The interior of the drainage system was mostly brick and stone with an arched ceiling. It was just wide enough for the two of us to maneuver side by side, the ceiling was uncomfortably low. The only light source came from the magic device my sister prepared for the journey.

The light orb was an odd device. At its center was a gem, no larger than a fingernail in diameter, while a nebulous cloud of mana-gases that produced light expanded out from it to about the size of a soccer ball. It seemed to be magically tethered to Larissa as it floated along behind us at an even distance.

The whole place stank. I mean that goes without saying. It was a mixture of rot, swamp, dirty water, and excrement. Though after a few minutes and some dry heaves on my part, I was able to get used to it. That or my olfactory nerves were burnt to a crisp. Even then, it took even longer for me to be comfortable with using our open sandals to walk around in the ankle-deep water.

“So what’s the plan?” I asked in a whisper after we had stalked into the tunnel for a minute or so.

“You and I will eliminate any dangerous targets as a forward group, then the mage will burn any nesting sites,” she replied.

“Why not just have him scorch the entire tunnel system?”

“You think a mage that powerful is a member of the vigiles? It would take a high-level war mage or a prodigy like Julian to sustain that type of firepower,” she explained. “And can you see any of them rooting out a nuisance level threat in this muck?”

I shook my head in response. She had a point, if two students, even two like us, were allowed to take point on this then it can’t be that great a priority. And I couldn’t see someone like Julian or the few pretentious and rich elite mages of the empire crawling around the sewers. On the other hand, more than a few people had become rat food in the past month. Back in the real world, that would warrant a thorough response, not in the least because well rat-men didn’t exist on Earth or so the government would have us believe.

“The reward is too low and other than some baubles they might have scavenged, there’s not much of a chance we find any real loot, especially not after we burn everything in sight,” She continued upon seeing me deep in thought.

“So how extensive is this drainage system?” I asked, changing the subject.

“This one only runs into the hills under the noble quarters and palace complex. There are a few others systems uptown that exit into the river, though this is the oldest,” she replied.

Any type of below-ground sewer system was kind of weird when you thought about it. Sure, with the number of aqueducts pumping water into the city, it was more than possible to keep a sewage system running, but the idea was anachronistic. This felt more like an industrialized sewer than the type of above-ground drainage systems of antiquity.

“Wait how old is this place?” I asked.

“I think Empress Octavia installed them after a flood devastated most of the city’s lowlands,” she replied.

“That old? Who the hell desig-“ Larissa cut me off with a hand signal, then motioned for me to listen. When silence descended on us, I at first couldn’t hear a thing other than the slowly moving water at our feet. After a few more moments of adjustment, I could make out faint splashing noises gradually growing louder.

“Shield up!” she hissed. Instead of the usual two-handed falx, we opted for small round shields and razor-sharp falcatas for better maneuverability. The tunnel wasn’t that large and would only get smaller the farther in we went. It would be far too hectic to try and swing around those massive blades in here.

A ragged javelin deflected off my shield, thrown from beyond the light. Then a small horde of rats the size of hunting dogs charged into our view. They closed the distance with exceptional speed. The beasts appeared in a frenzy, frothing at the mouth with death in their eyes. That or they were just too sick to fear dying, a possibility since they all seemed to be suffering from mange if not other diseases.

Larissa counter charged ahead of me, becoming a whirling mass of death. In quick succession, she had dispatched four of the rats. Two felt the blast of her overpowered shield bash, their bodies crumpling against the walls of the tunnel. The third was sent flying with a kick, while the fourth was cut in half with her sword.

Despite her impressive attacks keeping the rabid beasts occupied, more than a few made it behind her and set their sights on me. By this point, my heart was pounding in my head.

Mentally, I expected this situation. Before arriving, Larissa told me that this would happen. The whole point of this journey would be to force a conflict with creatures willing to kill me, or rather try to do so. Yet, just like before, I found myself hesitating to attack.

