Somewhere Someplace

Dark. It was nominally dark, though there seemed to be glowing stones or crystals affixed to the top walls that provided whitish illumination; the brick and stone that made this area seemed palish blue, but such could simply be product of color distortions from the light.

They were within, of course, the sewers underneath Grandberry. A strange system, indeed; ancient but still holding up. It not only governed the waste of the Lower Quarter, but also the other higher quarters as well; it helped that this ancient system had already been engineered to bring water down from the higher elevations. The sewage from the higher quarters was thus funneled downwards to larger flowing streams, such as the one they were presently following.

"Ugh… Always, always… Sewers." thus began to ugh with a lamenting groan the undersecretary who was following behind, pinching her nose from the smell; "Of course, it has to be the sewers—Where else would anything be? The sewers, of course… Secret passages, secret lairs, secret monsters, secret cult meetings—always the fucking the sewers." She was accompanied by around five Citadel guardsmen who were professionally silent though their facial expressions certainly implied displeasure.

"You did not need to come with us, you know…" Novea glanced behind, her Raven mask shrouding her indifferent face. "You are a secretary, and sewers are renowned as dangerous."

"Yeah, which is why these guys are here." She casually thumb-pointed to her escort. "Raven, I may trust you to do your job, but I don't trust you to tell me everything you saw. You are, like, way too institutionally competitive."

"Fair enough…" Novea was unable to really contest with that. "Just be vigilant… The last thing the Guild needs is a dead secretary." Indeed, sewers tended to be the hiding spots for many problematic things, particularly certain types of monkey-bats, such as skin-eaters. Though, sometimes there could even be goblins—sewer goblins, disgusting midgets.

Naturally, Novea had brought the revolving rifle and that satchel of shots—which she had to be cautious not to get wet. The Citadel guards meanwhile had their hefty side swords.

"[Be silent.]" suddenly speaking with such misanthropic tone was that disgraced Protector of Smiles, who was so leading from the front; "[Your grotesque voices fill my soul with a distracting agony unspeakable.]" Her formal language was one that utilized frequent hyperbole. "[I would rather drown in the sewage than continue to hear it.]"

"What she say?" promptly asked the undersecretary.

" 'Shut the fuck up; your talking is distracting, and I am trying to focus'." Novea translated, preserving the tone. "That's the gist of it."

"Hm." The Protector seemed content with Novea's interpretation. "[I appreciate the crude relay.]"

The undersecretary meanwhile sighed… "Boring… I like talking—talking is fun."

"Yeah, that's obvious…" Novea was frank. Certainly, that one was a mouther.

"You'd think that elf would be a little more appreciative," the undersecretary so remarked, "considering the lengths we reached to get her released into our full custody… And that was without telling them the true reason… That isn't easy, you know?"

Indeed, standard Guild policy stipulated the nondisclosure and strict secrecy regarding suspected extreme-level threat events until confirmation. This was ostensibly to avoid causing a mass panic amongst the realms of man by prematurely forewarning of what could ultimately turn out to be a false threat, and annoying more sovereigns was not in the Guild's contemporary agenda.

Consequently, the undersecretary and the Security Office above her had yet to inform the Grandberriens regarding what this elf had revealed—the Fallen's purported plan to attack the city. Even if they had told them, so ludicrous a plan such was, the Grandberriens would have probably laughed. They needed not only reasonable certainty, but also definitive proof that the Fallen had an actual method of circumventing the fortress walls—otherwise, there was no threat beyond a suicide march.

The undersecretary instead had informed the Grandberriens that the elf had revealed nothing noteworthy but that she had indicated knowledge of the enigmatic and barely explored ruins underneath this city, and that such could be useful for the Office's on-going investigation. The Grandberriens ultimately went along with that narrative, authorizing their access to the sewers and forbidden underground ruins—albeit with the condition that she petition the Office to send more guardsmen.

The Alweny duke had dispatched more of his direct garrison away to the growing field camps… He was building up for something, apparently.

"[You seek my help from need.]" the Protector, having understood the undersecretary's words, so stated; "[There is nothing to appreciate, for there is no kindness. I am not free, but a slave either way.]"

