for this... Votesks family. You might just be able to make it out of here alive, but only if you can answer a couple questions for us. If you give us the wrong answers, I¡¯m afraid I¡¯ll have to let my Erudine friend here have some fun. Understand?¡±


    The spy looked over at Twenty-Two, holding the blade in the palm of her hand as she stared with a wicked grin. He quickly nodded to Jason and subtly tried to inch himself away from her at the same time.


    ¡°Good. Now, have you got any means of communicating with the head of this family, or at least someone else who can? I want something direct and concrete.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I can! I mean, I¡¯m a second cousin, but I take orders from one of the sons.¡±


    ¡°That works. How long have you been tracking us?¡±


    ¡°Just today... the way you keep poking into the stone places was too obvious. I was sent to tell them where you were, and how many of you there are.¡±


    ¡°Well then, that¡¯s not very good. Guessing we¡¯re going to have to try and cover our tracks better. Not exactly easy when we¡¯re twice the height of the locals though.¡± Jason said, rubbing his chin. ¡°Listen closely, you¡¯re going to go back to whoever it is that sent you, and tell them that what we¡¯re doing is some harmless exploration of old structures. It¡¯s a part of a research venture, you see. I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll understand that we mean no harm to... whatever it is he uses these places for.¡±


    The Urchski looked back to Twenty-Two before nodding. Jason released his grip and they both watched him scurry off. Once the sound of his footsteps was gone, Twenty-Two let out a frustrated sigh and walked towards the door.


    ¡°We should¡¯ve just killed him, you know. Not like Urchski¡¯s getting stabbed is something that unusual in the Megaden. Maybe we could even have hidden the body and they¡¯d think he just ran off.¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t just resort to murder as your first response... even if it is what you¡¯re good at.¡± Jason said, heading for the stairs inside. ¡°Let¡¯s go tell Olivia we need to move.¡±


    ¡°What, are you trying to say you think my methods are wrong? They¡¯re just what I was taught during my time among the maskless. I had assumed that¡¯s why the king suggested I come along. Do you think he was mistaken in inviting me along?¡± She asked him in a voice thick with sarcasm.


    ¡°If I respond, you¡¯re probably going to interrupt me again.¡± He replied before heading downstairs.


    Twenty-Two hesitated at the top before frowning down at his descending figure. ¡°You know, I prefer it when you¡¯re being stoic over trying to be sarcastic.¡±

 Chapter Three

    Away from the trading hub and center of the eastern Megaden, the forest grew thicker. Along with the plantlife, the density of Urchski dwellings also grew. Trees as big as towers were burrowed into and hollowed out. A whole urschki family could live within one such tree.


    Saul finally met back up with Xen and Plafluf, all three of them moving among a beaten path towards the latter¡¯s home. Few Urchski wandered around them, and they stuck out clearly among the dark green woods. Eventually Plafluf ran ahead to the doorway of one such tree, symbols written in his native language carved above it.


    ¡°Eh, you two wait out here first. I must go inside and make sure it is okay.¡±


    Xen and Saul exchanged quizzical looks before their guide slipped inside. Saul moved over beside the entrance and placed his hand on the tree¡¯s bark.


    Strange, it seems like it¡¯s still alive. I can¡¯t even get a clear understanding of how old the tree is either. Hard to imagine how long it takes for a tree like this to grow to begin with. Saul thought to himself as he felt the smooth chestnut bark.


    ¡°Something wrong?¡± Xen asked him.


    ¡°No, just admiring the plant life. Not used to seeing this kind of stuff back in the center ring. Even though I¡¯ve been here before, it still amazes me how they build around the forest.¡±


    ¡°The Urchski were tunnelers on the old world, I¡¯ve heard. Makes sense they would take up refuge at the bottom of Alzholme, digging their ways into the trees. Heard there are even old tunnel networks below our feet from when they first came.¡±


    Saul pulled his hand back and cocked an eyebrow at him. ¡°Didn¡¯t realize you would be so versed in their history.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not. That¡¯s just some of the information I needed to gather before setting foot in this place. The Megaden is a web of tangled communications and false ends. It¡¯s like the entire population has a grudge against established law enforcement. How the noble families manage to keep guards in their roster is beyond me.¡± Xen said as he looked around.


    ¡°Easy, they do it for the money.¡± Saul responded with a shrug.


    A sudden burst of activity sounded from behind the door and drew both of their attentions. The door creaked open to reveal Plafluf once again, but this time surrounded by three smaller Urchski. They stared at both Saul and Xen and tried to push past their sibling as hard as possible.


    ¡°Hurry, come in.¡± Plafluf said, shoving one of the smaller ones behind him. ¡°These are my brothers. Do not step on them and you will be fine.¡±


    As they filed into the home, Saul paused to take in the strange entrance. He and Xen both had to duck their heads down to not bump the ceiling. Aside from that, there was a spot of dirt on the interior with stiff rug laying on top. Plafluf pointed to his own small feet and then to the patch. It took them a second, but they eventually realized the patch¡¯s purpose and took off their shoes on it.


    The hall inside curved along the walls of the tree, slowly climbing up as it went. Along the way they had to be careful not to step on Plafluf¡¯s siblings while they darted between their legs. By the time the hall ended, it curved to the center of the tree. Even through the heavy wooden scent of the structure, the delectable aroma of roasting meat could be smelt.


    ¡°Are we supposed to be smelling something cooking?¡± Xen asked cautiously.


    ¡°Do not worry, my mother is cooking a meal. You can sit at the smaller table with me and we will discuss things.¡± He said, gesturing to a small table with some cushions seated around it.


    Though the chairs were clearly made and brought in, the table itself seemed hewn from the same wood as the floor. As they sat down, the only distinguishing feature from it and the ground below was a brown coloring added on top. Both of them sat down on the opposite side from Plafluf, Xen resting on his knees and Saul in a criss-cross.


    ¡°You can light fires inside a tree?¡± Saul asked him.


    ¡°The kitchen is covered in the sap, very heat resistant. Tricky part is digging the chimney. But!¡± Plafluf said, placing both his paws on the table. ¡°We should now do the discussing.¡±


    ¡°Surrounded by your family?¡± Xen replied. ¡°Not exactly the ideal sitting for either of us. Besides, just how many siblings do you actually have?¡±


    ¡°Eh, this is only the second generation, so about seven. Most of the ones at my age are out and about during this time of day. I do not have any mates of my own, so I am debt free for the time.¡±Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t realize Urchski families were so... extensive.¡± Saul said, watching two of the smaller one hiss at each other.


    ¡°We all have one mother, and each of us usually comes from a different father. Men are more common than women, so it is okay. Mothers are the ones that own property most of the time, so they also house their children. Once they mate with someone, they have to provide bits for that woman. It is a slavery, but that is how life works.¡± Plafluf answered with a shrug.


    Some bustling came from another entrance further up in the tree. After a few seconds, large footsteps could be heard coming from an entrance opposite to the one they all came in from. Eventually an Urchski passed through it carrying a large pot with a wooden spoon inside.


    Unlike the Urchski Saul and Xen had seen thus far, this one was far larger than the other, coming just a head shorter than them both. They quickly pieced together this must be Plafluf¡¯s mother just as she set the pot down and began ordering the smaller Urchski about in their native tongue. The language was as course as their fur, even if neither Xen nor Saul could translate it. Once her yelling had settled down, she moved beside Plafluf and smacked the back of his head.


    Seems like the rumor that Urchski women are larger is true. Saul thought to himself. I always imagined they meant that the women were slightly taller, but his mother¡¯s nearly twice his size!


    Plafluf hissed in surprise, rubbing the sore spot on the back of his head. The mother sat down on a cushion next to him eyeing both of her guests cautiously. A few seconds later, she spoke more of the Urchski language.


    ¡°She is saying she is going to sit here and make sure you are not doing anything illegal. She is a bit too protective of me.¡± Plafluf answered.


    ¡°Why are we even brokering information when someone intentionally tells us they¡¯re going to listen in?¡± Xen answered. ¡°I refuse to give up anything I know as long as she¡¯s here.¡±


    ¡°Well, she can¡¯t understand you.¡± Plafluf answered.


    ¡°Then... how is she going to determine what we¡¯re doing?¡± Saul asked him.


    ¡°She will watch us to make sure nothing illegal happens here. A discussion should be fine though. None of my siblings speak the city language either.¡±


    Xen opened his mouth to retort, but felt the icy stare of the mother on him. He stared back for a few tense seconds before settling down on the table with his arms folded. Saul took the opportunity to take out his own notes.


    ¡°Well then, if that¡¯s done, I¡¯ll start. First thing I came down here for was looking for a series of missing crates that were stolen from the center ring in the human section. The only lead I had was that the boxes which were taken all seemed to have been marked with a symbol before being taken. That same symbol was on the crates found inside the sewers where we met.¡±


    ¡°Strange, I don¡¯t remember seeing them carrying the crates or anything. By the time I arrived they were just starting the deal and cracking them open. There wasn¡¯t any money on them, just pieces of paper scrawled with text. One of the Urchski destroyed them with some kind of oil before I could get my hands on them.¡±


    ¡°Sounds like credit papers. I can imagine the amount of money paid for that stuff was too high to just carry around, especially not somewhere like the Megaden. But that would have to mean that whoever was buying this stuff was buying it in bulk.¡± Saul answered, jotting it down in his notes.


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t that be obvious?¡± Plafluf asked.


    ¡°No, the more common method is to steal a large amount of stuff and then sell it in parts over a longer period of time. With more buyers, it gets harder to track this sort of thing. I guess that makes this more worrying, because who wanted to buy this probably ordered it be stolen.¡± Saul said before putting down his pencil. ¡°We¡¯re looking for someone that wants a lot of weapons, but doesn¡¯t want people to know they¡¯ve got them.¡±


    ¡°Strange, I was sure my target was related to that deal. She went into hiding though, so I can¡¯t imagine her need for a surplus of weaponry.¡±


    ¡°Maybe she was part of the deal? She could well be the one stealing them in the first place.¡±


    ¡°That could be possible. Strangely, once she got to the Megaden things ran cold. Perhaps whatever group is buying these weapons could be the same ones that are helping to cover up where she¡¯s been.¡±


    Plafluf¡¯s mother stood up briefly and spoke to some of the younger siblings. As Xen and Saul looked in the same direction, they noticed a large bowl in the center of the other table. Bits of meat and carrot were stuck to the sides, but it was otherwise empty. At their mother¡¯s beckoning, they lifted the large dish as a group and scurried back into the kitchen with it. Saul watched them carry it off and checked back down to his notes.


    Someone in power within the Megaden with a fair amount of manpower, who also would want to buy weapons in bulk. If it were whoever was paying the guards in this area, surely they wouldn¡¯t want to anger the merchants¡¯ guild by buying stolen goods. There¡¯s got to be something that we¡¯re missing here. Saul thought, flipping through the pages of his notes.


    Plafluf¡¯s mother turned to her son and started speaking quietly. They had a brief exchange before the mother got up and moved towards the kitchen area again. She looked back to Xen specifically and pointed one claw of her paw at him threateningly. As she moved further away, the smaller Urchski started to cling to her tail and ride her out of the room.


    ¡°What was that all about?¡± Xen asked Plafluf.


    ¡°She said she had to go start cleaning the pot. Oh, but she doesn''t trust you very much though. I think that your clothing looks similar to the ones the western guards will wear.¡±


    ¡°So she doesn¡¯t want us doing anything illegal, yet she dislikes the guards?¡± Xen replied, leaning his head into one palm. ¡°If I didn¡¯t know any better I would say your mother has a sordid past.¡±


    ¡°No! She just distrusts the western Urchski. They and the Northern ones keep pressing into her side of the Megaden. There is a lot of fighting and trouble cause by them.¡±


    ¡°Wait a minute... that could be it!¡± Saul said. ¡°If one of more of those sides wanted to organize a lot of trouble in the other areas, they¡¯d have to buy weapons for it first. We¡¯ve got to try and find where they might be storing weapons. My guess would have to be somewhere near the border...¡±


    Xen pulled out a map of the local area and unfurled it at the table. The three sections of the Megaden were distinctly labeled with black lines, following along massive rivers that divided the Megaden¡¯s forests. Plafluf pointed to some buildings of interest near the border, and they quickly came up with a route to search along. Starting near the southernmost part of the river and working up.


    As they finished drawing on the map, Saul turned to Xen and pulled out his notes once again.


    ¡°Hey, not particularly my business, but if we¡¯re going to be working and searching together, I¡¯ve got a question for you. Is there a name for who you searching for? We might find him first, and wouldn¡¯t want him to slip past you.¡±


    ¡°It is an Erudine woman. I cannot say the specifics for why she has been targeted, obviously, but she doesn¡¯t really have a name.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°The name she had before she became the subject of our interest has... expired. Needless to say, I¡¯m not sure what she might be calling herself at this point.¡± Xen replied before putting a hand on his chin. ¡°I¡¯m only allowed to divulge a certain amount of information, but I guess this isn¡¯t too much. Her designation aside from a name was her recruitment number, number Twenty-Two.¡±

 Chapter Four

    Near the border of the Urchski clans, there was the massive Kezl river. Fish swam over each other to cross it, but the perilous curves and thick foliage of the Megaden made it difficult for fishermen to pull more than a few at a time. Bridges sporadically covered the rivers thicker portions, though the quality varied between the ones found upon the country''s discovery and ones the Urchski fashioned themselves.


    Over one made of wood, Twenty-Two was making her way through a small crowd of traders heading to the western area. Guards on both sides held their traditional spears tightly, keenly observing each traveller. Humans and Masked were stopped and questioned one by one as they passed.


    Her clothing and face were obscured by a dark brown cloak hung over her body. The outfit turned some heads, but only on account of the fact she was by herself while wearing it. Most who looked at it might assume she was wearing such obscuring clothing to avoid the hands of petty thieves while within the mash of people.


    Why was I even sent out for this job? She thought to herself. All these people around me are making my sensing ability go insane. Feels like I¡¯m standing on a bed of nails. I bet Jason couldn¡¯t take me complaining and just sent me out here to get out of his hair. If any of them bump into me I¡¯m going to jump into the river.


    She reached the edge of the bridge and was stopped by one of the guards. Before he could speak, she held up a trader¡¯s badge. It had been given to the by the Underking as part of this mission. Even though the information was accurate, the guard hesitated to let her pass. When she eventually did, she tugged the hood down further and stared at the ground.


    The rest of the group hurried forward, but Twenty-Two separated from the pack. All of them were moving further into the Eastern side, but she clung to the river¡¯s edge. Once away from the crowd, she let out a sigh of relief. Her attention was briefly drawn to a bird resting on the shores edge, dipping its beak into the water to drink.


    It was a mountain trail-tail, a creature native to the place Alzholme had rested on the old world. Aside from chickens and some other novelty birds with a low population, it was possibly among the last birds left. The bird finished drinking and stretched out its dark grey wings wide. Its raptor eyes briefly locked onto Twenty-Two before it flew away. Only once it had left did she start walking down the path again.


    This whole place feels too earthy for me. I feel like I¡¯m going to get a disease with all these animals moving around and above. Not to mention all the eyes poking at me, little Urchski¡¯s thinking they can pick my pockets. I can practically feel my sword arm twitching. She thought to herself, nervously glancing around as she walked.


    She eventually found herself in front of one of the rare few stores near the waterfront. It was easily spotted, with a small garden of multi-colored flowers blooming around the base of the tree. A winding path led from the road up to the door, but no sign was visible. Twenty-Two looked from side to side furtively, making sure the coast was clear before she headed inside.


    The inside was a massive column with stairs that rose up a level around the side every time it passed the opposite end of the entrance. In the center was a slight depression with a desk, hewn from the wood of the tree itself. Behind it was a young woman with red hair.


    Twenty-Two took a step inside and looked around cautiously. There was no one in the immediate range she could see, but the tree¡¯s insides rose dozens of meters upward. As she drew her attention downward, she got a good look at the woman behind the desk.


    She seemed like a normal human, with a slightly plump body. Her clothes were plain, but matted in spots with bits of tree sap. On top of a black smock she was wearing, the image of a blue rose was sewn. Imperfections littered the stitching of her clothes, a sign that she might¡¯ve made them herself. Silently, Twenty-Two approached her while she worked on some paperwork. The moment her light got disrupted, she glanced up and let out a small yelp.


    ¡°O-Oh! Sorry, I wasn¡¯t really expecting anyone to visit yet...¡± The woman answered. ¡°I¡¯m Caroline, and you are...?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m looking for the Enterus who runs this shop. Do you work for him?¡± Twenty-Two answered, keeping her head tilted slightly to avoid letting her face be seen properly.


    ¡°You mean Volruun? I¡¯m sorry, he¡¯s a bit wrapped up in studying some plants near the top. He¡¯s actually making some really nice progress in integrating the blood sap into plant soil. Hopefully we can use it to help grow greenery in the¡ª"


    ¡°Can you get him? I have rather important matters to discuss with him, and I don¡¯t want to wait for very long.¡±


    Caroline started to speak up, but Twenty-Two let her glimpse part of her face. The many scars across her features sent a chill down her spine. She quietly excused herself from the desk and hurried up the stairs.


    In the meantime, Twenty-Two walked about the shop. Most of the shelves contained bottles labelled with tonics to treat various ailments, as well as dosage instructions for each race of Alzholme. All the bottles had a similar shape to them, implying some form of mass production. She reached forward and grabbed a bottle filled with a thick red liquid.


    Sleep tonic to prevent paralysis during night time. She read inside of her head. It must¡¯ve taken a lot of experimentation to get a concoction that specific. If I was here on better terms, maybe I¡¯d ask for something to help with nightmares. That or something to stop Olivia snoring.


    A loud series of creaking came from above, and she placed the bottle back on the shelf before turning around. While Caroline was still using the stairs to head back down, a massive potted tree was inching its way down the floors. A thick root latched onto the railing of one layer and lowered the pot below before hooking itself on the same one and repeating the process. For how much weight must have been lifted each time, the speed was remarkably impressive.


    When the pot finally rested on the floor, Twenty-Two could make out more of the feature unique to the Enterus. At first looking like stunted and warped trees, there was a large brown face plastered on one side of the trunk. The tree itself seemed to hunch over to emphasize which side had the wrinkly features on it. Out of the pot itself were only a few small roots, and the one massive one that he had used to climb down. Leaves shook to the floor as the Enterus let out a drawn out breath before pulling itself closer to Twenty-Two.


    ¡°Strange to see someone wearing a cloak in this weather.¡± He said, his voice long and drawn out. ¡°I am Volruun-oak, if you did not know that. Did you have a specific need for me? Caroline is already trained to handle sales of the tonics. Unless you had a question about their contents?¡±


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    ¡°I¡¯ve heard that you¡¯ve been in the Megaden for quite a while. In fact, there¡¯s supposed to be one of the old buildings that got too overgrown with vines and people thought that it got buried. Trouble is, that sort of thing isn¡¯t really possible naturally.¡± Twenty-Two said as she moved a little closer to him. ¡°Would you happen to know anything about that?¡±


    Volruun¡¯s face furrowed like a twisting knot. ¡°That is a rather suspicious question. I am afraid you are mistaken if you seek to imply anything of my doing being involved in such rumors.¡±


    ¡°No, as a matter of fact, I¡¯m not saying that at all. What I am here to do is to ask you about the access tunnel that was made shortly after that. You had something to do with constructing it, didn¡¯t you? There was something wrong with the structure because of nearby tree roots, and you had to be brought in, right?¡±


    He glared at her intensely as she kept talking. Caroline took a step away from him as the pot started grinding against the floor. Twenty-Two glanced down at the thick root moving him forward and smirked. Pulling her cloak aside she brought out her blade and spun it around confidently.


    The root shot forward at an astounding speed. Its fibres screeched out with crackling noises as it moved to wrap around the intruder¡¯s throat. Instead they only grasped at open air. Twenty-Two managed to dodge to the side and was racing along the edges of the building. Volruun¡¯s root gave chase again, the effort of moving it so fast making him grunt in frustration. He cut her off shortly, but she deflected the strike with her sword.


    Pox, it really is oak. A hardwood like that is just going to dull my weapon, and I¡¯m not going to have the stamina to dodge him for as long as it takes to cut through. Have to find a distraction. Her thoughts raced as she contorted her body to avoid the sweeping wood.


    The shelves of potions caught her eye again and she moved towards one as fast as possible. Making sure to watch where he was aiming to strike her from, she reached the shelf she¡¯d been looking at before. Rather than grabbing one, she hooked her blade behind a whole row and yanked them all towards him.


    His root snaked around a few of them in the air, but most just crashed helplessly to the ground. As he set the safe ones on the wet ground, he turned back to get revenge. Before the root could strike again, he found his assistant with a knife against her throat. His branches shook in anger for a few seconds, but he remained silent.


    ¡°Good, I was hoping to avoid any bloodshed, so I¡¯m glad you¡¯ll play along. Now, answers; What was it that you found in the old building that made the Urchski want to pull out of there?¡±


    He was silent for several moments, and then began to speak in his slow voice.¡°I believe it was... old technology. Artifacts of Alzholme¡¯s original occupants, I believe.¡± He answered begrudgingly. ¡°Why would you even wish to know something like that? That building is a nest of thick roots.¡±


    ¡°What I want is not why I¡¯m here, I¡¯m here on behalf of an interested party somewhere higher up. Now, how do we gain access to this tunnel that you created? Is it still being used by anyone?¡±


    ¡°How would I know whether anyone is using that thing anymore? It¡¯s not my life, nor my concern what they are doing. I¡¯m working here to help the city with mixtures made from Megaden flora. Release my assistant and leave me to my work immediately!¡± He demanded, the gnarls of wood in his expression creaking with every word.


    Twenty-Two took a step back and glanced down, noticing already the root that was snaking towards her ankle. It quickly retreated as she looked, but she pressed the blade harder against Caroline¡¯s skin, cutting into the surface enough to bleed at the edge. He let out a grunt of frustration at his failure.


    ¡°Fine... you win. I still don¡¯t know anything about whether it¡¯s being used or not. To the east of the building is a massive iron grate. Last time I was there, it had a massive grate on it. No guards though, I¡¯m guessing they wanted to keep it a secret.¡± Volruun said with a deep sigh. ¡°Is that enough for you? Let her go already and get out of here!.¡±


    She released her grip on Caroline and shoved the woman forward. Volruun¡¯s root wrapped around one of his assistant¡¯s arms and helped keep her upright.


    ¡°There, was that so hard?¡± She said, lowering the blade to her side. ¡°Don¡¯t trouble yourself with trying to send guards after me either, got it? Just treat it like this little exchange never happened and we won¡¯t need to run into each other again.¡±


    ¡°Wait!¡± He called out as she turned to leave. ¡°Why do you even need this information? That place... it had an unnatural feeling to it. Structures like that don¡¯t belong here in the Megaden. Whatever the person you¡¯re working for, whatever reason you have for heading in, you should drop it.¡±


    ¡°Goodbye, alchemist. I¡¯ll pass on your superstition along with the information you¡¯ve given me.¡± Twenty-Two answered.


    She left the building and flipped the hood of her cloak completely over her face again. Once out of the winding garden path, she stopped in the road and glanced around. A few Urchski scampered in several directions, but none were within hearing range. Feeling alone, she let out a heavy sigh and clutched at her chest.


    Pox upon me, I shouldn¡¯t have cut her throat like that, even as a threat. Whatever, he¡¯s an alchemist. They can probably patch that wound easily. Still, feels so strange to not just attack someone outright. She thought to herself, flexing her stiff fingers a few times.


