Ratface and Tiffany moved through the sewer without rest. Which was a problem because they needed it.

Tiffany’s magic had been less and less impressive as they carried on. The girl reaching her mental limit without a moment to collect herself.

Ratface herself was struggling as well. Little cuts were littered across her face and gear reflecting the little mistakes she made. If wasn’t for the armour she was wearing they’d be much worse. It had already justified its cost to her, and she was thankful Abigail had bought it.

It wasn’t as if the fights had been as simple as them against a gator or a rat. Each one was a new ambush, or a trap set up to hold them in place.

Part of the problem was the sewer being neglected for so long. Ratface didn’t know if the mastermind of the sewer had been working the entire six months since they’d been cleared but it had to have been close. The rats and the gators worked way too well together. Even the normal gators they ran into had been trained. It wasn’t like an alligator was stupid either so they were dangerous enough as it was.

The other part was the lantern. That little bit of light did let Tiffany see but it also registered where they were for ages down the tunnel. By the time they turned a corner the creatures had had plenty of warning to set the area up to be hell for the two to fight their way through.

They made their way through another corner and gators lurched from the water. Rats scampered about and made a nuisance of themselves as the two of them dealt with the bigger creatures. Ratface hissed as a rat latched onto her arm and started biting and tearing. She grabbed the creature and flung it down the corridor but that had left her open to one of the gators and only a lucky kick stopped her from being dragged into the water in what would have been a death sentence.

Tiffany battled beside her. She was struggling to cast spells and fight so her magic could only do simple things like grow in front of the monsters for a delay. She’d taken to using Ratface’s knife at this point and her robe was covered in rips.

They took care of the most recent group of monsters. Their ragged breathing no doubt echoing down the corridor warning the next group. That had almost been it for them, and they both knew it. Tiffany looked at her in desperate panic and Ratface grit her teeth. She was out of options. It was risking turning off the lantern or seeing if they had one more fight in them.

“Turn off the lantern,” said Ratface, “we can’t keep letting them get the drop on us like this.”

Tiffany watched her for a long moment before covering the lantern again. She whispered to the bugs inside it and the light slowly faded away. Ratface waited as her vision started to adjust and then grabbed onto Tiffany. The other girl flinched in surprise but didn’t scream. Small mercies.

“Carefully,” Ratface whispered. Her voice barely carrying to the other girl. She waited until she got a nod before they started to move. She had a plan. They needed to move from where they’d last been heard, then rest and regroup. It wasn’t much of a plan but right now their goal was survival, and she’d become a master of that over the last month.

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

She moved them very slowly. Taking each step in a way that didn’t require them to splash around. Tiffany was struggling without her own sight to rely on but she managed to move without making too much noise. They made it to another intersection and Ratface listened.

There was something moving on the right path. It was so faint that it might just be water lapping against a stick, so she waited.

The alligators could probably sit without moving. Abigail had told Ratface that sometimes they sat in the same place for the entire day just waiting for something to come closer. The groups hadn’t just been made of alligators though and eventually she heard the faint patter of little feet moving. The rats were not so patient. The right confirmed as dangerous, Ratface lead Tiffany to the left. They were quiet but not soundless and she could only hope that the other animals weren’t listening as intently as her. They kept going for a while and when Ratface didn’t hear anything anymore they stopped. She listened out for another few minutes before confirming they finally had a moment to themselves.

“Let’s rest for a second. Try not to make too much noise,” she said. She found them a relatively dry spot and tugged the other girl over then dug into both their packs to get out their respective lunches. Ratface still refused to turn on a light and the other girl had brought her food separated. This resulted in Ratface having the surreal experience of making the other girl a sandwich in the darkness as they both listened out for creatures trying to kill them. Ratface tried to make sure she layered the ingredients in a way that it wouldn’t all fall apart. She handed over the food and waited until Tiffany grabbed onto it before she let go and sorted herself out. The chewed in silence for a bit next to each other. Eventually Ratface leaned close to Tiffany.

“How long does this quest usually last?” she asked. The girl stiffened at the quietness and closeness of the voice but eventually answered in the same whisper.

“They set aside a whole day for it.”

Damn. They wouldn’t start looking until dark. They could maybe manage to hide for a few a while but in the entire day the creatures would ferret them out.

“Are you looking through Halmir’s eyes?” asked Tiffany.

“No,” said Ratface. How would she even do that. She only realised her mistake when the other girl spoke again.

“You’re a goblin then huh?” She asked a question, but it was clear she knew. Ratface didn’t speak so the other girl did, “it’s that or an elf and they wouldn’t be here in the first place. I could tell from the moment our hands touched, a druid’s sense.”

In the quiet Ratface thought about just leaving her. Ratface might survive without the other girl if she was careful, and the alligators would take care of this problem for her.

She couldn’t do it. They’d fought together too much. Besides, she was too curious.

“What’d it feel like?” she asked.

“An open wound. My magic wept when it recognised you. It was like it was grieving.”

Ratface hissed. That didn’t sound great, but it explained why druids wouldn’t attack them. She bet it felt like desecrating a friend’s corpse.

They sat in silence for a moment longer before the other girl spoke again.

“I won’t tell anyone.”

Ratface patted her on the shoulder and stood up. She hadn’t even had to ask. She pulled Tiffany into standing.

“What’s the plan?” Tiffany asked.

“We only know the one way back. We have to go looking for someone else and hope their own spot hasn’t been cut off.”

“How? Our light will give us away and we’d just bring twice the monsters.”

Ratface grinned then realised no one can see it.

“We won’t be travelling by light,” she said. The other girl looked confused. She clicked when Ratface dropped Halmir in her hand.

There was a moment before the two connected, but Ratface could tell they had when the girl flinched back from looking at her.

She didn’t think her grin was that bad.