by Luka Petrov
Walter made a successful saving throw and the shield blocked the arrow.
I figured I had to take control of the situation.
Edward silent cast Spark.
Spell: Spark
School: Evocation
Skill Level: 3rd-Level
Effect: A spell that causes lightning to course across the ground aimed at a target, rendering lightning damage.
A bolt of lightning stretched across the ground, zapping and snapping as it moved along the floor at the fourth thug. Working its way like a snake, it reached the thug and zapped it, electrocuting the thug until his flesh turned black from the charring.
Edward made a successful attack roll, ensuing the demise of the thug. The thug took lighting damage and died.
“One down, three to go,” I shouted.
“Nicely done,” commended Yves.
“Great work on the shield,” I replied. She nodded and Cecily took the next attack.
“Gravitas liqueur diaboli!” shouted Cecily who then concentrated on positions of the three remaining thugs and modified the glyphs of the runes that appeared before her.
Cecily cast Gravity Snare.
Spell: Gravity Snare
School: Evocation
Skill Level: 6th-Level
Effect: The weight of the spell pins down and crushes the opponent, anchoring them to the ground. Target takes bludgeoning damage, which can be halved on a successful check.
Instantly, the remaining thugs fell to the ground, unable to get up.
Cecily made a successful attack throw.
“Just wait,” I said as I heard their thick bones break in their bruiting bodies. As the spell took more of an effect, the thugs screamed in agony and it was painful for me to listen to.
“Cecily, great work on the Gravity Snare,” I said.
“You’re the one who taught it to me, it’s a neat little spell,” she confirmed.
“I agree, it does seem to come in handy,” I affirmed. “Guys, I can’t listen to this anymore, let’s go back upstairs and find out what is going on,” I suggested.
We retuned up to the ground floor where the bar was. Yves asked, “What in the world was that all about?”
The bartender must have overheard us because he answered, “Well, it looks like you guys pasted the entrance test to be thieves, congratulations. Very few actually pass this test, you must be very proud of yourselves.”
He continued serving the affluent customers. He then shrugged and said, “Who knew you guys had the muscle to learn the skills to be a thief?”
“Wait, wait a second,” interrupted Cecily. “We are looking to hire a thief, not to become one.”
The bartender broke out in full on laughter. “Wait. You guys don’t want to become thieves?”
“No!” Walter shouted.
“That whole drink thing is our way of vetting the candidates to admit to one of the guilds,” explained the bartender.
I interrupted this nonsense, “Sir, I must find someone to help me break into the cloister.”
“Huh?” replied the bartender. “What is your price? Perhaps I could arrange something.”
The four of us looked at each other and checked our pockets. Together we pulled five silver coins. “We have five silver,” I answered.
The bartender erupted in laughter once again. “What is so funny?” I asked. The rest of the bar erupted in laughter as they heard us.
The bartender came close to us and said, “The typical price for what you are asking costs 500 gold, to get anywhere safely inside. You guys are going to have to take your business elsewhere.”
The four of us looked at each other, discouraged and retuned to our room at the inn.
Chapter Eight
“Well, we have a problem, don’t we,” I started, realizing that we had only a few silver left and clearly that was not enough to hire a thief to sneak us into the cloister.
“Right, I am not certain how we are going to come up with the money,” reiterated Walter.
“Do we have anything we can sell?” Cecily asked. “I think I brought some extra socks that I am willing to part with. I know Ed has some spell books we could part with,” she suggested.
“We will not be selling any of my spell books,” I admonished the notion with an eye roll, which that suggestion blatantly warranted.
“A-hem,” someone cleared their throat behind me.
Thinking nothing of the interruption, I continued, “So, we have Cecily’s socks to sell for money?”
“And any of your spell books that you no longer need,” replied Cecily.
“A-HEM!” The person who kept clearing their throat increased their intensity.
“We’ve gone over this. We are not selling the spell books, and that is the end of it,” as I tried to put a stop to Cecily’s insistence of selling the spell books, the throat cleared again.
“Do you need a handkerchief or something?” I asked with intensity. I looked to where the throat clearer stood to see a young lady sitting on the dresser.
“Where did you come from?” I asked, surprised to see that someone was able to sneak inside right from under my nose. She sat on the dresser, her legs crossed, wearing a black, leather body suit. Her black hair flowed over her shoulders, which she was running her fingers through as she got our attention.
I caught a glimpse of a peculiar scar when she turned her head. I’m sure it was a painful reminder of an incident.
The young lady answered, “I heard the mission that you were discussing in the bar, and I am willing to help for five silver.”
“You are willing to help?” Yves confronted.
“I am,” replied the young lady.
“For five silver?” Cecily asked, I found this amount hard to believe as well. Seemed like we were getting the bargain basement price, and everyone knows what they say when things seem too good to be true.
“I am willing to do the job for five silver,” answered the young lady.
Walter, seeming to be skeptical of the whole thing challenged, “Why would a fit, young lady, who obviously is dressed the part, want to help us, a group of nobodies for so little money. I’m sure your time could be better spent elsewhere.”
