An opening between two buildings [https://i.imgur.com/ukHbW97.png]

THE OLD CITY

"Found it that quick did 'ya?" The voice came from behind Monte.

He turned around to find the crusty old man from the café ambling his way. Monte had been told his name but couldn't remember it for the life of him.

"Found what?" Monte replied, lifting his arm to shield his eyes from the beating sun.

"The Old City, boy. That's it, down there." The old man pointed into the opening between the two buildings.

Monte turned around and looked where the man's finger led, as though expecting something to have changed. Nothing had, it was still a dark and narrow passageway. But now things were starting to make sense. Apparently there was a network of some kind beneath the square. Maybe the rats lived there?

"Well… all the rats went in there. But I don't know where 'there' is." Monte said, honestly.

"I'm the one who should be hard of hearing! I told you, that's the way into the Old City." The man said it again.

Monte had heard him, both times in fact. But it didn't make any sense. Rats could get in there, and the cat. The Cat.

So that's where she's been all morning.

"Clockmaker's probably the one waking the rats up and sending them out into the town." The old man mused.

It was an absurd thing to say. It was certainly the cat who was to blame for stirring up the rats. If Alaya found out the incident this morning was Monte's fault, he should just pack his things and go. Sometimes the cat was more trouble than she was worth. But the least believable part was that a person could maneuver through the passageway Monte was still staring at.

"Oh so the Clockmaker just slides in through here then? Lives just down the way I guess?" Monte said, getting a little annoyed.

"Don't get smart with me boy. I'm just telling you what I've heard is all." The crusty old man turned and started to walk away.

"If you want your lady friend back you best get down in there yourself and find what's stirring all them rats up." He inflected his voice in a sing-songy way and Monte heard him chuckling to himself as he left.

Get down there myself? Monte got a little closer and leaned his head between the two walls. There was room, but only a few inches on either side. With his sword on his back it would be an impossibly tight fit. He would have to climb over some junk to get towards the back, but it seemed less impossible than it did just a few moments ago.

Sunlight slowly crept along the wall to the Monte's left towards the dark end of the alleyway. In a few hours, the alignment would be perfect and he could probably see all the way to the back. Waiting until then might make this task a little easier. One more coffee, a short nap, and maybe one little pint would make the task even easier.

He couldn't make himself walk away. It was just an opening between two buildings, but it felt like he had to enter it. Monte remembered being a boy and feeling the need to walk across downed trees spanning streams. He remembered the rush of sneaking into the Tavern houses as a young Academy student. Was he still just a reckless child? No, certainly not, but yet this opening called to him. Monte felt the anticipation building up, like he was standing at the edge of a rock looking down into a deep pool. He had to jump.

That pint will have to wait.

Monte slid his right shoulder into the crevasse and began to slowly slide through. He did his best not to scratch his forehead on the brick just in front of him, or scuff the sheath of his father's sword on the brick behind. He placed one foot out, feeling for anything, and then did it again with the other foot. Soon he could no longer feel the heat of the sun.

After about twenty or so paces it was clear he was descending. Darkness curled up around him bit by bit. Turning his head to confirm progress was impossible. Soon it was almost pitch black. Why didn't I wait? He continued moving his feet one at a time. At one point he had to step over an obstacle he couldn't see. As the light started to fully fade away, there were a few more items to step over. Monte couldn't see this far in from the street, and he couldn't tilt his head much. His imagination ran wild with options for what could be down there.

What am I even doing in here? He felt panic start to rise up. He had no idea what waited for him. Monte was learning in this moment he was afraid of tight spaces. The closeness of the walls and the onset of dark started to overwhelm him. He felt his heart beat faster and faster. He took a deep breath.

Calm down.

It occurred to him, much too late, that the crusty old man may have just been sending him to nowhere. This was probably an old prank they pulled on any newcomer foolish enough to fall for Alaya and stick around.

"I have to get out of here." Monte said quietly.