Unlike before, it wasn’t my decision to make. The first rat made it to me in a flash and leaped into the air straight for my throat. My body moved on its own as I brought my shield up for protection.

It landed and latched onto my shield with a thump. Mindlessly, I tried to shake it off, though by that point it clamped its mouth onto the edge of the shield.

The odd, almost comical sight of the rat flailing about on my shield snapped me back into the moment. In a flash, I did the only thing that came to mind. Like crushing a bug, I forcefully hit my shield against the left wall of the tunnel.

I didn’t have a chance to think about my deed as movements to my right forced me to lash out with a swing of my sword. It hit its mark, as the sword cut into and then through the weak flesh of another rat. I could feel the warmth of blood spray onto me from the attack, though it barely registered.

Another javelin came careening towards my head while a third rat made its approach. In quick succession, I blocked the javelin with my shield before cutting the rat apart with another swing of my sword.

That finally bought me a moment to breathe and take in the sight of battle. Ahead, Larissa was surrounded by ten rat corpses and covered in sewage and blood. She looked back at me, noting that I hadn’t been injured before gesturing for me to press forward. Then she picked up a rat corpse and tossed it with superhuman speed towards the source of the Javelins before sprinting forwards. Not wanting to be left in the dark I followed.

Within seconds, we found the source of those projectiles. A bipedal rat was scrambling to his feet after pushing off the dead body of the giant rat Larissa threw at it. Two other mangy rat-men were flanking it, ready to throw more projectiles. They were all about four or five feet tall, with ragged grey fur covering their bodies.

Larissa wasted no time in charging forwards. To my surprise, she ran past the lead rat-man without attacking him. Instead, she put a hand on his back pushing him towards me before she engaged the other two. It was sent stumbling in my direction only to find its feet and draw a ragged long-knife.

With reckless abandon, the creature charged forward slashing and stabbing at me wildly. I crouched and stayed safely behind my shield. The rat’s poor reach and weak arms couldn’t really get past my defense. Instead, I pushed it back with my shield before trying to slash it with my sword.

My opponent showed some shrewd dexterity in leaping back out of reach before my slash could connect. But that offered another opening. “Never leave your feet,” was the advice every instructor I’ve ever had has drilled into me. Hell, even back on Earth my wrestling coaches were liable to have a fit if you unnecessarily jumped.

I pushed this advantage by charging forward and slashing down as the creature landed. It was a perfect hit, leaving a large bloody gash across its chest.

I won! I momentarily thought with elation. Then time continued and the rat screeched in pain as it fell onto its back. The creature was clutching its chest, as blood pulsed out of the deep wound.

My mood soured when I realized just what I’d done. Knowing it was far too late to save my opponent, I closed my eyes and gave it a mercy stab to put it out of misery. On cue, I promptly emptied my stomach as I stumbled off to the side. Before I knew it, Larissa was next to me.

“Let it all out, there’s nothing wrong with that,” she said. She gave me a few pats on the back while comforting me.

“How…how do you do this, do that?” I said shakily pointing towards the two mangled bodies she dispatched.

“It’s like anything. You keep doing it until you can. It takes time, just like it took time to get skilled enough to kill, it will take time to get used to killing,” she replied. Her tone was encouraging, but I couldn’t really wrap my head around the meaning of what she said. We stayed like that for a few minutes before Larissa put on her battle persona once more and hauled me to my feet.

A few feet from the battle site, an opening in the tunnel wall had been created. A ragged tapestry hung from the ceiling as a crude doorway. Larissa walked in. I peered through the drapes after her. Inside the dark alcove of a room, straw, paper, and ripped cloth was spread all over the floor. I went to go farther inside, but she stopped me. Instead, she simply marked the wall with an orange bit of chalk, before leading me along farther into the tunnels.

“So these rat-men have giant rats? How do you smuggle giant rats into the city?” I asked.