    A quick movement caught her eye towards the river, as she saw another mountain trail-tail. Unlike before, this one had a severely injured wing. Twenty-Two took a few steps closer, and noticed that the bird was carrying for a single egg. It hissed at her as she approached.


    ¡°Relax, I¡¯m not going to take your baby.¡± She told it pointlessly.


    The bird continued to stare at her intensely, fluffing out the feathers on its good wing to appear more intimidating. She looked past the hen, spotting a small lizard sneaking towards the nest.


    ¡°You know there¡¯s something coming from behind you right? Too busy trying to scare me off that you¡¯re not even paying attention.¡± She said, sitting down on the ground. ¡°That thing is going to snack on your egg and all you¡¯ll be able to do is kill it. Don¡¯t think you¡¯ve got the brains to do that without harming the egg in the process. I¡¯ve got a code about getting revenge, you know, but I might be willing to break it for you... if you were nice to me at least.¡±


    Twenty-Two folded her arms up on her knees as she tucked her legs in, smirking at the bird. A few more seconds passed, with the lizard crawling closer by the second. Eventually the bird made an effort to spread its hurt wing, cooing softly in agony. Twenty-Two could tell there were a few broken bones in the wing, presumably from an earlier fight. Beneath the twisted feathers, fragments of other eggshells were scattered about the nest.


    Standing back up, Twenty-Two picked a rock off the road and chucked it directly at the lizard. The blow knocked on its hard hard enough to bleed, but not enough to kill. As it scurried off, the mother bird looked about in confusion. Eventually she settled her eyes on the more distant Twenty-Two and settled down out of her tense pose.


    ¡°There, that¡¯s my good deed for the day. Least you¡¯re thankful for it, unlike¡ª"


    ¡°I hope you¡¯re not going to say my name.¡± Came Jason¡¯s voice.


    She flinched back and stumbled as she spun around. Jason was standing in the road, dressed in a similar cloak to her own, but with his arms out of the sleeves and held behind his back. He looked over to the alchemist¡¯s shop and then back to her.


    ¡°Did you get the information we need? I only saw you go in.¡±


    ¡°What, didn¡¯t think I could go and get a simple few pieces of information out of an old tree parasite? I thought you were supposed to be helping Olivia, not out here eavesdropping on me.¡±


    ¡°Olivia fell asleep. Another night long study session seems to have gotten the best of her. I was hoping to come by and help you out, but you went in before I could join you. Didn¡¯t seem like you were in there for long though. I didn¡¯t think even an Enterus would be much trouble for you.¡±


    Twenty-Two brushed past him and started walking down the path back home. Jason followed suit, but kept quiet as they moved about. He made sure to stand between larger crowds, but didn¡¯t mention it. Right as they crossed back over the bridge and were out of sight, she grabbed his arm.


    ¡°Why aren¡¯t you talking? Are you waiting for us to meet back up with Olivia before you mention the bird?¡± She hissed at him.


    ¡°No, I wasn¡¯t planning on talking about it at all. I mean, I did have a small curiosity about what happened, but you¡¯re not usually the open type.¡± Jason said, cocking an eyebrow at her. ¡°Why, did you do something?¡±


    ¡°You saw me save the egg, you already said you were watching me before I even entered the alchemist¡¯s shop!¡±


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s true that I was curious, but I wasn¡¯t going to bring it up. You used to be a member of the maskless, right? The Erudine peacekeepers. As far as I know, they¡¯re not the type to prevent a crime, just to mete out justice or revenge.¡± Jason said before pulling his arm free. ¡°I was wondering if you still believed in that sort of thing.¡±


    Twenty-Two glanced down at her hands and flexed them. Her hands were calloused from years of training and work. Across her arms were thin lines of pale skin that just barely stood out among the rest of her body. Because of her ability, most of the scars were nothing more than just light slashes. A small number were deep and wide, mostly across her forearms. Looking at them again made her clench her fists tightly and look to the ground.


    ¡°I¡¯m not their puppet anymore. They abandoned me when I needed saving the most. If I can work against their wants, that¡¯s all the better for me.¡±


    ¡°Hm... well, just be sure you don¡¯t lose your moral code entirely. You¡¯re working for the king now. We¡¯re expected to be strong protectors and executors of his will.¡± He said, but gently placed a hand on her shoulder. ¡°Don¡¯t hesitate to come to me if that sort of thing is causing you conflict though, alright? You¡¯re better than me in a fight, and we¡¯re going to need you to be in top shape if things go wrong. That includes your mental health.¡±


    ¡°Spare me your pity, Jason.¡± Twenty-Two replied, brushing off his hand and moving back towards the road.


    He shook his head as he watched her leave, having to jog to catch up with her.

 Chapter Five

    Saul and the others wandered near the river serving as a border between the sections of the Megaden. Traffic moved around various bridges throughout the area, and all of them were heavily guarded. Most of them turned into chokepoints in the otherwise chaotic movement as merchants and others were stopped and inspected.


    ¡°Can you believe how bad things have gotten here? They keep hiring more guards on either side, this is just insanity. Why are the nobles so stupid?¡± Plafluf asked as he watched multiple Urchski guards try and inspect the same merchant¡¯s credentials. ¡°It¡¯s like they want us to fight them.¡±


    ¡°I thought that the extra guards were to prevent trouble-makers from coming over into the Eastern side of the Megaden? Certainly seems like Western Urchski aren¡¯t well liked by the locals.¡± Saul responded while he brought out his book and waited for a moment to stop one of them.


    ¡°But if both sides just hire more security, it is just going to be more difficult to move about. This is why it¡¯s a bad idea. Should have the guards just protect the inner areas. If a westerner do crimes, then they will get caught and beaten. If someone Eastern does it, or if someone southern does it, they will also be beat. This is fairness.¡± Plafluf said, glaring at the large group of congested travellers.


    Saul took a step forward and flashed his badge to one of the guards. After some fidgeting, he started speaking to the other Urchski there quickly before nodding off to the side and moving out of the way of the crowd. Once in a clearer and quieter spot, Saul pulled out his pencil.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, just need to ask some questions on behalf of the guild. Now, you all seem to have some cheap iron spears, pretty sure that¡¯s common and all, but you¡¯ve had a spring of new hires. Any idea how your employer got all these weapons?¡±


    The Urchski shook his head side to side, clinging to the spear at his side. ¡°I am just paid, not sure who does what or why above me.¡±


    ¡°None at all? Well, alright then. Have you seen any weapons merchants come through this place? Either that or unmarked goods? They might have had what looked like official guild seals.¡±


    Once more he shook his head, but stood up straighter as he gave a response. ¡°We stop all weapons from going in or coming out of the Western and Southern areas! At least when it comes to the big amounts coming through. Haven¡¯t seen anything like that in a while though. Are the Western Urchski up to something? You must tell us if this is the case!¡±


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t know anything about your political situation. I¡¯m just trying to get some answers about some stolen merchandise. You can go back now, thank you.¡± Saul told him, putting away his pencil and watching the guard hurried back to his post. ¡°Didn¡¯t get anything useful out of him either. Me and Plafluf saw some nobles carrying around lots of weapons and looking for trouble earlier though... maybe the upper class is looking to start getting some vigilante justice.¡±


    The three of them continued walking down the path beside the river looking for more patrols, but they were concentrated near the busy bridges over it. Eventually they stopped near a cluster of more tree buildings, all of which having signs carved onto the outside or hanging somewhere in front. Xen gestured to one with thumb and looked to Plafluf.


    ¡°Maybe some of the store owners would know better. Even in a place like this, there has to be gossip about large shipments moving around, or troublemakers with weaponry. Do you have any idea where to start asking?¡±


    The Urchski brought one hand up to his chin and scratched it in thought before scampering over to one of the trees. ¡°This general store. They supply a lot of people, not owned by Urchski. Probably won¡¯t care if we ask questions about them.¡±


    Both Saul and Xen nodded, and they entered the shop. The stoop was carved into the base of the tree, but a thick knot on the right side remained as it must have been impractical to cut through. A faint red sheen covered the surface of the wood wherever it was cut out.


    Using the sap as some sort of sealant? Hard to believe something so miraculous just happened to be living in the area, it makes for a perfect housing environment. Saul thought to himself as he felt the edge of the doorframe.


    ¡°Oh, customers? Come in, come in!¡± A cheery and flighty voice called out.


    The shop itself had around three floors of items lined on shelves or stacked on the floor. Saul felt a sense of nostalgia for his hometown with how the items seemed to come from every corner of the massive city. Before he could get too distracted, he looked to the source of the voice.


    A large desk was carved out of the very back of the tree and held a register among some jewelry that would be hard to keep track of on other floors. Behind the desk was an Erudine woman wearing a mask with coin reliefs pressed into both cheeks. As Saul approached, he noticed that the woman¡¯s body was strikingly similar in outline to Xen.


    ¡°Excuse me, I¡¯m here to ask a few questions about stuff that might have passed through her recently?¡± Saul said, holding up his badge again. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about your own shop or anything, I¡¯m wondering if you¡¯ve seen anything suspicious or heard any rumors about a large amount of materials being moved between the Western border?¡±


    ¡°Oh my, I¡¯m afraid I couldn¡¯t say I¡¯d be much help there. Why don¡¯t you try taking a look around the shop and see if there¡¯s anything that catches your fancy! There¡¯s plenty of things from the other rings, you know.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for the offer, but we¡¯re really just¡ª"


    ¡°Nonsense, nonsense! Haven¡¯t you seen the kind of jewelry and oddities we have here? Everything you never knew you wanted is here, after all. Maybe another floor would be to your liking?¡±


    Saul rubbed the bridge of his nose in frustration and turned to Plafluf for help. The Urchski guide was more concerned with examining shards of colored glass than helping out with the questions. Before he could try again, Xen put a hand on his shoulder and stepped forward.


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    The store owner was initially confused at Xen¡¯s movement, but leaned forward when he beckoned. Saul could only make out a faint few whispers coming from behind his mask, and suddenly the shopkeeper took on a much more grim expression. As they both returned to a standing position, she cleared her throat and stared at the ground.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry for that. Not sure if there¡¯s anything related to what you¡¯re looking for, but I saw two people pass in front of my shop and get into a fight earlier. There wasn¡¯t much reason to intervene, so I didn¡¯t poke my head out, I only heard them arguing and then watched them walk towards the border a little while afterwards.¡±


    Saul quickly wrote down what she said. ¡°Er, thank you for the help. If that¡¯s all the information you have, we¡¯ll just be going now. Take care with your business.¡±


    The woman¡¯s eyes darted to Xen before she stared at the ground again. All three of them left back out into the street and Saul moved closer to the river¡¯s edge. He tried looking for something suspicious, but could only spot a bird¡¯s nest further along the road. Eventually he turned back to Xen and Plafluf.


    ¡°Hey, what did you say to that shopkeep anyway? It was like you flipped a switch or something, her entire tone changed.¡± Saul asked him.


    ¡°Nothing you should be concerned with. All I did was invoke one of my rights as a member of the maskless. Some people become unnerved once they learn they are in the presence of someone like me.¡±


    ¡°Well, don¡¯t think we¡¯re going to get much use out of that in this place. Not many Erudine live in the Megaden. Course... maybe that would help? Doubt the Urchski shop keepers are going to do well at remembering every foreigner, but maybe one of the shops run by an outsider will give better results.¡±


    They nodded in agreement and Plafluf led them to the only other shop he knew of along the river bank. When they got there, they found a sprawling garden in front of the tree that surrounded a winding path to its trunk. Climbing up the steps, they heard the sound of sweeping and glass crunching.


    Saul was the first inside, and found a massive Enterus using his root-limb to help sweep the shards of glass towards his assistant. The pale brown floor was covered in a technicolor puddle of liquids. Noticing one of the shelves being almost completely empty, it wasn¡¯t hard to piece together what happened. Caroline was the first to notice the trio enter and let out a small yelp before rushing back to the counter.


    ¡°Ah, um... excuse the mess in here. Are you looking for some kind of medicine? My name is Caroline and this is Volruun, the alchemist. We mostly have products for Urchski, but a lot of those can have the dosage adjusted for Humans and Erudine.¡±


    ¡°No worries, we¡¯re just here to ask a few questions. My name is Saul, I¡¯m with the merchant¡¯s guild from the upper ring and¡ª"


    ¡°We¡¯re just about to close up shop. I¡¯m not looking to purchase any more bottles or ingredients at the moment, so I would kindly ask that you all leave at once. As you can see, there was an accident in my shop and I need to take care of it immediately.¡±


    Saul pulled out his badge and cocked an eyebrow. ¡°Seems odd that an entire shelf suddenly fell over. Doesn¡¯t look like it¡¯s damaged either.¡±


    ¡°Are you here to question my priorities? I thought to fix the shelf first.¡± The Enterus said, still refusing to look toward any of them.


    Xen took a step forward again, but Saul held up a hand to stop him from intervening. He looked down at the puddle and how they shattered. Watching it with one hand on his chin, his eyes were eventually drawn to the woman behind the counter. Unlike the Enterus, she was fidgeting uncomfortably. Saul walked towards her and held up his badge again but she only briefly glanced at it.


    ¡°We¡¯re looking for anyone that was acting strangely or out of place. Do you have anyone that would fit that description, ma¡¯am?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve told you already that it was¡ª"


    ¡°There was someone that came here and did this!¡± Caroline turned her head up and gestured to a faint cut along her neck. ¡°They threatened us and broke those bottles when they came here. She had a sword and... and...!¡±


    ¡°Calm down, it¡¯ll be alright.¡± Saul put his badge down and put a hand on her shoulder. ¡°Take it slow, alright? Start from the beginning, tell me what happened.¡±


    Xen looked over at Volruun, but the Enterus turned himself completely away from the two of them at this point. His root swept along the broken glass, but it didn¡¯t take much watching to notice that he wasn¡¯t paying attention to his own cleaning at this point.


    ¡°There was this woman who came in here wearing a cloak. She demanded to speak to Volruun before even asking me anything. At first I was a little worried someone was going to try and extort us for money or medicine. When he did show up though, the woman started demanding a bunch of answers to questions and...¡± Caroline took a deep breath before continuing, rubbing her neck at the memory. ¡°The two of them ended up fighting, but she... I don¡¯t know how, but she managed to just dance around him. I¡¯ve never seen anything like it before. He might¡¯ve got her eventually, but then she caught me and threatened to kill me if he didn¡¯t talk!¡±


    Saul had taken his hand back in the middle of her story and began writing down the details as fast as he could. By the time she finished, he was staring at the Enterus. Caroline took a seat and a silence came over the room, only briefly broken by the sound of glass shards sliding across the wood floor.


    ¡°Mister Volruun? Care to tell me what kind of questions this person was asking?¡± Saul asked him, moving closer.


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t. It¡¯s bad enough that whoever that person was knows about that place, I¡¯m not going to stir up more trouble by telling the whole town. Do you have any idea how many years I¡¯ve kept that secret?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re trying to stop whoever did this, but we can¡¯t know what they¡¯re planning or doing if we don¡¯t get this information. If they were willing to come over here in broad daylight and threaten you, then it had to be something serious. You¡¯ve got to give me the truth or things are only going to get worse!¡±


    Volruun¡¯s body creaked as he turned his massive body around to reveal the pained expression knotted on his face. He lifted his lone appendage and sighed at the pieces of glass sticking out, the deep brown color tinged with various other hues from his mixtures that were spilled on the floor.


    ¡°I... I refuse to tell you about the bulk of it, but I will tell you enough. When I first came to the Megaden many years ago, I was asked by a group of wealthy Urchski to help them gain access to a building within the Megaden, and within the Western side. The old building is covered in thick roots from the surrounding trees, and quite unlike any of the other similar structures you might find here. I believe they mistakenly assumed I could influence the trees or some such nonsense, but in the end I helped them gain access through the use of a secret tunnel.¡± He paused and let out a slow sigh, rattling the foliage on the upper parts of his body. ¡°You¡¯ve got to avoid that place. Nothing was right in there, some kind of machinery...¡±


    ¡°Can you tell me where this tunnel is? We¡¯ve got to stop this person, and we¡¯re worried they¡¯re going to do something.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s located beneath a bridge east of here. A massive iron grate covers it up now, it should be rusted over at this point. That¡¯s the only way into the building that I know of.¡±


    Saul finished writing down the simple directions and sheathed his pencil into the journal as he put it away. ¡°Thank you for your cooperation. I¡¯ll do my best to make sure whatever that building has to do with this, that it stops.¡±


    Volruun didn¡¯t respond with more than a nod before he started sweeping up the glass again. Caroline sat down in her chair and idly rubbed the light scrape across her neck while Saul and Plafluf left the building. Xen lagged behind and approached her, leaning against the desk and looking to make sure Volruun wasn¡¯t paying attention.


    ¡°Ma¡¯am... this person that attacked you two. Did they have any exemplary features that stuck out to you? Something that distinguished them from a crowd?¡± He asked in a soft tone.


    ¡°What? I mean, yes... I think it was a woman, from her voice. She looked very pale and sickly. The scariest part was her scars though, it felt like she¡¯d been attacked by a wild animal or something. There was something strange though; I think the tops of her ears were pointed? To be honest the rest of her face was so attention drawing it never really occurred to me until now.¡± Caroline replied before swallowing hard. ¡°Sorry, I¡¯m still in shock from all of this, did that help?¡±


    ¡°That was more than enough, thank you.¡± Xen replied before exiting the building.


    Saul and Plafluf stood out in front waiting for him.


    ¡°What was that about? Did you drop something?¡± Plafluf asked him. ¡°Also what was with the dramatic speech stuff? You should have just yelled at him for the information. That works much better in my experience.¡±


    ¡°Just being thorough, my connection to Saul¡¯s case has been secured.¡± He answered curtly as he caught up.


    ¡°Glad we¡¯ve got one of the Erudine¡¯s best on our side then.¡± Saul replied. ¡°As for the speech stuff, it worked didn¡¯t it? Not everyone acts like an Urchski, you know. Yelling isn¡¯t a form of persuasion.¡±


    ¡°You have not spoken to a woman, have you?¡± Plafluf asked with a sharp-toothed grin.


    ¡°We need to get ready to camp out the location he gave us. Let¡¯s gather some supplies first and then we¡¯ll find a place to hide in the area. No telling when they¡¯re going to show up, but this should be easier than just searching for them blindly.¡± Saul said, ignoring the jab. ¡°Anything else before we go?¡±


    None of them objected to the plan, and thus they set off to find food and drink to keep them occupied for their stake out.

 Chapter Six

    Inside of the western section of the Megaden, connected by a number of tunnels under the ground, was the hide out of Twenty-Two, Jason, and Olivia. Most of the buildings within the Megaden were not openly attached at any point, but a number of passages networked throughout the area. Twenty-Two and Jason only just arrived at the one they had built for themselves, taking great care to obscure their movements towards it and its entrance.


    They entered one of the stone buildings and moved beneath a hidden doorway, descending down a few flights of stairs before coming to another floor. Its room was small compared to most of the structures, but still about the size of an average house in the fields aside the Megaden. A set of beds and a hammock was placed on the left side of the entrance, and a massive desk dominated the view of the right half. At the desk, Caroline was resting, a light snore coming out every so often.


    ¡°She¡¯s going to get caught one of these days we¡¯re not here, you know.¡± Twenty-Two said before smacking her fist against the wall.


    The loud bang made the researcher jump. She snapped her head side to side and started straightening out her clothes before looking over at the two of them. Twenty-Two shook her head and moved over to one of the beds. Before sitting down, she took the cloak off of her shoulders and stretched.


    ¡°Er, welcome back. I must¡¯ve dozed off while trying to piece together the information we¡¯ve gotten so far. Did you find the location of the last spot?¡± Olivia asked her.


    ¡°I did. Had to threaten some human he had working for him though. We might have to lay low for a bit to try and avoid any heat that might¡¯ve gotten us.¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t mention that earlier.¡± Jason said, crossing his arms.


    ¡°This whole operation isn¡¯t exactly legal to begin with, is it?¡± Twenty-Two replied, laying down completely on her mattress. ¡°Besides, we¡¯re in the western side of the Megaden now. These Urchski are more territorial than dogs, I doubt they¡¯re going to send guards over to this side. Closest we¡¯re going to get is the location, which is near a bridge on the border.¡±


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t questioning the legality or risk, I was wondering why you didn¡¯t let me know there was a fight at all.¡±


    ¡°What, are you going to try and take pity on me for doing something dangerous under your orders?¡± Twenty-Two hissed back.


    Jason didn¡¯t respond, and Twenty-Two merely closed her eyes in response. A deep silence fell over the room, punctuated only by Olivia¡¯s nervous tapping. She slowly brought herself back to face the desk and finished the document she had been writing before her nap. Once it was done, she rolled it tight and stamped it together.


    ¡°Looks...¡± She started to say to herself, confidence failing as she tried to break the silence. ¡°Looks like this is ready to send back to the Underking!¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to make up excuses if you can¡¯t stand the silence. Just whistle or something, it¡¯s embarrassing.¡± Twenty-Two snapped at her. ¡°One of us will have to leave and scout the place out in a second anyway. Isn¡¯t this the last old building in the Megaden? I hate dealing with this place and all the Urchski inside it.¡±


    ¡°True, even I¡¯m feeling like we¡¯re wearing out our welcome. That one that was spying on us was definitely the most alarming. Fortunately I don¡¯t think they had any clue what we were doing. I wish we knew what it was they were getting protective about with the buildings though. They all seemed abandoned.¡±


    ¡°Oh! I can explain that!¡± Olivia cut in. ¡°There¡¯s actually old myths about the Archons hiding ancient machinery inside of the buildings. They say that they summon the ghosts of your dead ancestors, or drive you insane if you stay inside of them too long. Even if the younger Urchski don¡¯t buy into that stuff, they¡¯re not ones to break the flow of tradition at this point. In retrospect, that makes the tunnel trying to access this last place even more curious... oh, I just can¡¯t wait to see what it¡¯s like in there!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid that you¡¯re going to have to stay behind this time, Olivia.¡± Jason told her.


    ¡°What?!¡± She said, snapping out of her thoughts and looking at him. ¡°But this is the opportunity of a lifetime! Hidden ruins that no one¡¯s researched in the entire history since even before the ascension!¡±


    ¡°Yes, and unfortunately it seems like the Urchski were very concerned about whatever it is they were doing there. I would prefer we not get you caught in the crossfire if we have to fight our way out at any point.¡± Jason said before he put a hand on her shoulder. ¡°If we find anything we¡¯ll bring it back to you, or if the place is secure enough for you to show up.¡±


    Olivie stared at the ground and mumbled, inciting a laugh from Jason before he moved back to the stairs. He paused to look back at Twenty-Two, but found her staring at the bottom of the bunk bed above her.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you coming as well?"


    Twenty-Two let out a sigh and shifted to a seated position. ¡°We just got back here, can¡¯t whatever dusty gears are piled up in that room wait a bit?¡±


    ¡°I figured Olivia would prefer that the two of us head out as soon as possible to help bring her back there quicker. Besides, the shorter time we have to spend in this place the better. We¡¯re getting more at risk of getting caught the longer we stay.¡±


    Twenty-Two grumbled but got up and followed after Jason, both grabbing their cloaks as they made their way up. Olivia spent no time in returning to her own work, idly examining some of the materials they had taken from other sites. As the two of them left, she let out an impatient sigh and began to kick her legs under the desk.


