High Obscurer Arollume led everyone into the back corridors of the church. The cleanliness of the main chamber continued down each twist and step they continued down, although the light was almost entirely extinguished.

Makes sense for worshipers of a shadow goddess, Jadon thought, trying to feel his way by keeping a couple fingers looped into Guy’s armor.

“Unfortunately, we managed to recover one of the three dead obscurers,” Arollume said, coming to a stop outside a door that was heavily reinforced with plates of metal and chains.

“Unfortunately?” Beth asked.

“You’ll see.”

“I doubt that,” Jadon said, which caught a nervous chuckle from Guy.

“Nevertheless, thank you for doing this for us,” Arollume said, unlocking a series of locks that were keeping the chains in place. “Knock three times when you wish to return. Recover proof of having dealt with the problem and you shall have your reward in your hands before you leave the chapel. Thank you again.”

The door scraped open, the metal plates not properly sized for it. As soon as Ephin, the last of the group, had walked in, Arollume pushed the door closed once more and they could all hear the chains being locked as they went about searching their surroundings.

“Wait,” Ephin tried to call through the thick door, “what was the beast that caused the deaths?”

There was no response.

“Ephin,” Beth said, activating her everflame, “I think that might be it.”

Ephin turned around to look at the room, faintly glowing in the weak light of the everflame. The shadows looked like they were jumping around slightly from the flame and one, darker shadow in the corner, was staring back.

The room clearly used to be a dorm room, with a couple beds that had been overturned and violently ripped apart, the metal frames warped and bent. The overly shadowed corner was where the wall had caved in and something vaguely human was looking out of the opening.

As it shambled forwards, towards the group, Ephin could see that it walked on human legs, but the torso had blossomed out into a mass of muscles and tendons, splitting into grasping tentacles, with the head agonizingly pushed to the side in a permanent groan of pain.

Tentacles whipped out, thrashing at Guy and Beth. A second mass of flesh came charging from the opening, similarly malformed and tentacle imbued. Beth looked to be the initial target of this one also, due to her everflame attracting their attention.

On reflex, Beth pressed her hands together and a faint shield, similarly translucent to the nets they were caught in in Kahndru, projected up from the backs of her hands and protected her front, even as the curling appendages tried to wrap around to reach her.

Guy, his armor reflecting the light of the everflame enough to draw some attention, hastily began pulling out his sword to try and defend against the groaning beasts.

Jadon ran around them, attempting to find an opening that he could plunge a knife into whilst they were distracted. Iarkspur threw a seed into the overlapping folds of flesh and thin sticky stems began to grow from where it landed, gluing a few of the tentacles of one of the beasts together as Guy, his sword finally free, swung and cleaved the tentacles from its shoulder.

The creature screamed out and lurched at Guy’s sword, trying to wrestle it from him even as the blade cut into its hands.

Beth had activated something on the soles of her boots and was trying to kick under her unsteady shield to try and stab at the creature still focused on her, when it too cried out, Jadon on its back like a limpet, daggers stuck into the shoulders, where the flesh met what was once the neck.

Ephin was still pressed up against the door as the two creatures were felled beneath consistent blows from the blades and harrying from the rest.

“That was… efficient,” Ephin said through rapid breaths. He took a tentative step towards the two lifeless bodies. “Beth, could you shine the light a little closer to here please?” He looked over the clothing the creatures wore, torn as it was, and pointed it out to the others. “These were the two unrecovered obscurers. Those are their robes.”

“So, that’s what he meant when he said they had unfortunately found one of them,” Guy said, poking one of the bodies with his sword.

“Please,” Ephin said, waving Guy away, “respect the dead.”

“What happened to them though?” Iarkspur asked.

“Whatever we’re meant to be tracking, I think,” Jadon said, trying to peer into the shadows of the collapsed wall.

“So do you think it happened before or after they died,” Beth said, “because I don’t want to be bitten and turn into one of those things.”

“Don’t get bitten, then, and it won’t be a problem,” Jadon replied.

Leaving the remains of the obscurers in their old dorm room, the group lined up in single file behind Beth and her light source and started to walk over the rubble and into the tunnel beyond.

Beth, followed by Guy, Ephin, Iarkspur and finally Jadon, all walked quietly down the oppressively dark tunnel. The ground and walls were slick with water as it seeped in from the roof, dripping down on them.

