The Foolhardies 130 The Descen

"Is that it?" I asked, my hand pointing toward the deep chasm where the pool of an oasis should have been.

Yet, instead of a bright pool of freshwater surrounded by palm trees and other healthy plants, all we could see was a wide gaping hole leading downward.

"Yes," Shanks answered from his spot at the front wagon. "We should hurry. The gates to the Undercroft close at dawn."

"We would have gotten here faster," I pointed a thumb behind me, "if you guys didn't insist on carving up that ashworm for parts."

"An ashworm's carca.s.s sells pretty well, Commander," Varda repeated the benefit she'd given before to convince me. "The fangs along would be ten Leprechauns each to the right buyer."

"Your quartermaster's right," Shanks chuckled. "Besides, the tale of defeating an ashworm might even open a few more doors for you in the Undercroft… people love a good story."

I sighed. "Alright, let's get this over with… so, who wants to go into that black hole first?"

"Looks kind of ominous," Luca noted.

Despite his words, he urged Jade Shadow forward.

"Did you really have to say that?" I complained.

Not that I believed in this omen stuff, but there really was no need to tempt fate.

"You coming?" Luca asked as he glanced back at me.

I smirked while thinking my little brother was growing up.

Luca had changed somewhat in the last few months. He was more confident now and far less whiny about his circ.u.mstance. Maybe even a little more reckless like me, a fact clearly exposed in that fight against the ashworm.

I urged Myth Chaser forward while wondering how we were going to get the entire caravan down into the city when Luca called out again and told me there was a path that spiraled down the edge of the chasm.

"It's big enough for a wagon to go through, I think," he reported.

"Of course it is… how else do you think we merchants get to the Undercroft?" Shanks smirked.

With me, Luca, Varda, and Shanks' carriage leading the way, we journeyed down the chasm in a single wagon line, traversing a path on the western wall that continued to spiral deeper and deeper into the hole.

Only a bit further in and the wall began to glow at intervals with the luminescence of the light-emitting gemstones common in Broken Sellsword's Canyon.

They lit up one by one and traced the path ahead of us, turning what would have been a perilous journey into just another stroll down a strange fairy highway.

We'd journeyed about fifteen minutes down when I finally saw a much brighter light source below me, although I couldn't tell what exactly I was looking at.

"Luca," I called. "Send word to Thom in the rear that I want him to send scouts down there before we arrive. Observe and be ready, just in case."

"Are you expecting a fight?" Luca asked.

"Just in case…" I said.

I refused to tell him that Qwipps' earlier rants about omens had slightly gotten to me.

We continued our journey, and after roughly half an hour, the front of our convoy finally landed on flat ground.

Ahead of us stood two giant stone braziers, each one filled with light-emitting gemstones piled on top of each other in the shape of Christmas trees.

The braziers lit up the bottom of the hole, revealing the two ma.s.sive double doors at the opposite side of our path.

Enna suddenly appeared at my side as if she'd been spit out of the mist. Three other drow warriors accompanied her.

"Kobolds ahead, Commander. Guards by the look of them," she said in a voice that was almost a whisper.

I glanced down at Thom's cousin, impressed with her stealth skills and how the shadows seemed to cling to her as she stood there. More and more, it seemed she and her friends were turning into the ninjas of the fairy world.

"Should we end them quietly?" she asked.

"Let's hold off on that…" I said quickly. "We don't want to leave a bad first impression."

"Very well," she said, nodding. "My team and I will keep out of sight in case a sneak attack is required."

That said, she and her three fellows vanished into the shadows.

Luca whistled.

"Aren't you happy the mess I caused ended with the Hazy Moon joining our side?" Luca asked jokingly.

I smacked him lightly in the back of his head. "Lucky for you Thom was reasonable. Otherwise, we'd have made really bad enemies…"

Having Shanks along on this quest was proving to be quite a boon for us. The easy talking troll deftly managed the kobold guards protecting the entrance to the Undercroft. He greased a few paws with a bit of Leprechaun gold and shared a bit of info about our cargo, which he claimed included, "The biggest ashworm carca.s.s you've ever seen!"

He'd playfully elbowed the leader of the kobold guards right before dropping an ashworm tooth in its paw.

This act secured our entire convoy a path into the city beyond.

Looking up at the double doors as they opened to let us pa.s.s, I took note of their morbid carvings of skulls piled on top of each other, as if warning all who were about to step through that they should abandon all hope. Only death could be found here.

