The travelers wound up settling down on a pair of benches near the inn on a small outcropping of rock that overlooked the suspicious building below. They ranged from indifferent to excited over what was to come with Therion resting at one end of the spectrum while Tressas gladly claimed the other. Cyrus was the only exception in the situation, as rather than sitting, he chose to take a place in standing before the rest of the travelers. He had one hand cupped around his chin as he spoke with the other members of the party. "Now that we've gathered all the information we need, I believe it's time for us to go over our new facts and use them to find the truth," he declared.

"First of all, we know that all of the disappearances took place around the inn," Ophilia remarked. "People seemed to have rounded the corner to go around to the back of the building only to disappear."

"Humans cannot vanish into thin air though, so we know there must be some other explanation for it all," Cyrus pointed out, and Ophilia nodded her agreement. "The culprit must have had some other way of taking them away from the vicinity."

"And that's where the sewers come in," Therion said simply. "We know they're in the area of the inn, and if there's no other way for a person to have abducted others without being seen, then we know where we're supposed to be looking."

"Quarrycrest is a rather busy place. It would be pretty hard for someone to just kidnap other people and get away with it," Alfyn chimed in. "That sounds almost impossible, if you ask me. The sewers must have been used to cover up the kidnappings as they were takin' place."

"The kidnappings took place at all hours of the day as well, so it seems as if there's little in terms of rhyme or reason as far as the culprit's actions are concerned," Primrose commented. "I would have thought the victims would only go missing in the dead of night, but I suppose the sewers would have offered ample cover for the culprit to take their targets whenever they wanted."

"I can't believe they weren't seen before this though," Alfyn frowned. "It doesn't make any sense, does it? I mean, Quarrycrest is constantly bustlin' with some kind of activity, and I would have thought at least someone would have spotted the culprit up to this point, especially if it's been going on for months..."

"It's not like anybody would have been able to go down into the sewers to take a look around," Tressa said, and everyone turned to look at her in muted confusion. "This is a mining town, and if what Bishop Bartolo said to Ophilia is true, the people here already have a lot on their plates. They wouldn't want to wander off and find themselves in danger when they've already got so much to do as miners. Odette seems to be the only one with the time to search for the truth since she's here to study rather than to sell goods or mine them within the mountains."

Ophilia went tense at her words, but everyone could tell Tressa's conclusions were correct. "If Morlock really does think of people as so disposable, then he probably wouldn't bother to conduct a full investigation into this either," Therion pointed out. "It would have just taken people's attention away from their jobs, and he doesn't want that. As long as the people of this town are working, they're putting money in his pockets and coffers. People like him don't give a damn what happens to those under their command as long as it serves their own desires."

Olberic frowned at that before pushing himself to his feet. "If Morlock isn't going to help with the investigation, then that means it falls to us. The people who have been taken deserve to have someone on their side, and we would be more than glad do it if no one else is willing to step up to the challenge," he declared. Even though he didn't say the other half of the thought on his mind, everyone knew what it was easily. Olberic wanted to do what he could to bring Morlock to justice, but that wasn't going to be happening. Morlock wasn't going to be an easy target, and beyond that, they had vowed to stay out of his way if they could avoid it. For now, the most they were going to do was try to help the people who had been kidnapped. If they decided to pursue Morlock more later, they could cross that bridge when the time was right.

"I suppose the next step has been decided then... Though I wish we could have a word with Morlock about his disgusting choice in actions regarding these abductions," Cyrus frowned. "For now though, the path has already been chosen, and we must do all we can to search the sewers and uncover the truth behind these disappearances."

"People cannot simply vanishen into nothingness. There is someone behinden all of this tragedy, and we musten finden them and bringen them to justice," H'aanit announced. She rose to her feet as well, already reaching for an arrow in preparation for when the time came for her to let it fly loose at her opponent. Linde seemed just as ready for the battle ahead, and she curled around H'aanit's legs with a strange but firm preparedness for the bloodshed to come.

"My apologies to all who didn't wish to spend their time here in the sewers," Cyrus frowned. "If any of you wish to leave, I believe now would be the best time for you to retreat from this mission. At the very least, I'll be doing all I can to uncover the truth behind what precisely is happening in those sewers."

"I don't think any of us are going to be able to just walk away," Primrose told him with a shake of her head. "I don't know who's behind this, but I'm going to make sure they see justice. They might think they can get away with kidnapping people because Morlock couldn't be asked to give a damn, but I'm not about to give them the opportunity to escape. We know what to do, and I think it's time we do it."

