Chapter 225: Shaturein.

Chapter 225: Shaturein.

You can figure it out yourself, I trust in you Saori~ What did Muraina mean by that, Saori?

Oh, that? Well, in the past three days, I have been considering Murainas offer to help me train. You know, more practice would not hurt me, and it seems like Murainas confidence in me is high enough to the point that she thinks I can find the entrance to an underworld city that changes every week. Well, shes not wrong.

After interrogating those two child-kidnapping bastards and handing them over to a few guards, our partys and Eshes next goal was to head into the undercity of Griffonpeak, Shaturein. However, although we knew that it was somewhere in the red light district, we didnt exactly know where the entrance actually was.

To expedite the process and not trigger my impatience to save the kids, we decided to ask someone for help. Since we didnt want to cause Ellaines parents too many problems, after we picked Tasianna and Ellaine up once they brought the injured caretakers back to the orphanage, we rushed over to the hunters guild. We needed to ask Krymdar or Gael for help.

Unfortunately, neither of them were there. Krymdar was still at that Lycerepth meeting and Gael was currently in Shaturein. We thought we could maybe ask Muraina for help instead, since she was a spy too, but she had no idea.

I apologize, but the entrance to Shaturein changes every week with the help of their earth mages. Its to protect themselves from the guards and knights, you see. Usually, you would learn the next location and its password if youre a frequent visitor of Shaturein or, in Gaels case, you can use your connections and know-how to learn where the entrance is whenever. I sadly did not ask Krymdar or Gael about the entrances next appearance. I apologize, everybody. I remembered what Muraina said. She did point us to a couple of possible places, but we had to do the footwork ourselves.

So, since we didnt know the way forward, we decided to start searching in the red light district. The entire situation made it seem as if Muraina was testing Saori or something. Since we knew Aurora was known in the underworld from those spies who followed us, we decided it would be best if everybody wore long, inconspicuous robes with cowls covering our faces and head. Of course, this plan had a teensy-little issue with me being the very definition of conspicuous.

You see, having large horns and a very long tail as my physical traits made it very hard to not get noticed. Sure, I could hide my wings no problem, but the problem was that I could only get rid of the former two was to enter my [Humanization Lv. 9] or Lv. 10 form. I couldnt risk it. It meant becoming mostly or completely human respectively, reducing my maximum stats by two-thirds and having no access to any of my draconic abilities.

Ever since I tried it out the first time against those bandits, Ive begun to feel uncomfortable without my dragon abilities. Crazy, sure, but I didnt like feeling weak. And being human without my wings, fire breath, tail, scales, claws, and sun core felt awful. At [Humanization Lv. 10] I felt like a squishy meatbag.

Thankfully, ever since I met Cernust, Ive been aware of bovlines. If I wrapped my tail around my legs, I would be able to hide my tail, but it did obstruct my movements. As long as I kept my scaly hands, legs and feet hidden, and they didnt look too close at my vertical pupils I could pass off as a literal cowgirl.

Oh yeah, how is Uno? Have you heard from him? I asked Saori. Despite it being suspicious, we were all moving in a large group since Saori seemed to have a plan to find the entrance to Shaturein.

Nope, he has not come back from when I sent him off to follow those spies five days ago. He should be alright, though, since he hasnt disappeared from my shadow beast count, Saori explained. Still, to find the entrance, we will need Uno. He should be around somewhere, so I will recall him here.

Since those spies Uno was following probably went back to Shaturein, hell be able to lead us to the entrance?? Ellaine asked, to which Saori confirmed with a nod.

Well, better make it quick, Saori. Theres people watching us, Grimnir pointed out.

He was right. The moment we entered the red light district with our cloaks on, we instantly attracted the attention of a few thuggish-looking people hanging around on the streets. It was like entering a thieves' den, or walking through the home district of a crime syndicate.

Sir Alikar and Dame Anivh informed us we could leave the flanks to them, that we should prioritize moving forward and protecting Eshe. Eshe, as a holy mage, had some powerful supportive and defensive spells, but on the other hand, her offensive ones were only so-so. Regrettably, her level was still only 23, vastly below everybody else. At least we could count on her knights in a battle since they were formally trained and level 69 and 57 respectively.

As we rushed to a place where there werent any prying eyes, Saori kneeled on the ground and touched her shadow. As she kept that pose, a few minutes passed when the shadow suddenly began to spasm, revealing a wolfs head underneath it.

Uno. Report? Saori demanded.

Without sending the information to Eshe and her knights, Uno began to speak with us telepathically. [The information was correct. The church issued the request to those spies, but the person who issued it was a fat pig they called a cardinal. Based on how the others treated him, he was the leader.]

Any information from those spies? Where did they come from? We promised not to ask them about their organization, but nothing was said about us doing our homework on them; turnabout is fair play, after all. Uno was confident he wouldnt get caught, so Saori ordered him to track them.

