The pungent scent lingered in the cold breeze of the night. Eferail stayed in the sa alleyway from sundown. Now, the moon is up on high, and the night is around the highest level of the Ti of Obscuros. He lurked long enough, and he couldn't wait another mont more.
He erged from the dark alleyway and snuck his way to the center square. Sanatoria already looked deserted during the day, but during the night, it looked eerily haunted. From the small block houses you can hear wails of pain or sobbing cries from disembodied voices. The cold night could have affected their sores, making it more painful due to the low temperature biting the open wounds.
There were no watchers on site and understandably so. The guards wouldn't bother themselves doing rounds in this wretched place. Firstly, the people inside Sanatoria are obviously contagious. Secondly, their sores and bulbous punished them enough to the point of immobility. Lastly, The entire place is haunted. Eferail was worried about creatures lurking in the darkness more than those damned crow-masked guards.
He made it to the center square and finally saw the drainage in all its grueso glory. Ash and human grease ford a sludge sticking at the corners of the drain. Although disgusted, Eferail had to what he could to get out of there.
The drain was around 4 footlings in diater. Created from bronze steel, the huge drain weighs almost close to four decablocks. It also had runes engraved on it. Eferail read them, and understood what they were, draining runes. The one who built the drain knew that soone might have the audacity to use magic on it and thus made so counterasures. Grabbing the slimy grates, he tried with his might to budge the drain--it didn't work.
He needed to use enhancent magic to move the heavy object, but he will risk draining his exousia. He thought of it for a second and realized, there's no other way but that! Eferail breathe deep and began to enhance his strength by letting his exousia overflow into his muscles. Normally with the amount of exousia he had, this feat never posted any challenge. This one is different.
Putting his hands back on the grate, he attempted to slowly yank the damned drain out of its place. It proved harder than expected due to the draining runes. With every pull he did, the draining runes took away double the amount of exousia.
His arms trembled in fatigue as inch by inch the grate finally moved. Beads of sweat trickled down his forehead as he moved the heavy drain to a decent, opening enough for him to fit in. He laid down on the ground for a mont trying to savor the obstacle he overca.
But, just as he wanted to savor the mont as much, a sharp whistling sound broke the silence of the night. The guards finally saw him and now trying to pursue him. He sprung up from the ground and hastily slid into the man-sized opening. He got swallowed by the darkness of the dark pit.
According to standard Principalia asurents, a main sewer line should have to be eight footlings in width and at least around fourteen footlings in height. Apparently, this one is higher than the standard height.
Eferail fell so far below the sewer that he had enough ti to use his ice magic. He created a make-shift slide out from ice to aid him with his descent. He slid down while gliding gracefully on the ice.
Trying to avoid contact with the disgusting fluids flowing in the sewer, Eferail opted to use another elental magic trick he learned from his father. Using his water elent magic, he placed enough exousia on his feet to repel the dirty water away from him, while at the sa ti, walking on its surface.
Eferail took out the light rune from his satchel and activated it. The blinding glow of the rune took a few monts for him to adjust. When his eyes adjusted to the light, the first thing he saw was the grotesque looking Mandragora sli.
This type of sli for the most part acts like a normal sli, it only attacks when provoked. But for the most part, its docile unless approached. Like any other sli, the Mandragora slis loves wet environnts, the sewers included.
As what Eferail knew about this creature, this sli is a mutation from a regular sli. It's primarily composed of human sinew and other human parts. Other variation of this grotesque sli is that so might have undeveloped human parts as well.
The sli he saw in the sewer looked like a lted face. Its glossless eyes were twitched as it reacted to the light. Its mouth looked like two flaps of grayish skin sewn on top of each other moved randomly as if it was to speak. The grotesque creature was annoyed by the light that it floated away from Eferail.
Disgusted with the harrowing appearance, Eferail moved quickly to get out of the waste tunnel. As he walked, he also tried to shine so light on the ceilings and walls, only to be surprised and disturbed by the number of lting faces and glossless eyes stuck on the damned walls.
Eferail had already walked an estimated of one ildwyrm, but it seed like the sewer tunnel is endless. Using his exousia to escape and walked along the disgusting liquefied human waste, had been exhausting for the knight. His body is on the brink of collapse and finally he subrged into the cold neck deep sewage.
Unfortunately, his light rune subrged under the dirty waters. Eferail tried to retrieve the wooden rune but to no avail. What he caught instead was sothing else. It stuck into his arm. He could feel tooth-like things brushing against his. Suddenly, sothing is tugging his right foot. It was a frail tug, but it beca stronger as it went on.
Panicked and afraid Eferail struggled his way out of the damned sewer, dragging whatever thing latching on him into the open. He dragged himself further to the tunnel with only his determination as his strength. He definitely did not want to die there, being eaten by these wretched creatures that lurk in the sewers.
Finally, a small ray of light peeped into the tunnel. He knew it was his way out of the hellhole. Moving faster and more desperate, he finally managed to see the opening of the sewer. He finally saw thing latching from his arm. In the pale moonlight, he saw the sa monster that glided away from his light earlier--the Mandragora Sli.
The monster slowly gnawed into his clothes and is close to getting his skin. He also felt it on his boots, the slow gnawing action of the sli. Seeing how close he was to the exit, Eferail ran his way to freedom and went straight into dry land.
After seeing the anomalous sli slowly gnawing his clothes and skin, he finally decided to use one last magic. With the remaining exousias he had left, Eferail chanted a high-level magic that even he had not tested yet.
"Of he the gods showed rcy, I convey my plea to thee. I ask for your benevolent light and purify thine body!" He paused in horror as the sli slowly devoured a chunk of his skin. Undettered, the brave knight scread the last word of the chant.
"PURIFICATION!"
A blinding light suddenly enveloped Eferail. The warm and calming light erased the sli out of existence while, at the sa ti, healing his wounds. The extent of this powerful spell has drained the knight completely. He laid down on the ground unconscious after the spell.
Eferail woke up later that day on the sa spot where he collapsed on. The sun's glare coupled with the stench of the sewage attacked the knight's senses that it woke him up. He checked his body for missing parts, luckily there was none missing, except for a patch of skin where the damned sli bit.
Other than that, he is fine. He looked around and saw the capital from a distance. He knew it's going to be a long walk back to Arterius, but the knight was determined. Today is the 7th day since he attempted to give the letter to Prince Arterius, and he's not giving up.
He will deliver.
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