by Tony Johnson
“You’ve got to be kidding me!” Kari yelled in frustration. As soon as she uttered her words of despair, a shadowed monster descended the ladder. The final rays of the setting sun briefly illuminated the monster, but, once the sewer entrance above closed, it was lost in darkness.
Suddenly, an arrow flew at them from the dark void. It whizzed past Kari, narrowly missing her.
“We’re trapped!” Steve said. There’s a monster in front of us and a horde behind us!
“No, we’re not!” claimed Ty as he handed Kari his scimitar. He bent down and picked up the body of the dead orc and yelled, “Get behind me!”
Kari, then Steve, got in a single file line behind Ty and followed closely as he ran forward, using the orc’s body as a shield against the incoming arrows.
If this orc hadn’t already been dead, he surely would be by now, Ty thought, hearing the third arrow slam into the monster’s back. Once he got close enough to the monster archer, he tossed the orc to the side and ducked.
Kari, who was right behind him, closed her eyes and swung Ty’s scimitar with all her strength. She didn’t know what she hit, but she felt the blade bite into something. Daring to look, she saw that the large monster that had been firing at them was a black-and-white-furred minotaur. The scimitar had sunk halfway through the side of its neck. It was so deep, it took her two tugs to pull it out. She handed the weapon back to the Elf who, impressed by her kill, marveled, “You might be more talented with a blade than you are with a bow.”
Kari smiled, but she knew no other weapon would ever usurp her archery skills. “Maybe, but I think I’ll leave the swordfighting to you two,” she quipped, hurriedly discarding her empty quiver. She replaced it with the quiver full of arrows Ty handed her, having taken it off the dead minotaur’s back.
With the fierce growls of the mob of monsters getting louder behind them, the heroes increased their sprinting speed as they ran parallel to the sewer river. This time, however, Kari was the caboose of the group and began firing arrows behind her, trying to slow the monsters down.
“Something else is attacking them!” she said in surprise, after releasing her third arrow.
Momentarily confused as to what else would be attacking the monsters, Steve and Ty looked back, squinted, and saw that the Halfling wasn’t wrong. A handful of four-legged, gray creatures were attacking the monsters in the horde.
“I thought you said the rats wouldn’t attack!” Kari questioned Ty.
“Those aren’t rats,” the Elf defended himself. “They’re direrats. They must’ve been disturbed when Steve kicked the skeleton into the water.”
Four more of the giant rodents scurried out of the sewer river and aggressively launched themselves into the horde. With sharp claws and a mouthful of dagger-sharp teeth, direrats could cling to almost any surface. Two of them jumped and bit deep into an orc’s arm. One of them was chewing away at the orc’s shoulder and the other was on its bicep. The orc dropped its weapon and used its free arm to try to pull them off. It managed to grab one, but the slippery direrat broke free, ran up the orc’s arm, hopped over the direrat on its shoulder, and bit deep into the orc’s neck.
Another direrat was so large, it could sink its teeth deep into a monster’s knee without even jumping from the ground.
Kari conserved her arrows and let the direrats be the ones to help slow the approaching monsters.
“Now’s our chance to lose them once and for all! Come on!” Steve yelled.
Using the same strategy as before, they continued running. Steve was even slower than before, his limping becoming more prevalent, but luckily, the number of sewer path possibilities they could have gone down was a multitude higher than the number of monsters chasing them. They had drastically lowered their chances of encountering the enemy. Feeling safer, they slowed their pace to a light jog.
Even this pace seems too fast for Steve, Kari worried, listening to his heavy breathing from his badly bruised ribs. He might be hiding how much he’s hurting, trying to make us believe he’s better off than he is.
“We can slow down if you need us to,” she told him twice in less than ten minutes. Neither time did he slow down though. They continued to jog at the same pace for another hour.
The repetitiveness of the sewers did nothing to help pass the time. All the pipes looked similar with their slimy green color. There were a few times when the three heroes questioned if they had already traveled down the pipe they were in, but they knew the layout of the sewers made that impossible.
