The Blade Witch: Songs of Eldrin, Book 0.5

Chapter Nineteen - Descent into Darkness

The escape from the prison had been a surprisingly uneventful one. Elmont had proven to be more than a capable guide, leading them through the back halls of the sprawling complex, out a doorway guarded by two men that pretended not to notice them and through the city streets with ease.

Now Estra stood amidst the rubble of the place she'd once called home with her lantern raised high. The slow crash of the waves below seemed to add a sad music to backdrop the decrepit ruins of the convent and the silvered moonlight made sure that no detail went unexposed. Little purple flowers had decided to grow over the ruins, trying their best to cover up the sins that had once stained the ground with blood and ash.

"Found it," Dost grunted, throwing the remnants of the rotted altar aside to reveal the doorway of the passage beneath.

"All this time," Estra said, watching as the man tested the lock. She'd spent the first twelve years of her life living in this place with no inkling of the secrets being kept right beneath her.

"This passageway leads to a tunnel that'll take us directly to the catacombs beneath the prison. Something that the Faith cooked up after Wulfdonria's declaration of freedom," Brennan explained, watching as Dost tugged at the doorways rusted latch fruitlessly. He motioned the giant out of the way, pulling a familiar set of instruments from the folds of his cloak. Within seconds the lock came open with an audible click.

"So, everyone in this city knows how to pick a lock then?" Dost asked, echoing Estra's own thoughts.

"That's about the gist of it," Brennan said, hoisting the lid open, "Just one of those things they teach in every school, right along with how to properly pry tokes from a tourist's pocket."

The four of them descended into the passageway with Estra taking up the rear. The stairs seemed to spiral beneath the earth forever, sinking them further and further into the jaws of unknown horrors. Estra's skin crawled with unease by the time they finally reached the catacombs.

"Best prepare yourselves," Dost said, brandishing a massive great axe that could have only been made for his hands alone. "Nothing but the dark and the dead lurking down here."

The group trod slowly, ever wary of the danger hiding at the edge of their lamplights. When the passageway leveled out Estra was offered her first proper view of the maze lying beneath the city of no nights. She'd expected walls of stone, embedded with yellowed skulls, instead, she found herself traversing halls lined with metal barred rooms; as if it were only an extension of the prison somewhere above them.

The Blade Witch leaned in close to one of the cells, straining to see into the dark recesses that hid its contents. There were only two pieces of furniture left to identify, an overturned table and what must have once been a bed. Dark stains covered the cell from floor to ceiling, marking some struggle that she could only guess at.

It wasn't until they'd traveled too far to turn back that they ran into the first of the corrupted.

It stood blocking their path forward. A blueish mass of flesh and bone, with an arm that ended in a misshapen clublike stump. The group stood in a still silence watching as its eyes rolled lazily to observe them. Estra called forth her flames, devoid any misgivings that she'd be able to conserve her strength.

The creature lumbered forward, each step causing a shower of dirt as its head scraped knotted against the top of the passageway. It threw its arm back, releasing an ear-splitting wail as it prepared to strike. Elmont was the first to meet it; crushing his hammer into the monster's side, causing its own blow to go flailing into the wall.

Dust blanketed the passageway, but Estra caught just enough of the creature's position to send a stream of flames hurling towards it. Even that proved to be less than enough to kill the thing.