Dwindle's breathing was labored.

The dwarf could be seen running through hallways painted red. Doors opened while eyes peeked out from behind them, looking for the sound of the ruckus that had disturbed the affairs inside their rooms. A few naked men could be seen trailing Dwindle, their only coverings being pillows securely gripped to their nether regions and bed sheets knotted around their waists.

One naked man among them grunted tiredly, “Where are the rest of the men? Why aren't they here to assist us in capturing this little trespasser?”

The others running alongside him clinging onto their sheets and pillows had no answers. The absence of any men guarding the halls was telling. At the bottom floor, there had been sounds of explosions and fighting. They could tell that the brothel was currently under attack.

“That dwarf has something to do with what’s going on,” one of the naked men assumed correctly and waved the others on to continue the chase.

Sweat from exertion dripped off the dwarf’s head as he made a hard right when one of his naked pursuers shouted with all the air in his lungs, “White Scaled Vipers, we have in intruder!”

Ahead of the chase, a door flung open and a man stepped out, towering over the others, covered in many folds of fat, his body as naked as the day he was born. At the sight of Dwindle coming down the hall, the colossal mound of flab blocked the dwarf’s path. Dwindle dug into a pouch and flung out a handful of dust that sparked in the air. Suddenly, a flash of light ignited from the dust, blinding the fat man.

A blind, heavy hand drooping with fat swiped at Dwindle. The dwarf slid under the groping grip and slid between two meaty legs. The naked man swiped again, this time catching the naked men coming up behind the dwarf.

“You fat buffalo,” one of the naked man insulted, “Get out of our way!”

The naked fat man tried to shuffle away while rubbing his eyes, which could only currently see stars. Below his feet was a liquid substance left behind by Dwindle when the dwarf slipped past. The fat man’s feet came into contact with the substance and came up from under him as he crashed onto the floor, creating a barrier of flesh that the naked men had to climb over in order to get past.

“Dumb fat moron,” one of the naked men growled as he vaulted over the living wall of blubber.

“I was only trying to help…” the fat man whined watching the naked men climb over him.

Overcoming the sudden obstacle, the naked men rounded the corner to follow Dwindle, only to find an empty hallway. They went further, yet no dwarf was in sight. They cursed and spat, but could do nothing else besides spread out and search. By this point, Dwindle had already moved a few floors down.

Dwindle knew humans typically would not leave important matters of dubious business to be left topside, they would instead bury any misdeeds and criminal dealings where no official or nosy do-gooder could see them. This hideaway of secrets could only be where Dwindle could find what he sought after—clues as to Red’s whereabouts.

He knew he had to find what he needed underground.

Glick’s barrier shook like a tremor had emanated. A gorilla man stood tall above the protected dwarves as he dropped heavy fists upon the barrier surrounding them. The man’s muscles glowed with mana.

A hand touched Glick’s coat, which powered the sage symbol barrier around them. The hand had deactivated the barrier, causing it to suddenly disperse.

“Who did that?!” Glick coughed, nearly choking from surprise.

Before he could get an answer, a fat and bald dwarf had already moved past him and kicked out with two glowing boots. The gorilla man wheezed as the boots kicked him quite some distance onto a table that shattered under his powerful frame. A glowing ball of energy nearly fell on them from above, along with a ball of raging fire that shot from across the room, when Glick reactivated the barrier to block both attacks.

A cascade of fire and mana engulfed the erected barrier.

“Gromp,” Glick hissed, his square shaped face drenched in nervous sweat, “Warn me before you do something like deactivating my sage symbols.”

Another cousin tapped his coat and the barrier fell again.

“Hammer and wrench! You lot will be the death of me,” Glick growled as he watched Doyle grab upwards with his gauntlet. A magnetic field wrapped around man in the mask above them. The masked man yelped as he was suddenly yanked down by an invisible force.

