Into The Dark 
Glade 2nd, 122nd Year
The horrid stench of foul eggs assaulted his nostrils when they drew near the drain pipe, the massive channel jutting from the hillside near the edge of Lake Udori. The rogue, still dressed in her leather gear, led the way toward the entrance as Trevor and Elinor followed behind, Telion walking in pace with the innkeeper, yet still keeping an eye on Rickter as he brought up the rear with a paranoiac watch. He did not like the risk of this, but, once they reached topside there would have to be decisions to make.
The wolf wasn't even sure what to expect honestly, once they reached the city proper, they could easily be caught before they'd even gotten anywhere. No. Far as he could tell, only Telion and Hannah were fine to go up on the surface. So did that leave him to dwell in the Midden? He didn't quite like the idea, considering the location it resided under. "Right, this leads to the Midden. With just a short detour, we'll reach the Cistern in no time at all."
"I'll try not to vomit just from the smell alone." Trevor commented bitterly as he followed Hannah within the channel, the rogues boots clicking on the stone walkway as they led on.
"You've no idea..." The mustached wizard looked to him curiously along with Elinora, the auburn-haired mother eyeing him with a sudden revelation.
"Because your nose, right?" Telion remarked with a glance at him past her shoulder, the wolf grunting a firm yes with a nod also. "Are you gonna be okay?"
"I've smelt worse things." He responded casually with a reflective thought back to the worst scent he'd ever traced. Definitely when he was in the Warrens with Aoren, Lyra, and Hannah. When they fought against the Hollow Dragon within that ruin they entered, the putrid sourness of rotted flesh stung his nostrils back then. "Thankfully," he remarked, "I've also learned how to block out such smells."
They all walked along the channels as the light from the midday sun gradually shrank, the group trekking their way down the water channel as a few rats scamped away. Before too long, the light had gone so far that they were now walking in a near pitch black, and only the sound of water flow echoed from the walls of the sewers. "How about that lamp of yours, Rickter?" Hannah inquired as she turned to face him, the wolf pausing to think before he reached his left arm back toward his travel bag. The wolf had attached it to the strap of his featherlight bag. He unclasped it with a pinch of his fingers, then brought the lantern out to offer it to the woman. "Okay, Trev, do your thing."
The black-robed mage pressed his finger atop the triangle embroidered into the iron, the dragonshard responding to his touch as it illuminated beneath the tip. Within seconds a spark was born into a flame, as the lantern illuminated the walls and some of the passage ahead. As Hannah held the light ahead of them, Rickter took to follow her shortly after, his hearing focused on the sounds around him since smell was obviously overwhelmed at the moment. The group reached a three-way split within the channel, stone ramps made as bridges over the sewer canals as they could continue straight, or follow a left channel up to another level.
"Keep in mind," Hannah remarked, "We will be in the Lower Waterworks for a bit, but, I'm sure we'll be able to navigate our way back into Cistern. Believe it or not, smugglers used to use this channel to get in and out of Kalzasi." Yet that didn't mean it wasn't without its dangers, even Rickter had heard of the gods awful creatures living down here. When they reached the top of the channel, they entered a larger room with several pipes draining into a main channel, the area containing seven possible exits to choose from. What's more the water pools within the channels didn't sound right, the flow of the currents shifting far too rapidly on his hearing.
Before he knew it something shifted in the water, leading the wolf to quickly shift forward with an arm held out before Hannah. Quadrupedic lizards or the size of a horse lept from the channels, landing on their feet before they looked up toward the source that caught their attention. "Shit!" Surprise sprung on the group as Trevor stood before Telion and Elinora, while Hannah stood at Rickter's left flank with her gun drawn out. Rickter flicked his right hand out, expecting to manifest his trusty weapon Howling Fang, however, the bastard sword did not materialize into his possession. Instead, the wolf felt his thought assailed with a burning reminder of the scar in his heart.
A flash hit his mind from just that thought and his hand faltered, having forgotten that he no longer possessed that part of himself. Not only did this catch him off guard, but their stench also burned his nostrils as well, as they reeked of shit and sour vinegar.
