“We should have taken something,” Tanalia said.

“What?” Chariot looked back at her. “No.”

“He wouldn’t have seen it.”

“You’re immoral.”

“I’m just saying, if it was easy enough to steal his eyes, it would be even easier to steal from him now.”

“Is this what’s really on your mind?” Maria asked, turning around to look at her. As the sun fell, an orange glow was cast onto the streets of Berlington. They seemed much quieter now, with the children indoors, the vendors closing shop for the evening, and the city workers lighting the oil lamps positioned along every street.

“Yes. It’s a much better thought to have than contemplating the fact we’re venturing into the sewers. You can’t get much further from nature than the man-made shit tunnels.”

“It’s not going to be that bad,” Maria said.

“How would you know?”

“Back home the smell of sewage was more common than fresh air. You get used to it.”

“I can’t begin to imagine.”

Maria nodded. With Tanalia being an elf, she figured she was more in tune with nature than anyone here. Fresh air was what she needed, and if she were to ever bear witness to the industrialization of society, towering smokestacks and skyscrapers, smoggy air, and polluted trash-covered streets, she’d have a heart attack.

Maria looked at Chariot. “That… fairy. Dang, what was his name?”

“Ilihorn.”

“Right, right. He said that Rynec was a member of the Thieves Brotherhood?”

Chariot nodded.

“I don’t know much about them, but I’m going to take a shot in the dark and say it’s an underground ring of thieves?”

“They’re not a group you want to get involved with. They have connections everywhere, from the shadows to the streets.”

“If they’re so widely known why hasn’t anything been done? Oh, right, the bribery.”

Chariot nodded again. “They’re a pain in the ass above all else. None of the general public knows where their main hideout is. I would argue some members of the Brotherhood don’t even know. They’re dangerous though, don’t mistake that. I’ve heard of their many heists, and it infuriates me whenever I hear word of a new one. Their largest was some years ago. While Santiago Saldaña was slaying the demon king with the armies of Mytharia, the Thieves Brotherhood snuck into the Capital of Nemract and seized the castle's wealth while the world was fighting for it’s survival. They’re cowards, lowlifes, all deserving to rot in cells for the rest of their lives.”

Hopefully, we can put one of them behind bars,” Maria said.

They reached the columbarium and entered quietly. The doors were oiled to prevent any rusted squeaking from the hinges. Along the two impossibly long walls with rows upon rows of obsidian black niches inscribed with gold lettering. The soft murmur of whispered prayers echoed through the air. At the far end of the columbarium was a steel door with a tiny window. Maria peeked through. There was a steep stairway leading down into the catacombs. This was definitely the way. Maria unlocked the door with the key, and upon twisting it, sent a loud clank that broke the silence in the room, and drew everyone's attention toward them.

Maria looked back, blushing. “Sorry,” she said in a hushed voice and opened the door slowly. The stairway leading into the catacombs was cramped and rough. The steps were steep, and the walls were ancient. The stone looked cracked, and in disrepair, a sharp contrast to the polished columbarium above. At the bottom of the stairway was a room with eight stone tables organized into two rows. Off to the left of the room were stone-cold furnaces. Silky spiderwebs hung in the corners, dimly lit by a single candle, and the air was surprisingly damp, and stuffy.

“This place doesn’t look decrepit at all,” Tanalia said sarcastically.

“This is where they cremate the bodies,” Chariot said and pointed to the door across the room. “That must lead into the church. They’ll hold service there, and bring them down here for cremation.”

Another long hallway connected to the room, a long crypt with several well-finished, yet dusty coffins tucked onto shelves dug into the wall.

“This is nothing like elven crematoriums,” Tanalia said.

“Elves cremate their bodies?” Maria asked.

“Sometimes. It wasn’t that long ago that elves stopped using the crematoriums for eviscerating the corpses of their enemies. We’d burn them to ash, and scatter them in four places.”

“That's… harsh.”

“Elves save it for their worst enemies,” Tanalia shrugged.

“Oh, only their worst enemies, huh? That makes me feel so much better,” Maria said. She looked around and found a third door with another small window. The key she had used to get into the crypt worked on the lock for that door as well.

Chariot pulled out her blue torch from her inventory, and held it high, illuminating the path ahead. A small stairway led to the sewers, long, expansive semi-circular tunnels with a small round dip in the floor for water to trickle through. There was surprisingly a lot less than Maria was expecting. It didn’t save the air from having a putrid stench.

Tanalia’s face wrinkled at the smell “Why would this place even connect to the sewers?”

“Probably to dispose of anything on the corpses the church doesn’t want?” Chariot shrugged.

“Maybe to dump bodies?” Maria said.