Lobrite lined him up for an attack and launched his ‘Finder Hammer’ upward. The White Scaled Viper member wielding a spear appeared and knocked the hammer away while stepping in the air as if moving on invisible stairs. The same gang member caught the man in the mask and carried him to safety.

Before Glick rekindled the sage symbols on his coat, a second burning fireball came frighteningly close to harming them. He could see additional gang members approaching the conflict from across the room and they were all glistening with blue light.

“This is a party of bloodlines,” one of the dwarf cousins groaned, “Every one of them can imbue mana!”

“We might be in over our heads, lads,” another cousin lamented.

A greasy gangster from another end of the room called out, “Activate the defensive sage symbols!”

Every wall of the decorative hall began to display bright symbols, and the air started to significantly change, indicating a disruption in the natural mana that filled the space.

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Glick was concerned, fully aware of the potential of the defensive sage symbols. "This isn't good," he murmured. His small, rounded eyes looked toward the doorway behind them. Before he could cry "retreat," the room came to a complete standstill as the sage symbols came into full strength.

Damn, Glick cursed inwardly, it’s too late to escape!

The air outside warped as a thrumming of magic caused the building of “Goddess’ Lair” to vibrate. People outside took a hesitant step back noticing the sudden surge of power.

Dwindle glanced up at the ceiling as dust began to fall from the commotion on the floor above. His stumpy legs pounded up and down quickly as he quickened his pace down a hallway without doors. He could only assume that his cousins had encountered serious trouble above, and he needed to hurry. Around a corner and at the end of a hallway, a lone, pale-skinned man was sitting on a black stool beside a door that had no handles or knobs.

The man’s yellow eyes seemed serpent like as he watched Dwindle shuffle toward him, his body stiff besides his head that followed the dwarf’s image.

“Uh,” Dwindle grunted, “Strange happenings on the floor above.”

“What are you doing down here, dwarf?” the pale man hissed. The rasping sound of his voice sent chills down Dwindle’s spine.

“I’m a dwarf, yes,” Dwindle replied, his mind racing to find an excuse to get past the man.

Two serpent eyes travled down from Dwindle’s face to the toolbelt adorning the dwarf's waist. “So many toolsss,” the serpent man hissed, elongating his “S’s” much like a serpent.

By the gods, Dwindle thought, startled. “A…beastman!” Dwindle gasped in shock.

Beastmen were never found in society. They had intelligence enough to use tools such as weapons and armor, but never could they build or live in a civilized society due to their bestial natures that was more akin to animal than human.

“Watch your words, dwarf,” the serpent man hissed. His serpent eyes dilated as he hissed again, “With ssso many toolsss, you look like a thief!”

Tools? Dwindle wondered. He looked at his belt with various pouches and pockets. Like always, he came prepared. Every possible tool for breaking and entering was attached to him.

Thinking quickly, the dwarf responded, “Maintenance! I’m maintenance. Yes, that’s what I am. I’m here for repairs!”

Silence grew between them for a moment. The serpent man slowly blinked his slimy eyes as he responded, “You should’ve sssaid ssso from the beginning!”

Dwindle pointed at the door with no handle or knob. The serpent man ran his hand across the side of it and a sage symbol lit up on the door, opening it.

“Sounds like a party up there, huh?” Dwindle said, attempting small talk as he eased his way to the opened door.

“They never invite me to anything!” The serpent man complained, “They sssay I’m too ssscary and that I attack too many people!”

Beastmen were of course, primitive in intellect and were also prone to attacking those that they viewed as prey.

Dwindle gulped, “I’m sure they’re missing you right now.” The serpent man silently watched as Dwindle moved past the door frame. “I’ll take my leave then!”

The serpent man watched the door close again and hissed to himself, “Perhapsss I am being misssed…”

Dwindle wiped sweat off his brow as he tripped and began to tumble down a winding staircase. He tried to grab what was around him to stop himself but found nothing to cling to. The dark color of wooden stairs and a shadowed ceiling spun around and around in his vision as he tumbled.

