“How could it have come to this?” Urielle whispered as she wandered through the ruined cathedral.

  Blood and ash stained the white stonework, and the tapestries were torn to shreds. All the furniture sat in a smoldering pile in the sanctuary’s center with blackened corpses laying on top. The acolytes that weren’t burned hung bound against the central pillars, their innards spilling out on the floor. Glass broke beneath her feet as she made her way to the back of the sanctuary. There lay the bodies of three women with blood pouring from their heads and down their legs. Disgust twisted Urielle’s stomach, and she tried covering them up with any torn fabric nearby.

  “I’m sorry you suffered this way.” She said gently brushing the hair away from their faces. Tears ran down her cheeks as she stared at the women who used to attend to her.

  “They got what they deserved.”

  Anger burned in her chest, and she glared at the guards escorting her. Slowly, she rose to her feet and stormed towards them. The air was filled with the sound of ringing metal as her hand struck his cheek.

  “Don’t say that in front of me again!”

  The guard growled, rubbing his cheek. “Yes ma’am.”

  Urielle gave him a stiff nod as she stood in the center of the sanctuary. “O’ heavenly ones, sanctify these hollowed husks from the taint of undeath. May they rest eternally under your loving gaze.” A soft white light glowed around the corpses. Runes etched themselves magically into the flesh, pulsing with golden magic. “Bring in the undertakers.” Urielle said as she silently left.

  Dark grey clouds covered the sky, and a harsh cold breeze tugged at her cloak. A few white flakes drifted on the winds, but it was the harsh glares from the citizens that chilled her.

  The guards kept everyone back, but that didn’t stop the people from shouting obscenities or throwing stones. Though they weren’t directed towards her, they still stung, and it tore at her heart. She was about to step into the carriage when someone shouted at her.

  “Ma’am!” A small child waved at her. Urielle quickly approached the young boy, his face turning a bright red. “Are you the Saint?”

  “Yes.”

  A large smile appeared on his face as he pulled out a crumpled piece of paper. “I was paid to deliver this to you.”

  “By whom?”

  “Two men, they didn’t say their names though.”

  Urielle pulled out a silver coin, placing it gently in his hands. “Thank you, child.”

  The child’s eyes lit up as he beheld the coin in his hands. His fingers wrapped tightly around the metal, and he ran down the street with a large smile. Urielle slipped the letter open, and the pain her chest loosened. Her eyes veered towards Halligan who was standing watch over the crowd.

  Urielle silently approached him and whispered into his ear. “I need you to escort me to the slums.” She held out the letter for him to read. “The paladins are hiding there, waiting for us.”

  “We have cloaks in the carriage.” Halligan whispered back. “We can have the carriage drop us off in another part of town then make our way there.”

  “Then let’s go.” Urielle dragged him to the carriage, slamming the door shut. “Start driving around the city. We’ll tell you when to stop.”

  Urielle’s hands shook as she reached for a black cloak. Seeing the cathedral in that state made her mind race. How could the people do such terrible things? Where was their conscience? The spiraling thoughts made her head ache, and all she could do was hold her head.

  “We’ll figure this out.” Halligan said, gently taking her hand. “We can figure out our next move when we meet with the others.” She gave him a small smile, but his words did little to ease her.

  The carriage creaked down the cobbled streets for what felt like hours before Halligan ordered the driver to stop in an alley. They squeezed out into the narrow street, and after ordering the driver to leave, they both headed to the slums. The sparse flurries soon became a light dusting as they made their way to the slums. However, what greeted them didn’t deserve the name.

  The main thoroughfare was clean of debris save for the spare building materials sitting along the side of the road. The once rotting buildings stood completely bear with their skeletal frames exposed for all to see. The citizens of the lower city wore warm, thick clothing to fight off the chill, and warm smiles adorned their faces. It was nothing like the slums back in Mrythala. There, the people were unnaturally thin with sallow skin, patched clothing barely holding together, and buildings not fit to live in. Seeing the renewed life reignited her.

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  “Lady Priscilla’s renovations are coming together.” Halligan said softly. “It shouldn’t be long until the whole section is rebuilt.”

  “Isn’t she working with someone?” Urielle asked, watching a group of children play in the snow.

  “Yes, but I don’t know his name.” Halligan replied, “Did they say where they’re hiding?”

  “Near the wall in a run-down shack. It’ll have a yellow sash hanging from the window.”

  They pushed further into the slums. The buildings quickly transformed into shabby hovels Urielle expected to see. Although, the citizens here were still wearing decent clothing, it was clear that their attire needed cleaning. They passed by a rickety shack with women hanging out of both windows. The women called out to Halligan, offering their services, and Urielle dragged him away in frustration. Eventually, they made it to the wall.

  Urielle glanced at the roughly drawn map. “They should be around here.”

  “There!” Halligan pointed to a small storage shack. Hanging from the window as a ragged yellow cloth. They slowly approached and stood just outside the opening.

  “Is anyone in there?” Urielle called out. Only her echo responded.

  “Lady Saint.” Emir’s voice came from beneath the window. “Thank the Virtues our letter reached you.”

