After the spell was done, Arthur returned to the dining table where the dishes had been cleared and a fresh apple pie was being cut and put on plates. He picked a plate and waited for the rest of his family to have a slice before they started to eat in silence.

He looked at his parents and then at his grandma trying to get an idea of what they thought.

"I have a feeling I'll be making waves not just in the GM but in the Veiled. I've already met orcs, hobgoblins, and elves. I recently met Morlocks. I wouldn't be surprised if I started seeing more of the Veiled races. I am worried that I might put a target on you all. The three hobgoblins from the Imperium will be just the start. I still have a bone to pick with Paul and Ben the assholes who pushed me into a crevasse. And whoever was tracking Kelrick before he transferred into me," Arthur finally spoke halfway through his pie.

"It doesn't help that one of the possible enemies might be because I stole the program from them," grumbled Grandma Cynthia.

"So far they have a dead end, I must be careful when I go to that labyrinth. It would be nice if I could move the entrance so that it isn't in the same place," said Arthur then he felt his left arm go numb and the bracer felt heavy.

"We can only take things one at a time. The only one that has exposure at this time is Arthur. We need to trust him to make his decisions, he becomes an adult after all. Maybe a few days earlier than his actual birthday, but it's happening nonetheless," remarked the father. "We need to let him grow up Maria.

"I know, but he is still our boy," she said while staring at her untouched slice of pie.

"Your steps to adulthood are going to be rockier, but you are one of us. We grow with adversity. We never quit. We protect our own. Camelot will have a good leader and if you doubt yourself, your family will be here to counsel you," advised Grandma Cynthia.

"Thank you. In the last few days, I've felt like I've transitioned from being a kid and rolling my dice to simulate a fantasy life. Now with everything changing so fast, I am starting to embark on a diceless adventure. I will come to you all when I need a second or third opinion."

"And invite Amy for dinner, we would like to get to know your girlfriend. We don't know what the future holds or when you will have the time to spend with your family. We just want to know at least one person who will be by your side. And I want to get a gauge of the woman my son has fallen in love with," said Eric as he watched Arthur's reaction.

"I will Dad."

"Finish your pie so we can clear the dishes. Get to sleep early, you need a good night's sleep. We will deal with tomorrow's problems, tomorrow." ordered Maria.

----------------------------------------

Danistrae led the way into the New York City subway. While the humans were enspelled with misdirection to make them see anything but non-humans when they caught sight of them, it was still prudent to use the late night to enter the subway station to take advantage of the nearly empty place.

Iluria followed unerringly even though she was blind, however, the passing of a subway train sent her into a disoriented state. Valkyrie was close by and steadied the Morlock.

"The loud noise messes with our ability to sense our surroundings," explained Iluria as she rubbed her ears.

"The noise in a subway follows the train schedule. The late-night schedule should provide you a little time to anticipate the next train," explained Valkyrie.

"It will take us about half an hour to get to where I saw the Morlocks. The passage we go to will branch and it would travel away from the subway tracks. Sometimes we might run into other non-humans that use these tunnels to travel or smuggle stuff. Some humans or human adventurers use it too," informed Danistrae while leading the other two women into the service walkway.

Several rats took off away from the approaching women, scared off from their meager meal of trash pizza crust. Iluria sniffed and recognized the smell of the leftover food but also knew that it wasn't fit for consuming from a dirty floor. It wasn't even natural ground. The underground of the city was making her pity how the other Morlocks have lived after they left the labyrinth over two hundred years ago. She was worried about how the others would react to her just as how she might react to them.

Ten minutes down a side passage, they notice that it was a rough passage. This was not part of the original subway construction, someone had carved out the tunnel in the past.

Danistrae looked at the floor, "Four people came through here maybe about an hour or two. One of them has a heavy step, probably carrying a load."

Valkyrie motioned to continue their travel.

They got to a wider chamber area and Danistrae stopped to look from one exit passage to another. "Last time I was here, there was only one passage. I also didn't go past this chamber," reported the elf.

