B4 Chapter 437: Beneath the Streets, pt. 2

From a brick-and-stonework pipe in the wall opposite them, a spray of muck slopped into the river that ran through the centre of the sewer. It was disgusting — half foul liquid, half indescribable solids, and all rancid. As the deluge hit the river of muck, it kicked up a spray, and Kaius dashed forwards, avoiding the splatter.

This place was rank. The pathways that lined the central sewer were just barely wide enough for Porkchop to walk on comfortably. Made of baked brick, they had grown shiny with slime and dank humidity.

The entire experience was an affront to his senses — rotten sewage and aqueous urea burning his nose.

Kenva gagged as she deftly hopped over yet another of the puddles that lined their path. “You know, when we were departing, I expected a glorious adventure of forgotten mysteries and unwalked tunnels deep in the darkness. I have to say this isn’t quite what I had in mind.”

Kaius nodded his head emphatically, doing his best to breathe shallowly. The map had clearly shown they would be trekking through sewers, but he hadn’t had any idea that they would be active ones.

Ahead of him, Porkchop whirled, turning back to face them. His eyes were wide and bloodshot, and Kaius could feel a nigh-tortured mania flowing across their bond. He understood. The scent of this place was torturous for him — a constant assault of disgust and acrid sensory pain. What must it have been like with a beast’s senses?

“Kaius, give me your knife.”

He stared up at his brother, uncomprehending. His knife? What the hells did he want with that? It wasn’t exactly a useful tool to them now—more a keepsake he used for cooking than anything else.

“What?” he asked, voice muffled as he did his best to avoid letting any of that acrid air in through his nose.

Porkchop’s hackles rose, a half-growl of desperation resonating in his chest. “Give. Me. The. Knife.”

“Okay, okay!” Kaius said, holding up his hands in placation before reaching to his belt and drawing the hunting blade.

A ghostly hand of mana snatched it from his grip. It whistled through the air, and Kaius’s eyes widened as the tip lined up with the middle of the bridge of Porkchop’s snout.

“Wait!” he cried, lunging forwards, but he was too slow.

Quick as a flash, Porkchop raised his paw and slammed it down on the knife’s pommel. Backed by brute strength, honed steel punched through hide and cartilage. Kaius heard a tortured screech from the blade. It was high quality and lightly enchanted, but Porkchop’s fur and growing endurance created no small measure of resistance. Blood welled up around the hilt, saturating Porkchop’s muzzle as his flesh writhed and sealed itself close to the steel.

Porkchop immediately relaxed. “That is so much better,” he said, sighing in relief.

“What in the ever-loving fuck, Porkchop?” Kenva said.

Kaius just stared at his brother in disbelief. Yet he knew that Porkchop wasn’t lying. He could feel the twinges of pain through their bond, but that maddened discomfort was gone. It was extreme, but Kaius supposed he had cut off his ability to smell the foul air.

Porkchop seemed content to ignore them, his normally chipper countenance returning. “So, what in all the hells is the Eternal Empire, anyway? I know we’ve looked at the threats, and you guys have mentioned that they seemingly have ruins everywhere, but I don’t really know any of their history.”

It was a fair question — one that Kaius would be happy to know more of. Hells, everyone would. But precious few had good answers. Judging by the way Ianmus had perked up, however, they might be in for a bit of a story. He himself wasn’t much of an expert, but knowing only the basics: it was an empire that had existed for aeons, ruled by one so-called Eternal Emperor. And then it had vanished, taking it all with it.

Planting his staff in a crook between bricks, Ianmus hopped over a trail of slime that seemed to leak from the very walls next to them. “They were a civilization that stretched from the icy northern wastes to somewhere far to the south. We’ve found ruins in the Drozags, and some of the few explorers who have tempted the hellish jungles beyond them have seen hints they existed there, but we don’t know their furthest reaches. They could have been to the very end of the continent.”

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Ahead of them, Porkchop’s ears perked up in curiosity. “That large? From the way you guys have talked about them, I sort of assumed it was a human civilization.”

Kaius shook his head. “Not exactly. They encompassed everything in their lands—at least that’s what I’ve heard.”