Morning came early to the cohort, a sense of foreboding hung heavy in the air as they packed their tents away and ate their morning rations. In silence they began to make their way ever closer to the city of Velling and the demons that lay within. By the time the walls of Velling came into view, the sky was dark with a cloud of a thousand wheeling vrocks. Staying to the shadows of the forest the cohort continued southeast, around the city. Eventually, Naivara spotted the sewer grate Nessie described.
"There it is." She whispered, pointing across the moat at the crusted iron bars of the grate.
"I know she said it was a sewer, but that looks nastier than I was really expecting." Said Hal with a grimace. "Regardless…" He paused to check their surroundings for patrols, "Lets go." Breaking from the cover of the forest he led the way to the wall of Velling. The murky water of the moat further soaked their already damp clothes from the previous day. When he reached the grate Hal gave it a swift tug, but it held firm. "Someone else want to take a shot at this? Charles?" He suggested stepping aside.
"Yeah, I got it." Charles strode forward, lance in hand. Jamming the lance in between the bars of the grate, and the surrounding stonework he began applying force until the grate shifted and the stone cracked. "There we go." He grunted before handing the lance off to Gnoll, grasping the bars Charles heaved backwards, ripping it clean from the stone. "ALright, get it." The cohort quickly clambered in, and Charles replaced the bars behind them, wedging it into the now broken stone.
Fortunately, the sewer was not particularly full, the maintenance walkways were dry for the most part. As they followed Nessie's directions deeper into the city the cohort came upon a three-way junction and stopped to take a quick breather as the junction provided better headroom and a large maintenance platform, as opposed to the small walkways of the tunnel sections.
"You know, I never expected to be making my way through a sewer system under a city full of demons when I left my family." Mused Akash, sitting on the edge of the brickwork platform. "I hoped the stars had a fantastic adventure in store for me, just never quite expected this…"
"Life has a funny way of working out like that I suppose." Replied Gnoll, "To think that we only met each other a couple weeks ago at a tavern, yet now look at us, making our mark on the world." A shared smile flashed its way around the group despite their current condition.
"We should probably keep moving." Commented Charles after a few minutes, "Ideally I would like to scout a bit of the city while it's still daytime."
"Alright, good idea…" Said Akash, letting out a deep breath, he stood up. Before he could take a step from the edge of the waterway a large dark form surged from the water! It wrapped a pair of scaly hands around his neck and dragged him into the water.
"Akash!" Yelled Gnoll, surging to his feet, taking after Akash. He conjured a mace to take a swing at the creature.
Akash managed to fill his lungs with one last breath of air before his head was plunged beneath the sewage. In a moment his form warped into a scaled crocodile. However, even in his new form the creature's claws still found purchase in the gaps and spaces between scales holding him tighter, slowly crushing the air from his lungs. He made a break for the surface, his tail propelling both him and his assailant to the surface.
A hail of gun and spell fire erupted as they broke the surface. Akash finally got a good look at the creature as he breathed in its foul stench. It had a large broad head split by a wide, toothy maw. Protruding scale spike covered its stocky, rust-colored back. As the volley finished it sunk its teeth into Akash's neck, the roar of the crocodile turning into a gargling scream as his form shrunk back down and he was forced under once again. The taste of iron filled his mouth as he began coughing blood into the water. Javelins pierced the water alongside the second wave of spells. The demon's black blood mixed with Akash's, yet it continued to drag him through the sewer. What little air remained in Akash's lungs was replaced by water as they continued. His vision dimmed as the unique experience of being without air, the element of his people, for the very first time in his life. He questioned his journey, was this really all the stars had in plan for him, this was his end?