Lissa looked at Mera and Mela. Both were tending to Garza and Micah’s wounds. The roof and the floor below have not been as sturdy as the first. Their combined weight had driven to the ground floor resulting in Garza breaking both shins. This time they had not wanted to risk being swarmed in the house and carefully put them on the roof.

Taking her eyes away, Lissa looked up at the wall. It had been several minutes since the last arrow had flown over it. Sighing, Lissa walked over to Almios, his arms crossed while he looked over the ruins. “Still no sign?” Lissa asked while he shook his head. “Nothing yet. We should be getting swarmed right now,” He gestured to the vacant streets. Even the dead bodies were cleared away, leaving only pools of blood to mark where they once were. “But I haven’t seen hide nor hair of any Gloomed,” Almios turned to face Lissa. “How do we even know that this ‘powered’ little girl is even still here? She could have escaped to another district by now via the sewers or something.”

“We don’t, but we should investigate the temples at least,” Lissa replied while pointing to the somewhat pristine temples. Now that they were a bit closer, she could see that flames had kissed the masonry on a few of the temples. “You realize it could be a trap, right? None of this is normal, and as far as I know, never happened before,” Almios pinched the bridge of his nose. “For fuck’s sake, we got ambushed in the fucking tower. The trap may not have been for us specifically, but it was still there.”

Almios kicked a shingle off the roof. It hit a window of the building across the street, shattering it. “Once Saida and Darvick get back, we can reassess the situation, alright?” Lissa put a comforting hand on Almios’ shoulder. He smiled at the gesture, “Thanks.” Lissa returned the smile, “You’re welcome.” A muffled cry of pain came from Lissa’s right, and she turned to face it. Mera held one of Garza’s legs steady while Mela had her Focus pressed to his shin. The flesh undulated beneath it as the bone, muscles, tendons, along with any other damage, was healed.

“Oh shut up, you big baby,” Mela admonished Garza, who was biting on a leather-wrapped stick. “How much longer?” Lissa asked while walking over. “A few more minutes at least. He blew out his knee on this leg too. Micah’s all patched up at least,” Mera answered while her sister furrowed her brow in concentration. “I would have liked it if you were more gentle in your healing, though,” Micah added. He sat a few paces away, rubbing his freshly healed wounds.

“We can only be so gentle in this kind of situation,” Mera shot back, her grip unintentionally tightening on Garza’s leg. Another muffled cry of pain earned him a glare from Mela. Garza returned the glare. Lissa turned away from the standoff and resumed her pacing of the roof. Her eyes swept every shadow and alley, looking for any signs of Gloomed. The fact she found none unnerved her.

After completing her third circuit,, Lissa stopped as she heard something. It was the all-clear whistle from Darvick and Saida. Lissa sighed in relief. “Well, that is both relieving and ominous,” Micah chimed in while standing to stretch. “The weather seems to agree,” Almios added while pointing to the west. Lissa looked and saw darker clouds heading towards them. “A storm is coming,” Lissa said with a sigh. It would put out the fires raging in parts of the city and cover the sound of their advance. It also meant that the Gloomed had the second advantage while potentially causing those lurking in the sewers to pop up unexpectedly.

Lissa continued pacing. She took a bit of fruit leather out from a pouch and chewed. Her mind wandered. From what she had seen so far, this was a new variant of Gloom. Was Silvercrest the unlucky city to host the first outbreak, or had other communities fallen first? If the latter were the case, where did this start, and how many people had died already? Lissa stopped pacing and winced from a spike of pain. Was her family safe? Were her mother, father, and brother already dead? She shook her head, clearing her thoughts, and she kept pacing. No distractions. She needed to focus on the present.

“Got any more stashed away?” Saida said while landing on the roof a few steps in front of Lissa. “Yeah, I do,” Lissa replied while grabbing another leather and handing it to Saida. “Thanks,” Saida took a bite and sat on the edge of the roof. Lissa joined her, “Where is Darvick?” Saida pointed to the alley across the street. Darvick was just turning into it and coming towards them. “We found a shop that sold supplies and nabbed a few waterskins and canteens to fill up with water,” Saida said in between mouthfuls of fruit leather.

