The Drinking Rat was lively that night. With the sudden increase in mercenaries in the city, it became a matter of how much people the establishment could withstand rather than how long it could hold on without customers.

The inn wasn't the sole place enjoying the boost in its coffers though, the whole city was at its golden age. And all of that because of an unknown man and his odd book. It has been 2 weeks already since the sewers were put onto vigilance and not a sign of him.

Nobody went in, nobody went out - it was a stalemate. Some people even doubted that such man was still there, or if he even existed. After all, no normal human could survive for 2 straight weeks in such a dirty place without food or water to go by. Unless he drank from the sewer itself and ate the frogs and slugs in there, which should be impossible.

Nonetheless, Tebaud, the innkeeper, didn't give a damn about the man. For all he cared about was that more and more people migrated to Northwood in search of the huge bounty, which benefited him in many ways.

"Another round?" He asked with a cheeky grin, immediately rushing the maids to serve the beer bottles.

"Ay!" The huge group of mercenaries replied in a chorus. They drank their fills away without restraints, tomorrow was a big day for them after all.

They've finally received the approval of the city hall to enter the sewers - the only condition being to take a cleric with them. With a large qualified team and even a few mages to add, that bounty was theirs to take. If that wasn't a reason good enough to celebrate, then what could be?

Standing up from his chair, one of the men declared in a loud and hoarse voice, "Tomorrow is the day my friends! Tomorrow we catch the Sewers' Rodent for good!"

Since nobody knew Heitor's name, they've given one of their own, and the nickname spread notably fast. It was used by the parents to scare their children during the night and by the travelers when going to nearby cities. Even the wanted notices adhered to it.

"Now..." He waited for them to quiet down before continuing, "As all of you should know, our target is a single man. And even though we are at a huge advantage, don't underestimate him. Don't forget that even with a goddamn city on his back, the slippery bastard still got away. Not only that but four deaths were already confirmed." Looking to his right, he said with a sad mood, "Two good lads who recently joined us can testify it."

"Reynold is right. Our companions were killed by that beast, never to come back again from the sewers. He isn't a man to be lightly trifled with." Aymon explained.

Tomas was on the left side of the table, quietly drinking while hearing his friend speak.

"Well said Aymon, now please drink. Tomorrow will be a long day." Reynold declared before sitting back onto his chair.

From the pantry, a slightly flushed and clumsy girl walked out while carrying a trail full of beverages. "Here is your beer, sir." She served Aymon a drink whilst trying her best to not spill it in his face.

Turning around to face her, he said with a smile, "Thank you."

For a slight moment, they interlocked their eyes. A quick surprised expression flashing in his face as he stared at her. She had beautiful jade-like irises, which reflected the low lit candles spread out around the tavern.

Her flushed cheeks became even redder at the intense stare.

Do I have something in my teeth? She thought.

"I'm Aymon, what's your name?" He asked with a smile. Operating on the offensive was his moral code.

"Me? I'm Rosaline, they call me Rose in here. But you can call me whichever you like." She spoke fast, saying an entire sentence without taking a single breath. Being the country pumpkin that she was, that kind of treatment was unusual.

The people of Northwood were traditional folk at the end of the day. The sole exceptions being the mercenaries who stopped for a single night in there, which were few.

"Rosaline!" A shout came from the kitchen, "Get back to work!"

"I- uh, I've got to go." She said.

"Another time then, we get to know each other later." He replied with a grin.

Indeed, it would be a long night.

For them that is. Heitor, on the other hand, didn't care anymore if it was night or day. It has been days since he has been trapped under the city and time seemed to make less and less sense. His eyes now were totally adapted to the dark, even getting to the point where the sunlight hurt his vision.

His mouth by then had the taste of slugs, leeches, and frogs perpetually glued to it. He could even smell his sickening breath every time he opened his lips. And although he wanted to say that he was getting used to the taste of it, it would still be a huge lie.

At times he couldn't find the strength to eat the gooey stuff, instead throwing up everything. It was his body's natural response to the highly toxic food. Though fortunately, his leech ability was capable of healing diseases and infections - he 'happily' found out.

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It isn't even worth it to mention the water...

What he felt most disgusted though, was of himself. It wasn't without reason though, because he looked more akin to an animal than human. Living in the sewers, eating the filth and sleeping amongst the filth - he became one of the filth.

Gradually, as he was imprisoned into the sewers, disgust became frustration, and it soon became anger. Why was he wanted? What did he do wrong? When did he break the law? Why him?

If he understood the answers behind those questions, the situation would be more bearable, if only a little.

And it was 4 days ago that he'd reached his breaking point.

"You are quite unlucky." Agatha whispered to him.

"I will have to agree." He laughed a bit depreciatingly, a bitter taste in his mouth - though not because of food this time.

"I know what you are thinking - why is this happening to me? What did I do wrong? Why this, why that..." She circled around him before sitting by his right side.

"You are asking the wrong questions, brother. This isn't about why, because there is no reason for it. It just happens. What you should ask yourself instead, is how to get out of your current predicament."

