Chapter 788: Sea Tunnel (Patreon)

The first thing Ori noticed when he awoke was the smell. The scent of rotten wood and ash. He opened his eyes, but it was pitch black, save for the faint light coming from a pair of cold purple eyes staring back at him. Ori tried to pull back out of instinct, but his body did not move. His arms and legs were tied. After a moment, Ori realized he was sitting on a chair of some sort; it was cold and hard, stone most likely, or clay. His mind rapidly tried to work out what had happened and where he was. Had the meeting with the client gone awry? Had he been drugged?

“He’s awake,” said an apathetic voice. Ori couldn’t quite place it, but he knew he had heard it before.

“Great. Let’s get started, shall we?” A woman replied and a flame burst to life above her open palm. The light painted a feminine form with wide hips, a small upper body, and an exotic face of beauty, with a complexion as scarlet as blood.

“Gale, please relieve the rogue from his watchpost,” said the first voice. Ori turned to the sound. The man’s features were as exotic as the woman’s, a pale cerulean complexion and hair as white as the moon. A chill ran down Ori’s spine in recognition, memories flooding back.

“As you wish, my lord.” A woman with hair and skin like alabaster gave a short bow and left the room.

“Y-You were at the tavern,” Ori mumbled, fear dripping from his voice.

“Hm?” The blue stranger turned to the man. “I was.”

“You killed them…” Ori whispered.

“Who?” he cocked his head to the side, as if the question was as mundane as what he’d like to have for dinner.

“I think some introductions are in order,” the woman said. “I’m Tauri. This is Stryg, my husband.”

“You married this murdering lunatic?” Ori said.

“He’s not a lunatic. He’s just different,” Tauri wrapped her arm around Stryg’s waist. “Usually, he’s quite kind. But to his enemies he is ruthless. So, are you going to be our enemy tonight, Mister Ori?”

Ori swallowed hard. “I…” he laughed nervously, “Look, I’m just an information broker. If information is what you’re after, I’ll tell you anything.”

“That’s not the only thing I’m after,” said Evander as he walked into the room.

“I don’t think either of you require introductions, yes? Great, shall we begin?” Tauri lit a sconce on the wall, illuminating the shack of a room. Judging by the old, degraded clay walls and the dirt flooring, they were somewhere in the slums. The guards wouldn’t bother searching for anyone out here, even if they screamed for help.

“Evander, old friend, I—” Ori didn’t get a chance to finish before Evander smacked him across the face and sent his ears ringing. “I… I deserve that,” Ori mumbled. “I understand. You’re angry. If you need to hit me, do it then. I’ll do anything you want, just please, don’t kill me.”

Evander snarled and balled his fists. “You pathetic, cowardly piece of shit. My sister is dead because of you. My friends are dead because of you. What makes you think you’re getting out of here alive?”

“Because we need him. I need him,” Stryg said in a calm voice that brooked no argument.

Evander took a deep, shaky breath and took a step back. “Fine.”

With a flick of his wrist, Stryg channeled green. The ground rose up before them and formed a makeshift stool. Stryg sat down and faced Ori. “Luckily for you, my people don’t really believe in torture. We don’t have much use for prisoners, either. We simply kill our enemies. But there are exceptions. Sometimes, prisoners can be useful. Are you going to be useful? If you lie to me, I will know.”

Purple strings of light formed around Stryg’s fingertips and stretched outwards until they wrapped around Ori’s head like a crown.

Ori looked up at the halo of light wrapped around his skull and swallowed loudly. “Anything you need. Just ask.”

“Do you know a way into the Greymarks’ manor without being detected?” Stryg asked.

“The Greymarks? Why would you want to go back there?” Ori glanced at Evander.

“Answer the question.” Tauri pulled out a dagger.

“I thought you said you didn’t believe in torture?” Ori asked.

“He doesn’t. I’m a different story. So if you want to keep all your fingers, you’ll start talking,” Tauri said.

Stryg had never seen Tauri torture anyone before. She had no problem with blood on the battlefield, but from what he had seen, she cared little for unnecessary violence. Although, he wasn’t about to speak his thoughts aloud either.

“I’m not trying to be difficult, really. The problem is that after his gang’s robbery,” Ori glanced pointedly at Evander, “the Greymarks have significantly raised their defenses.”

“Which is where you come in,” Evander said. “You get us in and I’ll do the rest.”

“Right… Um,” Ori closed his eyes tightly, deep in thought. “Okay, I have an idea. It’s—not easy, but possible.”

“Explain,” Stryg said.

“There’s a tunnel leading out from the mansion into the sea. Seawater flows into the tunnel and is purified through various enchantments throughout the tunnel walls before eventually flowing into the bathhouse. Hypothetically, if one were to swim through the tunnel, they could reach into the bathhouse.”

“And you know where the sea entrance to the tunnel is?” Stryg asked.

“I happen to be one of the select few that does. There are a few caveats, of course,” Ori said.

“Such as?” Tauri leaned forward, dagger in hand.

Ori smiled weakly. “The tunnel is small, barely wide enough for a single person. There is no room for air either. You’d have to swim about a quarter of a league before reaching the bathhouse. It’s already hard enough trying to swim without much space, let alone for so long without taking a breath. Ordinarily, it’s unfeasible. But you have magic,” Ori glanced at the stone stool. “Maybe you can do something?”

“Should be easy enough, right, Stryg?” Tauri said.

