Vanessa
Atovar was incredibly entertained. He enjoyed the feast of desperate screams and painful groans throughout his torture, coming to the apex of pleasure when he removed the nail in a point that Marsila's throat was already so hoarse it couldn't create a sound. The sadistic mercenary was about to peel another fingernail when he felt something tug at his mind and the ensuing scream inside of his head. He jumped back and took his hands to the sides of his head. His palms covered his ears in an attempt to protect the drums, but it was useless to do so. Instead, he stumbled back and fell with the daggers falling to his sides.

Moments later, there was silence. The shapeshifter was unconscious and Atovar was clearly scared. He looked at the girl like she was some sort of monster that could get in his head. It didn't make sense to continue the torture while she was in that state though. Atovar rose to his feet and dusted off his shoulders. He glared at Marsila with contempt and hatred, eager to continue once the scare faded from his mind. He turned around and left the room, leaving Marsila alone.

He walked to the other side of the warehouse still with a semi pale complexion brought to a rise by the screams. They were all so full of rage that it muffled the despair underneath. For a moment, Atovar thought she was going to break free or something. The man cleared his throat and went to the main area of the warehouse, where the mercenaries he hired were converging after joining the city.
Nancy
The sound of her blood hitting the floor echoed throughout the cellar she had been held captive in. Marsila had been forced into a deep state of unconsciousness while her body worked to heal itself of the injuries Atovar had inflicted. The wounds created by the iron dagger were slow to heal, yet after the few hours it had taken for them to close, the only mark left in its place was the dried blood coating her skin. Luckily for Marsila, her finger made a recovery as a nail began to regenerate.

Unfortunately for Marsila, the lines Atovar carved into her flesh took a different approach to healing. Due to the damaged tissue, the lacerations left permanent scarring along her torso and cheek. 

One of the gashes on her cheek began below the inner corner of her right eye until it reached just below her cheek bone. The second gash ran from beside her nostril a few inches towards her jaw, connecting with the other wound as it did so. 

Her torso had multiple slash marks running diagonally across her body, something that would follow with her shifts. It was similar to leaving a distinctable mark on her that would make it easier for others to connect her with the panther she could shift into. 

It was several hours since Atovar had left her unconscious that Marsila's body had finished healing itself as much as it was able to, though her fingernail completed its regeneration merely a few minutes before she found herself waking up.
Cassie
The scholar then leaned back again and sighed. He gazed levelly at the alchemist, debating if he should divulge his story to him or waste his breath. Thing was, the outcome would be only made clear until after he told him.

Whatever. He was used to that treatment anyway.

Pausing only every now and then to eat some food or sip some ale, Eotum recounted his story. The names of his fallen friends. The journey to the Taemarian forests. The deaths, in order. His escape with the other girl. His futile attempts to convince the world of the Maladrius' existence.

"And since then, I've dedicated my life to finding a way to bring this beast to its knees. Dead or alive, it doesn't matter. I just want to prove to the world that my friends died by some... Abhorrent perversion of nature... And not by some passing, ordinary animal."

Throat a little dry after all that talking, he picked up his mug and drank the rest of its contents.

"So." Eotum said, waiting for Danico's response.
Vanessa
Three cloaked figures walked to the rear of the ruined warehouse, where one of Atovar's men was on guard duty. The one in the middle of the trio took a sealed scroll from under its cloak and showed the seal to the guard, who nodded and stepped aside for the group to enter the derelict building. There was a heated argument closer to Marsila's door, then a silence disrupted by a sequence of steps heavy and light.

The door to the shapeshifter's cell was opened and the same three cloaked figures entered before Atovar. The mercenary captain had a sneer on his face as he folded his arms in front of his chest and leaned back on the corner of the wall. The smallest and hunched figure approached the barely woken Marsila and rummaged under its cloak with a wrinkled and shaking right hand to draw a scissor from it.

"Don't worry, Atovar. The rights to mark this specimen are yours. But I need some samples to run my... Experiments."

The slithering and near rattling voice was withered. Marsila did not know it, but it was the voice of the Alchemist. He pierced the side of her torso with one of the scissors' edge and cut through her flesh to make blood spill and take a strip of her tissue. A slightly taller figure removed a vial from its garbs and crouched next to the wound, reaching out to draw the blood into it. Then the action was repeated for two other vials. A small box followed to store the stripped skin inside.

