[The Stranger]

The Stranger hovered above the collapsed building, watching and waiting. He had seen the bothersome women run in, and was quite certain they had not made it out before he demolished the structure on top of them. Now there were no signs of movement save for the settling of the debris. He scanned for any intelligent minds... which was hard to do from such a distance and after so much exertion, but he was reasonably certain that there were no conscious entities in the rubble. Nothing could have survived.


The Stranger shuddered as a chill went through him. He was tired. Exhausted. He had never expended so much mental energy before. If he tried to exert himself further his concentration would fail him... and leave him vulnerable. He would have to rest now, despite his desire to see the job through to a quick completion.

But at least he did not have these women to worry about any longer.

There were two hellhounds left living. He bid them to follow him as he floated away into the night.

---

[Val'keth]

Sparkling dots squiggled across a sea of velvet blackness, then Val'keth's eyes snapped open. The speckles faded, but the blackness remained for a second before her heat sensitive sight adjusted. She was trapped underground, and in a very confined space. Val'keth forced herself to relax, then tensed every muscle carefully in turn, discovering how badly injured she was.


Everything hurt - except her arm. It was the only part of her body that wasn't throbbing with pain, but she couldn't feel anything, not even her fingers. There was something lying across Val'keth, forcing her to take shallow breaths, breaths which provoked a sharp stabbing pain in one side of her chest.

The debris around her groaned as it settled, the patter of tiny stone fragments reminding her where she was; buried under the two story building she and Zade had sought shelter in - but alive, nevertheless.

"Zade?" she croaked, wincing with the pain. No answer. The cellar stank - the rank smell of sewage. The collapse must have opened up cracks in the foundations of the building. Val'keth moved slowly, carefully, trying to edge sideways from underneath an enormous wooden beam. A sudden bolt of agony shot up her previously numb arm, and she gritted her teeth until it passed.

"Zade." she said again, hoarsely. "We have to get out of here. It's filling with gas. Zade?"

[Zade]

Zade opened her eyes and got a clear look at the surrounding darkness her before the pain forced them shut again. Her leg felt like it had been stripped of skin and encased in a block of moist salt. And it still had a sword sticking through it. Everything else hurt so badly that she couldn't even tell if any bones were broken.

Zade tried to move, but couldn't. She was lying face down, pinned to the ground by something heavy. Her large breasts were pressed painfully against the floor, leaving her barely enough room to breath. Every breath she did manage was laced with the foul stench of sewer water.

"Just my luck," she mumbled. But at least the building wasn't on fire. Yet.

Zade thought she heard someone calling her name.

The elf?

If Val-keth were still here it must mean she was trapped as well. Zade tried to move again. Her right arm was the only thing that wasn't crushed, pinned, or just too painful to move. She tried to shoulder the load...whatever it was... off of her, but it only shifted into an even more painful position.

"...dammit!..." she hissed.

Zade tried again, and the load slipped suddenly and fell with its full, enormous weight across her back. Zade's lungs emptied were unable to draw another breath.

Her eyes widened in shock and horror.

can'tbreatheCan'tBreatheCAN'TBREATHE!CAN'TBREATHE!!!!!

Desperation forced the last reserves of her energy into her muscles as she jerked and spasmed, trying to force the load off. It wouldn't move! It Wouldn't Move! She was going to DIE!

OH GODS!

...a sudden rush of strength...

crrreeeeeaaaAAAAK-THUD!

And the load fell off to one side and Zade breathed in the foul air as if it were honey-scented ambrosia!

"Elf, you... you okay?"

[Val'keth]

Something moved, the rubble shifting, then she heard a familiar voice - Zade! Val'keth wriggled again, ignoring the pain shooting up her arm, pushing the stinging cuts to the back of her mind.

"Zade..." she gasped, sinking into a fit of coughing. Her ribs ached like hell.

The beam above her creaked ominously as she slowly slid out from beneath it, working her body inch by inch through the thin gap between it and the mound of rubble. Something heavy still pressed down on her arm, pinning it securely.

