“You don’t happen to have any magic that could help us find Malissa, do you?” Arek asked.

“Not really,” Ming said with a frown. “Mostly just blowing stuff up, actually.”

“Keep your eyes peeled, then,” Arek said, bounding to the next roof to avoid a straggling worm that had started to eye him. His lips were pressed thin and his knuckles whitened over the hilt of the guandao. “There was a big fight here, but I don’t see her body. I don’t think she would have gone down like this.”

“I’m watching,” Ming promised.

Arek brought them closer to the center of the square. The smell of dead flesh had already started to take hold over the square. It mixed in with the blood, gore, and piss, filling the air with the rancid stench of war.

Ming’s nose wrinkled in disgust. Arek just scanned the area from their vantage point, his eyes like two small twin searchlights. The longer it took them to find Malissa, the worse things could be. He refused to even consider the fact that she’d been killed an eaten by the horde.

“Malissa!” Ming yelled, cupping a hand around her mouth. “Are you here?”

Arek flinched at the yell, then gave Ming a glance out of the corner of his eye. After a moment, the orc shrugged himself.

“Malissa!” he boomed, his voice echoing through the square like a thunderclap.

Several wyrms turned to look at them. A particularly bold one started to slink towards them. Arek growled and hurled the guandao at it. The blade punched into the creature’s shoulder in a spray of blood.

“Damn it,” Arek cursed. The weapon flew back into his hand and he hurled it again — this time piercing the creature’s chest and killing it on the spot. It tumbled back through the air and landed in his open grip.

“That’s new,” Ming observed.

Arek grunted in agreement, not taking his eyes away from the square. Several seconds passed by. The pair called out for Malissa again, but there was no response.

“Look over there,” Ming said, pointing her staff at one of the alleyways. A rough barricade had been erected in front of it, and wyrms were scattered around it. However, the barricades were fresh. There was no blood covering them.

“Someone set them up recently,” Arek realized. “Good catch, Ming.”

The small mage didn’t get a chance to respond. Arek leapt forward, sailing through the air and landing on the ground before the barricades with a loud crash. He pushed past them and started down the small alley, his weapon held defensively before him.

The street was made up of several dozen shops. Their doors had been barred and walled off. Large scrapes covered the walls and splatters of blood covered the ground.

“Someone fought here,” Arek said. “But there aren’t any bodies. Be on your guard, Ming. I don’t have time to explain everything, but I ran into another Blessed One in the city. We fought, but I found out that the curse doesn’t work if we can’t see each other. I was able to escape, but if he’s likely hostile.”

“Gotcha,” Ming said. “I’ll fry anyone that comes at us.”

“Just don’t blow up a guard on accident,” Arek muttered as they continued forward. There were still no signs of whoever had been fighting, but a door on the left of the alley caught his attention.

Unlike the other ones, it hung slightly ajar. Beyond it, there was no more blood along the alley. Arek nodded towards the door. Ming nodded, leveling her staff at it from over the orc’s shoulder.

Arek carefully swung it open with his foot. The door creaked as it swung, revealing a dimly lit restaurant behind it. The tables were scattered and plates of cold food rested on the counter. A trail of blood led across the floor and through a door at the back.

He moved through the restaurant, grimacing as the wood creaked under his weight. The door was unlocked, so the orc pushed it open without lowering his weapon. Behind it was a dark storage room full of crates and barrels that likely contained ingredients.

It was harder to tell in the darkness, but the blood led up to a trapdoor in the corner of the room. Arek approached it and Ming hopped off his back, landing lightly on her feet and pointing her staff at the ground. Faint amounts of light trickled out from its edges.

Arek walked behind the trapdoor and glanced up at Ming, holding up three fingers. She nodded and he counted down, ripping it open when he hit zero.

Firelight spilled into the room, but all Arek could see was a hallway beneath him.

“Is anyone there?” Arek called, his patience wearing thin. His voice echoed down the corridor.

“Stay back!” Vint’s voice replied. Arek swore under his breath.

“What are you doing here?” Arek snapped. He glanced at Ming, mouthing ‘Blessed One’ to her. Ming drew a finger across her throat and cocked her head at the orc, but he shook his head.

“I got waylaid,” Vint replied, his voice tense. “Just go somewhere else. I can’t afford to fight you right now.”

“Nor can I,” Arek replied. “I’ll be happy to get out of your hair, but first – have you seen a woman in silk clothing? She should have been in this area.”

There was a long pause. “Why?”

A growl tore out of Arek’s throat. “Answer the question if you don’t want me to come down there and end things one way or another. She’s part of my adventuring group, and you know something.”

“She’s with me,” Vint said after several moments. “I was leaving the city and got swarmed by a bunch of the wyrms near the wall. The stupid woman dove into the fight and saved my life because she thought I was a guard.”

It took an extreme force of will for Arek to keep himself from dropping through the trapdoor. “Is she alive?”

“I’ve done what I can for her wounds,” Vint replied. “She’s stable, but only because my powers are keeping the blood inside her body. If I leave, she’ll be dead in seconds.”