Savior of the Damned

Eldren shuddered as he ran, hoping Phaedra hadn’t been grandstanding. All he could do was hope for the best as he careened down the halls, the lantern he pilfered from the supply bags at the entrance bobbing an erratic rhythm.

He stopped at a wall and ran his fingers along part of it, feeling for something. Somewhere around there would be a slight bump, barely noticeable unless you knew what to look for. His fingers found it in a crack almost too small to see, and he pressed it. Part of the wall slid back, revealing a doorway. He dashed through it before it could close again. Many people knew about the catacombs, but almost no one knew about the secrets the tunnels held. They had been built long before, and the only ones who knew were the elves. Eldren had once asked the traveling merchant who showed him some of them if he could tell others, but the merchant had sworn him to secrecy. Eldren hoped he hadn’t erred in keeping that to himself. Phaedra knew about a couple, because he had shown her when they were younger, but she didn’t have the extensive knowledge of them he did.

A blue glow illuminated the way, and Eldren slowed as he knew the corridor was safe. Extinguishing the lantern, he paused while his vision acclimated. There was something he needed to find here that the merchant had told him to look for, just in case Temple ever fell. He didn’t know what it was, but the merchant said it would be important.

As the corridor opened up into a natural rock cavern, Eldren looked around him at the beautiful sight. Bioluminescent lichen coated the walls, no more natural than the corridor he just came from. The secrets that created the tunnels had created the lichen, but the magic had died with the dwarves and only the elves knew about it any longer. They shared enough secrets with humanity to keep them safe, but certain passages only elves could know about, or so he had been told. But there was a secret here, something he’d been told needed to make it out if Sanctuary City ever fell.

Eldren reached into an alcove and activated the switch within. Large gears started turning along the walls, hidden until they moved, and dust rained down on him. Eldren held still as it finished. A dais raised in the center, all polished wood and brass with a glass top holding something within. It seemed so ridiculous to hide it that way, but he wouldn’t have known about the alcove, or even the switch, if he hadn’t been told. Stepping forward, he saw a mechanical heart on the dais with a note next to it. Frowning, he picked up the note, but couldn’t read it. It was in a language he had never seen before. Still, the elf had said it could turn the tide of things, hadn’t he? Eldren shoved everything in the pack he had grabbed and went to the other end of the cavern where there was another passageway.

As he exited the secret hallway, it distressed him to see how empty it was. Thinking about it, he wondered why no one seemed to be in the tunnels. Still, he didn’t have time to waste. The tunnels were going to be compromised at some point and fretting was getting him nowhere. It was chillingly silent underground, deep below Temple and the city itself. There should have been more people. The dwarves had built the tunnels under as many places as they could before they died, in the hopes the people living above could get out. Sanctuary City itself held multiple entrances and exits, so why weren’t more people here?

Eldren turned a corner and almost ran into someone. He drew his spell cannon and held it up, breathing hard. She held up her hands in surrender. He looked at her with numb surprise as he lowered it. She had long dark hair and looked like she came from the far east. Her hair didn’t obscure her pointed ears any. Ears just like his. He looked at her clothes, all greens and browns that would make it easier to fade into a wooded area, and at the rifle slung across her back and the sword at her hip.

“You’re the only person I’ve seen under here,” he said.

“I fled in here through one of the exits when a bunch of undead showed up.”

“Damn it. We need to get out of here.”

“I was going to check another exit myself.” She looked around, then back at him and offered her hand. “Merethyl.”

“Eldren.” He shook her hand. “Where to now?”

“There’s a tunnel that leads deeper underground. It comes out on the other side of the hills behind Sanctuary. It’s our best bet.”

Eldren hefted the bag he had taken from the entrance, glad it had things like water and rations in it, because it was going to take quite a bit of travel. For all it was a small range of hills, small was a relative term. “Lead the way.”

