Slimy walls of rock surrounded Zalu as the entered Deadshell’s sprawling under-city. A rusty sign hanging up above her welcomed her to Stalakk Canton; ‘the jewel of the underground’. Zalu half-laughed at the blatant lie that the sign displayed.

Moist stalactites lined the cave-city’s expansive ceiling like a carnivore’s salivary teeth.

The messenger beetle concealed within her robe fluttered restlessly, its patience worn thin after the time-consuming journey.

She found herself uncontrollably fidgeting and wringing her hands, struggling to bear the weight of the earlier revelation.

Zalu ran into the busy main square, heading towards her home-district.

Clusters of pale men and women rushed about in every direction. Some marched purposefully, whilst others ambled aimlessly. Others were sat behind long market-stalls selling random pointless trinkets and loudly extolling their many virtues.

“Buy my unique Sandskin-Blood concoction today! Your lady will thank you for it. Believe me you’ll be a trillion times more virile than any of your friends and I personally guarantee that it’ll make your lady hornier than a feline in heat!” crowed a bearded man above the cacophonous fray of the market, adding his own contribution to the noise.

The under-city was routinely and virulently plagued by near constant movement and noise. Even Zalu, a native, found the endless hustle and bustle somewhat overwhelming.

“Watch it there sweetheart!” a hunchbacked old man scolded Zalu as she bumped past him.

She hardly noticed him. She managed to ignore almost everything else as well, on her way home. Her mind was consumed with a single thought that blotted out any other.

After reaching the top of a long flight of perilously slippery stairs, Zalu arrived outside her modest little home. It was uniform, many other dwellings had been carved into the same wall of rock as hers. Her neighbours all lived far too close for comfort for Zalu’s liking, only a few inches of rock separated each dwelling from one another.

Stood on her porch, her body bristled with anxious energy. Consumed by growing impatience she pounded her fist hard on the door. Shortly thereafter she heard a gravelly voice answer her knocking.

“We haven’t got anything worth stealing” the voice was nonchalant, with an air of irony

“Nana, for blue blazes’ sake! Just let me in you stupid old crone! I need to talk to you!” Zalu shouted, striking her fist against the wood another time for good measure

“Keep it down!” a neighbour yelled from a nearby window

Grating clunks came from behind the door, signalling the laborious process of unlocking and unbolting .

Zalu sighed with exhausted relief as she saw her entryway open up to her. A small wiry-haired woman with bright and excitable eyes hobbled out into the gloom and smiled up at her.

Zalu let herself inside, and beckoned the old woman to follow.

“Tea?” The elderly woman said clapping her wrinkled hands together with pleasure

“Wha-What? said Zalu confusedly, as she entered the dwelling alongside her grandmother

“Tea! Yes or no? You do know what tea is, don’t you? Oh never mind, I’ll make you one anyway. Why don’t you young people just calm down. You’re always rushing about-“

“I’ll make the tea, just please… go sit down and just be quiet” Zalu interrupted as she hurriedly ducked under a low hanging beam, entered a small cupboard sized kitchen and put a kettle over a fire to boil.

“Rude as well, you young folk” blathered the old woman, walking away to sit on a ratty old cushion in the far corner of the adjoining living room.

Zalu sighed deeply, feeling some of the pressure on her chest dissipate for having seen her grandmother. Obstinately cranky and halfway insane though she was, she still thoroughly enjoyed her company.

“It said what?!” Zalu’s grandmother exclaimed, spraying a brown cloud of tea from her mouth once Zalu had finished explaining her story.

The pair of them sat on threadbare cushions, in a low-ceilinged room carved out of rock. A fireplace crackled quietly in the corner.

