Chapter 97 - Last Choice Dungeoneers

I stared at the map on the table of the makeshift command center that the City Lord's attendants had constructed. I stared and then frowned, my heart sinking at the implications of what I was seeing.

"You are seriously asking us to go into a likely monster-infested sewer? Seriously?" I scoffed, glaring at the dwarf, ignoring his station completely.

"Look, a sewer is just a dungeon with more feces, if you think about it." Walther grinned at me. I glared at him hard enough that I'm shocked he didn't catch fire.

I looked over at my party, and I was getting increasingly worried about our chances here. Myth and Cori were getting healed, but still looked really rough. Eira was ok, but she was usually pretty solid. Smitty was sticking by the harpies while healers looked over them. Mariana was physically fine, but mentally looked shaken up.

Which I didn't blame her for. I wasn't doing too well in the mental fortitude department myself. I really had no idea how I was holding it together as well as I was. Probably waiting for my mental breakdown behind closed doors with a nice soft bed to scream into.

I was going to need a really good break after the dust settled.

I looked at the map again and noticed a lot of little markings on it.

"What are these?" I pointed at them.

"Parts of the undercity. We had extensive transport tunnels and shelters during the Pre-Alliance conflicts. They got troops and supplies around during sieges and the like. There were also extensive networks for criminal elements that were allied with Revenstahd at the time. After the alliance was solidified, most of them were shut down and sealed." Lord explained.

"And are you sure they're still sealed?" A dreadful thought had crossed my mind, and I didn't like where it was going.

"We have the undercity regularly checked, criminal elements and monsters purged, and that sort of thing. Admittedly, security teams have been slim since we had to increase city patrols, since the whole Harpy Petition thing started up. But we've still been getting reports that they're secure from some contractors." Lord shrugged.

"And how do you know they weren't controlled by dryads as we found in the manor?" I finally broached the question that was on my mind as soon as he mentioned the tunnels.

He stared at the map for a long second. His stony expression darkened, and her swore softly. Then swore again louder. And one more time, before slamming his fist against the table hard enough, I heard it crack.

"I've been so wrapped up in Alliance political nonsense, I let this slip right under my nose! Damn! Who knows how long they've been planning this!" He cursed repeatedly.

I understood his frustration, but I didn't really have the patience to listen to a noble tantrum, justified as it was.

I was about to speak, but we were interrupted by one of the Lord's team.

"Sir, we discovered something in the manor." They said, snapping a smart salute.

"What is it? It'd better be important." He scowled at them, not appreciating the disruption of his rage.

"Tunnel system, sir. Separate from the dungeon corridors. We haven't entirely mapped it, but the direction suggests it heads straight into the undercity." They said quickly, trying to head off being the next target of the Lord's ire.

"Of course, Firenze Manor would have secret tunnels. Bastards were always shady as hell. I definitely did not miss them when the Alliance rounded the family heads." Lord grumbled as he looked at the maps. He jabbed a finger at one section.

"This is probably where it comes out. It'd be a straight shot to the undercity hub. A lot of the machinery that keeps Revenstahd running can be accessed there. Usually, you need the right enchanted keys to unlock access, but at this point, it's safer to assume everything is compromised." He sighed before turning to Walther. "I've got to work on communications and contingencies. Walther, take over."

The dwarven City Lord stalked away and made his way over to the harpies still being protected by Smitty.

Walther looked at me, his usual grin still on his face, but it looked a bit more strained than normal.

"This situation really sucks, Marchesi. You and your crew are pretty good, don't get me wrong, but if I had any choice, I'd have used a professional team. Or at least some second years. You're all too damn green for this. But, the damn dryads got nearly everyone still in Revenstahd, and the really good teams are too far away to make a difference right now." He slumped onto a stool.

I likewise sat down.

"What exactly happened, sir? When we left Revenstahd to get to the manor, some of the guards were acting strangely, but we didn't see anything too weird. It could only have been a few hours." I said, curious. A lot happened far too quickly for a complete city takeover.

"I'm not entirely sure. It was like a switch flipped. Suddenly, students, faculty, citizenry, tons of people just changed, and started trying to grab anyone who hadn't changed. There were knights and mages in the street directing them, and then dryads started showing up. It was fast. Damn fast. The school has a lot of secret passages, so I got who I could out, and I guess Lord and whoever else did the same, but as you can see, it's not a lot." His smile vanished, and he buried his head in his hands.

"So we're your choice, because you've got no choice, huh?" I sighed and stared into the sky.

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"I realize this whole thing is ridiculous. I'm not even sure if you lot are good enough to pull it off. But Lord needs to coordinate, and I'm not able to fight like I used to. I've got...some issues that make me a detriment these days. There's a reason they keep me behind a desk." His face fell even further. I decided not to pry.

So it looked like my crew of dungeoneers, who weren't green enough to be considered newbies but not experienced enough to be pros, and a couple of knights had to go into the sewers and deal with whatever was going on, try to stop it, because we were the only ones left who could navigate well enough underground.

I didn't like it, and the whole thing seemed stupid and contrived, but Revenstahd had become my home, and I wasn't eager to lose it. Especially to a bunch of arseholes and tree women.

I don't think that counted as patriotism or anything like that. Revenstahd is where my stuff and friends were. I liked my friends and my stuff.

Besides, my money was locked away in the bank, and I needed that money. I swear those damn tree women had better not have stolen my money.

I guess there was no point in waiting any longer.

"I'll get my team together. We'll figure this out." I stood with a grunt, as my knees were really angry with me after being tossed through a wall. I was going to take a twenty-hour soak in the healing baths after all this nonsense.