“Oh, now that’s just ridiculous. The church would never defile a corpse like that.”

Maria pursed her lips. “Some might. Let’s not think about that though. We have a mission.”

The trio pushed on into the sewers, walking along the edges of the tunnels to avoid the water as much as possible. It was an ugly shade of blue and brown, the two closest colors Maria could compare it to. They wandered for a bit, before finally stumbling onto something. Ahead, a black stem protruded from the wall, and a large, purple bulb seemed to hang from the end of it, causing it to droop down. It had a rough, veiny texture like something was pulsing inside it.

“What the heck is that thing?” Maria asked.

“I don’t know,” Chariot said.

When the trio grew closer, the bulb flinched, as if there was something inside it. It peeled open like a flower— in fact, it was a flower, one with bright purple petals, and razor-sharp teeth lining the edges of each petal. At its center was a porous sack that contracted and grew like a lung breathing.

Planterite - Lvl 18

Tanalia fired an arrow at the fauna. As the arrow struck it’s sack, the flower flailed violently like an arm. A long, black tendral shot from the mouth of the flower, and wrapped around Tanalia, forcefully yanking her closer to it. The flower spewed out a cloud of yellow spore dust that quickly enveloped Tanalia. She coughed, and backed away, seizing up as if her muscles had frozen.

“W- What the hell!” she groaned, and strained, but she was unable to move.

“What's wrong?” Chariot asked.

“I- I can’t move!”

The tendril yanked her again. She fell face-first into the shallow water.

Chariot dashed forward and sliced the Planterite’s tendril. It recoiled, and hissed in pain before Chariot rebounded her swing, and sliced the stem. It was thick. She had to slash it a few more times before she hacked it off the wall. The Planterite withered away.

Maria helped Tanalia back to her feet. “You alright?”

Tanalia growled, water dripping down the front of her face, and the sides of her neck. “I still can’t move!”

“Other than that?”

“I’m fine!” The paralysis only seemed to last a minute. Maria wasn’t quite keeping count. Once Tanalia could move again, she flexed her fingers and cracked her neck. “By the gods that was awful.”

“What did it feel like?”

“Like I couldn’t move,” Tanalia growled, narrowing her eyes.

Maria held her hands up defensively. “Alright, alright. Was just asking.”

“Maria, look at this,” Chariot said. She held out her hand, and a soft, yellow orb materialized in her palm. “This was added to my inventory when I killed it.

“The hell is that?” Maria asked.

“A paralyzing sack,” Chariot said and squeezed the orb slightly. A smaller cloud of spore dust burst from it. “They’re potion ingredients, I know that much.”

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“Lycia would probably know more about them then,” Maria said. “Wherever she is.”

Chariot returned the paralyzing sack to her inventory. “I still can’t believe her master said all those things to her.”

Maria gestured for the group to continue. “It hurt to watch, but hopefully she’s doing better now.”

The trio walked through the tunnels a while longer. An hour passed. Then another. Maria’s stomach growled, but she didn’t feel comfortable eating in a place like this, even if it was fresh from her inventory, she’d have to touch it with her hands. They were dirty, covered in moisture, and sweat, and no doubt bacteria of some kind. She had never been much of a germaphobe, but walking through the sewers brought on the feeling that she really shouldn’t eat until she washed her hands.

Lizards, nearly two feet long, scuttled through the dark dampness of the sewers. Their scales shimmered in the blue light of Chariot’s torch. Spiderwebs draped from the wall like slung-over fabric, and Maria could have sworn she heard the croaking of frogs echoing down the pathways. The tunnels wound around each other in such a way Maria wasn’t sure how the flowage of the network was supposed to work.

Chariot, who had been leading the way this whole time, came to a stop.

“Something wrong?” Maria asked.

Chariot sighed and turned around to look at her party. The blue light of her torch reflected against her skin, casting shadows that slightly distorted her face. “I don’t know where I’m going. There’s no map, we’re wandering, we don’t even know where this Rynec is hiding. Burlington isn’t a small city”

“You know who may,” Maria said. “Those children.”

“We are not going to them,” Tanalia said. “I don’t want to see them again.”

“Good,” Chariot groaned. “I don’t want you hurting any children with your ridiculous antics.”

“I wasn’t going to hurt them, I was just going to beat them until they can’t breathe anymore.”

Maria wheezed. “Cause that’s any better.”

“Why is that so funny?” Chariot asked.

“It’s not, it’s not,” Maria chuckled. “I shouldn’t laugh.”

“Let’s just keep looking,” Tanalia said and pushed past the two. “I don’t want to be down here any longer than I already have been.”

