[Baldr’s POV]
I watch as Mansoon push past everyone to catch the dwarf. The dwarf flung a flask with a pearl color out of his belt and shoved the flask into his mouth. Instantly it made the dwarf’s small figure faster.
Suddenly Hexa shouts, awaking the group from their daze, "Catch him!".
Making the rest of the group scramble after Mansoon and the dwarf.
I had been confused most of this ride along, the only thing I had collected from this adventure is that fighting is almost like breathing to me. I can guide myself around attacks and hit hard, so whoever this previous Baldr was, was probably a combat genius.
I followed Saaxol who made quick turns around the labyrinth of the city until they found Mansoon standing above a manhole.
"Well?" Hexa spat out in-between breaths.
"The dwarf went down there, probably thinking he's some evil genius with making the sewers his base of operations" Mansoon points down into the manhole.
"How about I get the guards and you guys make sure Hammerhead doesn't escape? Oh and make sure to find my journal! It'll fix all of our problems!" Presto told us.
I nod at Presto, even though most of the guards may be busy already. This also told me that Presto most likely wanted Hammerhead to be captured alive too. I hope Mansoon got the same reading. To me, Mansoon is a ruthless and unforgiving man, so I'll have to make sure Mansoon doesn't try to ruthlessly kill Hammerhead.
Mansoon kicks open the manhole and jumps down. I look up at Saaxol, and shrug as I jump into the manhole. Hexa and Saaxol follow behind with Bud begrudgingly jumping down too.
“Blaahhhh this smells like puke, piss, shit and sweat down here” Bud shouts that as the putrid smell hits me, I cover my nose with a sleeve. I look over into the murky sludge that surrounds the walkway of the sewer, I can’t see my own reflection because of how dirty it is.
"They used to have a working aqueduct down here but it broke a few years back. Ever since then every hot summer day the entire city smells like a sewer" Hexa explains with a sigh "The city hasn't fixed it only because they have no money to".
"Kinda weird place to put an evil lair though" Saaxol said while walking towards a fork in the tunnel system “Hate to smell this every single day”.
I look ahead on both of the paths, not being able to see the end of the endless void of the sluggish tunnels.
Bud points to the left of him, "he is one hundred thousand percent that way".
"What makes you say that, Bud" I say with my head tilted.
Bud winked at me, "It's just what my mind says, I always go left instead of right! Always worked out for me!"
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I slowly nodded, not fully grasping Bud's logic but instead of arguing, "Alright! Let's go left then".
Mansoon raises his eyebrows at me, "Are we really going to go left just because of some backwards logic?"
"Got any better ideas?" Hexa interjected with a shrug, "We have no clue where he went" Hexa then began to walk the left tunnel, Bud and I following beside her.
I look back and see Saaxol pat Mansoon's back. Mansoon fires his hands up in the sickening air particles and then sulks behind the group. Each step we would take an echo would bounce around the curved walls.
Bud yelled as a loud echo followed him “Feel the walls for secret rooms, he's probably in a secret room”.
Mansoon shakes his head at Bud “I highly doubt that”.
I swept my hands on the walls feeling the white powdery deposit grow attached to my hand until I felt something metallic, that makes a small ball. I find that I am actually holding a doorknob that looks hidden with the walls surrounding it.
"Hey guys, I found something" I point at the doorknob on the wall,
Bud smiles and nudges his elbow into Mansoon,"I told ya we would find him here didn't I?"
Mansoon rolls his eyes and I slowly start to turn the doorknob as glass shattering echoes from inside.
Dim candlelight could be seen from inside a large square room with tables that are cluttered with large dragonflies, flowers, salts, herbs and all sorts of strange items. Tucked away in the corner are three cauldrons with red smoke coming from all 3 of them.
Saaxol nods at us as he sneaks into the room, Saaxol turns back over to us and says, "We found him"
The rest of the group and I come rushing in with weapons drawn. I see Hammerhead standing on a barrel surveying us with a frown. Hammerhead then quickly uncorks a metallic-looking potion on his belt and makes sure every drop enters his body.
Mansoon reaches into his cloak and tries to throw a knife at Hammerhead's hand with the potion but it was too late. The knife bounces off of Hammerhead as Hammerhead starts growing in size until he is bigger than everyone in the room. Hammerhead lets out a booming chuckle,
"You all messed with the wrong potion maker today".
Hammerhead grabs a barrel besides him and chucks it at us, Hexa runs up and brilliantly cuts it clean with her long sword with a dark murky liquid sprayed onto her as the barrel explodes open.
“You’ll have to try better than that” Hexa raises her sword as Hammerhead lets out another booming chuckle,
“You fool! Don’t you know I’m a potion maker? WHAT DO YOU THINK LANDED ON YOU?”
Hexa widens her eyes as she starts to move unrealistically slow.”
Mansoon shouts at the rest of us, “Allllllright we're already down one person! Baldr and Saaxol attack him from two different angles and distract him as I prepare a spell!”
Bud then runs up to Hexa, “I can remove the effect if I'm given enough time”.
I nod to Saaxol as I run toward Hammerhead left and Saaxol runs towards the right.
Hammerhead throws two barrels at me and I jump on top one and bounce off of it to land a strike on Hammerhead, but right before I land the strike, Hammerhead summons in a warhammer and hits me like a baseball. I go flying into barrels with liquid that burns my skin as I land into them, leaving red splodges all over my arms.
Saaxol then bludgeons his staff into the side of Hammerhead’s head. Hammerhead quickly turns around and kicks Saaxol in the stomach and Saaxol lets out wheeze.
A white bright light forms around Mansoon and when he takes a step towards Hammerhead a gust of air pushes around him.
“Guess it is my time to shine”.
As Bud was casting a spell on Hexa, he laughed, “Hehe. You’re shining”.