“You know… They’re going to burn the place down” Zalu replied matter-of-factly “You can hear for yourself if you like, I’ve got it with me” Zalu unearthed the messenger beetle’s wooden box from her robe and placed it down on the table

“Absolutely not.” Her grandmother wiped tea off her blouse and composed herself somewhat “I’m not about to let one of those horrible little creatures anywhere near my precious ears.” She clutched her ears and shivered “My poor old aunt Dudrith once told me that one of the little buggers climbed inside her head and then just went and died! She never got it out. Just went about her day with a bug stuck up inside her brain. Imagine that! Bug in the bra-“

“Well then!” Zalu interrupted “In that case, you’ll just have to trust me won’t you? I know what I heard Nana. I don’t have a lot of time. The Arch-Sentinel is expecting a reply from this Jasper fellow by tomorrow. I don’t know what to do” Zalu’s tone was desperate and exasperated

“I’ll never understand why it is you chose to work for that horrible man… “ her grandmother paused in thought, her face becoming a patchwork of furrowed wrinkles. After a few seconds her face lit up with an apparent idea “Now! Don’t worry dear, I’ll sort it.” The old woman said, using such a jarringly casual tone that she could easily have been referring to a very minor problem

Zalu looked quizzically at the beady-eyed elder, faintly baffled by her reply. Her skeptical gaze was met by a totally self assured gleam in her grandmothers’ eye. She felt convinced her old nana was utterly senile. There seemed to be no other fathomable reason why she could be so at ease with the severity of Zalu’s predicament.

Gazing thoughtfully into the amber pool of tea inside her cup, Zalu studied her tired, morose face. Her eyes widened, as she saw a figure behind her reflected on the liquid’s surface. Without looking away from the cup, Zalu saw someone looking through the house’s window. A sudden chill trickled down her back.

Insistent knocking abruptly sounded from the front door. Zalu, shaken by the noise, fumbled with her tea before crossing the room and opening the door. She was met with the sight of a bulky woman filling the house’s entryway with her huge form. A grey uniform clung to her muscular body, displaying the insignia of the Sentinelate on its lapel. Craning her neck, she peeked under the door’s lintel to better look at Zalu. An unnerving smile crept across the woman’s face. She stared at Zalu wordlessly, her eyes burrowing into her and trying to understand her secrets. A stronger, more all encompassing shiver consumed Zalu’s body as she saw the hulking intruder’s eyes betray a deadly intent.

“Good day madam.” The woman said, clearing her throat “By the order of his excellency the Arch-Sentinel, I demand entry into your home” she sprayed flecks of spit into Zalu’s face as she spoke

“Of course. Come right in” Zalu said, in a conciliatory but unmistakably frightened tone.

The huge Sentinel ducked under the doorframe and walked purposefully towards the living room. Zalu’s grandmother remained seated, refusing to show the Sentinel any courtesy by standing up as she entered. A disdainful grimace formed on the Sentinel’s face in response.

“May I be seated?” The Sentinel asked

The old woman grunted and gestured to a vacant cushion near the fireplace.

“I am Sentinel Lupa- Chief-Minister of Domestic Affairs. I come before you today to inquire about a crime. There have been rumours about a pernicious spate of thefts having taken place in this district. Would you happen to know anything about that, ladies?” Lupa asked, somewhat inquisitorially

Zalu balked at such an odd question. Sentinels were known mainly to be apparatchiks tasked with administering and defending the Sentinelate’s many territories. Petty crimes were to be dealt with by local law enforcement. It was deeply strange that a Sentinel was investigating something so minor, let alone someone as lofty as a Chief-Minister. She eyed the box on the table nervously, hoping it wouldn’t be commented on.

“Well actually, now that you’ve mentioned it… I do in fact recall hearing a couple of strange noises a few nights ago. Well I suppose they were not that strange but certainly still a bit odd. I thought as much, at least. So… I’ll tell you what I did. You listening? Well… What I thought I’d do is I’d try to go and have a little look. Why not? I thought. There’s nothing wrong with a quick look surely. Nothing wrong at all, I thought. So, here’s what I did; I got out of my bed and put on my cosy little fluffy slippers and went outside for a look around. Wouldn’t you know it, it turned out it was just a stray silkworm eating from the bins. I suppose this thief of yours could simply be our slimy friend, the silkworm. They’re a right nuisance sometimes aren’t they? Don’t you think so?” The old woman was stonewalling the Sentinel’s question, Zalu realised.

A subsequent lull in the interrogation lasted for a few awkward moments before it was jarringly interrupted by the Sentinel slamming her hand down on the table, grabbing the messenger beetle’s box and unlatching it.