As Mevi entered the bustling street, once again following wherever Zelkan led, she was met with a slightly different set of looks from before. Rather than suspicious glares or greedy learning, the gruff inhabitants seemed instead cautious, yet mostly at ease. It was plainly obvious the effect Mevi’s massive Sentinel had on those that might’ve once seen her group as easy pickings for robbery. As they walked the streets, now accompanied closely by a large and intimidating guardian, their group seemed to almost fit in easier. As if the locals became at ease to see their group passing by in a more reasonable party, like it was expected to display your power and weapons bluntly to ward off danger. In fact, Mevi realized the rest of her companions had been holstering their various weapons plainly to see on their belts. Even the Sentinel protectively carried its large energetic rifle in its arms. Mevi had tucked away the small defensive blaster into a pocket on the inner lining of her robe and almost forgotten about it. Thankfully they hadn’t paid for any mistake her not obviously wielding a weapon might’ve caused from their breif jaunt through the street.

Zelkan led Mevi’s group further into the Undercity, taking them over and under many passes that made Mevi lost within the first few turns of the road. By an hour past they seemed to have effortlessly descended four or five levels in the city terrace, but Mevi didn’t recall going down any slopes or stairs. They were making a remarkably fast pace with Zelkan as their guide. They must’ve been traveling for several hours with a deafening silence over their party, no one asking where they were going, how long they would be traveling, or even making pleasant conversation. They simply followed Zelkan in a silence that began to worry Mevi.

Mevi lost track of time, it was already difficult to keep track of time in the Barge without an obvious light cycle, but within the Undercity it was perpetually dark. Her body seemed to yearn to sleep in the dimness of the streets. The distance they had traveled seemed to have taken them far away from the dense population centers, even the streets seemed empty and sleepy with so few people braving the dark. Zelkan seemed to notice Mevi’s growing sluggishness and spoke without slowing their pace, “My lady, we must continue downward if we are to make decent time. If you cannot continue walking, I would advise your Sentinel to carry you.”

“I apologize, Zelkan… The darkness down here is simply confusing my body, I think. I can continue for a while. But I am curious how far we must go.” Mevi replied, trying to shake off the creeping sleep.

“Modrak resides deep in the Undercity, past even the outskirts.”

“Past the outskirts? I remember Modrak was closer to the scrap heaps?” Saerin interjected.

“You remember wrong.” Zelkan said with a drip of toxin in his voice.

The conversation was cut there. Zelkan’s mood became more serious, or dread-heavy, as they progressed downward. Saerin seemed to want to reply in a smart way, but seemed to decide against it after considering Zelkan’s mood. They continued to travel in silence, delving deeper and deeper into the Undercity’s depths. As they continued, Mevi could see Saerin staring hard at her surroundings as the dark continued to become thicker as they descended. Mevi offered Saerin a hand, which was gladly taken with the dark becoming more and more powerful.

The journey was quiet and the air was tense as the five of them continued further into the Undercity, they seemed to travel for another few hours beyond what already felt like a day’s journey. The Undercity transformed before Mevi’s eyes from a bustling populace to barren ruins. Most of the area they walked after reaching where Saerin could hardly see became loosely populated ruins, what could be described as the dredges of society; despite the Undercity already considered the dredges of the Magi’s society. Most buildings hugged tightly to the looming walls and thick support beams, but as the terraced city’s bounds became wider so were the residents forced to build their homes in the open. Most structures that were not attached to the strong metal walls seemed to be in disrepair, if not entirely abandoned. Yet even in the far depths of the Undercity there were still many people peering cautiously at Mevi and her companions.

Mevi felt herself becoming legitimately tired as they continued further into the Undercity depths, or what might now have been considered the outskirts. Mevi was curious about the layout of the city and what resided within its reaches, but she felt asking unnecessary questions would only force up unwanted memories in Zelkan. Mevi was not sure exactly how to handle her companion’s dread and anger, Zelkan was normally so calm that his new attitude was like she was dealing with a new person entirely. After Saerin stumbled against a jutting piece of metal scrap in the crude pathway, one of many stumbles at this point as her eyes became almost useless in the near-dark, Zelkan finally stopped. “We make camp here. I will search for an empty building that can suit us, stay here and off the road until I return.”

“Shouldn’t we stay together?” Mevi called after Zelkan as he walked away.

“I will be fine, stay off the road.” Zelkan simply replied.