    As they got to the top, they had to wait by the door before the space in front of it was entirely cleared of others. Even then, Twenty-Two made sure to check through the foliage nearby for any signs of someone spying again. Satisfied they were still hidden, they walked to the road and headed off towards the hatch.


    Unlike most of their other journeys through the Megaden, this one strayed far off from the more conventional and beaten down paths of dirt through the forest. The thick trees of the area almost brushed against each other a few meters away from the roads, but little other plant life was around because of the leaves choking the sunlight above. Jason strained his eyes to see ahead of himself as things grew darker, relying mostly on wherever Twenty-Two¡¯s pale body moved to as a guide.


    ¡°Can you actually see like this? It¡¯s supposed to be broad daylight, but all the dark wood is starting to blend together from my end.¡±


    ¡°Only a little, it¡¯s more like I¡¯m just using my ability to miss anything that might make me stumble.¡± She answered, having to pause and wait for him to catch up. ¡°Still, it¡¯s better to head through this way than to actually go in from the road. There are guards all over the bridges, they¡¯d notice us right away if we headed off of them.¡±


    ¡°No kidding. Luckily we don¡¯t have to worry about animals though. Anything larger than a squirrel is going to be hiding away in the southern area I¡¯ve heard. Not like anything too dangerous could even move around in this thicket...¡±


    As they brushed past the hard bark, the light from above slowly returned. Twenty-Two was the first one out, poking her head around one of the trunks to look for anyone that might spot them. The river of the area was much thinner than the one she had passed before, and the bridge over it was just barely over a bend into the woods ahead. Jason caught up as well, and they took a few minutes to look for the hatch, eventually finding it hidden away near the forest edge.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    Both of them approached it, and Twenty-Two crouched down to feel along the hinges while Jason kept an eye out for anyone watching them.


    ¡°These aren¡¯t as rusty as I would expect. For their sake I hope none of those urchins are in here, I want to get back to bed as soon as possible.¡± She said, grabbing on the hatch¡¯s handle and yanking it open.


    ¡°You not wanting to fight something? I think that¡¯s these woods are having an effect on your mind.¡±


    ¡°Never said I wouldn¡¯t enjoy killing them, just that it would be especially unfortunate for them.¡± She said with a flash of a grin before climbing down the hatch¡¯s ladder.


    Jason sighed and followed her downward. The ladder was long, easily being about two stories deep. By the time they reached the bottom, most of the light was gone. Some dark brown roots could barely be made out wrapping along the walls of the tunnel. Despite the age of the metal outside, the tunnel was absent of any spiderwebs or similar things. The smell of wet dirt became especially overpower as both of them moved in.


    Unlike most tunnels, this one seemed to bend and curve at unnatural angles. The roots visibly acted as some kind of support system, keeping the entire structure from collapsing under the weight of the ceiling. For a large portion of the way, they had to press their hands to the walls and inch forward to keep from tripping over in the darkness.


    At the edge of the dirt path, Twenty-Two stumbled to the ground. She huffed in annoyance and felt along the floor, noticing the dirt had stopped. Instead it was a smooth stone finish, with only pieces of dirt being tracked into it. Her hand moved along to the wall and found it was the same as the floor.


    ¡°We¡¯re close now, should be some kind of light source up ahead.¡± She told Jason.


    They eventually found it, obscured by a makeshift wooden door. It was crudely made, even needing to be shoved open as the pieces didn¡¯t connect together well. On the other side they found the familiar strips of glowing materials lining the walls and ceiling of the tunnel. Further ahead, more natural light came in. Out of the tunnel was a massive antechamber similar in construction to the other¡¯s they¡¯d seen, but on a much larger scale. Most of the room was well lit from a twin pair of chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, but were hard to look at directly because of their massive output.


    ¡°We haven¡¯t even gone up along the tunnel, have we? This place must be larger than any of the others by a massive margin. It almost feels wasteful with how much of the Megaden is crammed with trees.¡± Twenty-Two said, stepping out of the tunnel and halting immediately. ¡°Wait a minute... something feels off.¡±


    Twenty-Two¡¯s ability kept pricking her brain with sensations. Her whole body became stiff and twitchy. Even though the room was well lit, there was a looming sense of eyes watching from non-existent shadows. She took a few steps forward before looking back. Jason gave the impression he was feeling something similar. Both of them took their time moving forward, clutching their weapons. It wasn¡¯t long until they noticed the opposite wall¡¯s strange construction.


    Gears, pipes, and wiring all fed into a large pool raised slightly off the ground with a border of stone. There was no water inside of the pool. Instead, a viscous, black substance filled it nearly to the brim. Though the bulk of the surface was pitch black, the occasional sparkle of color could be seen emanating from deeper within. The closer Twenty-Two got, the more entranced she was by the softly undulating liquid. Only when she was a few steps away did she stop and clear her head. She gathered enough strength to look away and looked to Jason.


    His eyes were transfixed on the mechanisms surrounding the pool. ¡°I can see why the Enterus didn¡¯t want us poking around here. This is nothing like the other buildings we ran into so far.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just a pool of some kind of chemical.¡± She said, masking her own anxiety. ¡°It¡¯s nothing but some kind of rotten soup. Don¡¯t drink from it and there¡¯s no problem, right?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not what I mean. You¡¯ve had the hairs on the back of your neck standing up too, right? I didn¡¯t quite know what was wrong with this place when we first came in, but I think I¡¯ve figured it out.¡± Jason replied before looking her in the eyes. ¡°There¡¯s no dust. This place has been sealed up even after the Urchski left years ago, so there should be at least a little bit, right? But I can¡¯t see anything being dusty. It¡¯s like this place is still being used or something...¡±


    Both of lost either the ability, or interest to speak. There was a quiet thumping sound that reverberated from within the machinery around the walls. Eventually the two of them made their way silently towards the other tunnel in the room. The pool shifted with small bubbles as they passed. Twenty-Two paused her exit to stare at it once more. She kept watch for where the bubbles were coming from.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Let¡¯s just get out of here.¡± Jason told her.


    ¡°There¡¯s something in there.¡±


    Twenty-Two breathed slower and lowered her body. Her sword hand twitched carefully as the bubbles started coming in a consistent pattern. She peered at it each time, just barely able to make out what there was. An eyeball. Then there was a paw, pieces of clothing. They sank beneath the surface just as quickly as she noticed them. When the bubbles slowed down again she backed away carefully with her weapon drawn. Jason looked between her and the liquid, following her back into the tunnel.


    After a while they were no longer within eye-shot of the pool, and Twenty-Two collapsed onto her backside. She let out a sigh of relief and looked over her blade. The tunnel they were in wasn¡¯t makeshift like the one they had come down. Everything was lit with bright strips just like the other pieces of old Alzholme. Despite the lighting, Jason felt tense like he had been in the thicket above ground. There was no wind throughout the tunnel, just like the antechamber. Without the mysterious sensation that the pool gave off, both of them were now aware of how quiet it was.


    ¡°If we¡¯re having this much trouble with this room, I can only imagine that Olivia is going to have a full on meltdown once she gets here.¡± Twenty-Two said.


    ¡°You can never tell with her, to be honest.¡± Jason said with a shrug before making his way further down the tunnel and peering ahead. ¡°Seems to go on for a while. Hopefully we can actually make it out of this one so we don¡¯t have to go back. You should lead again.¡±


    Twenty-Two stood back up and sheathed her weapon. She glanced back in the direction of the pool and narrowed her eyes. The stillness of the room wasn¡¯t bothering her as much as it did Jason. Having less noise and movement was more relaxing for her. She broke her stare and started guiding the both of them down the tunnel. It wound and bent slowly through the Megaden, but eventually split into a fork.


    One of the paths was much shorter, with an exit visible right from where they split off. They looked down the other way and noticed that it curved away even more. Jason was the first to step towards the other exit and reached the door. Like most of the old Alzholme entrances, there wasn¡¯t a clear handle on it. He placed his palm flat against the cool metal and it started sliding away.


    A soft breeze broke past them, bringing with it some dust at the same time. It emptied into a room with a pile of neatly placed gears on one end, and among other signs of activity.


    ¡°This is where we were earlier.¡± He noticed. ¡°Would never have guessed it led back here. Does that mean that all of them have some kind of hidden exit back to that place?¡±


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t surprise me. Remember when we came in through the sewers? There were back passages you¡¯d never be able to see just walking by. Whoever used to live in this place must have been paranoid beyond belief.¡±


    They both exited out onto the surface and left the building. The sun was shining fully, unblocked by the foliage for once. Jason looked up into the sky and saw a few birds flying between the treetops nearby. Once the majority had passed, he noticed one of the birds clinging to the edges of the treeline. It hopped between the branches instead of outright flying with the others. His attention turned to Twenty-Two.


    ¡°Hey... what was it you saw in the pool anyway?¡± He asked her.


    ¡°Just corpses, that¡¯s all. Body parts of Urchski and such, probably the ones that found the place.¡±


    ¡°Ah, how unfortunate for them. I didn¡¯t think something like seeing bodies would scare you though. Especially cause you¡¯re usually the one making them.¡±


    Twenty-Two stared at the ground. ¡°Seeing them in that pool... stirred up bad memories. That¡¯s all.¡±


    Her fists clenched tight at her sides. Jason¡¯s concerned stare felt a million miles away, but she shook off the feelings and marched forward. Both of them headed back towards Olivia to continue the investigation, but Jason paused to glance up. The bird at the edge of the treeline jumped suddenly and stumbled hard into the air, nearly falling to its death. It was only then that he realized it was the same injured bird he had seen Twenty-Two with earlier.

 Chapter Seven

    Things were dying down with the daylight. Normally crowded streets were only briefly covered by the foot traffic of native Urchski moving about near the border. Among them, a small crew stood out completely. Saul, Xen and Plafluf had all finished gather the food and drink they would need in order to scout out the area.


    Xen had to purchase a bag to carry his own food around in. He only carried a small amount of money on him, and was pleased to only buy cheap amounts of water and crackers to sustain himself. Plafluf had bought a few fried burrow beetles, a common snack in the Megaden that didn¡¯t seem likely to spread. Saul was particularly outstanding among the group because he lacked a bag to carry his things. The sound of his jostling groceries in their appropriate places inside his outfit was enough to draw strange looks from those they passed by.


    ¡°I can¡¯t imagine we¡¯ll be good at sneaking about when you sound like a cattle¡¯s bell.¡± Xen said, tightly pressing his canvas bag to one side.


    ¡°We¡¯re not going to be sneaking after them right away.¡± Saul assured him. ¡°Besides, I think you¡¯re just jealous of my method. Spreading the weight of my supplies over my body makes it a lot easier to carry.¡±


    They found themselves at the same bridge they had been at before. All of the guards were still tense, but the weariness of the long day was getting to them. Some of them seemed more irritable, poking at Saul¡¯s pockets and demanding he show them what was inside. Eventually the long list of food, bandages, and water containers bothered them enough to let him pass. Plafluf was not as lucky and got the last of his food confiscated on made up grounds. His back flexed to show he was not intimidated, but did not resist them beyond that.


    On the western side of the Megaden, things were much the same, but the woods were taller. Upon closer inspection, Saul was able to notice that the roads were paved with stone on this side.


    I wonder if that¡¯s to keep the trees from growing over them, or if their roots were messing up the plain dirt paths. Either way, it¡¯s fairly obvious that we¡¯re deeper in the Megaden at this point. He thought to himself, glancing around the area as they walked.


    They stopped at a place near the thickets and waited as Xen kept watch. Once they were sure no one was around, they pushed into the treeline. Without a specific spot in mind, they headed straight back in the direction of the river. Saul and Xen both stumbled through the foliage as they walked, but Plafluf was more or less unphased. Every step forward required a readjustment as they curved around the massive tree trunks. The sound of insects and animals mostly came from overhead, but was enough to set them at unease.


    By the time they broke through to the riverbank, all of them were showing signs of their traversal. Xen brushed some dirt off of his armor and looked around for the hatch. He paused as his eyes scanned over the river nearby. The water was rumbling quietly by, but it was enough to distract him. His eyes narrowed on some fish that were swimming against the stream, but he couldn¡¯t make out what species they were. Fighting against the currents, they leapt out of the water. One of the unfortunate ones leapt out of the water and managed to land on the shore. It flopped and gasped, but a rock it had landed on was keeping it from rolling into the water below.


    ¡°Xen, we found it.¡± Saul told him, snapping him out of his trance.


    ¡°I see... do we go in now then?¡±


    ¡°No, we have no idea what they¡¯re doing down there or what could be hidden in that place. Voldruun seems terrified of this place, and if it¡¯s enough to scare an Enterus then it¡¯s probably going to do worse to us.¡± Saul said before pressing his hand against the entrance. ¡°Same as the door to the sewers, cheap metal. This one is more recent though, unsurprisingly. Seems like the rust on the side suggests that it was opened not too long ago.¡±


    ¡°So they¡¯re inside right now?¡± Plafluf said, poking at it with his own paw.


    ¡°Possibly. That or they opened it and decided to come back later. There could even be some back exit that they¡¯re leaving out of after coming through here.¡± Saul answered before moving back to the treeline and gesturing for them to follow. ¡°But that¡¯s why we¡¯re going to wait back here. Unless you¡¯d like to actually risk going inside?¡±


    ¡°I could run away at any time with my blessing. Just pop out of there, or back down the tunnel. Would be very quick, actually.¡± Plafluf answered. ¡°This is how I get out of most fights where I am alone.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve got no assurance that they will come back through this way. There might be another exit, or they might not leave for quite some time. It is better to actually go inside and investigate.¡± Xen added before pulling the hatch open with some effort. ¡°Do not fear, my abilities in combat should be enough to subdue whoever or whatever we run into down there.¡±


    ¡°Am I really the only one here trying to play it safe? This is an investigation, we¡¯re not heroes going out to plunder some tomb for an ancient evil.¡± Saul said with a frown.


    Saul didn¡¯t have much more time to complain about his companions eagerness. Xen was already moving down the pipe, and Plafluf had started crouching down to teleport away. Eventually he was left on his lonesome on the surface. Tapping his foot for the no one around him, it took a few seconds until he gave in and followed after them.


    Xen and Plafluf didn¡¯t expect the walls at all while they moved, choosing to stare at their feet while they walked to not trip. Saul was more diligent, pressing his palm into the cool dirt around them and brushing past it as he walked, occasionally pausing to feel over the many roots tangled across it as well.


    The ground is packed in on top of being scooped out. We¡¯re far enough down that I¡¯m not sure how this structure is able to keep from collapsing in on itself. Probably the roots from Volruun keeping everything in place. I¡¯ve heard that the Enterus are capable of expanding their own root system and breaking it off to reinforce or build structures, but this must have been a massive ordeal. Saul thought to himself, cocking an eyebrow in the dark. If he is the one that held up this entire tunnel, it makes me wonder what could possibly be in here that would shake him so hard. You don¡¯t just leave a limb behind for nothing, after all.


    They eventually reached the door heading in, but this time it was Plafluf that was holding back. Xen cracked the door open slightly and peeked through carefully.


    ¡°There¡¯s no one in there, at least none that I can see.¡± He told them before opening it further.


    As they walked in, Plafluf hesitated at the edge of the doorway. His foot pressed down onto the cold stone and it sent a shiver up his spine. Everything in his heritage had warned him about places like this. He sucked in a deep breath and scampered to catch up with the two others. Xen held up a hand to stop the other two and looked around at the walls.This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    ¡°Something is off. There¡¯s no wind in here, and hardly any noise at all.¡± He said.


    ¡°We¡¯re underground, there¡¯s not going to be much wind down here in the first place, right?¡± Saul said.


    ¡°No, there should be a little bit of it. Unless there¡¯s something deliberately keeping it in check, or every entrance is an airtight seal, then we should be feeling something.¡±


    ¡°The latter would not surprise me.¡± Plafluf said. ¡°All of the old buildings are not made for people to be in. Only ghosts. Didn¡¯t your mother ever tell you to not go poking around these types of places?¡±


    Saul and Xen both look between each other before shrugging.


    ¡°I was actually raised in an orphanage. Closest I¡¯ve had to a mother is the matron where I grew up, but there were about thirty or forty other children there.¡± Saul explained. ¡°Heard my parents went missing around the crown massacre some years back, right after I was born though, so at least I wasn¡¯t old enough to miss them.¡±


    ¡°The Erudine do not have singular family units, so the concept of a mother isn¡¯t really meaningful to me. I might have had something like a caregiver when being raised as a child, but I was chosen to be one of the maskless at six. Until I was an adult, I was trained around the clock in order to become a servant of the law.¡±


    ¡°That is tragic. No wonder you are both poking around this place.¡± Plafluf said before he rounded the corner to the antechamber. ¡°Personally, I would never set foot in one of these places. The closest I have been was the sewers. Well, that and... hm. This place looks familiar to me.¡±


    All of them moved into the larger room, but Saul drew his weapon and Xen readied his hands for a fight. Both of them started moving around the edges of the room, searching for someone that might be in hiding. At the same time, Plafluf was drawn to the churning pool at the back of the room. His eyes focused deeply on the liquid as he got closer to it. Eventually the pool slowed down the bubbling until it was a plain black sheet on the surface. Plafluf could almost see his reflection on the surface.


    ¡°Huh, seems like it¡¯s clear. There¡¯s another tunnel out though, it seems like. They could either be heading somewhere down there, or they¡¯ve not even arrived yet. Felt for sure like someone was watching me when we first stepped in though.¡± Saul said, keeping his weapon drawn and walking to the center of the room. ¡°Plafluf? What is that stuff? You should stay away from it if you¡ª"


    ¡°This is the soup.¡± He said breathlessly. ¡°That soup! The stuff that gave me my blessing all those years ago!¡±


    ¡°Wait, what? I thought you were just making that up.¡± Saul said before he walked closer. ¡°Sure doesn¡¯t look like a normal chamber fluid... Those are normally sealed off and not even a fifth this size.¡±


    He knelt beside the pool and cautiously stuck out one of his fingers. The skin on his hand instantly tensed and his whole body shivered. As his finger pushed in, the liquid around it seemed to press into him gently.


    Wasn¡¯t expecting it to be that warm. It¡¯s like I¡¯m touching a living creature or something. Just need to focus and figure out whatever this stuff is. Saul thought to himself, closing his eyes. Shoot, it¡¯s incredibly old. Liquids are normally hard to read, but I guess maybe this stuff isn¡¯t your usual glass of water.


    ¡°Hold on a second, this isn¡¯t that far from the material used in regular enhancing chambers! There¡¯s something really wrong with how it¡¯s setup and feels though. Normally it¡¯s just clear, maybe a soft teal color, but this is different. Do you think this is what they were after?¡±


    ¡°You think this is some sort of naturally occurring enhancement chamber? Well, at least as close to natural as you can get with this stuff.¡± Xen asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s possible. But is that why Volruun was so scared about it? Seems like it would be fine just becoming a part of something else. Maybe there¡¯s something else about this that made him...¡± Saul drifted off.


    Something shifted within the pool, brushing against his finger. The sensation wasn¡¯t familiar at first, but it passed by again. Short fur. Saul quickly tried to pull his hand away, but the liquid in the pool clung to his skin. That warm feeling from before was eclipsed by a sticking sensation. He threw himself backwards to get away, but the liquid stretched out with him. As he hit the ground, the long strand of it snapped like rubber, and a solid object bounced out of the material. The preserved tail of an Urchski.


    Plafluf grabbed his own when he recognized the appendage. Saul slowly rose to a sitting position and picked it off of his chest. It wasn¡¯t wet, but it was as if it had been put on ice just seconds ago. He got to his feet and looked around at the pool¡¯s surface. Both Xen and Plafluf did the same.


    ¡°Can¡¯t even tell how deep it goes with how black the liquid is. I might be able to tell by analyzing it, but I don¡¯t want to go sticking my fingers back into that stuff just yet.¡±


    ¡°I remember...¡± Plafluf said in a low voice. ¡°I thought that it was the ghosts of the dead, like old people will say. When I ran in here from a path I found in the sewers, I fell into this pool. There were Urchski all around me, but they were all dead... I thought that I was going to die as well, but there was some kind of thumping sound, and then the whole pool lit up. That was when I got my blessing, and I used it to get out of there.¡±


    ¡°From that description this sounds like some kind of automatic enhancing chamber. I¡¯ll bet those urchski must¡¯ve figured that out and tried to get in... only for that to happen to them.¡± Xen said before crossing his arms. ¡°This technology is dangerous. I can see why Volruun didn¡¯t want people getting their hands on it. Like you said, we don¡¯t know how deep this goes down. There could be any number of dead Urchski lost down there.¡±


    ¡°If it¡¯s this dangerous then it should have been made open to the schools in the Upper and Center rings. Something like this should be studied and made good use of, not poked and prodded with inexperienced hands while innocent lives suffer the cost of it.¡± Saul replied, pacing around the pool towards the tunnel. ¡°We should get out of here for now and send a message back to the merchant¡¯s guild. They¡¯ll send someone that knows how to handle this properly.¡±


    ¡°Maybe this place should just be buried. It would be better to not have humans and Bouli poking around here like they own this place. Old buildings are cursed, or at the very least they do not want you to be in them!¡± Plafluf interjected.


    A snap sounded in the area above them all. The calmed machinery of the pool began to churn once again, and the unease they felt at the start came over them once more. Saul heard noise coming from outside the room and gripped his weapon tighter. They all turned to the tunnel behind the pool and slowly inched toward it. Footsteps mixed with the sound of breathing. All of them braced for a fight from an unknown direction, made by an unseen assailant.


    ¡°Who are you?!¡± A frightened voice called out from the entrance they had come from.


    All three of them spun around, ready to fight. Instead of their assumed suspects, they found an Urchski with the standard equipment for a bridge guard. His paws were shaking enough to make his spear wobble even while resting on the ground. The machinery in the room hissed softly and died down, the tension of the room bleeding away with it.


    Saul shook his head and started patting around his coat, eventually finding and pulling out his journal to display the insignia of the Merchants¡¯ Guild. ¡°I¡¯m an investigator from the center ring. Me and my associates here were tracking some criminals and wound up down here.¡±


    ¡°For the record.¡± Xen added. ¡°I am also a member of the maskless. My target was found in connection with this place, and I am well within my rights to hunt them down without interruption.¡±


    The guard was hesitant to accept what he was seeing. Unlike the strict orders of the upper ring, the Megaden¡¯s power structure was more of a loose webbing of connections to people in power. Eventually he figured that whatever ranking they may have would outclass his own, he lowered his weapon.


    ¡°You are not supposed to be here. I must escort you out now.¡± He answered them, his curtness noticeably affecting his speech.


    ¡°Fine, we¡¯ll have to look into this with your superiors anyway.¡± Saul said with a shrug before moving closer to Xen and Plafluf with his back turned to the guard to hide his next words. ¡°Keep quiet about what we found in the pool for now. We want to make sure how much they know about this before we go angering whoever built the tunnel into here.¡±


    Both of them nodded and they all followed after the frightened guard. The room seemed to shiver as they left it, with the hiss and clicks of machinery occasionally setting off with each step. The noise quickly died down as they passed into the main tunnel and then back into the dirt one. All of them notice a strange calmness pass over them as they moved across the threshold, a sensation so subtle it went unnoticed until it left.


    Within several minutes they found themselves back at the entrance to the tunnel, though the hatch was closed now. The light was almost non-existent where they were standing, and only some cracks of light spilled through the edge of the passage above. The guard sheathed his spear to the back of his jacket and quickly climbed the ladder up, using his head to push it open.