He expected to hear his words bounce off the stone in front of him, but instead they reverberated as though in a cavern. Moving his hands forward, he could feel space around him. Monte turned his head towards where he came from. Now at least ten feet above him, he saw the opening. Instead of being completely black, it was glowing white with daylight. He looked away and closed his eyes to try to let them adjust to the darkness.

Dank air filled his nose, and he could hear dripping. Eyes still closed, he took a few steps towards the sound. Next he heard splashing under his feet, and felt cool moisture bleed into his socks.

Lucky me.

Was this really an old sewer? It apparently wasn't a prank at all, there was definitely something down here. From up on the road it looked completely dark. Now that Monte was down here he could see what must be grates for rainwater to flow in every dozen or so feet. They let in enough light to see by, but only just. Cool air felt much nicer than the sun, and though the smell was less than desirable, he got used to it quickly.

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At least there aren't rats crawling all over me.

Like clockwork, he felt something brush against his legs. Immediately he opened his eyes and was about to kick the vermin away when he saw two flashes like coins in a well. He looked down and saw the ruddy fur of the cat. She was rubbing between his legs.

"You have to stop doing that!" He hissed into the air.

She let out a playful little yalp and leapt through an opening to another tunnel. He had descended into what he assumed was the entry to the Old City. The only way out was back towards the street, or to follow the cat. The tunnel opening was about half a foot above the surface he was standing on. He watched a slow drip of water, or what Monte hoped was water, hit the floor and drain somewhere out of sight. The was only a few feet high, with a curved brick ceiling. He crouched and stepped into the tunnel. He had come this far, he couldn’t turn back now.

Monte watched the cat carefully avoid the stream flowing along the tunnel. He could see her well enough to follow. As usual she seemed to know where she was going. Many of the corridors she led him down terminated, leaving only the option to continue to the right or left. More often, it seemed they went straight past offshoot paths that led to places Monte could only guess.

They moved through the tunnels slowly enough the Monte got the sense they weren't going too far in any one direction. There was some logic to the tunnels. At no point did Monte so much as hear a rat, though he was sure they were down here, somewhere. Monte did occasionally hear voices, and guessed they were coming from directly above him. Had the old timers said the Old City was under the original part of the town?

We’re underneath the square.

"I wonder which one of these paths leads to under Alaya's café?" Monte asked the cat, who of course didn’t answer.

Monte looked for something to peek through to find out where he was. There was a stone grate a few feet in front of him with a ring of holes. Each was no wider than his little finger. He approached it and could see enough to make out he was looking into the butcher's shop. He felt something drip from one of the other holes onto his face and pulled away quickly. He wiped it with his shirt, but it was too dark.

I don't even want to know.

Clearly just about every one of the buildings in the square and the surrounding handful of blocks were built upon this labyrinth. Unknown drips from and questionable puddles aside, it was one of the most astonishing things Monte had ever seen. He had heard of such a thing in the Capitol, but assumed it was only rumor. Why didn’t more people come down here?

Probably because it's terrifying and disgusting.

For at least ten minutes he followed the cat. His back was starting to ache from being hunched over for so long. Sunlight from the surface was enough to see by, but it was still dim. Monte saw the glow of much warmer light coming from around the next corner. As he got closer, it became clear it was from candles or possibly a fire. Was someone down here? Did they live down here?

He turned the last corner and discovered the light was coming through the cracks and holes of a worn out wooden door. Along the bottom, rot had left a few inches of open space, and one corner had a large hole. The cat charged through effortlessly as if it was made for her.

Monte couldn't have possibly prepared for this, and he cursed himself for not asking more questions first. What was I thinking? He'd brought his sword but he wasn't ready to use it. Someone was on the other side of that door, and Monte felt it was pretty likely they preferred to be left alone. Monte realized he had no way to get back and only had one option. He took a deep breath and knocked.

There was no answer. Monte knocked again.