Cyrus gave a quick glance to the rest of the travelers just to make sure they had no objections. Once he was satisfied, he nodded to himself and turned to look in the direction of the inn. The other travelers followed suit once they were all on their feet once more, and Cyrus narrowed his eyes at the building in question. "These secrets won't be kept for long... We'll make sure of that ourselves."

With that, the travelers set off towards the sewers once more. Cyrus was more than happy to lead the charge since it was his quest that had gotten them involved with this to begin with, and he trained his gaze on the tunnel leading to the sewers as soon as it came into view. While he was distracted, Tressa came up beside him before matching her pace to his, though she had to take much larger strides in order to keep up with him. He was much taller than her, and such a truth had never been more apparent until that moment.

Tressa didn't bother to mince words once she knew Cyrus could hear her, and she frowned up at him with worry shining in her eyes. "Do you think we're going to have to face off against Morlock while we're here?" she asked softly, and Cyrus glanced down in her direction slowly. "I don't want to have to think about it, but... I don't know. I guess just leaving this place without confronting him feels... Impossible."

Cyrus hesitated at that, uncertain as to how he was meant to respond. He knew there was a reason they weren't intending to confront Morlock while they were in Quarrycrest. It would be a lot for all of them to face at once, and Ophilia had specifically stated she had no desire for revenge. Avoiding him would be the best course of action as far as peace within the group was concerned.

But at the same time, they wouldn't be able to simply walk away after having seen the depths of the injustices he visited upon the townspeople. He had willingly allowed people to go missing with no formal investigation simply because he was too focused on feeding his own greedy desires to care. It was twisted and disgusting, and Cyrus knew he was a better man than to think he would be able to simply turn his back after witnessing the truth for himself.

"I don't know," Cyrus finally admitted with a small frown on his face. "I don't believe I would be able to turn away knowing what I do now about Quarrycrest and its operations. He doesn't seem to care in the slightest that so many people have vanished and are suffering because he refuses to reach out and safe them. That... I cannot simply abide by such behavior. It would not be right."

Tressa nodded. "That's what I'm thinking too," she agreed. "Someone like him... He needs to be taught a lesson about all that he can do to hurt people. I don't know how he can sleep at night when he's caused so much damage to others, but... I suppose he doesn't care much for those under his rule to begin with. All he wants is to sit at the top of this town and look down on everyone he thinks is beneath him."

"For now, I believe the best we can do is try to help those who are already being directly influenced by the damage we've witnessed up to this point," Cyrus replied after a few seconds of silence. "Morlock is certainly an issue we'll need to consider, but for now, we need to help the people who have been taken captive."

"You're right," Tressa agreed. She paused before looking over her shoulder at Ophilia. The cleric was silent as could be, staring down at the lanthorn like she thought perhaps it might have all answers she was seeking. "I don't think something like this would count as her taking revenge against Morlock. She said that revenge isn't the path for her, and I believe that. I really do. But... This isn't necessarily vengeance just for what happened to Creek. It's also us trying to help the people who have already been hurt so much by Morlock's actions in recent times."

"There are likely those who will claim it isn't our place to interfere in the affairs of a town none of us come from, but... I still think we'll need to consider our next course of action carefully after we've defeated the people hiding here beneath the city's streets," Cyrus told her. "We should press on and pray that we arrive in time to rescue those who have disappeared."

Tressa nodded once again. "Morlock's not going to do anything to help them right now, but we have to. No matter what, we're going to do all we can to save them," she agreed with a smile. "Lead the way, Cyrus. All of us are with you."

Cyrus turned his attention ahead as they arrived just outside the entrance to the sewers, and he frowned as he took the first few steps inside. The stairs leading into the sewers were weathered and made of stone, and the strange lighting combined with the massive amounts of water made the area seem as if it had been dyed green. It was unnatural at best and disturbing at worst, but Cyrus did his best to not let it bother him too much. "Here we are..." he murmured, his voice echoing throughout the cave mercilessly.

Cyrus glanced around the sewers for a few more seconds before humming under his breath. "These aqueducts have likely been around much longer than Quarrycrest itself has existed," he remarked. "Perhaps they come from a settlement that predates Quarrycrest. Either way, the villagers are likely mostly unaware these tunnels exist at all."

"Which means we're looking for someone who knows a lot more about this area than they have any right to, no doubt for reasons we're not supposed to hear about," Therion frowned. "Don't let anything catch you by surprise."

"We must proceed with caution," Olberic agreed. He fell silent for a moment, turning to look deeper down the path into the sewers with a frown on his face. His expression went stony as he took another step forward, unable to hold back his frown any longer. "Is there..."

