Seslyn closed the wall behind Artemis replacing the brick from the inside locking the wall in place. Artemis noted how cleverly disguised this was. He silently hoped no elves had seen them. Seslyn made her way up to the front. She picked up a few torches that had been left at the entrance. How long had they been there the group wondered. Would they even light?

  Seslyn, almost like she knew what they were all thinking, looked back and nodded. She dipped the torch in a think black liquid. Artemis took in a deep breath trying to see if he recognized it and immediately covered his nose. Ashera recognized the liquid as a form of crude oil used in her time, diesel. Seslyn struck a rock on a metal plate a little further down the corridor. Using the sparks, she lit the first torch.

  “Those reeks,” a few in the group said as a course, all grabbing their noses.

  “It’s not the most pleasant of smells, yes, I’ll give you that,” Seslyn said. “It does the job though, some of the thing’s humans came up with were incredible, yes. Then there is this stuff, mother said it was made from the bones and flesh of animals more ancient than humans themselves. She said it was used to power machines and homes in the early days of humanity, yes.”

  “Your mom is impressively well informed,” Ashera said, “that’s exactly what this was used for. Though it’s use died off quickly once the elves showed us magic.”

  Seslyn nodded absentmindedly as she was only half listening while lighting the other torches. They began their climb down the shaft, running parallel to the sewer pipe for a time. This place had clearly never been intended for larger individuals such as Artemis or Lyna to walk through. This led to them both getting stuck on several occasions. The tunnels construction was crude, supports thrown together haphazardly. Some looking as though they would collapse at any moment.

  Ashera stopped and examined a few of the supports, wondering how they were even still standing. That was when she noticed it, the small black threads holding them to the wall and to each other. She knew instantly what they were. These are the magically infused ink, not the exact type used in her tattoos but very similar. It was thick with a sticky looking substance. This wasn’t an elvish magic or human technology. At least not one that should have been fully developed. Ashera wondered what it was doing here. It was a technology, Ashera had thought, was destroyed before the war. It was a forbidden magic, a dangerous magic, one that could have brought ruin to the Ashera’s time if it had been perfected. She was intrigued and very concerned.

  The group having noticed Ashera falling behind came back to see what had grabbed her attention. She motioned to the magical ink holding the beams together, pointing out the patterns created by the substance.

  Everyone was curious, murmurs broke out between groups of the onlookers wondering why Ashera looked so concerned about it. Artemis, only half paying attention to her look reached out, cautiously to touch the sticky substance. As his finger made contact, a faint yet jarring surge of energy coursed through his hand. The sensation Traveling up his arm until, he recoiled his hand. A puzzled look came across his face as he made eye contact with Ashera. Ashera’s face was in an expression of shock and concern.

  “What?” Aremis asked.

  “You don’t know what it is, and your first instinct is to touch it?!” Ashera scolded. “You could have been seriously hurt, more likely killed if it had been what I thought it was. It looks very similar to the elven made virus designed to exterminate humans. It was an unholy creation between a magitech defector and the mages of the elves.”

  “Well good news then, it appears to not be that” Artemis said, with a smug smile. “Or at least, because we beastites are so far removed from humans now, it doesn’t affect us. If it’s supposed to be gone like you said what’s it doing here?”

  Seslyn piped up and said, “it’s being made upstairs, yes, the elves have been recreating it. M.O.T.H.E.R. says it’s why we are here; M.O.T.H.E.R. says one day our purpose will be made clear, yes.”

  The group turned to look at Seslyn, and Ashera bent down and grabbed her.

  “What?” Ashera almost screamed in Seslyn’s ear. “How does your mother know about this? What does she mean by your purpose?”

  Seslyn skittered back and started shaking, “M.O.T.H.E.R. know all, yes, M.O.T.H.E.R. is old. She says she’s been here since the beginning, yes, she founded the Vailed Enclave, our family. You can ask her yourself once we get down there, yes, yes.”

  Seslyn winced almost like she was expecting to be hit for this answer. Ashera, seeing she had scared her new companion, calmly stood up, walked over to Seslyn and hugged her. Seslyn sniffled and began to cry.

  “I thought my new friends were going to leave me,” Seslyn bellowed.

  “I’m sorry I scared you Seslyn, I’m not mad at you it’s the elves and their attempts to purify the world again that scares me. You’re one of us now and we don’t abandon our own. Isn’t that right,” Ashera said looking back to the group.

  Everyone nodded in agreement and came over to comfort Seslyn. After a moment longer Seslyn began to lead them through the tunnels once more. As they proceeded the tunnel grew lighter and the air grew less stale. That’s when they saw it, the old human structure the building that was buried under the elven city and the home of the Vailed Enclave.

  Catching up to Seslyn, Ashera asked, “do you know what this building was used for?”