Further ahead down the tunnel was an army of Planterites growing out of the walls. Their roots withered against the cracked stone, weaving in and out of the cracks, and dipping into the shallow water. It was like they had formed a nest, completely blocking off the path ahead.

Tanalia spun around on her heel and started marching the other way.

“Where are you going?” Chariot asked.

“I’m not dealing with more of those things.”

Chariot scoffed. “Did you not ride a griffon? You’re scared of a few flowers?”

Tanalia balled her fists and stopped. She inhaled deeply and coughed. “I hate this place,” she groaned.

“It’s fine,” Maria said. “You can stay back. I want to try something.” She had the other two step back before taking point. She cast {Fireball}, and summoned a large, flaming orb in her palm. She hurled it like a baseball at the Planterites. The fireball exploded on impact, sending a wave of fire out that ignited the flowers, awakening them. They shrieked and hissed as they burned up, pumping out a profuse amount of yellow spore clouds before they withered away. The fire spread to their vines and illuminated the sewer passageway in bright oranges and reds.

Maria chuckled and glanced back at her party. Several Paralyzing Orbs were added to her inventory.

Tanalia had a wide grin on her face. “Maybe I should learn fire magic.”

“Oh please don’t,” Chariot sighed.

Maria looked ahead. There were still a couple of the plants ahead, now hissing and screeching like an army of mice. The flames hadn’t caught them like the others. “I have another idea. Get out your weapons, both of you. There’s a new spell I learned we can try.”

Chariot and Tanalia glanced at each other, and both drew their weapons. Maria cast {Enchant weapon: Fire}. Her Serpents Blade started to glow. The fire crawled around the steel of the weapon like a disease, causing ashy flakes to peel away as the edges of the weapon glowed volcanic red. She had to cast it two more times to Chariots Crimson Petal, and Tanalia’s bow.

“You enchanted our weapons?” Tanalia’s grin grew wider as she nocked an arrow. The tip glowed a fiery red.

“They should deal fire damage now,” Maria said. “Why not give them a try.”

“How long does it last for?” Chariot asked.

“Three minutes… I think…”

“Then let’s get this over with,” Tanalia said, and fired into the hoard.

“Wait!” Chariot yelled.

Chariot cautiously approached the mesh of vines and stems, hacking and slashing at the flowers. As her sword sliced through them, a trail of fire was left in the wake of each swing, igniting the plants and withering them away. The dense entanglement of fauna was difficult to break through. While Tanalia fired arrows into the entanglement, Maria stood back and whipped the Planterite from a distance. She kept an eye on her MP gauge, not wanting to use it all up too quickly down here.

Maria moved a little closer. She was right, a flaming sword whip did look cool. A vine shot from the black flower, and wrapped around Maria’s neck, attempting to pull her closer to the spore cloud. Maria whipped her flaming weapon at the plant. The metal scraped against the stone walls and left behind a red, flaming streak along it before slicing through the stem. “I have one of those too,” she said and hurried along to help the other two.

Chariot had been stunned by one of the spore clouds. She coughed and wheezed before doubling over and freezing up. She strained and grunted. “I- I can’t move!”

“Doesn’t feel good does it,” Tanalia said and fired an arrow dangerously close to her head. She shot a black tendril before it could reach her.

Maria pulled Chariot away from the flowers.

A vine ensnared Tanalia, restraining her as it wrapped around her torso.

Maria hurried over to help, but a spore cloud was belched into her face. She inhaled deeply and shuddered. It was a foul smell that left a distinguishably awful taste in her mouth. Her muscles throbbed, growing more tense before seizing up completely. It was like she had gotten such a tight cramp she was incapable of moving.

“G- Guys!” Maria strained, trying to force herself to move, but she couldn’t. A yellow square with a little black lightning bolt appeared just below her health bar. A vine shot forward, and coiled around Maria’s neck, tightening its grip. She gasped for air, letting out a silent scream as she fell. She was dragged across the sewer floor, unable to resist. No matter how hard she tried to command her body to move, she was completely immobile. The vine hoisted her up as she drew closer to the plant. “T- Tanalia!”

“In a minute!” she yelled and sliced at a vine wrapped tight around her waist.

Maria’s head was pulled closer to the porous sack at the heart of the flower. She winced as a putrid heat emanated from it. The petals of the flower started to close once Maria’s head. The razor-sharp teeth lining the edges drew closer and closer. “Guys!”

The flower suddenly screeched and opened its mouth wide open. Maria was pulled back and pushed to the ground. Tanalia used {Night’s Edge}, and slashed violently at the flower until it had been sliced to pieces.

Maria coughed and wheezed. She was forced to lay there for another couple of seconds before the paralyzing effect started to wear off. It felt like her body had been frozen, and gradually the ice was melting away. As soon as she had full functionality over herself again, she jumped to her feet, wobbling a little at first.