Finally, Heitor dared to look into his sister's eyes. His skin was a sickly white, and his beard and brown hair were in wild disarray.

"I don't deserve-"

"Stop crying about it, and do something! So you are angry? Mad? Or perhaps, even sad and tired?" She stood up from the floor, "The world doesn't give a damn, you are on your own down here." Going back to the inky darkness of the tunnels, she continued, "If you are angry about what is happening, then transform that into your drive. Let that move you forward instead of mourning over it."

"There is no way I can get out of here, and the book isn't showing anything new with these small sacrifices. Can't you understand, there's nothing I can do!" He angrily threw a rock at Agatha, which stood still, uncaring about it. The object just flew right through her, falling to the ground unscathed.

"Well, if you can't get out, then lead them in." She spoke as if nothing has occurred.

"How?"

Simply pointing at Darius's limp body, she said, "Simple... taunt them."

"Fine." He relented before staring at his new titles and peculiarities.

  Name: Heitor Lothrod

  Equipable Surnames: Sewers' Rodent

  Age: 17 years

  Body State: Suffering from several infections and diseases

  Mental State: Severely Degraded

  Titles: Leechkin, Mad Man, Karacatoa's Blessed Child, Highest Bounty, Walking Pestilence, Steel   Stomach, Dark Dwelling

  Peculiarities: Strategist, Paranoid, Two Sides of the Same Coin

After days of assuming and trying to understand the contents of those strange words, Heitor came to two discoveries. First, the titles were useful for unlocking new abilities while the peculiarities made who he was - what he was good and bad at.

Furthermore, he understood the sewer like it was the back of his hand. For example, he knew that the liquid secreted by the slugs could glue anything, or that the leeches could sense blood from great distances. Likewise, he comprehended why those frogs were so colorful - namely, the more colorful the faster one would die after touching it. Of course, how he discovered all of that could be left to the imagination.

"Let them come." His sister muttered with a smile.

And thus the reason why the township approved the mercenaries' request for entering the sewers. Indeed, it worked out without a hitch just as Agatha said, and 4 days later another group was just about to enter his lair. A group formed by 16 adventurers to top it off. Needless to say, Heitor was prepared.

"Stay focused, and remember to never stray apart from the others." Their leader said as he took the lead.

Aymon was right behind him with his bow drawn and ready to loose an arrow. Tomas was nowhere to be seen in the front lines, instead choosing to stay at the far back. It was pitch black where the sunlight didn't reach, and the air was damp. Vines stretched across the grey walls into the far distance. It was hard to properly see into the distance, the greywaters didn't help to reflect the light either.

Other than the repelling smell, the place could be a true wonder to explore. The moist walls were filled with green slugs that crawled towards the ceiling. A few rodents ran in between their feet, a few bumping onto them. Meanwhile, leeches made their home close to the bright colored frogs, just by the water shores. To Aymon, it felt like they were slowly losing themselves into a subterranean forest.

But then, just as everything looked like an exotic and dazzling undergrowth, the lights disappeared.

"Why is it so dark in here?" One of them commented.

For some reason, the vines chose to cover the culverts all around the sewer, blocking the sun from outside. Now they were into total darkness with no source of light whatsoever. It was hard to even tell who was behind you.

Coupled with the absence of light, they eventually noticed the lack of noise. Nothing outside of their steps made a sound. The frogs stood still in the water, as silent as possible, intently staring at the intruding people. The small rats glanced at them with their unflinching eyelids.

Everything was still, just observing them as they made their way further in.

Goosebumps crept their skin as they were scrutinized by the sewer creatures while not knowing anymore who was who.

Then the stillness broke, a loud splash resounding across the whole tunnel as a man was pushed towards the muddy water. Luckily, he knew how to swim so he had no reason to panic other than the pain he felt on his shoulder. Something pierced him at various spots when it bumped into him.

"Is everyone okay?!" The leader asked.

"Help! Somebody help me!" A slightly unfamiliar shout came from the back, though not from the person who fell onto the water.

The entire group went on-guard, trying to discern who they were close too. Their formation broke as they started doubting the ones nearby. On cue, the man dropped into the water started screaming.

There were little things trying to pry their way inside his shoulder, just where his blood dripped down. First, he tried to shake away it, but the little creatures would just bite his fingers instead. Then he tried to swim towards the shore, but in total darkness, he lost his sense of direction. More and more bites covered his body, some even landing in his lower parts.

"HELP!" He yelled louder, yet nobody gave him ears - they were too busy keeping their lives in check.

His shrieks coupled with his struggle in the water made a lot of noise, enough for Heitor to accomplish his objective. Taking out Samuel's ax, he slashed with wild abandon. 

"Retreat! Get back to the light!" Aymon took a rushed decision, completely disregarding the hierarchy.

Fear made everyone follow his commands though, leaving behind those hit by Heitor's mad attacks. Now, it was within his power to kill the few abandoned stragglers.

After all, into the realm of no light and sound, Heitor was the strongest.