Piper wrinkled her nose as her group reached yet another sewer intersection where two turgid rivers of waste met. So far, they hadn’t found any sign of the rot mage. In fact, they hadn’t encountered anything alive in the sewers.

  According to Xander, this place was home to numerous sludges, giant rats, and other monsters. But they hadn’t seen a single creature. Had the rot mage killed them all? Or had they sensed the powerful caster and simply made themselves scarce?

  With each passing minute, Piper felt herself growing more antsy. The subtle tug of the infernal realm on her soul had become a steady pull. She wouldn’t be able to resist it much longer.

  To make matters worse, nightfall was rapidly approaching. And the healer had stated her afflicted group members wouldn’t last much beyond that. She needed to find the rot mage, and fast.

  Lydia slowed and held up her fist, in what must be a universal aspirant sign to stop. “Movement,” she whispered. “Just ahead.”

  Xander hurriedly covered his light source, and they waited in the gloom as something moved in their direction. After a few moments, the sounds resolved into the scuffing of boots on bricks.

  From the darkness, a group of humans appeared. There were six of them in total—three men and three women. Their badges all had the distinct symbol of a tree in full bloom, marking them as adventurers. Five of them had silver badges, while Piper didn’t recognize the sixth; it was a reddish metal that shone in the dim light.

  The woman in the lead regarded them with wide eyes. She wore silver armor glowing with runes. “What in the name of the Undying Emperor are aspirants doing down here? Did the guards not warn you about the rot mage?”

  Piper lifted her chin defiantly. “We’re hunting him.”

  “You need to leave,” the woman continued. “This is far too dangerous for you. If you’d like, we could escort you back to the entrance.”

  “Hold on, Sophia,” the man standing next to her said. “We’re not down here to babysit gravebait.”

  “It is our duty to protect everyone in the city,” she responded tartly. “That includes aspirants. Or have you forgotten your vow, Alexander?”

  “It’s their choice to come down here. If they’re so keen to die, why not let them?

  Piper stepped forward. “We’re not dying, and we’re definitely not leaving. I’m going to hunt the rot mage, and there’s nothing you can do to stop me.”

  Alexander cracked his knuckles and stepped forward. “Is that so, girlie?”

  “Yes,” she replied, glaring at him.

  “Anna…” Hector said in a warning tone. “They’re adventurers. And that one has an orichalcum badge.”

  “Is that supposed to impress me?”

  “It means he has a mythic class,” Hector said. “That’s huge.”

  Piper paused as she digested the information. Until now, she hadn’t met anyone with a rarer class than her own.

  Before she could think of a response, her skin prickled from someone using [Identify]. As Alexander advanced on her, another adventurer from the group extended his hand to stop him. The man then leaned forward and whispered something in Alexander’s ear.

  “A false classer?” Alexander spat. “I should have known. But good luck finishing your quest. The rot mage has gone to ground, and we couldn’t even find him with a tracker.”

  “He’s gone to ground?” Piper repeated. “Does that mean he left the sewer?” The group of adventurers pushed past her without answering. “Wait! What does that mean?”

  Finally, Sophia slowed and gave her a slight smile. “We believe that the rot mage has left the sewer for safety elsewhere. Our tracker was able to find his lair a short distance from here, and it… was unsettling. May the Emperor watch over you and grant you luck in your search.”

  Piper stood there as Sophia marched past, a feeling a hopelessness engulfing her soul. If the rot mage had left, then she wouldn’t be able to earn enough money to save her friends. No, the truth was much worse than that. She would only be able to save one of them.

  Immediately, she considered saving Selene. But then a surge of guilt made her reconsider. Would it be right to save her friend over the group’s healer? How many people would Althea help in the future with her skills? Could she condemn her to death just because she and Selene were better friends?

  “Come on,” Piper said. “We need to find the mage’s lair.”

  Lydia shook her head. “I’ve heard some bad ideas, but that outranks them all. If they have people with orichalcum badges down here, we’re seriously outmatched. And only a crazy person wants to see something that an adventurer thinks is unsettling.”

  “I have to do something,” she said, her voice breaking. “If I don’t, my friends will die.”

  Lydia crossed her arms. “You’d rather us die?”

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  “What?” Piper shook her head. “No, of course not. I can go on my own if you want...”

  Hector touched her arm lightly. “You’d never find your way back out again. Regardless, the sun is setting soon. We’ll barely have time to reach them before the end of the day.”

  Piper shook her head. He couldn’t possibly be right. Had they really been down here for so many hours? She’d lost all track of time in the darkness of the sewers.

  “Please,” she said. “Let’s at least check out the lair.”

  “Who am I to say no to such a pretty young lady?” Xander said. “But right afterward, we head back to the surface.”

  Piper nodded agreement.

  “Are you kidding?” Lydia rounded on her brother. “Would you keep it in your pants for once? I’m so sick of you risking our lives for a pretty face.”

  “I’m simply being chivalrous. And she is clearly a young maiden, so I’d have no interest.”

  “Our father would kill us if he knew we were going into a rot mage's lair.”

  “He doesn’t need to know, now does he?”

  “Fine,” Lydia grumbled. “But if we seem outmatched, we retreat. No heroics or trying to impress your new friend.”

  Piper had a flashback to the same conversation with her group right before entering the sewer. They thought they could retreat from the rot mage as well.

  “Your sister is right,” Piper said softly. “We should leave. I’m putting all of you in danger.”