"Thank you kindly, miss shapeshifter." The old man said in spite, smirking menacingly at the girl before turning around and leaving the room with his henchmen and Atovar. The door was closed behind her and she was left to hear the sound of the pouring rain outside. The room darkened with the fading of the flame until it was snuffed. There was nothing but darkness to nurture the young woman.
Nancy
Marsila was in a state of confusion when she woke up, noticing the way her body ached after the torment she was placed under. Even though she had healed to the best extent of her abilities, the bloodloss still affecting her to some extent as she barely had enough energy to properly recover. 

The moment the door opened to where she was held captive, the shifter's brows furrowed in confusion until Atovar followed in after the three. Once she noticed the captain, Marsila felt her heart begin to pace out of fear and attempted to escape her shackles by throwing her body around. 

Her attempt didn't last long until she grew tired from exhaustion and was forced to hang from her arms as her body became limp to regather her energy. As one of the Cloaked figures spoke, she immediately came to the realisation that the three were not here to help her situation. 

It was obvious her voice had recovered when Marilsa cried out as she was cut into with a pair of scissors, finding it was worse than being slashed with the iron blade due to the scissors making a slow and painful incision until a strip of her skin removed. Once he had finished collecting the examples he needed, Marsila's cry became a threatening growl when he thanked her, like she had a choice in whether or not he was able to strip some of her flesh. 

Her growl soon ceased once the door closed behind the men, along with Atovar before it was replaced with a sob as tears began to fall down her cheeks. She felt powerless and exposed by Atovar, praying that someone would find her. She was terrified at the thought of possibly dying by Atovar's hands and found herself wishing she had her parents near her or Rekkan.
Vanessa
The following hours were filled with a silence of dread that was visited by the howls of the cold wind as rain poured outside. Some parts of the warehouse were wet from the gaping holes on its roof. It didn't take long for shouts to echo through the halls, with a distinct howl shattering above the noise of blades colliding and bones being smashed.

"ATOVAR!!! WHERE ARE YOU?!"

Marsila wouldn't recognize the voice, but from the sounds erupting from the cries, it was no friend of the mercenary captain. The last of the men fell to the ground and shortly after a puddle of blood seeped from under the wooden door. A loud smash made the door open wide and reveal a man covered in bandages around his torso. He had a sickle chained to a ball of iron, the handle of the curved blade gripped by his left hand and the chain closest to the ball wielded by his right. He looked at the chained woman with a surprised look and stepped closer.

"Huh? So you must be what Atovar was really after, dig? You're a mess." An idea crossed his mind and a smirk was etched on his face. He placed the chain over the nape of his neck and shoulders and slotted the sickle in a leather strap placed on the left side of his waist. Then, he fiddled with the locks of the iron shackles and snapped them open. Marsila's body would fall forward if she couldn't stand on her two feet and lean onto his frame. "I bet Atovar will be really mad if you're not here when he comes back! Hahahaha!!"

He draped her arm over his shoulders and helped the shapeshifter walk out of the warehouse and into the pouring rain outside.
Nancy
Marsila was pulled from her thoughts when she heard the shouting of a male, seeking out the one she hoped to avoid. With great difficulty, the shifter did her best to heighten her hearing but was left with muffled screams and the sound of objects clashing together. When the door to the cellar slammed open, her eyes met with a man she had never met before. 

She was unable to react as he came closer towards her, having given up the hope of being saved. As she wasn't able to identify the man, Marsila assumed this was simply a trick made by the Mercenary captain. 

The idea that he was working against her faded when he unshackled her from the wall, causing her to fall limply against him. Her legs felt numb and shook as her feet landed against the chilly ground and struggled to walk with her lack of strength. She felt like a ragged doll as he had to help her escape the Warehouse, remaining silent as he did so. 

Her being nude was the last thing Marsila cared about until the icy drops of water hit her skin once they found themselves outside, creating small bumps to form across her body known as goosebumps. It made her numb as her head grew light, not being able to handle the effects the cold had on her body until she found herself growing unconscious once again. 

It was as if her body was trying to save her from further distress by knocking itself out to prevent her from suffering more than she already had. Even though she was physically healed besides the scars that now marked her body, the shifter was mentally drained and struggled to cope against the natural elements.
Vanessa
The man noticed Marsila was losing consciousness fast, so he took to hauling her on his back and carrying her like that as they disappeared into the night. It would take a while to maneuver through the alleys of Hexkrate's slums, but they eventually arrived at a small inn. The man opened the door with a kick and stepped inside, greeted by the innkeeper with a raised brow.