***

Eldren’s first thought on waking up was wondering if Phaedra had made it out alive. A week had passed and while he had made it to Harbor City, he couldn’t find Phaedra anywhere. No one at Temple had seen her, or seemed to who she was, and it was disheartening. Orso had been in nonstop meetings, so he hadn’t been able to ask him either. The prophecy machine had arrived damaged, but they didn’t trust him here and so they declined to assign him to repairing it. All he could do was wander the city and try to keep himself busy, waiting for something to do.

Harbor City was a nice place. It was, as the name suggested, a harbor for seafaring vessels, as well as one of the larger air docks. It was one place Temple had kept hidden from Aurelius, though after the fall of Sanctuary City he knew it was only a matter of time.

Memories from his childhood swarmed him. His parents had been merchants that had stopped at Haven the night before it fell. Deep inside the city, there had been no fairy circles to teleport to safety, and they had died before reaching the tunnels. Back then, the tunnels had been full. It bothered him still how empty the ones under Sanctuary had been, how full Temple itself had been when they breached the walls.

Merethyl had stuck around with him once they reached safety and had headed right towards Temple. She said she had business there, and he did too. Refugees had swamped the city, and he wanted to help. They had only lost a couple ’ships, which was better than expected. The new crystals powering the ’ships had given them enough of an edge they got more people away.

Eldren wandered past the food kitchens, with its line of hungry people out the door, looking at the dead, shocked faces. He knew his expression was no different. Aurelius had come out of nowhere two centuries prior. Rumors abounded about who he was and what he wanted, but no one knew. Much of the world had fallen to him and his legions of undead that were commanded by the Resurrected. The Resurrected were a terrifying group of lieutenants that Aurelius had killed and brought back to life with even more terrifying powers. Each one was a powerhouse, but the named ones were the most dangerous. The Magus was the most feared magi the world had ever seen, and he had been the one to bring Sanctuary down to its knees.

Others that were equally terrifying roamed Terra. The Alchemist, who made the bombs. The Nightmare, who could drive entire cities mad. The Plague Bearer, who spread death and disease. The Ghost, who could command spirits. Not all of his men were dead, though. Aurelius had his share of privateers that worked for something Eldren could only guess at as well.

Eldren shook his head and kept walking towards where the mid-level offices were. He needed to talk to Orso, the priest who he reported directly to, but Orso was helping Harbor Temple and hadn’t had time to talk to him yet. The singular time he had talked to Orso was to find out the prophecy machine was damaged and needed repairs, but no one was interested in that just yet. They were too busy dealing with the refugees and what to do next.

“Eldren, wait a moment,” a familiar voice called out from a doorway he had just passed. Eldren turned to see Abraham sticking his head out of the doorway. His eyes were red and puffy and he had dark circles under his eyes. Abraham looked like he hadn’t slept in a week. “I need to talk to you.” He stepped out into the hall, tugging on the long black coat he wore everywhere, with a high collar that fell to his knees.

“What do you need?”

“Have you heard from Phaedra?”

Eldren’s chest was suddenly tight. “No, I haven’t.”

Abraham’s face fell. “We sent people over to check out the ruins. So far, no one has recovered her or Demeter. I’d hoped . . .” Abraham looked away, swallowing audibly. “Since you two are friends, I’d hoped she would have found a way to get word to you.”

Tears made Eldren’s eyes burn. “No, I haven’t heard anything.” He suppressed the urge to cry with a violent exhale of air. “But why were so many people just left there?”

Abraham stared at him. “What do you mean?”

“The hallways were full and the tunnels empty. I only ran into one person, an elven woman who fled into them when a bunch of undead chased her underground.”

Abraham got a funny look. “Interesting.”

“I thought it was strange.”

Abraham looked around them and beckoned Eldren closer. “Have you told anyone else?”

Eldren stared at him for a few moments. “No. I was going to tell Orso, but he’s been busy. And I don’t know who to report to here.”

“That’s all right. They’re trying to give everyone time to decompress after what happened. I’ll pass it along for you.”

Eldren felt lighter than he had in a while. “Thanks,” he said, and went to turn away.

“Eldren?”

He turned to look at the older man. “Yeah?”

“Let me or Orso know right away if you hear from Phaedra.”

Tears gathered in the corners of Eldren’s eyes. “I will.”