Chapter No23:A Convenient Opportunity

Tessa stared at the figure before her, her eyes adjusting to the darkness after the strikes of lightning. Rubbing them, she made out the figure out a scaly humanoid. And then it spoke, his voice was akin to that of a father figure. Warm and comforting, but concerned at this moment for her safety. “You alright?” Blinking a few times, Tessa reached out and took his hand. He pulled back and helped her up onto her feet. “Y-yes, I’m fine...sir?” “No problem, and it’s Tolan. Tolan Morndelen.” “Then, thank you for saving me Mr. Morndelen.” “‘Tolan’ is more than enough.” Tolan turned around, keeping an eye out for any other cultists that might be pursuing Tessa. At the same time, Tessa cursed herself for being saved again. Hating how she is weak and can’t be any more than a damsel in distress. Twice she’s gotten herself into trouble, and twice she’s been saved by someone else. She’s supposed to become a Hero who saves others, not the other way around. While Tessa got lost in her thoughts and Tolan kept watch, a red flare soared high into the sky. Screaming through the dark heavens like a bat out of hell. The sound got both of their attention, but they stared at it in different ways. “What the…?” Said Tolan, confused. His eyes narrowed as the red flare went higher and higher, but it wasn’t long before a green one was shot off and cried as it joined the red in the air. But this one came from the edge of the city, and Tolan tried to piece together what’s going on. And as the two falling stars drifted to the ground, Tessa got a dreadful feeling from the two flares. The red one had come from the inn she just escaped, but she didn’t know who fired the green one. It was unlikely that the cultists used flares for signals, due to having fire magic at their disposal, and the only person she knew who could shoot something so high in the air is Torgrak. So if Torgrak shot off the red flare, then who shot the green one? Tessa feared her mentors had something going on in the shadows of Crimsonvale they’d kept from her. The more she thought about it, the paler she became. It wasn’t the fact they’d done something behind her back, it was instead the fear of what it is they’d brought into the city with them that made her afraid. Tolan looked back to Tessa. “Looks like something’s going…on...” He paused the moment he saw her, seeing her clutching her staff tightly to her chest as she stared at the red flare’s origin. The smoke trail leading deeper into the center of the city. Tessa’s eyes had gotten dim as she stared off into the distance. “Hey, you know something about those signals?” Tessa turned her head to Tolan, remembering where she is right now. “Huh? Oh, um, a bit. I know where the red one came from, but that’s all I can say for sure…” Her voice trailed off at the end as her imagination about what horrors Hei and Torgrak had brought with them resumed. Thoughts raced around in her head crisscrossing and entangling themselves into more confusing and horrifying possibilities that could spell doom for every living creature in Crimsonvale, herself included. Tolan had an eye cocked, looking at the girl weirdly. “Okay...Can you tell me why you’re out here and why the cultists were chasing you?” His questions distracted Tessa from her stream of dread-filled thoughts. “I-I was running from them. The inn I was at was attacked, and I fled. Leaving my…’mentors’ behind to fight the cultists.” “So you’re from out of town?” Tolan crossed his arms, his eye still cocked. “Yes. My…’mentors’ and I were sent here as part of a quest to deal with the cultists here.” Tolan’s eye relaxed. ”Who sent you here on a quest?” “The Adventurers’ Guild.” “Adventurers’ Guild...Are your ‘mentors’ a half-elf and dwarf?” “Yes, they are. Why? Do you know them?” Tessa looked at Tolan with confusion all over her face now. How was it that he knew about them? Was there something he knew that could change things? “No, I don’t know them. But I did hear about them through...special means.” As Tolan talked with Tessa, small booms and flashes of tiny flashes of light could now be seen sparking out of the edges of the city. They were faint, but could be made out with a bit of focus. “Anyways, let’s just say I’ve been looking for you and your companions. But with things getting worse out here, I should get you to safety at the least. Will you come with me?” “Where are you going to take me?” “To meet my friends who are looking to take down the cult and reclaim the city, our Resistance.” Tolan started to turn his body forward, keeping his face slightly turned towards her as he awaited her response. Tessa, however, was contemplating her options. Right now she’s in the middle of enemy territory where some more cultists could be right around the corner, and the mentors who are to protect her are currently occupied dealing with the battle she ran away from. Right now, Tolan’s offer to take her to the rebel forces who also oppose the cult sounded