The sewers of Al-Lazar, ofttimes ironically dubbed as the ‘Perfumery’ by the locals of the city, is a vast underground network of tunnels that funnel out the wastewater of the city. Over the generations, strange creatures have come to call the place home. Cunning rodents the size of wolves, and in sufficient numbers almost as fearsome, clades of reptilia and chitinous horrors live alongside each other. Strangest of all are the gelatinous things that stalk that underground realm, the Quiverings.

Translucent slimy entities that move silently along the damp corridors and walkways of the sewers are they. The Quiverings feed on any organic matter they encounter, dissolving it with their secretions.

Legend has it that these creatures are not merely mutations or residents by chance. Rather, they are said to be the living manifestations of the city's sins, accumulated over the countless centuries. As if aware of their own origins, they avoid the light, thriving in the darkest recesses of the sewers. Occasionally, they merge into larger, more formidable masses when threatened, making them a perilous challenge for even the most seasoned sewer explorers.

- Monsters of the Mortal Realms by K. D. Fidditch.

A stone staircase, well-worn and smoothed by the countless many before us, spiraled down into the depths. Larynda and I, a most unlikely pair, descended slowly into this new mire. I extended my Zajasite, its dim light faintly revealing the ancient friezes and carvings etched into the rock. These relics bore the marks of time. Some of the damage was accidental, others clearly intentional. Here, a figure's face was obliterated; there, limbs were gouged out with rough tools by uncaring hands.

I inwardly hissed at whoever had done such an unthinkable thing.

As we descended, the stench grew, the clear smell of the products of the human condition. Larynda was visibly wilting under the nasal assault, but despite this, her face was set with lines with determination. Against that, I had no excuse for a humiliating retreat back up to the surface. That, and the fact I would be a laughingstock for those above until I had finished my mission down here. My pride would not allow it.

“You know… just a thought an’ all, but you ever thought it might have worked better… if you, well, tried to be nice?” she asked weakly.

I paused in my descent, trying to think of a clever response. Turning around to look at her, I instead saw to my horror that something was writhing underneath her clothes.

“In a world defined by violence, what better language to speak than.. What… What is that? There is something there…” I exclaimed aghast.

She looked bemusedly at me before she put two and two together. “Oh this, this is just Bubbles!” she answered in good cheer, producing a wriggling bundle of fur from under her clothes.

The creature was the Whispermews that I had gifted the girl after killing quite a few of its relatives after the rains. Unlike me, it had not forgotten those moments when I had held its life in my hands. It quivered in fear under my gaze, squirming until it escaped into the relative safety of Larynda’s garments.

“Stop that Bubbles! That tickles… it’s just Gil! Remember him right!?” she laughed, the sound echoing down before it was swallowed up by dark and soft susurration of flowing water.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

“It seems that Bubbles has not taken a liking to me,” I commented dryly.

“Nah! Bubbles likes everyone. He’s just a bit shy, that’s all!” she answered in her enthusiasm, the sound just a little too loud for the atmosphere of the place.

“You know why we are here, right?”

“Yes, of course. Killing Sewer Rats!”

“Exactly. Which is why we should probably be a little quieter. Because if we wish to kill these things, first we must catch them.”

“I don’t think that's gonna be a problem. We need twenty tails, right? Well, some of the other people at the Guild told me that they are like all scaredy when they are alone, but if you get a bunch of ‘em together that they’ll be finding you. Like wolves they are.”

“Well, that’s just fantastic. So you are basically saying that we should announce ourselves?” came my acerbic response.

“We don’t want to be spending all day down here, right? We can handle ourselves, right? You’re meant to be the blessed champion of the gods, right? Plus, we’ve come down this far and I’m already wanting a bath.”

“Your point is well taken. That would probably be an option, but first, let’s have a look at the lay of the land, as it were,” I smiled, pleased that she was a good judge of a person’s worth, but unwilling to go ahead so easily with her foolish suggestion.

“Suit yourself,” she replied with an exaggerated shrug of her shoulders.

With that discussion out of the way, we continued, finally reaching the bottom of the steps and entering the vast underground sewer system proper. Uniformly cut stone walkways lined the flow of effluence of black sewage water and were wide enough for five men to walk abreast. The walkway I was on was lacking a rail, and no doubt failing modern safety standards, but there would be little chance of me falling into the dirty water. However, the thought of getting any of that on me caused me to shudder. It was not a pleasant environment at all. Not in the slightest.

We walked on for a good hour, careful to note down our path on the map. Fatigue, at least fatigue of the senses, had already begun to set in. So overpowering had been the stench that my nose had almost shut down in self-defense. Added to this, irritation still perched itself upon my shoulder, whether that be from having to do this most generic of tasks or the fact that I had not been able to vent satisfactorily. This world was teaching me new things about myself that I had never known before. Who would have thought that a quiet bookworm like myself would have the propensity for such violence? All it took was the removal of the trappings and the veneer of civilization to reveal the animal that we all were beneath.

I clicked my teeth in annoyance, and so too did my ward, as if mimicking me, causing yet another small spike of irritation. We had yet to encounter any Sewer Rats, or anything for that matter, which prompted Larynda’s earlier suggestion to play about in mind.

I gritted my teeth. “Alright, you win.”

“Win what? A prize? Do I get any money?” she asked with a mix of curious insolence and innocent greed.

I sighed at the unfairness of life in general. She would probably never forget this for as long as she drew breath.

“Let’s do it your way,” I acquiesced.

“So, like lots of banging and shouting?”

“Well, if I am going to have to be listening to a racket, it might as well be a pleasant one. You remember the tune and the words from that song I taught you?”

She nodded mutely, trying to hide a smile that snuck upon her.

“But…”

“But what?”

“Well some of the words, like, they don’t have much meaning. No matter how many times you explain ‘em to me I just can't understand, like… so I, errmm, changed them.”

“Fine, whatever. Just sing it. Loudly.”

“Alright! And you just complimented me just now dincha?”

“I don’t think I did. Did I?”

“You mus’ be getting old if you don’t remember. Haha!”