Glenn wasn’t looking good. I used every healing spell I could on him until I only had enough mana for one first-tier spell. The mana I promised him I’d save for myself. The spell my father cast on him had likely broken his Aura, and the stab wound from Steven’s Aura-infused sword hadn’t helped either. We had to make our way to Corlyn’s Sect’s dormitories. Maeori knew other ways of getting to the catacombs, but the one she took me through in the dormitories was the only one I really knew of.

  We exited from the side of the administrative building. The courtyard was strangely active for the early morning. A number of clergy members were outside the front of the building. They were a mix of followers from Lady Corlyn and Aurenmis’ sects, as well as Lord Orn’s. Some were yelling, others knelt in prayer.

  It was strange, but it didn’t matter. We had to make distance. I didn’t think Steven was dead even after Glenn defenestrated him. Glenn seemed to be moving a bit slower than usual. He likely wasn’t able to infuse his limbs with Aura, though he was still faster than I would’ve been if he hadn’t taught me how to infuse Aura. I hadn’t run so hard or so fast since Lord Stultvultan ordered me to save Maeori in the woods months ago.

  Nevertheless, we eventually made it to the dormitory. It was mostly empty with a few odd clergywomen looking at us, confused, but they didn’t try to stop us as we headed to the basement. It was only once we got down there that I realized I might’ve made a mistake. Maeori and I could fit through the hole quite snuggly, but Glenn and his armor likely couldn’t at all. If we were lucky, my last spell would be enough for both of us to make it into the catacombs, but I wanted to use it to heal Glenn more. I pushed the box aside, and my face paled. There wasn’t even a hole there.

  “I… I-err there should’ve, there was…” I muttered, looking at the dirt.

  “What? What is it?” Glenn asked.

  “There was a hole here that led to the catacombs. That’s how we were going to escape.”

  My sense of dread only built when I heard footsteps coming down the stairs. Glenn heard them too, drawing his sword. They stopped for a moment at the noise. I could feel my heart thumping in my chest. Glenn would be as good as dead, and I might as well be if it were Steven or my father’s other men. I turned back to the dirt wall and cast the Lesser Shape Earth spell with the last of my mana at where the hole used to be.

  Suddenly, from the stairs, there was a meow and a confused-looking Maeori holding some rocks and looking down at the two of us. “I’ll assume you two being down here means things have gone awry?”

  “D-did Nox not tell you?” I looked away from the hole while the magic was still working.

  “No, he just ran off. Wait, are you able to speak to him? He still isn't with me.” Maeori scooped up Nox, looking intently into his eyes.

  “I doubt there is time for this, but because I made the link with you, it can only be used with you. Tell my Mistress that I’m unable to speak with her and I’ll explain later,” Nox said telepathically to me.

  “He says he’ll tell you later. About why he can’t talk with you.” I turned back around, and the hole was formed again, but now I was out of spells. “Glenn, do you think you can fit through there?”

  “Be careful of the Crypt Rats,” Maeori added. “So are either of you going to tell me what happened?”

  “My father, he-”

  “Is a fucking prick that won’t listen to reason,” Glenn said as he started to enter.

  “Well, I did tell you to let me handle things. That’s just great, isn’t it? I’ll assume we need to escape through the catacombs now?” She sighed. “I was really hoping not to have to go back down there, but there is a route I found recently with Yelgris and Jvsil that should help get us out of here.”

  “Why hadn’t you suggested it sooner!” Glenn yelled. His upper body was already inside the hole. “I don’t know how much farther I can get.”

  “As I said, it was a recent discovery. I needed time to figure out how to break Sofia out of the Penance Halls while she’s almost constantly being watched. Not to mention creating a distraction so we wouldn’t be pursued. Simply waiting for the next charity trip was a simpler option that not only minimized risk and gave us a lead on potential pursuers." There was an annoyed tone in her voice as she said it. “Plus, weren’t you the one insisting on handling Sofia’s situation despite my insistence that I had it handled?” Maeori pulled out her spell book and, after finding the right page, she tapped her fingers against the hole, widening the tunnel for Glenn.

  “Weren’t you the one who sold military secrets after I told you not to,” Glenn snarled back.

  “Oh, you found out about that? What can I say, I didn’t want to be under your thumb, just because your family’s rich. I had a way out, and I took it.”

  “Fuck off with that shit.”

  “Anyways, you should go next, Sofia. I’ll need to make a note to tell Archie where to take the wagon. I’ll also need to cover our tracks.” She breathed a heavy sigh again.

  “Oh, right.” I entered, following after Glenn. After I entered, she moved the box back to cover the hole, leaving us in darkness.

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  “I’m sorry,” Glenn said. I couldn’t see him when I made it out of the tunnel. “I thought, if your father knew the gods gave us a quest. Or that if he knew what was happening to you… That, I don’t know. He seemed receptive in his responses to my letters.”

  I stood in silence, not knowing what to say. He really didn’t know, did he? All the years, and the one time he saw something happen was when he figured it out? For my sake, and his saying ‘it’s fine’ hardly seemed like an appropriate response.

  Glenn’s breathing was still labored, and the scent of burnt flesh clung to him. We sat in an uncomfortable silence until Maeori emerged from the hole after a short while. A small light in her hand. Nox wasn’t with her.