"Still want to kill me?" she croaked hoarsely, trying not to laugh at the predicament she was in. Mere hours earlier, Zade had sworn to end her life, not once, but twice. And now here she was, trapped and at the woman's mercy. Val'keth wriggled once more, her feet scrabbling for purchase amongst the broken brickwork and floorboards that she lay amongst.

[Zade]

"Yeah," said Zade. "But that can wait 'til later. Right now I got a sword sticking out of my leg..."

Zade lay still for a moment to gather her nerve, then grabbed the sword that was protruding from her thigh. Just touching it made her want to black out. It had gone clean through, but her trip down the stairs and the subsequent collapse of the building had sent it dancing around in her flesh, slicing her horribly. Blood was everywhere, but fortunately the major artery in her leg had been spared... just barely.

Zade grabbed the sword with her right hand... the only arm that had any strength to it. Then she yanked the blade from her flesh in one pull.

"AIIIIIIGH!!!!" Zade blurted a continuous stream obscenities that lasted until she was just too weak to curse any more. Then she growled loudly as the darkness rushed forth to claim her mind

can't black out now... can't.... can't... fight it... fight it back...

[Val'keth]

Val'keth gritted her teeth, summoning the little strength she had left in her legs. Her feet had found something reasonably solid to push against, and Val'keth counted silently to three, then kicked out with what strength she had left.

"AAAaaaaaargh!"

Pain ripped up her arm into her shoulder, and it felt as if she had pulled her arm out from a bear-trap. Her arm *had* freed a little though, and before she could change her mind, Val'keth dug her heels in again and pushed hard.

"Szithrel jiv'elgg d'lil siltrin," she hissed as the force ripped her arm free and she rolled sideways, moaning as her arm throbbed.

Debris rained down from above, the beam groaning as it shifted and settled again. Val'keth ignored it and lay sprawled to one side, panting shallowly with sweat pouring off her brow. Her normally jet black skin had taken on an ashen cast, and she shook uncontrollably.

[Zade]

She felt better now. Still weak and in pain, but not as much as before.

Zade's mind was unfocused... it was hard to concentrate. Maybe it was blood loss... or maybe something else. Sewer gas? Concussion? Why was it so hard to think?

The sword through her leg had nicked her femur, but fortunately that was as close as she came to a broken bone. She didn't know why, though... she had a whole building collapse on top of her.

It didn't sound like the elf had been so lucky. Her breathing was shallow and irregular.

"Elf?" said Zade.

When there was no immediate response, Zade rolled over and tried to crawl to where she thought Val-keth was. Crawling through the cramped debris proved impossible, and Zade had to pull herself along on her belly, using the one arm and one leg that didn't hurt too much to move. She found the elf a few minutes later.

She didn't look good. She was pale, and shaking.

And not only that, the air quality had taken a definite turn for the worse. The smell of sewage intensified. Gas was rising into the building from below. If no spark ignited it, then they could both look forward to a very unpleasant suffocation. If there WAS a spark, then the end would come much, much quicker.

"Val-keth?"

Zade reached out and grabbed the elf's shoulder. She gave it a gentle squeeze.

"Val-keth?"

[Val'keth]

A bolt of pain jolted her back into reality from the hazy darkness threatening to submerge her.

"Zade? Oh gods, I hurt everywhere..."

Val'keth forced her eyes open again, and saw Zade's face. She smiled briefly, then realized that Zade looked as haggard as she must be.

"Splint. There must be something down here..."

Val'keth's thoughts danced like fireflies, jumping from one thing to the next. The stench probably wasn't helping, she thought distractedly as she looked around her, searching for something she could use to keep her arm from more damage. Then, she spotted the remains of what looked like a stair rail. Val'keth tore long strips of material from her already tattered clothing, and then slowly crawled over to get the rail.

It took what felt like hours to bind it securely to her arm, preventing the fracture from worsening and doing more damage. The effort had sent more sweat pouring from her brow, and her hair was plastered over her forehead.

"Zade? Are you hurt?"

[Zade]

"No more than you. Maybe even a little less."

