The rustling never ceased, it went against the wind and was far too irregular to be of natural cause. Laynah stood in the middle of the hillside, the furthest away from any cover possible. She wasnt disturbed by the rustling at all. There were many things moving about in the high grass, the activity close by was from a different nature than the threatening rustling near the edges. Around her there was a comforting business, while at the edges of the grass plain she noticed many of those creatures looking her way. Maybe they sensed the corpse of one of their kind, even though Laynah had made sure there wasnt any blood spilled to draw attention from. She was ready for them, that was what all the friendly rustling was about in fact, all that comforting business
Way up high she saw the tree part where the grave was. She would check that out later, first things first though. The big rock in front of her lied there out of place. She hit it with her foot once, as if she was making sure it wasnt going to move. A brave dwarf hides under a rock when things go rough, the bravest of all dwarves becomes that rock himself.
This time she cited it from the top of her voice. For a moment nothing happened, but than the rock seemed to soften up in the sunlight. It lost some of its dark greyness, some of the veins became less edged. Those veins soon became clear as being nothing but folds in the fabric. This whole thing wasnt stone, or at least it wasnt anymore now. Bit by bit one could see the contours of a lying shape. A broad short figure, covered in a leather tunic and with a dark beard draped over the larger part of it. It wasnt simply a visual change, a few moments before there had been a rock hard stone there. Now there was a dwarf lying still in the grass, his hands covering his face.
Laynah took the dead creature she was holding and held the ugly twisted face straight above Muredins face. He hadnt opened his eyes yet, and she held it there very lightly, unnoticeable. She waited, knowing he would take his time to fully awaken. Muredin wouldnt be himself if he didnt already have his own opener though. He made the first sound that was heard from him, half conscious only, still coming back from his lethargic state. He burped.
Loud.
Laynah held back her laugh, trying not to give away the little surprise she had for him. Muredin opened his eyes. The very instant a small fright escaped his lips, catching him not fully in control of his actions yet. He instinctively grabbed the dead things throat and reached for his axe with his other hand.
What a girly squeal. Laynah giggled.
Im going to slap you silly with this dead thing! Muredin rose up and already held the corpse above his head.
Keep it down, at the moment youre holding up lunch to his friends under the trees over there.
He calmed down, lowered the thing, and looked over to the side of the hill.
Theyre still there you reckon?
I doubt they even went away. They have been watching me for over an hour now. My guess is that they have been there since the fight a few days ago.
Over an hour here already? A few days ago? You bloody took your time to come and wake me, didnt you? Its nice to see I am on your priority list!
Relax. Now that youre no longer breaking their teeth when they bite you, Im sure they will come for the both of us any moment now.
I see you caught one without it being eaten by the rest of them.
The trick is to make sure it doesnt bleed, you should have figured that out yourself.
Ill try to use my axes in a more surgical fashion next time.
Muredin turned both his heavy small axes around in his hands.
You do realise I actually wanted them to be eaten by the rest, right lass?
If you say so Did you notice anything odd in their behaviour, like being commanded in some way?
Indeed I did: something was controlling them. Odd thing was: I never saw anything myself giving any orders.
The little girl, Leki, claims she saw that ghost from the grave commanding them.
What? That Tekshi woman?
Seems so.
Muredin looked over to where the gravestone was, in fact a bit concerned.
Do you think that girl can know such things? I mean: she gave me the impression of being a bit sensitive in an odd fashion already. Like that horse they have, its like the girl can understand every word that animal snorts.
That horse can outsmart you any day. But yes: I am convinced that girl picks up things others dont. She can feel animals almost the same as I can, for example.
Muredin frowned.