[The alpha of the pack decided to stop spying on you, Alpha. They called themselves an information broker or something.] It was a good thing that the garms were intelligent enough to understand us similar to other beastmen. [I can smell you wish to know more, Alpha. Ask, I shall answer.]

After Saori told him we needed a way into Shaturein, he agreed to show us the way, as he had just left through it. The entrance he used to enter the undercity seemed to have disappeared today, and he had to trail a group of people to leave Shaturein through the new one. Uno, apparently, survived the stakeout by stealing food and water from the merchants down there, which he described as a common practice.

Is Shaturein that much of a cutthroat place? How has it not descended to anarchy if stealing is such a common occurrence down there?

Good work, Uno. Inform Song about everything and give yourself a good break, alright? Saori then pulled out a fresh, bloody steak from her storage and gave it to Uno. Twitching his ears, he grabbed the meat with his mouth before disappearing with it into the shadows. After a moment, Songs head appeared from the shadow in his place, ready to lead us to the undercity.

When we arrived at the location, we saw a group of raggedly-dressed people crowding around a run-down house, enjoying some simple street food made out of rice dough, a sauce, and whatever meat they could get, at least from the looks of it. The street food stall seemed quite popular and we questioned if this really was the place we were looking for, only for Uno to confirm the entrance was inside the building.

As we looked around a bit more, we noticed a few shady-looking people hanging around, either staying to themselves or by joining into the food craze. Unlike the clearly impoverished patrons, these people had better-maintained clothing and weapons close on hand.

Hestia, were taking the peaceful way in. No need to get into trouble. I agreed with Saoris plan. The food vendor and those thugs were clearly guards for the entrance, and, since Shaturein was a whole independent city controlled by various shady guilds, it probably wouldnt be good to antagonize them now. Well, unless they picked the fight themselves, like those slavers did.

Before we left the guild, Muraina also informed us that the bouncers would be dismissive to any attempts of us asking for a way into Shaturein, acting like normal citizens to dissuade strangers from entering their home. Even bribing wouldnt work. You either knew the weekly password to enter or knew somebody who knew it.

Knowing we were in a hurry to save the kids, Muraina told us to mention a specific phrase to the entrance keeper. As such, Saori walked over to the food vendor alone to speak to him. How much?

Eight davi. Return the bowl. Saori handed him eight davi and received a bowl of food.

Wait, is that the phrase?!

As Saori took a bite from the flour dough with the pieces of meat, Saori nodded her head in contentment as she put the fork back on the plate. Lady Grengar offers us her heartful dance. At the mention of that quote, the food vendor instantly turned his head towards Saori and gave her a nod, before knocking his head backward, towards the door. With the bowl of food in her hand, she returned to us while eating it.

We can enter.

Lady Grengar offers us her heartful dance? Was that the phrase? I asked, to which Saori nodded. Muraina did not specify who this Lady Grengar was, though. And was ordering food also a necessary part?

Yeah, since you do not ask a tavern owner for rumors if you have not ordered anything. The same courtesy applies here. Call it a fee for newcomers. Saori took her last bite of the food, commenting that the dough was old and the meat dry. It didnt suit her taste.

I personally would prefer if she took this a bit more seriously, but Saori sure does hate wasting food. Patience, Hestia. If the kids are somewhere in Shaturein, I will turn that place upside down to find them.

After Saori handed the bowl back to the vendor, a thug at the door opened the house door for us and whispered, Black pieces on the table move at the commands of the Hold. Remember it next time. If I could hazard a guess, it probably was the password for entering Shaturein for the week.

Once inside, we noticed nobody was inside the ramshackle house; in fact, the place looked even more run down from the inside, with mold destroying the wooden floor and walls. With no other entrance except a single door, we moved through it and descended the stairs into the basement. Going through a door made from fortified earth, we finally made our way into Shaturein.

Urgh, the smell! Saori and I pinched our noses. Our heightened olfactory sense was working against us again, the smell of sewage overwhelming us. After Tasianna cast an enhanced [Air Shield] around us, we continued onwards.

Lady Eshe, please do not move away from the middle, Sir Alikar spoke in his thick accent, as he and Dame Anivh rested their hands on their weapons, ready to engage at any time. The same applied to us Aurora members with our own guards raised.

Looking at the way this tunnel was made, it definitely wasnt made to look good. Still, its sturdy without any wooden support. Earth mages definitely made this. I analyzed the tunnel. The only way for Shaturein to be able to change their entrance every week would be with earth mages.

After a certain point, though, the structure of the tunnel changed, looking better built and less hastily excavated. It felt more comfortable to walk through, and had torches to light the way. Walking for maybe over ten minutes, we finally made it down to Griffonpeaks shadow, the city underneath the Griffon Shaturein.