“You found uncontaminated water?” Lissa raised an eyebrow. She hadn’t expected that. Saida shook her head, “No, we couldn’t find one. That’s why we didn’t give the all-clear until a bit ago.” Saida smirked and shook a flask at Lissa, “Though we did sneak a bit of mead, it's not strong enough to get us drunk. But it beats being thirsty.”

Saida undid the cap and took a mouthful, smacking her lips as she finished. “Tastes like juniper berries and lavender,” She shoved it into Lissa’s open hand, “Try it.” Lissa shook her head and took a mouthful. Just as Saida described, the mead and Lissa let its taste settle on her tongue before swallowing. “Not bad. How much did you bring?” Lissa handed the flask back to Saida. Putting the cap back on, she bobbed her head in thought, “A flask for each of us.”

“Oi! One of you get down here! Are we going or what?” Darvick shouted from the street below. Lissa turned her head to Mera, Mela, and Garza. “Just need a few more seconds,” Mela muttered while running her Focus up and down Garza’s leg. He spits out the gag, “I’m fine, just let me up.” Mela and Mera glared at him, “Unless you want to break your shins, or possibly something worse, don’t move.” Both of their voices were ice cold. Lissa saw any retort Garza had coming wither away. Mera pat Garza on the head, “Good boy, you’ll need this again.” She then shoved the gag into his hands. Garza simply nodded, biting into the leather once more.

Lissa turned away, shaking her head. She looked down to Darvick, “Just another few minutes at most.” Garza’s muffled howl of pain followed moments later. “He apparently was worse than we thought,” She added quickly. Darvick simply nodded, “Not surprising considering the stunt he pulled. Do you want me to come up?” Lissa shook her head, “No, I will come down and wait with you in case we have some guests show up.”

“Fair enough, you mind catching these first?” Darvick held up a flask in each hand. “Sure, toss them,” Lissa said while putting the last bite of leather in her mouth. Darvick swung his arms up once, twice, and on the third swing sent them up. Lissa leaned forward just a bit and caught both. Putting them behind her for safety, she readied herself for the next batch. This process repeated itself twice. “Mind holding them there?” Lissa asked while turning to Saida. She nodded, and Lissa turned herself, ready to drop down to the street. Once Saida’s hand blocked the flasks from falling Lissa slid off the roof.

The fall was only five meters or so, but she still tucked and rolled to disperse the force of the fall. “Nice form, two thumbs up,” Darvick smirked while putting both thumbs in the air. “Haha, very funny,” Lissa replied while drawing her sword. Now that she was on the street, she needed to be wary. “Hey, Lis!” Micah called from the roof. Lissa looked up and saw he was leaning just a bit over the edge. “What?” She said while raising an eyebrow. “How am I going to get down there? I don’t think jumping by myself is a good idea, and I don’t really want to be carried by Garza again. So far, we are two for two with drops getting him injured while carrying me,” Micah answered back.

Lissa pursed her lips. He had a point. Lissa turned to Darvick, “I think I saw a building with a door to the roof about a block that way.” She pointed towards the direction Darvick came from, “Did you see it?” Darvick nodded, “Yeah, we saw it. Pretty sure it was a hostel or something.”

Lissa turned her head up to look at Micah, “Look that way.” She pointed once more, “You should see a building with a door on the roof. Go there. We’ll make sure it’s safe. If not, we’ll figure something out.” Micah nodded and disappeared from view. “Before you go, don’t forget your flask,” Saida said while waving one of the flasks in front of her. Lissa positioned herself beneath it, Saida dropped it, and she caught it quickly.

“Thanks. We’ll shout if there is trouble,” Lissa added before turning and walking down the alley Darvick passed through. Darvick caught up with her quickly, “Copper for your thoughts?” Lissa glanced at him before answering, “About what?” She could hear his shrug, “This whole situation, really? I mean, how did this even start? We have OWLs watching every gate. This should have been caught before it got out of hand.”

Lissa looked at him again, “Do you think someone helped start this? Why would anyone do that?” Another shrug, “I don’t know. But it is very auspicious that so many teams were sent out before this happened. Which could only mean that someone up there,” he pointed up at Volamire, “Orchestrated this whole thing.