Some silence ensued as the elf guided them through these long sewers, entering one chamber into another, following the running stream of water that seemed progressively going downwards… Thankfully, there was side-pavement, so they did not need to actually step into the…pestilence-infested sewage. Eventually, the water thinned as this large stream diverged and divided, flowing away down alternative ways. What they were following thus became a dry and stained empty ditch.

"So," the bored undersecretary broke the silence, "do you mind telling us where exactly she is leading us? I mean, it's obvious where, but I mean more through where."

"[I told you already.]" The Protector glanced at Novea behind; "[You inform her. Leave me out of this.]"

Novea sighed… "[You did not necessarily tell me anything, truly…]"

The Protector tsked, slightly annoyed… Truth be told, it was not as though she herself had ever been through here before. It was bizarre, frankly, how she even…knew the way, yet it felt so natural and self-evident to her. "[Under here is not merely a cave, but a whole sphere.]" she began to say, Novea concurrently translating to the others in her own words; "[Or it once was. I do not know the details, however this repulsive sewage was once the aqueducts for those formerly below—to siphon water from the mountain to bring thither. And the ones below had carved…tunnels to enter here for preservation work.]"

"Ah.." The undersecretary stroked her chin; "I see… So, a maintenance accessway, huh? One through which we can go up and down and back and forth… Excellent."

"[However, each of these ways were destroyed—made to collapse and be forever blocked… Besides one, which was missed although its seal still holds.]" She somehow knew this information too, it seemed.

Nevertheless, that tunnel was one of the only remaining ways to reach these underground ruins—conventionally, that was. For, indeed, perhaps there were other ways still unknown.

Perhaps.

-||-

"Woah…"

Novea stood astunned to the world of which she had now found herself at the tips; she was not the only one. The guardsmen too found themselves breaking discipline with their fascinated stare.

They had entered through a narrow tunnel pass, the entrance to which was a hidden door in the sewer walls. Yet at the bottom and thus now open behind was another layer of sealing—a large and thick door contraption, a boulder of a disk that could close so tightly… Frankly, it almost seemed like the door to a forbidden vault. The elf knew how to open it, however.

Thus, there they stood, eyes captivated by the beheld sights. A sphere, indeed, they were within… A strange dome of a space so wide, the shrouded ceiling towering quite high, all made visible by the glowing blue luminescence of the strange fungi and infrequent plants. Stranger vines clung and dangled as if atrophied tendrils, yet a few seemed slightly alive—glowing slight. Although the air felt dry, around was still a thin dusty mist amidst the hue.

The ruins themselves were far off to the left of their position, neither too distant nor too close… But the whole chamber was noticeably larger than that former city.

"Wow, yeah… Alrightly… This is…" The undersecretary was paralyzed, albeit not from these sights. "I should have mayhap brought…more than just five men… This is going to be very lengthy… Oh, where to even…begin?"

"[I have fulfilled my end.]" the Protector so stated, turning herself around and looking them down; "[You wanted to be guided hither, which I have done… So, what is next?]"

"[We have no knowing of…where to start…]" Novea conveyed; "[This…place is extensive, and we do not know the ways about. We will require your guidance.]"

Yet the Protector's prideful eyes swayed aside, her posture becoming more…nervous though not quite. "[This is…the extent to which I may be helpful.]" she admitted… "[I knew the way hither, but not…within here. This is…my first time here likewise.]"

"[Wait, what?]" Novea tilted her slightly, becoming confused… "[But… I thought… You arrived through here, did you not? This is the means by which you entered city, no?]"

"[I never told you so precisely…that.]" The Protector held her arm behind her back, eyes still averting. "[An assumption you made…]"

"Huh, wait… "[So, that is to say… You entered through different means? If so, then how?]" Novea was quick to interrogate. "[You already told us that you arrived not from the surface…]"

The Protector, however, did not want to answer. "[I cannot tell you that. I refuse… It is sacred.]"

"[…you must be aware that if you can arrive thence hither, then so may they.]" Novea had lowered her voice despite their speaking a tongue the others knew not; she did not want to give any impressions that she was having a serious conservation.

