Halligan took a deep breath as he watched the people outside walk by. He was excited to begin hunting for the monster lurking within the city. The carriage stopped, and he pushed open the door and stepped outside. He stepped into the foyer of the cathedral and found Urielle kneeling in front of the statue of Shecoga.
“I’m sorry to have kept you waiting Saint Urielle.” Halligan bowed. He kept his voice low in respect.
“You have nothing to apologize for.” Urielle smiled as she lit one of the candles. “It gave me plenty of time to convey with the Virtue of Mercy.”
“Can’t her greatness tell us where the monster is?” Halligan gazed up at the statue, but then bowed deeply. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to offend.”
Urielle laughed; it was a beautiful melody. “None taken master Halligan.” Her smile faded a little as she took his arm “Unfortunately, it doesn’t work like that.” she glided alongside Halligan as he led her back to the carriage. “When I pray to Shecoga, she replies with intuitions and inclinations. Think of it like reading the weather, one must put in a little work to deduce what the Virtues are saying.”
“Isn’t there any way to talk with them directly?”
“It’s possible with the proper conduit.” Urielle pouted. “If I had the Staff of Shecoga, then I’d be able to speak with her directly. However…” She was blushing heavily. “I’m a little intimidated of taking the trial.”
“I’m sure you could pass.” Halligan smiled confidently at her.
Urielle’s smile brightened. “Thank you for the vote of confidence,” she said as Halligan helped her into the carriage. Halligan stepped in after her and the carriage started moving. “Sir Emir and Sir Torrn are scouting the sewers, and Sir Neil, Sir Regald, and Sir Giale are trying to recruit adventurers from the Black Horn Guild.”
“Hopefully they’ll be successful.” Halligan sighed. “Elizar and I found a map of the sewers, but it was fraudulent. Bartholomew Decker provided false maps to hide his criminal activities.”
“That’s a shame.” Urielle’s sighed. “Hopefully, we can get master Baron to help us.”
Halligan nodded. The carriage slowly made its way through the streets and came to a stop in front of a large mansion. Halligan helped Urielle out of the carriage, and they both gasped at the sight. The front was in a horrendous state. The bushes were overgrown with the branches overhanging the street. The lawn was filled with weeds and grass was growing out of the cracks in the walkway. When they approached the door, they noticed the windows were in desperate need of cleaning, and the front steps needed sweeping. Halligan held onto Urielle’s hand as they took the steps, and he knocked on the door.
A beautiful blonde woman opened the door. “May I help you?”
“We’re here to see master Baron.” Halligan cleared his throat. “Is he here?”
“He is.” The woman let them pass before closing the door. “Please follow me.”
The inside of the mansion was worse than the outside. The foyer was barren with dust lining the floor showing where the furniture used to be. The maid led them up the stairs, and Halligan couldn’t help but notice the outlines on the wall where pictures used to be. The mansion was a hollowed-out shell of the Decker’s former wealth.
The maid knocked on a set of double doors and peaked inside. “Sir, you have some guests.”
“Let them in.” The maid stepped to the side to let them pass. Baron sat at a desk with his face buried in multiple stacks of paper. This appeared to be the only room that was still furnished. Baron looked up from his desk, and a shallow smile came to his lips. “Sir Halligan, to what do I owe the pleasure?”
“I apologize for visiting unannounced.” Halligan took a deep breath. “But I was wondering if you could help us with…” His eyes lingered on the maid by the door.
“Could you get our guests some tea Charolette.” The maid curtsied and closed the door. “We’re free to talk now, but I guess this has to do with the monster.”
“Yes, master Baron.” Urielle stepped forward. “His Holiness has sent five paladins to aid Sir Halligan in hunting it, and I have been tasked by Shecoga to help them.”
“And you are?”
“This is Saint Urielle.” Halligan stood tall as he addressed her. “Please show her the respect she deserves.”
Baron stood and bowed. “My apologies, lady saint,” he said, “How may I be of service to you and his Holiness?”
“We need an accurate map of the sewers.” Urielle said politely.