Not control them, relax. Shes no family. She can read into their feelings mostly. But in the end its a weaker version of the same: I dont really control anyone, they merely offer to help me all the time. Laynah laughed, but at the same time loaded her blunderbuss. She had her own way of doing that. Kildur had designed the weapon with a lever to reload very fast, bullet after bullet from the built in storage. Where Kildur himself loaded the gun by holding it straight up, pinned to the ground, and using his free hand to pull the lever, Laynah simply swung the weapon holding it one handed by the lever only. She let it turn back and forth thus switching the mechanic. Muredin had come up with that idea of handling this gun. Something others saw as blasphemy since it was by far the best gun Kildur had ever designed. The dwarven leader himself merely said that if the gun couldnt take that type of handling, it was made for the wrong purpose and should be used for clay pigeon shooting only.
So, whats the plan for this than? If they are looking at us for dinner, than how you figure we get out of here?
Laynah said nothing and pulled the dead creature up from the ground again.
Throw it. She pulled it at the feet of the stou dwarf.
Come again?
I dont plan of getting out of here at all. These things are dying as we speak anyhow, and the only right thing to do is release them from their misery.
Sounds reasonable. Ok for you if I dont do it out of philanthropy like you, but merely out of bloody revenge?
Whatever makes you feel happy good sir.
So let me get this straight: I throw the thing, they jump it and we run in and slay all hundreds of them before they notice us?
Thats about right, apart from maybe the running in. I would advise letting them run to us instead.
Why? They are bloody fast, you know.
Not fast enough. Laynah nodded at the dead thing still lying at Muredins feet.
Still there must be hundreds still alive.
Hence the not run in part.
Just spit it out already, what are you up to?
Throw it near that bush there. When they run in, some surprises are waiting for them. Even this much of a party it will totally block them from getting to us.
Sounds lovely, but what do I do than? Spit on them from here?
You focus on the other side of the hill, they will come from the right as well.
Muredin looked over the other side, mumbling something.
We kill that side first, by than it should be easy to finish of the initial bunch on the left here.
So that was what you have been doing instead of saving me straight away. But how exactly can you be sure they didnt notice you laying down a trap or two?
I didnt.
Oh, you let your little friends do all the hard work again, did you
You should know by now I never fight alone.
Of course you dont, Im always there to cover your skinny back.
One more remark like that and Ill be kissing you.
Muredin spit on the ground.
Throw the dam thing already, will you.
Too heavy for your delicate back? Muredin took up the corpse and held it behind him. With a massive swing he launched it way up in the air. It flew higher than you would expect even from a dwarf. In mid air Laynah suddenly shot the flying body. Blood splattered as it flew its last end. With a dull smack it hit the grassy ground not too far from the designated spot.
Muredin gave Laynah a dirty look. She raised her shoulders in innocence. He sighed.
You missed the bush, but it will do I guess. Laynah reloaded.
Want me to hurl you over there too, so you can carry it back here and I throw it again?
The bait worked, especially after spilling blood in mid flight. From under the trees on left side the grass started moving a lot. They tried to remain hidden to some extend, but soon their hunger took over and the first ones were leaping forward with a remarkable speed. It was a matter of seconds before one reached the corpse. Muredin looked at Laynah: wasnt something supposed to happen now?
One. she counted.
Two followed very soon after, closely followed by three and four.
Upon Laynah saying: Five. flames rose up in a long line to the left, from above that bush till all the way down to the road almost. It burned those first creatures at the corpse, and it startled all the others running in. As they backed of, looking for a way around the fire, a second explosion came, louder now. Behind them, close to the trees on the left in fact, more fire rose up. Heavier and wider spread this time. At this point all the creatures that had rushed from the left side of the hill were trapped. The traps were delayed just enough so they would all have rushed in. Muredin made a complement on the traps, but he didnt look at Laynah.
Those critters have done a nice job.
They have been rustling to and fro for ever, but not one of those creatures had the sense of looking at anything other than me.
Maybe they dont eat mice and rats and hamsters, or whatever it was this time you had laying your traps for you.
Laynah smiled and let the fires do their job. They had another side of the hill to worry about now.
Of course there was a whole bunch of creatures on the right side too. Triggered less by that dead body flying to the left, they still were moving out. Not in as big a mass as their unlucky mates on the other side. Hiding in the grass more, focusing on the dwarf and the hunter in their sight. Still stirred just the same by all the shooting and exploding that was done. Muredin moved out to meet them. He duck a bit in the grass, and in fact he became less noticeable as he progressed further.