    A wave of daylight flashed, and Saul had to cover his eyes as they adjusted slowly. Once they did, he glanced around for the other. Only Plafluf was beside him.


    ¡°Xen?¡± He asked, checking his surroundings again. ¡°Shoot, he might have gotten turned around in the darkness. We¡¯ll have to go back and find him to bring him back here.¡±


    ¡°Hey! You can¡¯t just go back down that way!¡± The guard shouted from the top.


    ¡°Get your superior and tell him that one of us got lost, then send some people to make sure we leave. It won¡¯t be long to just head in there and then head back out as long as no one else is there.¡±


    ¡°Wait!¡± The guard called out as the two of them left back down the tunnel.

 Chapter Eight

    Within their hideout, Olivia was scribbling on her scrolls as usual. Like the past reports to the king, she was detailing some of the information she had gleaned about the buildings and their connection to old Alzholme. This report in particular was about the systems of the Megaden, and what purpose they might have held when the city was being created.


    As always, the technology here fascinates me! She wrote towards the end of her work. Though there is one major concern I¡¯ve been coming back to. A lot of the things we¡¯ve encountered so far have seemed abandoned, with my earliest possible guess being during the ascension. This does lend to the theory that the ascension was always the plan for the city, but I feel there is something more to it. Since you seem to know so much about the workings of the city in the upper and center rings, could you share your thoughts on this?


    The casual nature she took on towards the end made her hesitate to put her signature on the piece. She glanced over to a pile of crumpled up parchment at the side and sighed. As she lifted her hand to get rid of this one as well, the sound of footsteps from behind made her turn around. Twenty-Two appeared, followed by Jason, both standing on the stairwell looking at her.


    ¡°Did you two forget something?¡± She asked.


    ¡°No, we just came back. You were right about there being something special about it, we¡¯re going to need you to work on it right away.¡± Jason said, gesturing back with his thumb. ¡°Grab your things, we¡¯re going back to the building we went to this morning.¡±


    ¡°The one further west? But that¡¯s in the wrong direction.¡±


    ¡°Well it turns out there was a back entrance hidden in there that connects to a few other spots in the Megaden. Could¡¯ve saved ourselves a lot of time, it looks like.¡± Twenty-Two said, folding her arms and leaning against the wall.


    ¡°A... a secret entrance?!¡± Olivia said, shooting upright and pushing away her chair. ¡°There¡¯s plenty of those inside old Alzholme sections, but those are usually regulated to just networking paths. The fact they put one in here means it was meant as more than just a terminal! There has to be some kind of purpose for that final room that need direct access to all of the systems nearby...¡±


    Olivia continued frantically muttering to herself about theories and research while she grabbed parchment and equipment. Eventually she was one again donning her mask and smock. It took her a few seconds and a pair of silent stares before she realized how much she stood out. Removing the mask was deemed enough, and they left.


    There was little to entertain them as the moved back to the old building. Twenty-Two was careful to keep an eye out for any armed Urchski that might be moving about as they travelled the roads. Instead, almost all of them seemed gone. The few civilians they came across were clearly aware of the lack of guards. Nervous glances, quick movements. They made it clear to the group that they weren¡¯t trusted here. Twenty-Two actually preferred it this way.


    Inside of the building again, they descended the stairs until they hit the third floor down, and turned to a wall. Olivia stepped forward and pressed both of her gloved hands against it. She ran them along the wall for almost a minute before she started putting weight into it. Twenty-Two and Jason both watched in confusion while she poked, slapped, and pounded her way across the wall. Eventually, one of her hits drew a soft click out of the metal. A soft hiss could be heard as the frame of the door suddenly appeared and it slid quickly out of the way.


    ¡°Couldn¡¯t they have just hidden a lock somewhere? It feels extreme to have to hide even the handle of every door.¡± Twenty-Two said and rolled her eyes.


    ¡°Having a handle would imply that it could be opened! Most of these entrances are built for the creators, not the inhabitants. I imagine when they designed these places, they had no idea we¡¯d even think to check somewhere like here.¡± Olivia said before stepping forward and eagerly looking around the wall of the tunnel. ¡°In fact, it makes me really impressed that your king even knew about this place. Seems like the only people who knew about it were those Urchski from years ago, and the Enterus, huh?¡±If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.


    ¡°The Underking knows more about this city than anyone else.¡± Jason said.


    ¡°That or he hires people to do it for him.¡± Twenty-Two said sarcastically. ¡°What does he even want with this place?¡±


    ¡°Knowledge is power, obviously!¡± Olivia proclaimed, produdly strutting down the tunnel ahead of them.


    The tunnel itself was as barren as when they left it. Old Alzholme structures rarely accumulated dust, so even when there was wind, it was difficult to make out. When they got close to the pool again, Twenty-Two¡¯s jaw clenched tight and she drew her weapon. Jason put a hand on her shoulder for comfort, but she only glared at him. Even if contact comforted her, the energy in the air had grown heavy with malice.


    Olivia was seemingly unphased by what they were experiencing. She leaned towards the pool¡¯s edge and stared into the ink black material. After a minute or so she started taking hurried notes. In between sentences, her eyes would dart around and scan over the various machinery. Eventually she pulled her mask off of her face and cleared her throat.


    ¡°This is truly a strange find, to put it simply.¡± She said, idly petting the rim of the pool. ¡°I can¡¯t make heads or tails of what this machinery is for. There¡¯s got to be some purpose they originally intended, but didn¡¯t get fully pushed through. Maybe it¡¯s job was a one time operation and doesn¡¯t need to be used again? Either way, I think I do know some information about it. Tell me, you guys have been experiencing agitation, right?¡±


    ¡°Only every time you ramble.¡± Twenty-Two said, staring into the entrance to the room.


    ¡°What she means is yes. We already know there¡¯s something wrong with this place. Feels like we¡¯re not supposed to be here, and if we don¡¯t get out soon, we¡¯re going to get eaten.¡±


    ¡°Exactly! There¡¯s actually a pretty simple explanation for it.¡± Olivia said before shuffling to one of the pipes along the wall and placing a flat palm on it. ¡°These mechanisms outside of the pool are the source! Some structures with key features will have things like this inside of them. I don¡¯t know the specific workings of it, but they hum when there¡¯s a malfunction.¡±


    ¡°They... hum?¡± Jason asked, cocking an eyebrow.


    ¡°Yes, or I guess it¡¯s more like they vibrate. The machines seem to have a method of shaking their inner workings at almost invisible speeds, or maybe they have strings inside of them to produce it? Either way, they make this incredibly high pitched noise to signal concern and warning. I believe it¡¯s made for things like the Golems to know to come fix it, but it has an unintended sound effect on humans and other citizen races!¡±


    ¡°Like how a dog whistle works?¡± He replied. ¡°That does seem to explain it. The more quiet you get in her, the more suspicious and worried you are.¡±


    ¡°Thank the dead that Olivia is here then.¡± Twenty-Two chimed in.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to be so aggressive, you know. We both felt the same kind of fear when we came in here, didn¡¯t we? Things would have been far worse if Olivia wasn¡¯t nice enough to explain it to us.¡±


    It wasn¡¯t the noise that made me uneasy, it was that poxxing pool and the bodies inside of it. She thought to herself.


    Jason shook his head and waited beside Olivia, who continued working while humming a song of her own to keep away the noise. None of them talked much more, but unlike in their hideout, Olivia was too distracted to notice the awkward atmosphere. By the time she had finished most of her notes, she stood upright and gathered up her dense bundle of parchment.


    ¡°Alright... I think I¡¯m going to need more paper. Oh, and I need to tell the Underking right away! This has all gotten me very excited.¡± She said with a small giggle. ¡°I¡¯ll have to head back there and get started. I¡¯ll rush back over as soon as possible though!¡±


    ¡°I can guide you back, and then we¡¯ll make sure no one else spots us. You should be safe on your own in the hideout, but I¡¯m worried about leaving this place empty for too long. Twenty-Two, you clear to watch over it till I come back?¡±


    ¡°What? Was my agitation from before not enough?¡±


    ¡°You can feel free to guide Olivia back yourself you know. I figured you¡¯d like the silence of this place instead of the streets.¡±


    Twenty-Two grumbled in agreement, prompting a smile from Jason. He left with Olivia tailing behind, but it took a while for their footsteps to completely fade. When they did, Twenty-Two stretched her back and approached the pool cautiously.


    As before, the inky fluid unnerved her. Soft shimmers of body parts could be seen at the corners of her eyes when she stared at it. This time however, she shook her head to clear out the thoughts of fear and took a deep breath.


    It¡¯s just that noise the machine is making. Nothing is wrong, you¡¯re fine. She thought to herself. Just have to make some kind of noise to pass the time and keep it out of my head.


    Twenty-Two tried to recall any songs from her childhood, but there was nothing that she could easily remember. After a few failed bars of songs, she sat down on the edge of the pool and glanced around nervously. Confident she was alone, she cleared her throat, and let out the chirp of the bird she rescued from before. The sound comforted her from the drone of the machines, and she softly cooed to herself some more.


    Her noises continued for a few minutes, until suddenly a noise drew her attention. With her lips still pursed, she scanned around the room. She focused her power and stood upright, waiting for a strike to come from somewhere unexpected.

 Chapter Nine

    There had been a noise in the chamber they found. It wasn¡¯t loud, and Xen knew that he was probably the only one that heard it. He was young, and his ears were still sharp enough to outclass any other citizen race in Alzholme. Creeping back down the tunnel, his suspicions were confirmed as he heard voices talking. It took a while of creeping forward, but he managed to get around the bend enough to peer into the room. About three figures were moving around the room.


    One of them was pointed down the tunnel, but was looking away when he poked his head out. As he pulled his head back in, he realized that he had found his target. A deep panic set over him for a few seconds, and he meditated, relaxing his breathing and heart. In his rest, he strained his ears to overhear what they were saying. When the male of the group mentioned leaving, Xen opened his eyes again and prepared himself.


    There was a hush over the air, for a brief moment his heart started to beat faster. The noise was almost loud enough that he thought it might give him away. Before the panic completely set in, another sound drew over it. Birdsong, or at least a few notes of it, started filling the room down the hall. He peered over to be sure, and found Twenty-Two clutching her knees at the edge of the pool. Though her face was mostly obscured, he could tell it was her making the noise. He pulled back and stood upright.


    He hadn¡¯t noticed how long he was sitting, and the sudden jolt upward made him stumble for a second. The birdsong stopped and he could hear her moving around inside the room. When her footsteps stopped, he took a slow breath inward and remembered his decree for the mission. Stepping into view, he found Twenty-Two with her swords already drawn. She was shocked at first, but then a crazed look came over her. Her scarred lips curled into a grin, the raw emotional display being horrifically vulgar for an Erudine. Xen steeled himself.


    ¡°Agent Twenty-Two, without a name. You have been sentenced for your crime of betraying the Maskless. There is no chance for appeal, there is no quarter, and the punishment is thus death. Do you have any words you would leave behind?¡± He asked her.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been wondering when they were going to send someone after me again. I thought they gave up last time. Did you know that I didn¡¯t even get to fight him? He got convinced I was dead by my employer now.¡± Twenty-Two said and assumed a loose battle stance. ¡°He was lucky. Come on then, try to take me down!¡±


    Xen also readied himself for combat, but hesitated. ¡°I won¡¯t record those things you just said... for your sake. This monster that you have become is a disgrace to the order. When I kill you, I will let you fade into obscurity as all good servants of the law have before us.¡±


    The grin on her face dropped into a deep frown. Her posture lightened and she approached the fellow Erudine with an unbroken stare. Xen moved forward as well, but stopped to raise one of his hands in the air and chop down in front of him. A wave of force emanated from the side of his hand as it traveled, and a barely visible current of air sliced across the room at a blinding speed.


    Though it was aimed for her center of mass, Twenty-Two shifted her weight and dodged the attack without even a glancing blow. He tried again with a horizontal and quicker motion, but she ducked too fast for him and it missed again. She was gaining on him already, and he couldn¡¯t keep up an offensive if he started to retreat. Buckling down, he let her get closer to him, and let out a sweeping kick as she got closer. She jumped over it like he expected, and Xen used his momentum to charge further down the tunnel and towards the room.


    Once at the edge, he looked back to throw a quick chop, but she was already out of the way, her body too low for the sweeping motion to hit. Both of them were breathing quickly as the adrenaline began to set in. Beneath the wooden mask, Xen was sweating. Unable to trade blows with her swords, he tried to flurry his blows and keep her away. To his surprise, she let him gain some distance before laughing.


    ¡°I was worried they were going to send some new recruit with a power to counter me. Maybe someone with a long range tracking, or some kind of way to be undetectable to my own. You¡¯re not anything special though, are you?¡± She asked him, flourishing her blade.


    Xen bit his tongue. He refused to fall for her goading, and arched his arm back to deliver another strike. Unlike before, she hurled one of her swords at him like a spear, forcing him to duck and cancel his strike mid-motion. She barreled towards him and swung her blade in a wide arc back and forth. Though they weren¡¯t hitting him, Xen knew she was just trying to keep him moving. He fell down into a crouching position and shot a fist out at her, hoping to gain some distance.


    She bashed his hand out of the way even as she moved back. The pain shot over him, the blut side of her sword managing to strike right where the skin covered bone. He winced and clutched where it was hit.


    ¡°Look at you, throwing your life away like this. Why don¡¯t you just run away and tell them I¡¯m dead? Are you scared about getting removed from the maskless because of failure?¡± She said with a laugh and crouched down herself, meeting him at eye level. ¡°No one is expecting you to survive to begin with, just hoping that you¡¯ll keep me on my toes I¡¯m guessing.¡±


    ¡°They wouldn¡¯t send me out here just to fail!¡± Xen hissed back at her, emotion bleeding through the slits of his mask. ¡°You¡¯re talking yourself up to be some legendary threat, but you¡¯re just a traitor with a strong ability. You have no convictions, no faith in justice... you are a walking corpse. My duty is to put you in the crypts where you belong!¡±The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    She stood up and looked down at him in disgust. ¡°No convictions? I have my...! No, you know what? I don¡¯t need you to understand me. You¡¯re just like every other Erudine, stuck behind that mask for safety.¡± She flourished her last remaining blade and raised it to slash his neck. ¡°Just die already, I don¡¯t want you here when the other two get back.¡±


    ¡°They walked without faces, broken and beaten, for the goddess had stripped them of that which made them our people. All of them were without souls, and the vices of our kind were laid bare and upfront with their naked uniformity...¡± Xen said in a hushed tone.


    Twenty-Two recognized the passage. It was from holy scripture, and it was written on the wall above the main door where the maskless were trained from childhood. It was from the holy book of the Erudine, the Selum-Sah. The passage itself was from the beginning, detailing when their people had betrayed their goddess for power and long lives, and so she struck them with a terrible curse in return. She had made them all identical, with faces and bodies that were a weaker version of her own. It was the story of why they worse the masks in the first place. To not have a mask was to not have a soul.


    She tossed her weapon to the side this time and leapt at him. Xen tried to take advantage of her fury, but she was too quick for him. He managed to slice the air again, and struck her side, but it wasn¡¯t enough to make her back off. She pummeled and kicked at him, striking the arms and legs repeatedly. He let out gasps of pain towards the end, feeling one of his bones fracture as she continued. Eventually he could barely move, panting heavily from the pain. His heart was beating so loud the room sounded like it was lined with drums. Panic set over him as he waited for death.


    Instead, he watched he pin down his left arm with her foot as she picked up her blade again. She dragged the back of the blade over his arm and he tried to squirm out from under her. He raised a hand to chop at her again, but she knocked it to the ground and the pain dazed him. It was only when he felt her grip the hard part of his mask that he was brought back to full attention.


    ¡°What... are you...?¡± He tried panting out.


    He could feel the fabric connecting to the mask lift past his chin very a split second and she swiftly brought down pommel of her weapon. The wooden mask broke, the piece near his chin napping off as the upper portions struck into Xen¡¯s skin. Cold fear unlike anything he¡¯d felt before washed over him and panicked energy flooded his limbs as he started flailing beneath her.


    ¡°No! What are you doing?! Don¡¯t take my soul!¡± He pleaded with her.


    ¡°It¡¯s just mask you idiot! Why can¡¯t you see how idiotic you look? Sit still or I¡¯ll make this worse!¡± She shouted back down at him.


    Another swift blow broke off more of the mask, reaching up under his left eye. As she yanked the piece away, she could see the tears streaming down his face. The Erudine face looking back at her through the broken mask was not like hers, scarred and torn from past injustice, but it was broken. Xen was weeping openly now, something that was almost unheard of for an Erudine adult, let alone one of the maskless. He had broken the standard of profound and quiet emotions, the fear and pain driving him back to naked expression of his despair.


    Twenty-Two hesitated, mesmerized by his expression. She pressed her thumb down onto his cheek and wiped at some of the tears. Without warning, she was forcibly shoved off of him towards the pool. She managed to roll over to one of her blades and picked it up, the daze before wearing off almost instantly as she looked for what hit her.


    A human and an Urchski were now standing between her and Xen. She licked the tear off of her thumb and stood up. For a moment, the hum of the machine was the only noise in the room.


    ¡°You¡¯re Xen¡¯s target, aren¡¯t you? My name is Saul, I¡¯m a detective for the merchant¡¯s guild of the human section. I¡¯m afraid it¡¯s not really my justiction to bring you in for trial, but I¡¯m not gonna stand by and watch you kill somebody.¡±


    ¡°Would you rather die with him? Humans should stay out of Erudine business.¡± She hissed at him.


    ¡°Tell you what, why don¡¯t you drag your partner out of her and get him some medical attention. I¡¯ll let you leave without any further violence, and we can put this all behind¡ª"


    ¡°Don¡¯t... listen to her...¡± Xen said, struggling to cover his face and push himself up on one arm.


    ¡°You stay quiet.¡± She said to him through grit teeth.


    Saul took a step towards her while pulling his weapon back in case she needed to strike. Twenty-Two locked eyes with him, watching for the first attack. Instead, Saul was stopped in his tracks. He let out a grunt of confusion as his body shook in place.


    Twenty-Two turned around to see Jason with one hand extended, freezing the other human in place. ¡°Seems like we¡¯ve gotten into some trouble.¡± He said calmly as he circled around the pool, Olivia nowhere to be seen. ¡°Mind if I ask who you people are? Because it seems as though you were about to attack my friend here.¡±


    ¡°My name is Saul, and this is my guide Plafluf. Your friend was assaulting Xen here when I arrived.¡± Saul replied, stumbling as Jason let go of him. ¡°Given that she also seems to match the description of who my friend has been looking for, I¡¯d say he was just try to apprehend her himself. Did you know that you were abetting a criminal?¡±


    ¡°The maskless aren¡¯t allowed to arrest or interfere with the other races unless they¡¯re attacked first. Since I¡¯m human, that¡¯s fine, isn¡¯t it?¡± Jason said with a shrug.


    ¡°Maybe on a technicality... but I¡¯m with the merchant¡¯s guild as a detective. I don¡¯t take kindly to criminals, nor the people who help them out. This place does seem to be owned by an Urchski noble, so I could place you under arrest for trespassing.¡±


    ¡°Could.¡± Jason replied with a calm look.


    Silence fell over the room, only masked by the heartbeat in their ears mixing with the hum of the machines. Xen¡¯s breathing had picked up again as he tried to get up onto his knees. Twenty-Two looked at both her swords lying on the ground and finally looked over to Saul¡¯s sword in his hands. She gave Jason one glance before bounding forward and twisting her whole body into a kick. Her foot managed to hit its mark dead on his hand, forcing him to let go of the sword and make it fly off to his right.


    Plafluf closed his eyes and blinked above Twenty-Two¡¯s head with his dagger ready. Only barely able to react in time, she dropped to the floor and socked him in the side. Though Plafluf was knocked away from the blow, she was forced to take a hit on her arm from Saul. Jason froze him in place and tried to rush forward to help, but Plafluf teleported back into the fight, landing on his back and driving the dagger deep into his shoulder. Jason yelled out in pain before grabbing Plafluf and throwing him away as hard as he could. The Urchski spun through the air but was caught by Saul in time. He was dazed only for a moment before he teleported back in front of Jason and went for his throat. Twenty-Two gave another quick blow to Saul while he was distracted and grabbed one of her swords. She dragged the blade up and went to swing into Plafluf¡¯s stomach.


    ¡°Don¡¯t touch him, you rat!¡± She shouted, drawing their attention towards her.


    Her ability was focused intently on Saul and Plafluf, and she made sure before she even jumped that neither would be able to hit her. In that fine focus, she was unable to predict or dodge any other attacks. Her weight shifted as she was jumping, and time seemed to slow down. She twisted to the side as best she could, knocking into Jason and having them both stumble to the ground. The room went quiet, even the hum of the machine turning off for that frozen moment. Twenty-Two¡¯s eyes were hazy and unfocused, though she didn¡¯t know why at first. Only when she looked at the pool did she figure it out. A scarred and pale right arm rolled softly into the pool of black liquid.

 Chapter Ten

    With almost no resistance it sunk beneath the surface and disappeared. Her gaze drifted up to the limp form of Xen. His breath was shallow and she knew from the way he held himself that some bones were broken. Despite that, he had one arm outstretched from delivering a final attack. His tear stained eyes glared at her with contempt before he passed out. Her body shook as Jason lifted her up onto her feet.


    ¡°Twenty-Two? Hey, focus!¡± He shouted at her, though the voice sounded miles away, as he tore into his shirt and tried to plug her arm.


    She stared at where he was applying pressure. A clean cut straight through the shoulder. Even though he was applying covering it up now, her blood was pooling on the ground beneath them. Twenty-Two grabbed onto the ball of cloth he was holding against her and started moving down the tunnel. When she wasn¡¯t looking, a deep rumble came from within the pool and black fumes rose from the surface, blanketing over the back end of the room and separating them from Saul and Plafluf.


    I need to get out of here. Why am I even here? Keep the pressure tight, one foot after the other. Twenty-Two thought to herself in a illucid way. Am I going to die? I need to get to Olivia, back to the hideout. I¡¯m going to die if I don¡¯t get back there. I¡¯m going to die...


    Jason was shouting at her, and she stumbled onto the floor as her vision weakened. Vaguely, she felt herself being lifted into the air. Though she felt like Jason was telling her to stay awake, she shut her eyes anyway. Being held brought back nostalgic feelings in her, though her childhood was devoid of being held like this.


    There are worse ways to die, I guess. Being held like this feels nice anyway. I just wish I wasn¡¯t so cold. Maybe if I go to sleep I¡¯ll die in peace. Yeah, just have to close my eyes for a bit. I¡¯ll be better in a second. Just need some rest.


    For a moment her body felt lighter and lighter. She shifted her weight slowly to make sure she wasn¡¯t floating, but found the space around her was colder than it had been before. Her eyes opened and had to adjust to the dimly lit cell. The grogginess of her body snapped away as she clutched at her right arm, letting out a sigh of relief as she felt it was still there. She sat upright on the cot with her eyes closed and cracked her neck slowly, still having to squint to try and make out anything near her.


    ¡°Pox nightmares. Jason? Where are you?¡± She asked, rubbing her eyes.


    She let out a yawn and stretched her hands out in front of her. The yawn stopped short, and her heart started pounding faster again. Her pale arms, once covered in heavy scars, were suddenly immaculate. Twenty-Two frantically scanned the room around her, the memories of where she was coming back to her all at once. She fell off of the small cot and scrambled for the door when it opened up in front of her.