[Val'keth]

"We have to find some way out of here before the gas suffocates us. Help me look - maybe we can widen whatever fissure it's coming up through..."

Val'keth began crawling over the debris on the floor of the cellar, carefully sniffing to try and find the strongest source of the sewer gas. It made her even more light-headed, and she stopped frequently to try and catch her breath.

[Zade]

Zade knew the elf was right. Trying to dig their way out would be impossible, and if the sewer gases were rising into the ruined building, it may mean that there was less of it down below. Maybe.

Finding the fissure didn't take much time. Not only was it close by, but the horrid stench of the gas doubled...and then tripled as they wiggled closer to it.

The huge hole in the basement floor was half-covered by a slab of rock and a few pieces of wood. There wasn't any uncovered opening large enough for either of them to fit through, but some of the debris looked as if it could be moved. There was a bit more room to move around... Zade could almost get up on her hands and knees. Too bad it hurt too much to try.

She grabbed a piece of unidentifiable debris and shoved it over the edge.

Ker-PLOOP!

...gross... thought Zade. But the fall probably won't be lethal.

Zade grabbed one of the wooden boards and gave it a half-hearted tug. It didn't budge. The plank's other end was buried under a ton of debris. Zade tried to pull harder, but the fumes were getting to her. Her mind was already hard to focus, but the sewer gas just added more fuzziness as it sapped her strength. She collapsed and fell the large stone slab.

rumbleRumbleRumbleRUMBLE-CRRRRAAACK!

The extra weight was all it took. The fissure widened violently beneath them, opening like a yawning mouth seeking to swallow them whole. The stone slab slid downward... taking the barely-conscious Zade with it.

[Val'keth]

"Zade!"

Val'keth watched Zade's legs disappear into the hole, then yelped as more rock tilted beneath her, and she was plunged through the crack, her hand scrabbling for purchase and finding none.

SPLASH!

"URGH!" She splashed around in the thick, slimy water, spluttering and gasping. Although it still stank down here, she could feel the feint whisper of a breeze, and the chill of the water helped dispel some of the light-headedness. Zade stood out in the darkness, revealed to her heat-sensitive eyes as brightly as a flame. A trail of warmth drifted from the two women, spreading lazily downstream before cooling enough to fade from sight.

Patches of luminescent algae glowed eerily on the ceiling, and Val'keth looked at them, frowning, for she remembered that human eyesight often failed in the darkness.

"Zade?" she whispered, her voice echoing down the tunnel. "Can you see?"

[Zade]

The water was just deep enough to keep her from cracking her head open on the masonry. Her the fuzziness in her head lessened as the relatively clear air hit her lungs. The stench was worse down here, but the deadly gas was all floating at the top of the sewers, where it was rapidly filtering up into the collapsed building above them.

Zade was getting her bearings in the chest-high filth when she heard the elf. Zade looked around. The gunk on the high ceiling and walls put off a fair amount of light... much more than she would have imagined for a sewer. Seeing anything in detail was out of the question, but she'd have no problem at all making her way around without walking into a wall, or one of the huge piles of floating debris that moved through the sewers like slimy barges.

"I can see," she said. "We've got to get out of her. If this filth settles into our wounds we won't have to worry about the Stranger killing us. Gangrene and flesh-eating infections can do things he can't even dream about."

Zade flexed her arms. They felt fine, although her leg still hurt like hell, and most of her bones were still sore. She must not have been as badly hurt as she had though before.

"Can you move?"

[Val'keth]

"Yes, as long as you're not planning on any more sprints. You're right about infection though - and the scent of blood in the water, filthy as it is, may draw other inhabitants to us."

Val'keth glanced around at the ripples on the scummy water, hoping they were just eddies in the current, and not some lurking menace.

"Which way will get us to somewhere safe fastest," she asked Zade, turning slowly. As an race that lived almost totally underground, the dark-elves had an innate sense of direction when underground. Val'keth knew that if Zade could remember the rough direction, she could navigate through the twisting maze of sewers without going in circles and getting hopelessly lost.

[Zade]

Zade looked around and tried to get her bearings. Which way had she been running when she entered the building? What turns did she make? Which way was she facing when she woke up?

