137 The City's Breath

Spat carried Root and Mist on his back safely inside the large wooden box and planned to separate with the group once they decided to return to the entrance. He was the party's tank, so he was at the front walking next to their leader, Captain Yon. He was an old grump man, but experience comes with grey hair. He wore a gambeson just like the rest, but a house crest was patched on Captain Yon's sleeves, proudly presenting his family's name despite being low nobles.

Walking alongside them was the other frontline, Marqie, a proud tiefling warrior from a foreign land. He belonged to a large clan from the east beyond the mountains, where the land was covered in sand, and only those with skin as red as the tieflings could thrive in its heat. He also held the torches for the group. Behind them were the spearmen and the archers. Spat did not care much to learn their names. He was more interested in Captain Yon and Marqie because of their knowledge of the city's underground labyrinth.

Along their expedition, they saw multiple symbols carved above the entrances, and these symbols represented what the chambers and the passageways will contain. This is important because it saves Spat, Root, and Mist time to prepare for the possible dangers hiding in the shadows.

The passage they took were relatively safe. Some goblins would come out and attack them, but they will always retreat after their initial ambush, almost as if they never intended to stop their party. Once they reached the furthest they could, the group started heading back. Spat began to look for a way to separate from the group, but it wasn't proving easy. "Did I ever tell you about the women on the hill?" Captain Yon kept telling him tales of his past. Some of which were repeats from the previous night.

"Give it a rezt, old man." Marqie said, "Don't you zee Zpat is tired of hearing the zame ztory."

"Did I already tell that story? My bad. Then how about..."

Captain Yon did not close his mouth the entire way. Only when they met the other parties did he stop. "Finally," Spat gave a sigh of relief. And another saving grace came to them. Apparently, three parties have yet to return, and they were sending people to search for them.

Eventually, they reached a fork. On top of the entry points were two symbols, one of a blue fish and another of white wings. Fish meant there would be water and its color meant it's safe. But the white wings are a symbol that Captain Yon is not aware of and has no idea if it is safe. The path could be extremely dangerous, but Spat did not want to miss this opportunity. "I'll take the white wings path," Spat said.

"No, it's too dangerous. We don't know what could be there. We should take the blue fish instead."

"But what if the Church guys went this way, and that's the reason they haven't returned. I should go and check first."

"Fine, I'll go with you," Captain Yon caved in.

"No!"

"No?"

"I mean, just in case they do return, you should wait here and then come and get me."

"I guess, but why are you going? It should."

"I have the goblins that could help me, and you're old."

"I'm not that old!" Captain Yon took a step back, "Am I?"

Spat did not wait any longer and ran into the shadows. The light coming from his palm was his only way to combat the dark. But he also has the ability to use Isiptali to see past the light. Once he was far enough from the entrance, he released Root and Mist and gave them a small lighter. "Alright, you guys know what to do."

Root took out the outdated map Pagasa gave them and the maps the adventures used. "Ok, I think understand map." Root said. "Still many missing parts."

"Then let's go fill them." Spat escorted the two through the maze system. Mist wrote down important landmarks while Root focused on measuring their path and memorizing their route. The map the adventures used was nearly fully accurate with just minor adjustments needed. Their real problem was locating Everflow City's water source and a path to get there.

Cross-referencing the maps helped fill in the gaps, and the further they travel through catacombs and sewage systems, the closer they are to reach the source located on Pagasa's map. Eventually, they reached another fork. One path had the symbol of a blue orb, and another the white wings form before. "That way to city waters!" Root pointed at the blue orb and yelled excitedly. "We found way."

"Great, now let's find the exit," Spat said.

"You mean entrance," Mist corrected him.

Spat was planning to make a sarcastic response, but he noticed Mist's legs getting tired. "Yeah, the entrance." Spat carried Mist over his shoulder.

Mist's cheeks turned red, "What doing? Spat got Mabel."

"Cheater!" Root said.

"What? I'm not cheating! Also, let's take the white wings path. It might lead to the exit."

"Or other Church people."

The group followed the white wings. And the path led to an unknown chamber. They walked out on a large terrace, and underneath them were goblins, many of them. Root and Mist were ready to leave to save their lives, but Spat stayed and watched the goblins. They stood next to an odd machine that carried various items. This machine was a conveyor belt.

The goblins would take the parts and assemble them on their station, creating a complex item. "Spat, why you no run?" Root whispered while the two hid in the tunnel.

"Guys, come here and look," Root and Mist crept closer to the railing, "You see that thing. The thing they're making what looks like the swivel gun on our tribe's wall. But smaller with a longer nozzle. And there's no attachment, just a handle and that weird hook thing below it."

The three watched the goblins work like golems, continuously making the strange gun in rapid succession, with no breaks. And when they finish, another goblin will come and collect them inside a large crate that they push to the next goblin.

While they watch, Mist noticed the Church group that was missing walking out from another passageway. They walked on the ground floor with the goblins, inspecting the guns and the goblins making them. Then another goblin entered the room. And this goblin was far more powerful, for he looked similar to Spat.

The goblin was as tall as the tallest paladin among the Church officials, and he wore a pointy egg-shaped hat. His skin was light pink, and he had white hair and feathers. "Sir Bishop, glad you came." One of the paladins said.

"PLEASE CALL ME HEARST!" The goblin screamed. "AND I AM HAPPY YOU ALL CAME BECAUSE WE JUST FINISHED YOUR ORDER AND THEY ARE READY TO SHIP."

"We'd like to test it first."

"BY ALL MEANS!" Hearst took a gun from one of the goblins working on the conveyor belt. Then he took out a small metal casing and pushed it into the gun. Then Hearst walked over a shooting range and fired his gun at the moving targets. The gun's loud shots woke up the lifeless goblins working on the assembly line and watched Hearst's big and loud performance.

The Church officials clapped their hands at the end, satisfied at what they saw. "It sounds and looks great. We are more than satisfied with this version, and we allocated our payment."

Spat covered root and Mist's mouths because they nearly screamed from terror after hearing the gunshots. These weapons undoubtedly gave birth to numerous problems. "Mist, write down everything we saw here today, and Root, we'll have to send a message to our Chief. We're going to explore more of the city and mark every workshop like this."

"Chief needs map in four days." Root said.

"I know, so we'll be using as much time as we need to scout the area. It seems like they're selling those cannons rather than using them, but we can never be too sure."

Once Mist finished taking her notes, the three retreated to the underground passageways and catacombs. Once they met up with Captain Yon, Spat told him that the Church would take more of their time exploring and don't need any assistance.

Root asked Spat why he would lie about the Church. "We don't know what they're capable of." Spat left it at that.

The days went by, and they managed to find eleven chambers dedicated to producing the complex firearm. They could not steal one to show to Sun, but Spat confirmed through observation that the weapons do not pose a threat. Only goblins designated as pawns could use the weapons, while the rest were sold to the Church.

The day before the expedition was completed, the goblins snuck out from the camp and headed to the Zackons, where the Chief is currently plotting their siege. He also sent a letter to Pagasa. He made it clear he will not interfere with the war, but Pagasa will most likely find this information about the Church intriguing. But now, their job is done, and the difficult part is next. The legions arrived at their meeting point, and with their elite warriors behind him, Spat led them to their Chief.