Chloe walked down the stairs. She’d been up late last night, chatting with the others on a plan. Part of her was tempted to try and uncover what was below on her own, but she did need the expertise of a mind mage. Not to mention she didn’t really want to let Alicia or Sae out of her sight. She’d decided to shield both of them from further influence. Causing Myshi to pout a little, when she found out that barrier blocked not only the oppressive field they were in but her own mind magic as well. Revealing that ability had left a clear question in Alicia’s eyes, but the other girl hadn’t asked. It seemed she’d have questions to answer later. “I should have learned mind magic.”
Myshi suddenly spoke up from behind, “I can teach you!”
“I’m sure you could,” she replied, turning onto the steps down. Her gaze fell on Myshi’s belly, “How’s your belly?”
“Better, still a little tender.” She frowned, “Thanks for reminding me.”
“Sorry, but did you want to be blissfully unaware of what was going on?”
Alicia showed up with Sae, “Is there a reason we are blocking the stairs?”
Chloe chuckled awkwardly and hurried the rest of the way down the stairs. Before she could say anything. Myshi interjected, “No, but I must admit this is a rather strange feeling for me. I’m not used to being on this side of the wall. You know what I mean?”
Alicia sighed, “We are still talking about that?” Then her gaze fell on Chloe. “Right, that reminds me. Why isn’t your belly tender?”
Chloe just grinned and didn’t say a word. Instead she led the group into the dining area of the inn. Looking around she noted the tables were a little busier than they had been last night. Her gaze fell upon an unfamiliar Vorician Tiger-kin. She was young, petite of build with facial features that made clear her relationship with the Innkeeper. The girl had the same hair, the same eyes, she even had the same nose, but was clearly younger.
The girl was dressed in a short skirt, long socks, a pair of detached sleeves, no top, and a headdress. Oddly for this town, her belly was almost flat but Chloe noticed that her four pairs of boobs were nearly twice the size of her mother's. The biggest pair at the top were best described as watermelons.
Chloe met the girl’s gaze a second later and she rushed on over. “Morning, girls! Sleep well? Hungry? I can show you to a table and take your order.”
“Uh, morning. I didn’t see you last night.”
“I only work the mornings. Name’s Qeika.”
“It’s nice to meet you,” said Alicia. “I think it’s admirable that you are helping out your mother.”
The girl beamed, “Thank you!” Then she turned more serious, “But I’m not a kid.”
At the moment the Innkeeper appeared, “You sure about that? Your belly is practically flat.”
The girl turned, “Mom! You are embarrassing me!”
The innkeeper giggled. “Then stop standing around.”
“Yes Mom!” She replied before hurrying to get them to their seats. Ellie joined them not long after they sat down.
Qeika walked away with their order. Sae watched her for a moment, then let out a breath. “My belly still hurts.”
Alicia’s face softened, “I’m sorry.”
Chloe sighed, “It’s not your fault.”
Ellie shifted, “So when do we go looking for the source?”
Myshi gave her a look, “I thought we discussed that last night.”
Alicia, eyes still on Sae commented. “Are you sure we should all go?”
Chloe gave her a look. “It’s not safe to leave anyone behind.”
“But you and Sae are...”
Ellie put a hand on her shoulder, “They’ll be safer with us. Besides, the little ladies have grown tremendously over the last couple of weeks. Most girls their age aren’t even half their current level.”
“I know, but I can’t help but worry.” she frowned, “What do they even want with our ovaries anyway?”
No one said anything, but Chloe had a couple ideas. She hoped that the answers would be down below. Chloe had placed a shadowed eye on the stolen ovary clusters, but the eye expired before anything of note had happened. All she had been able to observe was of little use. After they’d been taken from them, the girls had carted them to a well-equipped lab, where each one was inspected, sorted, then suspended in an alchemical jelly. Nothing she’d not encountered before, in fact she’d invented the jelly in question. Although that was a use she’d never considered. Chloe had created it for the primary reason of preserving corpses, but she had found it had other uses. Preventing freshly harvested organs from degrading was one of them.
What happened to the ovaries after they were stored in that jelly, she never saw. Her shadowed eye had expired before any clusters were moved out of the lab. She merely saw more than a few cases of processing. Chloe had a suspicion that every fertile female in the caravan had received an ‘invitation.’ It would explain the sheer volume of cloned ovaries she’d seen through her shadowed eye. Her mind once again ran through all the clues she’d gained so far. Without more information, she couldn’t come to a conclusion. At this point, it could be anything: Rogue mages, monsters, something abyssal. The field did seem to point toward something powerful, but that wasn’t much of a clue.
Ellie sighed, “I think that’s what the little lady is trying to find out and I must confess that I am curious as well.”
__________________
After breakfast, the girls visited the local adventurers' guild. Chloe would have preferred to head straight to the tunnels under the city, but Alicia had a point. They’d attract suspicion if they didn’t show their faces at the guild. So while Alicia was talking to the receptionist, Chloe found herself sitting at a table with Sae playing a game. Right now Sae was contemplating her next move, so Chloe was scanning the adventurer’s mission board. It wasn’t too far from the table. She noted many of the usual sorts of quests posted, it almost seemed normal. Yet Chloe noted a distinct lack of sewer related quests, those were usually quite common; but to have none? That was an interesting flag.
Sae moved her piece, so Chloe turned back to the board and made her own move in response. Sae grimaced, “No fair!”