She couldn't remember anything... everything was a blur.

This place stunk.

And she was hungry.

"Hmmmm... Hell, the center of town was northeast of where we where when everything went to hell. Other than that, your guess is as good as mine."

[Val'keth]

Val'keth smiled tiredly at Zade. Northeast. That meant wading against the current, and Val'keth pointed into the tunnel behind them.

"That way," she said, forcing her legs into action and ignoring the aching protests of her muscles. Something slippery brushed past her leg, and she flinched away from it, a look of disgust on her face. She inched forwards, feeling carefully with each outstretched foot for solid footing before transferring weight onto it. It was impossible to see anything through the putrid waste that gurgled and slopped through the network of tunnels, and Val'keth didn't want to end up submerged in it again.

[Zade]

They made their way quietly through the muck. Zade had almost forgotten what quiet sounded like... it seemed like the entire night was one big explosion mixed in with snarling beasts and screaming women.

The scent in the sewers didn't get any better... in fact it seemed to get steadily worse. That seemed about right for the direction they were traveling... into town, where most of the 'stuff' was generated. Zade had to breathe through her mouth to keep the stench from laying her out.

Every once in a while, her sensitive ears caught the sound of something following them. Under the 'water'... sometimes to the right or the left. She couldn't tell if it was the same creature or just a series of inquisitive sewer-rats, but it made her increasingly uncomfortable. She'd heard stories about the things that supposedly lived down here. She dismissed most as the drunken ramblings of intoxicated men... but now she wasn't so sure.

[Val'keth]

The elf picked up on Zade's unease, and trod warily, looking around. Most things that lived in the sewers would have heat patterns that would reveal them to her sight with ease, but she suspected that just as in the caverns beneath the underdark, the non-mammalian creatures would blend almost seamlessly with the disgusting filth they lived amongst.

Val'keth kept a careful eye on the surface of the oozing water, alert to every ripple, and slowly slid her dagger from its sheath. A glance overhead revealed great globs of slime, semi-transparent and swaying as the two passed beneath them.

"Ewww," she whispered, "This is GROSS!"

The water slurped around her legs, the slow current winding lazily past. Things brushed against her, soft and yielding, and she retched. A dark patch signaled another side passage joining the main tunnel they were following, and she glanced toward it, frowning.

Movement. Barely perceptible, but she was almost certain...

"I... I don't think we are alone."

She paused, scanning the tunnel. Whatever it was had hidden completely, or scurried away into some tiny crevice. A few swirls in the current were the only things moving, and Val'keth sighed quietly, moving forward once more, every sense on edge.

[Zade]

"I think you're right."

Zade reached for her whip, which was still buried in the rubble somewhere far above and behind them. Her axe was still at her side, though. She placed her hand on it to reassure herself.

Suddenly there was a disturbance in the raw sewage that flowed around them. Something moving just under the surface... approaching from the left at an angle.

Something BIG... that left monstrous ripples in its wake as it came toward them.

"Heads up, elf."

The thing began to surface. Zade saw the unmistakable rough hide of a reptile. It rose higher, revealing a long shape about six feet long, not counting the thick, whip-like tail that propelled it toward them.

"Croc!"

Zade lifted her axe, winced and almost dropped it. She tried again with better success... but it took much more energy than she would have liked.

"Crocs in the sewers... I thought these things were supposed to be urban myths..."

The giant lizard shot forward.... and then it turned! It swept past them, just out of reach of Zade's axe. It was now moving to their rear... and it was moving FAST. Almost like it was....

Suddenly the lizard was gone.

One moment Zade was watching it, and the next... nothing. Did it dive under the sewage to come back unseen? Was it circling them even now... trying to decide which one to take first?

No... no, it didn't dive... it was just GONE... like something unseen had just reached out and swallowed it.

Zade was certain of it, and her certainty made her all the more uncomfortable. That croc was RUNNING from something... and whatever it was, caught up with it just a few yards behind them. But there was no movement save for the fading ripples of the croc's passing.

