CHAPTER FIFTEEN : INTO THE GRIME

Terry followed behind Aly watching how she turned around every corner with her book drawn. "You don't have to be so on edge. We aren't in the sewers yet."

Aly nodded, "I know it's just I never had to protect someone before and I won't want to let you get hurt." She turned back to Terry after clearing another room.

Terry smiled, "You don't have to worry about me. I know you'll do a great job of protecting me. You are a class C mage after all. You have this." Terry smiled. Terry spoke to Erebus in his mind, "Any idea where we can find the entrance to the sewer in here? At this rate, I don't think she'll find it."

"It would probably be a panel in the ground. Older buildings like these used to use the sewers to smuggle goods so they would keep a secret entrance around "

"A panel huh? How would I find it?" Terry questioned Erebus silently.

"Just feel around for loose flooring," Erebus explained.

As the duo made their way through the house Terry tapped his feet on the ground searching for any loose flooring or panels hidden away. Aly turned to Terry after a few minutes of searching, "What are you doing?" She questioned, "Hearing you tap your feet like that is getting annoying."

"Oh sorry. I'm just a little nervous I guess." Terry said as they entered a small room with a tap against the floor it sounded different from all the other flooring that they had passed by. Terry kneeled down feeling a groove in the floor and lifting. It revealed a staircase that went down into darkness.

"How did you find that?" Aly questioned.

"Dumb luck I guess." Terry said with a laugh, "After you. Gotta have you protect me ya know."

Aly looked down into the darkness, "It's really dark down there." She said quietly.

"It is?" Terry questioned, "I mean it is." Terry laughed, "I guess I can go first if you want." Terry said with a smile.

"No-no-no. I'm going first." Aly shook her head and started to slowly descend down the stairs into the basement. Terry followed suit.

Terry looked around for Aly he knew it was pitch-black but for him, he could see as if he was standing in a well-lit room. Books were scattered around with little care. A small metal door sat at the far end of the basement. The entire basement though was in a state of disarray. Layers of dust covered the books and stairs. Terry continued to scan the room seeing a few unlit torches scattered on the walls throughout the room.

"I can't see anything." Aly said quietly, "We should go back upstairs."

"Ignite," Terry whispered quietly holding his hand out to a torch. It lit up illuminating the whole room, "Must be some magical lighting or something."

Aly smiled, "Awesome." She looked around the room noticing the metal door, "I bet that's the entrance to the sewers. We're that much closer to payday." She said trotting happily to the door, it was covered in rust and grime. She grabbed the door's handle and tried to open it.

It wouldn't budge.

She turned to look at Terry, "Little help here?"

Terry nodded grabbing the door handle and pulling hard. The door creaked loudly rust fell to the ground some concrete cracked on the side of the door, but the door opened. Terry gulped nervously after opening the door. "I didn't know I was that strong."

"Well if the magic thing doesn't work for you... you should try to be a knight." Aly looked ahead into the complete darkness that was the entrance of the sewer. A rancid smell wafted out, "It smells disgusting in there. How would we even see the rats in that darkness?"

Terry sighed walking back to the lit torch grabbing it off the wall. "I'll just follow you with this," he said quietly.

"Do you see how needy humans are? Can't even handle a little bit of darkness." Erebus mused in Terry's mind.

Terry brushed him off and walked up to Aly with the lit torch.

Aly nodded her head and slowly made her way past the door into the sewer. Terry kept close by her illuminating the way. As they got deeper the swear ramped down into a liquid and the smell got even stronger. "It's so gross." She said as they pushed deeper now in a knee-high slurry of the sewer water.

"You were the one who chose this job," Terry said the smell really not bothering him as much as he thought it would.

"Well, this is better than the other task. It was a spider hunt and I can't do spiders. I had a bad experience with them with a task a few years back." Aly said lifting her shirt to cover her nose as she walked.

"You've been in the circle for a few years?" Terry questioned quietly, "How old were you when you joined the circle I thought you were around the same age as me."

Aly shook her head, "No I'm an adult. I joined when I was seventeen and have been with the circle for three years."

Terry started to notice some changes around them things that Aly wouldn't be able to pick up. The darkness was growing denser the dirty water they were walking through was swallowing out as it ramped back up. "So... you are around twenty?"

"Yeah. Oh, thank the stars we're getting out of this stuff." She said as she walked out of the viscous liquid and onto solid sewer stone.

Terry nodded as he walked out of the muck, "Seems so. Now to find these dire rats." Terry said with a smile.

"Yeah just stay behind me and I'll be sure they can't get to you." Aly said as she pulled her book of had written spells back out. She began to chant, "Winds of old come destroy my enemies become my sword..."

"Nothing happened," Terry said in his mind.

"She's precasting," Erebus responded.

"What's that mean?"

"It means she says makes the incantation to pull in the magic around her and she holds the spell right before the two last words so she can cast quickly. Weaker mages do it so they can cast spells quickly and not spend as much mana at the same time." Erebus explained.

"I see." Terry kept his torch held high for the mage as they heard a loud squeaking sound coming from further up the passageway.

Aly rushed forward around a smooth corner shoving her hand forward, "Wind Sword." She yelled as a sword-shaped of almost clear wind energy formed in her hand.

Terry rushed around the corner to keep everything lit for her. With a jump, she found one of the large rats that standing on all fours stood up to her waist. The rat screamed a high ear pounding screech as it slumped over dead.

Aly turned around and smiled, "See I told you I got this."

Everything seemed to happen in slow motion for Terry. For Aly, the torch didn't reach far enough to reveal the 9 other rats that were running at Aly from behind. "What are you doing? They are coming right for you!" Terry yelled rushing forward. He was only able to take two steps forward until a rat jumped and wrapped its jaws around Aly's neck.

Aly's face contorted in pain it turned white in fear as vibrant red streaks of blood slid down her neck. Her voice came out as a hoarse whisper instead of a scream, "Run."