Nothing.

"Maybe there's nobody down here." He said it out loud, assuming nobody could hear.

The words bounced around in the tight space. He remembered he was stuck here without the cat. He checked below him to see if he could sit, but the floor was more than a little damp. He'd have to keep kneeling.

Lucky Me.

Just then he heard some rustling. It kept up, like it was getting closer. At first he assumed it was the cat on the other side of the door but it was coming from that direction. It was coming from the tunnels. Next he heard squeaking. A group of rats was coming his way.

He couldn't see them yet, but once they turned the corner they would be upon him. Would he be able to scare them by yelling? That hadn't bothered the rats at all back in the café. The noise of the vermin was getting louder and closer. He knocked on the door frantically a few more times. Nothing. He even tried the doorknob but it was locked. For a door mostly rotted out along the bottom it wasn't the slightest bit flimsy.

He looked back into the tunnel and saw yellow and green beads of eyes. There were only a few, but quickly multiplying. Could he even fight them?

The rats were advancing rapidly now. In a few seconds they would be climbing all over him.

Rats were too small to fight with a sword. It would be pretty useless in such small quarters. The lead rat leapt from the tunnel opening and landed on his tunic. Monte grabbed it and threw it back into the mass. Another was preparing to attack and there were countless more coming. He had one last option to try to stop their advance.

He reached for his sword and pulled the sheath around in front of him. For a split second he considered if this was a good idea, and decided he had no choice. He couldn't remember hearing any voices in the last few sections of sewer tunnel. He had to risk it and hope nobody would hear it. He started to draw the blade.

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEYYYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" A piercing scream filled the room instantly.

In such close quarters it was nearly unbearable. Monte was about to draw the rest of blade out to defend himself when he felt something press against his shoulder. It was the door. He hadn't heard it opening over his father's screaming sword. A cloaked figure, an old woman, was beckoning him to come in.

He sheathed the blade. It went quiet again, except for the ringing in his ears and the scrabbling sound of the rats.

"Please, come in." She said and turned back into the room.

Monte turned around and saw the rats no longer seemed motivated to attack. Some had already started retreating into the tunnels, while others simply looked back at him. He put his sword back on his back and stepped through the door.

On the other side of the door, Monte found a rather large, mostly open room. The reason for such a vast space was partially explained by an immense column in the middle. Clearly this room existed only because of it. The column was composed of a large number of movable rings. Each had intricate markings and designs Monte couldn't make out. They were currently still, but Monte assumed they hadn't always been.

To his left was the source of the light he saw from outside. An enormous fireplace took up nearly the entire length of the wall. There was only small fire burning in the center currently. Along the back wall was a rudimentary kitchen setup. On the right was something that looked like a cross between a workshop and a gardener's shed. Around the middle of the open space there was furniture arranged as though in a home, but there were no walls between the rooms. Monte assumed that meant this woman must live down here alone.

"Welcome Monte. I am so glad you came." The woman spoke in a soothing, ethereal way. She was pulling a kettle off the stove and filling two small mugs. The cat was lapping at a platter of cream.

"So this is where she's been." Monte couldn't help saying it.

"Yes. We've become fast friends." The woman said. She was making his way towards him again with the mugs.

"Tea?" She offered him the steaming mug.

Monte realized at once he had forgot all his manners.

"Sorry. Yes. Thank you." He said, taking the mug from the woman.

"It's very nice to meet you. Thanks for saving me from the rats." Monte said. He had so many questions, but there was no excuse not to be polite.

"I had to know it was really you." She said. Her response added several more questions.

Really me?

He wanted to know how she knew him. How she stopped the rats. Why the cat was here. He could barely contain himself, but he knew it would rude to jump right in. Even though she evidently already knew him, Monte started with introductions.

"I'm Monte. But… you already knew that. And you are?" He fumbled his way through the salutation.

She took another sip of tea and looked up at him.

"I am the Clockmaker."