"Someone is coming," H'aanit finished for him. She was already pressing an arrow onto her bow, and Linde sunk into a defensive stance beside her. Linde was the one who had first realized they had company, and her fangs seemed sharper than ever before as she waited for her prey to arrive.

Sure enough, two sets of footsteps reached the travelers' ears, and Cyrus reached for the Tome of Tundras. The men were difficult to make out thanks to the unfortunate lighting of the sewers, but their silhouettes were covered in cloaks that easily blocked their faces from what little illumination the party had at their disposal. In other words, they were trying to be secretive, and if Cyrus had to guess, they were working with the kidnappers, assuming they weren't responsible themselves.

The first man held a wooden staff in one hand, and he pointed it towards the travelers. Darkness exploded near the ground at their feet, and all of them retreated backwards by a few paces to keep from suffering the brunt of the blow. One wrong step or one unfortunately placed hit would send them careening into the waters below, meaning caution was of the utmost importance.

H'aanit already had an arrow nocked and ready, and she moved to the front of the party before letting it fly free. She struck the first assailant in the shoulder, though he managed to keep hold of his staff by some vague miracle. He pushed the weapon forward once again, and ice magic began to crawl along the ground towards the travelers. Therion intervened before the attack could do too much damage though, letting fire gather across his fingertips as he slammed his hand against the ground. The fire melted at the ice immediately, leaving behind water that slipped helplessly off the sides of the passageway's floors into the waves below. The sound of dripping would have no doubt been ominous had the travelers not been so distracted by the battle at hand already.

The second man gathered as much energy as he could into the palm of his hand before punching forward, creating a sphere of dark magic that threatened to rupture right in front of the party. Olberic moved in front of his companions before slashing his blade diagonally to cut the magic in half. Cleaving the spell apart dissipated its effects, leaving the shadows to fizzle away ineffectively before vanishing into the darkness of the tunnels.

Ophilia raised the Illlumination Staff above her head, and light magic began to gather across the tip of the weapon before creating a column in the air above. As soon as the light slammed into the two men, they let out screams of pain, and their hoods were knocked away. It only lasted a few brief seconds, but the travelers finally got glimpses of their foes' appearances.

The men were pale, beyond unnaturally so. Their faces were gaunt and hollow as if they hadn't seen the sun in decades. The darkness of their clothing masked how unhealthy and almost skeletal their features seemed, not that the mages were bothered by it at all. Instead, all they were focused on was ending the battle, and for those few moments where they had lost the advantage, getting rid of Ophilia's light spell.

Tressa threw out a wind attack that slammed right into the chests of the attackers, and Primrose retreated into the shadows as the duo slid backwards. When she came into view again a few moments later, she was behind the second of the two men with her dagger brandished in one hand. She struck him through the chest, and the man went limp soon afterwards, collapsing into her arms. Primrose dropped him unceremoniously to the ground before tearing her dagger free of his body, a frown present on her face all the while.

Olberic rushed towards the other man with the Stone Sword at the ready. He stabbed at the first assailant, and a moment later, the man fell silent. Olberic pulled his blade free slowly but surely, and the attacker collapsed to the floor. A few drops of blood slid across the edge of the platform into the water below, and Cyrus inwardly thanked the people of Quarrycrest for not knowing about the sewers. Blood in the water would have been quite the issue to grapple with had the sewers still been in use.

"Well... That certainly answers our question about if there are people down here," Primrose muttered as she began to clean off her dagger with a small rag. She sighed and shook her head to herself. "At least we were able to fend those men off."

"There are going to be others down here too. I know it," Therion frowned as he looked down at the bloodied ground and the nearby wall. "Muddy footprints on the floor and handprints on the wall. They're recent too. The mud is still wet. There are other people in here, and they're waiting for us to fall right into their hands."

"That is very useful information," Cyrus murmured as he looked down at the two bodies left behind from the fight. "I must say, you have a keen eye. Most people would never have thought to look for such subtle details."

Therion shrugged loosely. "It comes with the territory... Though I never thought that experience would be useful to you," he replied. "Then again, it's not like I ever thought I would wind up with people like all of you to begin with."

"None of us expected it, but we are hardly complaining," Cyrus smiled. "Your insight is certainly helpful now. We need to do all we can to remain on the defensive in case other attackers like that attempt to fight us again."

"We should keep an eye on the path behind us too just to make sure we don't get ambushed," Alfyn suggested, and Cyrus nodded. "I'm really hopin' none of these mages will decide to strike at us from behind, but I guess they don't really want to listen to what we want from this."