"What the hell's going on here?"

BLOOP!

Another disturbance in the water, near where the croc had vanished...

BLOOP! BLOOP!

sssSSHSHSHSssSSHLOOP!

Something was rising... slowly...

...and it wasn't the croc.

Zade saw the huge expanse of brown slime break the surface. It was clump of thick, brown goo... about ten square feet in area... roughly circular, but changing shape even as she watched. It elongated towards them... and floated steadily in their direction despite the opposing flow of the sewage.

The scent was HORRENDOUS. Far, far worse than anything Zade had smelled in her life. The thing continued to flow and change shape, moving slowly in some places and surprisingly fast in others. It extended itself in Zade's direction, then the part closest to her split and became a pair of lumpy brown arms...

It was disgusting, and the closer it got, the more grotesque the creeping horror became. At first, Zade thought it was some kind of slime pool... but no... this wasn't slime. It was too solid... too lumpy... too much like... like...

"You've GOT to be kidding me!"

In the center, the foul brown mass bunched together and began to rise... Zade expected to see a head... or eyes... or ANYTHING... but it was just a bulbous mass rising above the rest of the body. The arms were about two yards away now...

Then, all at once... tiny holes popped open all over the thing's amorphous body... they yawned wide open for a moment, then began to open and close rapidly, making wet, smacking sounds...

Mouths.

The thing was covered with MOUTHS!

And it was coming STRAIGHT FOR THEM!

[Val'keth]

Val'keth looked at the enormous mass rising from the water, and shuddered in disgust. The smell was AWFUL, worse than anything she had ever experienced before. Her vision told her it was only a degree or two warmer than the water itself, making it hard to pick out from the swirling current, but the sucking sounds from the myriad of tiny mouths told her its location all too exactly.

She backed away from it rapidly, abandoning any attempt at feeling the way with her feet. The shuddering oozing glob of waste was fast, too fast, and she felt a sudden eddy swirl against her leg. Val'keth slashed her dagger through the water in front of her, her face wrinkling with disgust as she felt the blade bite through something soft.

Just like slicing butter, she thought, trying to hold onto that thought as she slashed again.

Mouths hissed, and she thought the grasping tentacle might have recoiled... then Val'keth screamed as it surged forward toward them, and she turned and ran as fast as she could, against the current, and away from the slimy stinking monster.

[Zade]

As soon as the thing shot towards Val'keth, Zade took aim with her axe and threw it as hard as she could at the creature's center of mass...

whooshWhooshWHOOSH-SPLUTCH!!!!

The weapon vanished into the creature's soft, malleable body with a disgusting splatter that released even MORE stench. Zade had hoped to hit a bundle of nerves or some vital organ... but it appeared that either she had missed, or the creature didn't have any.

And now she was minus her axe!

Zade turned and ran, which was hard to do in waist-deep sewage She heard a splash behind her and then-

"OOOOF!

Something soft, moist, and bulky SLAMMED into her from behind. It pushed her down while quickly engulfing her. It was around her chest in an instant... seeping down into her cleavage while holding her arms to her side. And it was steadily dragging her down...

"UNNGH!" Zade broke free, but the stuff kept coming! It was everywhere... all around her... crawling up her back... swirling around her ankles... oozing up her pant-legs... and it was BITING her! The mouths were lined with hard ridges... they opened and closed on her leather armor, taking tiny chunks out of it while seeking the tender flesh underneath.

"OUCH! HELLLL-"

SPLASH!

Zade went down, and the creature oozed around her neck and tried cover her face. It nibbled at her cheeks, drawing blood with each bite. It tried force itself down her mouth, but Zade clamped her mouth shut despite her near-irresistible urge to scream. Failing at that orifice, it shot up her nose and played around her ears... biting and oozing... biting and oozing...

Zade couldn't breathe... she struggled and splashed and flailed, still trying to run/swim out of the thing's disgusting grasp. Every movement broke the runny strands of the thing's flesh, but more formed to replace them before she could get away. She tried harder...faster... ANYTHING! She felt it up in her nasal passages, tiny mouths nibbling at her from the INSIDE! It was reaching up her pants-legs, biting tentacles of waste winding around her upper thighs... spiraling upwards, and taking chunks out of her with every inch!

