Chapter BI2-2
Out of the temple of Hades and down into the sewer system, hurrying along the wide stone walkway that runs along the side of the water channel. It smells rather unpleasent and after twenty feet they reach a junction that should lie beneath the main square of the temple district so the question is now... which part of town are they going to try and get to.
Jenna walks with her revolver drawn, now, and points it ahead of her; she checks each junction, each branch, ahead and behind. "So which way are we going?" She thumbs bakc the hammer on her weapon after hearing a noise, though it turns out just to be dripping water. "We shouldn't stay down here longer than we have to, I've heard about flans and bombs and things liking to hang around in aqueducts."
"I'd say best to make for the river," Silmeria murmurs, resting the blunt edge of her Gunblade on her shoulder, pistol held down at her side. "We'll want to be *away* from the city as soon as possible... and the waterways certainly do go that way. The Fiends that dwell here... well, safe to say they're a lesser concern, for the moment."
Problem is down here.. it's hard to work out which way the river might be in... the party of two have a choiuce of forwards, left or right or three diaganols..... oh and there one of those ghast shadow creatures coiling about their legs and trying to tip them into the waiting gloop of a nearby red flan! Silmeria thankfully jumps up and out of the way Jenna however goes head first right into the red flan which goes Tjhrrrrrrpt as it tries to engulf her!
Shadow things? Flans? "Well, granted, but we still ought to be-AUUUGH!!" The burmecian shouts in surprise as she finds herself whisked off her feet, landing hard on her side. Jenna scrabbles at the ground as she's dragged straight down towards the Flan, kicking her free foot at the thing as it goops its way up to her knees. "Saint's holy arseholes," she snarls, as she brings her weapon to bear, levels it at a spot right between her feet, and opens fire. The report is nigh defeaning in the confined space; but it does the trick, putting a hole in teh Flan and giving the soldier a chance to pull her legs free. ) [Spoofed By: Jenna] "Get behind me!" Silmeria cries out, drawing her Gunblade and leveling it at the Flan, her pistol brought up to point at the mass of shadow. And see if you can figure out which way we need to go!" The barrel of her gun glows white, tiny motes of energy collecting around the muzzle as she readies a shot sure to cripple the creature, if not drive it away entirely.
BOOM! First a gun THEN a Gunblade, in small underground passage... OUCH! It leaves Silmeria's ears ringing and Jenna all but deaf as the shot drives the dark creature back. it shrieks and flops and twitches, melting away into shadowy goop that melts away. The flan having had a large hole blasted out of it flops into the water and swims away swiftly!
Jenna scrabbles back another couple of feet, before jumping back upright. She aims the weapon at the retreating Flan, hammer pulled back, but ultimately stands down, pointing the weapon at the ceiling as she turns to face Silmeria. Only then does it occur to her that her ears are ringing, and she can't heare a thing that her companion may or may not have just said. "WHAT?!" she shouts, probably without realizing. "GONNA TAKE A FEW BEFORE THE RINGING STOPS... SHOULD'VE THOUGHT ABOUT THAT."
Silmeria squeezes her eyes shut for a moment, then shakes her head to clear away the ringing. Then shakes it again, this time in a much more meaningful manner, at the yelling Irregular. Taking hold of Jenna's upper arm, she looks down each passageway in turn, brow furrowing as she tries to bring up a mental map of the city.
Silmeria picks what she thinks is the correct tunnel and after about five minutes and another junction they reach a larger junction and can see words inscribed in the rock of the wall. "Interection - Heather Hill and Windbourne Avenue" ) [Spoofed By: Silvante]
Jenna allows herself to be tugged along, and though she's having trouble (and bleeding a bit out the left ear) she manages to keep up her alertness, and points her weapon down each new tunnel they encounter, just in case. "...Startin' to get better," she comments, still speaking overly loud but not at a full yell anymore, at least. "How're your ears? Can you hear?"
"Rrrrgh," Silmeria replies, knuckles whitening around the handle of her Gunblade. "We're *going the wrong way!* ...Okay... I can fix this," she murmurs, drawing in a deep breath through her mouth, almost regretting it instantly, and settling herself. "We're between the Temple District and the Slums. If we take a right soon, we can still get out... just... either by cliff, or by gate. All right. Let's go." Taking Jenna's arm again, she tugs the Burmecian forward, heading in more or less the same direction they'd just come from, resolving to turn right three crossroads down.
It takes a good twenty minutes and this time the few fiends they see are easily dispatched, none of them are a real challenge or a difficulty. As they pass ot of a tunnel into what should be the last intersection before the river they step into... a Garden.... It is quite nice, there are mounds of grass, wild-flower, a small tree laden with peaches... the air is fresh and clean and everything is rather pleasent and warm....