Although not as poetic, Luca shared my sentiments. He summed up my thoughts in four simple words, "Well that's just creepy…"

"The place is called the Undercroft, dude," I replied.

While the entrance certainly exuded an air of creepiness, the city beyond didn't share that atmosphere. It had a different kind of evil vibe.

The very wide sandstone street led into a city hewn out of the obsidian cavern's inner walls. Obsidian mansions that would rival Broken Sellsword's Canyon rose up like works of art which were interspersed between rough-hewn stone dwellings piled precariously atop one another like uneven Lego blocks. It gave off a beehive type feel to the place.

The cavern's ceiling high above us was full of hanging stalact.i.tes that had been embedded with the now-familiar glow of light-emitting gemstones. For those who looked above, it gave off the illusion of a brightly lit starry night sky.

These same gemstones could be found at intervals along the city streets and alleyways, and like spotlights, they lit up what seemed to be the city's number one trading product—slaves.

Wherever we looked, we found slaves. Some in cages piled on top of each other like in Broken Sellsword's Canyon. Others were lined up along the street like they were wares from a stall. Men, women, children, fairy, human, whatever slave one might ask for, they were there.

As we rode our swiftharts along the main street, I could visibly see Luca bristling at my side. It was all he could do not to reach for the hilt of his greatsword.

"Luca, remember why we're here," I whispered. "We can't cause a scene…"

"I know, he answered through gritted teeth. "Doesn't mean I have to like it…"

I take back what I'd said earlier about my brother whining less about his condition. And I honestly couldn't blame him. Not when a sight like the one we could see all around us made my own blood boil.

There was very little time left in the night to search such a large city, so once Shanks had led our convoy into the wide courtyard of an obsidian mansion he called the merchant's guild, I decided it was time to order people around.

Luca's and Ashley's squads would remain at the merchant's guild with Shanks and our convoy. They would continue to act as Shanks' mercenaries and help with whatever he needed like unloading cargo.

I'd tasked Ashley with getting info from the merchants inside the guild. Perhaps we'd get info on a special kind of product like Ty apparently was.

This was a.s.suming he hadn't been sold yet to someone outside the city, although it did seem in my vision that he was somewhere in the Undercroft.

It also helped if Luca could calm down while inside the merchant's guild. At the very least, he'd be away from all the slaves.

"What of us?" Thom asked after I'd relayed my instructions to Ashley.

"You guys do what you do best," I said, pointing up. "Take to the shadows and be my eyes and ears in this city. I want to know everything that's happening within the next forty-eight hours."

"We can do that," he chuckled softly.

Then he stepped back and literally vanished into the shadows behind him. His eighteen other comrades followed suit.

Chills went up my spine as I watched them disappear one at a time.

Honestly, they weren't this adept at it before, but ever since the last war, you could say Thom's Hazy Moon had gotten way stronger. Gliding in the air wasn't their only forte now. Not that they weren't good at stealth to begin with, but their shadoweave cloaks just made them way more awesome at it than the rest of our unit.

Enna was the last to vanish, and unlike her cousin who always liked to make fun of me, she actually nodded her head to me before she disappeared.

After the drow left, I told Qwipps to send his talons around the city posing as potential buyers in shops and inns.

"Anything in particular you want us to shop for?" Qwipps asked in a lazy tone.

"Detailed maps, supplies, and interesting items you come across, I want to know what they are," I glanced from Qwipps to Pike who I trusted more to get the job done. "Mostly, I want you to familiarize yourself with the streets… their quirks, shortcuts, stuff like that. In case we need an escape route."

Pike spared a glance at Luca's retreating form, frowning as she watched his slumped shoulders. Then she turned her gaze on me and nodded.

"We'll get the job done, Dean," she said.

Quick as you please, she grabbed onto Qwipps' arm, leaving him barely any room to stutter, and lifted off with him in tow.

I could hear him yell, "Muddamit!" while the rest of his forces joined him.

"And us?" Aura asked, nodding toward Varda and the remainder of the forces gathered which included both magicians and kobolds.

"You lot are with me. I want to try using Eagle Vision while we tour the city, and I'll leave a few of you behind to scout out any points of interest we come across," I explained.

"Sounds good to me, Commander," Varda nodded.

"With me as well, sir," Thor barked.

"Good, now let's—"

My line of thought had been interrupted by the sight of two lanky, identically looking teenage boys stepping out of the merchant guild's front doors. It was the McCord Twins.