Chapter 22: 22 – Sewers

Silifran laid on Duabil Forest’s southern limits, bordering the Human United Front territories. Boasting a growing kinn’haya population, one of the biggest human districts in the Elven Kingdom and an uninterrupted flow of goods, from humans and kinn’hayas lands, made it the kingdom’s most important frontier city. Its fame as a magnet for rich and wealthy elven citizens, drawn to new and adventurous enterprises, spread wide, attracting even more citizens fleeing the suffocating culture that enveloped the capital and most of the elven heartland. 

Feralis lead the way in the city’s fast demographic rise and while several other races were tolerated, all fell under an elven common rule. Increasing crime inside the city’s outer ring and skirmishes against human patrols carried a heavy soldier presence. And despite kinn’hayas and elves' equal status on paper, written on the alliance founding treaty, the elves in Silifran comprised the upper echelons and acted accordingly.

Night had fallen when X found himself out of the interrogation room and in sparsely transited streets. On these clear skies he saw two moons, and a surreal number of stars. 

Scant creatures walked down those cobbled roads, while fewer carriages passed him by. The houses piled against each other, their style, stone use and oil lamps made Silifran look medieval, and yet, X immediately knew it wasn’t like anything on earth; future or past. This city had a special quality to it, strange doodles engraved on doors, windows and signs. He saw more strange beasts, talking and non-talking, walking under two moonlights, one reddish, the other one light blue, some of those carrying glowing objects, bags, stones, armor and weapons, on their belt or backs. That these buildings conformed to human standards surprised him. The most adventurous of buildings still resembled human structures and could be grouped under a medieval-avant-garde style. Disappointing. He had previously thought those strange creatures would likewise live in strange contraptions.

Hmmm... Maybe there are laws preventing them from digging a hole in the ground to nest. Who knows with these freaks.

And he wasn’t far from the truth.

X wandered the streets, his head covered with rags again, observing Silifran’s nightlife. A few establishments buzzed with movement and all manners of creatures. He saw several elven patrols, which he skirted, but saw no civilian elves out and about, just a menage of beasts. Five streets off from the main avenue he found a small garden. Tired and hungry, he sat under a thick tree where he ate his last piece of bread and got rid of the empty bag. Not long after, exhaustion took hold of him.

An hour past midnight loud voices woke him up. Whoever those belonged to, sounded close. 

“Stop there!”

Shouting came from the main avenue. Three black figures ran in the opposite direction. 

“Run, you amateur fucks!”

“Shit, they’re closing in!”

“Split!”

X saw one figure go into the alley behind him while the rest spread into dark corners.

“Stop! By order of the Elven King!” Still far behind, the soldier’s shouts grew louder. 

Why would any creature, from any realm, be compelled to run from authority? X knew a couple reasons but knew even less existed to care about it. Then again, what can reason do in the face of an impulsive nature? What does reason become when lured in by its urges? Addiction. An unforgettable memory called to him, and its pull overwhelmed him. 

As the obscured figures ran in different directions, he chased the one going into the alley behind him. He forced himself an extra notch, burning through whatever energy he got left following it. Not long after entering the ally the shadow dashed through a sewer grate that swiveled up allowing passage. Lagging behind, X didn’t think about it twice and followed suit. And just in time as patrols passed by looking for escaped creatures.

“Where are those beasts?!”

“They can’t disappear into the aether!”

“Keep looking!”

The soldiers continued their search and silence returned to the night. X had landed in a gray pool of shit and piss after awkwardly squeezing in. Suddenly, he felt a familiar feeling, cold and sharp, a sight long forgotten, a knife to his neck. Old friend.

“Don’t move, don’t yell... Who the fuck are you?” 

A moon ray came through the sewer grate and shined over a hooded figure partially revealing a pair of white tusks, light gray eyes, an uneven beard, but a decent grip. A hooded, green-faced humanoid stood before him. 

“Wait... let me... catch my...breath...”

The male creature stared at X while pushing the dagger into his neck. Apart from the figure’s stern countenance, his feeble constitution hid a deadly nature. His eyes glared as those of someone that killed on command, ruthless, without doubts, a professional assassin. The strange humanoid screamed caution.

“A hobo sleeping on the streets, crawling down into the sewers... a rag over his hair and cloth covering half his face...”

X twisted his mouth into a smirk.

 “The fuck are you doing down here?”

“I was... running away from those soldiers...”

“You aren’t with us.”

“No... but I had to run nonetheless...”