After he left the Sentinel took to standing over the three of them, placing itself between Mevi and the road Zelkan warned of staying atop. The three of them subsequently walked off the road and the Sentinel did as its title bid, watching the area carefully for any sign of danger or movement. Ouapi made herself comfortable on the rough road, sitting in a sort of meditation while Saerin and Mevi stood idly against a tall support. The area they had been traveling through was mostly abandoned, or it seemed to be abandoned. The path they had been walking might be called a road, if it wasn’t simply the only flat surface in these dark depths; the rest being rounded structures that were becoming more and more reminiscent of the Pipes. By this point it had been at least two hours since the last time Mevi had seen a living soul on the roadway, most hid within their houses and rarely peeked their heads out of windows long enough for Mevi to even get a glimpse of life. Their group had walked past several people that were on the road, but were plainly dead and stripped of anything valuable. In many cases they were being actively eaten by strange scavenger creatures, rat-like things with eight legs rather than four and almost impossible to get a good look at with their immense speed. This region, which Mevi assumed to be the ‘Outskirts’, was a ghost town with the decaying corpses to accompany it.

Zelkan returned, ducking out of an alleyway and back onto the road. Gesturing for the group to follow him once more, they all entered into the back alleys until they found a small abandoned house. The structures this far out had no tall walls to cling to, the terrain stretching longer and farther the further down the terraced city you went. By this point this level of the Undercity must’ve gone on for a league or two without a change in elevation and seemed to have plenty of distance yet to cover. Descending further only promised even longer stretches with progressively smaller houses, if any were built or survived at all. Most buildings were squat things, lacking support of a strong wall to build upon, and they fell apart in crumbling ruins even while people lived within. This building Zelkan had found for them was no different, it seemed to only have one floor with no roof, but it at least had all four walls with no windows. There was only one obvious entrance, other than a few small cracks in the higher parts of the walls that a small creature might scuttle through. With no door, the Sentinel put himself next to the entrance to watch it diligently, while Zelkan had already begun laying out the cloaks they had brought as make-shift beds.

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Once their campsite was finished, their five cloaks wrapped as padding against the metal floor along with a handful of food supplies stacked in the center, Zelkan began to take out his weapon to maintain it. Ouapi was doing the same, but Saerin and Mevi were still standing there quietly. Zelkan had forgotten to activate one of their illuminators for Saerin to see again, so Mevi took out hers to activate its beam. Zelkan looked up towards Mevi, his expressions hidden in the dark tint of the low light, and rushed over to snatch the illuminator away to deactivate it. Mevi was surprised and stumbled backwards, causing the Sentinel to move forward protectively before Mevi stopped it with a reassuring hand. “We cannot risk any light!” Zelkan said urgently.

“I apologize, again… I didn't know, and Saerin can’t see very well down here.” Mevi stuttered out, realizing she did something wrong.

Zelkan, still holding the illuminator tightly in his hand, seemed to soften his posture until he collapsed to the ground to sit, “No… I apologize, my lady. I have been an improper aid. I should have told you rather than assuming. I will accept any punishment you deem fit.”

“Punishment? Why would I do that, Zelkan? You haven’t done anything wrong, you simply want to protect me. I know that.”

“I haven’t been open, and I allowed sour memories to get the better of my mood that might’ve endangered us with my silence.” Zelkan sighed, and seemed to become smaller as his anger, dread, and confidence melted into a vulnerable sadness.

Mevi could almost know what he was feeling. His sadness flowed out of him like streaming tears that Mevi could recognize as easily as her own emotions. Mevi sat next to him, placing a hand on his where it lay on the cold metal ground. Zelkan straightened himself, as if preparing for something uncomfortable. “I should be honest with you, my lady. Keeping secrets is a poor thing to do as your aid.” Zelkan said suddenly.

“You don’t need to tell me anything you don’t want to, Zelkan. But I would be lying if I wasn’t concerned… and curious.” Mevi replied with as much tenderness as she could give.

“I was not recruited into the Magi’s service, like most of my peers. I joined willingly. A long time ago, when I lived in the Undercity.” He paused, as if recalling a painful memory. “It was difficult living here, and I thought the Magi could save me from it. I joined for entirely selfish reasons, and at the time I didn’t truly believe in the Magi or their purpose. But it was Modrak who changed that for me.” Turning to face Mevi, he seemed to debate what exactly to say. “I was first welcomed as a tributary. The lowest level of the hierarchy, ones who don’t even receive a calling. We tributaries offer our bodies in exchange for safety and sustenance. Mana comes from living things and is normally extracted passively you see, but a tributary lives to give what might be within to help power the Barge we graciously inhabit. I would be lying if I said it seemed like a good trade, but I was fed and kept healthy in exchange for essentially no work or effort on my part.” As Zelkan paused to continue, Mevi thought she could see the outline of a subtle smile but the darkness prevented any real detail escaping from under the mask. “Then Modrak came. He made a habit to visit the tributaries, even sometimes venturing into the Undercity or Pipes themselves too. He would test those he found, spending days in the filth that we willingly lived within. Those he found suitable were taken away, never to be seen again. I had always assumed they were deemed too useless to even be a tributary, but it was later when I found out his real purpose. He was saving us, in a way. Finding those with the talent, aptitude, education, or anything that could prove actually useful to the Magi. Modrak would somehow convince those above him to promote us to a higher standing, and he would mold us into useful servants of the Magi.”