"[That is unlikely to be so, because only our order knows…the pass.]" the Protector so replied.

"[But you deserted your order.]" Novea pointed out; "[And you told me that others have also… If you know this way, then they do too, and if they tell the Fallen, then—]"

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"[Raven…]" The elf looked at her blunt; "[You already know the answer, but I refuse to say it.]" Even if it would be helpful, she was deeply compelled to stay vague. "[I reward not the thievery of traditions.]"

Abruptly, however: "Alrightly!" so loudly clapped the undersecretary, having just finished her own discussion with her men; "That's enough for today, I say!"

Novea's attention promptly swung to her. "What?" She was a little confused; "But we just arrived?"

"Yeah, and that's today's achievement." the undersecretary so replied; "Mayhap, maybe, you have noticed the, oh, I don't know,"—she waved her arms to all around—"the huge fucking dome of rock we're in. Sorry to say—actually I'm not—but, and I'm not sure how the Bureau does it, but eight people aren't going to be enough. We need to go back up and organize an actual expedition."

"…that is true, I guess…" Even so, Novea was at least hoping to do some searching around.

"Unlike you, Raven," the undersecretary so continued with straightening posture, "I don't have access to everything I could possibly need and whose career is never in jeopardy—I can actually get fired, did you know that? I have limited allocations, including these men, and each injury or death is paperwork. So, I am not taking chances. We know the way to and from; that's all that matters. Now we leave and come back prepared."

"…yeah, yeah. I get it." Novea just acknowledged, sighing… Would that she was actually given everything she needed… And it was not as though her career could never be in jeopardy; she just would not be simply 'fired'.

Nevertheless, they turned around and began to head back through the opened way through which they had entered and make their return to the world above. However, the Protector did not immediately follow. She remained in place, staring off in the distance…

Novea, noticing, paused. "[What is it?]"

"Hm…" Yet the Protector did not immediately reply… "[There is a smell surrounding here…]"

"[A…smell?]" Novea tilted her head.

"[Yes…]" The Protector finally turned, her bright blue-outlined eyes looking into her. "[A rotten one.]"

-|||-

A couple days of moving slowly and systematically; having begun from their starter point, they moved in an almost forward wave as they developed a better picture of this area. The undersecretary had assembled up to fifty men which rotated on a regular basis, she herself not always being present. She was hesitant to just disperse her people all over and around at once, preferring that everyone stayed close and in proximity to each other.

These instincts had turned out to be sound enough, for this sphere of rock and ruins therein had revealed themselves to be…precarious. Within these measly twoish days, people had been injured and there was, in fact, a single death already—a rock cracked, snapped, and fell. The ruined buildings themselves were in noteworthy standing despite being beyond ancient; however, even so, they were barely stable. Even an added feather of weight could trigger a collapse, as one hapless guardsman had so discovered.

Despite being only in the infancy of this search, they—particularly Novea and the Protector still assigned to her—were able to piece together some things regarding…where they even were, albeit…only somethings.

Novea, ever the walking-talking book, knew the typical size, style, and overall 'vibes' of a myriad of architectures both ancient and present… Yet… She was unable to immediately deduce to whom these particular ruins belonged. Her instincts would assume a dwarven kind of civilization, since this was underneath a mountain; however, the architecture and…layout—the design—did not necessarily match or conform with what she knew of the ancient dwarvens.

There were many preserved objects, at least; extremely time-decayed but still discernible armor, weapons such as spears and swords, fragments of arrows and arrowheads, et cetera. Skeletons were abundant as well, especially pieces thereof. All signs seemed to indicate some kind of siege and mass death scenario; the victors had evidently exterminated the entire place. The remains they had managed to stumble upon had ultimately debunked any dwarven connection—the skeletons being obviously, well, non-dwarven.

As to what was whom, then… They could have been man or elf; there were no easy means to tell. However, the Protector of Smiles was able to identify some of the time-decayed armor and weapons as 'familiar enough'—thus, conjecturely elvish. Likewise, the distortions, protrusions, cracks, and the like etched into the very rockscape seemed evidently unnatural… If such was a product of spellcraft, then it would be at a level ancient mans were not particularly renowned for, but legendary elves were.