Lissa snorted, “Why would anyone up there even care enough to do that? Or better yet,, have the power to do it?” Darvick furrowed his brow, “The Emperor, one of his advisors, rival queens or kings? Someone wanting to make a power play or discredit the Silvercrests?”

“Alright, let’s assume someone up there did it. How would they have stopped this from happening before they were ready? Clearly, whatever is different about this strain, it spreads fast and aggressively enough that it is almost impossible to hide,” Lissa shook her head and checked the street for Gloomed before exiting the alley. “Again, I don’t know, but this stinks worse than rolling around in a compost heap,” Darvick said while grabbing his hammer. The head glowing slightly. “They were finished with your hammer?” Lissa asked while checking the alley in front of them.

“Yeah, they were. I managed to pick it up while you all lollygagged with your packs,” Darvick said while chuckling. “That was only because Mera and Mela couldn’t decide on what medicinal herbs and potions they needed to bring,” Lissa replied while looking into a broken window. She couldn’t see anything living on the other side and moved on. “That is how I knew I would have enough time to grab….” Darvick stopped and put his hand out to block Lissa.

Lissa froze in place, “What?” Darvick pointed with the head of his hammer, “Something moved behind the wall there.” Lissa followed the hammer and saw it pointed to the right side at the end of the alley. “Gloomed?” She asked while slowly turning her back to face the way they came. “Not sure, but if it is, we’re fucked. We can’t go up, and who knows what’s waiting in these buildings.” Lissa looked up and saw only the smallest gap between the two roofs.

“Any bright ideas?” She asked while searching for signs of Gloomed. “Just one,” Darvick said while bending over to pick something off the ground. “Ready?” He asked. Lissa simply nodded, hoping he could see her out of the corner of his eye. Darvick tossed whatever was in his hand, and it clattered farther down the alley. Lissa tensed, and she knew Darvick did as well. They both held their breath while they waited for the trap to be sprung.

They both waited for heartbeats, which then turned into seconds. After what felt like minutes passed, they both exhaled. Lissa turned to face forward, “Either they are a lot smarter than they look, or we are just overly paranoid.” Darvick shrugged, “I’d rather be overly paranoid than dead right about now.”

“Fair point. I’ll go first if nothing happens. The coast is clear,” Lissa said while taking slow, tentative steps forward. “And if the coast isn’t clear?” Darvick asked while getting a few practice swings in with his hammer. “Well, then we run like demons are chasing us,” Lissa said while switching to a two-handed grip. “Fair enough,” Darvick replied while taking a step to get into the middle of the alley.

Lissa continued forward, ears and eyes straining to pick up the faintest hint of trouble. As she got closer to the mouth of the alley, she saw the street was empty. Not willing to trust this small view into the street, she continued forward. Looking left and then right, she saw the rest of the street was empty and relaxed a bit. “It’s clear, come on up,” Lissa said while turning to look back at Darvick.

He nodded and advanced up the alley. “I just realized something,” Darvick said while hugging the opposite wall, “Where are all the animals?” Lissa blinked. She hadn’t thought about that. They had seen a few dead horses, dogs, and cats. But the number didn’t seem to add up to how many should actually be here. “I am not sure. Hopefully, the owners took them when they fled,” Lissa said optimistically. She stepped into the street and swept her gaze everywhere.

“Next street over, right?” Darvick said while joining her. “Should be, no alleys to cut through this time, though,” Lissa nodded to her left. “This way,” She said while jogging down the road towards an intersection. They reached it without issue and turned right. Lissa and Darvick could now see the building on the corner of the next street. The empty streets had them both on edge, and they hurried into the building.

A few rooms had blood stains and the occasional corpse. They went up the stairs to the roof and opened the door. Stepping out onto it, they looked west. Garza waved at them and snatched up Micah. Lissa didn’t hear what he said, but everyone else quickly started hopping from roof to roof towards them.

Still on edge, Lissa paced the roof, eyeing the streets below. “Run into any trouble?” Almios asked once he reached the roof. Darvick shook his head, “No, which is the strange thing. We should have been swarmed. They have been hounding us until now. What changed?”

Saida quickly pointed out the obvious, “We are walking into a trap.” This revelation caused everyone to curse. “Should we send up the signal now? Or just leave?” Garza said while rubbing his knees. Lissa shook her head, “No, I think we should at least spring the trap. Now that we know there is one, we can turn the tables on it and send the signal when it’s sprung.”