“So... who the fuck are you?”

“X.”

“What?”

“Eh... A sewer being a fine place as any, can we discuss this somewhere else?”

The creature looked at X, a thought made him change his mind. 

“Hmmm... The boss will decide. And bait is never rejected.”

The cloaked figure shoved X’s languid self forward, pushing him through an endless labyrinth of shit and piss where the scant light that managed to seep into the sewers couldn’t break the darkness of those damp passages. 

“Are you sure you know the way?”

No answer.

“Look, that turd looks familiar!” said X while pointing to a moonlight-lit perfect shit specimen.

“Shut up and keep walking.”

The elf was shoved forcefully and almost fell down. He managed to land over a wall.

“Hey! I’m just wondering how many times are we going to pass through here? You really don’t need to worry about-” 

“And do go faster.”

Another push.

“I am! I’m trying to get away from this funky-smelling home of yours... It’s as fast as I can walk.”

Walking over gray water wasn’t one of X’s preferred activities. Not only the smell or texture repulsed him, but the water made each step harder. After an hour of touring Silifran’s sewers they came to a dry stop.

“From here on, you better watch yourself,” his quiet guide commanded.

“Aha...” X slightly nodded. 

Being under the city, in those shit-stained tunnels, brought him memories.

[Feel at home yet?]

The smell is not far off...

As it had appeared, it disappeared.

At least we no longer walk in crap and piss. 

After several turns, burning torches appeared hanging on the walls lighting the way while other living beings walked them by. Life in the sewers bared its splendor. The creatures bore a distinct look, a criminal style and smell. Everyone stared at the newcomer, blood filled their eyes.

“New bait Heiran?”

“He won’t last a day... looks like it’s dying already.” 

“Leave the bait with us, we’ll take care of him. Real good...”

X looked at them without a shred of concern. 

“I heard about what happened in the raid,” the last creature speaking guarded a steel door.

“Don’t look at me, it wasn’t my idea. Is the boss in?”

The guard nodded. “And he has been waiting for your report.”

They stepped inside a large, circular room.  A thin pink smoke pervaded the air, a mix of chemical and beastly odors reached their nostrils. The sewer sights vanished, left far behind from this chamber of decadence. A big center table boasted assorted substances, items, drinks and food. At the back, several creatures, scantily dressed females and males, all shapes and colors, sat on a large coach indulging in hedonistic fleeting pleasures. Too focused on themselves, few turned their heads towards the newcomers. 

Both walked towards the center table, where a figure hidden behind unnatural vapors and under a dimmed light sat over a decrepit wooden chair. On a closer inspection X saw on the table what he guessed could be hard liquor, plain looking herbs, cigars, and many other items which he fathomed were for individual abuse in this lair of degeneracy. The usual stimulants every criminal reunion couldn’t do without. The missing key ingredient was non-stop ear-bleeding music and he’d be back at home. Even the freaks were already there. He got a tad jealous.

Moans and groans of every type escaped from an immense bed of cushions at the opposite side, surrounded by translucent curtains. The shadows behind the white silky fabric moved sensually, enveloping each other, devouring whatever protuberance managed to slip by unattended.

They arrived before the sitting figure. The thinned-out vapors revealed a middle-aged male. His dirty blond hair mixed with silver strands fell sideways, several encrusted rings adorned his ten fingers while his right hand barely touched his long sword’s handle, always at the ready. Taller than the average creature, corpulent and with a rough constitution, the result of many battles, the male stood up. His spoils of criminality adorned his apparel; golden jewelry around his neck, ruby earrings hanged from his ears, one eye was permanently closed with two slashes across. He donned a white and fashionable frock.

X studied the figure and from all points of view, a human male stood before him.

“Heiran! What the fuck happened?! Bethol and Sammelin told me it was a shitshow!”

“I told you this-”

“Wasn’t your idea, I know. But you are still my costly assassin group leader, and in this particular assignment you were under orders from my second in command. So... I’m asking again. What the fuck happened?!”

“Legazz reinforcements came out of nowhere. Following our commander’s orders, we aborted the mission, but they cut off our retreat.” X noticed Heiran’s calm demeanor. Good nerves. “Surrounded and routed we did our best... We weren’t prepared for direct confrontation. If we had-”

The humanoid’s boss hit his jaw sending him ass first into the floor, losing his hood on the way down. His dark green bony face accentuated his stern visage, protruding cheekbones and a square jaw framed his most prominent features: a pair of large tusks. A single, thick line of deep blue hair ending in a ponytail, adorned his skull. X had seen a creature like this one before, in Saint Jaulea, a female one. But she had less intrusive beastly features.

