The first thing Lukas noticed was the smell. It was a putrid stench, suffocating his throat with a stink of rotten food and deep sewage. It didn’t help that the air within the catacombs was stale, which made him feel like he was immersed in a heavy cloud of reeking corpses and matted fur.

The beast itself was almost the size of a band wagon. From its pointed nose to its beady eyes, Lukas could only stare at the largest rat he had ever seen in his life. Its dark oily fur gleamed under the bright light, and its dead eyes stared listlessly in their direction with a sharp pointed of an arrow pierced directly into its head. Looking back at Renesme, it was only now that he noticed she carried a well concealed quiver on her waist, properly fastened enough to let her move freely.

“I found it hidden in the alcove above.” She informed them as she knelled to pull her arrow. “I would have nearly missed it if it wasn't for the occasional skittering with its whiskers.”

By nature, half elves made for great trackers. Their inherent perked up ears allowed for an inhuman sense of hearing such that other folks could only make up with years of training or through very specific spells. Even then they all paled in comparison.

“Is this the beast we are supposed to hunt?” Rexsi sneered as he used his dagger to prick the dead beast. “It does not that seem that much of a threat at all.”

Renesme elegantly shook the blood from the arrow. “It might be a hatchling. Its strength was barely that of a warrior.”

She was just about to clarify some of her speculations when she was rudely interrupted.

“Then isn’t it an overkill that many of us were sent here just for these weak creatures?” Rexsi rolled his eyes.

Renesme coolly stared at him until Lukas chimed in. “It’s commonly known for weak creatures to come out in packs.” This was a harsh lesson his previous host had paid with his life. He then stared at the large corpse with a solemn gaze. “And by the looks of it, they must have bred for quite a while…”

Rexsi sneered at his response. “Then we really have nothing to fear. We might as well quicken our steps and be done with this place.”

Not even bothering to explain, Renesme glanced towards Geoffrey before she whisked off with a swish of her cape. “I'm going to search ahead again and see if there are any more of them more lying around.”

Rexsi vehemently tried to protest. “If she ends up killing everything, how can my blade taste some blood?”

Geoff had to mediate the situation. “Let her do this.” He said, “If the priest is not wrong, then you can still have your fun later.”

The rogue grumbled under his breath while Mira pouted as she neared the beast. “It’s revolting.” She commented, “If we are going to fight a sea of these, we might as well die from their breath.”

Her grumble though reminded Lukas of the very spell he made sure to master at the early weeks of his training. Under his will, he waved his Starlight staff and it didn't take long for small motes of light to fall upon them. At the end of the spell, each mote of light hovered on top their shoulders, purifying the surrounding stench whilst also helping them recover a small shred of their energy.

“This is a purification spell.” He said wistfully as he couldn’t help recall the first time he had witnessed it. “It will definitely help with the smell and it will always linger around as long as I’m near.” So far he had only cast a few spells that barely made a dent on his mana. The purification spell he materialized was nowhere near potent compared to his sister but it was enough at the moment.

Astounded Mira gave him a grateful smile while Geoffrey acknowledged with his helmet. Lukas lightly smiled. This was the spell he had crossed path with multiple times. He was glad that he had common sense to add to his repertoire, but then looking back at his earlier circumstances, from the state he was in once he got out of the forest and to the condition he found himself in once he woke up from crossing paths with his soul altar, did he have any choice on the matter?

They left the carcass behind as they went on in their path. They were aware most of the known demonic beast’s flesh and blood are valuable and could be sold but the dead rat they left behind was definitely not one of them. Even considering such beasts might be too common in such areas, no one in their team was willing to gripe around such muck unless they were assured it was worth it. Besides they were sent on a mission to exterminate such vermin. In addition, the representative had made it clear there were no more treasures to collect within this depressing dungeon.

It didn't take long for them to witness an even larger corpse. This time Renesme was nowhere near it but they could tell it was her doing. A clean strike of one of her arrows had left a bleeding hole on its enormous head. Soiled crimson blood dripped down to the filthy floor and the smell would have been more torrid if it weren’t for the motes of light giving them a breather. Even Rexsi was forced to admit the spell was useful as Lukas did not bother show any kind of pettiness. He did wonder though how the half elf withstood the stench as it didn’t get any easier the deeper they went in.

But even their caution erred when Lukas took a moment to etch one of his runes. By then it was already part of their routine as the rest waited since he was the only one who could shed a light on their path. He was just about to finish until a concealed shadow abruptly lunged from above, its sharp nails mere inches from his shocked face. Terrified, he didn't even get a chance to cast a spell when a translucent shield abruptly materialized in front of him. The looming figure crashed into the glass like dome, cracking it heavily before it rebounded back in the midst of hisses. Lukas only had a short time to glimpse as his ring of protection dimmed a little before his eyes quickly settled on the culprit that had nearly claimed his life.

Immediately the whole team responded. Geoffrey charged forward towards the beast hefting his shield for a bash while Mira already hurled a fireball at it. Rexsi silently disappeared into the shadows ready to strike it to death. With everyone performing their role to perfection, Lukas felt the ebbs of fear fade away, being replaced with embarrassment and anger. But he quickly cleared his head. It was with pure luck that he had emerged unscathed from the ambush thanks to his sister’s ring but he couldn’t allow himself to dwell on it. Not when the culprit was still standing right in front of him.

