Maki glared at the Uldannish man. “He wasn’t lying. If you’re here when I come back, I will cut you into pieces and chum the water with your remains.”

  As they walked towards the docks, Reina grabbed her pencil and worked out a cramp in her writing hand. “That was incredibly useful, and these are some of the best notes I’ve had in a while.”

  “Glad you’re enjoying yourself. Thank goodness you didn’t ask anything during the questioning. You may have actually helped,” Rook said with a chuckle.

  She glared at him. “Anyways, how do we get to the underground?”

  “It’s hidden by runes, and we’ve had issues finding it for as long as I’ve been in the guard. It’s said to be the best place and worst place to buy merchandise.”

  Maki frowned. “I may know a way. Let me report to the Chief, and I will meet you at the fish vendors.”

  “Nicely done,” Jody said, with a nod of approval. “Looks like we’re heading down a level,” he laughed at his own joke.

  * * *

  The fish vendors were ruthless in their attempts to solicit their wares from Rook. Regardless of his outfit, which consisted of a simple linen shirt, pants, and calf-high boots. His leather armor felt natural, but it was hot, and he kept it in his inventory.

  “I was under the impression that the Uldannish people worshipped the Bloodstone. I mean, you guys saw the symbols and the shrines,” Troy said.

  “We learn something new every day, man.”

  Maki joined them several moments later, wearing a cowl that resembled a scuba diver’s hood. Instead of neoprene, it was made of a light fabric. Her face paint was washed off, revealing a trademark perfume commercial, beautiful face. She had deep blue eyes, tanned skin, and full bronze lips. Rook pretended to look at the fish. The last thing I want is for her to think I’m a creep. Troy, on the other hand, is not so much. The Lieutenant was standing gawking as if his brain was buffering.

  “Wow, Maki, you look beautiful,” Reina said, inspecting her outfit.

  “Thanks, Reina.” Maki’s trademark Uldannish features were hidden by a black hood; she wore black clothes and grey armor that accented it, perfect for an assassination. Her black longsword was changed for a dagger, and tied to a belt on her waist.

  “Let’s get out of here and go somewhere quiet,” Troy said, leading them towards the entrance of the docks. “The reason the underground is so difficult to find is that the location moves each day.”

  Rook sighed in relief that he wouldn’t be walking through alleyways filled with muckwater. Troy explained that this portion of Ollar was so run down due to the higher crime rate and the lower income of most residents here. How fitting it is here by the docks.

  They reached a building guarded by a bulldog of a man, dressed in heavy leather armor. He nodded to Troy and regarded the rest of them. “Here is an operation house, we have them placed around the city as quick response units.” He opened a door to a single room with a bed, a round table, and a tray of ale mugs.

  Maki looked unimpressed by what Troy was saying, the building itself, and every person in the operations house. “Is there an issue?” Troy asked, with a lopsided smile.

  “No, I don’t like the guard. I don’t like this place, and I don’t like you. I don’t have a problem. You are the problem.”

  “I thought that may be the case.” Troy gave her a sad smile. “I hope we can get the child back before you have to spend too much time around me.”

  “One can only hope to be so lucky.”

  Rook regarded Maki. “You know, Maki, your sour attitude is making you a bit of an asshole. I know how it feels to be hated just by doing your job, Troy.” He stared for a long moment. “Troy is trying to help, just as Reina and I are trying to help. Phane came in the middle of the night to get the request to Brianna in her tavern.”

  Reina nodded at Rook, almost as if to say, let her have it.

  “Bah.” Maki was going to spit, but thought better. “What happened to my brother, who was beaten within an inch of his life by the last Lieutenant patrolling this area, hmm? He barely made it, then refused to go into Ollar after that.”

  “What do you think happened to Lieutenant Havner, my predecessor?” Troy puffed out a breath. “He was hanged for that. We take a strict oath to protect Ollar; to willfully disobey is to die.”

  Maki didn’t have a response. She crossed her arms and waited. Well, now whose face is the egg on? It wasn’t long before there was a knock at the door. The bulldog man walked into the room.

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  “Hello everyone, name’s Lieutenant Orrin. I have it on good authority that tonight’s underground market is going to be beneath the forges in the trading district. Midnight, don’t be late.” Without another word, he handed Troy a parchment and left the room.

  “Well, we have some time to kill, best get some rest.”

  The dark streets of Ollar were a stark contrast to the daytime raucous streets. No more smell of baking bread, working forges, and oiled tanners. The damp smell of distant rain hung in the air, leaving somber feelings. Rook’s weariness dragged on his spirits, as if he were wearing a wet blanket. It didn’t help that his mind raced through the mission the hours prior. At least he was able to catch at least a bit of a wink of sleep. Reina, on the other hand, looked like she could use a gallon of coffee. She donned a set of Bronze green leather armor that protected her torso, arms, and legs. Rook glanced back over his shoulder. Troy ditched his heavy iron armor and replaced it with a leather form-fitting set of brown armor. Following close behind was Maki, silent as a ghost. There was a set of cheap scalemail in the safe house that mostly fit. Rook had never worn metal armor in the past; therefore, he wasn’t aware of the nagging pains that wearing unfitted armor gave. His ribs and under his armpits were being pinched with any exaggerated movements. This is going to be a long mission.

  Their footsteps gave off a dull echo on the cobble as they cut through alleys, trying to draw as little attention as possible. On the way, Rook staved off the shivers when they passed the cold eyes of a man crouching in an alley. Another one of the homeless? He wasn’t the only one; they passed multiple alleys full of the desperate and the broken, eyeing them like old haunts of a graveyard. Shit, the problem is really evident after dark. They came upon the forges, and it wasn’t long before the stale smell of metal hit Rook’s nose. This is it.