Zelkan stopped speaking, a dour shroud overtook whatever pleasant memory might’ve been. He took several moments to gather himself again before he could continue his tale. As he mustered his courage and he began with a depressed sigh, “I was his last pupil. He was like a father to me, as I never knew my own parents. I only knew survival at any cost. Modrak removed that mindset from me, and gave me a purpose. Raising me through the ranks of the initiates and eventually my ascension to acolyte was near. But then something happened. Modrak was experimenting with something, working on a project given to him by Lord Magi Odion. It was Modrak and Lord Magi Odion’s Magi Apprentice-in-training, one who should have become co-apprentice with Alestair. The two of them were bright minds, no secret of the Barge could withstand their combined attention. Her name was Ress’kasa, she was a creature that was beautiful despite scale and claw. I think they loved each other once. But it didn’t matter in the end.”

Zelkan sat for a moment, not speaking, only staring at the ground blankly before starting again. “I had received a missive to assist Modrak and Ress’kasa, simply as an extra pair of hands while they worked. When I arrived things were dire, something had gone wrong in whatever experiment they worked on. Mana, electricity, and dangerous gasses were out of control in their lab. I rushed in, hoping to find and save them. The searing gasses, whatever they were, charred my skin and melted flesh. It is the reason I wear a mask to this day. Yet even despite my attempt to penetrate the danger, at risk to my own body, nothing could be done. But then I saw Modrak, standing over Ress’kasa’s body as if nothing had happened. Staring down at the corpse like one might regard a dropped tool or fallen chair. He was unfazed by the writhing chaos around him, and instead stared down at Ress’kasa’s corpse like it was an incredible annoyance. There, beside the two of them, was an out of control experiment. A ball of some sort, exploding with energy powerful enough to instantly melt steel. Modrak simply reached a hand out, grasped the orb, and the chaos subsided. Just like that. All the chaos, danger, and my own sacrifice was meaningless as the air cleaned and dissipated into normalcy.” Zelkan clenched his fists, as a fit of frustrated anger began to creep in. “A wave of his hand and what had killed Ress’kasa and had mauled me, all of it was gone…” Zelkan sighed, grief obvious in the conflicted emotions that infected his voice. “He was like another person after the incident. Cruel, logical, willing to use or abuse any to further his experiments. Lord Magi Odion seemed to feel his knowledge, which was apparently gained from his botched experiment, was worth keeping. Even so we held a funeral for Ress’kasa, something that almost never happens apart from the most important individual. Everyone in our facility attended, Alestair even arrived to give a speech. But Modrak was nowhere to be seen. At some point Modrak decided he couldn’t reasonably work within the facility, so Lord Magi Odion gave him leave to venture into the Undercity to continue his experiments. I tried visiting him, tried reasoning with the man who I respected for so long. But I only found a monster that experimented upon living ‘volunteers’ coerced into offering themselves like tributaries. The very thing he had once before tried to stop the practice of.”

Zelkan became quiet. The story drained him as his last word left. He seemed to finish his tale, and sat there quietly in somber silence. Mevi squeezed his hand, unsure what to say at such a revelation. Even Saerin seemed almost shocked and disgusted at the details of Zelkan’s recount. They sat there in silence, until Zelkan muttered, “That monster is no longer Modrak. It is not even a person anymore.” But with that final comment the conversation was done. They soon situated themselves at the basic campsite and began their rest. With the promise of more walking in the dark whenever they might wake up. The Sentinel diligently guarded them as they slept, and it was a welcome comfort for Mevi. The idea of this Modrak, what had happened and what he might be doing even now, unsettled Mevi. Knowing the Sentinel was there gave her an air of safety, but it didn’t prevent Mevi from wondering what this Modrak could possibly offer to her task. She silently hoped this madman would not need to travel with her, but she feared that was exactly what the Magi had intended.

As they rested, the night was short. Well, if it could be called night. Mevi and her companions awoke after only a few hours of sleep and relaxation. Before long after the last of their number awoke, so few getting any real sleep in the desolate dark, Zelkan hurried them to continue. By his memory, they were less than an hour away from Modrak’s personal facility and this rest would be needed for the strength that waited for them ahead.