Yet as interesting as these historical uncoverings might be, it was not the objective. They were explicitly searching for signs of any recent occupancies; indications that this isolated pocket of mist and dust was connected to the greater underworld. Indeed, if the Fallen were really planning an attack on Grandberry, it would have to be from underground.

And, truly, this place was perhaps the best possible staging ground—large, expansive, and directly underneath the city itself.

But so far, they had discovered a few circular doorways similar to the one from which they had entered, but—as the elf had said—they were, indeed, collapsed and destroyed… And there were not any obvious 'grand opening holes' or gargantuan towering corridors to be found either. Although much of the underworld tended to be connected, there did exist voids and isolates—however, this area being such could only be concluded after a thorough search, which…

Indeed, was going to take…quite the sometime.

"Bugh…" Novea exhaled, sitting atop a half-fallen pillar of sorts, gazing at everything beyond… "Fifty really isn't enough either… This place is so…big." Certainly, this 'sphere' was turning out to be far wider than their perceptions had initially implied… To think such a concise yet vast space existed beneath Grandberry this whole time. "I've heard of…luminescent pockets, but never been within one… There's even an overgrowth here—so weird…" Indeed, the ruins had strange vines grown about, though not abundantly. "Though, seriously this dry…fog isn't helping either… Search would be a lot easier if it wasn't in the way clouding our eyes."

"[You search for nothing, anyway.]" the Protector, situated next and near, so bluntly remarked; "[As I have said… Grandberry's beneath is one of many isolates; there is no connection.]"

"[And as I have said,]" Novea turned her mask-obscured eyes, "[the fact of your knowing suggests that someone had to have been here before. Never mind, concurrently, that you traveled to the city above through means.]"

"[Means of which you already know yet yourself would not tell your custodian woman, Crow pretender.]" the Protector so replied; "[Besides, as I already indicated… My hesitancy to tell you is not unique to me. My sisters in kind… They would never allow vile goblins to despoil a grave, even if they have fallen… There is still honor in us—in them.]"

"Hm…" Novea, however, remained quite skeptical of such things—cynical, even. "[Attacking through that grave would be stupid any of ways, because that does not affect the issue that is the walls…]" Indeed, by now the Raven had figured out how that elf had so hiddenly arrived…and who was the one who had actually left the catacombs' puzzle-door unlocked.

The implication that the catacombs had some apparent connection to the larger underground notwithstanding, she had not disclosed this to the Security Office, even if she ought to have for transparency… Though, Ravens were anything but transparent, especially regarding secrets that predated the Guild. Indeed, she had decided to only bring up the catacombs if they actually discovered a connection between here and there.

Her only logical justification for this nondisclosure was that if the Fallen, with the help of Protector deserters, were to use the catacombs to spring their attack, it would merely result in the same suicidal outcome. The catacombs only extended to Outer Grandberry, after all, not beyond the grand walls themselves… They would end up in a kill-zone.

A short silence ensued as Novea continued cogitating… She eventually returned her sight to that elf. "[You were within the Fallen for some time, no?]" she decided to ask; "[Surely you must have some…knowing of their plans of doings? How would they make attack?]"

The Protector rolled her lips, eyes looking down and away though her head remained forward. "[Bluntly attack the walls, to be frank.]" she thus replied; "[They were always stupidly led, now that I…reflect… Fools of the darkened kins' machinations.]"

"[But you must behold, noble elf,]" Novea spoke with plainness, "[the League does not underassume our adversaries. We treat them as equals or superiors; that we are the weak ones, the stupid ones… It holds us upright and straight.]"

"Emph." The Protector breathed a scoff; "[You are the stupid ones and the weak ones.]"

"[Yeah,]" Novea merely nodded, "[precisely.]"

Another moment's silence ensued as the elf now fell into reflection… She exhaled. "[I do not know…]" she began to say, voice solemn; "[Things are…strange. Much seems blurry; a cloud…covers everything.]"

"[You say that frequently.]" Novea remarked plainly; "[You know but do not know.]"

