A Soldier's Life
chapter-49

Konstantin quickly laid out a plan, “I will go first. Keep silent until I shout and then rush behind me for support.” Okay, maybe that was not much of a plan. Konstantin slid forward through the murky brown water toward the arch. It was obvious the creature knew we were coming because of our glowstones casting light and shadow.

The archway looked to be composed of a wall that collapsed inward. Large stones littered the floor as Konstantin stepped up in the entry. At least we would not be fighting in the sewage water. He moved on high alert, scanning the shadows in the room beyond.

I could see wet marks on the stones that definitely did not look human, more like large animal tracks. Konstantin entered, followed by Brutus and then myself. Behind me was Wylie and Mateo. It was another sealed-up basement in the lower city. I watched Konstantin’s sight line follow the wet footprints to the far wall. He made no move to follow them and instead gave us the signal to go right while he started left.

There was a lot of debris on our side: broken wood, broken glass, moldy sacks, and cracked ceramic jars. I was looking for a trap as I moved but did not see one. Wylie and Mateo were moving behind Konstantin on the other side, and behind me was Felix. We circled and met Konstantin on the fall wall. Konstantin quickly found a large panel of wood painted to match the stone wall.

We all stood ready as Konstantin and Brutus gripped the edge and pulled hard. The large plank crashed down, stirring up a blinding dust. Brutus tossed his glowstone inside immediately. The passage looked like it ran for a while into the distance. Konstantin swore, “Succubus’ tits.” He turned to me, “Eryk, go and check the pit trap in the center of the room. I smell something foul from it. Do not fall in.” I noticed Konstantin no longer had his bandana covering his lower face.

I turned and confusedly looked for a pit trap. It appeared our wererat was an artist. There was a canvas painted like the floor and covered over. I pulled it aside and shed light into the pit. The drop was about ten feet, with a dozen rusty spear shafts facing up. A handful of slimes were working on two corpses that I could now smell even through my cloth mask.

I informed everyone, “Konstantin, two dead. They have city guard uniforms on. The slimes are working on them. Not much left.” I turned to him, “How did you know about the trap?”

Konstantin was still looking down the corridor. “The footprints. They were not as wet in the light as the ones from the entry. I assumed they were painted on something. Also, the ratman let me see him. He assumed I would race after him. I assumed it was a pit trap.”

Everyone was impressed, including me. I guessed the two dead men had pursued in haste on spotting the wererat, falling for the trap. Konstantin had not and approached cautiously, even with his prey in sight. Brutus asked, “Seems awfully smart for a monster. Are we to expect more traps?”

Konstantin stood and looked at everyone, “Remove your masks and pocket them for now. You are going to need all your senses as we go in further. I think this passage connects to another old basement. Our quarry will be there. I have not seen signs of a second ratman.” He looked again, “That confuses me for the number of bodies it has taken in the last few days.”

That was all he said as he moved in. Was he insinuating there were more creatures or that the threat was larger than anticipated? Somehow, I ended up behind Konstantin as the others had taken a quick look into the pit trap. Without my mask, my nose twitched. Konstantin smelled foul, but so did this passageway—like rotting meat. He held his hand up and activated a trap with his telekinetic skill. A bear trap-like device covered in sand went off.

The cloud of sand it created made me close my eyes and cover my mouth. I got the wrap to my mouth to breathe through it. Konstantin was frozen in front of me. He slowly exhaled as he had held his breath. He started moving forward again and pausing multiple times before continuing. I think he was using his ability to move objects to check for traps.

The corridor opened up, and Konstantin paused at the entrance to a larger room. I could see movement in the room through the shadows. The creature had been crafty so far. Were there more surprises for us? Konstantine gave the hand signals for two left, and two right. I passed them back, meaning whoever was last in line should go forward as Konstantin was right now.

On entering the room, piles of cracked bones were in one corner. Moldy sacks, crates, and bottles were scattered throughout the room. Konstantin was moving toward a hunched-over body. It suddenly stood and hissed, red beady eyes graced a scarred rat face on the body of a man.

It was cornered, and it knew it. I continued left as ordered to flank it. A mound of clothes erupted, and a beast leaped at me. My eyes crossed momentarily as it was a massive black wolf with two heads. The monster closed quickly, and Konstantin yelled, “Do not get bitten, Eryk!”

Foamy red saliva jaws came at me, and I did the only thing I could think of to save my life. I took a chunk out of its chest, and blocked one head with my shield and the other with my short sword. The wolf’s head crunched my blade, breaking a few teeth, but its momentum pushed me onto my back. Blood erupted from both mouths as they tried to reach me. I heard the whacks of my companions hitting the beast on top of me, but I knew it was dead already.

Konstantin was yelling, “Get it off him!” The weight was removed, and I got to my feet, ready to fight. The wererat had been decapitated, and I did not see anything else moving. Konstantin was next to me, “Did it bite you!? Eryk! Look at me!” He forced eye contact, “DID. IT. BITE. YOU?”