The tunnel continued steadily downwards for longer than Ephin could keep track of. He pulled out snacks and offered them to the others twice before they saw anything besides the wet rock walls.

Beth slowed everyone up so that they could walk silently, or as quietly as possible with Guy’s creaking armor. She had reached the end of the tunnel and it opened out into further darkness that the small light couldn’t penetrate for more than a few feet in each direction. She inched out ahead before once again throwing an arm out to stop everyone. She had nearly walked off the edge of a sheer drop.

The path continued to the right and gradually wound down, circling the great pit in the middle. Ephin clung to the wet rock wall as much as possible as he didn’t trust his footing on the slick surface.

“Wait,” Beth said, softly patting behind her to signal for everyone to crouch down. “I can hear something not too far down. It sounds like digging. Whatever it is, could be what we’re looking for?”

“Stay alert,” Guy said, pulling out his sword.

“Like we weren’t already,” Jadon retorted, also unsheathing a couple daggers.

Following Beth’s lead, the group crept towards the alcove that the digging sound was coming from. Jadon slunk to the opposite side of the opening and Beth held the everflame out in front of the alcove. The digging sound stopped. Jadon poked his head around to see what it was and really wasn’t sure. A whip crack sounded from within the darkness and Jadon yanked his head back to avoid a metal claw raking into him as it shot by, attached to a chain. The claw continued on its path before retracting at just as much speed.

“Go,” Jadon said, breaking into a run back up the incline as the others scrambled to turn around as well, without pitching each other over the side.

Jadon could hear the sound of that thing approaching rapidly. A metallic clank alternating with a dull, heavy thump. The sound almost caught up with Jadon when it cut out suddenly. At one moment, they were being chased by this thing and the next, it was gone.

“Hey, hey,” Jadon called, “what happened to it? It just disappeared I swear.”

“Not sure. If it’s using retractable claws, it must be pretty clever. Maybe it’s trying to bait us?” Beth said.

“Let’s approach. Carefully,” Guy said.

“Oh, for sure,” Jadon laughed, “I was thinking of just running at it.”

Beth pushed past the two of them before any further arguing could commence. She held out the light behind the translucent shield and poked her head out into the alcove. There were no creatures to see. No digging sound and no sign of a creature hiding.

“Jadon’s right,” Beth said, “It vanished.”

“Lemme see,” Iarkspur said, creeping over to the tunnel after spending most of the trip hiding behind Guy and his armor. She knelt down and began crawling forwards, waving for Beth and the light to follow. A short distance into the tunnel, she stopped and pointed at the ground.

“Look here,” Iarkspur said, “I don’t recognize these tracks, but whatever it was, it vanished around here.”

There was a trail of footprints, although neither looked like feet. One was thick and deeper than the other. The other was perfectly rectangular and shallow.

“Who feels lucky about venturing into another rupture?” Beth asked, holding up the light above Iarkspur’s head. The air was shimmering as if heated.

“I hate it, but we have a job to do,” Guy said.

“Surely we can just collapse the tunnel and nothing can get through,” Jadon said.

“Not if we want to get paid,” Ephin reminded him, “we need proof.”

“Fine, but we are not losing sight of this rupture.”

“After me then,” Beth said and hopped through the rupture, the air shaking slightly as she passed through and the tunnel becoming pitch black.

“She could have waited. Now we can’t see at all,” Guy said.

“You love stating the obvious, don’t you?”

“Shut up, Jadon,” Ephin said, pushing the others forwards.

With help from the tunnel walls, the others managed to fumble their way through and follow Beth through the rupture without too much delay.

Beth was waiting for the others with a finger to her lips, which was all well and good until Guy came through and clanged harshly on the marble floor, alerting the beings in the room with them.

They were all standing in a well-lit room, deep red sunlight pouring through the balcony window. The room looked to be a cross between a laboratory and a nobleman’s study. There was a desk with notes strewn over it, and a work table close by with a variety of metal instruments and limbs laid out. Books lined shelves above low-seated settees. A large mirror over a fireplace. All other areas of the walls were simple wallpaper designs of red on white. Also in the room, were three beings that looked like decaying elves, fused with metal. And they had all just spun at the sound of Guy landing on the marble floor.

Beth rolled her eyes and turned slowly to face the beings. One was covered in dirt and had a dangling metal claw attached to his left elbow, instead of a forearm.