“I don’t need your bullshit excuses. Where’s Tannen?”

“After being injured, I saw him going into the Long Road,” spitting blood, Heiran answered while standing back up.

His boss made no attempt to hide his anger.

“Injured?!”

“I saw blood gushing out from his abdomen, but he walked it off. He should be arriving at North Paramour by now. If everything worked out.”

X noted they were talking in code. At least the places names.

“Fuck!”

“These are the risks of our trade,” Heiran remembered his boss.

The boss grabbed Heiran by his collar, he wanted to take out his anger on him but there’s so much an underling can take before snapping, and one has to be especially cautious when they have strength to back it up. It was not the time nor place to escalate pending matters.

“We all know that!” The criminal boss released him and spoke towards an enticed crowd that got quiet when the punch landed. 

“We lost the target, the fucking merchandise, crewmen, some death, others... Gods know where or how they are. But all is not lost.” He grabbed a steaming cup from the table and gave it a sip. “You brought us... who?” He looked at X, a paltry looking creature stared back at him.

“I don’t know, he followed me into the sewers.”

“He did...huh. What are you? You don’t seem human...”

“I’m X the elf.”

“Elf?”

X removed the rags covering his head.

“No shit! You are one. What about the rest of your face?” another creature voiced from far back.

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“Gone for good.”

A slender female humanoid stood up from the coach and with slow, cadenced steps, approached him. “Let us see it...” She blew smoke on his face and grazed his chin with her polished nails. The female creature’s fine features harbored treacherous eyes and formed in X an incipient unease at her subtly failed human facial structure. 

“Nah... I’m good.”

“Too bad... A redheaded elf with golden strands... assuming that’s your original hair color, is more than uncommon. It’s a first one."

“Our resident half-elf got curious!” a male gnome spoke sitting on the coach at the back.

“Break Tie... do try to contain your jealousy.” 

“Pfft.” 

She walked back, making sure every step accentuated her jiggling naked ass while she inhaled from an elongated crystal container filled with a reddish dust and engraved with strange signs in an unknown language, that lit up every time she puffed from it. Whatever it was, it smelled damn good to X.

“Grrrrrl... The half woof see ain’t that bad. Rrrrr....” Next came a dogoon feralis. She put her left hand-paw over his chest, with her other hand-paw she held a dark blue glowing drink. She finished it in one sip.

Similar to the one he saw back in Saint Jaulea, dark blue hair covered her body, elongated paws for feet and more human-like fingers on her hands, but with a puppy face; a small protruding mouth, thick tongue, dropped ears and black eyes. She darted back towards the table for another round of the glowing liquid.
 
“If ruff-ruff survive, then woof can play... Grrrrl... and woof’d better behave...”

“A fucking elf!” From the veiled cushion-bed a shirtless man emerged. While fixing his belt he spoke. “When was the last time we had one?”

“Three... four years ago,” the gnome answered.

“Fucker was crazy, but powerful.”

“We all are,” X stated.

“Maybe you are like her, or maybe you’re a bitch boy yearning for mama’s cock as soon as things get tough,” the new man exclaimed.

“I hear the voice of experience’s talking. Do you have another one of those memories to share?” X replied.

A couple laughs and grins later the man answered back. “Eh? Fucker’s talking back? To me?” The man got near the redheaded elf with an aggressive attitude, but his boss interrupted him.

“Whichever is it, you are bait, and as such, the irons.”

Heiran handcuffed him in that instant with thick, engraved iron.

"We’re not taking any risk with you.”

 “You might want to burn us at midnight, not the first time that would’ve happened,” said the half-elf.

“Reasonable as this seems... I voice my disagreement.”

Those near enough to hear chortled out loud.

The gnome strolled, mind still hovering within reason’s reach, towards X and planted both feet before him, spitting down. “Well... none of your elf-friends are here to help you now.” 

X shrugged off his remark with a certain smugness that grated the gnome.

“We’ll take care of that shit eating grin of yours. Soon enough.”

“With introductions over, now tell us. Why you came into the sewers?” their boss spoke sitting again on his decrepit throne. “Into Lanaen’s territory?”

“Our turf! motherfuckers!”

“Aarrf Arff! We rule in woof territory!”

“Don’t fuck with us!”

“The Band of Lanaen shall rule forever!”