like the best option available. “So, will you come with me?” Tessa gripped her staff. “Yes.” “Then let’s get moving.” Tolan led the way through the city. Peeking around corners and telling Tessa when it was safe to move from street to street and alleyway to alleyway. Along the way, Tolan had some questions he wanted answered as they darted through the shadows. “So, who are you and your ‘mentors’ exactly?” “I’m Tessa, Tessa Vivuk. And they were Adventurers who are supposed to be training her right now.” “Training? Does that mean you’re completely new to this?” “Yes, I am.” “Then how did you even get into the city? And why are you also here as part of your training?” “My…’mentors’ were the ones who got me in here, and this quest was supposed to be a part of my ‘combat training’ apparently.” “I’ve heard of birds throwing their young out of nests to learn how to fly, but they sound insane. And how strong are they to have gotten’ both themselves and you in here?” “I agree, and to say how strong they are,” Tessa paused as they moved, searching her mind for the right word, “‘monstrous’ would be the best way of putting it. They’re probably still fighting the cultists back at the inn right now.” “With how you’ve described them, they probably are.” Soon enough, the two were at a staircase that led down into the city’s underground waterways. Even with the moonlight shining down from overhead, it was still too dark for Tessa to see. Tolan went down the stairs first, creating a small orb of sparking lightning in his palm as he took hold of the iron door and pushed it open. It’s rusted hinges creaked loudly as they moved into the darkness. They now walked a bit slower with Tolan and his sparking light at the front. Actively moving towards the darker sections of the sewers and avoiding or pausing at sections that were lit by the moon before continuing forward. “Mind if I ask something of you, Tolan?” “Sure, but can it wait until we’re a bit deeper? I don’t want our voices to echo and be overheard by someone.” “Okay.” The two stayed silent as they moved forward in the cold and dank sewers. But Tessa started to notice something, the more she followed Tolan the drier it got. Noticing that the sound of flowing water was growing more and more distant, and that she was starting to feel completely dry stone on her hands. Soon enough, Tolan came to a stop and leaned down over a spot. The sparking lights revealed a large patch of dirt, and he put his hand over a specific section of it. Brushing some of it away, a handle was revealed and he lifted it up. With a loud, wooden groan, a way into a level beneath the sewers was revealed. There was a crude ladder made of wood and rope that lead down into a much darker area. Tolan gestured for Tessa to go first, and she carefully took hold of the ladder. Her hands held onto the sides of the ladder made of hempen rope, its coarse texture scratching her hands slightly. And the flexibility and give it had with every step she took down onto another of the wooden rungs scared her at first. Eventually, she was far enough down that Tolan went next and closed the hatch as he climbed down. It wasn’t a long climb, but the darkness, flexibility, and Tolan’s weight shaking it slightly definitely made Tessa’s heart race a bit. Once they were both at the bottom, Tolan released control over his orb of lightning and Tessa’s eyes adjusted to the darkness. And then small jars with green fireflies began to light up the tunnels in the darkness. Some were crudely made while others seemed constructed via earth magic do to their mostly perfect construction. Supports made of logs and cut timber lined the tunnels to keep them from collapsing as the fireflies danced circles in their small containers. “Alright, it’s safe to talk down here. But make sure to follow me closely as we move, otherwise you’ll get lost. “Okay. Could you tell me what exactly happened to the city?” “In what way? How the cultists took complete control of it, or how it was before everything went to hell?” “Yes? I think?” “Well, let’s start with the simplest part. Crimsonvale was originally a fairly simple city, the kind that had a fairly good population but nothing really special about it. A kind of city where merchants use it as a rest stop to resupply and recover. As for the cultists, they showed up a while back but were a very small religious group that didn’t do much and mostly intermingled with people in the slums.” “Isn’t them being in the slums problematic? Couldn’t they easily recruit people there?” “You’d think so, but most people are wise enough to avoid the temptations of Nencog’s destructive followers. Or, they were until the Archbishop showed up.” “Archbishop? Who’s that?” “The Archbishop was someone from far beyond Crimsonvale’s eyes. We don’t know where he’s from, his name, or even what he actually looks like. But what we do know is that he was different from other Nencog worshipers. When he came to Crimsonvale, he quickly organized