“So you want us to go… where, again?” Atraas asked. His gaze on Nelson was deadpan. He did not believe what he had just been told but knew full well what Nelson had said.
Inleet herself was not impressed, and she glared at Nelson in horror. “You know the lands of the dead are not something we can just sneak in and out of, right?” She asked, her tone blunt.
“Not to mention the ground-elves,” Atraas agreed. “Everyone says they’re just an old wives’ tale to scare young children, but I swear to the Goddesses, I saw one!”
Sighing, Nelson looked between the two. “I can’t force you to go with me,” he began, shaking his head. “But your second pay from our benefactor will only come if we succeed in our mission to sort this out. That the trail leads towards the Underworld is…” he paused, looking for the words he needed. “An adventure none of us expected, sure, but we’ll be fine. Maybe.”
“Oh, I feel so confident now, thank you!” Inleet barked out her sarcastic r
Finding a way around Ket and the demonic beast, Nelson couldn’t help but notice it had wounds from previous skirmishes. If that had been here or somewhere else, however, he wasn’t sure. What he knew was that most of them were concentrated in the same area. This could only mean one of a few things. One was that this beast was originally a pet or slave of someone and that was the spot they used to make it do as commanded, or those who fought it off knew something he did not. Either way, he guessed that if he struck that area, he might see better results than aiming for a direct fight. It was a plan, at least. He just had to make sure that he could gain enough height for it to count. Climbing up one of the dilapidated buildings, Nelson did his best to ensure his footing was strong before he pulled out some of his throwing knives. He had come prepared for battle, but he hadn’t expected to be in a fight so soon. Ket had yet to notice him, but that was fine
The first thing Nelson did was have the twins eavesdrop on the children. Finding out if they lived nearby, or were orphans, was the first clue on how to deal with them as a whole. Most who lived with parents were harder to sway into doing things you needed them to do, but an orphan looking for some quick profit would be much more willing.When he had his answer, the next task would be to figure out what they wanted out of life. Money, a rare item that only the jerk across the street had, or the chance to see the person they loved. Then, Nelson could find a way of convincing them he could help.Or he could just steal something from the group and get them to give chase. Sometimes the simplest plan was the best one and lucky for him, these kids were orphans who had just come into a small amount of coin.“You have a good sense of the place’s layout, right?” Nelson asked Inleet in hushed whispers. The three were accustomed to this form of distractio
An icy breeze swept through the area, causing the fog to swirl and dance around them. Nelson REALLY did not like this at all, and he turned his back against Ket so that nothing could sneak up behind him. The twins followed suit. “So, what are we dealing with?” Nelson asked, his voice kept low, though whatever had been stalking them was likely already close enough to hear him. Ket let out a low hiss and replied, “unknown. Not a thing marshes have.” “Oh. Wonderful,” Nelson sighed out and shook his head. The spirit clinging to him made a little chuckle. He wondered if it knew what it was, or if it could tell where it was. He wanted to ask it but doubted it would tell him much. After all, the spirit had been quiet until now. It surprised him when it said, ‘watch the fog.’ Glancing at the level the fog was at now, he realised it had again risen higher than where it had been before. It had gone from his ankles to his knees and was now at his hips. T
A few smaller demon fights later, the group finally made it to the end of their annoyingly long journey. Nelson hadn’t thought that there could ever be such an expansive maze-like city within the mountains just from their outside appearance, and he hoped he never had to deal with this shitty place again.The dim light from outside told him it was a little after sunset, so what sunlight they had left would not last long. He cursed inwardly but gazed out around the hole.What he saw surprised him. This was not a normal exit at all and appeared more to be a crumbled opening from either an explosion or some other force that might cause the mountain’s wall to collapse. Below him were the ocean’s rough sea and a series of rocks that looked far too slippery to give decent footing.“Could the one you’re after really have escaped this way?” He asked, unsure if he wanted the answer to his question. “There were other paths, right?
Teasels’ constant yapping was annoying Nelson. Though Ket was right about one thing. He was helpful with their mission to get to the entrance into the Underworld. With any blockage they encountered, Teasel moved it with ease. Any time they needed a new blockage to prevent a demon from stalking them, he did so.The entrance itself was like a cave within the mountainside, but after a few steps, it sloped downwards in unsteady ledges. Teasel was quiet now as they got lower and lower into the ground. Nelson wasn’t sure how much light they would have left as they were leaving the surface where the rattus had made sure the cave had offered light via their alchemy.He was fairly sure they had passed a few smaller openings in the sides of the path they took, though if they led anywhere or ended at some point further in, he wasn’t sure. Ket let Teasel guide them down, knowing he could read the earth with his natural magical ability.The twins followed d
The end of the small path finally gave Nelson some peace of mind. He was not afraid of tight spaces, but he knew that one wrong move and he would have been in a very tight situation.He heard the sound of rats again, but outside of that, he couldn’t see anything within the large cave opening. Though there were areas where the light of the mushrooms did not reach.He tried to get as much of the scope of the area as he could, but from what he could tell, things seemed safe. He turned to Teasel and asked, “what do you think?”The fae shrugged and flew around the cave, and then returned with a shrug. “Hear ratties, but not see any. Maybe they don’t like me?” He said, sounding sad. “But no demons! So I’ll get the others!”Nelson didn’t get the chance to agree or deny him, as he was already gone before he could open his mouth.He glanced back around the cave and folded his arms. He frowned when
The red-haired beauty took the group into the castle and into what Nelson could only assume was the throne room. When she reached the throne, she casually sat down on it and studied the group intently. Nelson wasn’t sure if she should sit there or not, but he waited for her to speak nonetheless.When she finally did, she said, “I will ask once and only once. Pay attention or I will throw you into the lava.” She paused, giving the group a narrowed stare. She then asked, “What are you doing down in my domain?”Nelson glanced behind him at the others, but the twins were far too terrified to respond. Ket and Teasel were quiet too, though they seemed far less scared. He then looked back at the red-haired beauty. If she was the one demanding things, then it was no mistake. She was the Goddess of the Underworld.He wanted to study her more, but he realised by her growing frown she was getting impatient. “I have come here to find the
“So… is no one going to question why the Goddess of fucking DEATH just let us come and go?” Atraas asked as soon as he was no longer in sight of the woman in question. He kept his voice low enough so that the Celestial couldn’t hear him.Inleet walked next to Nelson and looked at her brother with a look of agreement. “Right!?” She said, speaking up a little louder. “What did she tell you anyway, Nelson?” She then asked.“About our mission, and that she couldn’t help us… but she is technically helping us,” he said, glancing at the Celestial. He wondered if they could read his thoughts too? Either way, he was hesitant to think of anything incriminating. Though he couldn't help but let his thoughts stray. This being was so attractive that it almost seemed a shame they could not breed.Cristial looked straight at Nelson, causing him to fluster. He hid his sudden distracted thoughts and looked