    Two humans, one of which was holding a Bouli in his hands. The Bouli were a reclusive resident species that lived almost exclusively in their section of the Upper Ring. They were slug-like people, barely weighing over ten pounds as adults. They had six tentacle appendages stretching out along the length of their bodies, and a small skirt of skin that they used to move around normally. The one in front of her was mostly a soft shade of ping, with spots of black and swirls of yellow flowing over the tentacles, almost like golden armbands. Most people in the city have never even met a Bouli, let alone actually been inside their section before. Those that have are either wealthy merchants making incredibly lucrative business transactions, or workers and slaves. The latter number greatly outweighs the former.


    A strange squishing sound came from the Bouli, their equivalent to clearing one¡¯s throat. ¡°You were found illegally entering this restricted area which is privately owned but on lease from the council for purposes of research in sensitive matters. After being detained, you admitted to entering the premises in pursuit of a person on the ground of law seeking the Erudine people. Does this information sound correct?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s accurate. You¡¯re not allowed to impede a member of the maskless.¡± Twenty-Two responded. What am I even saying? I need to get out of here as fast as possible. There¡¯s something really wrong about this place, but there¡¯s a fog in my head.


    ¡°Unfortunately it is not that simple. Ever since the human insurrection and subsequent bouli take-over, new laws have been put in place for the safety of the general populace. These rules override the cultural ones of the Erudine, sadly. Because of this you are to be treated as a criminal interloper and to be treated as such for the time being because of your confessions.¡± The Bouli responded in a cold tone, both its front tentacles clasping together.


    ¡°This will not stand! The head of the maskless will demand my return as soon as possible, as well as an explanation for abetting a criminal. It was agreed by all other races that the law keeping of the Erudine would not be broken by other races.¡± Twenty-Two warned the Bouli. ¡°You have no authority to hold me here for performing my sacred duties.¡±


    ¡°Unfortunately for you, we do. Considering you are now a legal prisoner here, you can be enlisted to perform labor for studies under commision for the city. Labor in this case will mean assisting in research.¡± The Bouli said before waving its right side tentacles at the other human. ¡°Please subdue her and bring her to the primary laboratory.¡±


    The other human nodded and took his gloves off before moving towards Twenty-Two. She pressed her back against the wall and get ready to kick out if he got close. He hesitated for a second, twisting his body to the side so she couldn¡¯t catch him in any weak spots and started waving his hand out to bait an attack from her.


    He¡¯s treating me like a wounded animal. She thought to herself as she glared at him. All I need to do is get past this one human and I should be clear to make an escape. There¡¯s something wrong about him though, but I don¡¯t know what. Least my power should be enough to incapacitate him. What is this feeling of fear, though? There¡¯s something wrong about this situation but I can¡¯t remember it.


    He took a step closer and she struck out with her right leg. She managed to catch his arm and send him stumbling away a few steps. Where she connected with his leg suddenly tingled like static and the muscles fell limp. It only spread up to her knee, but the dead weight was throwing her off balance. The man took advantage of this and rushed her, managing to take a blow to the face that left him with a bloody nose.


    ¡°Stupid mask wearing... Just go limp already, will you?¡± He grumbled at her, plugging the bleeding with a handkerchief in his pocket.


    Her arms were losing strength fast from the paralyzing effect, but terror drove adrenaline through her veins. It wasn¡¯t enough to fight back, but she managed to touch her cheek. Rather than the scarred and pale flesh she had known, there was a firm mask and hood covering her. All at once she remembered where she was, and what the nightmare would soon become. She tried to cry out, but the needed muscles could not. Instead all she could muster was a loan moan, a mixture of fear and pain.


    The man grabbed her by the waist and slung her over the shoulder. All that was left to resist in her body was a small amount of neck movement, as well as her eyes. They left the room quietly, but it would not have mattered if they spoke. Like most of the Bouli¡¯s section, it was an assault on almost all of the senses. The air was heavy with humidity, and a faintly sweet smell of rot and mold. She looked to the side as best she could while they walked, seeing many other cells like the one she came from. They were not as lucky as her, with some having scars or missing limbs. Worst of all were the ones with clearly malfunctioning powers, even though in all likelihood they were here willingly.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    As they moved further down the hall she let her head relax and stare at the metal floor beneath them. It was slick water, patches of mold growing out along the cracks in the ground. The smell of them was making her head spin. The Bouli were known to eat mold and rotting things, as they lacked teeth or powerful acids to break down more dense food material. It¡¯s a mark of their alien nature that they never stopped to consider other methods for having food be available to them without disgusting the other citizen races.


    Eventually the group came to a stop, and the human place Twenty-Two down onto a table. With only vague sensations left in her limbs, she realized they were strapping her down. The memories came back again as her heart started racing. The static over her foot was dissipating now, and with it the rest of her body was regaining motion.


    ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll give her body one more minute to recover. Without excessive handling, she should have regained sensation within her body. Primary, could you please recheck all strappings and secure her head? Secondary, set me down and bring the tool table up to the right side.¡±


    Primary, the man who had been carrying Twenty-Two, set about tightening the straps again before he brought up two vices on either of her temples. Even as she got more control of her body, they held her head fast in place. After that was done, he circled around her and exited out of the room. Outside of her view, a table rattled up to her, and more footsteps sounded off. For a few moments there was only the slick sound of the Bouli moving across the platform she was attached to, but then came the metallic cling of tools being prepared.


    ¡°You¡¯ve been awfully quiet. I didn¡¯t have them gag you because of that, but now I¡¯m concerned my primary assistant¡¯s ability may have caused some permanent damage to your vocal cords. Would you mind speaking for me?¡±


    ¡°By our goddess, what are you doing to me?¡± She hissed out at him. Why can¡¯t I just wake up?


    ¡°Ah, good, you are capable of speech.¡± The Bouli replied, ignoring her question. ¡°I think that should mean that you are at least aware of your surroundings. One final question before we begin, can you feel this?¡±


    She shivered as the Bouli pressed one of its tentacles against her right wrist. ¡°Get your slimy appendages off of me and answer my question!¡± Stop answering his questions, you¡¯re only going to make things worse! Wake up before it starts all over again!


    ¡°Unfortunately it is a matter of city security that I cannot tell you the specifics of what we are going to be doing. I can say that your momentary discomfort and suffering will all serve a purpose. Great care will be taken to avoid permanent damage to your body. Well, at least in terms of functionality. The nature of these experiments requires some aesthetic and superficial scarring.¡±


    Please not this, I don¡¯t want to do this anymore. ¡°My suffering? You had better let me go right now or so help me I¡¯ll¡ª!"


    Her demand was cut short as she sucked in breath suddenly. The Bouli had taken a sharp blade off of the table where she couldn¡¯t see and was dragging it down the length of her forearm. Warm blood rushed out of her body and she let out a scream of agony. She started convulsing, feeling death rush towards her for a few of the most agonizingly long seconds of her entire life. Before she could pass out, the same slimy appendage rolled over her wound and the cutting pain was replaced by a burning one. The scream mellowed out into a moan as she got light headed. Her limbs were shaking at the sudden changes in pain and normalcy, as the burning faded into nothing just as quickly as it wiped away the cut.


    ¡°Hm, as expected, it does seem to heal the wounds quite well. There is something wrong with where it was applied though that differs from a natural healing process. Perhaps this trait is exemplified in the Erudine? We should acquire more in the future to test this.¡± The Bouli muttered to itself.


    ¡°Let me go!¡± Twenty-Two demanded, her voice hoarse from the screaming. ¡°You can¡¯t get away with this!¡± No one is coming for me. I can¡¯t get away from them. There¡¯s nothing left to do but suffer.


    ¡°Primary! Could you please come back and gag the patient?¡±


    More footsteps and Twenty-Two found herself staring up at the human from before. He brought out a rag from his pocket and tried to force it through the slit in her mask for a few seconds before giving up.


    ¡°What¡¯s the problem?¡±


    ¡°That mask. I think I need to go under the hood part attached to it if I¡¯m going to get a gag in her mouth, but with the vice up I think I¡¯d have to paralyze her again. Mind waiting a while for me to do that?¡±


    ¡°No, no, no, that won¡¯t do at all. We¡¯re on a pretty tight schedule today as things are, so I don¡¯t want to wait several minutes just for a noise issue. If the mask is complicating it, why not just cut the hard part off?¡±


    Twenty-Two¡¯s heart sank in her chest as the human looked down at her. With a shrug, he reached across the platform and grabbed a knife from the Bouli.


    ¡°Hey... what are you doing?! You can¡¯t take my mask off! Do you even realize what you¡¯re doing you monster?!¡± She cried out, thrashing as best she could to keep the knife away. ¡°I¡¯ll stop shouting, just don¡¯t take my mask off!¡± It¡¯s just a mask. That¡¯s all it ever was to me. My mask means nothing to me.


    The human pressed one hand on her head and started cutting the fabric around the firm mask porition. Even if the sloppy knife work ended up knicking her face in a  few places, she couldn¡¯t focus on it. She was openly weeping by the time they pulled the mask off completely. She threw her head from side to side as best she could, but the vices would not allow her anguish even an inch of movement. With the mask gone, the human plunged the cloth into her mouth and secured it with an attachment to her head restraints. Even through the fabric, her muffled whimpering continued.


    ¡°Actually, the presence of the mask makes me wonder... Primary, hand me the knife if you would please.¡± The Bouli asked as it moved over Twenty-Two¡¯s chest.


    He handed the knife and left them alone once again. Eventually his tentacles came into view, and she could feel his body resting along her chest and neck. He lifted the knife over her right eye and adjusted it a few times in the air, another tentacle bringing up a small jar of pitch black liquid.


    ¡°You might wish to close your eyes for this one. I¡¯m afraid that if I cut over or near the eye it might get damaged in some way.¡±


    The knife lowered slower towards her eyebrow, tears blurring her vision from all the sobbing. As it sliced into her face and started circling around. The intense pain moved over her like a pulsing wave. The blood from her wounds rushed out and filled her eyes, mixing with the tears and stinging the still open eyes. As she finally forced them shut, she felt her body sink beneath the platform and land onto something soft. With the gag gone, she shot upright and screamed.


    As her eyes opened, she realized she was back in the hideout. More than that, her scream and startled both Jason and Olivia who were also there. Her breathing was still erratic to the point where she couldn¡¯t focus, but as she calmed down she could tell something was wrong. Jason had grown some stubble, and there were clear bags under his eyes. The moment Twenty-Two started to settle down, he rushed off of his chair near the beds and pressed a flask of water to her lips. It was only then that she noticed how dry her throat was, and eagerly gulped down the drink. The rush of fluid was too much for her throat, and she started hacking up.


    ¡°You can¡¯t imagine how worried I was about you.¡± Jason told her, leaving the flask in her lap and collapsing into his seat. ¡°After we got out of there, you passed out. You¡¯ve done nothing but toss and turn in that mattress since yesterday evening.¡±


    Twenty-Two went to shift herself in bed, but fell to the right side. Picking back up to a seated position, she felt over her right side, remembering how she lost the arm. The bandages were clean at this point, and wrapped around her chest tightly. She pressed her fingers against the shoulder and winced, feeling the large scab buried beneath the white fabric.


    ¡°If we¡¯re done researching we should head back to the king¡¯s domain. Already wasted three days sleeping, don¡¯t want to stay here any¡ª" Twenty-Two started to say as she rose from the bed.


    Almost instantly her legs started to give way. Jason caught her in time and lifted her back onto the mattress with a small grunt before standing up. ¡°No way. You¡¯re going to be staying in bed here and recovering. You must be in shock after losing a whole arm, and I can¡¯t begin to understand how that feels, but you¡¯re going to have to take care of yourself.¡±


    ¡°We were both really concerned about you, Twenty-Two.¡± Olivia chimed in finally. ¡°I wish I¡¯d just brought everything I needed right away. If we didn¡¯t split up, this could have been avoided...¡±


    ¡°So you want me to blame you for losing it?¡± She asked bitterly.


    ¡°W-What? No, of course not!¡± She said, holding up her hands defensively. ¡°I just... I want to apologize for it anyway. You didn¡¯t¡ª"


    ¡°Deserve it? Don¡¯t lie to me, human.¡± Twenty-Two said before swigging the flask of water, letting it drip across her chin. ¡°You live by the sword, you die by the sword. I got into that fight to begin with, I let my guard down for one second and it cost me this. There¡¯s nothing to it more than that. Don¡¯t give me your pathetic pity just because I¡¯ve been vulnerable for so long.¡±


    ¡°Hey! She was just trying to make you feel better, the least you could do is not throw it back in her face.¡± Jason said, reaching for the flask.


    Twenty-Two brought it to her lips again and drained it. The pale skin of her throat flexed with heavy, painful gulps as she rushed to drink. When she was finished, she threw the flask on the ground and fell back onto her bed, pulling the covers over herself. A brief silence passed over the room, both Jason and Olivia not wanting to press her further. They watched her legs bend as she curled up into a ball on the bed, clutching at her lost arm with the one that remained. The Erudine are a notoriously slender race, but when she wanted to, Twenty-Two knew how to make her frame imposing. Right now, her more natural feeling was leaking out of her body language.


    ¡°Listen, Twenty-Two, I¡¯m going to want you to stay here for the time being. Me and Olivia will handle the new mission we¡¯ve received, and then we¡¯ll be out of the Megaden. I¡¯m sure the king will let you have some peace and quiet to adjust to this when we get back.¡± Jason told her, sitting back down in his chair.


    ¡°New mission?¡± She asked, turning her head towards him as she faced away.


    ¡°The king wants us to figure out what the purpose of the chamber is. From what little information I was able to get, it seems like a pretty important nexus of some kind for all of the structures we¡¯ve visited so far. Alzholme architecture doesn¡¯t usually work this way, so he¡¯s curious about why this specific exception exists.¡±


    ¡°Basically... we¡¯re going to have to go back inside the room.¡±

 Chapter Eleven

    Saul lifted up an arm to shield himself from the fumes, but they oddly clung to the back end of the room. Once assured of his own safety, he rushed over to Xen¡¯s side and lifted him upright. His black clothing was obscuring a lot of his injuries, but the broken parts of his mask were showing a lot of blood. He pressed one thumb against his cheek and tried to assess if it was broken or not. As he pressed against his soft cheek, he could see where heavy tears mixed with the blood. Something about the way they were clinging to his face made him uncomfortable, something in his gut telling him they weren¡¯t caused by physical pain. Just as he got confirmation of the injury, Xen gripped Saul¡¯s collar and pulled him close.


    ¡°Please...¡± He said in a soft whisper. ¡°Please don¡¯t let anyone see my face. I need my mask...¡±


    His eyes shut after the quiet plea. Saul took out his handkerchief and draped it over the exposed portion of the Erudine¡¯s mask. Even if he was not aware of the full gravity of his request, Saul wasn¡¯t one to deny it. He tried shifting him about, but was worried about there being any broken bones. The fumes in the back began to die down, and the humming of the room resumed again. With it, Saul felt a panic to leave the area, and he looked over to where Plafluf was getting up off the ground.


    ¡°You alright? We need to head out of here.¡± He told him.


    ¡°Yes... I was only thrown into a wall, I am fine.¡± Plafluf replied with a groan, getting back his knife and sheathing it.


    While he approached, Saul lifted Xen up into his arms. They turned around only to face a large number of Urchski with spears at the ready. One of them pushes forward, a dirty iron helmet making him stand out from the rest.


    ¡°What happened here?!¡± He demanded, clicking the bottom of his staff against the floor.


    ¡°We got pulled away by some intruders here. They grabbed my friend here while we were in the shadows and started attacking him. Managed to get back here just in time to rescue him, but they ran away. You should see some blood by the pool... managed to cut off one of their arms in the fight.¡± Saul told him as Xen started to stir.


    Best not to tell them about how Xen snuck away from us of his own volition. Those two were terrifying in a fight, I¡¯m amazed Xen got such a lucky strike in on one of them. Either way, we need to keep on our toes and just get out of here. He thought to himself, letting Xen down onto his feet and helping prop him upright.


    The leader gestured to one of his subordinates, ordering him to check out the blood near the pool. One of them scampered off and sniffed around the area, nodding towards the captain after a short while. Though Saul couldn¡¯t quite understand what the captain said under his breath afterwards, he could spot a heavy set of curse words when he heard them.


    ¡°Okay, we will believe you for now, but you must leave immediately!¡± He shouted.


    ¡°Believe me, we don¡¯t want to be here any longer than we have to.¡± Saul replied, shouldering Xen and making their way out of the building.


    Two of the Urchski followed them from behind with spears at the ready. As they left, Saul could hear them moving around and cleaning things up from the battle. When they passed through the door into the darker areas, he couldn¡¯t hear them anymore, but the murderous intent of their escorts was still obvious. They made it to the stairwell, and by then Xen was conscious enough to climb out on his own. With the hatch open, all of them had to shelter their vision, not realizing they¡¯d been down there for so long. The guards closed the hatch quickly behind them, but no one was left outside this time.


    ¡°I... I need to head back to the inn. I need to lay down and¡ª" Xen started to say before wobbling to his side.


    ¡°Doubt you¡¯ll make it there like this. Plafluf, hate to be a burden, but do you mind housing Xen here?¡± Saul asked him.


    ¡°More of a concern of if my mother will accept it. She is nice though, I don¡¯t think it will be a problem. Maybe he will need rent, but that is fine.¡±


    Saul rolled his eyes at the rent comment, but continued carrying the Erudine off in the direction of the treehouse. As they walked down the road, they got many strange looks from the passing Urchski of the area. Thankfully it wasn¡¯t long that they were outside, and they got back to Plafluf¡¯s home without any more trouble.


    Once in the home, Plafluf scampered ahead to let his mother know about what they needed to do. It was only once he¡¯d left that Xen leaned close to Saul. The grip he took on his collar was weak, a stark contrast to how he¡¯d appeared when they first met.


    ¡°I know this might be too much to ask, but... can you please repair my mask? It is incredibly important to me. Finding a replacement here will be impossible.¡± He said as he reached into his pocket. ¡°These are the pieces that broke off of it in the fight. You must glue them back together without taking my mask off.¡±


    Saul took the splinters, some of them being no thicker than a hair. ¡°You really managed to pick all these up in the fight? I tried to scan your body for broken bones, but couldn¡¯t get a good reading to count past the bruises on your body. What if you managed to tear something internally doing this?¡±


    ¡°The mask is more important to me.¡± Xen answered, swallowing hard. There were tears in his voice, even if Saul couldn¡¯t see his face. ¡°Please, just do it for me.¡±


    ¡°Alright, alright. You have my word. I¡¯m sure there¡¯s got to be glue of some kind down here in the Megaden.¡±


    Plafluf returned and waved them forward into the living room again. Xen wrapped an arm around Saul¡¯s shoulder and clung tightly to his side. He helped him up ahead till they find a line of pillows lined on the floor waiting for him. It took a lot of groaning and shifting weight, but they managed to lay him down on top of them. Plafluf¡¯s mother reached for the handkerchief with one hand, but Xen almost instinctively slapped it away and pressed it against his cheek.


    ¡°Oh, uh, right. Tell your mother that we¡¯re going to need some glue. He wanted me to repair his mask, but doesn¡¯t want anyone else to see his face right now.¡± Saul said, watching as his guide translated the instruction.


    Though the mother huffed in frustration, she left the room speaking in her native tongue. ¡°She can use some of the sap to help, but it must be pulled out of the wall and kept moving, so it may take a while.¡± Plafluf translated again.


    The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    Saul nodded and sat down beside Xen, pulling out his notes and writing stick. That cloud that erupted out of the pool when the body part fell inside was definitely strange. I came here just to track down the source of this smuggling ring, but clearly there¡¯s something bigger going on. What do the eastern Urchski want with that place exactly? What was it about the room that made even Volruun so terrified? He thought to himself, scribbling in his pages and flipping through them repeatedly.


    Before long the mother comes back with a wooden bowl and a spoon, mixing the contents inside as quick as possible. She gives him some instructions which Plafluf translates as needing to keep the sap moving or it will harden and be unusable. He took the bowl himself and started stirring it. There was an almost rosey smell to it, which matched the blood red color that it had. Using one hand with the spoon while the bowl was in his lap, he started piecing together the mask parts one by one.


    It took some effort, and Plafluf eventually had to help stir to keep his arms from going too tired, but they pieced it together. The solic color of the mask was now cracked and fused back together in a bright red. Though the sap didn¡¯t expand much, it still sunk into the cracks of the mask. As he placed it back together with the one on Xen¡¯s face, it was already getting late into the night.


    ¡°He¡¯ll have to sand that down at some point I¡¯m guessing. Didn¡¯t even notice he went to sleep though, he¡¯s as still as a corpse on those pillows.¡± Saul said, finally taking back his handkerchief and wondering how he¡¯ll get the bloodstains out.


    ¡°Why all the fuss over his face anyway? Is he that ugly?¡± Plafluf asked, staring at Xen.


    ¡°I highly doubt it. The Erudine are all the same beneath that mask, actually. Men, women, children. All their facial features are more or less the same. I heard it comes from some curse they all caught back on the old world. Regardless, now they all wear these masks to hide it. Religious reasons and all that.¡±


    ¡°But wasn¡¯t that one in the tunnel an Erudine? They weren¡¯t wearing a mask.¡±


    ¡°True... guess that would be a question we¡¯d have to ask Xen himself.¡± Saul replied, rolling his shoulders with a sigh. ¡°Either way I¡¯m exhausted after everything we¡¯ve done. I need to get some sleep while I can, so I¡¯m heading back to the inn. I¡¯ll be back here in the morning. Make sure that he doesn¡¯t move around too much, alright?¡±


    Saul stretched out his arms and double checked all of his various pouches before he left. Unlike when he first arrived, the sounds of moving people were now replaced with soft birdsong. The chirps were mostly lower pitched and slow, owning to the fact that only the larger predator birds would be making noise at these hours. He closed his eyes for a few moments on Plafluf¡¯s doorstep to listen to the relaxing sound before he carried forward.


    The street was incredibly quiet, aside from the occasional Urchski that would scamper past him as he went. Only in the main square did he still see people moving around. It wasn¡¯t as much as he¡¯d often see in the center ring, but enough to make him a little homesick. He entered the inn and met up with the barkeep again, who was yawning from working all night.


    ¡°Ah, you are the unlucky person to work with Plafluf! Did he run off from you?¡± He asked him, cracking a fanged smile.


    ¡°Not at all, he¡¯s been a great help. I¡¯ll need a room for the night, if that won¡¯t be much trouble.¡± Saul replied, sliding two coins down onto the counter.


    The innkeeper huffed and picked them up, replacing their spot on his bar with a set of keys and a tag that had a number painted on them. ¡°You are lucky that he did not tell you about the soup story too much. He ranted here for days when he first had it happen. Personally, I heard that he struck a deal with some nobles for something he stole on the western side.¡±


    Saul took the keys and read his number. ¡°Oh? Didn¡¯t realize that you thought he was a criminal when you pointed me in his direction.¡±


    ¡°Heh, he is a good kid, smart mother. Stealing from a westerner is nothing major, they are likely a thief anyway. I would wonder if it was a southern, but he has all of his teeth!¡± The old Urchski laughed to himself.