Mind the fires.
He looked over at Laynah who was grinning wickedly.
Great, more traps from rodents
The fires on the right side spawned random here and there, simply triggered by the first creature running into them. The fires were blue-ish this time though. Muredin questioned Laynah, who was still standing behind him, waiting.
I got some flacons from the lady of the house of scents.
As the first creature moved between the fires without getting caught, he jumped for Muredin. One hard blow of a small but heavy axe later it dropped dead to the ground. Funnily enough the second one getting there jumped the fallen one instead of Muredin. A second axe hammered it down on top of its desired mate.
By the way: she says youre invited for tea.
Lovely. Could you stop chattering now perhaps?
Two creatures leaped for Muredin, confused but aroused by the fires. Laynah shot one, he avoided while she reloaded swiftly, and she shot the second.
Slowpoke.
The dwarf rushed in now, not awaiting any more to reach him but going out to look for them himself amongst the fires. He was fast as ever, his axes hacking and slashing at every turn. Laynah was shooting from the middle still. Not a single creature ever got close enough to reach her alive. In the midst of the fires, Muredin noticed he wasnt the only one fighting there. A grey wolf he recognised very well, was tearing at the creatures limbs. The wolf didnt fight them full out however: he grabbed them and pulled them into one of the fires. Each time avoiding to be hit by the fire himself. That wolf was fast, but above all he was tenacious.
Ill be damned, laughed Muredin, that I should be taking lessons from a wolf! Upon which he simply tossed the nearest creature at hand into a fire. And than he knocked back the next, into the fire. He punched one while his axe stuck into the previous one still. Both into the fire again. Those blue flames devoured those poor creatures. Being burned meant instant death. It seemed a cold but lethal fire. Flaming ice, Muredin called it. That Sentinella sure knew how to brew a potion
The entire bunch on the right side was being caught in flames and turned to each other out of sheer desperation. Meantime, Muredin and the wolf held a big clean up at the right side, throwing anything that moved into that purgatory blue fire. Laynah simply stood there shooting, as if she was mainly waiting for the important part to happen yet.
It happened. As by command all of the creatures, on either side even, started fighting each other. They fought ferociously and really tried to kill each other. Any one of them being thus clawed or bitten immediately got jumped by all the others near. They ignored the fires, and they ignored Muredin, Laynah and the wolf.
This was the sign Laynah had been waiting for.
They have been given an order Muredin, we have to find whoever did that!
Muredin searched his surroundings as good as his keen eyes could. The wolf dashed of to the trees on the left side. Over the trees at the left an owl suddenly was searing in circles, looking for one in command as well. Laynah did her best to pick up any signal in between the fires and the howling of the last creatures killing of each other.
No one could find anything. The owl came down to sit on Laynahs wrist. The wolf still scouted the tree side, but not picking up any trail. Muredin was rounding up the last creatures in the remaining fires. He too had seen nothing. Laynah looked up at the grave, decided. Muredin saw that and he sighed. He knew she would turn that grave inside out, following down every worm that as much as nibbled on the rotten flesh. She wouldnt stop until she was a hundred percent sure where the corpse went. To the last fingernail
He didnt like meddling with the dead. He didnt like it at all.
He sat on a bench to the side, reading a book. The big seat, which looked like an improvised throne, was empty. The whole room was overly decorated, in a rather kitschy fashion. As if the gold paint and fake inlaid jewellery were aimed at proving he had the status of a worldly leader. It was something that kept his minions happy he figured: the feel of having a rich and important leader. In the end he figured that fear and bribery were the real incentives, but he played along with the flashy display of luxury. It was the sewers after all, anything shiny stood out from the muck and mud
Sentinella came walking in that overly ornamented room. Not her decorating style, at all. She let her fingers glide over some of the stones set in the wood of the balustrade. A touch of frost remained. How fake could you get? It was so far from her own flowers and natural element it hurt her eyes. There were mirrors everywhere, in all shapes and sizes. She straightened her hair and checked her dress for blood marks. Meanwhile she observed him sitting there reading.
