The Blind Alchemists and the Silent Sharks pushed through the crowded Undercity streets led by Tahno and Luna. As they moved towards the eastern part of the city, citizens and visitors alike scrambled to get out of the way. Although they had been on the verge of gang warfare less than a half hour prior they were now operating with total cooperation. Turf wars were a messy part of gang life in the Undercity but most of the gangs operated under a code of ethics.
The mysterious disappearance of Undercity children had become impossible to ignore and it seemed to be getting worse lately. It was a problem that had parents instituting strict curfews as community leaders struggled to find a solution. Once the gangs reached the dock district the crowds had all but cleared up. The lantern festival never extended into the grimy industrial area. The air quality was terrible all over the Undercity, but the dock district made the rest of the city seem like the forests of Nisse. The gangs readied themselves for a confrontation while Luna and Tahno shared a look of understanding. They were familiar enough with the seedy underside of their home to know things were likely to get messy and quickly.
Tahno stepped up to the door of the red warehouse and kicked open the entrance. For all the ways he had been characterized in the past, the brute had never been described as subtle. Eager to put a stop to the abductions plaguing their neighborhoods, the two gangs charged into the building. Inside of the first large room was a score of robed men who were caught off guard by the sudden attack. Playing cards went flying as they cried out in surprise, drawing heavy clubs and daggers, but they were outnumbered by at least two-to-one. These robed men quickly fell against the combined force of the gangs. Tahno and Luna crashed through the door on the far side of the first room and were greeted by even more robed warriors. This time however the enemies were ready for battle.
Slamming his trident into the chest of a robed woman, Tahno sent her stumbling back and impaled a second warrior before yanking the weapon free and hurling it into a robed man who was about to shoot his hand crossbow into Luna. Luna looked back at him appreciatively before rolling out of the way of a heavy mace that was on a crash course towards her skull. Luna came out of her roll with her rapier ready and quickly took down two enemies with a quick flurry of thrusts. A strange guttural screech from the direction of a closed iron door commanded her attention. It was as if her stomach spoke screwed up situation and began tying itself into knots.
With a thunderous boom a horribly mutated creature smashed through the door, sending the heavy iron door crashing into an unprepared pair of Silent Sharks. The monster was grotesque. It had extra limbs grafted onto it and its body was unnaturally muscular with protruding veins bulging from the swollen muscles. The creature easily stood seven feet tall and towered over the stunned gang members. The terror that washed over the Silent Sharks and Blind Alchemists was met equally with a feeling of sorrow and pity as they noticed the face of the creature was that of a child. The face was twisted and frozen in a permanent grimace of pain and grief.
Luna tried hurriedly to calm the pitiful creature down but rapidly came to the realization that its mind was lost. Her only choice would be to put it out of its misery. A task that would be easier said than done. The mutated monster screeched, charging at Luna like a raging bull. She jumped towards the wall nimbly, springing off of it and grabbing hold of the wooden rafters overhead and swinging away. She narrowly avoided the incoming brute but a group of Silent Sharks behind weren't so lucky. The twisted child barreled into the cluster of men, sending one crashing through the stone wall and knocking the others to the ground.
With the gangs distracted by the new threat, the remaining robed men tried to escape out a side door. “Don’t let them get away!” Luna yelled out. Nodding in understanding, Tahno and his remaining men took off after them, they seemed all too happy to get away from the mutated creature. As the Silent Sharks exited, three more hulking deformed monstrosities lumbered into the room. The Blind Alchemists were battered, weary, and formed up a defensive ring protecting their growing number of wounded. Luna cursed as the new enemies entered the battle. She was naturally swift with calculations, and she didn’t like their odds.
Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.
The brutes smashed into the gang as they did their best to fight back. When the inhumanly powerful monsters struck out there was no parrying the blows, the only chance was to dodge. It was a dangerous game to play, and failure resulted in loss of life or separation from consciousness. The remaining Blind Alchemists were dropping quickly, unable to bring down the mutated experiments. Luna felt desperation grip her, she hadn’t had a chance to return to their hideout and she was nearly out of alchemical weapons. She reached into her robe, pulling out a vial full of red liquid and spun quickly, dodging out of the way of a bloated fist.
She threw the vial, and it broke open on the face of one of the creatures, red liquid ate through the flesh of the monster with a nauseating sizzle. The creature slumped to the ground and went still. Three creatures remained and she was out of vials. Only seven of the Blind Alchemists remained standing, the rest were either dead or too wounded to fight. Panic gripped her but she faked a determined, unworried expression for the sake of her gang. She knew they were no match for the three remaining brutes. Retreat seemed the only option, but the two doors were both blocked by monsters.
Just then a hooded man in ill-fitting clothing came rushing down the stairs with ten scared children behind him. He drew a long sword and in his free hand was a handful of purple crystals. The amethite lit up with violet light floating above his hand. The hooded warrior charged into the monster blocking the main exit. This mysterious stranger gave the Blind Alchemists renewed hope and they swarmed one of the twisted experiments in front of them. A life in the slums had taught Luna that when a chance for survival presented itself, you leapt towards it. Her movements were graceful, and she was as skilled as any with the rapier. She struck out a dozen times piercing the brute’s flesh all over, but the monster barely seemed to notice the wounds.
The hooded man led with his longsword. Muscles imbued with magical strength from the amethite he deflected the monster's lumbering downward strike and slashed through its arm twice, severing the limb. The twisted experiment responded with a powerful kick that sent the hooded man flying across the room and crashing through a stack of wooden crates. The blow would’ve killed a normal man but the amethite energy allowed him to quickly bounce back to his feet and charge straight back into combat.
Luna dodged a flailing punch and glanced over to see how the mysterious stranger was faring, she was blown away by what she saw. The man's hood had dropped revealing a young slender face beneath. The man was prince Cassian. It was incredibly rare to see nobles in the Undercity, let alone the son of the king! She couldn’t believe it. The prince slid underneath a sweeping strike and sliced the brute in half vertically. The creature fell to the floor in two parts and Cassian called to the terrified children. “Now is your chance to get out of here! Flee to safety!”
As the children ran through the door and escaped the building a smirk momentarily appeared on Luna's face. She was quickly catapulted back to reality as the two remaining brutes sent yet another Blind Alchemist crashing through the wall. Luna's arm was bleeding profusely, it appeared her wound from the fight in the mountain pass had reopened. She started to get dizzy but used her skills with her rapier to keep the brute distracted. As her and Mariska took turns striking at one of the twisted creations from opposite sides Cassian entered the melee.
He first parried a punch from one of the monsters with his long sword before lopping the head off the second. Rolling out of the way of a headbutt from the lone remaining abomination he lunged with his sword, putting all his magically enhanced might behind it and striking home. He pulled his sword from the monster's neck, and it fell to the ground dead with a loud thud.
Prince Cassian's eyes returned from glowing purple back to normal and he slumped over, utterly exhausted.