44. Vesper #2
“Oh my god, Girl!” Stevie groans. “Of course not. You’re far too entertaining. Like, how I could I possibly have this much fun without you?”
I wince. “Cipher?”
“It is an adequate trade. You have the Ophanim at your side and a lighter in your inventory. A Bag of Tricks is rare to find, especially in somewhere as . . . distasteful as the sewers.”
Puffing out a breath of air, I pull the sunlight medallion from around my neck and hold it out toward the roach. “I’ll trade for the Bag of Tricks.”
“Well met,” the roach says, holding out his leg and dropping the bag in my hand before taking the medallion.
He immediately puts it around his bulbous head and sighs for about two seconds as it glows before he screams. I jump at the sudden sound, startled after his relative calm.
“Run from the light! Run before you get stomped on!” he shrieks and then scurries away into the sewer before I can try to calm him down.
“Well . . . alright then,” I murmur, staring after him. Only after I’m certain he’s really gone do I study the small bag in my hand. It’s a simple leather bag, the edges of it decorated with a golden tread. I open it and peer inside at the eight fuzzy balls inside.
“Very nice,” Svetlana says looking inside. “I wonder what sort of sidekick we will get. If only the roach would come back though. I would like the jar of leeches.”
My brows furrow. “Why?”
She shrugs. “I just like leeches.”
“Should I . . . throw one of the balls?” I ask. “Or wait?”
She moves back and forth on my shoulder, as if thinking it through. “We could try it. What harm does it cause?”
Stevie flashes. “I don’t know, Girl. Like, you don’t even know what kind of critter you could, like, get. What if it’s a fish you have to carry around?”
I blink at the Ophanim. “Stevie is right, too.”
Svetlana flares her wings open. “Bah. Just get it over with. We have places to be and things to do, Umnitsa.”
Sighing, I pick up one of the fuzzy balls, a green one, and toss it on the ground in front of me. There’s a strange pop and flash of light and then a creature appears in front of us.
“What . . . the fuck . . . is that?” I ask, staring at it.
Svetlana scoffs. “It is a poodle,” she spits. “A small one. It will not be valuable in a fight. Look at it! It’s wearing a bow in its fur for fuck’s sake.”
The “poodle” is indeed small, barely much bigger than Svetlana. It’s pure white with a rounded face and tight, curly hair. It wags its tail as I study it and yips.
“Ugh, it’s cute,” Svetlana grumbles. “The audacity.”
“I like it!” Stevie declares. “You’re a cutie patootie, aren’t you, puppy? Yes, you are!”
“Uh,” I say, staring at it. “I guess, come?”
The poodle stands up and yips again, ready to follow. At least it’s listening.
We continue onward, running into more creepy NPCs and other creatures that seem to live in the sewers. From humans with milky eyes to more massive roaches, we encounter so many, that they start to blend together.
“Hello, player. Could I interest you in a quest?”
I squint my eyes at the man. “Haven’t I already seen you?”
“A sign to accept my quest!” the NPC declares. “Surely!”
“No, thank you,” I tell him. “I’m already on my own quest.”
Sighing, I continue forward. “Cipher, there isn’t a map or something of the sewers?”
“No,” he replies. “The sewers were formed as a product of New Babel and were not part of my original plan. As an effect, there are no maps, and it must be traversed by instinct or knowledge.”
“Helpful,” I grunt. “Can you tell me how to find Locke?”
“Not in your current state.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means I cannot tell you how to find him.”
I sigh. “Can you at least tell me if he’s alive?”
He hesitates, but before he can answer, I round another corner and run right into a human, a man.
“Ow!” I grunt, bouncing backward. “What the—”
I choke off as I realize who it is. He’s leaning against the wall, looking entirely nonchalant about having been standing in the dark. Alone and brooding. Relief floods me. Finally, I can actually make some progress in these fucking tunnels.
“You’ve been walking in circles,” Havoc grunts, watching me carefully.
I scowl at him, my relief disappearing as quickly as it came. “Are you here to help or stand in my way?”
He shrugs. “I couldn’t stand to see you stumbling around in the dark like an idiot.” His eyes trail down to the white fuzzy poodle beside me. “What the fuck is that?”
My scowl deepens. “You’re an asshole.”
He levels me with those dark eyes again. “Do you want my help or not?”
“If you’re fucking offering,” I hiss. “I’m guessing you know how to find the Rat Kingdom by the smirk on your face?”
He nods, his eyes going to the poodle again. “Hopefully, the queen took a liking to him. Now tell me, what the fuck is that?”
His words make me stop and stare at him. “What happens if the queen doesn’t take a liking to him?”
