“The sewers…” Grim started speaking as we went further down. “Are an ever changing, shifting, labyrinth that lies just under the city. Their layout changes day to day, with major shifts occurring every month, with the new moon cycle.”

  Her words echoed ominously while we descended further into the depths.

  “The sewer layer, the top-most layer being the most mundane. The layout is fairly simplistic, and there are plenty of ways to exit. It isn’t a popular layer, due to the smell and that the shades here are rarely worth fighting.”

  Grim finished her evaluation, just as a landing appeared far below.

  “Is it really not worth hunting in the sewer?” Diana cut in. “I mean, we found a number of monsters that gave us bronze coins.”

  “Today is a full moon.” Grim answered as a matter of fact.

  “Oh, right…” Diana muttered back. “How is it normally?”

  “Empty, a few stray shades at best. With their numbers increasing as it gets closer to the full moon, and the ambient magic increases.”

  Diana nods, and I step in. “Is there any chance we will run into anyone else down here?”

  “Unlikely.” Tabitha cut in. “Each layer is expansive, as Grim said, but nobody would bother hunting up here if they could. Their either on the lower layers, or in Tartarus.”

  I opened my mouth to ask another question, but my mouth snapped shut when we finally stepped off the stairs. The tunnels opened up before us. It no longer looked like a sewer.

  Water flowed from above. Giant water wheels and mechanisms cranked away. Channels in the floors, covered in grates, had water flowing through them. Levers and switches were linked to a myriad of means to adjust the flow of water.

  “Welcome to the waterworks, the second layer.” Tabitha spoke up, before Grim could. “Most of the enemies here are also shades, but they tend to be armed and in larger groups. From here on out, both of you should be using your weapons to minimize attrition.”

  I nodded and hefted my rifle. Diana did the same with her pick. Tabitha even took a step forward, joining the line up.

  We continued forward. Water dripped from pipes above, water rushed below and around us, wheels and mechanisms creaked. A symphony of sounds filled the air. It made me wonder if it really was just decoration, or something else.

  “Look alive.” Tabitha spoke up. Ahead of us was a shade. It was wearing tattered clothing and boots. In its hand was a rusted hammer. It didn’t look like much, but it wasn’t alone. Beside it were a number of shades equipped with a variety of rusted weapons and tools. Knives, mallets, saws, even an axe. They stood in a loose circle, their bodies swaying.

  If I didn’t know better, I’d think they were communicating.

  “They don’t look like much, but they pack a punch. I’d like to give you both more training, but we can’t waste too much energy here. Prima, have your zombie’s run interference, they won’t survive long on this layer, so don’t bother making more.”

  “Understood.” I assented.

  “Diana, you and I are at the front. Let Prima take out the big targets.”

  “Right.” Diana answered back.

  I went ahead and checked my rifle, there was a round already chambered.

  “On your mark Prima.” I nodded, readied my rifle, and sent the zombies rushing forward.

  Admittedly, I was skeptical. My undead were fairly tough. The ice enhancing them made their skin hard like stone. Surely, a few rusty knives or hatchets wouldn’t do much damage…

  I was wrong. The first zombie to meet the enemy force was met by the leading shade, the one with the hammer. With a wide, almost contemptuous swing, the shades hammer simply went through my zombies head. Ending their short un-life in an instant. The others were less fortunate. Knives and hammers effortlessly cut and pulverized them.

  Worse still, my zombies’ hands were coated in ice as well, giving them natural claws. Claws that struggled to tear even the tattered and worn clothing these shades wore. Whatever was empowering these shades, was also empowering what they wore.

  I aimed for the hammer wielding shade first. My breathing was slow and even. I squeezed the trigger; the bullet sang out.

  The bullets song echoed through the tunnel, it smashed into the shade’s unprotected skull and went through and out the back. It slumped over and hit the ground, dead.