“I see.” Baron chuckled as he headed to a drawer. “It seems my father’s pride is still haunting me.” he pulled out a thick leather folder. “Here are the drafts concerning all of the changes he made to the sewers.” He handed over the leather pouch. Halligan opened the folder a pulled out a few of the parchments. “You’ll have to have a scribe make a proper map. My father became paranoid after the necromancer appeared.”
“Thank you for the help.” Urielle smiled warmly. “Is there anything else you can tell us about this monster?”
Baron tapped his chin and rummaged through the drawer again. “Here it is.” He handed over another packet. “These are the monster’s schematics.”
Halligan pulled out a paper and sneered at the image. “That’s it alright,”
“Truly horrific.” Urielle covered her mouth.
“You should also know that this thing goes by the name Reviled Legion,”
“A disgusting name,” Urielle whispered, “I can see why Shecoga sent me here.” She turned to Baron. “What was supposed to be its purpose.”
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Baron sighed heavily. “It was to be the perfect soldier.” He rubbed his face. “One that doesn’t have the weaknesses of the flesh and will be superior to the forces of the undead.” Charolette stepped back into the room with a tray of refreshments.
Halligan slipped the paper back in the pouch. “We’ll have Elizar look over these. Maybe he’ll figure something out.” He took a cup with a grateful smile. “How have you been doing lately?”
“As best as I can be considering the situation.” Baron chuckled. “I had to sell everything to pay the fine my no-good father left me. Thankfully, the individual who purchased the manor allows me to stay, and I’ve been employed to run the brewery. It’ll take some time, but I should get back on my feet soon.”
“I’m glad to hear that.” Halligan smiled in relief. “I’m sure with a little effort, you’ll get out from under your father’s shadow. I’d hate to see you suffer for something you had not control over.”
“Unfortunately, my friend, the world doesn’t work that way.” Baron’s smile twisted in discomfort. “Sometimes you can’t change things no matter how hard you try. Right now, I’m simply trying to survive.”
“Well, let me know if you need anything.” Halligan smiled. “We should get back to the cathedral.” Baron waved at them as Charolette led them out of the manor.
They settled into the carriage. “Do you mind if we go shopping first.” Urielle smiled at him. “There’s some supplies I want to get before we begin our hunt.” Halligan nodded, trying to stare at her.
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“Why do we have to search the sewers?” Emir groaned as he covered his mouth. “I can’t stand the smell.”
“Stop whining.” Torrn growled at his companion. “You’re a paladin of Yaniel. Isn’t it your responsibility to investigate signs of corruption.”
Emir snarled at Torrn. Despite them being roughly the same age, Torrn was a hulking wall of a man. He had to duck under a set of pipes because of his size. To compliment his large bulk, Torrn carried a tower shield strapped to his back, and a massive, spiked mace on his hip. It wasn’t surprising considering he was a paladin of Rook’hym.
Emir on the other hand was the complete opposite. He didn’t have to even duck when passing under the same set of pipes. He growled at the constant reminder of his short stature. Emir’s right arm started to throb from the weight of holding up his torch, so he moved it to his left hand. As he shook the pain from his thin arm, he couldn’t help but stare at the massive trunks that belonged to Torrn. They’ve been searching the sewers for hours and the tanned defender hadn’t even swapped once. What would you expect from someone who spent most of their time studying.
“I do want to get to the bottom of this.” Emir snapped. “I’m simply tired of mapping this damned sewer.” He yelped when he ran into Torrn’s back. “Yaniel save me! Why’d you stop.”
“There’s something up ahead,”
Emri leaned around and noticed a shadowy lump in the middle of the walkway. There was whimpering coming from the darkness, and they watched in horror as a claw entered the light. A wererat pulled itself across the stone with blood trailing behind it.
“No. No. No. No. No. No,” it babbled as it continued to crawl. “Gotta get away.”
“Disgusting,” Emir spat.
The wererat stared up at them, “Go away!” It hissed. “You’ll draw it right to us. I… don’t want to die.”
“Are you talking about the metal monster?” Torrn kneeled next to the rat.
“Decker’s monster, no,” the wererat whimpered, “You can at least reason with it.” its breathing became erratic. “I’m talking about the Red Cap.”
“What’s the Red Cap?” the paladin’s looked to each other in worry.