"[You should not trust me to know or…reason. There is confusion… I know not what I do…or why.]" Her blue-outlined eyes gazed out from her helmet's open visor; "[And even here in this sphere… The smell shrouded within the mist… It confuses…]"

"Rightly…" Novea just stared at her…

One thing that had become apparent throughout these days was that this elf was…atypically—almost demi-level—sensitive to mystical so-called 'scents'.

"[I cannot phrase it, but this stench…]" The Protector turned her eyes up towards that ceiling high above, shrouded in that…purplish fog. "[I can feel it… There is…something else here…hidden.]"

Yet suddenly: a twitch to her long ear.

"Follow! Just follow!"
"Someone go fetch the undersecretary! We need her down here, now!"

First one then two followed by three and several more, shouts were heard distant and near, hurling in a spreading cascade. Several guardsmen, the pair noticed, were running about as if headless chickens… Indeed, it was immediately obvious they had discovered something…big.

-||-

A morbid and grim silence. Everyone present this day had been alerted by that hailing commotion. Thus, everyone had assembled; everyone was gathered; everyone was staring down; everyone was seeing…

A crater. A ditch. Almost a bowl in shape, easy to slip down into. It was located at the far end of their search radius, on the other side of the ruins relative to their origin. Obvious a feature, certainly, yet none had suspected it; there had been nothing to suspect of it.

"Oh… Huh…" Novea had witnessed many sights throughout her career; this might be the one to finally make her puke… And, indeed, some of the men already had.

The Protector's eyes were shining slight, her posture straight and her breaths unnerved… "[The scent…]" her breaths mumbled… "[The rotten smell, it covers them…]"

"Yeah, no shit…" Novea just had to reply, even though she knew the actual stench was not what the elf was referring to.

The undersecretary, having been so summoned, was very quiet; her eyes had blackened into a coldness. It was difficult for anyone to read what she was experiencing, if anything at all. "…this search had been ongoing for…days now…" she finally spoke, her voice sharp; "How did we miss this?"

"I…" The guardsman next to her, one of the discoverers, did not know how to explain… "Well, this pit is on the…other side of the… But"—he ahemed—"the smell, it was…profound; we noticed it and broke from the rest, and…"

"Thirty bodies counted, madam." A second guardsman, another of the discoverers and who was already down there, looked up to the edges atop which the undersecretary stood. "Most are…beyond recognition; but the clothing, tattered and ruined, are clearly Guild. We found amulets on each, identifying them as receptionists of the Huckleberry branch. This is…unmistakably them."

"I see." There was a pit in her breaths.

That guardsman below, disconcerted though suppressed, withdrew his eyes back to the bodies. "Each are missing their…right thumbs, and there are…scratches and bite impressions in the…flesh of the freshest, as well as…" He hesitated… "I hate to say this, but from what we gathered, there is…noticeable tearing in…their… Uhm… In their regions. They must've been… We believe that…"

"You do not need to say it, guardsman. It is…fucking obvious." The undersecretary sighed a terribly acknowledging sigh. "Well, that is that one mystery solved, I guess… Yet from which a new one is opened… Seems we were way off—this is absolutely unrelated to the greater cases…" Indeed, she could recognize; "A fetishist, huh…"

"I have…seen many things," the guardsman below began to remark, "and I do not believe this…was done by a person."

"Well, the bodies were obviously placed here—I doubt they were lured into the sewers to be murder-raped… So, had to be intelligent…and manipulative." There was a slight jitter in her teeth… "Poor girls…" She genuinely felt bad for them; Citadel secretaries were once branch receptionists, after all… Though, she quickly hardened. "Well, all things considered, the bodies are in remarkable condition with respect to how long they've been missing." Indeed, she noted…before sharply eyeing each of the two relevant guardsmen. "You two, ready the cadavers for collection. I'll return up and get the…process underway—file the necessary…motions and stuff."

"Of course… Understood!" The two guardsmen did not protest.

"Everyone else," she eyed the rest, "continue as was. We came down here to uncover holes wherein rats could hide; that remains the case. And this…" Her eyes fell back down to those corpses… "This is an obvious indication that someone…or something…has been down here—and it may very well still be…"