“They eat the players she doesn’t take a liking to.”
My mouth drops open in horror. “And if she does?”
He studies me, straightening from the wall to tower over me. “Then she fucks them until they no longer have a use to her.” He points to the poodle. “Seriously. What the fuck is that thing?”
My stomach drops. Oh, Harrow. After everything he’d gone through with Mother Remainder, and now he could potentially be in the same position again.
“We have to hurry,” I choke. “Can you show me the way?”
He doesn’t answer, frustrated that I haven’t answered his questions about the poodle.
Instead of blowing up in anger though, he starts to walk away, expecting me to follow like a dog.
I don’t argue for once. I don’t even point out how much of an asshole he is.
If Locke is okay at the end of this, I’ll give him whatever he wants.
“This place is the fucking worst,” I grunt to Svetlana as I follow.
“Agreed,” she says. “There aren’t even any more jars of leeches.”
Stevie flares brightly. “I don’t know. I kind of like it. The grime, like, really adds a nice touch.”
The poodle yips in agreement.
We walk for hours through tunnels I can’t pretend I’m remembering. Most of the way, we’d been able to keep our feet on the concrete, but when Havoc stops and gestures toward a tunnel with only water, I hesitate.
“Do you want to save the Bone Breaker or not?” Havoc grunts. “The Rat Kingdom is down this tunnel.” He pulls some large black boots from his inventory and switches out to those. When he sees me looking, he gestures to them. “Boots of Rubber. Keeps my feet dry.”
“You wouldn’t happen to have an extra pair, would you?” I ask.
“No.”
No other explanation. Just no. Fucker.
“Fine,” I grumble, turning to pick up the poodle and cradling it under my arm.
I don’t know if it can swim and I’m not leaving it behind.
Carefully, I lower myself into the disgusting water after Havoc who happily steps in without a fuss thanks to his boots.
Immediately, I can feel the debris and grossness floating in the water.
It brushes against my legs before being rushed away.
I shiver at the feeling of it, but I practically yelp when I feel something swim by me.
That most definitely wasn’t trash. “What the fuck was that?”
I drag my hyena mask down over my face and let my senses spread. Immediately, I become aware there are multiple creatures floating around me, lingering, watching.
“Relax,” Havoc grunts. “They’ve fed recently. They won’t attack us.”
“What are they?”
“Sewer crocodiles,” he replies. “Lazier than the ones in the Verdant Nexus. These ones don’t have to fight for food. There’s plenty of it that comes down into the sewers.”
“You’re sure they won’t attack us?” I ask.
“The rat they feasted on earlier is over there,” he points.
Steve trails over to where he points and a mutilated body of a rat-like creature hangs half in and half out of the water. It smells rancid, and upon seeing it, I have to cover my mouth to keep the smell from turning my stomach.
“Let’s go,” Havoc says, completely unaffected. His eyes trace down to the poodle again. “Keep your creatures close. Something that small is still a tempting meal for the little ones.”
I suppose the legend has seen a lot since he’s been here, but to be so unaffected by such a brutal death? Dross isn’t any better. Death is everywhere, but it’s more of a slow, sickly death. Here, death is grotesque, brutal, and disgusting oftentimes. And Havoc doesn’t seem to react at all to it.
“Let me do the talking,” Havoc orders as we wade through the tunnel. “When we get to the Queen.”
“Why?” I grunt.
But he doesn’t answer. Instead, we exit the tunnel into a well-lit room. Immediately, a bunch of guards surround us and point sharp weapons at our faces. Havoc raises his hands and I follow his lead, shooting my own free hand into the air, but keeping my other arm firmly around my poodle.
“We request an audience with the Rat Queen,” he declares.
The guards hover for a moment before they tuck their weapons back to their sides and gesture for us to continue. We’re forced to wade through more water to reach what is clearly some sort of makeshift throne room.
My eyes immediately find Locke and widen, but I jerk my gaze away to avoid angering the queen who sits on a throne made entirely of garbage.
She’s lounging across the throne, her head tipped back, as a different man runs his hands along her patchy fur, stroking along her chest. She cracks an eye open when we step out of the water and take up position in front of her.
She raises her brow when the poodle under my arms yips and wags its tail.
“What do you want, Legend?” The queen asks when she trails her eyes over to Havoc. She shoves the man massaging her away and sits up, her eyes taking in our strange group.
“Good evening, Your Majesty,” he says, bowing his head just slightly. “You are currently in possession of a player that belongs to me. I would like to offer a trade to get him back.”
She laughs. “Oh?” She leans forward on her throne. “And which player is that?”