the Nencog cultists and started to work in the shadows. Granting magical powers and teaching people how to use them, while also influencing the politics of the city behind the scenes. Over time he took control of every last major institution in Crimsonvale before flipping everything on its head.” “Wouldn’t someone take notice of his actions and try to stop him?” “Some did, but he was much more powerful than any had expected. That’s why the Resistance also exists. But we’ve been steadily losing the battle as the Archbishop’s been making preparations for some big action he’ll be triggering in the very near future. And if we don’t stop him, more and more things will be dragged into Nencog’s everburning clutches.” With what questions Tessa had in mind sated, Tolan and Tessa’s conversation came to an end. And so did their journey through the labyrinth of tunnels as they came to a dead end void of any light. Tolan walked up to the dead end and raised his hand, knocking on what sounded like a hard wood surface. There wasn’t any response, and Tessa looked at Tolan confusedly. But Tolan just continued, speaking a phrase to the door. “Blue scales and a drifter.” The door slid to the side, opening up to a well lit cavern that was carved out of the earth with wooden supports all over the ceiling. The people inside were wearing some roughly made uniforms and ran to and fro in a panic. Tolan took note of the scene, speaking to Tessa as they walked in. “Looks like what’s happening up top shook things up down here.” Tessa nodded and followed after him, the two walking through and actively stopping or avoiding people as they rushed about. She did see curious gazes and some people whispering about her as they moved forward, but they often quickly dispersed or went back to what they were doing near instantly. None of them really having the time to gossip right now. It wasn’t long before Tolan came to a stop outside a room made of dirt with some curtains held by a wooden rod at the entrance. He gestured for her to follow him in as he held the curtain open behind him. Coming into the room, there were two people around a table. One is a tanned woman with a blue bandana and a couple beads decorating her long and dark hair. She was staring intensely at the table, looking over maps and shuffling through different reports and papers quickly. The other was a man with short, blonde hair with a small bit of stubble on his face. He was lightly armored with a longsword on his back, the pommel, handle, and hilt all visible over his shoulder. The two were discussing something, both frustrated at the same time just before Tolan spoke up. “Good to see you two busy as usual.” The woman looked up from the table, her eyes half-open until she recognizes it’s Tolan. “Ah! Glad to have you back, finally!” “Good to see you too, Xera.” The man looked over at Tolan, an eyebrow raised as he noticed Tessa. “Who’s the girl with you?” “This is Tessa Vivuk, and the female companion to the half-elf who has those flames of chaos in a frenzy right now.” “Okay, but why is she here?” “I found her being chased by some of the cultists after she’d gotten separated from her companions. Offered her some safety with us, considering the alternatives.” Tessa spoke up, “Y-yes! Thank you for giving me shelter down here.” She bowed her head deeply, very gracious for the ability to stay where it’s comparatively safe to being up in the city right now. The man sighed deeply through his nose, looking away. Xera, however, gave her a warm welcome. “We’re more than happy to offer you refuge. My apologies for not being able to give you a warmer welcome, it’s just that the plan we were going to execute tonight has been made impossible due to the escalating battle going up above us.” She gestures to the annoyed man looking away. “And don’t mind Damien, he’s my Spymaster and just as frustrated as I am over figuring out what to do now.” Damien rolls his eyes and speaks to Tolan. “Have any useful information we can use?” “Actually, I do.” Both Xera’s and Damien’s left eye cock, surprised and curious as to what information Tolan found. “Thanks to finding Tessa, and speaking with her on my way down here, we’ve got the chance to storm the Cathedral and take out the Archbishop in one fell swoop. You see, Tessa’s companions are apparently some powerful Adventurers keeping the cultists busy. So why not take advantage of their distraction and make our move now?” Damien raises his voice, “You want us to abandon weeks of planning around the Archbishop’s ceremony to gamble on some outsiders holding the entirety of the cult’s strength back?!” “We know that the cult is going to execute their ‘ceremony’ tonight thanks to your information. And with what plan we were going to use now up in smoke, we don’t have many other options right now.” “We’re talking about an entire city’s worth of defenses against two people, Tolan! They’d have to be on par with Heroes if not stronger to do so!” “When I asked how