  Lydia exhaled with relief. “Thank the Emperor.”

  “Are you sure?” Xander said. “Don’t you wish to at least see the lair?”

  “I’m sure,” she said. “And we need to hurry.”

  With Lydia in the lead, they retraced their way through the sewers. They moved through sections made of unearthly glowing metal, with images of dragons emblazoned on the surface. Afterward, they passed through a tunnel covered in glowing insects that emitted an eerie green glow. On their approach, the bugs disappeared into holes in the brickwork.

  The entire sewer appeared to be a mishmash of recent construction and ancient passageways similar to the ones she’d encountered in the mountains. Though down here, most of the images depicted a green dragon.

  Finally, after what felt like an eternity, they reached the familiar stairs leading up to the surface. With a heavy heart, she trod up the stairs. None of them talked until they reached the barred gates.

  Lydia pounded on the wood with her mailed fist. “Open up!”

  The peephole slid open, and a guard peered at them. “Any monsters behind you?”

  “What do you think?”

  “I almost had a rot elemental break through this morning, so I’m not taking any risks. Now, answer the damned question, aspirant.”

  “No,” Lydia said, scorn dripping from her words. “There are no monsters behind us.”

  “Good.”

  There was the sound of scraping wood and then, a moment later, the doors swung open. The guards watched them as they filed through before hurriedly shutting the door again. Apparently, the encounter this morning had rattled them.

  Piper looked up at the sky, noting that the sun had nearly sunk behind the horizon. Long shadows filled the adjacent street, and the clouds burned red from the setting rays.

  Piper turned around to regard Xander and his sister. “Do you mind if we run ahead? I’m almost out of time.”

  Lydia cocked her head to the side. “As long as you don’t forget to tell them we helped.”

  “I promise.” She reached out and grabbed Hector’s hand. Then, with a burst of speed, she dragged him behind her.

  As they careened down the street, he pointed to the right. She altered course and headed toward the aspirant’s guild. The streets flew by as Hector struggled to keep up.

  With his iron badge, he probably had only 1/10th of her attributes. But she didn’t have any time to waste. She was in a race against time.

  They reached the Wayfarer Aspirant’s Guild a short time later, and she left Hector gasping for breath in the square. On the way inside the building, she nodded to Seraphina, who returned the gesture.

  Bursting into the room, she hurried over to Chloe, who regarded her with big blue eyes.

  “You’re back!” the clerk said excitedly. “What a wonderful job you did with the undead cult. The report of your victory arrived a short while ago.”

  “I need the reward,” she said. “Quickly, please.”

  Chloe reached under the counter and pulled out an iron-bound chest. From inside, she retrieved a single gold coin. She placed it on the counter and waited for Piper to take it before grabbing the stone used to bestow tallies.

  Holding out the stone, she shot out a blast of energy; ten tallies appeared on the golden surface.

  Piper looked at her badge, and a thought occurred to her. “Is this real gold?”

  Chloe giggled. “If it were, I imagine a lot of people would try to sell it. The badge is magically altered to make it look like gold.”

  “Darn it. Is there any way to quickly earn some gold?”

  Chloe placed a finger to her lips. “A few of the hosts and guilds have enquired about you. I imagine most of them would offer at least a gold piece as a signing bonus.”

  “How long until I can set up a meeting?

  “I imagine I could send word to them and have a meeting within a few days.”

  “I need it now,” Piper insisted. “Before nightfall.”

  “That would be almost impossible.”

  Piper nodded glumly and blinked her eyes rapidly. Without another word, she turned and sprinted out of the aspirant’s guild.

  “What should I tell the hosts and guilds?” Chloe called after her through the doorway.

  Piper didn’t bother responding and raced over to Hector, who was still panting in the middle of the square. He looked up at her approach and sighed.

  Grabbing his hand, she ignored his protests as she dragged him away from the guild. Once again, he directed her each time they reached an intersection. She barely noticed the people thronging the street as they tore through the city.

  When they reached the hospital, she released Hector and watched him sag to his knees. Then she ran over to the front door. She nearly knocked someone over going inside, but she barely registered their angry glower.

  Upon reaching the waiting room, she scanned the area for a healer. Her eyes locked on the elderly woman she’d dealt with before.

  Threading her way through the crowd, she tugged on the woman’s sleeve.

  The woman turned and frowned. “What can I do for you?”

  Piper realized she hadn’t removed her disguise yet. “I was sent with payment for some injured aspirants. But I only have one gold piece.”

  “What are their names?” The woman brushed back a stray gray hair as she waited for Piper to respond.

  “Althea and Selena.”

  “Oh yes, those. Most unfortunate. A run-in with a rot mage, wasn’t it? However, no money is required—"

  “That’s great!” Piper said enthusiastically. “How long until they’re healed?”

  The woman sniffed. “As I was saying before you so rudely interrupted me, both women passed away a short time ago.”

  “They’re dead?” Piper whispered numbly. “No, that’s not possible. Please, you need to do something. Can’t you bring her back or something? I’ll get you all the money you need.” She unslung her money pouch and tried to push it into the woman’s hands.

  “I’m sorry,” the woman replied, gently pushing the offered money away. “There’s nothing further I can do. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have other patients I must see to.”

  Piper stood there dumbly as the healer moved on to another freshly arrived patient. She’d failed, and because of it, she’d lost two friends. And to make matters worse, she didn’t have any time to grieve. The Infernal Realm was calling her soul, and she had no choice but to answer its summons.