Leave it to Walter to be the most direct out of us now. A lot had changed. The young lady answered Walter, “I am a beginning assassin, and I’m really trying to build a name for myself. Sneaking into that heavily guarded cloister would be a great way to do that. I know you guys are nobodies. Doesn’t matter. Sneaking into that cloister would radically change my reputation. I’d be hired all of the time.”
“I see,” I replied, not really buying into the idea of hiring such a non-reputable thief, but on the same notion, realizing that we could not pass up the price.
“My name is Alexia, by the way,” interjected the aspiring assassin.
After considering the gravity of the situation and saying our options, I answered, “Well, Alexia. You’ve got the job. We’ll pay you the five silver once we have Hamon.”
“Glad to be of service,” said Alexia as she climbed off of the dresser and curtsied. I knew she was our best shot at sneaking into the cloister and rescuing Hamon.
“Welcome to the group,” said Walter as he threw his arms around her.
“Uh, thanks,” muttered Alexia, appearing to barely breathe under his tight grasp, her slender body engulfed by Walter’s heavy body.
Walter let go of her and she took three long gasps for air. “Guys, I’m going to need you to follow me,” she said to us, looking at each one of us in the eye. Walter and Yves followed Alexia and she stood on the dresser to climb out of the window. Walter and Yves were through and I closely followed, but a hand grasped tightly around my arm.
“Cecily?” I said, surprised at her gesture.
“Ed! Ssshhh!” Cecily hushed as she put her index finger to her lips.
“What is it?” I whispered. “We must get going. We need to rescue Hamon and get out of Arne as fast as possible.”
> “I don’t trust this Alexia,” rebutted Cecily.
I climbed down from where I stood on the dresser. I needed to have everyone on board if we were going to be successful, and Cecily’s resistance would only add to our inability to work together as a team.
“Cecily, we don’t have a choice at the moment,” I explained. “We cannot afford anyone who is more reputable. I wish we could, but she’s what we got. She sought us out for the job, knowing the price. I have no other choice, but to trust her.”
“Right, she sought us out…” muttered Cecily. “Seems fishy.”
“If it turns out to be fishy, then we will handle that when we get to it,” I assured. “Let’s only worry about the things that we can control. Worrying about things that haven’t happened yet or could happen only will delay us.”
Cecily nodded, and with that I climbed back onto the dresser and out the window to follow the others. Cecily was close behind me.
“What took you guys so long?” Yves asked.
“I had caught my shoe in one of the drawers,” I replied. “Everything is fine now, let’s get on with our mission,” I suggested.
“We are now outside of the inn,” explained Alexia with a soft voice. The street was quiet, and none of the people we had seen out walking before were out. Seemed as though everyone was in for the night.
Alexia walked over to a sewer grate and attempted to pull it up. The rest of us stood around and watched, after all, she was our hired gun, she worked for us. It wasn’t the other way around.
Moments passed by, and Alexia still had not lifted the grate. “This is who we hired?” Yves whispered to the three of us.
“It cost us five silver. Five,” I answered, putting out my palm to signify that the price was only five silver.
“We definitely got what we paid for,” retired Cecily. I’m sure she was still not convinced that we were able to trust Alexia, but at least she was appearing to be onboard.
Something had been bothering me regarding the sewer that we were attempting to break into. Seemed a little advanced for the time period that I was now living in. “I had no idea a sewer system existed,” I exclaimed.
“What do you think we are, animals?” Yves asked. “A few years ago, several of the large and medium-sized cities and towns put in waterways to carry off the wastewater, you know, rather than just pour it in the street or gutters. Since then, there has been a lower incidence of disease. You must think Arne is barbaric, or something.”
I literally had no idea that this world would have had a sewer system. I never remembered learning about that in middle or high school. I suppose the medieval age was much more advanced than I had originally thought.
Alexia continued to struggle to lift the iron grate up. “I must put a stop to this,” started Walter. “This is just painful to watch,” he whispered to us before rushing over to Alexia. “Do you need some help, my lady?” Walter asked.
“I most certainly do,” answered Alexia. Walter bent down to help Alexia pull the grate up.
“I hope this is not an indication of how the break-in to the magical cloister is going to go,” I whispered to Yves and Cecily who both chuckled while Alexia and Walter moved the grate.
“Ready?” Alexia asked.
“As ready as we’ll ever be,” I responded.
“Then, let’s go!” she said as she plunged down the uncovered hole in the ground. The rest of us blindly followed, fully trusting her.
“Geronimo!” I yelled as I fell to the bottom of sewer, my feet landing with a splash as I found myself ankle deep in sludge.
“Geronimo?” Yves asked. “What in the world does that mean?”
I started to explain what Geronimo was, or rather who. However, I realized that they had no concept of the Native Americans, and replied, “Oh, I’ve just always wanted to say that. Seemed fitting for falling down a long way.”
“Interesting,” responded Yves, her judgmental eyes staring through the sides of her squint. Yves was always one to give side eye.