Cheers, whistling and shouts erupted from all corners of their lair. Those died out when their boss raised his hand.

“Don’t leave us waiting.”

“I was fleeing from... authority and... saw... this green one, going in and... why not?”

“Aha... Why were you running from them?

“I thought they’d come for me. Better safe than sorry... But I was surprised coming down here... I never expected sewers to actually be your... headquarters. Anyway, now that I’m here I feel like joining your merry band of... circus-freaks.”

“Grrrr.”

A laugh and a sip later the gnome spoke. “It had to be an elf! Naming us circus-freaks! Fuck you... What do you think we think of you!?”

“Why do everyone take it personal?”

At his boss command, Heiran kicked X on his legs, making him fall knees-first into the ground.

“Ah-! Ok... I get it. Jeez...”

“You don’t seem a criminally able kinda elf.”

“He’s fucking dying boss,” added the gnome.

“Looks do deceive, which help in my endeavors. I ran with... a... my crew... The Silkiran’s Three.”

“Silkiran?”

“Like the city.”

“Silifran?”

“No... eh... look, we ran as The Silifran Silkiran’s Three.”

“Never heard of it,” the gnome sneered in.

“Then get better info. But I admit we are- were a smalltime crew. But with just three members we brought ourselves into some lucrative business. You know the hustle in a big city, pickpocketing, easy robberies, handling the streets... one bag here, who knows what the hell in there... An easy route for a trio of starting entrepreneurs. We wanted to get our names known in these underground circles and run with the big gangs, like you. We got screwed along the way... hard... by a freaking amateur that trusted a girl- female. Can you believe it? This ruined our gang and well, they all died... but not me.” 

In this moment of silence only the background moans of the eternally horny, those who’d swear to die fucking and sucking, reached them as a murmur.

“Fucking sob story!” The shirtless man cracked up.

“Write a tale about it and give it to a bard.” The half-elf face’s vanished behind a cloud of smoke. “Maybe you can recoup some of your losses.”

Everyone laughed at his sorry story. 

“The fuck we care about that! You’re an elf, come on, talk to us about paradise!” The gnome smirked at the redheaded elf.

“Paradise?”

“Elven tits and asses.”

“That there! That’s the prize! Shit! You got me horny all over again.”

“Wooof always are. Grrl.”

“But so prudish.”

“And with the soldiers around I can’t make a move on them in this fucking city!”

“Word is... Ravillen’s better in that regard.”
    
“Then fucking go there and spare us your retardation.”

“Now, who’s jealous?”

“So... how many have you fucked?” the man asked X but before he could answer the gnome continued their heated conversation. “It isn’t like that at all. Elves mate for life... or something boring like that.”

“Is it true Fylian?” 

“The fuck I know... nor care. I’m a half-elf you mouth-breathing asshole,” she tediously answered and turned towards the gnome. “And are you fucking them or marrying them?”

“I concede your point.”

“Damn! Wouldn’t we be better off in some human town like Saint Jaulea?”

“Ruuffy? Is it woof lust or arf fucking pixie dust woof keep inhaling up woof arfss that rot woof mind. Arf fuck woof do in a ruffman woofity?” 

“Shit! I can barely recognize you’re trying to speak human, and you get worst with each cup.” 

“Kunia’s right.”

“You understood that?”

“You fuckers are not listening. They have elven prisoners there... just imagine... endless possibilities.”

“Like you’d have the money to even consider buying a feralis.” 

“Grrrrrl! Ruuff sell on wooof money!”

“The non-diseased ones might.”

“Grrrhrrr! Ruuff got paws to baarf that up?!” she got her claws out and ready to lunge, but no one seemed to mind her shenanigans.

“Didn’t some serious shit happen there recently, and got their hands on some new merch?”

“Fucking uprising or some shit.”

“The world’s going down a shithole.”

“Then we rise!”

“Yeah!”

The party continued unabated.

For X it seemed the interview was over. Heiran nodded towards his boss who waved his hand signaling they could leave. The orc took him to the dungeons and locked him up in a cold and moist cell.

“Another night in a frozen, dark and damp dungeon... as long as I don’t make it a habit.”

[But you sure got some new friends. I bet you feel like fish in the water]

It appeared leaning on a wall.

“I do... It’s not like criminals are going to stop being criminals just because they have freaking rainbow colors for drugs and drinks... or have horns, tusks, bizarre ears, paws for feet or freaking fur... It does makes one wonder though.”

[Now don’t get too philosophical, that ain’t you.]

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