  Tabitha rushed into their ranks while I pulled back the bolt, ejecting the spent casing. The light tinkle of the casing hitting the wet stone at my feet was drowned out by Tabitha’s shout. Her spear shot forward, the tip twisting like a snake’s head. Its aim true; struck one of the shades working to dismantle one of my zombie minions, Tabitha struck it right in the skull. Before it could even slump back, she pulled out and stepped back, resetting to thrust again.

  Diana was on the opposite side. Using my zombies as shields, she would run through gaps and deliver powerful blows with her pick. Cutting off limbs or arms. Working to disable the shades while avoiding their wild swings.

  By the time I chambered the next round, the fight was over. Of the five zombies, two were dead, another was too damaged to be of use, the other two were still shambling about, but were missing limbs.

  Quickly, the battle high faded and the sounds of the waterworks came back in full force.

  “Good work, nice and quick.” Tabitha’s voice cut through the ambient soundtrack as she walked back with Diana at her side.

  “It truly was.” Grim replied back, calmly with one hand on her sword. “At this rate, we might just find this monster of yours.”

  “Hopefully.” Tabitha replies.

  We continue forward only to be met with a new group. An array of shades with makeshift spears that were more like jagged pipes barred the way. They rushed forward, impaled my zombies, and pushed them down. Diana and Tabitha circled around and pincered them, each at a side. I fired at the largest shade, taking them down in a single blow all while they tried to extricate themselves from their kills.

  Each fight after that, I was able to shoot more than once in an engagement. With my zombies dead, Tabitha took the lead. She dodged and weaved like a leaf in the wind, perhaps a bit too literally flying around strikes. She used her spear to deflect blows while taking the brunt of the attention while Diana circled around and struck them from behind, and for me to shoot my targets.

  The shade groups were wildly different, though, they did have a theme. Maintenance workers were the closest term I could consider. Pipes, tools, and various items one would find on a construction site. Many of the groups were just standing about, but occasionally they’d actively be working.

  Banging on the walls, using wrenches to adjust valves and pipes. If it actually did anything, I wasn’t sure, but they worked, nonetheless. At points, they even had scaffolding up in some areas, allowing them to access higher areas.

  Thankfully, despite the variety of weapons, none of them could be considered a true ranged weapon. A thrown wrench was bad, but it’s not like they had an infinite number of them. So, for the most part, I could easily pick them off while Diana and Tabith did all the legwork.

  The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

  As for their weapons, most of them lost whatever it was that kept them together when their owner died. The few that kept that special magic in them were hardly worth anything compared to my own weapon, or Tabitha’s.

  Not for the first time, I found that I was glad I had chosen a weapon of all things, and a gun at that. I couldn’t imagine having to scavenge or scrounge weapons. Or having to throw myself into combat like the others.

  As we continued forward, Tabitha would scan our surroundings as if looking for something. Occasionally, we would need to move levers or flip switches to alter the flow of water, opening new ways, or cross makeshift bridges the shades had built.

  Ways were often barred by shut sluice gates, or by powerful torrents of falling water. The paths were wide and rarely meandering either way. As we continued, I started to get a feel for the layout when we paused.

  “There.” Tabitha pointed forward. A hulking figure stood outside what looked like a doorway. “That should be a rest area.”

  “Rest area?” I questioned. Diana too looked confused by the term.

  “You’ll see when we get to it, but first we’ll need to deal with that.” She pointed at the hulking figure. They wore construction gear. Not just any construction gear either. Its clothes were heavily padded with a reflective yellow vest over it all that was covered in grime. It also wore thick, heavy gloves, kneepads, elbow pads, and big steel toed boots. On its head was a worn safety helmet. In its hands was a large sledgehammer.

  Worse, they weren’t alone, but that was becoming a theme. Only, the number of shades here were much greater. There were over a dozen of them milling about the place. Adding to the difficulty.

  “Will you need my aid?” Grim asked, shifting the sword on her belt.