W-Well, this isnt exactly what I imagined, Ellaine blurted out, a statement I could agree fully with.

The underground city was, at its core, a place for criminals and the impoverished, those who could not survive a life on the surface; at least, that is what Arcanuess Helvas told me. From the looks of it, he wasnt too off the mark. My first impression of this place was that it was filthy.

Now, it wasnt garbage dump-tier of disgusting but wherever we walked? There was trash and dirty puddles just lying on the streets. It seemed as if there was a waste disposal service of some kind, as it wasnt filled with that stuff, but this place did look a bit like the third-world countries Id seen on TV.

Looking further away, I saw canals flowing through this place, making it look a bit like mini Venice. Shaturein, being built next to Griffonpeaks sewer, which was constructed using the river next to it, probably would utilize these canals for something outside of waste disposal, right?

However, while seeing this was unexpected, I was really surprised to see quite a bit of manatech around.

Yes, there was light down here. Not from the sun but rather through artificial light created through manatech lamps, each marked with a certain insignia on them, probably to warn off any thieves from taking them. Unlike the red light district or slums, this place seemed to have more manatech than above despite its rough appearance. The streets and general architecture looked unhygienic and badly maintained, which contrasted starkly with the modern-looking manatech.

As we analyzed one of the manatech lamps, Saori went over to a lollygagger and asked him about it. Huh? Whatsit to you? Saori threw a medium copper coin at the person, instantly making his mouth open. Youse dont know whoat belonged to? Ya new? Blackreach Guild. Member othe four gangs of Shatu. Serioully, the founder, me heard. Youse find them inner center, wither other three gangs.

Jeez, this is fucking hard to understand! Come on, dude, I only learned this language almost a year ago!

Regardless of how difficult his accent was to understand, we still had a way to start. Without a proper guide, we had no way to find anybody, so the best way to do this was to go to the center. Since Shaturein was governed by gangs and guilds, the best way to start this investigation was to find these four gangs. Information, that is what we needed first.

When we asked Saori if she could guide us using the scent from the lamp, she shook her head. The smell was even worse down in the city and neither Saori nor her garms were willing to expose their noses to it, preferring to stay inside the [Air Shield]. Uno described his experience down here as hell, and if it wasnt Saoris order to track those spies down, he probably would never have stayed down here.

Should we go ask those spies for help? Tasianna suggested, but Saori shook her head.

We agreed not to get involved with each other, and I think appearing before their doorsteps would count as that. Then again, I dont think we need them, really. Hestia, would you be able to do something?

Saori was talking about [Mana Eyes]s new ability after I made it possible for our group to fast travel.

Mana Eyes

A skill that allows the user to perceive the flow of mana in the air. Allows the identification of items and creatures, revealing their description or profile. Allows the isolation of mana signatures, making it possible to follow mana trails and links between mana sources. Requires tremendous cognitive abilities to process properly. The Skills combined are: [Identify Lv. 10] [Blacksmiths Appraisal (Incomplete) Lv. 1]

Allows the isolation of mana signatures, making it possible to follow mana trails and links between mana sources, was the ability that I was talking about. If I concentrated, I could activate my skills ability to track a singular mana source and create a trail to something related to the mana.

In the case of the lamp, a mana battery had to be placed inside for it to work, and I could use that mana to track down the person who filled it up. It might not lead us directly to this Blackreach Guild, but might lead us to the person who worked for them.

We Once again, I was interrupted.

Erm, excuse me. But this time, it was from Eshe. Could you allow me to heal the wounded, first?

Saintess Eshe? Gael looked mortified. My stomach is acting up again. Are you ladies about to drag me into more trouble?

It was only once, but he already knew us as well as if we were besties.

A note from AbyssRaven

I just noticed the voting system was gone. RIP. Living under a rock.

And now, we are inside the undercity. Time to hunt some slave hunters.

If you guys want to support me, Hestia and "A Dragon Idol's Reincarnation Tale" (or just read up to 17 advance chapters + any Patreon-only chapters) please check out my Patreon: Rawr!

If you guys enjoyed this chapter then, please follow the story. If you guys want the story to grow, then giving it a rating or a favorite will do wonders: Rawr

Thank you for reading this chapter.

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Wednesday, November 3, 2021 1:16:43 AM Germany [Member of Zard Skwad]

Bio: Hey there, AbyssRaven here. I'm just an avid Light Novel and Fantasy story reader who randomly thought of a story and began writing about it.

I eventually found out that I've been spending a bit too much time with building, planning, and researching for the story, that I've decided to just share it with others.

Writing is mostly a hobby for me, but I would still love any kind of criticism to improve on it.

I'm also german, so please excuse anything that sounds a bit weird...I wouldn't mind you pointing it out though.

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