No use waiting he began walking after closing the door behind him, better than letting monsters congregate there. The sun had set a while ago he needed to be careful, he headed down the street heading to Dourfield Mine the sewer entrance he was looking for was just two blocks away from it the pain in his chest and sides was quite painful with each step but he tried his best to ignore it.
Shadow clung to every alley with only the occasional lamppost casting a pale light on the ground and walls. Sanctuary circles at the corner of the occasional street where the only safe spot should a monster appear, so he made a mental note of these locations. He stopped as his ears heard a clicking sound, he slid into one of the deep shadows and waited for it to appear or move away, then it appeared, and he was glad that he hid. It stood six feet tall with taut corded muscle over its length it walked on two feet, had two hands with six-inch claws instead of fingers on its hands and its a skull-like face that had skin stretched over it all smooth save for a jagged toothed mouth that spilt at the mandible opening and closing causing a clicking sound.
Sweat dripped down his brow he waited it seemed to be longer than the seconds it was when the creature turned and seemed to stop then turned directly to my direction hunched its shoulders splayed its claws and gave a rapid clicking sound. He didn't even wait for it to rush him as he ran down one of the streets headed to his destination, the slap of feet revealed to his horror that the abomination to nature was gaining on him when God created dwarves he did not make them sprinters. He was about to make a last stand when he saw his saving grace a sanctuary circle if only he could make it.
When he got close he jumped landing inside eliciting a cry of pain from him as his chest slammed into the cold hard stone pavement, but his cry was quickly drowned out by the scream behind him looking behind him he saw the creature rolling on the ground with a white fire burning it after it cries slowly petered out and it lay still and the flame ran out quickly after. He stood up and waited a few minutes to see if it moved then went towards the monster, he looked at the thing's claws and had a thought, and checked for magic he extended his senses and felt magic radiating from the claws. Knowing that he would need everything for the next fight he took the tactical hatchet and made short work of the fingers taking the claws for himself.
By this time he was out of breath he was in massive pain and still needed to move he looked at his current location and realized he was close just a bit more and he would be in the sewers. He began the trek again after some time he finally reached his destination. He walked to one of the sewer covers and lifted the recessed latch and pulled it up and over, he gazed down at the ladder leading down to the moderately lit area cursing as he began to climb down the rungs.
When he reached the bottom he saw the two walkways large enough for three side by side to walk and in the middle of the channel where the waste and refuse of the city go a multitude of slimes mulled about eating all the organic matter. A little story Ashot told him of gangs getting rid of people alive or dead by throwing them in the sewers made him glad of the railings on the side of the walkways. He pulled out the map that he took from the house so he could look at where he needed to go, after getting his bearings he began his arduous journey again.
He walked spying the occasional hole in the wall in which red beady eyes watched him back, once a hole he walked past something tried to grab him but a swing of his axe told it to find easier prey. The sewers were supposed to be patrolled but were rarely down as the pay was nearly nonexistent and the only ones willing to do it were the poor, desperate, and gangs; so, little was actually done in the way of patrolling besides certain key locations or routes the gangs actively used this being neither.
He finally reached his destination as he had hoped they refused to fix the hole they made in the sewer only blocking the slimes from entering and a ward to block monsters. It was gaping cutting the tunnel in two. He walked up to the tunnel and jumped from the sewer onto the tunnel to the dungeon, he attempted to summon his familiar again clenching his fist he willed his familiar to appear. He felt the connection and summoned Bob, he ruffled his wings and snapped his jaws “Go.”, and Bob flew down the tunnel. He needed to reach them before they could breach the wall to the dungeon city and cause one of the worst stampede in recent history. He began Following the train tracks deeper into the depths.
The walls were rough as was the floor making it a steep walk, thankfully, though it was still well lit with lights placed every few feet. His stomach fell when he noticed evidence that a group of people had come this way by the ground being disturbed by multiple bootprints, It was the Transit Guards could he be too late? He needed to move faster, his stride increased and his steps quickened as he moved faster. He saw through Bob as he walked not coming upon any changes just more train tracks and tunnel lights, that's when Bob saw it. He pulled the tactical axe from his belt and cautiously walked forward. What Bob saw came upon him, an intricate brick wall with a hole in it.
He stepped back to get a better view of it. It went from one corner of the tunnel to another covering the six-foot by eight-foot-tall tunnel, the bricks were a red colorization and were set into a strange geometric formation architectural pattern marred by the hole. This wasn't right the tunnel was only dug a year ago they wouldn't have had to place bricks What made it strange is that he could not see any mortar holding the bricks together and they appeared to continue into the rock. He looked at the ground again the boot prints went straight into the wall and milled about and entered the hole.