Good book?
He ignored her.
I came to get the boy.
Still he said nothing. As he turned a page, he first looked at her.
Sorry to disappoint you, but there is no boy here.
We saw you take him away at the bridge. So now Im here to take him home.
Look, Im reading here. Try getting your facts straight without my help for a moment.
A ball of ice was forming in the palm of Sentinellas hand. Without as much as looking at it, the man on the bench continued: First of all, you saw nothing. That priest did, and maybe even the little girl. Speaking of which: is she for sale?
The ball of ice hit the man straight in the face. Blood splattered on the impact, yet he seemed unmoved. He wiped the blood from his forehead and there was no wound to be seen. Sentinella seemed puzzled for a moment. Only at that point he put down the book. He had indeed been holding it all through that hit to the head. Puzzling her apparently was his main aim.
People call me just Q, but you can simply bow for me.
She sneered, ready to strike again.
Just Q? Does that make Just your first name than?
He chuckled, clearly unimpressed: Your wits get worse once you start doubting your actions mylady. Being witty when being wrong is probably what makes a good leader a great one.
Sentinella hated this guy more by the minute, she was ready to knock his head straight of by now.
Two things mylady. First of you didnt see a thing. Second: that priest saw the boy being carried away when we were attacking.
Sentinella waited, he was stating the obvious so far.
Now, for the sake of argument: lets say the ones attacking, being us, werent in the same party as the ones snatching away that boy, being not us, if the first assumption is correct.
He had her there. Shaandra had told her Kyell was being taken away by this gang, but what if it was a third party indeed? Sentinella had no way of knowing what had in fact occurred precisely. She cursed herself for going on Shaandras word this easy. What was worse: she sensed this man, this Q wasnt lying to her.
You have the boy or not?
See above.
Sentinella was furious, mostly at herself. She turned around in a forced silence.
Sorry for the intrusion into what must surely be your deepest thoughts, my dear lady, but do you actually hold it possible to simply walk out of here after, for lack of a better word: slaughtering my best men?
I only took out those that came into my way. She knew she was justifying herself at this point. She felt a minor nuisance, like a headache getting worse. She ignored it.
You must be a laugh at Sunday markets
Sentinella looked at him. As much as she hated admitting being wrong, she still welcomed any excuse to silencing this gang leader forever. Even just for speaking too much.
Q stood up and without a warning a lance of ice struck him. Sentinella had lost her patience. She wanted to get this over as fast as possible and go look for Kyell.
Qs body slammed against the wall, pulling several curtains down with him. The ice lance pierced him and dissolved. His hands were covered in blood as he pressed the wound. The bleeding stopped as soon as it started. He coughed, more to clear his voice than anything else.
Sentinellas head was pounding, her knees felt a little wobbly too.
Not that I wouldnt roll over and die for you mylady, but havent you forgotten a little detail?
She looked at him amazed. No one had ever survived such a strike before, and there he was barely scratched. That headache had gotten worse, and her stomach was upset now as well from all the emotions.
I think, correct me if Im wrong, but I indeed think that you forgot to ask me who it was than that snatched the boy away from all of us.
Do you know?
Thats beside the point. The issue I was pressing for is: do you want to know if I know.
It was a rain of small ice knives, she didnt stop before even the smallest piece of ugly ornament was pierced. Not one wound he could lay his hands on, his entire body seemed ripped to shreds.
Skin deep. Not deeper. Like a bunch of thumb nails exploded in his face. The ice melted down to water and washed the little wounds clear. Scratches, and than even less. Sentinellas stomach felt like it burned. She was ready to throw up any moment. That headache was pounding hard now, thinking clear was getting hard. Her legs could barely hold her up. She did her best to cover up that her nose was in fact bleeding.
Ill help you out here: I actually know.