  “Is Nox-”

  “He’s delivering the note to Ivili and Archie about where we’re going. Told them to assume they’ll be followed in it, so hopefully, that will allow things to work out.” The previously annoyed look on her face had turned grim. “So, this will be how the world ends.” I thought I heard her whisper. She tried to show a more neutral face as she turned to us. “Well, let's get going… There were people looking for you in the dorm.”

  Of course, there were. Why wouldn’t there be? Maeori took a moment to close the hole back up before she started guiding us through the catacombs. She made a wrong turn here or there, but seemed to be using some markings made on the corners of crossings to guide us. The entire trip felt uneasy. The look the skulls gave us in the dim light. Begging us to join them. The smallest noise, like the scuttle of Crypt Rats whose eyes glowed from the light, kept nerves high. Along with Glenn’s labored breaths, reminding us of how close we already were to our demise.

  “Tell Mistress we will be delayed. The elf is claiming a ‘kin-killer’ is following us.” Nox told me in my mind. I froze for a moment. Maeori and Glenn turned to look back at me. That had to be the man who killed Father Yelgris. If he was following them, did that mean they didn’t know where we were? Or were they coming after both of our parties?

  “I got a message from Nox… he said they were being followed. I think by the man who attacked us at Harshire.”

  “Fuck,” Maeori said, continuing to walk. “They’ll need to do their part and lose him at all costs.”

  “I concur,” Glenn said, almost annoyed he was agreeing with Maeori. “I can’t take him as I am right now.”

  “I-I think they know. I’m worried about responding. There’s only so much mana in the connection, and it would be bad if we lose it… right?”

  “Makes sense, save it for emergencies,” Maeori said.

  We kept going, likely for an hour or two, though it was hard to tell, until we reached what looked like an unfinished dirt area with a mess of odd holes lining the walls.

  “What are these?” I asked as Maeori was getting ready to crawl into one of them.

  “Old Crypt Rat burrows. Goes under some farmland outside the main wall, but within the monster wall. Thankfully, Crypt Rats are big, so we should be able to fit.” She turned to look at Glenn in his armor. “If not, I’m not sure how we’ll resurface.”

  “How in the hells did you find these things?”

  “This was Jsvil, his familiar was an earth spirit dog who he could actually telepathically communicate with, once it started learning our language, that is.” A small smirk crossed her face. “Before it kept barking at him.”

  “Jsvil?” Glenn asked.

  “The guy I was studying wizardry with. He wasn’t all too interested in traveling with us, but mentioned taking a ‘permanent vacation’ to Dwarfshaven in a few months. So if we have time eventually, I’d like to pay him a visit.”

  “What is it with you and these strange phrases? What the hells is a ‘permanent vacation’? Makes me think he’s dying.”

  “Regional idioms from where I’m from. It’s what we’re doing. Leaving and not coming back.”

  “We’re coming back,” I said, to two surprised looks. “I-err I’d like to see Fionn again.”

  “Just know that won’t be for a while then.” Maeori turned and continued to crawl.

  It took us some time and some investigation to make our way through the tunnels. Not all the passages Maeori knew were big enough for Glenn to fit through. Thankfully, the burrows were like a labyrinth. When one path was too small, there was usually another we could try and take. I was worried about Glenn. He desperately needed time and rest, not that he voiced any complaint.

  Maeori stopped us at a dead end, looking over at it with a vexed expression. “So much of my mana wasted on moving dirt.” After fiddling with her spellbook and touching it, the dirt began to move aside, opening to the surface. The suns’ light filtered down, and she stopped feeding mana to the light spell she’d been keeping in her hand. Even after all that happened, it was only a bit after midday.

  We emerged next to a hill near some farmland. Several farmers were out harvesting peas. It was the last harvest before winter in a few weeks. There was an outerwall village a little way off that Maeori started walking towards. We were well outside the city’s main wall, and it loomed in the distance. The slightest outline of the monster wall several miles away could also be seen.

  Following Maeori, we started heading towards the village. The village itself wasn’t along any of the main roadways. So the roads were rather barren. Aside from the houses, the only buildings of note were a small pub and a chapel dedicated to Orn, likely too small to have a spell-blessed priest.

  “I-err think we’re out of the telepathic range of the others,” I said, after trying to ask Nox if they were there.

  “Great. Well, I don’t know about you two, but I could use a drink,” Maeori said, heading towards the pub. It was empty when we entered, even absent of anyone tending to the bar. Everyone who lived here was likely tending to the fields. Maeori took a seat, placing her elbows on the counter as she rubbed her temples.

  “There’ll be time for drinks later,” Glenn said sternly, taking a seat. “You’re the only one who still has anything left.”

  “Right, me at just over half my current capacity against you with nothing still feels like it would favor you.” Maeori turned to assess Glenn. “Aside from the hole in your armor, I imagine it's sturdy enough to handle some small pebbled being flung at it.”

  “We have guests?” a voice said before a younger man entered. “Sorry about that. Was working on a stew. What’s brought you lot here?”

  “Investigating rumors that Crypt Rats were reinfesting the area, but don’t worry. They were just that, rumors,” Maeori said, lying with an unnerving ease, “Anyways, I’ll take mead if you have it, spiced ale if not.”

  “Alright, give me a moment.” The bartender poured a mug. “I need to get back to the stew. Yell if you need anything.”

  “You won’t listen to any of my advice, will you?” Glenn asked after he left.

  “Don’t worry, it’s not just you. My own advice is usually better than most people's, so I listen to that.”

  Glenn scoffed, and we waited in an awkward silence.