  “Okay,” Troy whispered. Keep this same formation. The password, if we get separated and questioned, is bloody moon.”

  They turned to the dark, narrow, sketchy set of stairs leading below the forge building. Don’t fall. He hated this darkness, the dark of the unknown. This is the type of place where ghosts hung out, and out of all the lessons he’s learned in life, ghosts scared the everloving shit out of him. Rook shuffled his feet down in the darkness, feeling for every stair edge to ensure he didn’t eat shit. The last thing he wanted to do was fall into a trap. If any stories are true for monsters of Yorthon, that means every single story has to hold some credence.

  “Wait,” Rook whispered, feeling the wall in front of them. “There’s a wall here, and no other way.”

  “Its runed, give me a moment,” Troy whispered, crinkling the paper. “Wait, why the hell did I not bring a light?”

  This is what happens when you don’t do a proper pre-combat check. You end up with no light. Rook thought. Then again, I didn’t have one either. He chuckled at his hypocritical thought.

  “Nobody has a light then?” Jody asked, with an amused tone.

  “No, Sentinel,” Troy responded.

  “Do we need to go back until we can read it?” Rook whispered, staring at the wall.

  “No,” Maki hissed. “Give it to me.” She took the parchment and flattened it against the cold wall. “When you get to the first door.” She paused. “In the darkness, there must be silence.”

  The wall in front of Rook lit blue with a symbol. Terrified, he almost piled into Reina behind him.

  “Rook, damn it,” Reina said, holding him with a stiff arm. “Be careful,” she hissed.

  “Sorry, it came out of nowhere,” Rook whispered back.

  “Thanks,” Troy whispered, stuffing the paper back into his pack.

  “Save your thanks until we finish,” Maki said dismissively.

  “I’ll find a way to properly thank you for finding us a way in,” Troy said with a curious tone.

  Rook felt the edge of Reina’s elbow jab him. I know the tension is thick, and Troy is really trying to lay on the charm.

  The symbol pulsed for a moment until the wall in front of them turned into a luminescent doorway, humming with power. Rook looked into the door; on the other side was a large space with doors lining the left and right sides of the room.

  “Ready?” Troy asked.

  They walked into the room. Sour smoke filled the air, and Rook’s head became syrupy slow. He turned towards the rest of the group. “Is this magic?”

  Troy threw him a towel and shook his head. “Cover your face. It’s Walla,” he said the word as if it left a bad taste in his mouth.

  Reina brought up a cover of her own. “Walla is another reason that many of the homeless are looked down upon. The council is afraid that they’ll start a drug epidemic.” She looked around the room, for as small as it was, it must have had at least sixty people.

  Spaces were cut into the left and right sides of the walls, with cushions and pillows that Ollar residents lay strung about. An opium den here in Ollar. Rook pinched the bridge of his nose as they walked to a large cage set into one side of the room.

  A single man stood, crossed-armed, staring at them with a snarl. “What’s your poison? Walla? The pits?” The man asked.

  He was as big as a troll, from behind a desk, protected by the iron bars. His red hair was spiked into a tall red mohawk. His hawkish nose was hidden beneath a face mask. He tapped a finger on the desk, progressively quicker as he waited for Troy to make his way to the front of the group. He silently cursed to himself. “I ain’t got all day. In fact, I only got the night before the reset.”

  “We’re looking to buy something, a bit more special than Walla,” Troy answered.

  The vendor leaned forward. “Password.”

  “Bloody Moon.”

  The man walked over towards the iron door, unlocking it with a key. He waved them in, giving them all a once-over with shifty eyes. Rook sighed, staring at a trap door with an iron ring handle.

  “Well, go down,” The vendor said, annoyed at Rook’s hesitation.

  “Alright, keep your pants on,” Rook said, moving down the rungs of a moist ladder. “Careful, it’s slippery.” Rook’s voice drifted up the shaft in an echo. His heart began to pulse with the sporadic tempo as panic set in. Fucking dark stairs, now a dark shaft. He paused on the rung and blinked. He knew the stories his grandfather used to tell, but seeing was a totally different ballgame.

  “You ok?” Reina said, her voice angelic in the gloom.

  It broke his train of thought, and the setting panic dissipated. Honestly, I don’t know. “Yes, now I am.” Rook lied. Ten more rungs and his boots reached the sweet ground at the bottom. Inhaling a calming breath, he let stale damp air remain in his lungs for a few moments, and then slowly exhaled. The soft glow of an orange crystal illuminated a round tunnel. It was the size of his fist jutting from the wall like a wildflower and warm to the touch. Reminder to self, get a damned light source.

  Reina reached the ground shortly after. She regarded him with a curious glance. “Not afraid of the dark, are you?”

  “It’s not that I’m afraid, it’s just untrustworthy.”

  Reina chewed on her lip, then gave a nod. She’s going to make fun of me. That’s fine, I’ve heard it all from my Soldiers. Rook fixed her with a level gaze and shrugged his shoulders. “It’s just.” Rook paused, thinking as the echoing of boots came down the rungs. “I saw something that changed my view of the dark forever.” Rook thought about the stairwell, staring between the rails in the dark hallway.

  Everysekai

  by Bluesycobalt

  > Female Lead with cast of developed side-characters

  > A lot of poking at Isekai tropes

  > Rational and Underpowered Protagonist fighting for her life

  > 1500-2500 Word Chapters

  Updates MWF at 7:10pm EST