Through the backdoor of the library, past rows of poppies – red on one side, orange on the other, and still swaying softly and lavishly in the cold air of a night which was cloudless and deep blue – there was a well. Jasper peered down it and spat. The drop fell out of sight for a few seconds before a drip reverberated up the shaft back to him.
"We're going down here?" He called to Sofie.
She placed her book on the damp grass. It was a weathered brown thing with an engineer's seal plastered over the spine and front. Gold and white letters spelled out 'Mordheim Wonders: The City you Live In and the Men that Made It'. For several minutes she had been diligently flicking through pages of maps that all looked the same, of every district of the city, and trivia about various landmarks that reminded her of her studies as a child and filled her with no more excitement now than they had then.
"Yes. It's the closest entrance to the sewers, is it not?" She peered up before continuing her work.
"I guess, miss Sofie." The boy peered about him, then back down the hole. He could see little in the darkness, besides that familiar green haze which was everywhere in the city now. "You got a map?"
She growled. "I'm looking, boy." She said bitterly, tearing out the page titled "Mordheim Chapel" which had flared her rage and tossing it into the flowerbed. "Apologies." She looked up, wearing a smile, but the boy was paying her no heed. He was whining, trying to tear the grating off with no success.
She found what looked to be the right diagrams, revealing the labyrinthine corridors, halls and waterways of Mordheim's sewers and canals. She offered the book to the boy and grabbed either side of the grating. She pulled, and with a loud pop the grating broke free.
"Banshee," she called down the well. "Is it clear?"
A blue sphere cast rich light across the well's walls as it rose up to meet the pair. It spoke in echoes; "I saw nothing there, Sofie." The Banshee took her human shape and gave Jasper a sideward glance. "Not even any of these Rat-creatures of your design, Jasper."
"They're real!" He squeaked.
"You are deluded, child." Sofie declared. "The warpstone, the fright. It's got to you – fortunately for us. Get on my back."
"What?"
"Get on my back." She repeated, tearing off her gloves. Jasper saw her nails now. They were clear and healthy bone-white, obviously well kept, but each ended in a wicked point so that the Vampire's hands seemed to bear claws. She rammed each hand into the inside of the well with no visible discomfort and her nails buried themselves within. Jasper did as was commanded, and with thumps like the footfalls of an ogre she descended feet-first. She looked like some sort of lizard in that instant, with her limbs outstretched and her stare fixed on the damp brick. Even Jasper in all his youth saw the monster for what she was, hidden inside this pretty, devout woman, and he felt fear like when he had first seen her.
Shaking his head, he let the thought escape him. She was his best chance of getting through here, and perhaps once they reached the chapel they would make everything better again! He smiled, picturing the busy streets and bright blue skies he never noticed a few weeks ago, but now craved like a drug. It wasn't long before they had entered the sewer proper, and he had no more time to think and hope.
They reached the bottom of the well, and immediately the rancid stench of waste surrounded Jasper. There was the usual smell of excrement and decay, but something else also, equally disgusting but unique…
He shivered. There was a faint smell of wet fur. The Vampire didn't seem to smell the air, as she was already advancing ahead of the boy, getting a view of her surroundings. Jasper did the same as best he could in the dark; the only light took the form of strips which cut into the darkness as faint sunlight passed through the gratings above. They advanced deeper into the sewers through winding, tight brick corridors. The boy had grabbed onto Sofie's cape at some point, but she did not seem to mind; instead she guided him on, using her supernatural vision to help direct them forward.
"We need to find the waterway in here," She whispered, "The current flows due North. We can follow it all the way until it ends. There we will be under the chapel."
"And then what?" The boy murmured. She grunted, so he didn't ask again.
Eventually, Sofie stopped. Jasper slammed his head into her, feeling the cold of her plate armour, and looked up. "What?"
"This is…" She began, "You know the sewer – what is this?" She advanced through the hall and into the room ahead, letting him through. It was a spherical chamber that he had never seen before, ten or so metres in diameter, and it was not built-up with brick like the rest of the underground. Three wooden pillars equidistant from the centre of the room held up the ceiling, and in the centre a pile of bricks and metal supported a single taller pillar, with a red symbol etched into it. Jasper looked about him, and unbelievable the room was stranger than he thought; the walls were peculiar, blotted with browns and greys and the occasional black, glistening in the humid air.
"Is this corruption?" He asked. Sofie looked at him with eyebrows raised.
"Where did you hear that?"
"The Witch Hunter."
"No, it's not corruption. Nothing I've seen or heard about, anyway."
The boy nodded and sighed in relief. He walked over to the statue in the centre of the room, and as he looked about it Sofie surveyed the rest of this chamber. She should have been looking at the map, but something was stopping her. She was salivating like a dog so badly that she tore off her helmet. There was the scent of blood – the only scent she knew – and it was all around her.
She wondered if she was losing her mind. She had read of the Vargheists, and perhaps this was what those unfortunates felt when the bloodlust overtook them. But it was everywhere. She approached the wall, and the smell grew unbearably potent. She placed a hand on the wall, and yelped, pulling it back like she had been bitten by something. The wall was warm.
"Jasper, boy." She called behind her.