If we went backwards at any point, we would’ve gone uphill at some point, Steve reasoned, thinking about how the pipes were all downwardly slanted from the castle in the center of the city, enabling the sewer rivers to move smoothly out of the city.
Occasionally, they would find themselves in one of the pipes under a highly-trafficked road. Most of these had the name of the road above painted in big, white letters along the wall. The markings helped the heroes to know where they were and provided a visual picture of the city above. It made the journeying seem to take even longer. Being the capital, Celestial was a massive city. Walking from one side to the other was a challenging feat to complete in a single day. When Steve, Ty, and Kari reached Riverwalk Boulevard, they all complained, thinking about how little they had traveled and how far they still had to go.
Three times while running they were attacked by groups of direrats. There were never more than five in a group, which made the fighting easy. Between Steve’s Brightflame, Ty’s scimitar, and Kari’s bow and arrows, the heroes easily defeated the small monsters.
“We’ve been fending off direrats and, in the siege, I was chased by direwolves,” Kari talked as they slowed their pace and walked for a while. “I know they’re monsters, but why are they just bigger, more ferocious versions of regular animals?”
“I see it as the creator behind the creation,” Steve explained. “You’re right in that they’re all just larger, more horrific versions of regular animals. However, if you think about it, all monster species look very similar. It shows that when Zebulon created them to populate Element, they were quickly and lazily done, without much thought or care at all. Whereas with Alazar’s creations, there are four different races and everyone looks different. We all have our likes and dislikes and our own personalities. Then, when children are born, they tend to inherit the combined characteristics of their two parents, so you get more and more differentiation. However, while we’re unique, we’re still equal. I think when you consider that, it shows how much Alazar cares for us and took the time to put thought into his creations.”
“I’ve heard Zebulon experimented with his creations by trying to make monsters that looked like people so they could coexist with us without notice. In the end, all he ended up getting was deformed versions of people and that’s why we have orcs, goblins, drow, ogres, minotaurs, werewolves, and other Anthropomorphic Monsters that walk on two legs and vaguely resemble the form of people,” Kari explained and theorized.
“If that’s true, then I’m glad he failed in his creations because it would be horrible if monsters looked like us. We would never be able to know who to trust.”
For a while, they talked and walked. Finally, after what seemed like ages, the three companions came to the last ladder. They were at the end of the concrete walkway system that ran through all the large pipes in the sewers. Beyond it were smaller and narrower pipes with no walkways. The only way to travel farther would be to wade through the sewer river.
“Well, we’ve gone about half the distance from where we were to the edge of the city,” Ty said grudgingly, considering the distance remaining.
“Do you think it’s safe to go back up?” Kari asked, resting her hand on a rung of the ladder. “At least for a little bit to get fresh air?”
“No,” Steve answered definitively. “I’m sure Prince Silas ordered monsters to stand guard at all the main sewer entrances in this quadrant of the city. We won’
t be able to make it out without being spotted.”
“What are we supposed to do then?” Kari asked. “The concrete path doesn’t continue.”
“No, the path doesn’t continue, but the sewer river does.”
“You mean?” Kari asked, beginning to comprehend what both the warriors seemed to be considering. Petrified, she began walking backwards up the sewer pipe they had come down. It’s one thing to walk next to the river of excrement, but it’s another to walk in it! “No, we’re not,” she said in a voice full of disbelief.
“We hate it as much as you do,” Ty admitted. “But we’re left with no other options.” Together, he and Steve grabbed Kari underneath one of her elbows. They lifted her so that her feet dangled and carried her back to the edge of the platform.
Kari knew she wasn’t strong enough to break free of their grip, but that didn’t stop her from struggling every step of the way. When they reached the railing, she looked down into the slow-flowing greenish-brown river that was only four feet below her.
“Ladies first?” Ty asked Steve with a wide grin spreading across his face. Kari is probably going to shoot us for this.
“Ladies first,” Steve agreed, smiling back.