Finally, the strength of desperation won out. With a sudden burst of power she though impossible in her injured state, Zade erupted from creature's slimy grasp and moved away as fast as she could. She was gasping through her mouth, and blowing chunks of the thing's brown 'flesh' out of her nose as she over-took Val-keth.

[Val'keth]

Val'keth heard Zade splash past, brown gobs of foulness slipping, oozing, over the woman's armour. She ran even faster, feeling the tentacles brushing her legs and waist once more, the sucking mouths reaching for her skin.

"Ewwwww," she exclaimed, hacking around her as she ran, her dagger slicing through the water - and, she hoped, the disgusting creature too.

Val'keth felt another tendril coil around her wrist, and she yanked her arm up, recoiling as she saw the strand of mucous-covered brown sewage stretch, glistening in the dim light. Water rippled suddenly by her leg, and she leapt sideways as another reaching finger of the creature arrowed toward her, barely visible to her, so close was its temperature to that of the sewer effluent.

"Oh no... No... NO!"

Val'keth's lips moved quietly, strange syllables lost amongst the frantic splashes of the two women. Suddenly, the sewer was lit with a flickering, multi-hued fire. Val'keth risked another glance behind, and yelped as she saw the true extent of the shuddering mass that pursued them. It completely filled the tunnel behind them, and she saw yet more of it lay atop the water, floating like some scummy slick of oil. Except - the stink told her it wasn't oil. Pin-pricks of flames danced around the many mouths, and then Val'keth screamed as something grabbed her ankle. The sound was abruptly cut off as she disappeared below the surface, her hair pulling through the thick soupy water that flowed in the sewers.

Her eyes tightly closed, Val'keth had no perception of up or down. She writhed beneath the water, frantically slashing with her dagger at the tendrils that pulled her deeper, the mouths stinging as they scraped and bit into her skin. She kicked out hard, desperately trying to free herself, and felt another soft, slightly warm mass wrap around her waist, holding her fast.

Air, need to breathe... can't breathe....

More mouths bit and tugged at her clothes, and she wriggled desperately, feeling her lungs starting to burn. Other - things - drifted past her, the refuse of a city decaying within the tunnels, sweeping on its journey toward the river.

Can't..... hold... on..... Air.....

Val'keth felt the world recede, felt the stinging of the cuts fade, the aching protests of her body soothed by the soft oozing cradle in which she lay.

"Oh dear..." A voice softly insinuated itself into her darkening mind, and an elven face swam hazily before her. "I really didn't expect you to return to me so soon, little one... "

The surface of the water suddenly boiled, great gobbets of brown goo exploding in all directions as Val'keth burst into frenzied activity below. Her mind cleared, she kicked and slashed and wriggled as never before, her struggles sending huge waves slowly surging outwards in the slimy water. The creature's many mouths recoiled from her as her wounds suddenly oozed a substance even more noxious than itself, and Val'keth kicked free, surging toward the surface.

She burst free of the sewage, showering foam and slime everywhere, gasping for air. She was covered in hideously soft goo, lumps of it sticking in her once white hair, and she retched hard and deep, bending double in the tunnel. Behind, the monster gathered itself once more, flowing against the current. Val'keth felt another tendril brush her gently, and something deep inside her snapped...

[Zade]

Everything was going to hell MUCH too fast for Zade. She was still coughing and trying unsuccessfully not to vomit when Val-keth suddenly disappeared. Zade turned just in time to see the elf vanish under the surface and then re-emerge.

"Come ON!"

Zade reached out for her, but then something happened...

[Val'keth]

The elf suddenly stood upright, her eyes glowing red in the darkness of the sewer as she turned to face the hideous creature. She raised her hands above her head, slime glistening as it ran down her arms.

"IBLITH! Draeval ulu el..." she hissed, the water rising before her, forming an opaque wall that towered over the two women.