I was covered in the blood that had leaked from its mouth, but it had not bitten me. I was slightly dazed from my aether bottoming out, getting crushed by a massive wolf, and the adrenaline of combat. Felix talked to Konstantin, “It looks like it was already injured. Missing a chunk of its flank that has scabbed over.”

“I don’t think it bit me. One head was blocked by the shield, and the other caught my sword. The blood is from its mouths. It must have had internal injuries,” I said, wiping the smeared blood off my face and spitting the taste out of my mouth.

Konstantin looked worried and told the others, “See if you can find any access to the old stairs up to the surface. Look for any water. Eryk needs to wash that blood off.” His voice was a little panicky, which made me panic. Konstantin never panicked.

“What?” I asked as Konstatin handed me a small flask to wash with.

“That is a death dog. It is not called that because it has two heads but because they are diseased beasts. One bite, and your flesh will rot in days. The cure poison potions we have will not work on it. We will have to get a cure disease potion from Gregor. If he has one…” His voice trailed off.

I got lightheaded. I realized the foamy blood from the mouths would have washed the saliva onto me and into my eyes, nose, and mouth. I removed my armor to wash better, but I knew it was pointless. Mateo found a barrel that appeared to be water washed down from the streets, and I used the murky water to wash as best as possible.

Konstantin was agitated and voiced his assessment, “The beast must have wandered into the sewers somehow, and the wererat befriended it. It was feeding it the humans it was killing in the streets.” He indicated the chewed bones.

Wylie voiced, “Found it. It was bricked over, but it is here.”

Konstantin rushed over and swore. “They used a cement. No time to tarry. You all carry Eryk’s gear. Eryk, follow me.” I was naked from the waist up as I followed a fast-moving Konstantin out of the sewers. He was clearly worried.

As my aether recovered, I focused my healing as we sloshed through the muck. He was right—I could feel a wrongness in my throat when my healing probes touched it. My healing would not eliminate the disease. I could heal the injured tissue it infected. So, all I needed to do was keep healing until the disease exhausted itself. That was a relief! I tripped on a rock or slime and fell into the muck. Konstantin looked back, “Come on, Eryk, no time to rest!”

The next time I was volunteered to go with Konstantin on any mission, I was going to protest. I got up and caught up. The others were falling behind. We got to the gate, and Konstantin waited for the others and ordered them to find and bring Castile to the Legion Hall. I raced after Konstantin through the fog-shrouded city. We entered the Legion Hall minutes later, and a few of Gregor’s men told us to get out and wash up before returning. Konstantin just barked, “Get Gregor now!”

A sleepy, bleary-eyed Gregor appeared minutes later. Konstantin did not waste time, “Mage Gregor, if you have any cure disease potions on you, we require one.”

He put his hand to his nose, “Did you bring the entire sewer in here, legionnaire? Castile already owes me more for the additional healing potions. I am not giving up my only cure disease potion,” he growled as he sat down, and someone brought him a hot drink.

Konstantin’s forearms flexed over and over as he balled his fists. He held himself in check as we waited for Castile. It was about fifteen minutes before she came into Hall. She walked up to me and looked at me for a long moment, “Fuck, he is infected. Gregor, give me the cure disease potion,” she said impatiently.

“Castile, we divided the potions equally, and I already gave you more of the healing potions. I may need it for myself,” Gregor said, unconcerned about my fate.

“It was a bloody death dog, Gregor!” He looked sharply at me, eyes going wider. “It got into his eyes. He has very little time before he is permanently blinded! Give me the fucking potion!” While they were having a shouting match, I started to focus, slowly pushing healing aether into my eyes.

Gregor did not budge, and Castile pulled her wand. It was the one that cast blue missiles in the dungeon. She threw it at him. It hit his chest and clattered to the floor. “That is worth twenty potions. Give me the potion!”

Gregor bent over and retrieved the wand from the floor. “I will be back with it.” He did not hurry as he left.

Castile turned to the legionaries in the room, “Prepare him multiple baths in the horse troughs. He will scrub himself clean in each one. Then, he will consume the potion. Hurry!” She ordered, and the half dozen men raced to it.

The three water troughs were barely big enough for me, but I made use of the impromptu bathtubs. The cold water scrub was welcome. The first tub ended a murky brown. The second was a light milky white from all the soap I had used. The third was going to be a rinse. I had just settled into the third and final tub when Castile walked out. It was very early morning, and the cold air was turning to humid air as the Bartiradians switched their weather array.

We were the only two people in the stable area as there were no horses. She sat on the edge of the tub and looked into the water briefly before handing me the potion. I drank it immediately. With my healing sense, I could feel the redness aura of the disease getting washed away. It was a relief as my healing ability was not able to counter the disease. Castile did not leave, though, and just sat there. I broke the silence and asked, “Why do you think I am an other worlder?”