  “M.O.T.H.E.R. said it was for something called it a high containment laboratory, yes. She said it was used for storage of both biological, human and elven made pathogens,” Seslyn responded. “The place where they are kept is above this place, on the surface. M.O.T.H.E.R. and her first children collapsed the stairs leading down here to keep the elves from coming deeper”

  Ashera breathed a sigh of relief, this however raised new concerns. How old was this mother of Seslyn’s, why had it not moved from this place the moment the contaminants had been discovered, and why did she seem so keen on keeping her children, all but Seslyn here.

  ***

  Hayami took the remaining people from the island and split off heading north. Rothar and his militant forces were a boon she hadn’t expected on this journey. Ashera had left her with what amounted to a full regiment of soldiers. True most of the group leaders were off with Ashera looking for some unknown’s home but that was fine. So long as they all made it to the North so she could give her report.

  “So, I know they we have a way to go, you know before we reach the Northern territory and all. But couldn’t you be a little more… Friendly,” Rothar said to Hayami. “Our people are more wary of you than they were of Artemis when he first joined our group.”

  Hayami looked coldly at Rothar, what did he mean. She made small talk, asked about their lives before the island. She was just focused on getting there alive. Not on babysitting a bunch of civilians. True she had a lot of capable fighters with her, but they weren’t enough.

  “I’m tasked with keeping you all alive until we reach my home,” She said matter-of-factly, “Ashera would have my head, no make that Suntiana would have my head if anything happened to her precious people. Are you telling me I should make nice instead of protecting them. I am asking about their lives I know more than I care too, but agreeably less than I should.”

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  She nodded, “Fine I will make more of an effort to be, less scary.”

  “Thank you?” Rothar said confusedly, not sure she fully understood what he meant.

  Rothar returned to his men and shrugged, it was the best he would get. As they walked along a very well used trail through the woods. One of the other people asked, “are these the slavers trails? If so, should we really be using them?”

  Hayami turned to the group, and they stopped walking as they got closer to listen to her speak, “yes, these are the slavers trails. Yes, we should be using them. Do you think we would have better luck on the open road. There are elven patrols, forts, and outposts all along the Northern border. These trails are in one of the only unguarded areas.”

  Hayami sighed, “look, I know walking through this forest is complete shit. No one wants to walk-through knee-deep underbrush, risking ambush from magical creatures that make this place their home. Small victories at least dragolisks can’t get in here, and Scavers don’t live this far North. I know we’re all tired of this fucking country. Soon we will be somewhere safe.”

  Someone interjected, “what about all those people who left to go find their families? Shouldn’t you have tried harder to stop them. I mean if this is really the safest place to be.”

  “Enough,” Rothar bellowed, “they chose to leave, what would you have had us do clasp them in irons and force them along? That would have been no better than the elves and you all know it! Don’t blame her if they get the shitty end of the stick. Worst case they die, best case they get sent back to the island and live with our people again. No more talking move!”

  With that they all started to file into place again, waiting for Hayami to lead the way. Her opinion of Rothar had changed a little, he wasn’t just a brute. He now seemed to have a decent head about him too.

  ***

  Seslyn lead the group further into the tunnel. The further they got from the entrance to the sewer pipe the less they saw the elven made pathogen. Not long after, Seslyn stopped looked down, and slowly turned her head to look at Ashera with eyes screaming help me. Ashera ran up to her, as the words started to come from her lips to ask what was going on. Seslyn was dragged down the ladder leading to the human ruins dropping her torch at the top.

  Ashera immediately threw the torch down the hole, looking for anything that could be there. What was at the bottom made her sick, it was more turned humans, more of her friends and colleagues had been stripped of their humanity. Pushing the thought that more of them would die before she could undo the spell that had turned them, she swung her head back and yelled at everyone.

  “More of my kind are here, turned like they were in the facility on the island! They have Seslyn,” Ashera exclaimed, as she dropped down the ladder.

  The others we shocked for a moment, then they all leaped into action. Following Ashera down the ladder after Seslyn. Ashera being the first down there was taken aback by the shape these people were in. Unlike her and the people where she had been found, these ones were rotting, limbs falling off, with black ooze dripping from their bodies.

  The pathogen she thought, they must have been infected before her incomplete spell had gone off. Instead of killing them instantly, the virus had slowed down not fully recognizing the changes made. For centuries these people were trapped in a hell like her own but worse. Ashera knew when she bumped into a desk or a wall it had hurt, these people were being devoured from the inside. They needed to be laid to rest.

  “Kill them all! They’re infected,” Ashera yelled, hoping the others could hear her.

  She stepped back, trying to avoid any contact with the black ooze. Immediately Ashera started casting spells drawing her tattoo into the air, flames the colour of Suntianas feathers began to spray out in three directions creating a wall in front of her. It burned away the ooze and the people advancing on her.