Small black crawling things poured from the stones around them, rushing from every nook and cranny, and surged up the huge wave to ride atop the crest, their hairy bodies supported on the noxious foam. Val'keth's face was contorted with rage, her eyes illuminating her face like some devil spawned from the planes of hell. The wall of sewage and debris built and grew, thickening at the base until Val'keth stood shoulder-deep in the liquid.

"Lloth plynn dos!" she snarled, abruptly dropping her hands. The wall of water surged forward, carrying the seething mass of spiders along, and sweeping toward the creature hidden behind it.

The wave thundered down the sewer, crashing down upon the monstrous mass of gooey tentacles and their sucking mouths. Spiders scurried frenetically, air trapped in their hair keeping them afloat on the surging water as they sought out each and every mouth that still sucked and hungered for the women's flesh. They inflicted bite after bite, even wriggling inside the thing's mouths, paying no heed to the torrent of slimy water that washed down on top of them.

Val'keth laughed like a maniac as she watched the creature swirling away down the tunnel, pushed before the force of the water. Her eyes dimmed, then the red fire flickered out, and she dropped to her knees, a shallow trickle of water eddying around her legs.

She was breathing hard, and stared around, confusion on her face.

"Za - Zade?" she said, her voice trembling.

[Zade]

Zade had backed away when the elf began her magical assault on the creature. She'd never seen anything like it before... and she wasn't too sure she wanted to see it again.

The waste-creature had been ripped asunder by the wave of water, and the few floating pieces that remained were covered with spiders.

Yet... as she eyed the elf and the sewers... Zade saw that while the smaller pieces were breaking up and dissolving, the larger ones were floating towards each other... some moving against the steady current.

"If we make it out of here," said Zade as she reached out to grab Val-keth's arm. "maybe you can explain why you didn't use that against the Stranger before he started dumping buildings on us. But in the meantime, I don't want to be around when that thing finishes pulling itself together. Let's go."

[Val'keth]

"Go? Go where..."

Val'keth looked around, still dazed as she stumbled after Zade. All she remembered was not being able to breathe... and then finding herself kneeling in a puddle of sewage. She frowned, trying to make sense of Zade's comment - with its implication that SHE had been responsible for - something. She replayed what she remembered over and over, trying to work out what had happened, and not making any headway at all.

[Zade]

"Helloooo? Sewers... stench... brown gooey monster... man with no face... any of that stuff ringing any bells with you? You know, if you're gonna-"

Suddenly Zade started coughing, and a sickening numbness began to spread from the bite-marks that the monster had left on her. The marks themselves were small... but there were so many of them that whatever poisons or diseases the creature carried were probably in her veins at more than toxic levels. She walked and coughed at the same time, pulling Val-keth behind through the filthy sewer water.

Far behind then, the great expanse of brown goo was still re-forming... and floating steadily in their direction. If it didn't get any faster... which was a big IF considering it's earlier burst of speed... then they'd have no problems staying ahead of it.

Unless, of course, Zade passed out from the poison.

And with every step she took, the more likely that outcome seemed. She became dizzy, and had to stop walking for several agonizing seconds while the world spun around her like. Zade clamped her eyes shut and jettisoned her last few meals into the sewer stream. That made her feel slightly better, but when she opened her eyes the walls were still rotating around her like a spinning top.

She kept her eyes closed and kept going... walking into the flow of the sewage. Her skin was almost completely numb now, and the flesh underneath was getting unbearably hot. She could barely feel the elf's hand in her own.

"...elf... If you can here me... now would be a good time to start looking for a way back up. I... I don't want to die in this sewer..."

Zade's legs went limp and she fell into the sewage with a splash.

"...elf... elf, you there?"

[Val'keth]

"Zade!"

The human's hand was torn from hers. Val'keth knelt beside her, feeling the heat of her skin.

"Zade?"

Val'keth slid an arm underneath Zade, hefting the woman over her shoulder. Her ribs protested at yet more punishment, and she gritted her teeth.

"You'll owe me for this..."