Chloe grinned, “Totally legal! Now show me what you’ve got!”
Ellie came over, “Ouch Sae, she’s got you in the corner.”
Chloe looked over. “Is Alicia about done?”
Ellie nodded. “Mostly just paperwork, nothing out of place.”
Chloe pointed at the mission board. “Not a single sewer quest.”
Ellie looked at it. “Well, that is odd.”
“What’s odd?”
Chloe glanced over to see Myshi returning from the bathroom. “No sewer quests.”
She frowned. “Really? None? Every city has those.”
Sae made a move then commented, “Maybe they don’t want people down there?”
Ellie sat down, “I imagine not. Chloe said the mind control aura was coming from down there. Factor in the lack of quests and ‘down there’ is looking extra suspicious right about now.”
Footsteps echoed on the floor and the group looked over to see Alicia returning. “Alright, I’m done. Did any of you notice the lack of sewer quests?”
“Sure did!”
She deflated a bit, “Guess I don’t have much to add then. Anyway I did inquire about some tasks we can do while the caravan is in town. The receptionist said this month is a bit slow and said we should inquire again tomorrow.” Alicia gestured at the board, which did admittedly look a bit... sparse.
Chloe had read all the quests on it. There were three quests to investigate known monster dens. Seven herb gathering quests and two requests from local merchants for rare materials. The first was asking for a party to escort some woodcutters to a grove about six days’ travel north of the town, where a rare breed of Mystic Blackwood grew. Unlike the normal Blackwood, these trees had superior magical properties, which made them more valuable. It was a simple request but not one they could take since it was too far out of their way. As for the other request, it was rather... sparse on details. Merely requesting that the taker contact the merchant and inquire for additional details with them. Given what was going on in the city, Chloe found it a little suspect. “They do seem rather sparse alright.”
“Well if everyone is ready...”
Chloe nodded, Myshi indicated she was good to go. Sae packed up the game. Ellie stretched. It seemed they were all good to go. The girls slipped out of the guild just a moment later, and into the streets. Given the hour they were already somewhat crowded as men and women went about their business, mostly women. A few children were out playing on the streets as well. Chloe noted that all of them were girls, she didn’t see any boys. Not to mention there were far more adults around than children. A mystery she hoped this foray would solve.
They silently navigated the streets. A couple blocks down from the guild, they turned down a deserted back alley. Alicia consulted her map, and they made a couple more turns in the back alleys before arriving at a tunnel entrance. An old sign hung over the passage: Sewer Access, authorized persons only.
The girls shared looks, then looked around the area. No one was in sight. Chloe’s heart beat just a little faster as she passed under the sign, joined by the others as they made their way into the undercity. A network of tunnels, sewer connections and other waterways that ran beneath the city. Many of them were carved centuries ago from solid rock. Flickering old lights powered by equally ancient enchantment arrays lit their path. Sae pressed closer to Alicia as the girls took in the shadowy tunnel, each foot step echoed as they pressed on and the shadows seemed deep enough to conceal hidden menace. They jumped at every noise as they headed deeper into the ‘sewer’ but there was no smell, nor did she see a single sign of life. No slimes, no puddles of goo, or grime, not a single rat or even their bones. Just worn old rock, ancient lights and a darkened passage.
Silence stretched on, punctuated only by their echoing footsteps for a moment that seemed to stretch on for eternity. The girls eventually found a worn old staircase. It spiraled downward to a lower level. Having found only a couple dead ends and nothing on this level, the girls proceeded down, deeper into the earth.
The shadowed steps were silent and at first no different from the upper levels but the air gradually grew warmer and more humid. Chloe noted the change down in her mind. Yet that seemed to be the only change. Reaching a landing, they were presented a choice to either head even deeper, or explore this level. After a brief chat, they chose to explore this level. Like the upper level, this level was poorly lit but strangely clean and bare of life. The only real change was the warm, humid air. A sign perhaps, Chloe had certain suspicions about this. The aura, combined with the environment down here was pointing in a certain direction. Now she just had to be sure.
Walking past yet another turn in the tunnels. Chloe spotted a sign, hanging over an old metal door. It was rusted in a few places but the hinges had clearly been oiled recently and the handle scrubbed to a shine. Strange certainly, as the door seemed almost forgotten. As for the sign, it read: Auxiliary maintenance access, Authorized persons only.
Chloe walked up to the door, “This seems promising.”
Sae, still pressed against Alicia, meekly commented. “Can we go back? It’s scary down here.”
Alicia comforted her before saying, “It does. What do you two think?”
Myshi and Ellie both voted to try that passage. The girls found the door opened quite easily, to reveal a well lit passage beyond. A welcome change from the passages they’d been in before. While the air grew several degrees warmer than before. They shared looks. This was very promising, and even Sae felt a little more comfortable here.
The passage led them to a ladder at the end, which dropped them off in a small room, with an array of enchanted pieces built right into the rock. Chloe, Alicia and Myshi took a look at them. Quickly determining that they were designed to warm the air and add moisture. Chloe even found a pipe that seemed to be supplying the water.
It was interesting, but it didn’t tell them much. So instead they turned their attention to a small door on the left hand side of the room. They cautiously pushed the door open and advanced into the area beyond. It was another corridor, arches on the left leading to a balcony. Chloe approached and looked out, she gasped at the sight beyond. It seemed she had an answer on what was going on...