All manner of sewage floats in the waters we wade through, slowly pushing forward under Denzen's streets. I can see in front of me as if I'm still in the daylight, although everything appears in shades of gray. Small bugs scurry across steel pipes, which hang down, causing me to walk hunched over. The sewer is only large enough for one of us to pass through at a time. Occasionally, liquid rushes through the pipes, or a gust of wind blows from seemingly nowhere. There is only one direction to proceed: forward.
"How big is this one tunnel?" Whisperclaw complains behind me. "There's no way a city can function like this."
"We'll probably come to a junction point soon." I push through the murky waters, the foul smell ordering me to continue onwards and demanding that I find a way out of this God forsaken place.
"Right..." I can feel Whisperclaw roll her eyes. "Like you didn't already say that thirty minutes ago."
"Well, that was thirty minutes ago…" I don't even bother stopping. "...and this is now. Just a little bit further."
"Renald!" I hear her splash to a halt. "I'm serious! My fur's all sticky and I smell like shit... literally! We need a shower, and we need to figure out where we're even going."
"Ugh, fine." I grit my teeth and stop, looking up at the ceiling for any signs of another manhole.
I don't see anything but more pipes and steel. Sighing, I turn to face Whisperclaw.
"Look, I'll gladly pay for you to get a shower and a room…" Her face instantly brightens with a smile. "...When we make it out of this sewer."
I turn back around and begin marching forward again. She groans, each step splashing with protest. It takes what feels like another hour before the sound of crackling mana crystals fills the air, and a golden light comes from around the corner.
"You hear that?" I look over my shoulder at Whisperclaw and grin.
"Thank the Gods!" Tears of joy pool in her eyes.
We rush forward, filthy water splashing everywhere. We turn the corner and are immediately met with a large metal gate. On the other side is a large chamber with other gates surrounding it, probably leading to other sewer tunnels. A single ladder drops down from a closed manhole on the ceiling. The metal gate has a lock on it, which I hit with the edge of my saber, knocking it off and allowing the gate to swing open. I step up from the thigh-high water and into the chamber, turning around and helping Whisperclaw up.
"It looks like we can go up from here." I say, eyeing the ladder. "The only question is, do we want to?"
"You promised me a shower." Whisperclaw jabs me in the chest with her finger. "Don't get cold feet now that we've found an exit."
"You're right, I did promise to get you a room." I rub my forehead.
"Good. You haven't forgotten, then." Whisperclaw pushes past me and begins to climb the ladder. "I'm heading up. I'll try to spot some shadows we can step through."
I nod, forgetting for a second that she can't see me, then hurry to climb after her.
"Good." Whisperclaw peeks through the grate. "It looks like we're in another alley."
She climbs out and reaches back down to pull me the rest of the way up. We are now inside another alleyway, just like Whisperclaw had said. I spot a cart full of cloaks, of different colors and shades, at the end of the alley. I slowly walk up to the edge of the cart, glancing around the corner. Thankfully, the short, overweight, senat man working the cart has his back turned.
"...the best cloaks in all of Denzen!" He yells at passersby. "You won't find any material quite this fine at this cheap a cost anywhere else!"
I silently thank the man in my mind. Then I slip a black and a red cloak off the cart before making my way back to Whisperclaw in the alley. I hand her the red cloak, taking the black cloak for myself. We put them on, covering our faces with the hoods. I purposely chose Giant sizes, so the cloaks completely conceal our faces and body armor.
"Alright, let's go." I walk towards the opposite end of the alley. "We'll get a room first, then we'll gather information on Glimmer."
"Right." Whisperclaw nods in agreement. I can see a grin peaking through from underneath her hood.
We have to travel slower than normal because the hoods of our cloaks block our vision. After another ten to fifteen minutes, I see a wooden sign hanging from the side of a building with the outline of a direwolf engraved on it and the words "Wolfy's Tavern" engraved beneath.
I do a quick look around to make sure we weren't followed and then push the door to the building open. I'm greeted with the pleasant sight of an almost empty tavern, aside from an older elven woman and gentleman huddled together at a round table in a dark corner of the room. A jackal woman with grayish-bluish spotted fur sits behind the bar. Boredom is written all across her face. She has a bull ring in her nose, is wearing a torn t-shirt and a small leather jacket, and is lazily reading a book.
"Excuse me." I try to deepen my voice as I approach the bar. "Are there any rooms available for the night?"
The woman doesn't respond. I think I hear her snicker a little. I cough loudly and then set my bag of gold coins on the bar counter. This draws her gaze. First to my bag, then to me.
"Sorry, I didn't hear you come in." She grins. "How can I help you, fine folk?"
"Why you little…" Whisperclaw's fur bristles. She starts to step forward before I block her with my arm.
"We'd just like a room for the night…" I look around again, eyeing the elven couple across the room who are now looking at us suspiciously. "...and some information if you have it."
"Information, information. That's all you people want nowadays." The woman rolls her eyes and takes the bag of coins off the counter. "Follow me."
I frown, but follow the woman nonetheless. She leads us around the back of the bar and through a single metal door, into an extensive hallway. We head to the end of the hall, then the woman slips an iron key from a ring on her belt and unlocks the door. Whisperclaw and I step inside. The woman enters behind us, shuts, and locks the door.
The room is small, with barely enough space for the three of us to shuffle around. A single window looks out upon the city street, allowing just enough light inside the room for us to see without the need of a lamp. There is a shabby wooden desk against the right wall and a mattress against the left-hand corner. A small, tattered, green blanket sits messily on top of the mattress. I spot another door next to the bed and push it open. It leads into a cubic bathroom with an oval-shaped mirror over a broken sink. A filthy metal bathtub sits against the right wall.
"So, uh…" I hear the woman say from the bedroom, "...Are you guys gonna take your hoods off or what? I like to see my client's faces, if you know what I mean."
"I don't think we will, seeing as we've paid you well enough." I say sharply, walking back out of the bathroom. "Now about that information."
"What do you want to know?" The woman sighs deeply, "And make it fast, I've things to do."
"Tell us what you know about the Wind family. Everything."