"Been a while, Rogh. Who's the cutie?"

"My new best friend! My room's still around, ain't it?" He asked with a smug smirk.

"Of course!"

Rogh went down the stairs to the cellar where his room was located. It was a meager division with a few stranded candles and a bed. He laid the girl on the bed and walked to the trapdoor just a couple of meters away, opening it to stick his head down and check of everything was in order. He closed it and went up the stairs to collect some things from the innkeeper. Rogh returned with clothes and a pot full of hot water. He used a rag, soaking it in the water and then folding to lay it on Marsila's forehead. With another rag, he cleaned her body, dirty of blood and mud.

Back at the warehouse, Atovar returned to the macabre scene of his guards killed by deep gashes and holes that smashed their skulls and demolished ribs. He lashed out with a tloud scream of frustration and turned around to the men following him.

"That fucker lives! Find him and kill him! Bring that bitch shapeshifter back to me dammit!"
Nancy
When Marsila came to with a waking groan, she pried her eyes open and noticed she was no longer shackled against a wall in the freezing cellar but now lay on top of a bed. Her body continued to ache, though it wasn't as painful like it had been earlier since her arms weren't being forced to carry her whole weight. Instead, it was a result of the silver inflicted wounds irritating. 

Her body lacked the nutrients needed after the session Atovar had placed her under, the blood loss combined with the forced regeneration and healing had drained her completely. 

The shifter was still out of it as it took her awhile to notice the man beside her but when she did, she immediately began to panic. Marsila failed to notice the cloth he held in his hand which was used to clean her body as she expected Atovar to show up any minute. She wasn't able to remember that he had saved her from the Cellar, she had been in a state of delirium when he had done so and it had affected the memory of her escape. 

"Please, I can't handle anymore." 

She had begged with a panicked tone, looking towards him with fearful yet pleading eyes as she thought he was going to continue where Atovar left off. Her limbs felt like they were held down by weights forcing her to remain on the bed when she tried to escape the stranger, finding it difficult to believe she was free from further torture. This contributed towards her fear that he was nothing but part of Captain's plan to mess with her.
Vanessa
The chain and sickle warrior cocked his head to the side as he watched the girl in her deep state of delirium. From the look of her body, she had been Atovar's little toy for a while. Rogh knew how much that man liked to play with others, it was no surprise to anyone that knew about the man. He had been doubtful of the pay he had received, it being a larger than usual sum. It made him aware that Atovar planned to kill him when he never showed up to fight Rekkan, instead using Rogh and Sorqaqtani as pawns to distract the swordsman while he went to capture Marsila.

"I'm not a torturer! Just a guy that likes to fight strong people!" He claimed. "Snap out of that nightmare you're dreaming!"

Rogh had to count on Marsila to wake up proper and see that she was being helped rather than the other way around. It wouldn't take long for his hideout to be found, for Rogh knew Atovar would use his contacts in the capital to track him down and exact revenge. The warrior had plans of his own formulating in his mind though. He knew the capital very well and thought of going down to the sewers to elude the mercenary captain until the moment he could get him off-guard and kill him.

But as Rogh waited for Marsila to get her act together and assembled his own supplies and equipment, another man was using his alchemical expertise to conduct experiments on a bundle of rat tissue all sewn together to create a new breed of revived flesh. A large rat the size of a wolf, capable of standing at the same height of the average human, squeaked and looked at the Alchemist with its black, lifeless orbs. The success was further scrutinized by slashing the rat's flesh, which was previously injected with a sample of Marsila's blood. He watched on as the wound was closed by the regenerative properties of the blood. The old man grinned, looking back at the giant humanoid which he sought to inject with the blood too.

Hours later, the first wave of rats was unleashed on the sewers, to haunt the tunnels and attack the patrols with such viciousness to then devour the bodies with multi layered sharp teeth.
Nancy
Marsila pinched her eyes shut as she breathed deeply, trying to gather her common sense by calming herself. Even though she found it difficult, the girl eventually began taking proper note of her surroundings as her panic began to settle. It took a while without the help of her amulet along with the effect it had when it wasn't being worn.

A deep rumbling noise could be heard from her stomach, begging to be nourished. It was then when it came to her that, not only had her body been through a lot, but she hadn't eaten in over a day. This was rare for her, especially when she had shifted during her time without being fed. 