He quickly flinched but snapped his focus back onto the green rubbery creatures before them, their snouts opening with a hungry hiss as they began clicking to one another. "... Everybody get back." The wolf warned them as he projected aether through his Rune of Negation. His aura started to radiate and expand, generating a firm barrier layer of aether into a quadrilateral barrer. The creatures then charged as he focused in on them, the surface of the shield immediately reflecting them away once they smashed into the shield. The aetherial backlash sent them sprawling across the channel floor, as two more popped out to join them from the water channel in turn.
Rickter growled as the hairs on his neck stood on end, the edge of his breath coated with a cold frost as he stomped his foot forward. As the sewer monters assailed them once more, the impact of his foot burst with a cold gust of air, the temperature spiking down rapidly as ice spikes generated from the tip of his boot. He was in no shape to fight freely in this confined space anyhow, therefore, relying upon a weapon wasn't going to get him far anyhow. As the creatures neared the barrier once more, the sharp cracking sound of ice echoed harshly across the floor, as the crystalline spikes grew thicker and thicker before they hit their mark.
Right away the creatures were encased within a cone of prickly ice, as they each began to yelp and screech to one another wildly. Though, even though he hit them with a sharp blast of ice, the creatures weren't as heavily affected by the cold as he'd hoped they were. Still. They were trapped. "Trevor." Rickter called without looking away from them, his eyes an icy blue as they watched the monsters squirm. "Finish them."
"With pleasure." The mage crooned as he generated a fire over his hand, and then, nonchalantly throwing the ball in their direction. A wave of fire soon gushed through the spikes, causing the creatures to shriek as everyone looked away, that is, everyone except the firm wolf. As the fires quickly died out to produce steam within the channel, the monsters within had been roasted from the immolation. Even the carcasses still steamed with heat.
"Good Gods," Elinora remarked with a horrified expression, "what are those."
"We call them Belua here, you don't want to know the rest."
"That's because the person who discovered them described them as "smelling of ass" when he saw one." Trevor remarked as Elinora looked up at him a little confused, the wolf no longer fixated on the threats that were eliminated.
"He's not far off." The wolf complained as he started to walk on, nodding for Hannah to lead the way as they resumed their campaign.
Of course, as Telion described it to Elinora, the innkeeper couldn't help but think "Oh dear," out loud. When they passed the first section of the water canal, they soon made their way for another water channel that led deeper within the bowels of the Midden.
The wolf wasn't even sure what to expect honestly, once they reached the city proper, they could easily be caught before they'd even gotten anywhere. No. Far as he could tell, only Telion and Hannah were fine to go up on the surface. So did that leave him to dwell in the Midden? He didn't quite like the idea, considering the location it resided under. "Right, this leads to the Midden. With just a short detour, we'll reach the Cistern in no time at all."
"I'll try not to vomit just from the smell alone." Trevor commented bitterly as he followed Hannah within the channel, the rogues boots clicking on the stone walkway as they led on.
"You've no idea..." The mustached wizard looked to him curiously along with Elinora, the auburn-haired mother eyeing him with a sudden revelation.
"Because your nose, right?" Telion remarked with a glance at him past her shoulder, the wolf grunting a firm yes with a nod also. "Are you gonna be okay?"
"I've smelt worse things." He responded casually with a reflective thought back to the worst scent he'd ever traced. Definitely when he was in the Warrens with Aoren, Lyra, and Hannah. When they fought against the Hollow Dragon within that ruin they entered, the putrid sourness of rotted flesh stung his nostrils back then. "Thankfully," he remarked, "I've also learned how to block out such smells."
They all walked along the channels as the light from the midday sun gradually shrank, the group trekking their way down the water channel as a few rats scamped away. Before too long, the light had gone so far that they were now walking in a near pitch black, and only the sound of water flow echoed from the walls of the sewers. "How about that lamp of yours, Rickter?" Hannah inquired as she turned to face him, the wolf pausing to think before he reached his left arm back toward his travel bag. The wolf had attached it to the strap of his featherlight bag. He unclasped it with a pinch of his fingers, then brought the lantern out to offer it to the woman. "Okay, Trev, do your thing."
