There were three entrances to the lower districts of Rockhaven, one in each of the city's main areas. To enter you had to go down a fairly narrow spiral staircase, after some time you arrived in what people called "The City below Rockhaven". While the lower districts were by no means a city in their own right, it was easy to see why they may not seem to be part of Rockhaven. Instead of wide open streets the lower districts consisted of comparatively narrow tunnels, only barely wide enough for three people to walk beside each other. Those tunnels branched and intersected, some went up, others went down. If you walked far enough you would inevitably end up where you began, there were no dead ends in the lower districts.

The only thing that reminded you that you still were in Rockhaven was the fact that the walls and ceilings were made from artificial bedrock. Although the tunnels had no innate glow like the streets on the surface, any touch resulted in an iridescent ripple of light that carried surprisingly far. If you wanted to know where other people were, you just needed to follow the light.

While the surface of Rockhaven was entirely dedicated to production, commerce and living, the lower districts were all about entertainment. While walking the tunnels you would come across many bars that invited guests inside with brightly glowing signs, some of them magical in nature, others controlled by clever redstone engineering. Different bars catered to different audiences. Some had wooden interiors, large tables with cozy benches, fireplaces and a pianist providing a quiet and relaxing atmosphere. Others often hosted live bands or comedians. Another kind could be best described as the equivalent of a dance club, music of magical origin and flashing lights provided the perfect backdrop for not necessarily coordinated but nonetheless enthusiastic dancing. There were also facilities that provided beds to people who didn't feel sober enough to find their way back to their houses on the surface or to those who simply didn't want to leave the lower districts for some time. Here and there you could also see the odd shop selling things that would not catch on up on the surface, this was also a way for vendors to directly sell their goods without having to go through one of the guilds, with all related risks and benefits.

TehLulz jumped down the last few steps in anticipation, during breakfast Shadow had told them quite a bit about the lower districts and he was curious about what would happen in the tunnels below Rockhaven.

Ambigious and TehLulz were dressed quite casually, they had decided to treat this no differently from going out in the real world. Unchosen was wearing a suit again, to nobody's surprise. What did surprise TehLulz however was that Fire was wearing a suit as well, with a magically projected white rose attached to his collar no less. This was actually the first time so far they had seen him in anything other than his white or grey nether wool clothes or his armor.

Shadow had been wearing her robe when they left the house but somewhere along the way down it had transformed into a sleek black dress, so black even that it was difficult to see where fabric stopped and skin began, which probably was the intention. freeZe was wearing a shorter, slightly more elaborate dress, instead of black it was fiery red.

TehLulz asked: "You two know your way around down here, where do we go first?"

Shadow said: "I looked through the planned acts and I discovered that there is a mercenary band playing in one of the bars tonight."

Ambigious asked: "What exactly is a mercenary band aside from the obvious meaning?"

Shadow explained: "Quite simple, it's a group of mercenaries who you can hire for both killing and making music. Their instruments are quite inventive but usually either the killing or the music part falls short, there are only few mercenary bands that can do both well, the one we'll see is one of those few."

They walked quietly through the tunnels, their steps sending rainbow colored light across the artificial bedrock surfaces. They passed by a few bars, various kinds of sounds could be heard from within. There were also many people in various states of inebriation in the tunnels. After a short while TehLulz had completely lost track of how he would get back to the entrance, the tunnels all looked similarly and were built seemingly randomly, he was sure that there was a system but not one that he could see.

They reached their destination after a bit more walking, the sign above the door said "Dungeon". The interior was made from stone bricks and cobblestone, a lot of it had moss growing in the cracks, although TehLulz assumed it to be something artificial that just looked like moss instead of actual moss. The whole bar was heavily themed after a monster dungeon, as the name implied. Chests were placed in decorative spots and the tables looked like mob spawner cages, they even had slowly spinning projections of zombies or skeletons in them. To the right side of the room there was a bar counter where various drinks were served, to the back there was an elevated area currently acting as a stage for the mercenary band, which hadn't started playing yet.

They sat down at the only free table, it seemed like this mercenary band had a fair amount of fans in Rockhaven. TehLulz took a closer look at the stage. The band members were setting up their instruments, which were quite unusual. The drums consisted of various pieces of armor, the drumsticks were two small maces. One instrument consisted of a shield with a sharp edge and a sword that had been roughed up on one of its flat sides, the instrument seemed to serve as a very odd violin. Then there was a quite self-explanatory battleaxe with guitar strings. The band members themselves were clad in studded leather armor which quite clearly was not what they wore in battle.

The bartender left her post to bring the band some drinks, a few minutes later they were ready. TehLulz sipped his own drink as the first song started. The band had two vocalists, a man with a clear baritone voice and a woman who had a voice deeper and rougher than TehLulz expected. Their first song unsurprisingly told the tale of a battle, it was unclear if it was one of their own or if they recounted a legend. The sound was as unusual as the instruments it originated from, the rhythmic banging of maces on chestplates and helmets combined with the metallic vibration of the shield and the axe-guitar made for an interesting experience.

Shadow said: "They're good, right?"

Ambigious nodded. "Nothing like I've ever heard before but it's definitely good."

A bit later Shadow stood up between songs and walked over to the band, it seemed like she was requesting a specific song. She came back smiling with satisfaction.

Shadow said: "Listen to the lyrics, freeZe."

The song was quite a contrast to the previous warlike ones. This one had comedic lyrics in the style of a love song, it was about a man falling in love with a mage and the resulting damages. The song was obviously not to be taken at face value but rather poked fun at some of the stereotypes about mages.

Shadow said: "That is one of their oldest ones, let's just say a good acquaintance of mine was significantly involved in its inspiration."

freeZe said: "Something's telling me that you're more than acquainted with that person."

Shadow grinned. "Possibly."

They sat there and listened to the band's songs for another hour, then Fire said: "There wouldn't be much of a point to this if you four just followed us around, the lower districts are all about surprises and exploration. You need to go out there without us and see what you come across. It's pretty much without dangers, we are still in Rockhaven after all."

Ambigious looked at TehLulz and said: "Let's go then, there are dancefloors to be conquered."

TehLulz really admired Ambigious' confidence, his own experiences with dancefloors were limited and what he had done had little to do with conquest.

Shadow took a sip from her drink and said: "I will be here with Fire for a bit longer, if against all odds there is trouble, we'll know how to find you."

The four of them stood up and left the bar together. At the next intersection freeZe turned left, Unchosen turned right and Ambigious and TehLulz both went straight ahead. It was time to discover some of the secrets of the lower districts.