Secrets of the Past

The next day I thought about the odd way that I had found the secret room. A rat pulled the medallion out of the room just as I was there and then left it for me. Why? I did experience a chill in my bones right before that happened. Could my last blessing make rats friendly towards me? I doubted it was something I'd be able to figure out after only one instance. If I found aid in creatures from now on, I might be able to figure it out more.

After I checked back in with Raginhard, I made my way towards the eastern side of the city. For the remaining markers it would be quicker to use the alley entry points. I was able to get to my sixth marker overall early in the day.

I encountered over a dozen more monstrous rats along with a few monstrous insects. I decided to kill as many of them as possible with my Lydos aura. I hadn't had the chance to practice my Moonlight Slash and after getting used to the sewers the past two days I thought this would be the best opportunity.

The power of the slash was significantly lower than it was against Kloan. The biggest factor was that I was under the light of a full moon at that time. Another factor was that after a breakthrough your aura was bursting, allowing you to use it to a higher degree for a small period of time. Usually you'd spend that time training, hoping to elevate your aura within your new stage. But I had to spend that time keeping my aura foundation from breaking down.

The energy from my blade only spread out in a thin line about a foot in front of me. Against Kloan it had been over three feet with a spread over four times as large. From what I remembered from secretly listening to my mother's instructions, that was what the slash should be at the midpoint of the Intermediate stage without the full moon. At the peak of the Intermediate stage it should go at least six feet with a large spread. Though the larger you spread the slash the weaker the attack.

In between the sixth and seventh marker was the next secret room. Knowing what I was looking for, I was able to find the door easily. It opened up to a room in similar condition as the first room I found, without the skeletons. Going up the small stairs I tried to open the stone slab but was unable to lift it. Something heavy was on top of it. After finding nothing of value I closed the door and made my way towards the last marker for the day.

As I approached the marker I saw that the stones were covered in a black substance. The size of it was about four square feet. Not taking any chances I sent out a firebolt at it. The reaction from the slime was immediate and to my surprise it was much larger than I thought it was. Black slime came out of the water and more came out of the cracks in the wall. It ended up being three times as large as I thought it would be.

Tentacles of black ooze whipped around me as it tried to surround me. I extended my Osgar aura as much as possible but wasn't able to protect my whole body. Where the ooze touched my armor and skin they began to corrode.

I was on the constant retreat to avoid being absorbed by the slime. Thankfully my Moonlight Slash seemed to have an advantage over it. The parts I cut off of it weren't being reabsorbed or splitting into new slimes as was common but dissolved as they hit the ground.

After several minutes the slime began to back off. It had lost nearly a third of its mass while I had suffered several wounds. It didn't retreat back to the marker but pulled itself into the cracks in the wall. A thin layer of black coated one side of the tunnel.

I had the option of coming back the next day for the marker, taking an hour to go a different route, or trying to sneak past. In the end I decided just to take the extra hour and go a different route. After that I headed back to the surface.

After a quick bath in the communal area of the apartments I sought out Raginhard for dinner.

"What can you tell me about black slimes?" I asked.

"They are considered a C ranked monster. More corrosive than most other slimes and much quicker. The only other slime more dangerous is the clear slime." He said. "Did you encounter one?"

I rolled up my sleeve to show a corrosive burn mark.

"There are a few quests to collect black slime essence but you'd need a C rank or two other D rank adventurers to take it." He said.

"Well that's a disappointment." I said.

"If you don't plan on taking a partner with you, you can sell the information to the Union. Slimes don't move very far so it should still be in the same location." He said.

Vesta was a C rank. A quick adventure could improve our relationship. But I doubted that the Rainbow Blades wouldn't have anything for her to do. They also might not be too happy with me for turning down their guild offer.

There was also the chance that anyone that came with me would want to tag along for the remainder of the sewer patrol quest. I wouldn't be able to explore the other secret rooms with someone else with me. In the end I pulled out the map and indicated where I left the slime.

The next day after my ninth marker I made my way towards the next secret room only to find the tunnel caved in. It took me an extra two hours to make my way around to the other side of the tunnel, only to find that it had been sealed off. I'd have to wait to get to that one.

I called it a day after the tenth marker. I'd found and destroyed another two monstrous rat nests, killing an additional 37 for the day.

After finding the next two markers and taking out a few dozen monstrous rats, I had to go back through the area I had gone through the first day in order to get to the next secret room. It was in a section that I had passed that time without any idea it was here.

This door opened into a room a little different than the other two I had found. It was still in a decrypt state but it didn't contain any weapons. Instead the shelves contained a number of jars of various liquids. Several had been knocked onto the floor, leaving different colored burn marks on the stone floor. In the center of the room was a cauldron and other implements used in alchemy.

A single skeleton leaned against the door that led upward. When I examined this skeleton, it had a sword cut through its clothes and marks on the bones. There was a satchel next to it that contained a number of alchemic recipes as well as another coded letter. At the bottom of the letter was the outline of a bird similar to the one on the medallion.

I wasn't well versed in alchemy and none of the recipes had been labeled, so I had no idea what I had found. Most of the ingredients on the shelves had long expired except for a few tightly sealed jars. The cauldron, while a little rusty, was still usable and of higher quality. I put what I could in my storage ring and made my way back out of the sewer.

At dinner that night I shared the contents of the pouch with Raginhard. I told him that I stumbled upon a loose stone and found the pouch hidden behind it.

"I have a rudimentary understanding of alchemy but these seem to be written in a code. Which isn't too uncommon for crafters." He said. When he got to the last piece of paper with the bird mark on it he frowned. "This actually gives me a better idea of what these are."

"Over 150 years ago there was a dispute over who was going to inherit the Duchy. Eirikr and his twin sister Idunn both claimed the title after their childless uncle died. There was a lot of fighting and eventually Eirikr came out on top with the support of the rest of the nobility. But Idunn had a lot of support among the commoners.

"Over the next twenty years her supporters launched a number of attacks against Eirikr's interest. It all came to a head when someone betrayed Idunn's people. She had been captured and they had planned a massive citywide attack in an attempt to free Idunn and kill her brother's family. Even with being betrayed they were still able to rampage through parts of the city using alchemic bombs to cause massive damage.

"This bird is an Ice Thresher. It was Idunn's personal crest. After the failed attack, Idunn was sent to the south and her supporters were hunted down. Every few years a group in opposition to the Duchy will use the Ice Thresher as their symbol. It's best if you leave this with me to turn into the proper authorities." Raginhard said.

"Please do, I don't have any need for it." I said. Without any knowledge of alchemy the recipes were useless to me and I didn't want to cause myself trouble by being associated with a rebel group.

I still wasn't sure what my overall plan with the secret rooms would be but I hope these rebels left some nice things in the last room that I was going to explore tomorrow.