Huh?
"We must leave, and we must leave now."
"But this might be the way forward! Have you checked the map?" The boy protested. She cursed his stubbornness and fiddled for the map. She hadn't noticed that the brown smudge of the wall was moving. Prickles protruded out of it, and as it reformed two beady black dots emerged, followed by thin yellow-black needles as a horrible shriek sounded out.
"Ratmen! The ratmen are here!" Jasper shrieked. He jumped back towards the doorway, fiddling for his handgun. The entire wall seemed to be peeling off as all the creatures began to stir. This was some sort of barracks for whatever creatures stirred here.
She didn't know what they were, but her instincts took over. The rat-thing uncurled from its slumber and leaped towards her. She caught its head in her hand and squeezed. The bone shattered with a satisfying crack and the beast flopped in her grip. She dropped it and turned, and her eyes grew wide. There were at least a dozen of them in here, most of the rat-things had no weapons, no armour – nothing but clawed hands and torn fabrics which hugged bone-thin brown fur. Two of them were bigger, more muscular and with eyes more hate-filled. They brought wicked, dirty blades from their sleeping enclaves and squealed.
Jasper had fallen and had managed to wiggle his way back into the doorway. As the ratmen charged he fired off a blind shot, sheering off the side of a small one's face and knocking it over, shrieking. They all descended on the handgunner, but Sofie was quicker and jumped between the pack.
These were no mindless animals. They surrounded the pair from all sides even as Sofie backed the boy through into the narrow corridor. Yet there was an indecision in their eyes. None of them wanted to be the first to strike, or the first to die, and by and large they stood there scowling, snarling, hissing and shrieking.
A silence fell for a few tense seconds. Then the two black ones charged, and the rest followed, gnashing teeth and bunching against one-another to claw at the Vampire. She had already drawn her sword, battering aside the sword strikes and pressing against the mass of flesh, roaring against the shrieking of the beasts, cold vampiric strength against the animal fury of the ratmen. She pushed hard, and the ruck of creatures fell over each-other into the chamber. She impaled the closest rat, and the creature beneath it, as they struggled to stand, and with a backhand sent a third into the wall with a crack. Then she felt a great force against the back of her head and stumbled forwards. Inhaling deeply, the smell of fresh blood seemed to invigorate her even as the remaining creatures swarmed around. She pushed off the ground, jumping to her feet. The creatures backed away from her, startled by her ferocity and resilience – even to a blow from the biggest among them.
Jasper had reached the back of the doorway. His hands were trembling almost to numbness as he reached for a match. He heard the shrieking and clanging of swords down the corridor, and it took him three attempts to light his match. Building up strength he stood up and ran back towards the commotion.
What he saw filled him with confidence and awe. The quiet, stern lady was in the middle of the pack – half of the rat-beasts were on the floor, deathly still or twitching in pain. Only the two leader rats remained and four of their underlings, and where before they snarled with savage anger, now they squealed in high-pitched tones. They were twitching even more than before, and their eyes were wide.
They feared this creature that had set itself upon them. The same fear which Jasper and his crew felt when they had entered this darkness. It did not belong to them this time; it belonged to her.
Two of the brown rats turned and tried to scurry for the opposite exit, but the large rat impaled one on its blade and grabbed the other, throwing it into Sofie. She sidestepped the creature and crushed its head under her boot. The remaining four charged again. The two slaves fell quickly, their claw swipes doing little to hinder her, but the champions slashed towards her, one from each side, pushing her back against the cold dirt of the chamber walls. She blocked and ducked and where she could not stave off the blow she shielded her exposed face with her gauntlets.
Then she slipped up, and a blow to her hand knocked the sword from her grasp. The rats seemed to sneer, sensing victory. One of them drew its sword high, sweeping down to deliver the final blow. She caught the furry arm as it fell, tearing it towards her – and out. The rat shrieked, almost crying, and fell backwards. The final black was stunned. It fell quiet for a minute, and then it opened its mouth.
But it did not roar, instead yelling in a high-pitched beg; "No-no! Dead-thing can pass, yes? Vatritch won't stop you! They were fools-fools to fight you, please leave!" And it fell to its knees, locking its hands behind its head. Jasper watched the Vampiric woman as it rose over the creature. Her's was a face of rage. She grabbed the rat by the neck and – Jasper rubbed his eyes, to make sure he wasn't going mad – lifted it in one hand up to her. She squeezed and the rat-thing croaked and spasmed and fell limp. Sofie hissed, bearing her fangs and planting them on its neck.
Jasper's elation turned to horror. He had almost forgotten that she wasn't his protector, his companion. She was the same monster as them. The floodgates opened and he began to panic once more – at least until, seeing the boy and his fright, her hunger was beaten by her shame. Sofie closed her mouth, averting her eyes, and dropped the corpse to the floor.
"So it seems you were correct." She said at last. "Banshee." She called into the darkness. "Find the nearest flow of water. That's our destination." There was a sudden wind and a faint whisper as the Banshee received its instruction.
"Now," She walked over to Jasper. "Are you hurt?"
He shook his head. "You were going to eat him." He said.
Sofie frowned. "Yes," she admitted, "I was. We must keep going."