“What do we do now?” I ask Adoazze, an unasked question added in subtext. Where were these being taken to?

“We contact HQ, give them an update and move on. Shefde, please continue to stand guard.”

“Yes Ma’am, you heard her lads, secure this hole!” replied Shefde turning around to his party who have started to place down traps and camera crystals up and down the tunnels. Meanwhile Adoazze steps away and talks with HQ via her silent communication crystal. I lean against the wall with Lock while the others take it easy for a moment, Number 2 walks over to Shefde and starts talking about the traps and crystals they are using, trying to help and learn.

Turning to Lock I ask, “How you feeling mate?”

“Better now, but that fight was horrid, took almost everything I had but… I learnt a lot. Gramps was right, after a hard fight you learn a lot.”

“Glad to hear your good, any guesses on what we’re doing next?”

“Probably security, patrol, reinforcements. No way to tell right now. You?”

“I’ll be kinda honest, letting us sleep would be amazing right now.” I reply, causing Luck and I to chuckle a little under the white light of the sewer system.

~~~

If there is one thing this whole experience has taught me is that there is a lot of waiting around and then suddenly fighting. Ages of waiting in HQ followed by our fight here, now we have waited for about thirty minutes for Adoazze to come back to us with an update on what to do.

Shefde, his team and Number 2 have completed their setup of the traps and cameras and are now patrolling up and down the sewer and Teleport Platform in case there is anyone else. During this downtime I taught Lock how to play Scissors, Paper, Rock…

“Scis-sors, Pap-er, Rock!” we chant, slamming our fists into our left hands in time to the beat.

“Scissors, sorry Lock!” I say, winning for the twelfth straight time in a row, “It’s got to be luck, there’s no way this is a skill, we agreed no Powers!” says a very confused Lock.

“Yeap, no Powers, none at all!” I cheekily respond. On Earth I learnt the trick to winning almost every game of Scissors, Paper, Rock;

First throw and ties will mostly be random but if you lose the first round, switch to the thing that beats the thing your opponent just played. If you win, don't keep playing the same thing, but instead switch to the thing that would beat the thing that you just played. In other words, play the hand your losing opponent just played.

Thank you random website I found all those years ago talking about it after I lost a game, and Memory Palace for remembering the exact text.

My grin makes it look like I have just come from a shit-eating festival, Lock looks at me very frustrated before Milrich who’s been looking on (and betting/losing with Shefde on who’ll win) finally says.

“You know, he’s just playing what you just played.” said Milrich thoughtfully.

“Dammit Milrich! Why’d you tell him!”

“Wait what!” yells Lock who realises why he’s been losing for the past 5 minutes before going silent as his eyes look like a lightning storm. “You little”

“W, w, wait, wait, hold the phone” I quickly stammer out before jumping and hiding myself behind Shefde who's suddenly rather scared and upset that not only does he have an angry lightning user right in front of him but cannot scam Milrich out of any more coin. Before Lock, who now has a very manic, serial killer grin on his face moves closer Adoazze finally comes back and interrupts us.

“Calm down you lot, I’ve got a message from Headquarters. They want us over at the Institute Headquarters. Turns out when Masters Naaf and Carson went there they found a bunch of Shae-Eq, almost everyone in the Institute is being detained for questioning. Even have the backing of the city.”

This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

Sounds of amazement come from everyone present, this is way, way bigger than anyone had thought.

“Holy shit” I say aloud with a confused Lock turning back to me, the serial killer face gone.

“Um, I don’t think the gods actually… you know?”

“Oh hell Lock, it's an expression. How the hell did Naaf and Carson get that approved? Like this is ultra massive news!” I say, directing the question to the floor.

Adoazze answers, “They must have talked with the city government before they left for the Institute. In any case, they want people there and we’re not doing anything. There’s already another team guarding the warehouse and the team that took our captives has moved them to the cells. Grab your gear, we’ll leave via Teleport Platform.”

We quickly get out gear together and head through to the Teleport Platform saying goodbye to Shefde and his team as we go through. Adoazze activates the Platform with the control crystals in the wall and we quickly teleport away. Into the lion's den.

~~~

Sir Falgus of Haven Isle - Shortly after Lincastle was discovered in the Terrenburg Warehouse.

Damn him! Damn that impertinent, useless, idiot Lincastle! How dare he move against me, move against my work! I had that scum brought up here and chucked him into a cell with one of my less than kind associates, interrogating him to see if there’s anything else to know. Any tricks or information that he knows.

I hear a loud knock from my large wooden office door, carved with technical diagrams and fierce creatures. Pressing a crystal on my desk to unlock the door to my darkened, massive office and personal research station.

The doors are flung open on their perfectly balanced hinges, softly slowing as they reach the wall.

“Sir! I have an urgent report!”

“Is Aq already finished?” I ask, Lincastle should not have broken that quickly could he?

“No Sir, I got a report from one of my contacts in the city government, they have given the Guardsmen and Society to apprehend and detain Institute members, up to and including you, Sir.”

“What!” I yell, slamming my hands on the desk. They can’t do this to me! Don’t they know how much I pay them! How much we’ve done for them!

“Call, wait…” Wait, I cannot call the Institute leadership, if word of this gets out I’ll be ruined! My membership revoked, funds removed, new findings classified. Dammit I need to sort this out quickly.

“Call every Institute Member we have and have them come back to the offices, we’ll delay them as long as possible.”

Yes, that should delay them, I can then get rid of anything in the confusion. “Have Taal remove the items in storage. He has till right now to dispose of them.”

“Um, yes si”

My aide is cut off as we hear heavy footsteps run up the corridor, another of my staff arrives out of breath.

“Sir, M, Master Naaf, and Master Carson. They just came through the Teleport Platform underneath us with a small team, there are more on the way and are moving up here!”

“WHAT!” I yell enraged and surprised, this is not what I wanted, everything was going to plan, nothing was out of the ordinary… That Lincastle, he told them, he must have! Society and Guardsmen are not smart enough to figure it out on their own, they haven’t before. I’ll teach that traitor a lesson, his final lesson.

“LEAVE! FULFIL MY ORDERS!”

My aids quickly scuttle away, the doors closing automatically. I move around my desk and toward my research station, I’ll destroy the evidence, kill Lincastle and then get my politicians in line! I have enough evidence against them, they must be using this chance to discredit me, to remove me like a thorn to be scorned!

Turning on my customised communication crystal I securely connect with my interrogator “Aq, The Society and Guard are here, I want you to dispose of Lincastle and get out. Use the passage and leave nothing behind. Is that clear?”

“Yes Sir, Money in the usual spot?”

“Yes yes yes yes now hurry up!” I say cutting the connection, the interrogation room is sealed, nothing can get in and out. A secret room that only I and Aq know of, all I need to do is secure my files and…

BOOM!

My doors slam open, smashing into the walls with such force that the doors have cracked and bent from the strain, loose papers from my desks flutter away from the wind as the emergency white lighting comes on.

Through the door walks through two people, a Human and a Greater Beast, Master Carson and Master Naaf standing side by side as they waltz into my office.

“Ah, Master Carson and Master Naaf. Welcome to my humble office, to what do I owe the pleasure of my visit? Surely you did not come all this way just to destroy my door!?” I say, angrily yelling my last question.

“Sir Falgus, you’re under arrest. If you’ll come with us quietly this can be taken care off. Quite sorry about the door.”