Chapter 27: Bear and Husky

The stench in the sewers was enough to make the air curdle. Twisting pipes and channels tangled in every direction. Anyone unfamiliar with the layout would get lost after just two turns.

It wasn't just the ever-present reek; there were also plenty of dangerous creatures lurking in the dark.

Fortunately, thieves and rangers were stealth experts.

Hastin and Hares were brothers by blood. Most folks who knew them called the pair Bear and Husky. The two usually pretended not to know each other, occasionally teaming up for a double act to scam rookies—or on bad days, pull off a few robberies of their own.

This time, they'd set their sights on tricking Ambrose. They hadn't expected that the lich would have more tricks up his sleeve than the both of them combined. He'd followed them straight into the sewers, vanished without a trace... and now the brothers were the ones in trouble.

One blink, and the filthy tunnels around them had dissolved, replaced by a lush, sunlit garden. The foul air turned to fragrant perfume.

The bandit, Bear, frowned. "This doesn't make sense. Since when did Alkhemia's sewer system have a garden?"

Husky just shrugged. "Who knows? Those alchemists can make all kinds of weird crap. Wouldn't surprise me."

Bear still felt something was off... but after hearing that, he relaxed.

"Yeah, fair point. Still, this place isn't bad. Smells great too."

He took a few deep breaths. His muscles loosened, and his mind fogged over. He didn't notice that his eyes were turning bloodshot. Within minutes, both brothers were staggering forward like sleepwalkers, drooling vacantly as they wandered deeper into the garden.

Then she appeared: a radiant goddess, wrapped in shimmering gold light.

"Mortal men," her ethereal voice rang out, "you have trespassed upon divine ground."

The brothers' dull faces lit up with awe. They dropped to their knees before the shining figure.

Drool dripping from his chin, Bear stammered, "O beautiful goddess... uh, who exactly are you?"

"I am Mystra, Goddess of Magic," she said serenely. "You are fortunate to have found my garden. I shall grant you one wish."

Husky blinked, confused. "The Goddess of Magic? But... I'm a ranger..."

Bear didn't care. His eyes gleamed with feverish desire. "Great goddess, I... I wish for you!"

To him, she was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen, the very embodiment of every fantasy he'd ever had. He'd long since lost all reason. Reverence be damned! All he wanted was to make that fantasy real.

Husky gawked, horrified. That was a goddess!

But to his utter shock, the golden Mystra only laughed, a soft, melodic giggle.

"You have good taste, mortal," she said sweetly. "Very well. I shall grant your wish."

Bear's grin split ear to ear. He lunged forward, wrapping his arms around her as if she were his last breath of air.

Husky watched, half jealous and half stunned. Maybe he'd make the same wish next—but a sudden surge of force yanked him sideways.

His vision blurred. The golden light shattered, replaced once again by the dark, stinking tunnels.

Around him stood six burly men and women draped in leaves and crowned with deer antlers. One of them, a dark-skinned giant, grabbed his arm.

"Don't move," the man warned. "The hag's illusions are too strong. We're barely holding them off. If you run back out there, we can't save you."

Husky blinked, dazed. "Illusions? Wait, where's my brother?!"

He turned, then froze. Bear was a few dozen meters away, locked in a grotesque embrace with a hideous old crone, her body covered in boils and rot.

"Urk!"

Whether from the backlash of the illusion or the sheer horror of what he saw, Husky doubled over and vomited until his stomach had been wrung dry.

When he looked again, his brother lay sprawled in the witch's arms, grinning in bliss. His body was caked in filth, oozing pus and grime, yet his expression was one of pure satisfaction. Worse still, they were lying atop a mound of rotting, mutated rats.

"Urkkk!"

Husky puked again.

When he finally stopped retching, he turned toward the antlered men with shaky gratitude. "Thank you, seriously. If you hadn't pulled me out, I'd be—" He gagged again. "—just like him."

𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

After a frenzy of thanks, Husky blinked. He asked, "Are you all druids?"

The dark-skinned man nodded. "I am Van Jones. We are all druids of the Goldenvine circle. Just like you, we stumbled into the hag's illusion. Now we're trapped here too."

Husky glanced around. There were six druids in total, four men and two women. Three of them were chanting, maintaining what looked like a defensive ritual.

Van Jones explained grimly, "We're maintaining an Elderthorn Barrier to block her illusion's influence. But despite rotating in shifts, we're reaching our limit."

Husky noticed how pale and exhausted they all looked. They had dark circles under their eyes, and their faces were drawn.

"So what do we do?" Husky asked anxiously. "There's gotta be a way to stop her! I need to save my brother!"

He knew he wouldn't be able to do so alone.

Van Jones gave a weary sigh. "We don't know. We're clinging to the dregs of our faith. We've tried everything. Summoning beasts, invoking nature's wrath... but the hag is too elusive. Nothing we do can touch her."

Their magic was draining fast. Once the barrier fell, they'd all be lost to the illusion again.

They had saved Husky both out of compassion and a desperate hope that maybe he might bring salvation.

But that hope was fading fast.

Van Jones bowed his head. "May Sylvanas take us home. Perhaps it's time our souls returned to the land."

"Wait!" Husky blurted out, thinking about whom he had met in the bar. "You—you have a young druid in your tribe, right? Short blond hair? A woman named Naomi?"

Van Jones's eyes widened. "You know Naomi?"

"No, but I met her! She's not alone. She found help and came down here too! If we hold out just a little longer, they'll come. We can still make it!" He was trying to sound brave for the druids' sake and his own. At this point, the only thing he wanted was for Ambrose to show up and blast that hag into bone dust.

But Van Jones's face twisted in shock. "Naomi came back? That foolish child... She's throwing her life away! All our sacrifices—and for naught!"

"Don't say that!" Husky shouted. "Her new ally's strong, really strong! He's undead, perfect for fighting down here! If anyone can handle that hag, it's him!"

Van Jones grabbed him by the collar, eyes wide with disbelief. "What did you say?" he roared. "Undead?!"