Almios frowned, “Whoever they send won’t be happy we sent the signal up for nothing.” Saida looked at him, “I’d rather be chewed out by a centurion than be dead.” Almios nodded, acquiescing. “No point in waiting then,” Mera chirped while heading towards the stairs, “I hope we aren’t late.”

================================================================

Lissa stood at the base of the stairs to the God Of Life’s temple. The once pure white marble of the stairs was stained in places. By blood or soot, she wasn’t sure. “Well, this doesn’t bode well, does it?” Almios asked while coming to stand beside her. “No, how did the other ones look?” Lissa said while turning to face Almios.

He shook his head, “Not good it looks like people tried to barricade themselves in most of the others. Didn’t turn out so well for them, sadly.” Almios rubbed his neck while looking at the pavement. “Turned into improvised crematoriums?” Lissa asked. She shuddered at the thought of being trapped in the temples while fires burned through the halls. Almios nodded, “The side entrances were collapsed as well.”

“I hope the smoke got them before the fire did,” Mela said while walking past Almios onto the first step. “So do I. How does this one look, Mela?” Lissa replied while glancing up at her. “Same as the others pretty much, side entrances collapsed, barricades at the doors that aren’t, except this one wasn’t turned into a furnace,” Mela said with a sigh. She turned to look at Lissa, “We’re going in, aren’t we?”

Lissa nodded, “What choice do we have, really? If there is a chance people are alive in there, we need to find them.” Lissa turned her head as more footsteps approached the stairs. “Even though this entire thing screams ‘I am a trap’? Saida scoffed while shaking her head. A distant thunderclap followed her words. “Even the weather agrees with me,” She sighed, “Though I can’t fault you for waiting to save lives.”

Lissa moved up to the second stair and faced everyone. “Alright, we all know this is a trap. So that means we have to be careful once we go in. Almios and I will be in the front. Darvick, Saida and Garza in the rear. Micah will be with Mera and Mela in the center.” Lissa pointed to each of them as she spoke.

“Micah, I assume you have those floating Lightstones still squirreled away in a pouch?” Lissa turned to look at him directly. Micah nodded while reaching into one of his pouches and producing four stones the size of his thumbs. He looked at everyone quickly, “You still remember how to use them, right?” They all nodded. Micah sighed in relief, “Good, who should I give them to?”

Lissa thought for a moment, “You, me, Darvick, and Mera.” Micah nodded and passed out the stones. Lissa rolled the stone in her fingers for a moment before closing her palm. She exhaled slowly while pushing a bit of Aether into the rock. A pinprick of pain came from where the stone sat in her palm. Looking down, she saw a faintly glowing light between her fingers.

Lissa pushed a bit more Aether into the stone, increasing the brightness until it glowed like a lantern. Once everyone had their stones glowing the same brightness, they got into formation. Two more thunderclaps, closer this time, followed them into the dark temple.

Lissa set the stone just above her right shoulder as she crossed the threshold. The interior lit up with each step. The walls that had once held sconces and mounts for lanterns were broken off. Larger and more intricate Lightstones had been smashed.

Once they all were inside the entry hall, Lissa had a thought cross her mind. “Garza, Saida, and Mela. Rip the entryway doors off their hinges. I would like not to be trapped in here if they bar them shut.” Lissa said while shifting her gaze and the light across the dark interior. She heard them walking back to the entrance. The sound of snapping wood and metal as the large doors were ripped off echoed.

Two grunts quickly followed by the sound of wood breaking upon stone bounced into the room. Lissa heard them get back into position. Soon she felt two taps on her shoulder and began advancing. Lissa knew that the captives were more than likely in the main chapel of the temple. The room itself was massive enough to hold nearly a thousand worshippers at capacity. She also knew it was near the center of the enormous building.

The group slowly advanced towards their target. They stopped at each cross-hall and destroyed doorway to make sure nothing was about to ambush them. Soon the sound of rain echoed into the building, muffling their already quiet footsteps. Lissa stepped into one cross-hall and looked left. She froze. Standing just in the shadow was what looked like a little girl.

