the false wall. “The route of outlaws the world over, it seems.”
“No talking!” Chien repeated, turning a glare on Vaelin and continuing in Chu-Shin. “Make your servants obey or this is pointless.”
He inclined his head in contrite acceptance before barking out a command for the others to remain silent. Chien seemed only slightly mollified as she tied a kerchief about her face and started into the sewer, beckoning for them to follow.
The tunnel she led them through was narrow and long. Vaelin was soon obliged to follow Chien’s example and tie a rag around his nose and mouth to diminish the stench raised by their feet sloshing through a channel of filth-thickened water. It connected to a broader channel after a hundred paces or so, Chien turning right after a cautious glance at the ceiling. Faint moonlight streamed through a series of circular iron grates in the passage roof, the light dimming at irregular intervals as feet trod the streets above. From the steady rhythm of the footfalls and the dim snatches of clipped conversation, Vaelin quickly divined they lurked beneath a guard post of some kind.
Seeing Chien had come to a halt at an opening in the passage wall, he moved to her side, finding the portal blocked by a thick iron gate. “The guard wall lies above,” she explained in a murmur, glancing up at the nearest grate before reaching out to take hold of the iron railings. A small squeal sounded as they swung back, Vaelin’s eyes making out a hinge where they met the curved ceiling. He expected Chien to swing it all the way open but she waited, gaze still locked on the grate in the ceiling.
“Be ready to move quickly,” she whispered. “We won’t have long.”
“For what?”
The answer came an instant later, the loud toll of a bell sounding through the grates to echo the length of the sewer. Chien lunged forward, swinging the railings up, the loud clang as the metal connected with the brickwork swallowed by the continued tolling of the bell. She held the railings up and jerked her head urgently at Vaelin. He waved his hand at the others and scrambled through into the most constricting tunnel yet. It was barely three feet high, obliging him to crawl on his hands and knees as the others pressed in behind. He heard the clang of the railings falling back into place just before the bell’s toll faded.
“Keep moving,” Chien ordered in a harsh whisper. “The midnight chime is loud, but that doesn’t mean they didn’t hear us.”
It took over an hour of crawling to get clear of the tunnel, Vaelin continually fighting the harsh, rasping gag in his throat from the unabated miasma of foulness. Finally, the air began to clear and he clambered his way out onto a broad ledge. The illumination was dimmer here, coming from a small opening far above. He could see that the ledge extended away on either side for a good distance. Before him lay a long downward slope of smooth stone, streaming with water. It descended into the gloomy depths without apparent end, birthing a brief wave of dizziness that made him take a careful step back.
“Keep your feet together and pointed into the shadow,” Chien advised as she followed the others out onto the ledge. “And your arms crossed. You’ll be tempted to use your hands to slow your fall. Don’t, unless you want the flesh ripped down to the bone.”
Vaelin began to enquire as to her meaning, but the question died as she crossed her arms and leapt clear of the ledge, sliding down the slope and disappearing into the waiting darkness in the space of a heartbeat. Erlin followed her almost immediately, muttering, “It didn’t seem so steep all those years ago,” before closing his eyes and jumping clear of the ledge.
“I don’t want to do that,” Sehmon said quietly, breaking the silence that followed.
“If an old man can do it, so can you,” Ellese said. She took a breath, crossed her arms and leapt, Vaelin catching a muffled curse as she slid rapidly from view.
Alum went next, voicing a soft chuckle as he did so, although Vaelin detected a small, wary note to it before the Moreska slipped into the gloom.
“Master Sehmon?” Vaelin said, raising an eyebrow at the outlaw. He swallowed and crossed his arms but failed to jump as he continued to stare into the depths.
“I’ll be along, my lord,” he said. “Just need a moment . .