Casting a spell with a flourish, he directly materialized a crystalline barrier behind the rat to limit its path of escape before swinging his staff, sending a beam of light directly to its eyes with the intention to maim them and make it defenseless.

The dazed rat blinded by the sudden light tried to quickly break away before it smashed against the barrier in its haste. A ball of fire instantly exploded in its vicinity before a swipe of a sword made a beeline for its thick neck. It instinctively evaded the Geoffrey’s sword only to be met with another ball of fire which landed directly on its nose. Sharply squealing with pain, it’s struggled to dart around blindly when a sharp slick of knife straightaway made a plunge for its head, claiming its life the moment it appeared.

They briefly breathed for a moment before Geoffrey raised his thumb under his helmet.

“Quick thinking!” He told him while Rexsi smirked as usual. Surprisingly he did not quip another word yet it did not make Lukas feel any better. He nearly fucked up this time but in his defense how was he supposed to know there was still a beast left behind in the hallway after the half elf had passed through. The half formed rune would have surely have warned him once it was completed but he could hardly complain that the timing the beast had chosen to attack was just perfect.

Rexsi swiped his bloodied knife on the glossy fur of the now dead and burnt rat while Mira wryly smiled. No one made any remark on his inattention as they adjourned on their way meeting Renesme a few seconds later.

“I sensed a battle. What happened?"

They looked at each other before Mira directly said.

“You missed one of them.” she told her, pointing her staff to the corridor behind. “It managed to surprise us but we have dealt with it already.”

No one added anything else but from a few glances Renesme was sure something else must have occurred.

Her eyes lingered on the silent priest before she came to a decision. “Then I might as well stay then.”

She simply said as she rejoined the team. Adding her strength, they plowed straight ahead facing several confrontations after, which further proved that her decision to reunite with them was correct.

The waves of rats got stronger and more frequent the further they went. Balls of fire were cast; taunts were used by Geoffrey the Knight to pull the attention of the beasts away from everyone else while Rexsi was busy killing any of the surviving masses. Renesme's role altered between sniping from afar and crippling them making for easy kills. Lukas's job was left to zoning as his shields were able to create a breathing space for other members while his shards were of lights were enough to disorient the beasts making them even less of a threat.

With time they came to silently accept Lukas's ability in handling the monsters. Along with his impeccable timing with his spells, it made their work much easier and their teamwork seamlessly improve.

After wading through a sea of blood, corpses and a stench powerful enough to knockout the whole city, they suddenly got a moment of respite. Almost as if they were intelligent, no more beasts came out of their way to attack them. After Geoffrey called out for a short rest, they each found a place to recline. Geoffrey, Rexsi and Renesme took the moment to purge the blood from their weapons and arrows while Lukas and Mira took the moment to regain some of their spent mana.

“Have we killed them all?” Mira asked breathlessly.

Geoffrey pensively shook his head. “I don’t think so.” By now his shield was caked in blood with more than few scratches etched on its surface. Even Rexsi had a serious face as he commented.

“With how they kept coming, it’s clear they must have bred in large numbers since the last raid…”

Renesme spoke with uncertainty. “Something is not right…” she paused before she went on, “It’s almost as if they retreated.” She knew what she said barely made any sense since the beasts they faced hardly possessed the intelligence to fall back once they are met with an obstacle but that was exactly what she perceived at the moment.

Voicing what everyone ultimately felt, Lukas felt like he had to raise their spirits. “Well we are still in one piece and we are finally approaching the end of our designated path.”

As he predicted, their morale rose when they realized they were about to finish. There was no concept of day or night within the catacombs as the endless darkness spurned on and the oppressive earth stood heavily against them, distorting their senses, making them feel as if there was no end in sight. After the short rest, they slowly tread until they finally met their mark, a pair of large stone doors opened to reveal the adjoining halls beyond.

The first hall they met was large, rectangular with a hazy light illuminating the walls of archaic statues in an eerily ocean blue. The statues this time were all humanoid except some had wings while other possessed bizarre traits like hooves for legs, claws for hands and one even had sharp teeth that gleamed under the half lit darkness.

"I guess this is the place they met…" Lukas observed as he raised his ball of light even further, increasing its brightness such that it shone on cracked woods on the gritty floor and the antique tapestry hanging on the aged wall. The whole hall was crumbling beyond measure but Lukas could still see a shred of its lost magnificence.

Under the dust, a whole imagery of desolate beasts and winged divinity weaved throughout the chamber. Lukas wondered how the hall looked like back in its day, when the said cultists rejoined deep within the ground, beseeching their olden gods and concocting plans to spread their dogma. But something pinged from a distance and in a moment not too late, Renesme’s ears flickered and they both spoke.

“Behind us…”

“They are coming.”

They each both issued a warning.

“Shit!” Rexsi cursed while Lukas’s heart dived with each passing second. The runes he placed behind were each lighting up and fading like fireworks, triggering one after another until the nearest one reached his psyche. He wasn’t exactly sure of their numbers but he was aware of one thing.

They were clearly trapped by beasts they had deemed too easy to handle.