Her eyes slowly peeled open before turning her head towards the right so she was able to study the man as he gathered multiple belongings. The way he acted brought Marsila to believe his claims, noticing the way he rushed around like he had limited time, which he did. 

Marsila continued to remain immobilised as she watched Rogh, trying to understand why she hadn't been left at the Cellar when he found her. She didn't bother to ask, fearing the answer was something she would regret learning. With the luck she had, he may have simply saved her so he could use her as bait to lure Atovar to him. 

"I need food." She found herself saying before she was able to ask his reason for rescuing her. "I can't move. I'm too weak."

It was true however, Atovar had done a number on her and it resulted in her becoming incapacitated.
Vanessa
It was also true that Rogh only wanted to use Marsila as bait. He prepared everything and, when the girl pleaded for food, he snorted but went along with her request, if only to gain an ally in his departure through the sewers.

The slim man went up the stairs to get some sort of meal, only returning when he had a bowl full of soup. He handed it to Marsila, waiting for her to raise her upper body and grasp the bowl before letting go himself.

"Careful, it's hot! Eat up and regain your strengths quickly. We leave when you're finished, so better be prepared!"

He didn't think much into his plan. Whatever it was that Rogh was concocting, Marsila would only learn about it once they descended into the sewers.
Nancy
She could care less about the heat as she finished the soup, the burning sensation it brought to her throat and chest was nothing compared to what she had to endure in the cellar. 

Placing the bowl down, Marsila inhaled deeply before laying herself back on the bed. She knew Rogh was in a rush but she was still incapable of moving on her own. The soup only satisfied her slightly as she had a large appetite due to the energy she used on a daily basis. She wasn't going to ask for more though, considering how he seemed reluctant when she had asked for food in the first place. 

"You're going to have to carry me for a little bit. I don't have the energy to move on my own." She didn't even bother facing him as she spoke, still slightly out of it as she continued to have flashbacks. 

Reaching up towards her face, Marsila brushed her fingers over her right cheek, feeling the two lines that scarred her cheek. Her lips pursed together as she remembered how it felt, similar to someone shoving a hot iron on her face and was now left with a permanent reminder of the suffering she went under when she was left alone with the Mercenary captain. 

She imagined it looked hideous, along with the scars that marked her stomach. She couldn't thank Rogh enough for saving her, even if he had the wrong intentions for doing so. She knew Atovar would have continued torturing her, terrified that what she had been through was only the beginning.
Vanessa
Rogh was definitely annoyed by the fact that he would have to carry Marsila through the sewers. However, they were about to be out of time. The sounds coming from the surface didn't bode well for the two as rogues were trashing the place and threatening the innkeeper at swordpoint. It was too soon to turn the tables, so Rogh rushed to the shapeshifter and turned his back to her while using his hands to pick her up.

"Hold on to those clothes! You'll need then when we resurface!" He carried her on his back and gave the woman little time to gather the clothes before moving to the trapdoor. Rogh opened it and jumped down, landing on his two feet in a stinky place under the city of Hexkrate. Its sewers stretched along its edges and beyond. Rogh wanted to use them to appear in another part of town where Atovar couldn't find him so easily. He grabbed a torch and lit it on fire, using the light source to reveal the way forward.

Several meters later, the screeching and squeaking of rats echoed from all around them. At first, Rogh didn't pay them any mind, but as he ran through the wet platforms, he noticed how the sounds were creeping closer to him and the shapeshifter.

"This isn't normal." He said, right before a pair of large red eyes vaulted from the darkness and towards the two. There was only a moment of opportunity to dodge and he did so, ducking low to have the rat leap over him. It was a giant rat!

"Holy fuck cuck! What the fuck is that?!" Rogh almost pissed himself, but his legs chose not to give in and instead they ran. 

"You sayin' bolt?! We bolt!!"
Nancy
When they were quite a distance away into the sewer, Marsila felt something wasn't right. A scent she had never come across before yet was similar to a rodent crossed her senses but found it was too late. She knew they were near and her assumption was proved correct when Rogh was forced to dodge a large rat. 

Marsila simply screamed in terror as she looked over her shoulder and witnessed many more follow after the first. She couldn't believe what she saw and doubted they would escape this alive, they were monstrous and mutated. 

"Don't look behind you!" She warned, knowing it would only slow him down and cause him to panic if he saw how many were now chasing after the two of them. The sound the group of rats made caused a headache to form as it was similar to high pitched screams, deafening if they got too close. 