  “No, I think we got this.” Tabitha looked over to me in thought. “That shade is a low bronze, but they have equipment. Which means they’ll be a right terror. The armor doesn’t look like much, and even if its weapon can’t compare to a proper weapon, like you and I have, taking a blow from that wouldn’t be nice.”

  I nodded along, though, wondering what the point of this dissertation was.

  “All to say, I’d rather not get up close. I’d also like to reserve as much energy as I can. Do you think you can kill it?”

  I looked at the large shade, towering above its kin. The surrounding shades were equipped similarly to the hulking one. The only difference being their choice of weapons. Some even had makeshift shields made out of wooden boards.

  “Probably.” I replied and took the chance to conjure a piercing shot. The thinner bullet caught her eye, and I manually loaded it in. “If anything’s going to do it, it’s this.”

  She nods. “We’ll rely on that then. If it fails, well, mind chipping in Grim?”

  “No, I don’t mind.” Grim replied from the back of our group.

  “Good, whenever you’re ready Prima, take the shot.”

  I kneeled down and aimed down the sight. I breathed in and out. The rifle in my hand pulsing in tune with my beating heart. I aimed right for the center of the skull. I slowly squeezed the trigger, nothing seemed to change. The hulking shade seemed entirely unaware. Finally, the trigger was pulled. My gun fired.

  The bullets shrill song cut through the ambient noise, attracting the attention of the shades. The hulking shade jerked to the side, just out of the path of my bullet. Its head snapped in our direction. Red eyes glowered from within the helmet.

  “Fuck.” Tabitha swore. The supporting shades all began to move. Weapons were brought to bear as they slowly moved to engulf us.

  Diana rushed in from the side and circled them. Drawing their attention while Tabitha stood her ground. The hulking shade eyed me for a brief moment, then rushed down Tabitha. With a mighty groan it swung its hammer down and missed Tabitha by a hair. The hammer continued to descend, falling into the stone below with a mighty crash. Stonework broke, stone chips flew into the air.

  It pressed forward, and Tabitha jerked back.

  I conjured another piercing bullet. Grim was at my side, hand grasping her sword. Her eyes narrowed. Pulling back the bolt, the empty casing tinkled when it hit the ground, and I loaded the new round in. All the while Tabitha avoided the flurry of blows the hulking shade sent her way. Each strike whistled and sent out gusts of wind out. And with each swing, she gave ground.

  The moment the new round was chambered, I levelled my rifle down and aimed. My hands shook slightly. Little tremors were throwing off my aim. My heart was in my throat. I tried to breathe, to focus. My finger jittered on the trigger. Indecision clouded my judgement.

  I continued to breathe, letting the ice take a greater hold. Clearing away indecision and fear. With it, my aim tightened. My sight true. With an exhale, a puff of frost left my lips.

  The hulking shade swung once more, this time, their blow came too close, nearly sweeping her head off her shoulders. That didn’t happen, instead, where the hammer passed, there was a notable cut on her face. She moved back, even as the shade pressed in.

  Giving me a perfect shot.

  Slowly, inevitable, like a glacier, my finger pulled back the trigger… until the gun fired. The piercing round sang its shrill tune. It flew true, passing by Tabitha’s head, its target clear. Inexorably it approached, right for the hulking shade’s forehead. It was bound to die, or so I thought…

  The shade swung its weapon, pushing Tabitha back, and creating a powerful gust of displaced air. That gust, had just enough oomph to alter the trajectory of my bullet, causing it to harmlessly scrape off the side of its helmet and sail right for a pipe above. The bullet pierced the metal pipe, and steam burst out of it. Slightly obscuring the surrounding area.

  I exhaled all the air from my lungs. I conjured another piercing round but didn’t immediately load it. The hulking shade had taken notice of me, but Tabitha was doing her best to harry it. Diana was dealing with the others, merely keeping their attention and striking when they looked away. All the while, mist slowly obscured the ongoing battle, slowly blinding me to what was happening.