    Saul nodded and left him to his night work. The stairs up were opposite the entrance itself, and he had to ascend past another floor of dining tables before he found the stairs going inward and spiraling up the center of the trunk. On these levels, the rooms were carved into the walls. They would barely be accommodations for a single person in the center ring, but for an Urchski it could probably fit two or three. His room was on the fifth floor, near the top of the tree itself.


    I¡¯m stunned that the tree is so large. It was hard to get a good grasp of the volume from the ground floor, but this tree must easily be as tall as the barrier to the outer section. Must¡¯ve been fortunate to the one that first found this place. Saul though to himself, pressing his key into the lock.


    ¡°You¡¯ve been causing quite the stir I hear.¡± A female voice came from behind him.


    Saul turned around to find a female Urchski standing on the stairs. Unlike most of the ones he¡¯d seen so far, she was dressed in a silken dress, with a frilled collar around her neck, and even had ribbons of various bright purple shades tied around the tip of her tail. Her coat was almost marble white as well, which would make her stand out from most of them immediately. There was a thick coat of wealth emanatic off of her every motion.


    ¡°Only for those in the criminal world I would hope. You seem to have me at a disadvantage though, have we met before?¡±


    ¡°No, mister Saul, we have not. My name is Edyta and I am of the house Cherno in the Eastern Megaden. If you are not well versed in our politics you might not know either of those names, but I will not be modest and lie about our importance.¡±


    ¡°Better to be honest and brash than hiding something and sweet.¡± Saul replied, keeping his hands at his sides. ¡°Well since you¡¯re so important, would you mind letting me know what I¡¯ve done to draw your personal attention like this?¡±


    ¡°This investigation of yours, of course. From what I have been told by some of my siblings, you¡¯ve been poking around into very restricted areas while doing it. Would you mind telling me what it is you¡¯re looking for while snooping through haunted ruins?¡±


    ¡°Haunted? Oh my, I had no idea. I guess with all of the guards there on my last visit, it seemed like it was almost a barracks.¡±


    ¡°I would prefer an answer, not snide remarks.¡± She said, whipping her tail lightly.


    ¡°Well unfortunately I am unable to share the specific details of what I am investigating right now to the public. You¡¯re free to do a check on my credentials if you doubt who I am or if I am here on official business.¡±


    ¡°So you are refusing to give me the information I want?¡±


    ¡°With all due respect to one of noble birth, miss Edyta.¡± Saul replied, folding his arms carefully. ¡°You¡¯re asking questions that might make you a suspicious party in my investigation right now. If you want me to answer that, then you¡¯d better expect a whole lot more from me.¡±


    Both of them were silent for a few more moments until the Edyta stepped up from the stairs onto the floor completely. She approached Saul carefully, with her tail ribbons dangling up in the air with a slight lift of her tail. Once she was just less than a yard away, she cocked her head to the side at him, observing carefully. Though all Urchski had pitch black eyes, her still had an excessively piercing quality to them as he stared back.


    ¡°Of course I would not want for the ever-powerful merchant¡¯s guild to snap down on the people of the Megaden because of my actions. If you don¡¯t want to tell me about the investigation it is well within your rights to do so. However, I would like to say that your job must certainly accrue a lot of dangerous risks.¡± She replied, swinging herself around and moving back to the stairs. ¡°The Megaden is a very dangerous place in general, so you must always be on your guard. Being within the ruins though, especially that one buried underground? Well... there¡¯s no place in alzholme quite as risky as being in there, human.¡±


    Saul kept quiet as she left, waiting for even her footsteps to fade away. Once she was gonna, he let out a heavy sigh of relief. There was only the noise of the bar crowd faintly below in the room now, and he chose to head inside of his room to get away from it.


    The accommodations were very basic. A window that was just a hole with some wood left as bars covering it up was about the only thing on the wall opposite of him. Aside from that, there was a dresser with only two drawers, a bed that was about a size too small for him, and an empty desk. He took a seat on the bed, noting it must have been stuffed with some kind of animal fur. Happy it wasn¡¯t as unbecoming as the rest of his room, he got undressed and laid down to sleep. It hardly took a minute after he closed his eyes for him to go out, the exhaustion of his encounters for the day suddenly hitting him at once.


    Saul didn¡¯t dream much that night, only a few passing images that he managed to forget with just a couple of blinks of his eyes. The sunlight poured over him from the nearby window gracefully, a stark contrast to the bustle and shouting of the morning traffic below. Matching the sunshine in his room, he managed to get to work getting dressed and ready right away. Saul wasn¡¯t the type to have trouble sleeping, and even less so waking up. It was a trait that managed to earn him jealousy from some of his acquaintances back in the center ring.


    Once he was ready to set out he left his room, making sure to lock it as he went. The bar was full of mostly Urchski, though this time there was hardly a mug in sight, most of them hungrily tearing at meals placed in the center of their tables as Saul passed them by. The street outside was similarly busy, but without Plafluf to guide him, Saul had to bump around a few folks and dodge a cart as he left the big hassle spots.


    Eventually he got back to Plafluf¡¯s house. The sound of birdsong now was much more chipper and high pitched. He knocked on their door and glanced up, watching some of the mountain trail-tails fly between the branches. He didn¡¯t have to wait long before the door opened with Plafluf on the other side.


    ¡°Good morning. How¡¯s Xen doing?¡± Saul asked him.


    ¡°That is what I was going to ask you. He left really early this morning with just a note saying that he was going into the western section.¡±


    ¡°What? Why would he...?¡± Saul started to ask before shaking his head. ¡°Nevermind, it¡¯s obvious. We just need to hurry over there and make sure he¡¯s not getting into trouble. Right now he¡¯s a part of my case and I don¡¯t want him messing things up or getting hurt worse.¡±

 Chapter Twelve

    It was difficult to tell the time of day within the hideout easily, but Twenty-Two was sure it was just before dawn when she got out of bed. The meaning of that word was much more strict on a city drifting in space, with the time of it happening incrementing almost exactly the same every day. For her, it mattered very little, because of her habit of waking up in the middle of the night regardless.


    She placed some bandages into her sack on the table, struggling to keep it properly open with only one arm. The bag itself was full now, weighed down by her own personal affects and a few rations. Before she slung it over her shoulder, she made sure to check that she had enough food and water to last for a day or two on her own. There was some money on the table, and Twenty-Two made sure to add to the pile with the last of her own coin.


    Her chest piece fit oddly now. She¡¯d debated cutting off the sleeve for her missing arm, but lacking the ability to do so properly, she opted to tie it in a knot instead. Satisfied that she was ready to head out, the supplies were slung behind her back.


    ¡°Twenty-Two?¡± Jason said, sitting up on his bunk and rubbing one of his eyes.


    He was looking right at her now, and her heart skipped a beat. Without saying anything in return she moved towards the stairs and started to climb them. A sharp pain struck her wound, making her collapse down. Jason was quick to rush over to her side and pulled up shirt enough to see the bandages were soaked through with blood. Maintaining her silence, he helped her to her feet and the both of them left to the surface. By the time they hit the top, she had to sit down on the ground, panting slightly.


    The air was crisp, and a few critters were scurrying around the empty ruins. All that came through the doorway was a dim blue light from the shield surrounding the city, an effect made to supposedly comfort the original citizens as they transitioned to living away from the old world.


    Jason quickly lifted the rest of her shirt off from the injured side. He took bandages from her pack and began to peel away the dirty ones.


    ¡°How did you know I had those?¡± Twenty-Two asked.


    ¡°Was watching you when you put them away. Was hoping you¡¯d stop yourself before I had to, but obviously not.¡± He said, wrapping her chest in the fresh cloth.


    ¡°Don¡¯t treat me like a child. Even with only one arm, I¡¯m still the deadlier one of the two of us.¡± She threatened, staring at the ground with a distant glare.


    ¡°Not if you¡¯re bleeding out from a fresh wound. You¡¯re lucky that it was cut the way it did or you may not have even survived at all. Right now you need to be taking it easy, not jumping into more danger.¡±


    Twenty-Two rubbed over the fresh bandages, wincing a little as she could feel some parts of it scabbing over. ¡°Right now I¡¯m nothing but danger, especially to this mission. I¡¯m going to leave so you two can safely¡ª"


    ¡°No, you¡¯re not going to leave. I¡¯m not going to give you that as an order because I don¡¯t have the authority, but I¡¯m telling you not to leave. I say that as both your friend, and as someone with the enhancement that can force you to stay put.¡±


    Jason took a few steps away and sat down on the ground opposite to her. Twenty-Two only made eye contact for a second before she stared at the floor again. Her knees dre closer to her chest as she condensed as much as she could. Though her physical strength made it easy to forget, she still had the physique of an Erudine. Her limbs were slender, and when she wanted to curl up and recuse herself from the world, she could.


    ¡°So... what exactly was your plan here?¡± Saul asked her.


    ¡°I was going to hunt down that Maskless that¡¯s tracking me. He¡¯s the main threat to our mission right now, and he¡¯s only after me. If I could just draw him out, I could get rid of him quietly and then come back to helping out here. Better than just being a liability, right?¡±


    ¡°Your wound isn¡¯t finished healing and you want to go out there picking fights? His ability is incredibly strong, maybe as much as yours. What happens if you go out there and tear open those stitches? I don¡¯t think you¡¯re going to be much of a killing machine if you¡¯re passing out mid-scrap.¡±


    ¡°Then I just won¡¯t move around too much, I can dodge just fine using my feet. There, happy enough?¡± She hissed at him, finally lifting her head. ¡°Right now that Erudine is the biggest threat we¡¯ve got, so let me handle it!¡±


    ¡°We can face him together then.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to coddle me, you have no idea how dangerous this could be. There¡¯s no reason for you to¡ª"


    ¡°Get killed to? What, are you worried I¡¯m not going to let you go out in a blaze of glory like you¡¯re wanting?¡±


    Twenty-Two gave him a bitter laugh. ¡°Yes, a blaze of glory. Isn¡¯t that what you¡¯d want to do? You¡¯d like to die in glorious service to the king or something like that. You know the last human king died thirty years ago in the rebellion? They¡¯re not royalty, they¡¯re just a monster that¡¯s good with words.¡±Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.


    ¡°He is my king, and he¡¯s yours as well.¡± Jason replied, his hands clenched into fists.


    ¡°The difference is that he found me was I was a broken and bleeding nobody in the sewers. I signed up with him because I needed protection and had nowhere else to go. You¡¯re healthy, probably joined just so you could get enhanced. Don¡¯t you humans have parents that are supposed to raise you properly? Maybe you¡¯re just using the king as a replacement for a father that was never¡ª"


    ¡°Enough!¡± Jason shouted, punching his fist into the ground.


    The smirk evaporated from Twenty-Two¡¯s face. As he lifted his hand, she could see a small rock lodged into his middle finger, leaving a jagged cut. His hand began shaking from the pain as he pulled it out, massaging his palm to settle his nerves. She clutched at her own injury before tossing the spare bandages over to him. All that filled the room was birdsong and the squeak of rodents as he wrapped his finger. Once it was safely secure, he flexed it twice and let out a heavy sigh. She had never seen him angry before, the sight of it had left a dark pit in her stomach.


    ¡°Look, I... nevermind.¡± Twenty-Two said, conflicting emotions welling their way to her throat and making it seize the words she wanted to say.


    ¡°Have I ever told you the story of how I actually joined? It¡¯s not something I really like sharing, but right now it feels relevant.¡±


    Twenty-Two shook her head, and Jason moved closer.


    ¡°Well I suppose I should explain then. My family were actually blood relatives to some nobles back when they weren¡¯t just merchants. We still spent most of our time in the center ring, had a fairly modest house there. Only mentioning it because when the Buloi... well, when the attack on the court happened, all of our wealth was mostly lost in that mad scramble. We were left rather destitute, but my father could work as a trader, and my mother as a tutor. This meant that I wasn¡¯t really being educated like I had when I was much younger. Was barely out of boyhood when I started getting into trouble with some of the neighborhood children.¡±


    Saul pulled his right leg in front and took his boot off. There was a scar running down the length from his ankle to the big toe. Twenty-Two could only stare at it and compare it to her own scars.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t think children could be so cruel.¡± She said, staring at it.


    ¡°Eh... things got out of hand is all. Funny thing is that I would usually just run away from them. They throw rocks and hurl insults at me, but most I got out of it was a bruise and some scraped or cut skin. Nothing that wouldn¡¯t heal up by the next day. The day that I got this one though, I decided to try and fight back. Had read a novel about some little warrior, probably some fable from the old world, and I was inspired to try and fight back to defend myself. Turns out my heroism just made their spite grow stronger. I¡¯d thought they were bullying me on account of my weaknesses, but really it was jealousy. They¡¯d lost their parents or all of their wealth when the fighting ended. When they saw that I still had wealth, still had parents, they probably just wanted to vent their frustrations. When I fought back they didn¡¯t let go.


    ¡°They punched and kicked me until I was a bleeding mess on the ground. I kept trying to get back up onto my feet so I could be like that hero, but that just made them start hitting my legs and feet. My foot got split open, actually. One of the larger boys stomped a rock onto it that made it burst open. I... stopped trying to get up after that. By the time they were finished, my whole body was a blurry mess of suffering. Couldn¡¯t breathe right, might¡¯ve had some blood inside of my lungs. Turns out, that¡¯s when I happened upon the king himself.


    ¡°I still don¡¯t know what he was doing there that day, but I thank everything that he did. There was some kind of woman with him that had the ability to stabilize my injuries. Made my body feel like clay or something, and she just sculpted the flesh back together. I¡¯d never actually met an enhanced person before then, and it really freaked me out. Not as much as the king himself though, but I think you¡¯ve seen him. Anyway, once they were sure I wasn¡¯t going to die, the king asked me a question. He wanted to know if he would like me to murder those kids. Told me that I would have died in seconds after that beating if it wasn¡¯t for them, and he wondered if vengeance would make me feel better.¡±


    Saul paused for a moment, rubbing his bandages thoughtfully. Twenty-Two only noticed in the quiet that her body posture had started to mimic his, with her legs going in the same criss cross pattern. She inched herself forward and leaned in, prompting him to continue.


    ¡°I told him no. Funny, right? Those kids didn¡¯t have any good reason to murder me. They were just spreading the suffering they had inside. Kicking someone else because they though they had it better. But at that moment I realized that killing them wouldn¡¯t exactly fix what they¡¯d done to me. Even if I had died, those kids were attacking me because I was being bullheaded in my own way. Having us both be dead wouldn¡¯t solve the inherent problem. Felt strange thinking all that as a kid, I like to think it was the king himself being there that made me see it that way. In the end he offered me a position under him, which I explained to my parents as an apprenticeship. They still think I¡¯m working on some kind of trade, but that¡¯s more of a story for another time. After I got enhanced, I made sure to pay each of those kids a visit and got an apology out of them. Wasn¡¯t easy, and it took a little fighting for a one or two, but there wasn¡¯t any more bodies in the streets.¡±


    ¡°Well, what was the point of that story?¡± Twenty-Two asked, standing up. ¡°You didn¡¯t care for actually dealing out justice when you should have. The only reason you got on your high horse here is because you were given power above them. Do you really only care about not getting your own hands dirty?¡±


    ¡°I cared more about people learning their lesson. Those kids are going to be better people now because of that. Maybe revenge is just the Erudine way, but it doesn¡¯t sit right in my stomach, and I know it won¡¯t for yours either.¡±


    ¡°You know nothing about me!¡± Twenty-Two said. ¡°Don¡¯t start talking about me like you know everything. Just because we¡¯ve worked together, you think that you can figure out exactly what I¡¯m thinking?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t need to. All I know is that you¡¯re feeling anxious.¡± Jason told her, standing upright himself and walking towards her. ¡°It¡¯s going to be okay.¡±


    He grabbed her wrist and pulled her close, wrapping both of his arms around her in a tight embrace. She was stunned at first, being the first time in years that someone had done it to her. Once that had faded, she grit her teeth in anger and hit his side with her fist.


    ¡°Let me go!¡±


    ¡°Not until you stay.¡± He told her, his voice occasionally hitching as she pounded his sides.


    ¡°This is your fault. The whole reason I¡¯m here, the reason I lost my arm... This is all your fault! Stop rubbing it in my face and let me leave!¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Let me leave and fight, you¡¯re being too thick in the head! Drop the caring act and just let me head out there and fix my mistakes. What you¡¯re doing makes no sense!¡±


    He didn¡¯t reply, prompting her to keep hitting him. Her blows softed bit by bit, and she eventually slumped against his chest. She buried her face in his chest, the smell of dust and leather from his gear were lost on her. Tears brimmed at the sides of her eyes until she couldn¡¯t see anymore, and she was forced to squeeze them shut. Even muffled from being shoved into him, she continued her protest.


    ¡°I can still feel it. My other arm is hanging limp from my side like a ghost and it hurts so much. What sense is there in staying when I¡¯m like this...?¡± She asked, struggling to speak between sobs.


    ¡°Your arm isn¡¯t going to come back just by killing him, even if you do. Dying out there isn¡¯t going to help us out either. The best thing for you to do is stay and continue with your duty. When we finish with this we can get you treated properly and you can relax. Let me bear some of your stress till then, alright?¡±


    Twenty-Two let her sobs subside before she nodded, pulling herself off of his chest and wiping her nose over her arm. Despite the crying, her expression was as deadened as earlier. Jason took her pack and carried it back downstairs with her in tow. Once they were on the ground floor, Jason placed her pack onto the table and waited for her to climb into her cot once more. She curled up on the mattress, clutching at her injury without an effort to get warmer. Without a word, he pulled the blanket over her body, making sure it rested comfortably on top of her before he got in his own bed.

 Chapter Thirteen

    Passage into the Western section was growing restricted, mostly by the Eastern guards. Despite this, a steady stream of travellers were still permitted to pass over the bridges. Plafluf and Saul were one of them, though it did take him flashing his credentials again. By the time they got through the dense crowds, they had to search several inns for any sign of Xen. They asked the barkeeps for his description, and luckily his mask made him stand out from the crowds.


    ¡°I remember someone like that.¡± Said a female innkeeper. ¡°He was here looking for information or some such. Someone pointed him to the Shiny Coin bar, to the north of here. Apparently there were some nobles there that could help him.¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t give that information yourself?¡± Saul asked her.


    ¡°I make a note to not remember much about nobles. They take money for tax, they make sure the guards are nearby. Given that they are runts too stupid for power, I believe this is a fair exchange. If they start asking for more, I will start to care.¡±


    ¡°Guess a hatred for taxes is something any resident can get behind. Thank you for your time, ma¡¯am.¡± He replied, nodding his head before he left the building and headed north.


    ¡°You think he¡¯s still there?¡± Plafluf asked.


    ¡°If he¡¯s not, we¡¯ve got to just keep looking. My guess is the information he¡¯s looking for is going to be the whereabouts of that Erudine he fought. Trouble is that he¡¯s in no condition to be fighting right now.¡±


    ¡°But he took off her arm. I would not be in fighting shape after that.¡± Plafluf said with a shake of his head.


    ¡°Yes, well... this one happened to be easily fighting Xen all by herself. If he tracks them down and they¡¯re in a group, he¡¯s going to end up with a lot worse than just a few bruises like last time. Who knows how many they actually have in their group anyway? If they¡¯re a part of this network there could be dozens of people, an unknown amount of them being enhanced.¡± Saul rattled off in quick succession.


    ¡°Stop thinking about it so much! If he wants to get himself killed, it does not seem like such a bad thing to do.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s a good asset to have here. Besides, I work for the law, so I¡¯d rather not just let someone kill themselves if I can stop it.¡±


    ¡°Your law must be very different to Urchski law.¡± Plafluf said with a knowing nod.


    As they got to the bar the innkeeper had mentioned, they found a large crowd busy from the inside. Much like the one Saul had stayed the night in, the building was carved out a massive tree and had multiple floors for patrons to use. When they entered, it didn¡¯t take them long to spot Xen. Most of the patrons were Urchski, so the black clad Erudine stuck out of the building prominently. Saul, recognizing he¡¯d cause the same problem, took a seat at a nearby table to keep watch and tried to hide himself by hunching down.


    Xen did little to avoid attracting attention as he stood waiting. Only a minute or two passed by and Saul found what the Erudine was waiting for. Some guards cleared a way to a table hosting some urchski all carrying weapons and wearing metal ornaments from their tails. Even without the guards he could spot the signs of noble stature on them.


    Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    They exchanged words briefly, with Xen clearly the one pressing them. Eventually the nobles began laughing at something, but the room was too loud for Saul to figure out what it was. Xen then lashed out, knocking away one of the guards and starting a small fight before the table of Urchski all drew their weapons. Saul could see Xen preparing to use his ability on them, but obviously thought better of it and left in a huff. Before he was out of the door, Saul grabbed Plafluf and they cut him off.


    ¡°What the... were you following me?!¡± He demanded of them.


    ¡°You¡¯re covered in injuries, even if they¡¯re superficial ones. I¡¯m not going to let you go out hunting for those criminals all on your own.¡±


    Xen cursed under his breath and glanced around. ¡°Don¡¯t say that in front of a crowd! At least come outside, away from prying eyes and ears.¡±


    They left the bar with Xen going first, maintaining his determined march. Once outside, he clutched at his ribs and winced painfully, clearly having been holding in the sign of pain while he was indoors.


    ¡°See what I mean? You¡¯re in no condition to go out looking for trouble. What you need to do is get some rest and wait until your injuries heal.¡± Saul told him.


    ¡°What, and just let her go back into hiding again? No, I need to go back after her as soon as possible. She¡¯s worse than the report let on, she¡¯s an absolute monster of a person. I cannot abide by her existing in this world, free to live in peace like she has.¡±


    ¡°Are you really doing it for justice, or are you doing it out of personal vengeance?¡±


    ¡°What difference does it make?!¡± Xen shouted back at him, throwing his arms out to the side before wincing in pain again. ¡°Goddess preserve me, I should have stayed there and taught those Urchins a lesson in humility. Maybe they would have given me more information.¡±


    ¡°Things right now are very stressful for the nobles, especially in the Western side. Lots of people think there is going to be a civil war soon. No one wants to get caught unguarded. If you started a fight, they might have put a bounty on you.¡± Plafluf warned him.


    Xen let out a sigh before he moved to the right of the bar¡¯s entrance and sat down on one of its thick roots. His breathing slowed down ashe meditated to focus his mind off of the pain. After it was calmed down again, he placed on hand on his mask and stroked the side that had been repaired with sap.


    ¡°I... never got a chance to thank you for fixing my mask, Saul. Sorry about that. You may not realize it, but the mask means a lot more to my people than just hiding our faces.¡±


    ¡°From what I know it¡¯s for religious reasons.¡± Saul replied, taking a seat on a nearby root.


    ¡°You could put it that way. In a more physical sense it is part of our identity. Not just of our race, but of each of us as a person. The mask is a way of marking ourselves, making it known that we are somebody unique and individual.¡± He swallowed heavily and brought his hand down. ¡°Breaking or stealing someone¡¯s mask is a violation of that idea. It¡¯s theft of someone¡¯s personhood, reducing them to something less than they were before. It¡¯s a disgusting act that leaves a permanent stain on the victim. An equivalent act among humans might be sexual assault.¡±


    Saul put a hand on his shoulder comfortingly. ¡°I didn¡¯t realize it was that serious.¡±


    ¡°So you see now why I need to kill her? The fact that someone would turn traitor on us, not only our laws, but even of our culture and people...¡± Xen trailed off, shaking his head.