Sentinella was at a loss now. She let him do his speech, or whatever it was he was doing while surviving her most brutal attacks. The worst part was standing straight upon her feet. Her nosebleed getting worse and painfull, her stomach throwing up acids worse than gall. The pounding in her head was unbearable by now. On top of it all every single of her teeth ached like it would fall out any moment. Still she bore with him, keeping herself from collapsing.
Im not going to tell you.
He sat down again and picked up his book, focused on finding his page back that he lost on that first hit to the head.
Sentinella was forcing out her last strength to strike at him, but she threw up blood instead. Her nosebleed was making her head light, while the headache hammered her brains down. She sighed to her feet as he looked over the edge of his book. He didnt get up, but he observed her collapsing with a keen and interested eye.
Ill tell you, seeing as its the last youll ever hear. Scaramance himself put a price on getting his hands on that boy alive. So apparently a playful couple of lovely lovebirds decided it was a good opportunity to cross me. It seems they found it good sport to take our prey from us.
Sentinella gasped for air but only swallowed her own blood.
That young couple will pay for their betrayal of course, once we found them that is.
This man really talked too much, Sentinella hated that more than anything else she was going through that moment.
Now doesnt that make you wonder? What makes that boy so interesting that Scaramance wants him so bad?
Why dont you ask him than?
Two backsides of small but very heavy axes hit Q on both sides of the head. He got stunned so bad by these knocks he couldnt do a thing to recover. Next moment Muredin cut his throat and dropped him helpless to the floor. He had a way with magicians like that. Nothing to be proud of, but very effective nonetheless. For a moment he hesitated to cut of his tongue too, but than he rushed over to Sentinella who was smiling at him with red teeth, still coughing up nasty.
Think we both need a cup of tea. Muredin took the woman in his strong arms and ran out. Leaving Q for dead.
She adressed his throat with a cold balm. The wound got stable.
Where did that dwarf fit into your plan? Qs voice was hoarse and weak.
He didnt. You were supposed to kill her. But I guess the other way around works too.
Note to self: Im not dead yet.
Q felt his throat to make sure. He immediately felt something was wrong here, in a way his healing touch couldnt help. The wound at his throat was indeed closed again, but inside he felt a poison burn him. It was out of reach: it didnt touch his skin at any point.
His skin was where the healing came from. His hands were merely the tools he used the most easily to get in touch with his skin. But for what it mattered: his entire skin was where this healing magic was active. Nothing could pierce him permanently, and any wound healed back up merely from coming in contact with his skin. The only way Muredin had been able to cut him up like that, was because the dwarf knocked him unconscious first. Q still had to be somewhat active to do his healing, he could be distracted but not entirely unconscious.
Now this poison burned him up from inside, unreachable to heal exactly because of his regenerating skin itself.
Balance must be. And you just fell on the wrong end of it my friend.
Shaandra left him behind scratching his skin open, it healed up at every scratch. Even with a knife he wouldnt reach the poison inside. The few weak curses he threw at her, she easily cured drinking a potion or two against headaches and stomach pains
The plants on the wall opened their ranks as soon as Muredin arrived with Sentinella. The scent of her garden alone already cleared the air for her. She was still coughing up blood and couldnt stand up straight without help. One flask from that shelf, a piece of cloth from the cupboard, a seed or two from a little plant near the window, and of course: tea. Sentinella meddled about, almost blindly. The headache was cluttering her vision, but in her own House of Scents she knew where everything was by heart. Muredin helped her where he could, but as far as all the meddling with herbs and flowers went, he stuck to putting the kettle with water on. Sentinella lied down on the sofa only after putting the tea in the pot. She held up that flask and tried pouring a few small drops of it in her cup. Things didnt go smooth yet, but at least it wasnt getting worse anymore. With a faint gesture she motioned Muredin to sit down as well, and maybe have a cup of tea and a biscuit.
Where are Shaandra and Leki? I could use their help at the moment, I think.
Muredin stood up and took a paper from the table. He handed it to Sentinella who tried reading it as good as her headache allowed. The small drops she had put in her cup of tea were showing their beneficial effect already. Things were clearing up somewhat in her mind.