“Assuming there are no enhancements to alert the Greymarks of intruders swimming through their tunnels,” Stryg said.

“There aren’t,” Ori said. “Instead, they built several reinforced, enchanted grates throughout the tunnel to prevent people, fish, and whatever else from getting in.”

“And you only thought to mention that now?” Tauri cocked an eyebrow.

“I said there were a few caveats.” Ori shrugged as best he could.

“Any others we should be aware of?” Tauri asked.

Ori thought about it for a moment. “Depending on what time of the day you attempt this ‘plan’ of yours, you might end up finding yourself face-to-face with one of the Greymarks bathing. They’d scream and alert the guards immediately. But if you time it just right, you could avoid them all together.”

“How?” Evander leaned forward, suddenly interested.

“Well, the Greymarks are zealous military folk. They are quite disciplined in everything they do. Including when they take baths. Each has their own schedule. And with about—” Ori looked up in thought for a moment, “18 members in the family, including extended relatives, your window for stealth isn’t too large.”

“When does Victoria Greymark take a bath?” Evander asked.

“Still trying to sleep with her, ey?” Ori smirked. “Trust me, if you’re trying to sneak into a home, best not to walk in on a naked lady.”

“Answer the fucking question!” Evander snapped.

Ori leaned back. “Okay, okay. Usually, she usually takes a bath early in the morning, right before dawn. Or so my sources tell me.”

“You better pray, your sources are right. Or I will come back and find you,” Evander said.

“No need.” Stryg stood up and placed his hand on Ori’s head.

“Wait, what are you—” Ori seized up as the strings of light flared brightly. He moaned weakly as his eyes rolled up. His limbs began to spasm and saliva drooled down his chin.

“What are you doing? I thought you said you don’t torture people!?” Evander said.

“He doesn’t. He’s rifling through his mind for answers. And if he happens to hurt his enemy in the process? Oh well,” Tauri shrugged.

“Done.” Stryg lifted his hand and stepped back.

Ori’s head drooped forward as his body went slack. A quiet groan escaped his lips, but nothing more.

“What did you do to him?” Evander asked, horrified.

“I searched his mind for anything else that might be useful. I didn’t find much,” Stryg said.

“Is this what it’s like whenever a mage looks through someone’s mind?” Evander asked, staring at the broken human.

“No. A more skilled purple mage can have a delicate touch. They can leave their victims relatively unharmed, but it takes time. I have neither the time nor patience for such a thing,” Stryg said.

Evander slapped Ori’s face a couple of times to no reaction. “Is he dead?” 

“No. But he may as well be. His mind is damaged beyond repair,” Stryg said.

“It would take a very powerful purple mage to fix him,” Tauri said.

Evander stepped back. He didn’t know how he felt about seeing Ori like this. This wasn’t how he thought his revenge would feel like. “...If you could have just read his mind from the beginning, why ask him anything?” 

“The mind is extensive. The rooms and halls that are seemingly endless. I wouldn’t have known what to look for. His mind would have broken long before I found any answers. Thanks to our questions, I knew exactly what to look for,” Stryg said.

“You never intended to spare him?” Evander asked.

Stryg looked him in the eye. “Did you?”

“...So, what now?” Evander asked.

“Kill him. Leave him. I don’t care. I’m going to that tunnel,” Stryg turned and left. 

“Try to be quick about it,” Tauri said to Evander, before following after Stryg.

Evander stared at Ori, feeling more helpless than he had in weeks.

~~~

The sea was crystal clear, the sand was a pale brown in the dark hours of the morning. Stryg took off his boots and walked along the shore, letting the cold water brush against his feet. 

He stopped at a seemingly unremarkable spot, but Ori’s memories told him otherwise. Stryg walked deeper into the sea, wading into the waves as they crashed against him.

“It’s cold.” Tauri shivered behind him.

“Not really,” Gale said beside her.

“You don’t count. You’re a vampire. Your kind is built for the cold,” Tauri grumbled.

“Reminds me of the Ivory Realm.” Evander brushed his hand against the water.

“Just once, I’d like to go to a realm that doesn’t have terrible weather,” Tauri groaned.

“The Ashen Realm was nice,” Stryg said.

“We didn’t see the sun for the six months we were there!” Tauri said.

“Oh, right. The sky was black, wasn’t it?” Stryg said.

“When you can see in perfect darkness you forget you ever needed sunlight,” Gale cracked a small smile. “If you ask me, the Ashen Realm was the prettiest of the Realms we’ve visited. No bright sun to bother us, no matter the time of day. It was perfect.”

“Yeah, it really was nice,” Stryg said reminiscently. 

“You both are hopeless. I want to go to the Scarlet Realm,” Tauri muttered. Perhaps her people’s home realm would have nice weather. 

“And meet my father? No thanks.” Stryg was neck-deep into the water. While the others were swimming, he was standing on the bottom. “Here we are.” Blue mana flowed through his being and he channeled the sea to curl around them and form a bubble.

Gale, Evander, and Tauri slid on the edge of the bubble until they were all sitting close to one another, their legs dangling past the bubble and into the water. Stryg pulled the bubble behind as if it were a cape. He dove deeper into the sea and made a beeline to a tunnel, hidden in the dark depths. An enchanted grate blocked the entrance.

Stryg drew Krikolm and slashed the grate apart with four smooth cuts. He tossed the grate aside and swam into the tunnel.