  I had failed twice. That very realization woke something deeper inside. The ice continued to claim me. Pulling me under, into the black abyss below. I was frigid. The ground froze beneath me as I loaded the round in.

  I dove deeper into the ice when the hulking shade brute forced through Tabitha’s guard to come barreling forward, a hand raised to protect their head. Only… I wasn’t aiming there.

  I lowered the rifle and let loose. Right for the knee covered in a kneepad. The bullet struck it dead on. Drilling through whatever material it was made with, flesh, and bone with ease. The limb failed; the shade fell to its one good knee. Just behind it, Tabitha came running. The tip of her spear glowed. A localized maelstrom silently raged. The shade turned, but all too late. Her spear struck true.

  A lance of hyper condensed wind tore through its helmet, head, and skull in a single moment. A beam of energy continued forward, gathering and banishing the obscuring steam in a single swoop. It continued onward and crashed into a mechanism further out, shattering it. With it, water poured down onto the stone unimpeded.

  Headless, the hulking shade finally slumped to the ground… Dead.

  What followed was a cleanup. My body mechanically aimed and fired. Replenishing ammo as needed. Tabitha, now freed, threw herself into the massed shades like a lion. Her spear thrust and cut out, severing limbs and destroying heads. It whirled and moved, her body dancing.

  Diana followed right after, her pick slicing into unprotected legs and arms. Doing what she could to dismantle them and buy space for Tabitha.

  Then, soon enough, they were all dead. I pulled back the ice or tried too. It felt like I was clawing my way back up. Punching through frozen ice to once again take in air into my lungs. I gasped as it receded. My limbs felt jittery, my palms began to sweat, my heart thumped painfully in my chest as if to protest being locked away.

  I put my hand to my chest, focused on breathing in and out. Exhaustion filling my frame.

  “Good work.” Tabitha offered when she came back. She was sweating lightly, whereas Diana was panting. “A little touch and go honestly, but we ended up using a lot less energy than if I had to fight that thing properly.” She continued with a wide smile. “Now, with that dealt with we can get some rest and some food.

  Both sounded like a great idea… Not that I had any food with me.

  We collected the coin the hulking shade dropped and made our way towards the rest area. Idly, I noted that the armor on the shade started to crumble after the coin had been harvested, along with its weapon. Leaving only ash behind.

  The entrance to the rest area was a large doorway, shimmering runes covered the entryway. My knowledge gave me limited understanding of what I was even looking at.

  “It’s a barrier.” Tabitha cut in. “It’ll keep us safe from most nasties in these parts. The barriers get stronger the deeper you go, but so too do the monsters.”

  “Why would this be here?” Diana asked. It was a question I wanted to ask too. The interior was rather normal looking, with what looked like simple bunks set on both sides of the room.

  “Hell if I know.” Tabitha says. We look towards Grim.

  “I wouldn’t know either. I suppose it is just a feature of this place.” She says to our disappointment.

  I sighed at the lack of an answer and sat down on the nearest bunk. Tabitha sat on the opposite one, Diana curled up along the far wall, and Grim simply leaned on the wall near the doorway.

  Tabitha and Diana both came well prepared. Diana had a small pack on her waist. Inside was a bunch of energy bars and small bottles of water. Tabitha was carrying a small rucksack, which contained a variety of foods and bottles of water as well.

  “Here, catch.” She said out of nowhere and threw something at me. I put my hands out and grabbed what she threw. An energy bar and water.

  “I noticed you didn’t pack anything. So, here.”

  “Thanks…” I said, my stomach grumbling.

  “Remember, when spelunking always prepare supplies.” She then pulled out what looked like jerky and worked away at it like a hamster would.

  I nodded at her words of wisdom and dug in. I glanced over at Grim, her eyes were shut, but the moment my eyes fell on her, her eyes opened, and she gave me a small smile. She gestured to a pouch on her belt, and I went back to eating.

  Once we finished, we settled in for a short break.