“It’s a monster the likes no one has ever seen before.” The rat started cackling. “When Decker’s monster installed its puppet king, some of us ran away before we could be enslaved. We stumbled upon the Red Cap when we were planning an ambush.” It slammed its fists onto the floor. “We thought it would be easy. It didn’t look all that terrifying, but we didn’t realize how powerful it was.”
“What are you talking about?”
“We’re trying to tell you to run!” The wererat scratched their boots. “It rides a giant insect, the likes I’ve never seen before. It can summon lightning and thunder from its fists, and you’ll die if you so much as touch it.” it pulled on its ears. “My friend bit off its head, but it didn’t die! It got back to its feet, and my friend died soon after. That’s when the insect went mad and tore everyone apart.”
A strange sound filled the tunnel. It sounded like… singing. A high-pitched tune echoed off the stone walls and was soon followed by a deep screeching. The paladins stared into the darkness as pattering followed the singing.
“It’s coming!” The wererat sniveled, trying to crawl away. “It’s coming. It’s coming. It’s coming.”
“Let’s get out of here!” Torrn grabbed the wererat by its fur.
Emir ran as quickly as he could, but the sounds from the monster kept growing louder. Torrn’s large size kept him from being able to see the monster. He noticed a corner up ahead and threw his torch further down the tunnel before turning. Hopefully, the light from that torch would draw the monster’s attention. A high-pitched howl sent shivers down his spine, and it drove him to push through the pain in his chest.
For a moment, the pattering stopped, but then it started up again behind them. They continued running, praying for a gate to appear, and their prayers were answered when sunlight bathed a large portion of the sewers through the barred gate. Emir used all his strength to push open the metal door and up the stone steps to the city streets. Huffing, they both looked back and noticed the black carapace and ruby eyes staring up at them. Its inner mandibles clacked in anger, and it scurried off as it was too big to fit through the iron door.
“What was that?” Torrn swallowed as he wiped the sweat away.
“That looked like an Elithan ant.” Emir replied through shallow breaths. “But I couldn’t tell which one. Virtues, I hope it isn’t a queen.”
“We should let the others know. Looks like this hunt became more difficult.” Torrn stormed down the alley with the wererat slung over his shoulder.
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Halligan looked at the other paladins as they gathered around the central table. The maps of the sewers were laid out before showing the plans for the upper, middle, and lower levels of the sewers. A wererat sat in the corner bound with rope. Its eyes were glassy and distant, and it mumbled under its breath.
“So, you’re saying there is another monster in the sewers.” Sir Giale groaned as he rubbed his eyes. “And it’s in command of an Elithan ant. Is such a thing even possible?”
“I’m afraid so.” Emir nodded; his face still pale from their endeavor. “The Church records show that several cultists and necromancer have used compulsion magic to control various monsters to a certain degree of success. I suspect that this Red Cap has done the same thing.” The wererat whimpered at the name.
“Were you aware of this other monster Sir Halligan?” Urielle looked at him with worry.
Halligan shook his head. “I’m sorry, I was unaware that there was something so dangerous in the sewers.” he glanced over to the wererat. “Not to mention, it looks like Reviled Legion has enslaved the city wererats too.”
“Which means he essentially has an army.” Sir Niel sighed. “Which means the odds are against us.”
“I’d rather deal with an army of wererats than undead,” Sir Torrn replied, “If the Church will aid in paying the adventurers, we can open as many wererat hunting quests as we want.”
“He’s right.” Urielle looked them all over. “We all know from experience that wererats aren’t that big a threat. If we can weaken Reviled Legion’s forces, then that should draw it out of hiding. As for this Red Cap, we don’t have enough information yet to deal with it.”
“As long as the elithan ant isn’t a queen we can deal with it whenever we want.” Emir nodded. “Honestly, it sounded like Red Cap will help in fighting against the wererats. I say we focus on the machine and then try to kill this other monster.” They all nodded in agreement.
“Then we have a plan.” Halligan held up another packet. “I’ll take these to Elizar. Hopefully, he’ll be able to make sense of these schematics.”
“Mind if I take a look at those too.” Emir held up his hand. “I’d like to make a copy of them.”
“Of course.” Halligan smiled victoriously. “Now, let’s begin this hunt.”