“No,” Kari said one more time, yet instead of being in disbelief, this “no” was a strict command to the two warriors not to throw her into the sewer river.
Steve and Ty playfully ignored her order as if they hadn’t even heard her.
“Okay then, on three,” Ty said. “One.”
“Two,” Steve added.
Then, in unison, Steve and Ty shouted, “Three!”
Chapter 33
The two brothers gently tossed Kari over the railing. With a splash, she landed feet first in the river. “Ewww, Ewww, Ewww,” she repeated, after landing. The disgusting green water went up to her waist, filled her leather boots, and seeped through her pantlegs.
I thought the smell of the river was bad before, but it’s ten times worse when you’re in it. It smells like feces, urine, and a skunk all mixed together.
She began gagging, but didn’t know whether it was caused by the terrible smell or by thinking about the content that was slowly floating along and brushing against her body.
“How is it?” Ty asked from above, looking down on Kari.
Still mentally telling herself not to throw up, she quipped, “More sanitary than you, Ty.”
Steve laughed as he lowered himself into the water using a short ladder attached to the walkway. He carefully held the torch above his head so as not to get it wet. Above him, Ty purposely kept a straight face and stared at Kari, pretending he didn’t find her funny. He couldn’t keep his demeanor for long though and soon found himself laughing.
Ty waited for Steve to disembark the ladder and then climbed down himself, groaning the more his body sank into the river, just as Kari had.
“This gives new meaning to the term waist-deep,” he muttered under his breath.
Aligning themselves as they were when they first entered the sewers, the torch-wielding Steve took the lead, Kari followed behind him, and Ty settled in behind her.
The going was slower than when they were on the walkways.
“At least it’s flowing downhill along with us,” Steve said, trying to keep Ty and Kari’s morale up, in addition to his own, even though the angle was less than one degree and barely made a difference.
Down every pipe they turned, more pipes branched off in a multitude of directions, matching the tangled layout of the streets above. Unlike before, Steve kept going straight as much as possible. That way, he knew they would not be backtracking or walking parallel to their intended direction.
It wasn’t more than an hour of slow traveling when Kari asked the question each of them was thinking. “How much longer do we have to be in here?”
“Until we’re as far as we can go,” replied Steve. “The more you head towards the edges of the city, the more streets there are. There will be many more exits from the sewers and I’m hoping the monsters won’t be able to cover all of them. Once we reach one of the barred cesspool runoffs, we’ll know we’ve reached the inner wall and are at the end of the sewers. We’ll find the closest ladder and head back up to the top. I don’t know what we’ll find, but we’ll scope it out and see if there’s a way we can get out of the city.”
Kari sighed, displeased with the fact they’d be in the river for so long. “What happens after that?” she asked. She always felt safer knowing the entire plan well in advance.
“I think we’re somewhere in the northeast quadrant of the sewers, so we’ll be exiting that section of the city. Ultimately, we need to get out of Celestial and go to the nearest town to tell them what’s happened. Word needs to spread about part of the army heading to Misengard. They must be stopped.”
“You make it sound as if it’ll be easy,” Ty said, shaking his head in bewilderment. “We have no idea how many monsters are under the Phantom’s command. There must be tens of thousands. It might even put Draviakhan’s Imperial Army to shame. Since when do you see orcs, ogres, cyclopses, and minotaurs all fighting on the same side? Plus, the spiders, dragons, and all the other Animal Monsters we saw? And don’t forget the skeletons. If the Army of the Living Dead was fighting for the Hooded Phantom, that means he has joined forces with my…” Ty trailed off, clearly uncomfortable with the topic.
As quickly as he stopped talking, he started again, “The Phantom’s army is a bunch of monster clans and armies all formed together, commanded by the Hooded Phantom, and led by his son, the Shadow Prince. We’ll be lucky if we make it out of these sewers alive, let alone this city.”
“We’ll survive,” Steve encouraged, but Ty and Kari both heard the hollowness in his voice, showing a lack of belief in his own words. He was trying to encourage himself as much as his two companions, but he knew all he was giving them was false hope.