Lost in total panic, the two hadn't realised they were heading straight towards the trap door they had used to escape. The innkeeper had given the two of them up before he was murdered by the two rogues who now stood near the trap door. 

"What the fuck is that noise?" 

Antonius, one of the rogues who had shaved his head bald thinking it made him seem more intimidating, looked towards the trap door with furrowed brows. He had heard way too many stories about deaths following strange noises in unknown place, so he decided to stay far from the small entrance to the sewers. 

Nathan on the other-hand was filled with too much greed to be frightened by the sounds coming from the sewers. 

"We just need the shifter, don't be a bitch."
Vanessa
Rogh was too worried about the rats going after him that he didn't notice he was headed back towards the trapdoor until it was too late to be sorry. It didn't matter, nor did it matter if there were others waiting for him. He also had no intention of going back up to the inn's cellar. He just kept running and ran past it. If the two rogues decided to go down, then they'd be perfect lure for the rats while Rogh made his getaway with Marsila on his back. If they didn't, but didn't close the trapdoor either, maybe some of the rats would make a letter of introduction.

The chain and sickle warrior ran as far as his legs allowed, but the limbs started to burn after a while. He was lucky enough to get to the main waterways, where all the waste merged to flow out of the city. However, with that came the knowledge that the rats were causing panic to the patrols of Hexkrate's guards. The sewers were a war zone of sorts that the rats were slowly conquering.

"What the fuck is going on?!"

He turned tail and ran to where it seemed there were less rats and less fighting. That always looked good. Until it didn't.. Torches blazed before him and revealed a very familiar face: Atovar's.

"Did you really think you could hide from me, Rogh?!"

"Hey, hey!! It's the traitor in the flesh! So you wanna settle the deal here and now?!"

"Traitor?! You're breaking the tenets of the three by taking my slave! You're the traitor, Rogh! You should've died by Rekkan's hands back at Feyshore, you damn ape!"

Rogh was enraged, but his senses of self preservation spoke louder than his emotions. "Hold your breath and close your eyes! Into the shit we go!" Bare of any logic but the instinct to survive, the warrior jumped into the waterway and was carried, along with Marsila, down the main shaft. Atovar grit his teeth and gave chase, ordering his men to fire at the water." It doesn't matter if you hit the bitch! Kill that fucking monkey!"
Nancy
Nathan was left dumbfounded when he witnessed the large man armed with a sickle while carrying the woman they were looking for on his back, run past the trap door like his life depended on it. 

Kneeling down, the rogue lowered his head through the trap door as he wasn't the brightest and overcome with the greed for riches Atovar had promised. What he saw brought a scream of pure terror before one of the rats managed to chomp its teeth up to his neck, decapitating him before his body collapsed into the sewers. 

Antonious looked on with a horrified expression to what he witnessed before rushing to the trap door and sealing it before one of the monsters managed to escape. 

All color drained from Marsila's face when she saw Atovar. She didn't need to be told twice as she closed her eyes and tightened her arms over his chest. She held her breath as he had instructed but was forced to release when she felt a couple arrows land in her back and cried out.
Vanessa
The current led them downstream all the way to where all the waste of Hexkrate was piled up in what one could say were literal mountains of shit. Rogh fell hard on his face and the first breath was the most difficult. The stench was awful and had permeated his skin and clothes. Marsila fell not far from him, but when he got up to move towards her, he heard the squeaks and screeches intensifying just around the other side of the shitty hill he stood on.

They were in the rat's nest, but not the one he was familiar with. With that in mind, the warrior gulped and tried to breathe from his mouth so the smell didn't force him to gag and cough. He snuck silently towards the shapeshifter and noticed the two bolts carved on her back. It wasn't the right time to treat her wounds, mainly because she would definitely scream her lungs out.

"Listen, we can't make a sound. Let's try to sneak around these bastards." He whispered.
Nancy
She was having the time of her life. Note the sarcasm. She clenched her jaws together before nodding her head, not worried about her wounds becoming infected. It was one of the many perks about the shifter. Unfortunately, there were also downfalls like her heightened sense of smell that made it impossible for her to breath. It was suffocating. 

She wanted to say something to him but was rendered speechless as it required her to breath for her to do so. 