I gathered up the girls, Noah, and Adhara after checking on the harpies. They were being well treated, fed, and healed. Apparently, they were pretty important on top of everything else, so Lord was making sure they were taken care of.

I sat everyone down at the table with the undercity map and explained the situation as it had been explained to me. We needed to get into the undercity and find the dryad queen, which there clearly had to be in order for the dryads to be this organized. We also had to figure out exactly what the knights and mages were up to in the undercity, and why they moved so suddenly.

I also stressed, heading off the question before it was asked, that we were it. There weren't enough combat-trained people, especially no combat-trained people skilled in subterranean fighting in tight quarters, to do this. It was us.

From what info we had been given, help was a few days away, up to a week. The Obsidian Gauntlet knights had formed roadblocks in the Revenstahd territories, slowing things down even more. There were a lot of other things going on as well, but the long and short of it was that the City Lord and Walther had no choice but to rely on us.

"We're getting paid, right? They're not expecting us to do this purely out of the goodness of our hearts, yeah?" Cori interrupted.

"Of course, they're paying us. I'm not stupid, Cori. Foolish sometimes, but not stupid." I grinned a wide, greedy grin. "Platinum. Each."

Cori stared at me, her eyes bugging out. She then started hyperventilating. Myth rubbed her back to calm her down. The poor human looked ecstatic. I didn't blame her, really.

"So, is everyone on board? I want you all with me on this one, but I want everyone to be sure. This is going to be stupidly dangerous. I haven't a clue what our chances of survival are here. We might have to kill people, too. Monsters are one thing, but this is totally different." I looked everyone in the eyes. I needed to see their reactions to my words.

I was trying to sound more confident than I was. I'd never killed people. I had hoped to never have to, but it was looking more and more inevitable as time went on. It made me sick to my stomach, but if I had to, I had to. Gods above and below forgive me in advance.

"I guess I got one more dungeon crawl in me. I can put up with it for a platinum for sure." Myth said with a slight smile.

"You know I can't let you and your friends go into danger if I'm able to help. I gotta keep you alive till you can meet my family, and I have to marry you someday." Eira grinned at me. I decided to mentally file that away to discuss later, but I felt a blush on my cheeks anyway.

"Smitty protect friends, yes yes. Defend! Save city! Cannot face ancestor pack if Smitty ran away like scared puppy!" The kobold puffed up proudly, still looking more like a cloud than anything threatening.

"MONEY. I WANT IT. I'm IN!" Cori blurted out. I should have seen that coming.

"You all are greedy fools. I wouldn't be able to sleep at night if I let you all die, I suppose." Mariana shrugged indifferently. She had a slight smile threatening to overtake her face, twitching at the corner of her mouth.

"We're of course coming along. The rogue knights of the Everspring are involved, and they need to be punished. And punish them we will." Noah said firmly, his usual bravado replaced by determination. Adhara simply nodded. That was answer enough.

I sighed and smiled to myself. Good. I had a fine crew here.

"So, how are we getting in exactly? I don't think hiking all the way back to Revenstahd and going in the way we left is going to be ideal, and I'm pretty sure that any of the external access points to the undercity are going to be heavily guarded." Cori said, composing herself.

"Quite simple. Turns out dungeons and horrifying experiments aren't the only things under Firenze Manor." I jabbed a finger on the map. "They found a tunnel that runs straight to the undercity."

"Ah. So the old smuggler tunnels do exist. Not the ones we used to get out, but the really, really old ones. If they're anything like my contacts have told me about, that's going to make things a lot easier." Cori nodded and looked at the map more closely.

"If this dryad queen is operating like they typically do, it's going to want to be centrally located with lots of water and nutrients. It's disgusting, but the undercity hub is going to be perfect for that. I just worry how deep it might have rooted." Myth added, pointing at the massive central chamber.

"Plus, we have the other knights and mages to deal with. We might be outmatched. Of course, it's not like we have much choice in the matter." Mariana frowned at the thought.

"Don't worry about them. We've got more than enough experience dealing with them." Noah cut in.

"I've got a few tricks up my sleeve for dealing with Mages, too. Magical monsters aren't that different from mages, and they're a common thing to have to extract people from." Eira offered.

"Ok, looks like we're as planned as we're going to be. Lots of unknowns, but thinking on our feet in tunnels is kind of what we do. Let's get some stuff together, and meet me in the manor in say...thirty minutes?" I suggested. Everyone gave an affirmative and went to make their preparations.

"You're doing a good job at this leading thing, my sweet," Eira said, pulling me into a tight embrace.

"I'm scared as hells, but I'm trying to keep it together," I admitted, burying my face into her.

"We'll win. We're the best." She petted my hair soothingly.

"What if we fail? What if I get someone killed?" I felt my held back fear starting to spill out.

"You won't. Don't think about what-ifs. Focus on what you will do. You will succeed. You will get everyone back alive. Confidence, even if you have to fake it, will do a better job of keeping you alive than a million frets and worries." She said warmly.

I breathed in her scent before holding her even tighter.

"You're right. I will succeed. I got you with me, after all."

"That's the spirit, my love!" She giggled.

"Also, when we get back, we're having a little discussion about your comment there." I threatened playfully.

"I'm looking forward to it." I could hear the smile in her voice.

"Gods above and below, could you two be any sappier. Stop making out and get ready!" Mariana shouted at us.

"That girl seriously gets on my nerves," Eira growled under her breath.

"Yeah, but it seems the gods and the universe are intent on her annoying me till the end of time. She is, sadly, also right. Let's get ready." I sighed and released my hold of my beautiful raven-haired, emerald-eyed half-elf.

"Yes! Let's! So we can get this arse kicking over with!" Eira beamed at me.

That look alone would keep me going till this entire debacle was done and buried.