If it wasn't for the fact that she wanted to meet that brightly dressed mage again, Val'keth would have left Zade where she fell. But after all they had been through tonight, she *did* feel some sort of responsibility to get her to safety. Zade was heavy, much heavier than any elf, and Val'keth stepped carefully in the shallow water.

"You really should lose some weight, girl," Val'keth grunted, her back and arm aching. She heard a slopping sound from behind, and picked up her pace. They had to get out... but where...

Then Val'keth saw a glint up ahead - light. It shone wanly, angling down into the dark tunnel, playing on the water and highlighting the floating muck more than was comfortable to her sensitive eyes.

She gently lowered Zade down, propping her against the wall while she took a better look at the shaft that led upwards. Small, it would accommodate only one person, and the light arrowed down from a cover at the top. Rungs set into the wall would provide access upwards, and Val'keth climbed slowly, keeping her injured arm out of the way as she braced herself between the two walls.

The light was brighter now that she was staring at the cover, and she squinted as she looked for locks. Formed from metal, it was covered in a damp red powder that stained her hands as she pushed against it. Val'keth closed her eyes as it grated slightly, moving to one side.

Not locked down then, she thought, relieved. Was it flickering lantern light, or perhaps a torch burning? Either way, Val'keth knew it was still dark outside, and for that she was thankful. The thought of spending a day in the sewers with the life that inhabited it turned her stomach, and she abruptly thought of other things. She climbed back down to Zade, and knelt by her, trying to bring her around enough to explain where they were.

"Zade? Wake up, dammit. Zade!"

[Zade]

The elf's shouting and the ever-increasing sound of the sloshing behind them brought Zade around. Barely.

"eh? What happened?"

Zade opened her eyes. The world had stopped spinning, but now everything was rushing towards her and then receding away again. The effect was nauseating... but at least she could get her bearings. Sort of.

"...the thing... where is it?"

[Val'keth]

"Behind us. But not for long if we don't get out of here."

Val'keth looked at Zade, then up at the narrow shaft leading upwards.

"Can you climb?" she asked doubtfully.

[Zade]

"Done more while feeling worse," said Zade.

But not MUCH worse she added internally.

"Let me start up, and you climb just below me in case I go out again. To bad we don't have any rope... or any time to use it if we did."

[Val'keth]

Yeah, thought Val'keth. That'll be pleasant, breaking the fall of a human. She shrugged, and watched as Zade started up the ladder. She seemed a bit more aware than earlier, but for how long, she wasn't sure. Slopping sounds echoed up the tunnel, and Val'keth thought she could a dark blob in the distance. She started up behind Zade, wrinkling her nose as drops of slimy sewage pattered over her from Zade's boots above.

"Urgh," she exclaimed as a particularly large one spattered on her cheek. She could feel it slowly creeping down her skin, cold and wet. This was the WORST night in a LONG time, she reflected, just one long battle after another. The cuts and scrapes had stopped stinging, but she knew that was not a good sign - they were filthy from the sewage. They had to get cleaned up, and soon, before the bugs spread through their bodies from the wounds.

Above her, Zade slid the metal plate to one side, and Val'keth listened carefully. All was quiet above, and she followed Zade up and out into the street, crawling over the lip of the shaft and lying next to Zade in the street.

Air - fresh air. Val'keth sucked lungfuls in, rejoicing in the sweet scent that carried to her, the smell of the earth next to her face, and the smell of dew. The elf scrambled to her feet, dragging the cover back over the gaping black hole. She couldn't shake the vision of a brown slippery oozing tentacle reaching up to grope after them, and she shuddered as she backed away.

"Zade? You okay?"

[Zade]

Zade squinted at the surroundings. Everything was swaying rhythmically from side to side now. Her limbs weren't numb any more, but the bite-marks from the... thing... were burning like acid had been dropped into them. Zade didn't know if that was good or bad, but she hoped it meant that her body was fighting off whatever poison that thing contained. It was either that, or a SERIOUS infection had already set in.

"I'm getting better," she said.

[Val-keth]

Val'keth bent down and helped Zade to her feet. The two women walked tiredly up the street, disappearing into the shadows as they made their way deeper into the city.

[To Be Continued]