“Probably the same way anyone smuggles anything into the city, it’s not that difficult. Though, they did not need to smuggle giant rats. Somehow they can enhance normal rats, the kind you might find anywhere into, those beasts.” She explained. “From what I understand, they train them like attack dogs and use them as a food source.”

“Why’d they come here if they were just going to get rooted out like this?”

“Why does anyone choose a dangerous path? A few tribes have been allowed to settle in a province or two in the northwest after fleeing the plains. The Capital, along with most of the empire is strictly off-limits to them. Judging from how…diseased they are, I would venture a guess that they’re exiles or runaways.”

The rest of the night followed a similar script, though as we pushed farther in we faced stiffer resistance, even the crude trap here and there. At each battle, Larissa made sure to toss a few enemies my way, forcing me to fight. Every time we found something that looked like a nest, Larissa would conduct a quick investigation while I stood guard outside before she marked the area in orange.

In my first life, my dad once caught me smoking when I was around thirteen. He immediately employed the cliched and effective method of forcing me to smoke a whole pack in one sitting. By the end of the day, my entire mouth tasted of soot, and I smelled my entire body reeked of smoke. No amount of showering and mouthwash was able to get it off me for a few days. In an odd twist of fate, I found myself in an opposite but similar series of events here. Instead of forcing me to do something that would otherwise feel good or cool countless times to make it feel sickening, I was doing something sickening countless times in the hopes that it would start to feel mundane.

It was Saturday morning by the time we got out of the tunnels. On top of the blood and sewer grime that had accumulated on our bodies, a good deal of soot and smoke did too. In the last couple hours of our sojourn into the tunnels, the fire mage made good in his skills and burned any nesting sites and corpses we came across throughout the night.

In the warm light, I was able to see just how dirty I became through the night. The sunlight meant safety, and my overtaxed senses dulled as we stood on the rocks. I mindlessly started to wipe at the grime on my arms, though in truth all it did was smear it around since my hands were just as filthy.

A hard slap to my back sent me reeling a few feet forwards. I didn’t need to turn around to know it was Larissa, none of the guards would have dared lay a finger on me. Anger swirled in my mind as I spun around to lash out at her.

Before any hate could leave my mouth she swallowed me up in a hug. To anyone else, it would probably have been an uncomfortable, possibly bone-crushing embrace. But at that moment, despite the slime and grime between us, it felt like I was back home. My real home, in the arms of my first family.

She let me go and put her arm around my shoulder as we climbed the path up to the docks. “Don’t worry about getting clean,” she said as we got back into the carriage.

“We’re getting the bench dirty though,” I mumbled.

“That’s not something you have to worry about,” she said, pulling me in a little tighter. “Besides, our first stop will get you more than clean enough,” she continued.

I let her words slide off me, not paying too much attention to anything as the carriage started moving. Outside the window, I zoned in on the bricks passing by. Apartments and the occasional shops came into and out of my sight at a quick pace. The humbler abodes gradually became fancier until they were full-blown city villas until we came to the inner walls.

…the inner walls. A small bit of curiosity brought me back to the world around me.

“…then the old bastard pushed me into the spider den before blocking off the entrance with a Boul-“ apparently Larissa was recounting some story, though I only caught that last bit before interrupting her.

“Where are we going?”

“-der. Well, I guess I can tell you some other time. Anyways, we’re going to the Grove. I told you that like halfway through the journey.”

“Ah sorry, I was a little…listless there for a bit.”

“No worries, I kind of understand what you’re going through.”

“Shouldn’t we get cleaned before the grove?”

“No no, it’s a part of the ritual of first blood, or at least I’m pretty sure it is. I received mine while covered in cobwebs and various monster guts.”

I grimaced and pulled away from her, but before I could say anything she cut me off.

“It’s not like that. It’s a healing ceremony. Mother did mine since we were with the legion, but it’s customary for the caretakers to do it when possible.”

I nodded, slowly returning to my previous position. “Back in the homeland, young warriors would get their first blood together and have group ceremonies with the caretakers, though now there’s obviously not enough of us for that…” she trailed off before ruffing my hair once more and pulling me in a little tighter.

