Immortalized | Viktor - arcane

The Bridge

Rose ran back to her chambers as quickly as she could. She needed something valuable that she could trade. Thanks to Mel's gifts over the years she had plenty of choices.

She decided on a gold necklace with a large green gemstone pendant. It was sure to be worth a hefty pouch of coins in the fissures.

As she opened her closet to pull out her trench coat she froze. When she reached for the beige blazer that she wore on every trip to the undercity, it struck her that it was no longer there. In its place instead was a black leather jacket with multicolored patches.

She sighed as she pulled out the jacket. She had forgotten how she had ruined her old coat and had to buy this one to cover the three lashes that still left deep scars in her back. She could see her old blood stained into the fabric of the jacket's inner lining.

After taking a deep breath she threw the jacket over her shoulder and tugged on her boots. She never thought she'd be returning to the undercity again. After she lost Bea there was nothing left for her there except ghosts. She shoved the necklace deep into her pocket before fleeing from the estate, trying to avoid as many people as she could and walking to the bridge.

She walked quickly with her head down and her long hair hiding her face. Whenever she walked the bridge she made sure to stand far from the rails and only look straight ahead of her.

The jacket alone earned her stolen glances and curious looks as she walked through the city. The beaten leather was a rare sight compared to her finer clothes, and her hair could hide her face but most people recognized her by it's distinct color. She tried not to care. It didn't matter if anyone saw her crossing the bridge. Jayce used to cross the bridge all the time before becoming a councilor. If people wanted to gossip nothing would stop them. Perhaps people would think she was running an errand for Mel as an envoy. She would deal with the consequences later.

As she walked through the streets of the fissures she kept her hand in her pocket, clutching the necklace in her fist so she would not lose it on her way. Trying not to look anyone in the eye or bump any shoulders she retraced the route Bea had showed her years ago until she came to a glowing purple sign just above the deepest crevice of the fissures. It was a place she stayed away from growing up, it was the lowest one could get in the undercity.

She climbed her way down and when she landed she heard a scatter that made her skin crawl. It took a moment to adjust to the darkness but she could make out people huddled against the dark cliffs with purple veins and blood shot eyes, some even had deformities from all the shimmer they took. Swallowing deeply she shoved her hand back in her pocket, around the necklace, and continued on her way. Most of the people down there were too weak to fight her anyways.

As she neared the apothecary's stand she heard voices ahead of her. She kept her distance as she came upon two people at the apothecary's counter. She watched them hug before going their separate ways. The shorter of the two who was hiding his face and deformities with a withering cloak, returned to the shadows and shuffled away while the taller woman placed something in her pocket before turning away from the stand and heading in Rose's direction.

As the tall woman grew closer Rose could make out the features beneath her hood in the low lighting. It was Cassandra Kiramman's daughter, Caitlyn. Rose couldn't help but wonder what the enforcer was doing down here so far from home. She had half a mind to ask but decided against it.

She wished she could have gone unnoticed but they were the only two people in the ally and Rose's hair gave her away in an instant. Caitlyn's jaw dropped briefly when she recognized her as Mel's assistant. It seemed the enforcer did not have time to spare on questions either because she only gave Rose a small nod of acknowledgment before continuing on.