It was pitch black and Jano could barely see where they were going. Many of the lamplights weren’t doing their usual dance and they remained lifeless. Darkness stretched over the streets like a heavy paint. The stream of essence which had stretched up into the clouds was still there, pulsating. Almost as if it was watching them. Jano shuddered as he looked at it. A small part of him hoped that the fact it was there meant that the Emperor would be distracted. He still didn’t really understand what the Shimmer was, but he knew it wasn’t good. More dangerous creatures roaming the Empire and lending their power to the Emperor could only make things a whole lot worse.

They were right to wait until the darkest part of the night. Nara was wearing a dark simple shirt and leather trousers, she moved much easier without her plate armour. She had her swords tucked away down her back in the familiar X pattern. Jano was holding the scythe, useless though he was with it. It was better than nothing. Packs of Guards roamed the streets, carrying their own torches. Jano watched them forcefully push their way into houses, past protesting men and women.

He briefly worried about his own house. Until he remembered that it was burned down, all the houses around were burnt. And Alsace was gone.

They crept through the streets, until they found the trusty metal cover wedged in the stone road. Nara warned against treading old paths and she knew another entrance, further along. Still, Jano greeted the sight of that cover with a brief moment of warmth.

They passed down a narrow alley and Jano could hear the sound of water passing. At the end of the alley, there was a small spiral of grey stone steps, heading downward. The steps grew more and more wet the further they went down and Jano had to pay more attention to his steps. As he concentrated, he felt the exhaustion of the day pressing down on him. He hadn’t managed to get any rest while waiting for nightfall. He couldn’t stop thinking about what the Emperor could be doing to his wife and to Dariea.

The steps brought them out to a large circular pipe. Nara moved quickly, he hadn’t noticed the dull plate armour standing just inside, but she had. She took the Guard down silently, hushing quietly as she did so. “Sssshhhhhh now.”

Jano thought that was a little redundant as the Guard was clearly no longer conscious, but he wasn’t going to ask stupid questions. That hadn’t taken much time or effort from Nara. Just glad she’s on my side, he thought.

“Sometimes the Guard would use this passage to enter the sewers. Though most of the passages have been redirected, we sometimes get people doing shady deals and criminal activity down here.” Her eyes flicked to Jano as she realised she was talking as though she was still part of the Guard. “People think it’s a great place to hide bodies for example.”

“Seems like an easier way to get in than the covers that I’ve been using.” He said in hushed tones as they started walking through.

“Those were out throughout the city for maintenance. They just don’t get used so much now that the sewers are mainly designed to flow out of the city. Also, these tunnels are a little bit wider. So you should even be able to fit that ridiculous weapon of yours in there.”

“But the pipes heading to the Palace are still in use.” He said, with more than a hint of regret. He had insisted on bringing the scythe. He didn’t discuss the reason why, but he thought that the ability to replenish his spirit after attacking others was probably helpful on the suicide mission they were attempting.

“Fortunately for us, yes they are.” She took a brief look at her clothing, and the little pack they had brought with them. Spare clothes. A hopeful token.

The tunnel was long and winding, but Nara knew the way almost as well as Dariea had. “Did you have to come down here much?” He asked.

“The new recruits are sent in here mainly to do all the grunt work. So not so recently, but you don’t forget walking and crawling through the filth in a hurry.”

Jano agreed with her with a shudder as he remembered the smell. They encountered no more Guards in the sewers and found their way to the smaller stone pipe, where Jano had begun his crawl the last time. The smell once again drifted through his nostrils and he felt it deep in his soul. He hated the idea of doing it all over again. What are the chances Alsace will be happy to see me covered in filth and smelling like this?

Nara looked at the pipe as though she was thinking the same thing.

“Fine. Let’s go.” She started towards the pipe. “I’d say we should take our clothes off, then it’s easier to clean, but I don’t fancy getting chopped in half at the other end by a soldier stark naked.” She chuckled as she climbed up to the pipe, she took a deep breath and headed in.

Jano had to laugh, or he’d cry. He followed her and did the same thing. Before plunging back into the filth. He had to allow a decent amount of clearance between him and Nara so he could push his scythe ahead of him. What a ridiculous weapon, he thought. He was lucky that the blade even fit. But it did. The water level was mercifully lower than his return trip last time. Anything which wasn’t brushing against his lips was a blessing.