Well Ill be darned, if you dont mind the expression.
Muredin nodded ever so politely, agreeing on the use of such a word for the occasion.
Have you read it? Oh, of course you have, how else you would know where to come look for me
Indeed, the mentioning of you going to get Kyell back from that gang in the sewers at the bridge side, sort of gave me a hint.
Thank you for that by the way. It would have taken an eternity to get that blabbering idiot down.
To be perfectly honest here, he did have you nearly dead with sickness and all.
I still had a trick or two up my sleeves. Sentinella inspected those mentioned sleeves, they were filthy from all the blood she coughed up, as well as the constant nose bleeding.
Im sure you did, but I figured I would speed things up. Sorry if I interfered where I shouldnt have.
You did fine. She smiled at the robust dwarf holding the porcelain cup. He chuckled, sipping from the tea.
The paper Muredin handed to Sentinella was a letter from Leki. After Sentinella had set out to find Kyell, Shaandra too had left the house. It seemed Shaandra miraculously recovered from her poisoning rather fast, once Sentinella was gone. Leki didnt say it in so many words but she clearly found this suspicious enough not to stay behind herself.
Muredin was going over a lot of things in his mind, most of which neither he nor Sentinella had an answer to. One thing he did ask though: May I inquire how that little girl managed to get past your plants on the outer wall? I would imagine them letting Shaandra pass, but clearly they should have stopped Leki from leaving on her own.
That girl probably just asked them or something. She has a way with living things I have not often seen.
Funny enough Laynah mentioned something likewise, but in fact she said that Leki felt things but could not control them.
Hmm, could be right. Than indeed its a mystery how the plants have let her pass.
Shaandra can enter and leave the shop at will?
Yes, but only the shop.
The letter was pinned to the backdoor of the shop, at the side of the hall.
Are you saying she followed Shaandra out through the shop? That is very unlikely my dear rescuing friend. This could not be done without Shaandra being aware of this.
Exactly my point.
You mean that Shaandra knew Leki was about to follow her, and she deliberately let her?
Muredin finished his tea and stood up.
This cant be true. Why would Shaandra do this? What does she have to gain by having Leki run after her? She might as well have taken her with her than, whatever her motives were for having Leki out with her.
First question is: where is Shaandra now. Only than we can get an idea of where Leki could be.
Sentinella coughed again, as she tried to get up.
I think you should stay and recover. Ill go looking for them alone.
Oh well, I only tend to blow things up anyhow. Not my style to do discrete investigating.
Muredin nodded again, very understanding.
If I would have control over this city, I would clear out those sewers entirely.
Than you would have clean sewers and other places filled with hiding criminals And are you planning to run for mayor next elections than? Muredin chuckled at the idea.
You know, I might. Who has been controlling the most powerful resource this city has, for all these years? Sentinella referred to the well at her courtyard. This was where the true magic of her plants and flowers came from. The well was the point where the living veins of this city came together. The water in those veins made everything living flourish. Its power was so great, that Sentinella had dedicated her life to guarding it.
Well, good luck on the campaign and say hi to the Nuncio from me when he establishes your post. That last part he said with a sneer. Any mayor of the city, or any official at all for that matter, had to be acknowledged and approved by the Nuncio.
Sentinella didnt want to start an argument about the Nuncio versus the Queen. There would always be someone in power, and they would always have something powerful to force their will upon others with. The Queen was gone for years now. Maybe it was time if people accepted the fact power had shifted, for better or for worse. Simply living in the past did not help anyone.
Sentinella kept her thoughts to herself though. She knew Muredin was of Kildurs clan, and that old dwarf clung to the Queen till his last breath. Sentinella was more practical in these things: she cared about the day to day life of people, and what they needed was stability, not an ongoing subversive war. Not that she liked the Nuncio one bit, but in the end they had to accept the fact that the Queen was gone.
One more thing, the thing that Q said: did you know that Scaramance had put a price on Kyells head?