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He waved his hands in front of him to clear some of the dust that still floated down from the ceiling and eventually, it cleared to reveal bodies of Transit Guards lying on the ground shedding the only light around from the lanterns at their waist, a tunnel lined with red colored bricks, leading forward into darkness. He leaned down to check them to see if they were alive he moved over to them, but the eyes were empty of life and they held no pulse, a cursory glance revealed caved-in skulls and bruises revealing blunt force trauma killed them.
With no way but only to move forward, he returned to the bodies taking one of the lanterns and clipping it to his armor after rifling the bodies finding some 12 more vials of healing the rest having been broken on the other bodies. He pulled a second tactical axe from one and held it in hand while the other went in the belt. He went holding the axe in one hand and the lantern in the other and walked down the dark brick hallway with each step echoing slightly off the walls.
The tunnel is older than the dug tunnel the dust on the ground though recently disturbed by a large group, he examined the walls where the depleted light sconces also backed up this theory. Then he came to a forked path one went to the left the other the right some footprints went right then returned to the main tunnel following the rest of the footprints down the left fork.
He needed to make a decision quickly does he follow the main group or does he go to the right fork and hope he finds the miners there alive? After an agonizing minute decides to go right he walks forward down the red tunnel each step echoing through the empty hallway till he reaches a large shadowy-lit room with stone stairs spiraling leading down to a prison block with torturers' equipment and three iron maidens situated around slanted floor to a drain his hand quivered and his stomach dropped at the implication of this. His eyes flicked through the room scanning the cells he saw movement from the cells, he walked down the stairs being as quiet as possible as he got closer he noted that blood had flowed from the three iron maidens into the central drain.
When he reached the bottom of the stairs he moved through the bed of nails and wracks to the spiked cell he saw movement from above, in the cells he saw a variety of races ranging from gnome and orc to dwarf and human all wearing mining clothes. One of the orcs growled out a vicious snarl and said “Get out of my sight you said your fill before if you've come to gloat and mock us I'll rip your head off and use it as a cup.” he stood a good six feet high with thick corded muscle on his exposed arms gave testament that his words were more than mere threat.
I stopped at his words “Peace neighbor peace I'm not a Transit guard.” that seemed to cool some of his rage and brought looks of hope into the other prisoner's eyes. “Then why are you wearing their armor as open as you do they’ll hang ye for that.” “that's a problem for future me, Captain Brooks sent me.” that really got them going asking a multitude of questions and asking for help the orc from before gave a bark of “quiet!” that held authority developed by action.
“Is there a key nearby?” the orc turned his attention to me now “No they took it with them but if we had a tool we could get the hinges off” his eyes staring intently at the tactical axe in my hand I slipped it to him thru the bars as he did so the orc immediately began working one of the hinges bolts loose I held the lamp as high as able to give light. As the hinge squeaked and screeched from its hole it finally came out to a clattering on the floor.
With that clattering one of the bolts fell to the floor, and the sound of a banging occurred my head turned automatically to the sound. One of the iron maidens had opened then another opened then the last one opened, and from them came corpses riddled with holes leaving who they were impossible to identify save the shredded mining uniform “Paul they're alive!” the screeching of the hinge stopped “no, no there not.” then continued that much more hurried on the bolts. This was not the best as zombies could only be put down by healing them, burning them, or finishing with a magic weapon luckily I had just the thing. I set the lantern down and summoned Bob throwing him forward at the undead it flew past and lashed its talons along one's skull but the undead did not even register the attack continuing forward.
This would be difficult pulling the tactical axe from his sheath, he rushed forward hitting the first one in the knee with a satisfying crunch it fell to the ground but then he had to dodge back as the other two came upon him moving preternaturally fast. Bob came in moving fast slamming into the left one's skull causing it to fall over and leaving room for him to go after the right one. He attacked getting its knee as well causing it to fall down to the ground long enough to get out of the way, of the left one as it had now ignored Bob and had now come for me.
I hoped back at its clumsy approach realizing too late I had bumped into the spiked block of cells the zombie slammed into me taking me further into the spikes thankfully I was protected by the transit guard's armor. As its blood-filled maw came to take a bite out of me I shifted and shoved my axe into its maw the blade cutting deep into its hole-ridden skull. It scratched his armor and face, reaching into his pocket pulling out one of the claws, and drove into one of the holes in the skull like an icepick, the undead twitched and spasmed then went still. With its strength depleted he shoved it off wrenching out the claw as he threw the undead miner, just in time to see the other two undead coming for him crawling rapidly toward him.
Any hope he had for assistance was curtailed by the sight of the orc furiously working on the last set of bolts of his cell. Bob flew up and then dived down rapidly slamming into one of the undead’s skulls making it pause in its mad scramble towards him. Taking the chance he thrust the claw into its skull again making it to twitched and spasmed then go still, the last one grabbed my leg pulling itself forward to bite the armor on the leg using the claw to finish it off. With the undead finished off he took a second to catch his breath before assisting them with rescuing the other miners.