She was still in no shape to walk as she laid against the large mounds of manure, hoping Rogh still planned on using her which he would need her alive to do so. She desperately wanted to be far from this shitty place, disgusted as her body had been covered in it.
Vanessa
Rogh was tired, but he couldn't just wait for the rats to find him and eat him. He wanted to use Marsila, but her state was really making his mind turn away from her for the sake of survival. He struggled to come to a decision and grunted to himself when he grabbed her and hauled her once more onto his back.

The warrior crouched and crawled in that position as he circumvented the mountain of shit. He peeked from the corner and saw a group of rats surrounding a much larger rat. The sown tissues were more evident in its writhing shape, something out of a tall tale of horror parents tell their kids to keep them away from the darker corners of the city. But weren't they all tales? Not until then. What manner of creatures were these?! Could they really be rats?

"That... That's too big..." Rogh gulped and tried to move away, only to hear the faint sound of footsteps coming from a corridor. He hid against a smaller mound of shit with Marsila on his back and caught a glimpse of the cloaked figures. Marsila would recognize them too, if only for their number of three and distinct hunchback of the elder. It was the Alchemist. They seemed comfortable to walk in front of the rats and the Alchemist was smiling, raising his hands and talking to the much larger rat.
Nancy
When Marsila saw the three men, she felt her grip tighten against them as she felt a surge of anxiety rush through her. She was completely terrified as she looked on with the warrior, her body trembling as she remembered they were just as sadistic as Atovar. 

"They work with that man. Atovar." She recalled them saying his name before they buried the scissors into her and cut away a strip of her flesh. 

She was in no shape to fight them and knew they were going to be caught. It was only a matter of time. She felt her stomach drop as she realised there was no way out of this for her and did not want another to be killed because of her. She had been slowing him down since she was free from the Warehouse. 

"You're going to have to leave me here." She whispered as her grip loosened around Rogh. Marsila knew she had no chance of escape but knew this man had some hope. "Just make sure you give Atovar a painful death if you manage to find him again."
Alice
"*Hm*" A surprised and curious sound escapes his lips as the scholar finishes his his story, no truly expecting him to divulge so easily, but also being taken by surprise by the amount if detail in his story. The alchemist was certainly more willing to help now than ever.

"I wish to document your case." Danico replies, looking more interested now in the way he sits as he leans forward onto his arms. "Maybe more so for the case of this maladrius, but this creature would make a fine addition to my collection. I wish to study it, if you would be so kind as to allow me to capture it." 

The alchemist opens his book back up and begins writing down various possible options used to capture large animals, as well as things needed to do so. 

"I'll need you to explain everything you can about the beast. How it moves, it's feeding pattern, how it hunts, even what it's feet look like if you know." The alchemist begins writing in his book, creating sections and categories for the following information to be written in. Overly organised as usual.
Vanessa
Rogh had half a mind to abandon the shapeshifter. His escape would be so much easier without her weight on his back. It wasn't necessarily because she was heavy, but because he was tired of running around with a lump of flesh on his back that couldn't do more but bitch about how she couldn't walk and should be dumped by him. That actually made him not want to give her up.

"Shut the fuck up...!" He whispered sharply, heaving her up his back's length. The warrior crept towards the corridor when another shout made him pause. Out of the exit of the nest came Atovar and his men, chasing after the waterway's cycle. When he saw the hooded figures and the large rat surrounded by its kin, the mercenary captain grimaced.

"What the fuck is that?!" He looked at the Alchemist and turned the grimace into a full blown grin. The time was ripe to get back at the old man for humiliating him before. "Shoot those hooded freaks!"

One of the figures turned around and shouted for the mercenaries to stop, but it was too late. The Alchemist was forced to break concentration as his henchmen protected him and dragged him off to a pile. That was enough to disrupt his link with the rats, especially the larger one that acted as leader. The rats gained a will of their own and turned on Atovar. The screeches from the larger one made the others run amok and start a frenzied charge at the mercenary captain, who turned tail as the rats were on hot pursuit.

Rogh used that chance to go down a hatch not far from the corridor, with the smell of shit covering his movement as the rats chased after the scent of human odor. He opened the hatch and down he went, Marsila on his back. They slid down a steep tunnel until arriving at a large, humid cavern with the ruins of an ancient city in the near distance. They were able to see thanks to the torches and braziers scattered through the ruins.

"That's the Rat's Nest. Crime world headquarters in Ibethiel." He told the shapeshifter. "With any luck, Atovar is rat food by now. As for us, we should find a place to lay low."