As they entered the small house, a musty wave of rot and mildew hit them like a wall. The interior was dim and dismal, the flickering light from a lone lantern barely revealing the decaying wood that made up the walls and floor. Dampness clung to the air like a second skin, the creaking boards groaning beneath their feet as they stepped in.
Cobwebs veiled the corners like old curtains, thick enough to catch in their hair, while faint sars of dried blood—so old, others disturbingly fresh—stained the warped floorboards and climbed up the walls in erratic streaks.
Not sothing Rose and Corven really expected.
"Is this it?" Corven asked dryly, his voice laced with sarcasm.
"Of course not." Leywin laughed, unfazed, and strode confidently into the center of the decrepit room.
"Care to do the honors, Quentin?" he called, gesturing to the silent figure lingering near the doorway.
The other vampire, Quentin, let out an audible sigh, clearly less enthused. "Don’t you get bored with that act?" he muttered, but clapped his hands together with a snap.
In an instant, a trapdoor burst open just behind Leywin with a chanical whir and a sharp clang, the panel springing back at an unnaturally high speed. The sudden motion sent a rush of air spiraling through the room, disturbing the heavy cobwebs and kicking up fine dust that danced in the lantern light.
"Of course not. Anyway, let’s go," Leywin grinned, already descending into the darkness with casual ease, his boots echoing down the wooden steps.
Corven and Rose paused for a mont, exchanging a glance before turning to Quentin, who was now pulling a rickety wooden chair into place.
"You staying here?" Corven asked.
"Soone has to guard the entrance," Quentin replied matter-of-factly, settling into the seat with the familiarity of soone who had done this many, many tis before.
"Don’t you get bored?" Rose asked with a faint chuckle, raising an eyebrow.
"Oh please," he replied, grabbing a worn book from a side table and flipping it open with one hand. "I’ve lived for ten thousand years. This is nothing to ..."
He didn’t look up as he added, "Now off you go, fresh bloods."
With a shared shrug, Rose and Corven descended through the trapdoor, following the narrow staircase that spiraled downward beneath the ruined house. Each step echoed against the stone walls now enclosing them, the stale underground air growing cooler with every descent.
And then, the space opened up.
What greeted them at the bottom was a breathtaking sight—a vast subterranean city that stretched far and wide beneath the surface, nearly the sa size as Urzen above. But here, the mood was entirely different. This wasn’t a city for nobles or soldiers.
It was a world built in shadow.
A full-fledged society carved into the earth—hos and buildings fashioned from black stone and scavenged materials, bridges and walkways connecting various levels like spiderwebs.
Dim magical lights floated above, casting a permanent twilight glow across the cavern. Massive stone pillars rose like ancient titans, supporting the rock ceiling high above, preventing the weight of the world from crushing the life below.
Rose blinked slowly, adjusting to the glow. The air down here slled like iron and ancient secrets.
"Welco," Leywin said proudly, arms outstretched. "We call it Underzen. Dumb na, but it works."
Corven and Rose took it in, their eyes adjusting to the alien but oddly srizing sight. Crystalline growths occasionally jutted from walls or street corners, glowing softly in hues of violet and blue.
"How did this place co to be?" Corven asked, voice low with awe.
"So baron from at least twenty generations ago ordered this place built to segregate between the high and lower-ranking classes," Leywin explained with a shrug.
"But of course, that plan didn’t work. A lot of civil wars between classes later—and more than a few barons with their throats slit—we got ourselves a vampire haven."
Rose tilted her head, curiosity deepening in her gaze. "What about the current baron, then? Does he not know about the current state of their own city?"
Leywin gave her a lazy shrug. "It’s a baroness, actually. But I don’t know. Heard she made a deal with soone and apparently kept this place for us. Politics, you know."
They reached the end of the stairway, stepping fully onto the stone streets below. The undercity ca alive around them—bustling, but quiet in its own strange way.
And, to their surprise, it wasn’t just vampires.
Humans wandered with careful steps. Beastkin walked in groups, their ears twitching. Lizardfolk moved with grace between stalls, and elves—both dark and fair—mingled among them. Every kind of race could be seen here, all coexisting in this forgotten city beneath the surface.
Corven raised a brow, unable to hide a grin. "Quite the rry band of people."
Leywin chuckled, his coat trailing behind him as he walked. "Of course. We aren’t just bloodsuckers, after all. We do business from ti to ti with normal mortals. A market’s a market."
They continued on until Leywin suddenly stopped in the middle of the street, pointing casually to a modest shop nestled between two larger stone buildings. A faded sign swung above the door, shaped like a needle through a drop of blood.
"A tailor specifically for vampires," he grinned.
"Anyways, I’ll head off now. See you later!" Leywin added with a wink.
Corven blinked, halfway confused, halfway amused. "You’re just leaving us here?"
Leywin gave a one-shouldered shrug. "Oh co on. It’s a city. A lot more fun exploring it on your own."
Before either of them could respond, his body shimred, twisting into a cloud of shadows—then with a sudden flutter of leathery wings, he transford into a bat and zipped away into the dark sky above.
"He’s certainly fun..." Rose murmured, watching him vanish among the high stone rafters.
Then she turned, tugging lightly at Corven’s sleeve. "Co on. I’m one more minute in these rags away from starting a cri."
Corven laughed, nodding as he followed her toward the tailor shop.
"New city, new clothes. Let’s fit in before we stand out."
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