Dwindle finally stopped as he landed upside down at the bottom of the stairs.

“Well, well, what do we have here?” a gruff voice growled.

Another scratchy voice answered, “Looks like we have ourselves a rather small intruder.”

“Maintenance!” Dwindle nearly shouted, righting himself back up to his feet, a lump beginning to grow where he had landed on his head, “I’m here for repairs.”

The dwarf perceived what appeared to be a storeroom with illegal goods arranged in groups along two opposing walls. Unknown crystals could be spotted sticking out of barrels. There were open silos filled with sparkling dust, which shimmered in the light coming from the sage symbols on the ceiling. Such dust was a narcotic that could be frequently found in the Reeking Valley. The most striking collection of products was a cluster of cages in the back, where shadows moved behind glowing bars that were covered in sage symbols and clearly indicated the presence of creatures or people locked inside.

Red must be in one of those cages, Dwindle thought anxiously.

“No maintenance is ever done down here,” the gruff voiced man denied.

Dwindle focused on two men dressed in black, covered in black leather armor. A clear diamond shape on the right side of their chest displayed their association with the White Scaled Viper Gang.

“I’ve already informed the good sir up these stairs…” Dwindle said, attempting to continue the charade.

“The beastman?” One of the gangsters cackled, “Beastmen are dumber than the animals they’re related to! There's no use bringing up such an idiot.”

Dwindle shook his head slowly as he replied, “There must be a mistake…”

Without warning, Dwindle threw two vials at the two guards, which both men caught instantly. Their bodies glowed with mana as one of them chuckled, “You’re trying to pull a fast one over on two seasoned crooks like us? Tough luck, dwarf!”

Dwindle produced a scroll and unfurled it before pumping mana within the parchment. A sage symbol as bright as those lighting the storeroom appeared. The two armored gangsters noticed sage symbols glowing on the caught vials.

“Bloody hel–” one of the guards began to curse before the vials exploded into a cloud of noxious fumes.

The vials and sage symbol scroll were provided by Dwindle's cousin, Bonfere. Magic scrolls were expensive to make. The vials of chemicals were also pricy. Dwindle reminded himself in that instant to thank his cousin for such precious items.

I have to thank all of them, Dwindle thought as he silently prayed for each cousin to be able to escape this place unharmed.

Dwindle pulled out a bandanna and tied the cloth around his mouth and nose. Advancing, he kept his head low to keep from breathing in the cloud. Coughing fits erupted from both gangsters as they tried to escape the fumes. One of them felt a tug at their belt and heard a jingling sound.

“The cage keys…!” He coughed, but when his hands grasped at his waist, there was nothing there—no dwarf and no keys. He wanted to inform his partner of the dwarf’s aims to open the cages but couldn’t stop coughing and gagging long enough to speak.

Dwindle rushed to the back of the storeroom and peered into every cage. Some creatures of magic and different races of people stared back at him. Some beasts growled with discontent. Those imprisoned that had intelligence merely watched him. He could see that pleasure slaves filled most of the cages, while the beasts were few in number.

Dwindle spoke as he looked into each face, regardless of the number of sharp teeth or if the face had fur, “Can anyone of you tell me if you saw a tall young man with dark hair here tonight? He was captured a few hours ago by the White Scaled Viper Gang.”

There was silence. A creature comprised of plants in the form of a lion charged and banged at the bars of its cage. Its vine legs had thorns which it tried to claw Dwindle with. The dwarf took a wary step back.

“Please,” Dwindle pled, growing frantic, looking to the other cages, “I need to find my friend.”

“I know where your friend is,” a voice answered.

Dwindle focused on a slim figure sitting alone in one of the cages. The figure was a young man that stood out among the surrounding cage occupants. While the others were dressed as pleasure slaves, he was dressed in the garb of a warrior.

“…You are?” Dwindle asked.

Rising to his feet, the young man answered, “I'm a swordsman.”