Her glowing red eyes lit her face just enough to see her smile. Lissa quickly pushed herself back against the wall and waved her hand for everyone to fall back. The little girl’s giggle echoed down the hall, along with the sound of footsteps moving deeper into the temple. “The hells was that?” Micah whispered. His voice slightly echoing in the hall. “The little girl, I think,” Lissa responded. “Let’s get outside and send…,” She wasn’t able to finish her sentence. Coming from behind them was what sounded like dozens of growls from cats and dogs.

Everyone turned to look at the sound, and less than a dozen meters away stood a large mastiff. Its eyes were bright red. The dog was joined by two more and then four. Soon the entire hall and beyond was full of red-eyed animals. “Well fuck there they are,” Darvick said after a heartbeat. His words seemed to trigger the animals, and they came flooding down the hall. Lissa turned and fled towards the little girl’s giggling. “Run, you idiots!” She screamed. The rest followed her, and the once quiet halls filled with barks, growls, and people’s heavy footfalls.

“Where the hells are we going!?!” Garza asked. Lissa glanced behind her and saw he was carrying Micah, “The main chapel! We should be able to barricade ourselves in there!” Saida blinked, “And do what exactly? We will just be trapped there!” Mera glanced at Saida, “Would you rather be trapped or mauled to death?” Saida merely bit her lip and increased her pace.

Lissa rounded a corner kicking off it to maintain her momentum. The rest followed, and with their breakneck pace, the swarm of animals fell further and further behind. Soon their frantic advance brought them in front of wide wooden doors. Lissa and Almios reached them first and pulled them open. They both ushered everyone in and followed suit the moment Saida passed the threshold. Both Lissa and Almios slid to a stop mere millimeters from crashing into everyone’s backs. “Oh gods,” Micah managed to mutter before vomiting in front of Garza. Soon the smell of death hit Lisa like a hammer blow.

Looking around in shock, she saw bodies strung up in various poses—letters and presumably words written in a language she didn’t understand. A quiet deep chanting started on the opposite wall snapping everyone to it. The red-eyed little girl stood above a woman who was spread eagle in a circle of blood. Every inch of her skin had fresh markings carved into it—the sound of the doors rattling startled, everyone. In the time it took everyone to glance back at the shaking doors and then return their gaze to the girl, she had produced a knife.

The blade was caked in dried blood and positioned above the woman’s heart. Lissa noticed the woman beginning to stir. The click of a crossbow catch drew Lissa’s attention, and she glanced at Darvick. His crossbow was ready and aimed at the girl. He squeezed the trigger, and the bolt flew at the girl. She batted it away with the knife, not even glancing at them. This broke the spell that enraptured everyone.

Lissa sprang forward with Almios towards the girl. Lissa snatched her Focus and poured Aether into it. The translucent blade came alive two steps later. From the pews surrounding them, figures stood. Their red eyes glaring before they leaped to intercept. Lissa disarmed a woman before slamming her fist into a man’s throat. More and more Gloomed rose to join the melee.

The quiet room became full of sound as men, women, and even children were cut down. Lissa and Almios were forced to fall back against the press of bodies around them. Hacking and slashing the entire way. “We need to stop her!” Lissa shouted while kicking a woman away. She flew into another woman, and they both toppled over a pew. “No shit! How do we get to her?” Saida responded. “I don’t know!” Lissa said while batting someone aside with her Aether blade, “Ideas?” Mera’s voice cut through the din, “Toss someone?”

“Who the hells would we even toss?” Mela grunted out. “You could toss me,” Saida said with an effort. “How about Micah?” Garza said as a body sailed over Lissa crashing into the mob. “I am charging my rings, so not a good idea,” Micah responded breathlessly. “Fuck! Fine! Toss Saida, we’ll cover you!” Lissa screamed while taking a step back to tighten the circle. Lissa could hear the shuffling steps behind her as Mera, Mela, and Saida got into position.

A man rushed at Lissa, and she caved part of his skull in with the Aether blade. He fell to the floor, lifeless as a loud grunt of effort came from behind her. Lissa spared a glance upwards and saw Saida tumbling over the mob. Lissa didn’t see her landing but heard the clatter of armor rolling on stone. Heartbeats later, a blinding light came from the opposite end of the chapel as the world exploded around them.