"I did notice one thing during that fight though," Ophilia remarked. "The mages haven't seen much sunshine. Look at how pale they are. In other words, using light magic is probably going to be the best way for us to deal significant damage to them... I was hoping we wouldn't find too much violence down here, but we don't exactly have a choice in the matter now, so..."

"I don't think either one of these two was the mastermind behind this," Olberic said next. "If we were fighting the leader of this chaos, I'm certain they would have brought a few other mages with them. The one responsible for all of this is still hiding elsewhere, and we need to be ready to face them."

"On we go then," Therion huffed as he began to step forward. He carefully maneuvered around the two dead bodies on the ground, rolling his eyes along the way. "I guess we're going to have to figure out how to dispose of the corpses once this investigation is done. The authorities aren't going to like us dragging dead bodies out of the sewers, to say the least."

Cyrus nodded, and as he began to follow Therion forward, his foot collided with something that had fallen out of the second man's pocket. He reached down to find a red gemstone sitting on the stone below, and Cyrus frowned as he examined it. He had never been an expert in geology, but he was certain he would have been able to identify a gemstone easily enough regardless. However, this was like nothing else he had ever seen. Perhaps it was a type of jewel native to the Cliftlands. If that was the case though, why did this ruffian have one in his pocket? Why hadn't the group run into anything of this sort? Quarrycrest was a mining town, yes, but none of the jewels found in the mines were quite this color or texture.

"Are you coming?" Primrose questioned when she had finished moving past the bodies. Her gaze dropped to the crystal in Cyrus' hand a moment later. "What's that?"

"I don't have the slightest idea," Cyrus confessed. He eventually reached for the hem of the man's cloak before tearing it off and using the fabric to wrap up the gemstone. He tucked it away out of view afterwards, making a mental note to investigate what it could all mean before the group left Quarrycrest. Perhaps Odette would have an explanation for it. Surely she would be willing to help Cyrus with this after he had already gone to such effort to resolve the disappearance cases. He could think about that later though. For the moment, he had to concentrate on the mission at hand.

The path ahead remained just as dark and dreary as it had been when the group first entered the sewers. The ground was covered in mud that seemed tempted to squelch when they took a wrong step, and the walls were so unclean that it was almost sickening. The sewers didn't smell particularly pleasant either, and while that was to be expected, it was still enough to make Cyrus want to pinch at his nose just to block out the odor until they could reach their destination.

Therion paused at one point before jumping off the path the group was currently on. He dropped down to a lower platform just below, reaching for a small storage bin waiting on the ground. He was easily able to pry it open between a brief lock picking attempt and his raw strength, and when he did, he was met with at least three dozen soulstones.

"Damn," Therion murmured as he began to sift through the elemental stones. "I suppose these mages decided to keep everything scattered throughout the sewer... Though I don't like the idea of them having so many magical items on them." He glanced up to the rest of the travelers, a silent plea for them to draw nearer and help him to collect the soulstones. The magical rocks were rare, and if there were so many just sitting there, the travelers might as well take them.

"I wonder why they would have so much of this stuff here," Tressa remarked. "I guess they are all mages, but... I still have a bad feeling about this. I would normally say that it's not a good idea to take things from people, but..."

"They tried to kill us. I feel like this is justified," Primrose finished for her as she picked up another soulstone. "If I had to guess, I would say they're conducting some sort of magical research down here, and that's why they're hiding out... I have no evidence of that, but it's something we'll find out soon enough, I'm sure."

Cyrus began to examine the soulstones as well, and he watched as the other members of the group tucked the gems out of view. Cyrus' fingers eventually struck something that didn't entirely feel like a soulstone; in fact, it felt a bit more like the crystal he had found in the mage's pocket previously. He pulled the gemstone out once more, and he was met with the same hue of deep scarlet all over again. It certainly did look similar to what he had found before, though he still didn't know what it could have been. It wasn't a soulstone; that much was certain. Still, that didn't exactly narrow down what the stone was.

"Hey! What are you doing here?!"

Cyrus glanced up, shoving the stone back into the chest before readying a spell. Another mage had come into view from deeper within the sewers, and his voice was filled to the brim with rage. Tressa knocked him into the nearby wall with a quick snap of wind magic, the man stumbled before falling to the ground. When he pushed himself back to his feet a few seconds later, he was already preparing an ice attack that gained speed and power rapidly as it spiraled towards the travelers.