strong Tessa’s companions are, she described them as ‘monstrous’. Whether that’s a good or bad thing, we can expect that they’ll at least open the window of opportunity enough for us to make our move. Or do you have a better idea?” Xera chimes in, “I’m with Tolan on this, Damien. As reckless as it sounds, we don’t have many other options and time isn’t on our side. And chances like this don’t come around often. We also don’t need to know how strong her companions are exactly, we only need them to be enough of a distraction to get in and take out the Archbishop.” Damien grinded his teeth, rubbing the bridge of his nose as he thought. But he relented on the matter. “Alright, we’ll go with this plan. You’re both right that we don’t have much else of a choice, but we should at the least be as prepared as possible for potential resistance once we’re inside.” Xera nodded, “Right. But now that we have a plan of attack, we can at least act on it.” While all of this happened in front of her, Tessa stood there in silence. Watching and listening to them talk amongst themselves as she stood on the sidelines. Right now, she was just glad to be away from the fighting. Even if it was only separated by layers of dirt and stone above her. “Tessa.” Xera addressed her directly. Tessa snapped to attention, caught off-guard by Xera, “Y-yes?!” “Will you join us in our assault on the Cathedral? I know it’s a lot to ask of you, especially considering how underhanded of us it is take advantage of your companions, but it’s the best shot we’ve got to come out of this as the city’s heroes in the end. And we’re going to need any and everyone who’s willing to take the risk in hopes they leave a legacy of heroism behind whether they live or die.” “I…” Tessa was about to speak when the voice in the back of her mind spoke to her again. She tried to keep it away, but its whispers pierced through any defense she tried to put up while its words circled around in her mind. It asked why she would decline the offer, saying that she should go with them and achieve her dream once and for all. That the opportunity she’s been waiting for has finally fallen right into her hands, so why is she hesitating? Tessa tried to argue back, stating that it’s wrong to use others for her own selfish gain. And to sacrifice her mentors would be something she’d regret for the rest of her life. But the voice only spat back, asking if she regrets fleeing the battle she was in with her “mentors”. That she ran away and used her so-called teachers as a shield, fleeing to as far away as she could get. Tessa tried to defend her actions, acknowledging that she isn’t strong enough to fight and needs much more time and preparations to even do something like what her mentors wanted her to. The voice retorted, stating that her mentors are selfish monsters themselves. Only having their own interests in mind and are using Tessa as an excuse to go out and commit more depraved acts of violence and destruction in the name of “training”. It continues and dredges up the memory of when Torgrak had shot her. Recalling how they’d put her life at risk just because it was an inconvenience to let the bandit go and hunt him down later. If it was convenient for them to put her life at risk, why not do the same back and use them as stepping stones to become a Hero since it would be “convenient” for her? Tessa bit her tongue, unsure of what she was going to do as reality flooded back in and Xera awaited her answer. She wasn’t sure if it was right or wrong but the voice made arguments she couldn’t counter, and Xera wasn’t going to wait forever for an answer. “I’ll...I’ll join you.” Tessa looked Xera in the eyes, a glint of determination deep in her own as the two acknowledged each other. Xera nodded and smiled, “Glad to have you with us then. Come over here and take a look at the maps with me. Need to make sure you know what’s going on.” Tolan smiled as Tessa walked over to the table and stood shoulder to shoulder with Xera. Looking down at the detailed blueprints and reports from Damien and Tolan. At the same time, Tolan and Damien took their leave. Tolan raised his hand, as he left through the curtains. “I’m off to make sure I’m set for the assault. I’ll meet up with you and Tessa when we’re good to start, Xera.” Damien, however, had his hand to his chin as though he were in thought. “I’m going to check in with my unit so we can scout out a way to the Cathedral. Once we have a safe path, I’ll let you know, Xera.” “Understood, Damien. And good luck, be safe.” “Will do.” Tessa watched as Damien left the room, but she thought she saw something in Damien’s face as he left the room. His mouth was mostly covered, but Tessa thought she saw a very faint smirk. She couldn’t be certain, but it was the shine in his eyes and how they were narrowed in a way that was both familiar and unsettling to her. But it could all just be a misunderstanding, and Tessa dropped her head back to Xera’s sharing of information.