Aye you two, time to get down there," Seamus said as the three members of TunnelPunks gathered in the main office of the Exploration Department." Now, remember. Stay behind me and we should be alright."
The three carried their packs and gear. Seamus had a crossbow sling over his shoulder and a small sword at his hip. Morgan carried a large wrench and his other various tools were in his belt. Aleister didn't carry any weapons, though he had a bandolier full of bottles of alchemist fire at his disposal. Seamus had spent some time teaching them how to put on the leather armor they wore.
Morgan wasn't excited about the armor and had protested many times when donning it. He liked his leather harness, it was comfortable. The leather armor rubbed his fur the wrong way and made him sweat profusely.
Seamus advised that for their first time in the tunnels, they both wear armor. He suggested after they got more comfortable in the tunnels they wouldn't need it, but the look he gave suggested it probably would never happen.
Seamus led the way through a door in the back of the Exploration Department's office. They came into a small room with a steel hatch directly in the middle.
"Most don't know about this entrance, only the Exploration Department workers are allowed to use it. Goes straight down to the deeper tunnels. We will end up directly in the middle of the map I showed you two earlier." Seamus said as he began unlocking the hatch.
Morgan and Aleister nodded as they watched Seamus lift the hatch open. Under the hatch was a long steel ladder that disappeared into the darkness below. Morgan shuddered as he realized this was it. He was heading into the deeps. Perhaps to never be seen again by anyone. Aleister broke into a nervous sweat as Seamus gestured for them to follow him.
"Don't worry, I was nervous my first time going down too. It's good though, keeps you on your toes," Seamus said as he made his way down the ladder.
Morgan and Aleister stared down at the ladder for a moment before following.
"I'm sure you'll feel more at home down here Morgan, it's slightly different than the city maintenance tunnels but there'll still be plenty of pipes," Seamus said as they continued climbing down the ladder in the darkness."Aleister, you'll be happy to know theirs sometimes strange crystals and runic symbols along the tunnel walls. Your job is to take samples and record the runes."
"Great, hopefully, we don't get eaten before we can get back to examine them," Aleister sighed.
"Seamus you never did explain how I'm supposed to replace the pipes down here," Morgan said as Seamus reached the bottom.
"Not to worry. There are plenty of replacement pipes already down here. Once you get to the bottom you'll see." Seamus called up from the bottom of the ladder.
Morgan and Aleister made their way to the bottom a few moments after Seamus. They had made it to the SafeZone. The tunnel had been sealed on both sides by stone walls, steel doors lead further into the tunnels. Along the walls of the tunnel, hundreds of pipes lay bundled on the ground. Many varied in size and color. Magical glowing globes floated over their heads to provide light.
Morgan knew the differences in each color meant what the pipes were used for. Red was for steam, blue was for water, and white was for Mana. The piles mostly consisted of white pipes. A few were blue and only a small number of them were red.
"Once we get to sector seven, Morgan will note the pipes needed for the repairs. Aleister, you'll be taking samples of the red Mana crystals that I saw last time I was there. And I'll be watching our backs while you two are working." Seamus said as he made his way to the steel door on the northside of the tunnel." Come on. We got a three-day shift."
Morgan and Aleister quickened their pace as Seamus opened the door.
"Aleister, you got the special torches I wrote down right?" Seamus asked as he peered into the dark tunnels in front of them.
"Right here," Aleister said as he pulled the silver sticks from his pack.
Seamus had specified a special metal torch that when set on fire produced a bright flame. They were called BrightStyx. A BrightStyx could last for nearly eight hours before burning out. Aleister used yet another of his inventions to light one of the BrightStyx. He called his invention, 'The InstaLight' it could produce a small jet flame from its reservoir of alchemist fire in mere seconds using an ignition rune.
With the light from the BrightStyx, the trio began walking down the large tunnel. Seamus had warned them to stay as quiet as possible when in the tunnels. So none of them spoke as they made their way through the twist and turns.
Morgan took note of the pipes they were following to section seven. Various corner connectors were in poor shape, barely keeping the pipes together. Some of the shut-off valves looked about ready to fall to pieces from rust. Mana leaked from nearly every pipe and soaked the ground with its power-filled liquid.
Aleister was intrigued when they came across various colored crystals growing on the sides of the ground near these leaking pipes. They glowed with a dim radiance of whatever color they exhibited. He had managed to collect a few samples for later inspection. Carefully placing them in glass test tubes he carried in his pack.
Seamus led the way, cautiously peering around corners ahead of the group. After checking around the corner he would signal them to continue. He would lead them down the twists and turns in the tunnels, as Morgan and Aleister waited for him to consult a small map at crossroads in the tunnels, he would eventually point in the direction they were to go. Whenever Aleister would stop to take a sample of a rare crystal, Seamus guarded them with his crossbow trained pointing into the darkness in front of them. He made sure to tell Morgan to watch behind them as Aleister would pry loose a sample and carefully place it in a nonreactive solution inside one of the many vials he carried.
It was only a few hours later when they finally arrived at section seven. Morgan's jaw dropped when they made it to the end of the pipes. All the piles leading into section seven were capped off.
"Yep, nothing has been set up in section seven. The team before us discovered it only a few weeks ago. You'll have to set it up once we find the subsystem. Rumor has it this one is a way to get the city moving." Seamus whispered.
"Did you just say move Linava?" Morgan whispered." That's impossible. There's no way anything could move something that enormous."
"Not necessarily. The enchantments that keep the place floating are proof that the mages that built Linava could do anything." Aleister whispered.
Seamus quickly spun around as he heard the shuffling footsteps behind them. Three green-skinned goblins charge in from the darkness behind them. Each carrying a mace. Seamus waited until he could see them with the BrightStyx's light before firing his crossbow. The crossbow bolt hit one of the goblins in the head and it fell to the ground.
The remaining two goblins continued running towards the trio while Seamus reloaded. Morgan hefted his wrench and stood ready. Aleister backed away, pulling a vial of alchemist fire from his bandolier.
Morgan met the incoming charge of one of the goblins as the other burst into blueish-green flames from a precise throw from Aleister. Morgan blocked the goblin's mace as he swung it towards Morgan's head.
"Morgan, Duck!" Seamus exclaimed as he aimed his crossbow at Morgan and the goblin.
Morgan ducked as he prepared to block another swing from the goblin. A crossbow bolt whistles over his head and impaled itself into the goblin's chest. The goblin stumbled back from the wound. Green blood flowed down its bare chest as it grunted in pain. Morgan took the advantage and swung his wrench at the wounded goblin. Morgan heard a loud crack as his wrench thumped into the goblin's jaw. The blow spun the goblin around and then it fell over with a heavy thump.
"Nice work, Both of you," Seamus said as he looked around for more goblins.
The goblin Aleister had set on fire hadn't gotten very far before collapsing into a charred crisp near the goblin Seamus had taken down with a headshot.
"Congratulations you both survived your first encounter in the Tunnels."
