Hero's Journey

Chapter 85

Kagon's boots squelch as he steps through the muck of the sewers. The stench is nearly unbearable even past the cloths that they have tied around their faces.

"Why the sewers?" Kagon complains, tying the cloth around his face tighter.

"It is the best and most secretive way to get to the Temple." Iglesias explains.

Qin, however sends Kagon a dark look. "Were you not listening to the plan earlier? Or is your head empty of all brain power?"

Kagon huffs in annoyance. "I was listening, Shadowlander." He shoots back as if the word alone is an insult.

Qin only rolls his eyes and broodily stomps ahead of the group, boots splashing up dirty water.

"You really shouldn't talk to him like that." Delia says with a sigh. "You do realize that most of the rebels are Shadowlanders, so it will do you no good to discriminate against those that are helping us."

"I don't trust them." Kagon whispers, voice low and nearly a growl.

"You didn't trust Tavius and look at all he has done for us." Delia rebukes. "You can only truly judge a person by their actions. Qin is the one that helped save us. So to me, his actions prove more than his race."

Kagon opens his mouth to say something back, but he is interrupted by Iglesias. "This is the last turn." Iglesias announces "After this, we'll be directly underneath the Temple. Prepare yourselves."

Kagon unsheathes his golden sword, the blade glows in the dank sewer like a deadly beacon. From the corner of his eye, he sees Delia take out her Roarian dagger as they approach the turn in the sewer.

Kagon is sure to keep vigilant as they make the turn and follow their last stretch of sewer. As they near the ladder they are to go up, everyone falls silent. The only sound is the splash of their feet in the water and the roar of the T'ar river somewhere above them.

Qin is the first to reach the ladder, he plants one booted foot on the first rung and begins to make his ascent. Kagon hears Qin struggle with the manhole cover before sliding it off with a metallic clang. After a moment, Qin's voice sounds from above. "Everything is fine up here, Rint was able to clear the room like he promised. Come on up."

Iglesias is the next to go up the ladder with the others following close behind. As soon as everyone is safely up, Qin slides the manhole cover back into place.

"Alright, so right now we are in one of the bathing rooms off the main hallway." Iglesias begins. "The high Priest's quarters are down farther. According to Rint, Daqa should be in his quarters right now in preparation for the sacrifice later tonight. Now, I need everyone to split up into two groups once the main hallway forks off. Both ways lead to Daqa's room, so we will all meet there."

"Why do we need to spilt up? Isn't there strength in numbers?" One of the Shadowlanders ask dubiously.

"Splitting up will allow us to increase the chance of at least one of the groups making it to Daqa's quarters. Not to mention, splitting our big group into two smaller groups will allow for more stealth." Iglesias explains.
"Moving on. Our best bet is to capture Daqa and threaten him to release Kipdale of his Shadow Stain."

Iglesias takes a breath before continuing. "Once the stain has been removed, Gahenna's power should collapse. After that, we need to leave the city, since I'm not sure what a power collapse could mean for the city and its inhabitants. Alright, any questions?"