"...This has got to be a joke." Jenna steps into the garden, just as she's breaking open the chamber on her revolver. She takes bullets of her bandoleer and feeds them into the weapon one at a time, swiftly reloading the weapon before snapping it shut and giving the chamber a spin. "This is not natural and no good can come of this." Promptly, she raises her weapon up once more, sighting down the barrel as she keeps close to Silmeria, waiting for... whatever it is that is, no doubt, about to be a nasty surprise.
When the pair emerges from what should still be the sewers, Silmeria pauses, utter bafflement writ large on her tanned face. ".....Correct me if I'm wrong," she says, slowly, turning about in a circle, "...But shouldn't we be the *nicest*-smelling creatures in the area...? What...?" As you stand there, staring, weapons held ready a figure moves through the trees, gliding through the flowers. She is tall, willowy even in a long, flowing velvet dress with long black hair and a gentle smile. "Oh... good day..."
Jenna snaps her weapon around to bear on the approaching figure. She glares at the woman with a resolute, hardened stare; but it seems she isn't going to start anything, so the burmecian slowly lowers her weapon, though she doesn't go so far as to holster it yet. "We *should* be," she affirms, answering Silmeria's question. "But apparently we ain't. ...Or at least, I'm not, and I bathed yesterday." She plants her free hand on her hip, and looks the black-haired woman up and down. "...Uhm, good day," she answers.
Silmeria's weapons are lowered before the first syllable is done, and she stands up straight, blinking owlishly. "I... hello," she says, puzzlement still clear on her face. "...We seem to be lost, I think. Wasn't there supposed to be a sewer around us?" It might be notable, that neither Gunblade nor pistol are put away, merely lowered... Silmeria seems nearly on guard as Jenna is.
"Oh... that yes, it was here, I shiftedit ot of the way, this is so much nicer, would you care to join me in the gazebo for tea?" she motions toward the Gazebo on a hill, "I'm Justine and this is... well this is my little glade."
"No," Jenna replies, automatically. "Thank you for the offer, and it is a very nice glade, but we're rather in a hurry." She glances sideways at Silmeria, before looking back to Justine. Her weapon remains drawn and held loosely at her side. "For your safety as much as ours, Miss Justine, and not to be rude, but if you've some purpose with us I'd suggest you reach the point as swiftly as possible...?"
An eyebrow rises at Jenna's politeness, her smile widening for just a moment. "As much as it *would* be appreciated... My friend is right," she says regretfully. "We really do need to be out of the City as soon as possible." Jenna has dropped a connection.
"Oh," she says with a grin, "That's easy to manage, take that tunnel," she points to an exit from the little glade, "That will lead you to where you need to be... have a save trip"
Jenna arches an eyebrow upwards at the response given. The ex-Forsaken eyes the woman up and down, giving her a most suspicious once over; but in the end, electing not to comment on that particular... piece of information. She glances over her shoulder, casually making sure nothing is sneaking up behind them. "Do we follow that advice?" she murmurs, intending the words only for Silmeria's ears.
Silmeria's eyebrow rises further, the blond blinking rapidly. "Oh... Huh. Well... Thank you very much, then," she says, tilting her head and dipping a shallow curtsy. "That's really quite kind of you. Once we've taken care of our business, I'll have to try to return when I can... I don't imagine there's a great deal of company to be had, down here..." Glancing at Jenna, the woman lifts a shoulder, gesturing with her pistol down the path indicated. She smiles softly and shrugs, "Oh I have plenty of company, there... are many entrances to here. Good bye now!" she waves and as you step down the path should Jenna walk forwards you find yourself emerging from a thicket of bushes on the Giza plains about two days away from city......
Jenna does indeed walk forwards; and almost immediately her step falters, as the surroundings change again, and rather more abruptly. The burmecian grinds once more to a halt, and in what feels like it is becoming most repetitive, scans the space around her with her revolver. "...This is becoming intolerable," she comments. "So, we're outside the city, which is good, I suppose. We're also 'right where we need to be' -- but for who's purposes, I wonder? Our own, or someone else's?"
"Actually it's less intolerable than you'd think," Silmeria says, sounding more than a bit relieved. "I'm not sure on whose authority, but I do believe we've just gotten a nudge from the Spirits. I'll have to try and find out which, so I can thank them properly later. For now, though..." Holstering her pistol, she points her GUnblade out toward the vast, hilly expanse of the plains. "Let's get lost in the open field."
Go on to Stelazzio Quest Chapter BI2-1
Go on to Stelazzio Quest Chapter BI2-3
Or return to Sin of the People/Stelazzio Quest Directory