Cyrus raised one hand above his head before slamming down a fireball from the heavens, and the ice fell apart before sliding into the water below. The mage threw up his arms to block his eyes so he wasn't overwhelmed by the relentless flames. Unfortunately for him, he couldn't defend from everything at once. He blocked himself from the fire, but since he couldn't see for a few brief seconds, Therion and Primrose were easily able to converge upon him. Therion stabbed him in the stomach with fire sparking across the Inferno Dagger all the while. Primrose thrust her dagger towards his chest, and the man immediately fell silent. Blood began to drip from both his injuries and the corner of his lips. Therion and Primrose both stepped away as he collapsed to the ground below, all of his magic immediately forgotten.

"We're going to have a massive body count on our hands if we don't take care of this as soon as possible," Therion frowned. "We've only run into scouts so far, but it's just a matter of time before something starts to slip out of our control and lead to a disaster. We need to keep moving." He let out a small snort before shaking his head. "We can loot this place after we've gotten rid of the people that want to kill us."

Cyrus nodded his agreement. He didn't like the idea of having to kill people, but at the same time, he knew they weren't going to be rescuing the hostages without a bit of bloodshed. The instant the rest of the mages realized there were intruders in the sewers, the travelers would have too much to contend with to get out without further casualties. They had already set themselves on this path the instant they arrived in the sewers, but if it would save the people who had been taken hostage, Cyrus was willing to go with it. There were too many innocent hearts counting on him for him to back down now.

The path ahead was silent and dark, and Ophilia kept her hand on the lanthorn carefully as they pressed forward. No other mages entered their line of sight for quite some time. The worst the travelers crossed paths with was a handful of large snails living within the sewers that were easily dispatched without many issues. In fact, everything was simple enough until another silhouette appeared in the path ahead. Cyrus prepared his magic for yet another dark mage, but much to his surprise, his instincts were incorrect as to what they would be facing next.

"Is that... A skeleton?" Ophilia questioned with wide eyes as soon as she processed just what had come into her path. Sure enough, she was correct; the creature that had ambled into view was little more than a pile of bones that vaguely resembled a human. The beast's features were dramatized and didn't seem to fit perfectly, but the fact remained that it was a skeleton at the end of the day.

Tressa let out a squeak of surprise before she hit the skeleton with a blast of wind magic. The bones rattled around but did not stop in their charge. Cyrus flicked one wrist and froze the skeleton with an ice spell. Olberic and H'aanit rushed towards the frozen skeleton soon afterwards, slashing their sword and axe respectively. As soon as the ice splintered, the remnants of the bones let out a high-pitched squealing sound before falling silent as a shattered pile of bone and ice on the ground below.

"Skeletons..." Alfyn murmured before glancing over to Cyrus. "I don't think that's any normal kind of magic." His hands were shaking, and he had grown much paler in the few seconds since the skeleton had first come into view.

"No... That's necromancy," Cyrus whispered, and his mind immediately began to spin with everything he had heard from Odette earlier in the day. She had stated the book he was searching for was about dark magic and necromancy, and now, Cyrus was running straight into a battle filled to the brim with shadowy mages that possessed that very pattern. Could it have been a coincidence? Then again, how many books existed that delved so deeply into the dark art of resurrecting the dead?

"We muste pressen on posthaste," H'aanit declared. The determination in her eyes made it clear that she had figured out the truth of the situation; they were up against much stronger forces than they could have ever anticipated. These dark mages couldn't be allowed to press on any longer than they already had, and the travelers would happily be the agents of their destruction.

Cyrus nodded his agreement as he started pushing on deeper into the sewers. Ophilia took her place at his side, the lanthorn gleaming brightly in her fingers. The travelers all stepped carefully over the shattered ice and bones on the path ahead before moving as quickly as they possibly could without losing their footing against the mud below. Each step seemed to bring with it a new sensation of determination and dread that came together to create a terrifying, disgusting combination in the pits of their stomachs. There was no way of saying what was waiting for them ahead, but they had to face it regardless.

No matter how dark the magic was, they had a duty to perform.

Boss fight next chapter! Woohoo!

I'm pleasantly surprised with how fast all of this has been going for Cyrus' chapter two. I added a few extra skirmishes at the end of this chapter to build suspense and dread for the big fight next chapter since everything has been going so quickly. I'm happy with how the small fights turned out. I haven't been doing them as much lately since there hasn't been as much of a need for it as of late, but I think they really do add to the suspense here.

The only other note I have to add is that Tressa and Cyrus' travel banter was changed to fit the circumstances a bit better. Instead of leaning into the comedic angle the way their original conversation did, I decided to address the current situation of the miniature Morlock arc instead. I think it fits perfectly, and I'm happy with how it turned out all things considered.

Anyways, I'm going to leave things off here for now. Next week, we're going to dive right into the boss fight for this chapter! Until then, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Feedback is appreciated as always. Have a nice day, everyone!

-Digital