    ¡°But that woman didn¡¯t have a mask. Eh... if it was a woman. I did not see womanly thing there.¡±


    ¡°True, and I can only imagine that she discarded it willingly. Such a monster would probably think a soul was something holding them back. If I don¡¯t stop her now, someone else might fall victim to the same thing! That¡¯s not even counting the many bodies left in her wake already.¡± Xen says before standing up again. ¡°Listen, those nobles weren¡¯t of much help, but they mentioned that she was spotted poking around the old city structures. That might be where their hideout is, since the locals don¡¯t like going into those places.¡±


    ¡°Actually, that would explain what they were doing in that old structure. You remember how there were tunnels pouring out over the area in the back? Well maybe they connect to the others in some way. It would also give them a method of smuggling in the weapons that they stole.¡±


    ¡°I highly doubt it will be as simple as just going into the buildings and finding a back door somewhere. Just like in the sewers, the old structures always have incredibly well hidden exits and entryways when they¡¯re not meant to be used.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s where Plafluf comes in.¡± Saul says, gesturing to the Urchski. ¡°Remember in the sewer, how you used your ability to teleport in? We could just do that trick again while we¡¯re walking through each building. Should eventually find a tunnel leading back to the pool.¡±


    Xen gets down on one knee and puts a hand on his shoulder. ¡°Is this true? You can help me find her?¡±


    ¡°Eh... yes, I can. I will charge money though, because this is getting dangerous.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s no issue!¡± Xen replied, shooting upright again and checking his pockets before walking to the main road. ¡°The pain in my sides is fading, we¡¯d best hurry before it starts settling in again. Twenty-Two, your time is numbered.¡±


    Plafluf and Saul exchanged worried glances before catching up behind him, heading south for the nearest Alzholme building in the area.

 Chapter Fourteen

    Jason latted over Twenty-Two¡¯s side, making sure no blood spots were on the bandages. As his thick fingers prodded in, she would do her best to suppress the winces of uncomfort that they brought. Eventually he was satisfied with the wrapping and brought her jacket shoulder back up and buttoned it closed for her.


    ¡°I can get that myself, you know.¡± She told him.


    ¡°We¡¯re in a rush, stop fussing and it¡¯ll be done soon. Olivia, are you all prepared as well?¡± Jason asked, looking over at the desk.


    Olivia was in her full gear once again, thick mask and coat as well. On her back was a messy satchel that was spilling out with parchment and measuring instruments. While she tried to respond normally, the words only came out muffled at first. In the end, she lifted it so her face was free, sporting a large smile as she spoke.


    ¡°Ready as can be!¡±


    As Jason finished buttoning, he tied off Twenty-Two¡¯s right arm sleeve. With a deadpan expression, she wiggled the ball of cloth at her side a few times before slinging her own pack across her back. The room they had been hiding in was mostly cleared out now, though the signs of life were still apparent; including trash and unsent letters at Olivia¡¯s desk. Jason took a final check of what they needed before he grabbed his own sword and left for the stairs. He made sure Twenty-Two was close at his side, and she could tell immediately he was doing so.


    ¡°Wait!¡± Olivia said as they reach one of the first turns on the stairs.


    Twenty-Two and Jason moved back down and waited as she pressed her palms at a seemingly random location at the walls. With her other hand, she fumbled with a large notebook, almost dropping it in her sporadic movements. Eventually the random rubbing and prodding became reminiscent of the first secret passage opening, and to their surprise the stairs themselves began to rumble and move.


    At the midsection of the stairs, the adjoining steps leveled out as they formed a small platform. When the steps stopped moving, the doorway itself slid into the wall with a quiet hiss. Dust was kicked up from all of the machinery, and Twenty-Two had to brush aside the air in front of her before she stepped forward.


    ¡°Was it really this close to our hideout?¡± Jason asked her. ¡°I remembered it being a flight or two above this.¡±


    Olivia shook her head. ¡°No, I made sure to count the steps while you were bandaging up Twenty-Two after... well, you know. It took a while to actually figure out the pattern for this one though. I have a suspicion that the unlocking method is somehow related to the way in which the doors open.¡±


    ¡°Strange, I don¡¯t remember you doing that either.¡± Jason added, scratching his head.


    ¡°Er, well... you were pretty close to Twenty-Two the whole time. I felt like I was just getting in your way being down there, so I was trying to make things easier for the mission.¡±


    ¡°Good work, Olivia.¡± Twenty-Two said, glancing around the entrance before stepping through.


    Olivia was stricken for a moment, the alien sound of a genuine compliment from Twenty-Two stunning her. Eventually she hid her face behind the mask, giving a peppy thumbs up before all of them moved into the doorway. Olivia made sure to close the passage as they left, and the only light left was the small strips which were on the tunnel. They moved throughout it quietly, the lack of wind making every noise echo softly in their ears and mix with their own pulses. As they reached the main path back to the chamber, Twenty-Two paused and grabbed Jason¡¯s shoulder. Without a word, she signaled that she would be scouting ahead of them.


    The path was still empty when she reached it, but the unmistakable sound of movement was coming from the chamber now. Voices began to mix with the movement, and she could tell right away it was the native Urchski language. Carefully getting close enough around the bend to see, she spotted a couple Urchski guards, as well as three figures wearing smocks similar to Olivia¡¯s.


    Pox, they¡¯re already making a base in this place? What would these Urchski even want with this chamber, and why would they want it now of all times? She watched carefully and watched the ones in smocks poking and extracting liquid from the pool. Seems like they¡¯re after the same thing the king is.


    She slinked back to where the other two were, and retreated further down the tunnel.


    ¡°Looks like the Urchski are guarding the place, I saw some of them dressed in research equipment as well. How would they even have known about this place to begin with?¡± Twenty-Two asked them.If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    ¡°Can¡¯t say for sure, but that tunnel was never a part of the original structure. Maybe these Urchski are part of the group that originally built it with the help of Volruun?¡± Olivia added.


    ¡°They were all supposed to have died years ago, what¡¯s with the sudden reemergence? I bet it has something to do with that Human and the maskless. Probably poked around this place trying to market something for the merchant¡¯s guild to exploit.¡± Twenty-Two said with a roll of her eyes. ¡°But fine, if they¡¯re there, we just need to get rid of them. We¡¯re going to be leaving soon anyway, let¡¯s just get rid of those guards and have Olivia finish her research.¡±


    ¡°You say that like it will be easy to just kill however many guards they have in there.¡± Jason said, folding his arms. ¡°There¡¯s too many risks here, I don¡¯t like this sudden change in attention from the Urchski. Killing these guards and driving out the others might just make things even worse for us as we try to escape. That or they could bring in enhanced ones that would cause us even more trouble.¡±


    ¡°Are you really worried about the risks, or are you worried I¡¯m going to mess up again?¡± She remarked back at him.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t say that.¡±


    ¡°Then we shouldn¡¯t waste time talking about hypotheticals and just take the fight to them! If you want to get rid of an unknown threat, you just attack it whenever you get the chance. If we sit around waiting for things are only going to get more difficult and out of our favor. At least right now we would have the element of surprise.¡±


    ¡°We can¡¯t just¡ª" Jason tried to fight, but gave in with a sigh. ¡°Fine, not above finishing this with bloodshed. We are not going to fight them right now though, I want the chance to kill them to be as strong as possible. We should head back to the hideout and then scout the entrance. I want to attack them towards the end of the day, when they should be at their most tired. Can¡¯t imagine the Urchski would be sending primed and trained guards, all they¡¯ve dealt with lately has probably been drunken brawls and border disputes.¡±


    ¡°That makes sense, I guess.¡± She replied. ¡°I¡¯ll be sure to keep your doubts of my ability in mind, however.¡±


    Jason shook his head and all of them headed back for doorway that they came from. The path back this time was far more tense, the lack of wind keeping them all on high alert. Twenty-Two most of all was bothered by having to keep her power active the whole way. Every movement that Jason and Olivia felt was pinpicked across her senses while they moved back. Only a few steps from the exit, a strange sound appeared could be heard thumping away. Seconds later, and Plafluf teleported in front of them.


    His eyes met there¡¯s for a brief moment where neither group even breathed.


    ¡°You¡ª!" Twenty-Two started to bark at him, only for the Urchski to pop out of the tunnel as quickly as he appeared. ¡°Pox upon us, I bet that Urchin has the other two with it. Looks like we¡¯re going to have to fight today after all.¡±


    ¡°No, we need to get out of here as fast as possible. Right now they presumably won¡¯t have a way to open the door up again, so we can get a head start and escape to one of the other structures.¡±


    ¡°But why?!¡± Twenty-Two demanded, drawing her sword. ¡°We¡¯re just going to let them chase after us? Why not get the jump on them this time, get rid of the problem, and we¡¯ll have one less thing to deal with.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re too consumed with bloodlust! Olivia is here with us this time, and if you remember correctly two of them have a long range ability. If they have half the sense for combat that you do, they¡¯re going to take advantage of that and bring us down.¡±


    Twenty-Two grit her teeth before sheathing her blade.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry...¡± Olivia said nervously, staring at the floor through her mask.


    ¡°Don¡¯t apologize, it¡¯s not your fault. The whole reason we¡¯re here is to make sure you stay safe and can do your job. I was just being hasty, is all.¡± Twenty-Two comforted her, putting a hand on her shoulder in solidarity.


    Olivia looked star-struck once again, her eyes bulging even behind the glass lenses of her mask. With an enthusiastic nod, the three of them set out down the tunnels again, careful not to make noise as they passed into the main section. Each side tunnel they passed, they would turn back to Olivia to see if it would end up being far enough away. After three side tunnels in a row, they finally found one that led to a structure a safe distance away. Unlike the others they¡¯d been down, it had a slight curve upwards as they moved.


    ¡°Strange, I thought all of the tunnels were going to be the same height throughout.¡± Twenty-Two said as the reached the end.


    ¡°There¡¯s probably slight variation to account for geography. After all, the city is essentially at the base of a mountain. Internally a lot of it is actually structures like this, but maybe they tried to not cleave through the stone as much? It¡¯s impossible to say for sure without being able to speak to the builders themselves.¡± Olivia answered as she opened up the passage way.


    As they exited, they realize it was at the top of the stairwell down for this building. Heading down the flights as quickly as possible, they found an assortment of shelves much like their hideout.


    ¡°Looks like this is going to be where we have to stay from now on.¡± Jason said, patting his hand over one of the empty spaces.


    ¡°What are you talking about? We can just leave Olivia here for now and go after those three. If they¡¯ve left the hideout that¡¯s all for the better, but if not they¡¯ll certainly be caught off guard by an attack they can¡¯t see coming.¡± Twenty-Two countered.


    ¡°There¡¯s no way of telling whether or not they managed to alert anyone else to what that room is. If they told the guards it¡¯s where our hideout is, they¡¯ll be able to just rout us at any moment with a stream of guards. It¡¯s the exact same problem we were just talking about with the final chamber!¡±


    ¡°So what, we just stay here until the heat dies down or something?¡±


    ¡°No, we wait until we attack the final chamber. Then we flee out the back end of the tunnels to the sewer system and use the smuggling routes to leave the Megaden entirely. I don¡¯t want us spending the night here at all.¡± Jason said before looking away and leaning against the shelf he had been inspecting. ¡°Then again maybe it¡¯s better to just... I¡¯ll need time to think about all of this. We have to be thoughtful and careful or things are going to end poorly for us.¡±


    ¡°Will you stop acting like a coward?!¡± Twenty-Two shouted, moving over and pulling his shoulder so he faced her. ¡°What has gotten into you today? You¡¯re acting like this is your first mission or something. Stop trying to hinder and overthink everything.¡±


    ¡°Do you want me to just rush into a fight and get us into more trouble then? You want me to just act like you did? I can¡¯t guarantee that you¡¯ll survive losing another limb, Twenty-Two!¡±


    Jason forced her hand off of him, and she drew it back before slapping him hard across the face. As he fell back against the wall, he shoved her away from him out of reflex. Twenty-Two stumbled in her step and fell onto her backside, failing to maintain her balance because of the missing arm. Both of them glared at each other from across the room until Olivia broke the silence with a fake cough.


    ¡°I... know this might not be the best time. But if we plan on fleeing after tonight, I unfortunately left my final report to the king inside the hideout. In order to complete the mission, I¡¯m going to need that back.¡± She admitted, staring at the floor to avoid meeting either of their eyes.

 Chapter Fifteen

    There was a brisk breeze through the air that came down through the trees. Saul hardly felt it, his body being padded and protected by his thick coat. Even still, he could tell that Xen should be showing a slight shiver at the very least. His outfit was much thinner and tighter to his skin, not to mention the fact the Erudine were famous for their lithe bodies. In spite of this, Xen was moving as fluid as he had been when they first met in the sewers.


    ¡°This will be the third structure in the Western side of the Megaden. I guess the third time¡¯s the charm?¡± Saul said, shrugging as they stopped in front of the stone building. ¡°It¡¯s a shot in the dark, but do you know if these places are owned by anyone, Plafluf? Wouldn¡¯t really matter, but I¡¯d like to avoid stepping on toes.¡±


    ¡°It is possible.¡± The Urchski answered, stepping in first and sniffing at the air. ¡°I think some of the rich folk buy them to try and say others cannot go there. Rich people are very scared of their ancestors. Usually betrayed one or all of them.¡±


    Inside the building was much like the others they¡¯d been to. Empty stone and metal covered with a thin layer of dust. Even without the rumors of ghosts, the quietness and alien materials made it eerie to walk around in. Xen was unphased by the atmosphere, marching straight for the stairs in the back, waving for Plafluf to come forward.


    ¡°Come on, we don¡¯t know how long we¡¯ve got left, and there¡¯s a lot of these buildings throughout the Megaden!¡±


    ¡°Do you really want us to go to every single one? I¡¯m pretty sure that would raise flags with anyone that we¡¯re up to something. Even going near these places causes us trouble in the future.¡± Saul warned him.


    ¡°We¡¯re in the right general area, I¡¯m sure of it. They had to be somewhere close to Volruun, since we were just a little late in meeting him after they fought, right? Since both of them were there, I can only assume it¡¯s not a day trip out here, and that they actually had a place nearby.¡± Xen assured him, being the first down the stairs.


    The path ahead was less dusty than he had expected. All of the other structures showed signs of being recently disturbed, but this one even moreso. Saul considered using his ability, but with how Alzholme materials worked it wasn¡¯t likely to help. They were ancient and often immutable by conventional means, leaving him with only vague impressions on most of their properties.


    As they got to the bottom, Xen leapt the final few steps as he moved into the chamber in the basement. Saul and Plafluf had to rush to catch up with him, finding the Erudine doubled over a desk in the room as he recovered from overexerting on his bruises. More than just signs of activity, there were signs of people living here. Some of the shelves were like ones they found in the other buildings, but they covered in furs to make them into makeshift bunks.


    ¡°See! This is definitely their hideout. Safly they¡¯re not here, but at least we can get an idea for their strength and size.¡± He said, approaching the bunks himself. ¡°Seems like enough space for about three people, maybe four. I¡¯ll bet they kept their numbers low to keep from getting caught at first. Well, that will definitely bite them in the back now.¡±


    There was a confident smirk on his face now, but Saul could sense the dangerous emotions dwelling beneath. Pulling himself away from psychoanalysis, he set about inspecting the things they¡¯d left behind in the room.


    ¡°Make sure not to disturb things too much. This is an investigation still, so I want to make sure I can find anything relevant to the case. Not to mention if we start tearing it apart they¡¯re going to know that people were here.¡± Saul warned them before crouching down and reaching under the desk.


    There was a mess of bandages hidden there, thick clots of blood staining a majority of the fabric. He poked his pinkie finger against the red spot to make sure it was dried out before he used his analysis on it.


    Goes without saying this is from that Erudine woman. Seems like they had a decent amount of bandages, and this one was used not too long ago. Whoever they are they know how to treat massive injuries like this. Smugglers probably wouldn¡¯t have expertise in this unless they were bad at it. Could they just be guards of some kind?


    As he stood up, he noticed the desk still had pieces of paper left on top of it. He had to move aside some measuring instruments to get at them, the sheets themselves being messily layered on top of each other. As he touched them, he noticed that the parchment was a much higher grade than he was expecting. Though he had only seen it once or twice, the paper seemed like the sort of thing used by college researchers. It was durable, and made with fibers custom made by the Enterus.


    ¡°Xen, this person you¡¯re hunting, she doesn¡¯t have any history with rogue research or anything, right?¡± Saul asked as he checked if all of the paper shared these qualities.The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.


    ¡°Not that I¡¯m aware of. They seemed to go dark for a long time, and suddenly reappeared working for various groups in random places. Unlike the merchant¡¯s guild, we don¡¯t really look into the motives or the like. The guilty pay, no matter what their reasons are.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯d be alot more efficient if you did.¡± Saul commented.


    As he flipped over the pages, most of them had designs and diagrams on them for machinery he¡¯d never seen before. While at first he thought it might have been plans for something to build, the amount of blank parts and questions led him to believe it was attempts to reverse engineer technology. Only on the last page did he notice large pipes similar to the one that he had seen in the pool. Large splotches of ink covered the page, presumably from an accident.


    He pressed his thumb against one of the ink spots. Strange, there¡¯s something off about this stuff. It seems like the ink is used for final thoughts, and the rest of it is using cheap charcoal. That would imply there¡¯s something official about this, but no college research can get approved in places outside of the center ring without knowledge by the guild. I would have to double check, but there shouldn¡¯t be anything like that in the Megaden.


    As he pulls his hand away, he spots a message showing through the back. Flipping it over, he reads the start to some kind of letter. Most of it was smudged over, either on purpose or on accident. Though most of it seemed to just be talking about progress and the dangers of their hideout, the introduction stuck out to him. The name ¡°Underking¡± was used for the recipient.


    Taking the final page, he folds it up and places it on the final pages of his journal for later. Plafluf was still standing by the doorway, having already inspected around the room for any hidden entrances. Xen was crouching on the ground, checking for any hidden weapons or plans of escape they might have left.


    ¡°Hey, have either of you heard of the name Underking?¡± Saul asked them.


    ¡°No?¡± Xen replied, giving a quizzical look. ¡°Was that what humans called their king? Granted there hasn¡¯t been one in about twenty years, but still.¡±


    ¡°I have heard some things.¡± Plafluf replied. ¡°Some people will say they have worked for someone by that name. Many people think it¡¯s just a slang term for some sort of criminal work though.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s mentioned on one of the sheets here. Have you heard any rumors about where he might be, or what he¡¯s working towards?¡±


    ¡°I do not even know if he is real! I do not like working for shadows, so I have never tried to go looking for him. Actually, now that I think about it, some of them sounded like a cult or something. That is another reason to not look into it.¡±


    ¡°Well, hopefully we can find something elsewhere. Now that we know where their hideout is it shouldn¡¯t be long before we can get some information from them.¡±


    ¡°Information?¡± Xen asked as he stood up. ¡°We¡¯re looking to kill Twenty-Two. I don¡¯t see a reason to try and get information out of them.¡±


    ¡°Alright, well, I am looking for information then. Happy?¡± Saul asked him, rolling his eyes as he moved to the stairs. ¡°Either way we should head out for now. This is their turf after all, so they¡¯ll notice that someone was here fairly quick. The best thing to do is head out, notify the guards what we¡¯re doing, and then wait for them to come back.¡±


    Xen hesitated, his fists clenched at his side like he was being chained to the spot. Eventually he took hold of his emotions and nodded. Saul made sure to watch him carefully while they all departed the room, with Plafluf trailing behind.


    Plafluf was slower on the stairs than the two of them, owing to his stumpy legs which meant he needed to use his hands and feet to scurry along them. Once they reached the mid point of the steps, he felt an odd sensation in his body and closed his eyes. Saul noticed the lack of footsteps behind him and turned around.


    ¡°You okay?¡± Saul asked.


    Without an answer, Plafluf nodded and then popped out of sight. Xen noticed the absence as well this time and walked back down cautiously. It was only a few seconds before Plafluf reappeared and immediately pulled out his dagger.


    ¡°It is them, there is a tunnel!¡± He said, pointing with his weapon at the spot.


    Saul drew his sword and Xen readied himself to attack them. All of them waited for some kind of opening to appear and a fight to break out. With nothing but the faint noise of wildlife outside to pass the time, seconds felt like minutes during the wait. Eventually the tension gave way to boredom, and Plafluf was the first to respond. He teleported once more to the otherside.


    ¡°You think they fled?¡± Xen asked. ¡°Cowards.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s gotta be something more to it than that. They sure seemed willing to fight us before this. Maybe your injury has them scared.¡±


    The steps of the stairs shifted beneath their feet. Saul stumbled down as a platform grew from under his right foot. Eventually the flattened platform opened to a doorway down a tunnel. Plafluf stood there, slightly out of breath from jumping.


    ¡°I hate this stuff. They made it for people too tall.¡± He grumbled as Xen and Saul entered.


    Saul glanced up, where the strips of lighting traced over the seams of the tunnel and made it into a smooth transition from wall to ceiling. As they moved forward through the tunnel he realized there was a noticeable lack of wind in the area. Even knowing nothing was nearby, he felt like something ominous was lurking in the halls. The sensation eased by the fact the entrance had sealed behind them.


    When the tunnel ended, it bent out to a larger tunnel. Saul peeked ahead, with the sound of chatter of movement drawing his attention. Plafluf and Xen watched from behind as he scouted slowly forward. He wasn¡¯t able to get close enough to see them, but the sound of Urchski voices told him more than enough. His right hand swept back and the group of them moved back down the tunnel to the entrance.


    ¡°Shoot, seems like the Urchski are flooding back into that chamber. Normally I like having the local law enforcement on hand, but I get the feeling those guys aren¡¯t going to want to help us.¡± Saul said once they were a safe way down the tunnel.


    ¡°What, so we¡¯re supposed to just leave right when we should be tracking them down?¡± Xen asked impatiently.


    ¡°We know where their hideout is, they¡¯re probably going to return to it at some point. The best thing to do now is to get out of here and head back to Plafluf¡¯s place. If the guards have got anyone keeping tabs on us, it¡¯ll look like we had no luck. If we camp out here they¡¯re going to get suspicious and start hanging around as well or strongarm us out. Do it this way and you can have your revenge if you want. Happy?¡±


    Xen folded his arms in frustration. ¡°My happiness doesn¡¯t matter on this, we¡¯ll do as you suggest for now.¡±


    You could try being a little less difficult, you know. Saul thought as they reopened the tunnel and left. Guess it¡¯s fair for you to be a little on edge though. I don¡¯t like it, but I¡¯m going to have to go over your head to find out who this Underking is; and right now Twenty-Two is probably my best lead.

 Chapter Sixteen

    ¡°You want us to head back there right now?¡± Jason asked Olivia. ¡°I think we¡¯re hardly in a position to be going back there. Not sure we should hinge the whole plan on running there after we break into the main hall either.¡±


    ¡°Just let me grab her papers if you¡¯re so worried about it. Not like we should expect them to flood the entire area with guards or something, right? Even you can¡¯t possibly think that it¡¯s too dangerous for me.¡± Twenty-Two offered, picking herself off the ground.


    Jason glared at her, but ultimately nodded. Even after Olivia¡¯s interjection there was still a thick tension in the air around them. As they set to work preparing the chamber for their short stay, Jason and Twenty-Two continued to avoid each other. They laid out cloth for sleeping on the stone shelves. It wasn¡¯t long before they were finished, only having enough materials with them to make the stone sleeping spots at least tolerable.