I did not have time to worry about Yves’ suspicious, because my nostrils were filled with the pungent and putrid smell of hydrogen sulfide, ammonia, and methane as I learned in chemistry class. Or a simpler way to put it, the sewer smelled like decomposing human waste.
“Gees, it reeks down here,” shouted Cecily.
“Right! Smells just like rotten eggs,” affirmed Walter.
I thought I had my stomach under control, but I was wrong as everything I had eaten from Walter’s lunch that he packed us came up. I bent over, careful not to get close to the filthy water.
Finally, the nauseating feeling had passed, and I was able to stand upright. Then, Yves bent over. She gagged and gurgled as she did the same thing as I had just done.
“Go on, I’ll wait,” mused Alexia.
“The stench doesn’t make you feel nauseated?” Walter asked.
“I’m used to it,” boasted Alexia.
“This is the nastiest place I have ever been in!” Walter exclaimed. “The nausea has gotten to me, excuse me,” muttered Walter, hunched over. He took a few steps away from Alexia before emptying his stomach.
“Take your time,” replied Alexia, running her fingers through the ends of her hair and checking for split ends.
It felt as though each of us rotated vomiting, before we were ready to move forward. After a while, the smell no longer bothered me. Nose blindness was a beautiful thing!
“We are ready,” I announced as I noticed everyone’s color had returned to their faces and they were once again upright. I had more confidence in Alexia, seeing how she was not fazed by the overpowering pungent smell of human feces.
I had to find out, how she was able to put up with such an odor that nearly burned my nostrils when we first got into this sewer. As we waited through the murky, brown water, I asked as I followed close behind Alexia, “What is your secret to being able to handle the smell down here?”
As Alexia trudged through the water, leading me and my friends, she answered, “The Guild that I am a member of trains down here. The Guild leader has us run marathons down here in the sewers. Deep, large gasps of this air will make you numb to anything.”
“Impressive,” I muttered, struggling to keep up with her brisk pace. “What Guild?” I asked as I sloshed through the ankle-high water, trying not to think of what I was exposing my skin to.
“It’s the Swindler’s Guild. I was able to become a member of the largest criminal organization here in Arne, it was quite an accomplishment. You’d be surprised who hires us,” she mused.
“Well, who?” I asked, not being able to take the anticipation.
“The city and the courts hire us to do various jobs,” said Alexia. Some businesses too,” she added. “It has turned out to be very lucrative, but I am looking at striking out on my own, which is why I must build a name for myself. In this line of work, reputation is everything.”
“Huh!” I breathed. “So, the good guys are always after you?”
“You could put it that way, but they usually can’t keep up. The training we do is extreme and being down here is near unbearable. The more we run, the more we are able to build a tolerance for the smell. Turn here,” she said as she motioned toward a dark tunnel, that looked smaller and more ominous than the current one we were in.
We trudged further, “At first, I did not like being down here, but now I find a certain solace when I am here. It’s like I am home. I know all of the passageways, channels, and different tunnels like the back of my hand,” explained Alexia. “We’ll veer right at the next fork.”
The water seemed to recede as I felt as though we were getting close to the magical cloister and where we needed to go. Then a voice came from behind me. “Alexia, we meet again,” a smug voice said.
Alexia and the four of us turned to find four sewer rats who seemed to have been following us.
“I should have known you were behind us,” stated Alexia. “I could smell you from a mile away. Your st
ench precedes you,” she continued with a curtsey.
“What in the world is going on?” I turned to Alexia and asked, seeing the four adventurers who were apparently trailing us.
“Here is Arne’s finest,” she started. “The pinnacle of society, ready and willing to make sure all is safe in the sewer.” Obviously, Alexia was being facetious as the adventurers who were following us were dressed in rags and did not appear to be of any advanced skill set.
“We serve at the pleasure of Sir Sheldon Silverstone, Sheriff of the Sewers,” one of the adventurers belted. “We ask that you surrender yourselves immediately.”
Alexia whispered to me, “Sheriff Silverstone is the paladin you love to hate, a real clueless creep. He couldn’t solve a crime if his life depended on it. Luckily for him, it hasn’t yet.”
I nodded in acknowledgement, only to hear, “We will not surrender!” I turned to see Cecily shouting at the adventurers.
“Surrender now!” shouted one of the adventurers.
Alexia muttered to me, “I hope you guys can fight. You did not pay me to be the muscle. I’m only the hired thief.” Alexia did three back handsprings, her spine as flexible as a cat’s, her hands barely touching the water-covered ground as she allowed us to get into formation to battle the sewer rats.
The sewer rats initiated the combat by surrounding us. “Surrender now!” one of the sewer rats stated, one of them drew their light crossbow.
“Trying to persuade us for a hasty surrender with weaponry?” Walter asked, trying to get a rise out of them.
“Surrender now!” barked another sewer rat.
“We will not surrender!” Cecily shouted.
“I can’t take this anymore,” cried Alexia.
Alexia, being an assassin had an advantage on the attack roll and since she had recused herself initially from the combat, the sewer rats were surprised that she had joined the fight. Making a successful attack roll, Alexia performed assassinate on an unassuming sewer rat, making the hit critical.