He had tried everything that he could think of to reach the inner city.
The gates to the higher levels had been closed off to the general public, and especially for foreign visitors like him.
For those of higher birth, identity checks were mandated by the many officials and soldiers guarding the vital passageways.
The entryways towards the bordering farmlands were even more severely guarded, as not a single soul was permitted nor able to leave Den Zollum, with all the drawbridges having been pulled up.
Lukk got desperate to the point where he had even considered climbing the walls barehanded, but that would be an impossible ordeal due to their sheer verticality, smoothness and steepness.
Not to mention the many eyes that guarded them that would very much object to him making the attempt.
The tolling of the bells had thankfully stopped, and all that remained of it was a significant headache for Lukk to deal with.
The panic in the streets had also subsided, and was replaced with the people’s slow realization that they were not allowed to leave the boundaries of their selected areas.
A crowd had gathered around a nearby chokepoint, but to Lukk’s surprise it was not at all violent or unruly.
Men and women in commoner’s and worker’s clothing, some wearing the strange costumes they had seen earlier, were surrounding one of the smaller internal gates.
A word bearer, standing on a podium usually reserved for plays and local events, spoke of trust, calmth and unity.
He asked the worried citizens for understanding and pleaded for them to return to their daily routines, if possible.
Charming, overly handsome and well spoken, as most in his profession were, he managed to thin out the crowd substantially, save for a few hecklers here and there.
He had spoken to some locals who had told him about intruders on horseback that had violently made their way inside the city a few hours ago.
Apparently a few people had been lightly wounded, but he could not find anyone to tell him more.
He knew that if he asked for too many details he would be considered suspicious, especially for the armed, Nooric outsider that he was.
And that was the absolute last thing they needed right now.
The ravens were acting strangely, panicked, and without order.
They were wild and ravenous, aggressive towards each other while fighting for food, their spots on the roofs, and against those unlucky enough to come between them.
Lukk considered his options, and finally decided on his course of action.
There was no way to contact Dieter, nor any way to figure out what was happening inside Den Zollum without waiting for what would perhaps be too long.
But as one of Dieter’s esteemed lieutenants, he too had the authority to make significant decisions in times of need, and so he would.
On his way to their stay Lukk passed by the numerous streets he and Cornelia had walked through days earlier.
The ambiance differed from the days past, slightly moodier, but it was still very pleasant and inviting, much to his dismay.
He heard two women joke about the situation as he passed them by, as one young man mockingly yelled about the end of the world, while his friends laughed with him.
Fernand spoke of it before, and he was reminded of it with every painful step he took.
They were grossly underprepared for war.
He wondered if they even had a clue what to do when the bright, blazing fireballs would mercilessly rain down from the sky, setting their homes ablaze, or when post-human, demonic monsters would lunge themselves at the gate, biting and ripping through stone and steel with their bare teeth and claws, or when the drums of war would be heard from miles away and when any semblance of peace and kindness would seem like a faraway myth, long forgotten.
He wondered if they could even imagine what that would look like.
He needed to leave the city as fast as possible, to get as far away as possible, or this city’s innocence would die with them.
He started running.
The ravens be damned, Lukk thought.
Fernand had taken the girls safely underground, waiting for his or Dieter’s return.
If they can’t leave through the city’s gates, then maybe Mulloz Ned or even the sewers could provide them with alternatives.
At last he returned to the calmer streets surrounding their temporary base.
He opened the door to their stay, quickly closed it and triple-checked all the rooms of the house in case they hadn’t left yet.
He noticed the beds were made and Fernand’s previous corner was reverted into something so tidy that it was hard to imagine what a mess the old man had made of it not even a day ago.
The only thing of note that was missing from its original decor was a wooden horse that had originally adorned one of the cupboards in the kitchen.
He reached the basement and through his mind commanded the stone-metal doors of the elevation platform to open.
It was an easy enough trick that was taught to him by Julia, and explained by Annie in more detail afterwards.
All that was needed was to simply visualize the thick, immovable walls opening and they would respond to it in turn.
In the same way he commanded the platform to move downwards, deep into Mulloz Ned’s abyss.
The ancient technology still humbled him, the idea that humanity was once so advanced that they could create miracles like this, it was impossibly hard to grasp.
It was even harder to grasp that a society so advanced and enlightened had lost nearly everything that made them once so great.
It was frustrating, almost infuriating that humanity was denied their own ancient wonders, and the proudness that would undoubtedly come with it.
The elevator, as Annie had called it, came to a halt.
He willed the doors open, and gazed at the poorly lit hall before him.
He mentally visualized the lights to shine brighter, and so they did.
‘Fernand!
Cornelia!’ He bellowed, abusing his deep, carrying voice to reach the many halls beyond the one he stood in.
He waited.
But there was nothing.
He shouted again, and just like with his previous attempt, nothing responded to his roaring calls.
Ten minutes.
That was how long he waited for anyone to show up, or make themselves known.
Dread filled him as only the silence of the charred dead greeted him, far below the grounds of holy Terra.
Thankfully these were only the bodies of the men Annie had slain and not those of his companions, or his sworn ward.
They had begun to reek however, and with his enhanced smell it was rather hard to stomach the rotting of the bodies.
Even here, deep below the earth, there was no shortage of worms, maggots and fleas that would enjoy such a disturbing, rich banquet.
Without Richter’s map, he would surely get lost.
He had not thought to study it, as he did not expect to have to return underground so soon.
Instead he had to find his way using only his memory, and his instinct.
He brightened the halls he already visited to help him keep track of where he’d been.
And so Lukk went in deeper, without any tracks or hints to guide him forwards.