"The Morlocks built both passages. The most recent scent goes to the right passage," pointed Iluria. She faced the right passage but hesitated to move forward.

"We are right here with you. We don't know if outsiders are allowed at Morlock settlements so we will defer to your instruction. Should we keep to our marching order or walk behind you?" asked Valkyrie.

"Danistrae said that there were four travelers who came down here. We don't know if they are working with the Morlocks or traders. I rather be safe. Let's keep our order," said the Morlock and waved the elf to lead.

"We are traveling blind here so be on our guard, we might run into trouble," whispered the elf while moving forward.

The passage sloped downwards, indicating they were going deeper into the ground. An hour passed and the women kept tracking the scents of Morlocks with Iluria's heightened sense of smell.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

They got down to a chasm with a rope bridge across. Danistrae was about to cross when Iluria reached out to stop her.

"Morlocks don't use rope bridges," she whispered then felt the edge of the ground until she found a handhold. She made a few clicking noises with her tongue and frowned, "You two might need to wait here, the drop would be fatal for those who are not natural climbers." She didn't wait and climbed down the wall.

Danistrae and Valkyrie peered over the side and saw how fast the Morlock was moving. They would only slow her down and the thought of falling from an unknown height gave them the chills.

"Want to cross the bridge to see what's on the other side? We need to pass the time anyway," asked Valkyrie.

Danistrae nodded and took a step to test the sturdiness of the rope bridge before slowly walking.

At the other end of the rope bridge, they noticed a graffiti tag. It had an edgy look and mimics a superhero's chest emblem but the lettering is HS. Neither of them had seen that marking before.

The elf paused at the fork and pointed out trip wires on both sides. "It looks like someone expected trouble. The ground has a reddish tint to it, blood has been spilled here," she whispered.

Valkyrie removed the hand axe on her hip in preparation, he looked from one passage to another and pointed to the right.

Bypassing the trap, the two followed down the passage. They stopped when they heard voices.

"Do you think they will try again?"

"If they do, we know how to capture or kill them."

"What if they bring those things?"

"We shoot them first. The reptile's power only works when they are alive. Now their blood, that works even when they are dead."

"Did you hear about Arthur? He got upgraded to rank B. Fucker survived us pushing him into that crevasse in the labyrinth."

"Yeah, I heard. And how did he land Valkyrie as a girlfriend? The gossip was all over the GM shop because they kissed in public. He must have saved his credits and found someone to make a potion of love or something."

Danistrae didn't even need to look at Valkyrie to know she was about to go nuclear. She reached a hand to pat the woman's arm and made a silence and listen motion. Valkyrie took a slow deep breath but nodded.

A door creaked open, "Shift change. Paul, Ben, get in here. Carl, Vince, stand guard. If the Morlocks come, shoot to kill. Reptiles first then the blind fools."

The door creaked closed and the elf looked at Valkyrie. "Well queen, what are your orders?"

"Avenge my king," hissed the warrior woman.

The elf nodded and pulled out a round vial. She handed a kerchief to her companion and tied it around their nose and mouth.

They sneaked closer and could see the two guards. Danistrae gauged the distance, made an impression of a baseball pitch, and threw the round vial. The glass broke when it hit the ground between the two guards. They both looked down and the liquid became a fast gas that surrounded them. They couldn't escape breathing the substance. It choked them first then they slumped onto the ground.

"Dead?"

"Nope, just asleep. I had to make non-lethal versions because human society frowns greatly on death or liquified bodies," said Danistrae.

Valkyrie didn't know if that was deadpan humor or serious, but she inched closer to the bodies and nudged them with her boot. Seeing no response, she moved to the door to listen against the wood.

The elf peeked under the door and whispered, "No shadows. No one is on the other side of the door."

She tried the door and could hear that it would creak, not wanting to make further noise, and took a small spray can and applied WD-40 on the hinges. The door swung better and was not as noisy.

There was a lantern on a table. It wasn't even a battery-powered one, it was one of those that use oil to burn. There was a smell of smoke in the air. Whoever made the oil had made it so pungent and strong that it would annoy most who smelled it.