The black-robed mage pressed his finger atop the triangle embroidered into the iron, the dragonshard responding to his touch as it illuminated beneath the tip. Within seconds a spark was born into a flame, as the lantern illuminated the walls and some of the passage ahead. As Hannah held the light ahead of them, Rickter took to follow her shortly after, his hearing focused on the sounds around him since smell was obviously overwhelmed at the moment. The group reached a three-way split within the channel, stone ramps made as bridges over the sewer canals as they could continue straight, or follow a left channel up to another level.
"Keep in mind," Hannah remarked, "We will be in the Lower Waterworks for a bit, but, I'm sure we'll be able to navigate our way back into Cistern. Believe it or not, smugglers used to use this channel to get in and out of Kalzasi." Yet that didn't mean it wasn't without its dangers, even Rickter had heard of the gods awful creatures living down here. When they reached the top of the channel, they entered a larger room with several pipes draining into a main channel, the area containing seven possible exits to choose from. What's more the water pools within the channels didn't sound right, the flow of the currents shifting far too rapidly on his hearing.
Before he knew it something shifted in the water, leading the wolf to quickly shift forward with an arm held out before Hannah. Quadrupedic lizards or the size of a horse lept from the channels, landing on their feet before they looked up toward the source that caught their attention. "Shit!" Surprise sprung on the group as Trevor stood before Telion and Elinora, while Hannah stood at Rickter's left flank with her gun drawn out. Rickter flicked his right hand out, expecting to manifest his trusty weapon Howling Fang, however, the bastard sword did not materialize into his possession. Instead, the wolf felt his thought assailed with a burning reminder of the scar in his heart.
A flash hit his mind from just that thought and his hand faltered, having forgotten that he no longer possessed that part of himself. Not only did this catch him off guard, but their stench also burned his nostrils as well, as they reeked of shit and sour vinegar.
He quickly flinched but snapped his focus back onto the green rubbery creatures before them, their snouts opening with a hungry hiss as they began clicking to one another. "... Everybody get back." The wolf warned them as he projected aether through his Rune of Negation. His aura started to radiate and expand, generating a firm barrier layer of aether into a quadrilateral barrer. The creatures then charged as he focused in on them, the surface of the shield immediately reflecting them away once they smashed into the shield. The aetherial backlash sent them sprawling across the channel floor, as two more popped out to join them from the water channel in turn.
Rickter growled as the hairs on his neck stood on end, the edge of his breath coated with a cold frost as he stomped his foot forward. As the sewer monters assailed them once more, the impact of his foot burst with a cold gust of air, the temperature spiking down rapidly as ice spikes generated from the tip of his boot. He was in no shape to fight freely in this confined space anyhow, therefore, relying upon a weapon wasn't going to get him far anyhow. As the creatures neared the barrier once more, the sharp cracking sound of ice echoed harshly across the floor, as the crystalline spikes grew thicker and thicker before they hit their mark.
Right away the creatures were encased within a cone of prickly ice, as they each began to yelp and screech to one another wildly. Though, even though he hit them with a sharp blast of ice, the creatures weren't as heavily affected by the cold as he'd hoped they were. Still. They were trapped. "Trevor." Rickter called without looking away from them, his eyes an icy blue as they watched the monsters squirm. "Finish them."
"With pleasure." The mage crooned as he generated a fire over his hand, and then, nonchalantly throwing the ball in their direction. A wave of fire soon gushed through the spikes, causing the creatures to shriek as everyone looked away, that is, everyone except the firm wolf. As the fires quickly died out to produce steam within the channel, the monsters within had been roasted from the immolation. Even the carcasses still steamed with heat.
"Good Gods," Elinora remarked with a horrified expression, "what are those."
"We call them Belua here, you don't want to know the rest."
"That's because the person who discovered them described them as "smelling of ass" when he saw one." Trevor remarked as Elinora looked up at him a little confused, the wolf no longer fixated on the threats that were eliminated.
"He's not far off." The wolf complained as he started to walk on, nodding for Hannah to lead the way as they resumed their campaign.
Of course, as Telion described it to Elinora, the innkeeper couldn't help but think "Oh dear," out loud. When they passed the first section of the water canal, they soon made their way for another water channel that led deeper within the bowels of the Midden.
"Common" "Synskrit" "Norvaegan"
"Rickter" "Telion" "Hannah" "Trevor"
"Rickter" "Telion" "Hannah" "Trevor"
"Every side attacks you when you don't pick sides."