  She was saddened by this; she had hoped against all odds some of her people could be saved. Not here, not now. It looked like the elven plague had done its job.

  She returned her attention to the fight at hand slowly she moved in one direction against the wall trying to keep the ladder clear. The others started to drop down the ladder one after the other. Suntiana descended last using her wings to hover close to the ceiling. Able to see further than the rest Suntiana arced lightening between the furthest zombies causing the ooze to catch fire. Good to know the ooze is flammable. Artemis jumped head long into the fray, against many screams from both Suntiana and Ashera. He let loose with his throwing daggers dropping the zombies left and right. He artfully danced around the corpses and the puddling ooze around them. Lyna threw chunks of the cave wall that she carved out with her claws into groups of them, scattering, killing, or severely maiming those who were hit.

  “Your left! No, your other left. Yes, take that you bunch of bruits. Ha, not so powerful now are you! Yes,” came words of encouragement from Seslyn, who was huddled behind the ladder.

  Suntiana flew her way around the chamber dropping seeds as she went. Once the bag was emptied, she returned to where everyone was.

  “Now is the time for gardening?!” Ashera said with admonishment in her tone.

  “Just you wait,” Suntiana said with a smile, “they’re a gift from the island. We may want to go back up the ladder by the way.”

  Sprouts started to spring up fast, unnaturally so, just like all flowering life on the island had it was quick, and this species was violent when it matured. The vines started to creep up around everything and everyone it could reach. Seslyn being the last up the ladder felt on gently graze her foot as she pulled it up the shaft. The zombies who had been moving freely were now pinned down. The ooze was being sucked up to fuel their rapid growth.

  “Great, now what?” Artemis asked, “These things take forever to die we’re stuck.”

  Suntiana smiled and shrugged, “what happens when they come in contact with fire again?”

  Aremis’s face went from disapproval, to smiling. “You’re insane.”

  Ashera not sure what he had missed looked between them curiously. “Explain please.”

  “I discovered by accident these plants. They grow well in dark damp places with a decaying food source. However, when they reach the sunlight or fire as I found out. They explode into bloom and their spores if left near fire act as an accelerant until the fire is consumed,” Suntiana said. “So, ten, fifteen minutes and zombie problem will be handled.”

  As they sat their waiting this pungent smell came wafting up the tunnel. Everyone covered their noses, even those who were used to living in sewers. The smell grew in intensity, then almost instantly disappeared. Flames came shooting up from the tunnel below.

  After ten minutes the flames had dissipated. The room itself had been turned into a crucible holding the heat. Making it next to impossible to continue their journey. Everyone looked at Suntiana with flat looks.

  “What?” Suntiana said innocently, “the zombies are gone. It shouldn’t take more than a few hours for the heat to dissipate into the surrounding stone. In the meantime, Seslyn why don’t you tell us more about your mother. She seems to be knowledge able in human technology.”

  Everyone nodded with excitement and sat propped against the walls but well enough down the passage to avoid the heat emanating from the room below. Seslyn sat there in silence for a long time. She wondered what to say, where should she even start. She didn’t know too much about her M.O.T.H.E.R.s past. She only knew bit and pieces she had gotten in conversation with her.

  “To tell you the truth, M.O.T.H.E.R. is secretive. At least with me, everyone else in the colony is connected to her with telepathy. I was never given that. She said it made me special, though it just made me the outsider. I always had to ask for tasks to preform when everyone else just knew. M.O.T.H.E.R. would often talk to me, not about the past but about getting out to see the world for what it was now, not for what she had told the others it had been. I would talk to her about how to deal with other races, she hadn’t told me anything about all of you though just elves and humans. Told me to avoid elves at all costs they would kill me or worse if they caught me, and worse they did,” she drifted away for a moment lost in thought. “I think she will be happy to learn there are more types of people out there than just human and elves. Even if most of your species started out as humans, at least that’s what Tyrnal told me. M.O.T.H.E.R. always taught me to be kind unless it was an elf she hates eves so much. I wonder why. No one else in the colony would tell me why. We would talk about medicine and alchemy; I think she wanted me to be an alchemist. I’m glad I did become one I mean, even if it’s not a very good one. She would spend hours going over things with me for my journey mostly what plants and animals were edible. I don’t think the cooks on the island knew that information though.”

  This elicited a chuckle from everyone around her. They continued talking about her journey through the elven territory and how she got caught heading north. She told them of the slaver camps she saw with people from the north, races she had no idea what they were. Some small and stout, others tall and lanky with antlers and other bestial features. Before long, the closest to the tunnel connecting the two rooms spoke up.

  “The temperature seems to have dropped a good chunk,” they said.