Going With the Flow

(That impact smoke bomb was stronger than expected. Not bad.)

He had gotten it from Kalman, being told that he could use it to escape if he ever found himself in a tight spot. Theodore had even asked for the recipe so that he could make some himself, but Kalman refused, saying that he would need to bring something of value in exchange for it.

(Stingy old fart...)

Going with the flow of the canal, Theodore drifted along while keeping himself hidden underwater. Using his threads of Aether, he was able to weave together an orb of air around his head, allowing himself to remain submerged for an extended period of time.

Though his thick robes made it difficult for him to swim, he hardly had to do much as the water flow was strong enough to carry him along.

In time, Theodore drifted by a waterway, one large enough for him to fit in. After a brief moment of consideration, he climbed in and disappeared once more into the sewers.

Though he had intended to remain hidden to the best of his abilities, leaving not a trace of himself for others to find, Theodore wound up intervening in the conflict between apprentices.

There weren't any calculated reasons for doing so. Theodore simply found it tragic that these apprentices, hardly matured, were trying to kill one another. Perhaps it was just another matter of fact when it came to life in this city, but Theodore could not find it in himself to simply leave it be if he could help it.

After releasing his smoke screen, Theodore popped out of the sewers and grabbed the red-headed battlemage apprentice. He had located her using his Aether-sense prior to using the smoke bomb and as such could find her even while blinded.

After that, he kicked against the wall of the alleyway with his enhanced muscles, his threads of Aether weaved along his muscle fibers, bolstering their mass, and leaped into the air. Once above the smoke screen, he rapidly weaved his Aether threads together to form Aethereal wires, using them to pull him higher.

Using the combination of both techniques, Theodore flung himself over the factory building, a structure roughly three stories high. It was impressive for someone his size, though he probably did not go as high as Aileen had felt while she was being carried away.

Under normal circumstances, that would have been a feat impossible for Theodore. However, Kalman had provided Theodore with vials of diluted extracts from the roots of the Dandelion Mandragora, something of a far lower grade Aetherburst Nectar. That being said, without adequate Aether control, it would still be dangerous to consume. Upon ingesting it Theodore would experience a temporary boost in Aether, allowing him to reach a level of power equal to an average second-year battlemage apprentice.

After that brief distraction, Theodore resumed his exploration.

***

After following a random waterway back to the sewers, Theodore's first priority was to find his way back to the workshop.

It should have been rather straightforward as he was still within the alchemical district and should know which direction to head towards. However, few things in Lancea were simple, the sewers included.

Perhaps designed to discourage anyone from taking advantage of the underground structure, the sewers were labyrinthine in layout. Even a simple waterway would have many twists and turns, messing with the sense of direction of the one traversing through it.

By the time he got out of the waterway, Theodore was utterly lost.

Still, he wasn't without a plan. Previously, by following the water flow, Theodore was able to find the edge of the sewerage system. This time, he planned to do the same. If he could reach the northern end of the city once more, he ought to be able to find his way back.

Worst comes to worst, he could always take the risk of traveling over the surface and reenter the sewers when he reached an area he was familiar with.

For the moment, however, Theodore decided to stick with the sewers. It would make a good opportunity to become familiar with another area and the ten-year-old within him was quite excited to explore the unknown.

Following the water flow, Theodore went deeper and deeper into not only the sewers but also the earth. For some reason, the water flow he was following appeared to be flowing into the sewerage system rather than out, flowing along waterways that headed deeper underground.

As Theodore soon discovered, this sewerage system seemed to have multiple floors, adding to its complexity and labyrinthine nature.

"Feels like they really don't want someone to come down here," Theodore muttered to himself.

As he traveled further in, there was a feeling of climbing further and further into a beast's winding digestive tracts, that if he were to keep going, he would eventually be consumed by the darkness that surrounded him. But even so, Theodore could not allow himself to be perturbed, for his ultimate goal lay far, far beneath all of this, and he intended to reach it even if he had to climb out through the back end.

How was he supposed to reach the object beneath the tower if he could not handle something as trifling as this?

Proceeding further in, a strange sound reached Theodore's ears. Immediately, he turned the blinders on his lamp, obscuring the light.

In pitch-blackness, Theodore listened carefully to the sound. Focusing on what was beginning to sound like the sucking of air and fluids, a slurping sound.

Then, the sound stopped. Theodore stood still, not moving a single muscle, not even sending his Aether threads out to investigate out of fear that his opponent might sense it. Within the darkness, Theodore relied on his ears, placing all of his focus upon them.

Eventually, he began to hear them, the sounds of breathing and the dripping of water. Not the slow dripping that came from the ceiling, but rapid drops of water one after another. Something was leaking.

When he heard that something was wading through the water towards his direction, Theodore had an ill foreboding. He had a feeling that he had been discovered.

Quickly, he twisted the knob on top of his lamp, shifting the blinders to the side. If his opponent could truly sense him in the dark, then he'd be the only one at a disadvantage within the darkness.

The moment light filled the tunnel, Theodore beheld a pale shape poking out from a corner ahead. On this pale shape, Theodore could spot what appeared to be a small, beady eye pointed right at him.

Even though he could only partially see the creature, it was clear something quite large, its head nearly reaching the ceiling that was roughly three and a half meters tall.

Meeting Theodore's sight, the creature poked its pale, bloated head out. It had a face vaguely resembling a human's, yet, it was clearly anything but. It cracked what looked like a smile at Theodore with its huge mouth that drooled endlessly as if it were a spring, showing its chunky and uneven teeth even while it breathed heavily.

Then, it started running. Running towards Theodore.

***

End of Chapter 92

***