    ¡°We should scout outside as well. There was an Urchski spying on us last time because the property was supposedly owned by someone. If that¡¯s the same case here, I don¡¯t want our plans getting foiled by one of them poking around this lower level.¡±


    ¡°I thought the Urchski saw these places as haunted. Wouldn¡¯t they not want to step on here for religious reasons?¡± Olivia asked.


    ¡°Not everyone clings to faith so tightly, and to be honest, I wouldn¡¯t trust myself with the faith of an Urchin.¡± Twenty-Two said, checking her sword before heading to the stairs. ¡°I¡¯ll be back soon.¡±


    ¡°Let me come with you. You¡¯ll need someone that can stop them if they¡¯re caught.¡± Jason added, grabbing his own sword and following her.


    Twenty-Two didn¡¯t stop to wait for him, marching up the stairs with silent determination. Jason shared the silence as the two of them climbed up, finding the upper area as empty as the other buildings they¡¯d run across. It was still inside the room, given it only had one doorway. The noise of wildlife has died down a little, replaced with the rhythm of city streets.


    Unlike their previous hideouts, this one was near a fairly populated road. Though the entrance didn¡¯t face it, they were close enough to hear the louder conversations taking place. Twenty-Two was the first to approach the entrance, and sat outside of it facing inward. Jason moved to the other end, but only leaned against it. The noise from outside did little to break the silence between them.


    It was a few minutes later that Jason broke the standoff. ¡°You know that I wouldn¡¯t ever want to bet against you in a fight, right?¡±


    ¡°Should I feel bad that you¡¯ve been doing it since my injury then?¡±


    ¡°Twenty-Two, you lost a whole limb not even two days ago now. You¡¯re still forced to wear bandages, and a doctor would likely order you to stay in bed.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t heal like normal people, Jason. Even if it¡¯s an injury like this, I can move around as soon as I¡¯m able to walk. Would you like me to peel the bandages off and show you? Or did you see for yourself how it was closing up earlier?¡±


    ¡°You still feel pain, Twenty-Two, and you can still die. I don¡¯t want you heading into a fight where you¡¯re going to suffer and struggle the whole way. Even if that¡¯s what you want to do, I don¡¯t want that to happen. You deserve to have some peace for once.¡± Jason told her before poking his head around the corner and looking around for any guards nearby. ¡°Besides, you¡¯re not going to just regrow a new limb, are you?¡±


    Twenty-Two glared at the ground. ¡°Peace isn¡¯t for people like me.¡±


    ¡°Not to insult you, but I remember over hearing a few boys say similar things back home. Are you going to tell me that you¡¯re different from everyone else because of dark thoughts next?¡±


    Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    ¡°Funny. What I mean is that I¡¯ve never really known peace. Do you know how the maskless are raised? We¡¯re taken away at a young age, not raised by the care of guardians but by instructors. Truth be told I think most of us are fine with it. Only trouble is that we¡¯re fine with it because we have the other children. Even when we grow up, things don¡¯t change that much. We learn to accept our place in the shadows, working with our own group.¡± She said, the glare softening as she spoke. ¡°Maybe that¡¯s what peace is, a family. I can never have something like that again, now. That pleasantry is gone forever because of a mistake I made. I can¡¯t even say that it was poor fortune, it¡¯s my fault that things have gone this way.¡±


    Jason stepped past the doorway and around her. He knelt down and placed a hand on her shoulder. She didn¡¯t look up.


    ¡°Even in our darkest times, we have to keep looking for a good path ahead. Some people have to struggle more than others, but it¡¯s not like you are fated to suffer. You need to find something you care about and protect it.¡±


    ¡°What is there left for me to care about?¡± She replied, looking up at him.


    ¡°The king? The mission? I¡¯d be happy if it was even just me or Olivia.¡± Jason pulled his hand back and stood up. ¡°Maybe you should try caring about yourself first.¡±


    He stood up and held out his hand. Twenty-Two hesitated for a moment, but ultimately took his offer and stood up. She glanced out the entryway as a strange feeling passed her senses. There was more noise than usual from the traffic outside, and she could feel someone was nearby.


    ¡°Someone might be poking around here. I can¡¯t tell easily because of the traffic outside. Doesn¡¯t seem like there¡¯s anyone watching us directly, but they might have just passed by and handed off the information.¡±


    ¡°Do you think the Urchski would wait to attack us for some reason? Maybe it¡¯s just our luck. Regardless, if they¡¯re planning on attacking us later, they won¡¯t have much of a window.¡± Jason replied, heading back to the stairs.


    ¡°Why even go looking for intruders then? It would have made more sense to just stay as hidden as possible.¡± Twenty-Two replied, following after him.


    ¡°Two reasons. Firstly, we needed to know if they were immediately there and ready to strike, or if the place was actively being used for some reason and wouldn¡¯t make a good staging area.¡± He replied, but paused at the top of the stairs. ¡°Secondly, I wanted to make sure you were in the right headspace to go back to the hideout.¡±


    ¡°Of course, had to be an ulterior motive...¡± She muttered to herself.


    ¡°While your mood may be down, I still have faith in you. I just need to know that you¡¯re not going to run into a fight the second that you can. Right now we need to move carefully and with a plan. Do you understand?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not going to die, if that¡¯s what you¡¯re asking.¡±


    Jason chuckled to himself. Twenty-Two still wasn¡¯t used to the noise of laughter, especially from him. When they got to the bottom of the stairs, Olivia was ready to open the passage for them once again. She placed a scrap of paper into Twenty-Two¡¯s palm.


    ¡°They¡¯re instructions for how to open the door on the other side.¡± Olivia said. Her hands curled up to her chest, eyes locked on the floor. ¡°Also, please be careful out there. IT¡¯s my fault you¡¯ve got to take this risk in the first place.¡±


    Twenty-Two stared at her for a few seconds. She held the paper with her lips and ruffled the researcher¡¯s hair casually. Before Olivia could ask what that meant, she was already leaving down the tunnel. As she took the note back out and folded it to be put in her pocket, a smirk crawled across her face.


    It didn¡¯t last long. The noise of Urchski guards was close by this time, and she moved low to the ground to help spread out her weight and make less noise. Unlike the researchers, the guards mostly spoken the human common. As they passed in patrol, she could only barely make out a few words of fear and superstition.


    They think this place is haunted too, but still come down? I guess money weighs more than their values. She thought to herself, creeping into the main passage. Makes sense in the end. I wish they were a bit more foolish though. Maybe we could just spook them into leaving this place. I¡¯m sure Jason would have a snide comment about something like that though.


    She reached the tunnel back to their hideout and to the exit. Opening it with a press of her hand, she immediately drew her sword as it opened. Even after the platform fully formed and was ready, she hesitated to exit out. Her senses were tuned as high as she could bring them, but nothing was nearby. Relaxing a little, she kept her sword drawn as she left for their hideout.


    As expected, the place was messed with. It was subtle, meaning they hadn¡¯t intended to get caught doing it. Twenty-Two knew right away that something was off from the way the spare gear was lying on the ground. She ignored it and focused on the desk, putting her sword on the desk while she gathered the papers left behind.


    Before she was finished, her ability pricked at her back, alerting her to something moving behind her. As fast as possible, she drew her sword and snuck into an indented section of the wall near the stairs. Her pack was still on the desk, and she cursed the lack of an arm to hold it with.


    ¡°Listen... I know you¡¯re in there. I want to make it clear that I¡¯m not coming in there to fight you. Right now I¡¯m alone. Hopefully you recognize my voice and don¡¯t just start swinging the moment I get down there.¡± Saul¡¯s voice called from the stairs.


    That human from the chamber? What in the old world is he doing back here? He¡¯s got to have some kind of trick. If I don¡¯t answer he¡¯s eventually going to show himself, and I¡¯ll know his intent.


    To her surprise, Saul had both of his hands up in the air when he came into view. From this close, she could see that his gear was even more ramshackle than it first appeared to be. He glanced around the room until he eventually found her, lowering his arms. Twenty-Two kept her sword ready, glaring at him intensely.


    ¡°Thought it would be you.¡±


    ¡°Speak, human, while you still can.¡± She spat back at him.


    ¡°Fine then, straight to business.¡± He responded before moving to an opposite wall and leaning against it. ¡°I¡¯m here to ask you a few questions.¡±

 Chapter Seventeen

    Saul sat on the dusty staircase with his legs spread out to touch the other wall. He let out a slow sigh. There was little to draw his attention in the staircase, most of it just being the same color of metal as far as he could see. Turning his head to the right, he could just make out where the natural light from above was coming in from the ground floor.


    ¡°They¡¯re not going to come back this soon.¡± He had told Xen and Plafluf. ¡°I¡¯m going to do some looking around the area to see if I can find any other traces of them. Not going to be picking fights, I just need to make sure they don¡¯t have a trail of breadcrumbs lying around anywhere.¡±


    ¡°But what if one of them comes back? We should stay in case that happens. Twenty-Two is a serious threat, and I won¡¯t abide her taking you by surprise.¡± Xen replied.


    ¡°Trust me on this one, there was nothing in that place they would need to come back for. You need to go back and get some rest and healing, those bruises are only going to hold you back if we end up getting into a fight with them again.¡± Saul told him before setting them both off to Plafluf¡¯s house.


    Can¡¯t feel bad about lying to them. Well, to Xen at least. I¡¯ve got a feeling in my bones that there¡¯s something much bigger than smuggling going on here. Urchski are usually too busy with petty squabbles to try messing around with old city works. Saul thought to himself. Guess I can sit here for another few minutes. Worst case scenario I¡¯ve got to go home with nothing and try again sometime riskier.


    He passed the time with checking his notes. The final page he took still stuck out to him. The ink was something expensive, which had to be imported from the center ring at least. Before he could examine it or its messages further, the familiar sound of the tunnel path opening came from further down. Saul froze in place, the notes still clutched in his hands.


    A few seconds later and it started to close again, which he used as a cover for putting away his pages. Unsure of the person downstairs, he took a deep breath and held both his hands up, starting to descend down the stairs.


    ¡°Listen... I know you¡¯re in there. I want to make it clear that I¡¯m not coming in there to fight you. Right now I¡¯m alone. Hopefully you recognize my voice and don¡¯t just start swinging the moment I get down there.¡± He announced as he got down to the hideout.


    There was a pack on the desk, letting him know right away that someone was hiding in the room. Steeling his nerves, he stepped past the entryway and started looking around. Right behind him, since he¡¯d entered, was Twenty-Two with her sword already drawn.


    Notched and old metal. Don¡¯t need my analyze power to tell me that she¡¯s used that thing many times before. Seems almost as beaten up as its owner. Hopefully she didn¡¯t earn those scratches dealing with merchant guild enforcers, or this is going to be a tough sell. I was hoping it would be man, since he was at least another human.


    ¡°Thought it would be you.¡±


    ¡°Speak, human, while you still can.¡± She spat back at him.


    ¡°Fine then, straight to business.¡± He responded before moving to an opposite wall and leaning against it. ¡°I¡¯m here to ask you a few questions.¡±


    She hesitated for an instant. It was a subtle gesture, with the sword dipping to his chest before being raised again. Having grown up around merchants, Saul was used to having to read the faintest body language. He lowered his hands and stepped back until he was leaning against the wall opposite to her.


    ¡°You would be an idiot to come here alone. Tell me where those other two are right now.¡± She demanded, rooted in her own position.


    ¡°Sent them back to a safer location. Right now they don¡¯t even know that I¡¯m here.¡±


    ¡°Have you come to get yourself killed?¡± She asked, flashing a wicked smirk.


    ¡°I¡¯m not looking to be your stress relief, no. Though if I must say, you seem a lot smarter than a savage murderer. My guess is that you¡¯re already aware of the fact that killing a detective of the merchant¡¯s guild would cause you a lot of problems. Maybe that wouldn¡¯t be such a big deal for you, but it would cause a lot of trouble for anyone nearby.¡±


    Her sword finally pointed at the ground. Saul¡¯s posture lighted and he relaxed against the metal behind him. While he waited for her to respond, he glanced around the room. Ultimately his eyes settled on her pack. Spilling out from the top where some of the papers that he had seen them left behind.


    ¡°Even if I¡¯m not going to try and murder you, why would I bother to answer any of your questions? I¡¯m pretty sure you¡¯ve made it clear that we¡¯re not on the same side. Worse yet, I could even just lie to you. Don¡¯t expect to be able to tell just because I¡¯m not wearing my mask.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re correct. I can¡¯t exactly force you to tell the truth or anything, that¡¯s not my ability.¡± Saul replied with a shrug, wiping the smirk from her face. ¡°The reason I want to ask you questions is because I¡¯m noticing strange things going on. Maybe your group has spotted the same issue, but not everything is normal here in the Megaden. I don¡¯t want to have to get you people killed because something above both our heads comes crashing down on this squabble. For both of our safeties, we¡¯ve got to know what we¡¯re doing. Unlike my Erudine friend, I¡¯m not looking to die just to see my mission through. Understand?¡±


    ¡°What about if we¡¯re still breaking the law? Is this ideal of yours based on the concept that we¡¯re just misunderstood?¡±


    ¡°No... your still a prime suspect in my case. Ideally I would like to take you all back to the center ring for trial and processing. Seeing you six feet under or rotting in the Megaden¡¯s uncivilized zones wouldn¡¯t make me happy in the slightest. Solving this case and bringing the people responsible to justice, without hurting anyone I don¡¯t need to, that¡¯s my mission first and foremost.¡±


    She glared at him as she spoke, but he could tell there was more consideration than malice behind it. ¡°Fine then, I¡¯ll answer your questions. Don¡¯t expect me to go spilling important secrets though.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll try to avoid touchy, personal subjects then.¡± Saul asked before he pulled out his notes and writing stick. ¡°Normally I¡¯d ask you for your name but Xen already explained that to me. Can you tell me what you and your group are doing in the Megaden?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll be disappointed to know I¡¯m not entirely sure. All I know is probably what you¡¯ve already figured out from our meetings. We¡¯ve been poking around the old ruins in the Megaden for a couple of days now.¡±This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    ¡°Researching old ruins without a college warrant or permission from the owner is illegal in of itself.¡± Saul replied before pausing his writing. ¡°Wait a moment, why would you even want to research something like these old ruins? I would have thought the information in them would be outdated at this point.¡±


    ¡°Who knows? I¡¯m not the one doing the research anyway. Whatever my employer wants with this place, he wants to keep it above my pay grade as well.¡±


    ¡°Yeah... I was going to ask that next actually. Who is the person that you¡¯re working for? If he only told you an alias that¡¯s fine, you don¡¯t have to name names.¡±


    ¡°Good, because I don¡¯t think he even has one. We call him the Underking, though he does have a couple of other names from what I can tell. The Lord Below, Kinsaki in the old tongue of my people. Basically any name you can think of for the creepy shadow you tell children will eat them if they do bad, he¡¯s probably been called that at one point or another.¡±


    ¡°Does he live up to the titles?¡±


    Twenty-Two hesitated, though Saul couldn¡¯t tell if it was fear or serious thought that flashed over her scarred face. ¡°Some of them, definitely. Don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever seen someone as terrifying as him. Not to me, obviously, but to others. He has a way of just instantly affecting the people that meet him. You¡¯d know him if you saw him, is what I¡¯m trying to say, and you¡¯d never forget him either.¡±


    Intense charisma, enough even to affect this woman? Maybe she¡¯s weaker willed than I thought. Then again, can¡¯t dismiss the possibility of him having a mind-altering ability. Those are normally illegal, and the Buloi aren¡¯t likely to let anyone unregulated go building their own enhancing chamber. Saul thought to himself, making sure to write down everything in his notes.


    ¡°Well I won¡¯t pry too much about that, wouldn¡¯t want to steer this interview to the gutter. Instead, would you mind telling me anything you do know about these buildings? In particular that one with the pool in it.¡±


    ¡°Were you not listening? I already told you that I don¡¯t know anything.¡± She answered before tilting her head to the side. ¡°Though... I guess it¡¯s worth mentioning this. Olivia says the room is damaged in some way. There¡¯s a noise that fills the room, and if you¡¯re not making enough noise to mask it, it starts to affect your head. Makes you paranoid, that sort of thing.¡±


    ¡°Huh... I think we had a similar experience when we first found it ourselves.¡± Saul nodded. ¡°So these tunnels... was that what you used for the smuggling of stolen goods?¡±


    ¡°What?¡± She asked, cocking an eyebrow at him. ¡°Oh, right, the smugglers. I have no idea how they¡¯re connected to this stuff, we just followed one of them on their routes in. Was fairly easy to pay off the little Urchins to keep their mouths shut about it. Come to think of it, I think the stuff they were carrying at the time was spears.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t say what you¡¯re describing puts you in the clear...¡± Saul said with some thought before he closed his notes and put them back into his pocket. ¡°But I¡¯m guessing you don¡¯t care if you¡¯re a criminal in my book. Still, off the record, I¡¯ve got a final question I want to ask you.¡±


    ¡°Oh? This should be interesting.¡±


    ¡°Xen never told me about why he was hunting you in the first place. He¡¯s especially got a vendetta against you now, but I¡¯m curious; What is it that you did to get the maskless on your back?¡±


    Twenty-Two¡¯s eyes locked onto the floor. Her hands caressed over her forearms, thumbs tracing idly over old scars that ran the length of every limb. Eventually she stared back up at him confidently.


    ¡°You want the truth? It¡¯s because I failed in my duties. I got captured, didn¡¯t get to kill my target, and then fled without finishing my mission. That¡¯s what got me branded as a traitor to the Maskless. There¡¯s no chance for parole, nor mercy, all there is left for me is a death sentence.¡±


    Saul couldn¡¯t reply. Erudine law was very different to the kind that he enforced. A part of him wanted to help her out, even though it wasn¡¯t his place. Death sentences were a sore subject to humanity after so many deaths were carried out on their nobility just a few decades ago.


    Before he could offer condolences or condemnation, the sound of soft footsteps could be heard coming down the stairs. Saul thought quickly, pointing to one of the bunks nearby while he moved towards her pack on the desk. Twenty-Two understood, and crawled into her own bunk, covering herself in the bedding to make it look like it had been crumpled up.


    Saul drew his sword and pointed it at the stairs, steeling himself for another act. To his surprise, rather than Xen or Plafluf, it was Edyta. She wasn¡¯t wearing as fancy an outfit as before. Her gear was more like an elaborate guard uniform now, with a signature crest of an Urchski curling around the moon on her right breast.


    ¡°Curious, I did not think you would be alone here. My reports indicated that you were with two more people.¡± She said, glancing around the room. ¡°Tell me, you know that coming into these ruins without probable cause is illegal? I¡¯d like to know what you think you¡¯re doing in here.¡±


    ¡°Funny, I was going to ask the same thing.¡± Saul said, lowering his sword and grabbing the pack on the desk. ¡°To answer your question, I came back here to look over the material in their hideout. We got lucky and tracked them back to this place with the help of nearby nobles.¡±


    ¡°Westerners? I would hope you¡¯d be careful not to interact too much with our politics, human. Things are very dangerous these days, and it¡¯s not the place of the merchants¡¯ guild to interfere.¡±


    ¡°All I¡¯m looking for is information related to the smuggling ring. I¡¯ll be happy to pass along any information you ask of me that I came across while in the Western territory, but I¡¯m not looking to join a side in any conflict. Preferably, we would stay out of each other¡¯s hair.¡±


    ¡°Yes, and yet you keep managing to poke around in bothersome places. Please do keep in mind that your own position of regard is not shared by everyone in this region. Surely you have met with one or two people here, perhaps had a pleasant time together. You would be wise to make sure that they stay safe from the effects of your investigation, detective.¡±


    Saul narrowed his eyes. The veil on her threats was thinner than he¡¯d expected them to be. Countering her, he loosened his posture and leaned against the desk.


    ¡°Phrases like that are unbecoming of a lady in high society. Now I¡¯m not exactly one to judge, but you should rest assured that I¡¯m used to dealing with risks when investigating something.¡± Saul said before pulling one of the papers from Twenty-Two¡¯s bag and inspecting it. ¡°Funny thing is though, people often underestimate the capabilities of the merchants¡¯ guild. Usually they¡¯re under the assumption that if they keep pulling back and trying to hide everything, they just end up rounding themselves into a corner. It¡¯s almost like they don¡¯t realize the much safer alternative, one which plays into their strengths.¡±


    Edyta stared daggers at Saul. ¡°Are you suggesting criminals have an alternative to hiding?¡±


    ¡°Sacrifice the pawns. Get away with a fine, maybe a slap on the wrist for public relations, and get away with it. Makes me sick that something like that can happen, but it¡¯s so reliable I¡¯m surprised it isn¡¯t used more often.¡±


    The Urchski weren¡¯t difficult to read emotionally, as Saul knew. Though their faces were stiffer than a human¡¯s, they were exceptionally vocal in their body language. Even someone as prim and practiced as Edyta made it clear she was agitated by his suggestion. Her tail curled up off the ground slightly before dropping back down again, and he held back a sigh of relief.


    ¡°Fine then. If you must know, we have also been keeping tabs on this group. We have located where they are currently hiding, just north of here. The guards are currently preparing to raid the place, as a matter of fact. Perhaps it would be of aid to your investigation to be there when they¡¯re captured? I must warn you though, they may fight back. In the end they might all get killed.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure Xen will be pleased with that option. Will cause trouble with my plans, but honestly, I''ll have to take your assistance into consideration when I head back home.¡±


    ¡°Well then, shall we go?¡± She offered, gesturing up the stairs.


    ¡°Er, sorry, I still need to check through a few things here. I¡¯ll be sure to head back to my partners in a little while, log down my information in a report, and then head straight over. Wouldn¡¯t want any more delays than necessary, right?¡±


    ¡°Hmm, quite.¡± Edyta said dismissively before heading up the stairs by herself. ¡°Be sure not to dally though. I may be leaving now, but rest assured that we have eyes everywhere on the surface, detective.¡±


    Her soft footsteps trailed away as she left the room. Twenty-Two moved out of the bunk before Saul turned back. Both of them stared at each other, but the news they¡¯d received clouded the air. She stood up and walked towards him confidently, taking the bag off of the desk and brushing past him.


    She started towards the stairs as well, carrying the blanket she had hidden under at the same time. Only once she was at the point of the exit did Saul rush towards her. He drew her attention for a second while she pulled out the note on how to open the tunnel.


    ¡°Listen, I...¡± He hesitated, not sure what to say. ¡°I don¡¯t think you¡¯re a good person, but I don¡¯t think you¡¯re a monster either. Should it come down to my choice, I wouldn¡¯t want you being killed. Maybe my opinion doesn¡¯t mean much to you, but I had to get it off of my chest.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I had gathered that from the way that you spoke. Some people are like that, even some among the maskless. I am sure you would rather the truth be brought forward, and that punishment should be a means to rehabilitation. Once, I thought the same way for most of my targets.¡±


    ¡°So... you agree with me? Then we should work together on this, if we approach from both ends, the head of the ring will get¡ª"


    ¡°You misunderstand me, human.¡± Twenty-Two said, putting in the sequence and opening the tunnel as he spoke. ¡°That was the way I once was. Right now, this has become a fight for survival. My group will do what it must to make it out of here alive. I will do what I need to in order to make that happen.¡±


    ¡°Then you¡¯ll be fighting a war on two fronts. Is that what you want?¡±


    She stepped through the tunnel door. As it closed behind her, Saul rose along the steps, only managing to catch a sliver of her back as the panel slid back into place. Her head turned for one moment before it closed completely.


    ¡°That is the way it always has been.¡±