Chapter 799: Blood (2/2)
It was dark inside, water dripping from the ceiling. Nobody had lived in here for some time.
“Whatcha find?” Willa asked.
Phoebe removed the small piece of paper from a pocket in her simple pants. She activated her main aura, vein like embers glowing on her arms as she unfolded the piece. “It’s in Jissu.”
Mila walked over. “The Bearclaw Den, with simple directions,” she said and grinned. “Kram ret Baralia,” she said. “Down with Baralia. This is it.”
“So we have a location,” Willa said with a smile.
“We investigate at night,” Phoebe said. “Quietly. Hidden. And without starting a fight.”
“We might not have a choice,” Willa said.
“In that case we call for Aki,” Phoebe said.
Willa sighed. “Come on. If we can take them, we can take them.”
“Don’t joke around. We’re not in a known environment anymore, with other Sentinels,” Phoebe said.
“Bold of you to assume our training excursions were in known places or controlled in any way. Other people will hesitate,” Willa said.
“And you won’t?” Phoebe asked. “Just because you’re a Sentinel doesn’t mean you’re ready for everything. Don’t get cocky.”
Willa opened her mouth and shut it, glaring to the side.
“Objections?” Phoebe asked.
There were none.
Night fell over the ancient city, the group of Sentinels stirring as they prepared to investigate the Bearclaw Den.
Phoebe took in a deep breath. She brushed away the sweat on her brow, the dense houses and high walls still retaining most of the heat from the summer day. She signed to the others, teleporting into a dark apartment on the other side of the alley. Her team followed.
She had the enchanted cube at the ready in case they were discovered or needed reinforcements.
The search was quick, the description concise and the location rather central. Of course the barkeep hadn’t specified what or who would be waiting for them at the Den, nor did they know if it was a bar, hideout, or perhaps even an established club of sorts.
The building looked like most other stone structures they had seen in Nara. The top half showed heavy damage, tree roots still remaining. Nobody stood at the entrance of the ground floor, the simplified drawing of a bear on a weathered wooden board hanging from above the metal door. There was no light in the alley.
Phoebe pointed up, the others following when she teleported. She pointed to the building across the narrow alley and vanished.
Willa, Ember, and Mila appeared by her side.
It was quiet. Phoebe signed for no more teleports, lest they appear between a group of unknown people. She activated her ash armor, the others following suit. “Quiet now,” she whispered. “Information only. If we’re discovered we activate the cube and run. Understood?”
The others nodded.
Phoebe signed again. Focus. She led the group forward and towards the damaged stairwell. Short teleports worked fine, as long as they didn’t go through entire floors or into rooms they hadn’t scouted out.
Ember and Mila checked the hallway at the same time, Phoebe and Willa stepping out a moment later.
They continued in their trained formation all the way to the ground floor. It took them a few minutes of searching to find the single door that led into the same area Phoebe assumed the Bearclaw Den to be in.
Ember signed for enchantments, the woman stepping up to the door before she crouched down, gesturing again at the entirety of the wall.
Phoebe waited, checking her auras as she listened. Something sizzled, Ember signing that the way was clear.
Willa signed for a teleport and rush formation, the others agreeing.
Phoebe counted down with three fingers before they appeared in a dimly lit hallway.
Snoring could be heard from ahead and towards the alley, the sound of metal cutting into wood coming from the same broad room. A bar or restaurant, Phoebe assumed based on the wooden tables and chairs, most of it rather haphazardly strewn about.
She could see the main entrance. The other way was a hallway leading to the back of the structure. She gestured towards it, the team moving with silent steps, covering each others backs until they came up on a stairwell leading down.
Willa took point and suggested a formation.
Phoebe agreed, following the woman down the stone stairs and into the cellar of the building.
What they found was old shelves, large storage boxes, and a lot of dust.
Their auras provided a little bit of light. Enough for them to make out the walls. Something had to be hidden.
Mila stepped to the back wall where a small shrine stood. She touched one of the small figures, a section of the wall lighting up before another hallway became visible.
They moved in with silent steps, finding a set of rooms on each side with various personal belongings and two sleeping mages close to level one twenty. Above each of them.
Phoebe saw the grin on Willa’s face as they passed into a more spacious hall. They froze and hid in a side room when voices resounded, speaking in Jissu.
A group of people, walking on the other side of the hall. They soon passed.
Phoebe glanced at Mila, seeing the woman’s hands tremble slightly.
“They spoke of… trade. Some of the words. It’s true. The wares are people,” she said.
“There you go,” Willa said, looking out of the room and in the direction where the group had walked.
Phoebe signed. Once again, information and stealth.
They moved out, ash armor and auras at the ready. Another hallway, this one with cells on each side. The last few were occupied.
Phoebe ground her teeth when she saw the people inside.
One young girl rushed to the steel grate and spoke in Jissu.
“Retreat,” Mila said, her eyes wide.
The word wasn’t easily said, Phoebe teleporting back into the previous hall with the rest of the team appearing next to her. She felt a magical pulse, turning her head to see blood explosions rupture through the hallway.
They teleported again when a group of people cut off their way, armor and weapons coated in magic, mages to the side.
She had no time to identify them when a pulse of loud noise rushed out and struck her. Her ears were blown out as she staggered, her balance gone. She teleported again, appearing near a wall, her orientation still gone as she grabbed the enchanted cube and activated it, her ears healing when something bright came flying from her left.
She pushed herself off the wall and skidded to a halt.
“… now the Sentinels are informed. Kill them and destroy everything,” a woman in black armor said, her face covered in a simple red mask.
Phoebe saw Willa teleport back, a man in gray robes appearing next to her. He ignored the ashen copies that appeared and grabbed onto her arm, pulling her closer when another pulse of sound originated from him.
Ember stumbled right after she appeared next to them, Phoebe rushing forward when a set of stone projectiles pierced her armor. She managed to dodge to prevent her heart from being pierced.
The sound mage grabbed onto Willa’s face, magic surging near his palm before his spell was released.
Phoebe teleported next to him and punched, her magic lashing into him before another pulse sent her reeling.
[Sound Mage – lvl ??]
She glanced to the side, seeing the heavy chunk of stone coming. Phoebe could just barely raise her arm before the thing sent her flying. She tumbled twice, landing hard on the floor before she coughed up blood. Her healing fought to keep her conscious, another teleport activating to dodge the three lances that came her way. She appeared to see the sound mage gone, only three people remaining beside a downed Ember.
Phoebe summoned an ashen lance but had to dodge when one of the people appeared in front of her, daggers slashing at her.
[Assassin – lvl ??]
She dodged four strikes before the woman rammed a dagger into her stomach. Phoebe blocked the second one coming for her throat with the palm of her hand. Dulled explosions resounded from behind.
The assassin ripped away her blades and vanished.
Phoebe could barely comprehend the message about being poisoned, her healing already overwhelmed with all the injuries she had sustained. Her vision blurred as she pulled herself forward on the ground. She teleported towards the downed form of her friend, blood from her gut mixing with the blood of Willa, her body unmoving. Phoebe shook her, her arms trembling when her healing told her what she didn’t want to believe.
She grit her teeth, coughing again as more explosions resounded. She heard shouts from above, finding Mila near one of the walls with her arms around Ember, face coated in blood. They looked so small. Her arms. Her vision went dark.