Both parties ran at each other once the initial shock was out of the way. Ephin held back, looking for an opening to be able to help anybody that was looking too injured.

Iarkspur and Guy were both harassing the one with the claw for an arm, Jadon was trying to get a stab in against one that had hydraulic pistons in some of his limbs, helping him jump and punch quickly. Beth was trying to bat the third one’s sharp claws away with her shield.

Iarkspur went to throw down some more seeds however the creature slapped her hand aside, thrusting the metal claw up to throttle her as it slammed her against a bookshelf. Guy swung down on the taught the chain and did not leave a dent. As he tried swinging down again and again, Beth was fumbling in her pocket to pull out a ball. The creature she was facing finally got its claws around her shield and yanked her forwards. She turned off the shield, stumbling into the creature and shoving the ball into his mouth. As it tried to re-set its balance from Beth barging into it, she swung a fist up, forcing it to bite down on the ball.

A muted explosion and the creature’s eyes burst from the impact, its jaw hanging loosely and letting loose a spray of burnt brain matter and ripped up tongue onto Beth’s shoulder. The creature slumped to the ground and Beth turned to help Jadon, who was in a stalemate with the piston creature.

Every time Jadon swung forward, the creature punched his hand away, however whenever it attempted to punch him, he stabbed it in the hand. Both were doing more sizing up than attacking after multiple futile attempts.

Beth activated her shield once again and charged into the creature. It saw her coming and braced against her so as to not be flung off his feet, which allowed Jadon the opening to stab forwards, raking two blades down the side of its head, from where its ear would be, to its shoulder blade.

Ephin rushed forwards to start healing over Jadon’s bruising whilst Beth caught her breath for a second.

Iarkspur was having less luck catching her breath as Guy could not cut the chain loose. He gave up on the attempt and swung sideways, cutting through the bicep of the creature and slicing the arm off entirely. The creature cried out, clutching its stump and turned towards Guy, Iarkspur falling to the ground gasping for breath. Guy pressed the advantage, slicing upwards and splitting the creature’s rib cage widen open, continuing up and cutting through the front of the face and into the brain. The creature hit the ground hard, a few gears falling from its open chest, the machinery stopping.

He leaned down and picked up the stump with the claw attached.

“Proof.”

Jadon knelt down and cut out the jaws of the others.

“Just in case they say we only dismembered it and didn’t kill it,” he said.

Good thinking, Guy thought, although he would never say it out loud. Ephin tended to Iarkspur’s throat, making sure it wasn’t badly damaged from the attack. Beth peered out of the window at the broken and beautiful world of machine and man. They were high up in a tower, overlooking a desolate town of elaborate architecture and not a living soul to appreciate it.

Metallic footsteps could be heard approaching fast. Jadon grabbed a handful of the notes on the desk and the group ran through the rupture before anything else entered the room.

Once back in the tunnel, Beth turned on her light and immediately set about placing more small metallic balls along the walls and roof of the tunnel. Pushing the others back out and up the slippery incline, she bit into one final ball, feeling it begin to vibrate in her hand and threw it into the tunnel. An explosive form of dominoes later and the tunnel was completely collapsed.

The group retraced their steps the whole, slow and dark way back. Whilst it was likely well past the appropriate time to go to sleep, they did not feel safe sleeping in the tunnel in case anything else came. As they walked, however, they all decided to get some extra forms of light so that they didn’t just rely on Beth.

The dorm was as they left it, filled with decaying tentacles and flesh.

Guy slammed his fist onto the door three times and, shortly, they heard the chains begin to be unlocked.

“I cannot thank you enough,” Arollume enthused as he handed over the larger pouch to Guy. It clinked healthily in his gauntlet covered hand. Arollume, in return, had a small collection of jaws and the leftovers of the claw arm.

“Remember to get that tunnel sorted out, before other unwanted guests arrive,” Beth said.

“It’s true that we have been experiencing an odd increase of beings from other realms, such as what you described. Most fascinating,” Arollume said, nodding in agreement with Beth’s comments. “Anyway, whilst it has been very fruitful, unless we have more to say I must bid you farewell.” Arollume pattered over to the contraption by the main doors and cranked the door open, allowing the group to wave goodbye and leave the church, far richer after their taxing day.

Iarkspur was just about to make a comment about how rarely she was given coins by her matrons when someone just across the river caught her eye.

A man all in red.

Douglas Davistone.