Discordant Note | TBATE

Chapter 27: Base of Operations

Toren Daen

I watched a few mages covertly observing the buildings near the old temple from my hiding space. They were certainly on the lookout for somebody, and considering their location, it was easy to guess who.

"How did they follow me?" I said with a whisper, peering through the small gap in the bricks. I was in the entrance to some sort of secret tunnel, guided by the Rats once I was alerted to my conundrum. The mages were keeping an eye on the location I was at before entering the old temple for my meeting. "Scratch that, how did I not notice them?"

Even if I couldn't tell when the Rat was a foot behind me, I was still proud of the senses I had honed in the Clarwood Forest. That these people supposedly trailed me for so long was a blow to that pride.

I was behind a brick wall that moved after Naereni had stepped on some sort of pressure plate, allowing it to swing inward and allow us through. A small summoned will-o'-wisp hovered around my head, providing a bit of light for me in the darkness. Karsien leaned against a nearby wall, flanked by Hofal and Naereni. "The Bloods have informants all over the city," he said. "Considering it took them nearly an hour to track you here is a testament to how weak those nets are in East Fiachra. And they weren't trailing you directly, merely following clues left behind. I wonder how much luck you have left after this?"

He pushed off the wall, moving down the passage. At the end was a circular trap door that opened with a simple kick. "Extinguish that fire for me, will you?"

I looked at my little speck of fire. "Is there light down there?" I asked, peeking over the edge of the trapdoor. The entrance rank like something hellish. "Damn," I said, backing away. "What's that smell?" It was like a mix of rotten eggs, feces, and a dozen other things I would rather not guess at.

Naereni snickered at my gagging, then dropped down the chute without a second thought. I thought I caught a note of pity in Hofal's face as he followed after. "That's Fiachra's sewer system. Fun fact about sewage, Toren Daen: Sewer gas is mostly composed of methane."

I looked over at my little ball of light. "Noted," I said, extinguishing the fire. I didn't need a gas explosion down there.

"You coming?" Karsien asked.

"Yeah," I said, resignation in my bones. I had tried so hard to keep myself clean.

I dropped down into the sewers.

—

The stench could be weathered. I could block it out eventually after getting used to it, and my sense of smell was pretty weak anyways. The rotten eggs and feces could slowly drift to the back of my perception.

The sensation of wading through the muck, however, would stick with me till the day I died. It was viscous and sloppy, resisting my movement with each step. The flow of sewage barely came up past my ankles, but the mudlike consistency gripped my boots with malicious greed.

"Never swam in filth, Toren?" Naereni asked from ahead. She was enjoying this far too much.

I opened my mouth to respond, then gagged on the taste. Oh god, I was going to brush my teeth for an hour after this.

The Young Rat cackled, while Karsien snorted. Hofal patted me on my back goodnaturedly. "You'll get used to it eventually," he said. "I like to think about the history of this place. Did you know that these tunnels were first constructed over two hundred years ago? They haven't had regular maintenance in nearly a century, but they still function without much oversight. A wonder of architecture."

I had a hard time appreciating the big shield's words. Did I want to get used to this? I felt something push around my feet. I shuddered in place. "I think something just brushed past my leg," I said. No, I was not whining.