“Young lord, please raise your arms,” commanded apprentice caretaker Vistus. He had short-cropped brown hair and wore the familiar obscuring green cloak of the other caretakers I had seen.

I was currently getting rubbed raw with all manner of soaps, rags, and washing stones inside the small temple annex of the Grove. As Vistus, an apprentice caretaker, took off my torso’s epidermis, my lower body was soaking in hot waters and medicinal salts of one of the temples baths.

“I can still smell it though, even with the oils and perfumes…” I complained.

“Burnt flesh will do that. Pheo, bring me the smelling dye,” he called out to the other young apprentice who was serving me. Vistus was about my age, or at least looked it, while Pheo couldn’t have been older than nine or ten. Both of them had the tell-tale emerald eyes of my people.

As only kids without any social consciousness can do, she sprinted away towards one of the dark wood shelves and brought back a small jar. Vistus gave her a few instructions and soon she brought the jar towards my face.

“Umm, sir can you please take a deep breath from this,” she asked. The jar had such an intensity coming from it, that I could almost see the fumes escaping.

“I’m not sure…” I started to say.

“Listen, if you want to smell burnt rat for the rest of the week be my guest, but that stuff will set you right,” explained Vistus. “Make sure to take a deep breath.”

I sighed before taking the jar in my hands and giving it a deep breath. My thoughts on the stuff were more than correct. No real smells came through, instead a burning sensation immediately started in my nostrils and followed a direct path from there to my lungs. For a few moments I could do nothing but cough, before a lot of snot and phlegm was coughed out and then, “holy crap it worked!” I pronounced between coughing fits and blowing my nose.

“Oh yeah, that concoction will burn any smell out of your system,” replied Vistus with a laugh.

“Yeah, I can imagine,” I said before relaxing back against the rear of the tub.

Soon enough I found myself in the traditional green accented robes as before with my face painted once more. The mud and grime were gone, and my freshly grown nose hairs made it seem like the night before hadn’t even happened.

The head caretaker took Larissa and Me through a series of prayers and other rites before sending us in our way. Though on our way out she and her colleagues loaded me up with all sorts of potions, sleep aides, candles, and incense, all meant to help me relax.

“If you need someone to speak to, or if you find yourself feeling any distress, we are here for you,” said the Groves head caretaker to me in a soft voice as we were led back to a noticeably different carriage. I nodded in response, before climbing into it. “The strength of a warrior is the strength of Lysia, but like anything grown, it cannot prosper without the care of others,” she said as the door closed.

“Anywhere you want to go now?” Asked Larissa once we were settled inside.

“Have you ever had a bread bowl?”

The side-alley shop was as busy as usual. All manner of plebeians and freemen were flocking to the area for a late hot breakfast or early lunch by the time we arrived. The same two young woman were rushing back and forth, taking orders and dishing out the goods.

“Is there a festival in town?” Asked one of the servers as she handed me the hot soup nestled inside doughy goodness. She had a smirk on her face.

“Is there a…is there…” I said while fumbling for a witty comeback. “No there isn’t a festival in town.”

Larissa rolled her eyes at the both of us. “Let’s go sit down with this, we passed a square with space on the way in.” As we walked over, the night before seemed like a world away. I smelled clean; I was clean. I hadn’t done anything to be ashamed about.

City life went on like any other day. The sun was high in the sky, heating up the area considerably. Inside the small forum, stalls and tents were set up by wealthier merchants on the eastern side. Shoppers walked through at their leisure or haggled the prices with the owners. They contrasted sharply with the rows of street peddlers that marketed random wares on top of simple carpets on the west. The dividing line of the two market castes was a fairly average fountain, though it was heavily crowded by women and children filling buckets, getting fresh drinks, or simply relaxing on it like a bench. Between the movement though, I could make out serpentine figures engraved into the sides of it.