“Are you alright?” Tanalia asked, finishing off the last of the Planterite.

“Y- Yeah. I see what you mean, that’s awful.”

“You’re not going to ask if I’m alright?” Chariot frowned, shaking her arms as she too regained movement.

“I was sure a strong knight like you would be fine,” Tanalia waved her blade dismissively. The fire enchantment had worn off. “Not like our witch, who is skinny and without decent armor.”

“It’s because the magic gear I have doesn’t do much for defense!” Maria said.

“It wouldn’t hurt to throw on something stronger than leather armor though.”

“Let’s just keep moving,” Chariot said. “After that, I’m not too eager to stay here any longer than we have to.”

Maria nodded and followed after the two. She couldn’t help but notice the ridiculous amount of Paralyzing orbs that she had obtained though. She had around nine in her inventory. What was she even going to use them for aside from potions she didn’t know the recipe for?

A high-pitched voice echoed down the tunnel. “I don’t think that could have been any more boring to watch.”

Maria looked for the origin of the voice. Sitting in one of the large round pipes protruding from the wall, a boy sat. The same boy who had asked the trio for change earlier. He was just as dirty, if not dirtier than before. His face was so caked in mud and dirt that Maria questioned when the last time he bathed was. His hair was stiff, and sticking up like electricity had run through him.

“The hell do you want now?” Maria sighed.

“Me? Nothing. I’m just watching you. You’re looking for him, aren’t you?” the boy said.

“What’s your name?” Chariot asked.

“Fari,” he said smugly.

“Is that your actual name?” she asked skeptically.

“Maybe. No way for you to find out.”

“Let’s keep moving,” Tanalia said and trudged past the boy.

“You aren’t going to like him if you ever find him,” Fari said. “Which I doubt you are.”

“He’s stolen from the people of this city,” Chariot said. “We aim to bring him to justice. We should turn you in as well for the trick you tried to pull.”

“I’m fine with just killing him,” Tanalia said.

“That’s not always the answer,” Chariot said back to her, and returned her attention to the boy. “You know where he is, don’t you? Rynec?”

The boy sneered. “He’s going to kick your ass you know. He’ll take everything from you..”

“Not unless we stop him first.”

“Hm, we’ll see about that. I’ll be waiting at the end of the gutter after he’s thrown you out with nothing but the skin on your back.”

“Little pervert,” Tanalia hissed and kept walking.

“If you want to see him that bad and risk losing everything, I can take you to him… for a price.”

Tanalia looked back at her party. “Can I just hit him?”

“No,” Chariot said. She withdrew the handful of gold coins she was going to give him originally, and handed them over. “Please, take us to Rynec.”

The boy snatched the coins, and looked them over, grinning wider and wider as he twirled them between his fingers. “You’re really that desperate?”

“Please, just take us to him.”

“Alright. Follow me.” Fari hopped out of the pipe, and trudged ahead through the tunnels, walking triumphantly as the trio followed him. Despite being shorter than the three of them, he certainly had more stride in his step.

“This is a bad idea,” Tanalia said.

“Maybe,” Chariot whispered. “We’ll be getting somewhere though.”

They walked for maybe another hour, Maria wasn’t sure. She was growing tired, and with the occasional streaks of sunlight that shimmered into the sewers through manholes and grates gone, she knew the fractured moon had risen.

Along a long stretching corridor, a large pipe protruded from the wall. All around hung tattered gray, and green strips of cloth, old blankets, carpets, and faded tapestries.

“What’s all this?” Maria asked.

“Decoration,” Fari said smugly. “Do you not like it?”

“I’ve seen better,” Tanalia said and crossed her arms.

Fari pointed to the pipe with his thumb. “He’s through here.”

Maria knelt to be level with the pipe. It was just wide enough for them to crawl through. “Through here?”

“Mhm. You asked me to take you to him, this is the entrance to his hideout.”

Maria looked back at her party hesitantly but shrugged her shoulders. What other options did they have? They were already lost, and she doubted they would randomly stumble upon Rynec’s lair on their own. Any direction was better than nothing.

Maria crawled in first. Her witch hat brushed against the roof of the pipe as she moved along. Chariot and Tanalia followed her in. It was a long pipe, but Maria could see the light at the far end of the tunnel. Thinking back on it, it did seem like a decent place to hide out. If this was the entrance, few people might even consider crawling through there.

Behind the trio, echoed the sound of a lever cranking. Maria stopped crawling and glanced back. Heavy thumping shifted around them, and before she had time to speak, the pipe shifted downward, and she was sent sliding into darkness.