No I didnt Muredin. And I never could stand that Scaramance fellow. There is no telling what dirty business he is involved in. Not that I know him personally. But isnt that the whole point: no one seems to know him
Muredin kept silent.
It seems that Kexon and that girl of his have Kyell, two vagabond nobodies. The children had met them in the park earlier. Q mentioned the boy being snatched away by a pair of lovebirds.
Never heard of those two. But if they were brave enough to take Kyell away in the midst of an action by Qs pack of muttons, they sure got some nerve.
I dont like the fact that Scaramance would be after the boy Muredin, if Q was indeed right about that whole bounty thing.
Do you think he was lying?
He wasnt lying, Im sure. But he could be misinformed. Who says for sure that Scaramance wants the boy alive?
Sentinella, we both know that when it comes to bounties, the gangs in the sewers are never misinformed
Sentinella didnt answer to that last part. She closed her eyes and tried to rest.
Muredin went out through the shop, first he had to pick up Shaandras trail, than find Leki. As for the boy: if Scaramance wanted him alive, he could at least be sure no one in his right mind would risk hurting but a hair on the boys head. Kyell seemed safe for now, wherever he was. Muredin spit on the ground when he got outside: ever since Kildur had assigned him with guarding the children, he had done nothing but lose track of them.
Leki had followed Shaandra. From the shop all the way to the narrow streets at the market. She had felt Shaandra was up to something. With Sentinella looking for Kyell, she saw no other option than going after Shaandra herself. Her only regret was that she didnt dare to take Petta with her, but a big horse like that surely wasnt fitted to follow someone discretely in the city.
Many people were about in the streets, especially as they approached the market place. Not many were selling things there since it wasnt a Sunday, but the shops were open and the atmosphere in that part of the city was lively. Leki had a hard time trying to stay far enough behind not to be seen, yet close enough not to lose track of Shaandra. The priest seemed in a hurry, but she tried to walk at normal speed to not draw attention. Why was she going this way, Leki wondered. She remembered the way they took to the bridge where they were attacked and Kyell was snatched away. Now they went a different way altogether. Odd, since Shaandra had urged Leki she went out to look for Sentinella.
The narrow streets were a maze. Leki had to rush each turn to be just in time to see which way Shaandra turned. They entered that maze further each of those turns. It felt like she was getting caught in a spiders web. Leki could feel the hostility of the people she crossed, their cautiousness, and their fear even. Several times she had to go down stone steps, or under little bridges. Those moments were the hardest to remain out of hearing range of Shaandra. At the first of several small tunnels, she hesitated. Either way: it was too late to turn back now. These had to be the Sewers, or almost. It seems Shaandra took an older route to the sewers, entering from where they first originated, in the old part of the city. Leki clenched the rope in her fist, but than relaxed her grip as she entered the shadows. Meme Uzuela had stressed it often enough: no rope can fly if you grab it too tight.
At first it was easy enough to follow the sound of Shaandras footsteps through the water echoing on the stone. A lot harder was it to not make those same sounds herself. Leki stayed clear of the water and took of her shoes. She had been hopping around barefoot her whole life anyhow. Shaandra turned up the pace. She went from one tunnel to another and sometimes even changed direction just like that. Did she know Leki was trying to follow her, or was she unsure where to go herself? Whichever it was, Leki couldnt keep up without revealing herself. In the end she lost Shaandra. The tunnels were grimmer than before, and more desolate it seemed. Things were getting pitch dark, wherever this was, not many others had been there before
Leki never noticed anything of the fight going on between Sentinella and Qs gang, even though it was closer than she would have believed. Nor did she find Shaandra again, who had found her way to Qs throne room by than.
Leki was lost in the dark, wandering the tunnels for what seemed hours on end. Aware of every drop of water that fell or every piece of stone that scratched. Doing her best to sense whatever living things were in there with her. For the most part she could feel none, but fear surely cluttered her perception of things. After a long time, she felt nothing anymore. She saw nothing and she heard nothing. Nothing except for the small drops of water from the ceiling. Trickling down, always one, never stopping, until they made the loudest noise in the universe.