No one talked for many hours as the traversed the gloomy boredom of the monotonous sewer pipes. The only variance was the size of the tunnels. Some of the smaller pipes were so short, Steve had to awkwardly hunch as he walked, since he stood tall at 6’1”. Others were so short and narrow the three had no option but to pass by them. Not even a Dwarf would be able to fit into the tiny cylinders.
In the quietness of their travel, all any of them could think about was the siege of Celestial. Flashbacks kept running through each of the minds of the traumatized heroes. Although none of these things were still happening, they could hear the loud impacts of the flaming boulders and feel the heat of the fires. They could still see the people jumping out of their burning houses and hear the screams of the dying men, women, children, and animals. On top of those things, they couldn’t stop imagining the violent deaths of family members and friends they’d lost in the siege and those they’d left behind.
Ty, who was still coming to terms with Steve’s revelation that the Hooded Phantom killed Thatcher, also wondered about the status of his sister-in-law, Cassandra, and his nephew, Lucan.
They had been with Kari and me in the castle courtyard during Prince Silas and the Hooded Phantom’s address, but we left them behind so we could save Steve from being hanged. For all I know, they’re dead too, Ty thought, not being in his usual optimistic, jovial mood.
Reflecting on his family led Ty to think about his brother Darren. Steve doesn’t know, Ty thought gloomily. I have to tell him that in addition to our foster father dying, our brother died as well. For a moment, he considered waiting until later, but Ty was the type of person that didn’t procrastinate. The longer I take to bring it up, the harder it’s going to be to tell him. Besides, he told me about Thatcher’s death and I know that couldn’t have been easy for him. He needs to know what happened to Darren.
Moving past Kari and walking alongside his brother, he was about to open his mouth to speak, but Steve beat him to it. It turned out Thatcher’s eldest adopted son was on Steve’s mind as well.
“Did you s
ee Darren at all?” he asked. The question came out so fast, Ty wondered how long Steve had been holding it in. “Do you know if he was on patrol today?”
Steve had seen Ostravaski’s Watchtower fall and knew Darren had been drafted to serve there, but he hadn’t been sure if he was on duty. He had been meaning to ask Ty, but was scared to hear the answer. Steve was unsure if he could handle hearing another loved one was dead, but he needed to know the truth.
“Cassandra said he was stationed inside Ostravaski’s Tower today.” Not knowing Steve had witnessed the tower’s collapse, Ty recounted what he saw. “And you should know that when I was in the air on Wildwing, I watched Ostravaski’s Tower fall. I doubt Darren could have…” Ty stopped, unable to continue. It was painful for him to imagine what his brother experienced in his final moments.
Oh no, Steve thought miserably, thinking back to how he was running towards the watchtower as it collapsed. The whole tower came down, ripping down the aqueduct with it. There’s no way Darren could have survived if he was still in there. Steve’s mind raced, thinking back over the many memories he had growing up under Titus Thatcher’s roof. For over ten years we all lived together, but, in less than a day, half of our family is gone forever. He then turned his attention to the person who was most affected by the death of Darren.
“Ty, I’m so sorry.” Hoping to brighten his brother’s mood, he asked, “What about Wildwing? How did he…” This time it was Steve who stopped in mid-sentence. One look at Ty was all it took to learn the fate of Wildwing. With slumped shoulders and his head bowed, Ty uttered three words that could not have sounded any more depressed.
“He’s dead too.”
With teary eyes, Steve repeated, “I’m sorry,” and shook his head in disbelief. He wished he could have a proper funeral for all the loved ones lost in the siege. As he continued to walk along in an even sadder silence, he thought back to everyone he had lost.
Clyx, Darren, Titus, Sir Lambert, King Zoran. None of them deserved to die. Each one showed examples of perseverance, loyalty, sacrifice, honor, and courage. For the rest of my life, I will try to emulate these great heroes. If there were any heroes of the siege, they were them.