The elf pointed down the only passage. The two followed the passage that had multiple doors with metal bar openings. They moved past a door and heard something move on the other side.

Valkyrie peeked through the bars and saw several huddled bodies in the room. They had ragged cloaks or blankets around them. The unwashed smell was strong and reminded her of homeless people. "Are you Morlocks?"

The whisper made one of the huddled bodies look up, the big white eyes facing the barred window of the door. The long course hair hid most of her face but Valkyrie could see her nod.

"Can you open the doors?" she asked the Trap Finder. Danistrae looked at the lock and made a derisive snort, "I could open them in my sleep."

She quickly made short work of the ten doors, but the Morlocks didn't try to leave their rooms.

"Who the fuck are you?" yelled a voice, but they didn't wait for an answer and a gunshot fired.

The sound was deafening, causing the Morlocks to cower back down on their haunches.

"Paul, Ben, open fire. No one leaves here alive. No one should know we are enslaving the non-humans. This world is ours, not theirs!" ordered the fanatical leader.

The two guards pulled out their guns and began to open fire.

Valkyrie bought up her shield and rushed towards the trio. Danistrae ran behind her, her scimitars escaped from the sheaths and whistled in the air.

Another round of gunshots were fired. The shield took one of the bullets. Another flew past the elf. The last slammed into the armored shoulder of the wing-crowned woman but it didn't penetrate.

Danistrae disarmed the two guards with ease and kept them at bay with the point of the curved blades right at the center of their throats.

Valkyrie knocked the gun arm to the side and pinned the guy against the wall. He caught her by surprise and slammed his knee up to her gut. The armor protected her but she still felt the force and managed to keep the pin. He reached down and grabbed an oval-shaped dark gray object and brought it to his mouth. He bit the ring with his teeth and challenged, "Let go or we all blow up with this grenade."

Valkyrie growled and took a step back. She didn't want to risk the pin coming off. There were too many innocents nearby.

"You too elf. You don't deserve to live on our human planet. And you traitor, you will get what's coming to you," menaced the guy as he holstered his gun and manually held the pin to the grenade to keep the threat.

Danistrae backed from the two guards and they scrambled to get the guns they lost.

Valkyrie still kept her shield up, this was a standoff and she wasn't about to let these villains get away.

Valkyrie glanced at her elven companion and hoped that they could find a way out of the situation.

"Drop your weapons ladies. You are our prisoners now," boldly claimed the guy with the grenade.

Danistrae became a blur as she rushed the guy with the grenade. The twin scimitars came down from a high arc and sliced the man's hands from his wrists. The sound of gunshots echoed down the passage.

Valkyrie saw the elf collapse with blood seeping onto the ground. The handless man howled in pain. She intercepted the two guards, letting go of her axe, and balled her fist, slamming the shield into one of their heads and a well-placed uppercut to knock them out.

She quickly grabbed the grenade moving it away from the mewling pain-stumped man and checked on Danistrae. "Dani, Dani, are you ok?"

Danistrae clutched her side where the two bullets had struck. She whispered, "At least they were lousy shots."

Valkyrie reached over and yanked the shirt of the guy who was still bleeding out of his wrists. The shock was setting in and the guy was not likely going to survive. She ripped the shirt and wrapped it around the wounds trying to apply pressure until she could bring her to a hospital or a healer.

"You bitches are done," growled Paul with Ben beside him, their guns trained on the two women.

"Morlocks, your freedom is within your grasp. The only thing stopping you are your captors. What will you do?" yelled Iluria from the end of the passage.

The Morlocks slowly came out of their rooms and lifted their heads as if sniffing the air. The combined throng roared like a wild beast and surged towards Paul and Ben. The three captors' yells were drowned out by the growls and howls of the Morlocks as they vented their frustration and anger from being in captivity.

Valkyrie kept her eyes on Danistrae to monitor her reactions. She avenged her king, but more so the Morlocks got their justice.

Tonight justice is blind.