  Nial stepped out from around the corner, gesturing at them. They stepped into the single room shack. Emir sat beneath the window with his head resting against the wall. Nial sat next to the door with his hand hovering over his sword, but it was Torrn that drew her attention.

  The large man laid on the ground with his head resting against his shield. Sweat poured from his face as he gritted his teeth in pain. Black marks ran along his exposed arms and neck. Black flakes fell off his skin as he shifted to look at them with a pained smile.

  “What happened?” Urielle screamed, running toward Torrn. She raised her hands to him, drawing on the divine mana in the air. Slowly, the burn marks faded away.

  “We were attacked by those black knights.” Nial replied, “They ambushed us as we were escaping from the cathedral. One of them was a spell caster.”

  “She was a sanguinite.” Emir added. “They were all sanguinites.”

  “Do you know what kind?” Halligan sat across from Nial.

  “No, we didn’t get a chance to examine them.” Emir said, turning away from Torrn’s figure. “Torrn was hit with a powerful spell, so we were focused on escaping.”

  “At least we killed the black knights” Torrn groaned out a chuckle.

  Urielle shushed him. “That’s enough, you need to rest.” She patted his shoulder, turning to everyone. “Where’s Regald?”

  Emir and Nial looked to the floor. “We don’t know.” Emir replied gravely, “When we were escaping through the sewers, we came upon wererats using elithan ants as pack animals.”

  “Not one, but an entire hive, and they’re under the control of Reviled Legion.” Nial continued. “Regald went to search for the hive, but we haven’t heard from him in three days. I fear he may be dead.”

  Bumps formed along Urielle’s skin. “We don’t know that.” She said, taking a deep breath. “Pray that he’s still alive because we need everyone to fight against this evil.”

  “But it’s simply the five of us.” Emir said, “Reviled Legion has an army at its command. How do we fight against that?”

  “I don’t know.” Urielle whispered, “I truly don’t know.”

  Regald groaned as his blood burned through his body. His clothes stuck to his skin, and his lips cracked from the unbearable heat. The only reprieve was the light trickle of water dripping onto his head and down his face. Thirst drove him to lap at the droplet running down his cheek. The bitter, rancid fluid stung, making his body convulse violently. All that came up was spit and air, and his stomach gurgled in displeasure.

  Friend thirsty.

  Friend hungry.

  Friend weak.

  Needles drove into his mind as the hive became busy. The ants scurried around in the darkness beyond his vision, but their incessant chirping gave them away. The only one in his sight was the queen. Her massive body curled up on a bed of rocks, moss, and fungi. Its antenna danced in the air jovially as the small mushroom crawled out from beneath the trident head crest.

  It waddled towards him with a stupid grin and smaller mushroom in hand. “Hungry?” It said, offering up the shroom.

  Eat. The pain in Regald’s head grew as the queen shrieked.

  The ants cried out, filling the cavern with their horrible noise. His mouth shook as he opened his mouth. His arms were still bound behind him, so the mushroom climbed onto his lap, bringing the mushroom to his lips. The spongey cap barely touched his lips before it was torn away.

  “What do you think you’re doing?” Reviled snarled, tossing the mushroom aside. “That’ll kill him!”

  The ants’ cries died out, and they eyed the monster with anger and fear. Meanie. Bad Meanie. Hurt Gam-Gam.

  “He was hungry.” The mushroom replied absentmindedly.

  Reviled let out a frustrated growl. “Only your ants can consume your mushrooms.” It replied, “All others will die. How many times do we have to tell you this, Cappy?” The mushroom stared at the monster with a blank gaze.

  “She clearly doesn’t understand boss.” A blonde woman Regald hadn’t met chuckled from the shadows.

  “Clearly. Move him to one of our warehouses, and keep him under guard, Oria.”

  “Yes boss.” Oria snapped her fingers and two men dragged him to his feet. “I’ll see to it that nothing bad happens.” She smirked, petting his head.

  Reviled watched as they disappeared into the darkness.

  “Are you certain about this, my lord?” Eirgnon silently stepped into the nest. “He doesn’t appear to be fully under the queen’s control.”

  “Oria has come through for us many times.” Reviled replied, “We trust her judgement.”

  “The Saint and her knights are still a threat.” Eirgnon’s smile shook slightly. “Please, let me handle them for you.”

  “You failed to kill them the last time. Besides, you have no men left to fight them.” Reviled growled. “Focus on the crystals.”

  “As you command, my lord, but I need assistance.” Eirgnon bowed deeply. “Magia isn’t accustomed to harnessing necrotic mana, so she can only infuse one gem at a time. I can infuse the bulk of them, but it’ll take me time, time we may not have.”

  Reviled growled in thought as its eyes dimmed. “This could be excellent training for Meridith.” It said, “And there are some guards we need to punish.” Its jaws clacked excitedly as it looked to the sanguinite. “We will consider your request, Eirgnon, but only if you succeed in bringing us our targets.”

  A twisted smile appeared on Eirgnon’s face. “Whom shall I bring, my lord?”

  “Baron will describe the targets.” Reviled replied, staring deep into Eirgnon’s eyes. “And we want them alive.”