CHPT 153: The Risk doesn’t matter when the Reward is to Save.

Much of the Old World hasn't been able to stand the test of time, either being eaten up by the magically empowered nature of the wild or broken down and harvested by humans and intelligent Monster Species that terraform the earth to their desired image.

All in all, most remnants of the Old World are gone— in most places that is. In the far reaches of the wild, broken multiple story abandoned buildings, grass or weed infested crumbling streets, and even the odd gas station stand out amidst the green hell— or heaven, that is most of earth untouched by man.

Such things won't be seen in advanced and fully functioning cities. The old structures simply have no use. But certain things from the Old World still remain in many cities, running through the heart of the land silently and beneath the earth for miles. It runs under buildings and homes housing families that believe the Guilds and their dozens of Heroes will keep them safe. These deep and intricate pathways abandoned by the light run underneath the earth's surface like infinitely long veins housing things only found in children's nightmares. This is a place the Heroes stopped going to a long time ago, leaving whatever found its way inside the veins of the world to grow, fester and repopulate like a virus in the shadows.

***

"6 miles South of SkyHaven, Nomads reported to the SkyLight Guild that they saw DireRats entering an OldWorld Subway Station. A recent Tangent break in the area leads us to believe anything found alongside the DireRats to be of Bronze level difficulty." Claude read over the entry before noticing a new addition to the note at the bottom. It was updated.

"Family living in an apartment complex in South SkyHaven reported hearing scratching and deep squeals beneath their floor. Suspected to be DireRats sniffing out the human inhabitants and attempting to reach them. This suspicion is supported by the fact that Old World maps of the Subway Station say it runs through SkyHaven in that area." He finished the note and immediately looked to the date it was posted.

He found it at the top of the page, "Four weeks ago. We could be too late already— but we could also just barely make it. good pick, Frosty." He said as he patted the PitWolfs side.

"Now....WHY! Am I just hearing about this? Why don't I know what a Subway System is?" He raged while heading towards the south gates of SkyHaven— which he'd never been to.

"[Well, the Subway Systems— often called the Darkways, are dangerous for Heroes of all levels. The absence of light and variety of monsters make it a bit of a gamble to enter. I remember in my time Heroes would go inside and never be heard of again. Nobody would question what happened because none of us knew. Over time, Heroes learned that the things that went in usually didn't come out— so we ignored it. If it ever got too crazy and things spilled out, they would be taken care of.....unfortunately that was usually after a few dozen people died.]" Arne replied, sounding slightly ashamed.

"You never did anything about it?!"

"[Claude, as you continue to learn more about me you'll see that I did a number of things I'm not proud of. It's wrong but it's what happens. Too risky, the Darkways are vastly undiscovered and what you gain from surviving is nothing compared to Tangents of equal difficulty level.]"

"..." Claude stayed silent, finding he had nothing to say at the moment.

"[So, in light of all this I'll ask you now, are you sure you want to do this?]" Arne asked.

Claude stopped in his tracks, letting the torchlight above him warm his skin. "You must've missed the part where the Quest Entry said the Rats might be under a family's apartment. A family, Arne."

"[No, no. I was present when you angrily read that part. I'd just like to point out that you play a much larger role in this world than you can currently imagine. You must not forget that you're the last Lupine of Romulus— that means that you're the only one that knows about a possible second apocalypse in the making. You're currently the only one who could fight it. If you died in the Darkways that would be terrible, Claude. Anticlimactic even.]"

He nodded in understanding, Arne was right— for the most part. His role was something he couldn't fully fathom currently. But what he could fathom were the facts of the situation in the now. "All that aside, I'm also a Bronze Level Hero, Arne. Incredibly weak when compared to the rest— but still a Hero. I want to do what's right and that's what this is. It's not my fault no one else feels that way."

Arne was silent for a moment, fighting the urge to roar and howl in Claude's mind until his brain leaked from his sensitive ears. Despite his frustration, he was also proud— similar to the feeling an older brother got when he witnessed his younger brother do something correct that he did wrong at a similar age. He couldn't help but marvel at how well Claude was doing compared to how he did at his age.

"[Alright. An Alpha never concedes, but a smart one does compromise. If we are going to the Darkways, allow me to debrief you on all things beneath the earth....and if I say run, you better move your ass like the devil himself is behind you.]"

Claude perked up at Arne's words— copied by Frosty who was previously sitting next to him and simply enjoying the weather. The pair started moving towards the South Gate of SkyHaven, ready to work.

"Deal. Tell me everything you know and help me get rid of these Rats."