The Lilliad part 4

Lilli blended into the unwashed masses, letting the crowd deposit her back near the guards’ station. It was all too easy to let the natural foot traffic disguise her movements as she slipped into a nearby alleyway and up the wall. After some light climbing, she was outside the second floor of the guard station. 

She had options- none of them were amazing, though. Direct entry was stupid beyond all reason. Waiting around for somebody to mention what she wanted could take weeks. 

Except… the guard had obviously been lying that he’d never seen that before. He probably had to report the sighting to someone?

Lilli snuck around the ledges until she found what looked like an office for someone important. There was a big desk, lots of papers, and a few intimidating-looking locked cabinets and safes along the walls. 

There was also a nameplate that she couldn’t read, but she kind of inferred that it meant something like “#1 Important Guard Person”. No one was at the desk, or visible in the room. 

It was tempting, but getting caught would literally mean death. So Lilli checked for any good hiding places first. 

The desk was a stupid idea, the chair even worse, the area under the safe was directly in front of the desk…. Oh. The space under the locked cabinets was maybe just large enough for her to hide in. 

She peered in, first, making sure that her initial assessment of the room’s emptiness was correct. It seemed to be. 

Lilli had the sudden, intrusive thought that she seemed to rotate between the best of good luck and the worst of the bad. So, yes, the room was empty. So perhaps it was filled with venomous perispiders. 

She looked back to the street, where Elathor was waiting. They were probably about five seconds from asking another guard how her breaking and entering was going. 

She knew she had very little time. Elathor seemed to lack any sort of sense. 

Lilli deftly toed into the office, grateful that the witch had bought her shoes of soft *silent* leather. She dropped down to the floor quietly, to test that she could, in fact, fit under the cabinet.

She could. It wouldn’t be pleasant to hang out in for hours, but it was possible. Hopefully no one had any intentions of moving furniture today. 

That settled, she checked the only door into the room. She could see through the slit in the doorframe that it was locked. So she’d have time to escape, one way or another. 

Time to get to work. 

Lilli rifled quickly, trying not to make noise or mess. The task was exacerbated by the fact that she of course couldn’t read any of the damn reports she had in her hands. Maybe they would have a file? Gods, someone probably had made a drawing of the nasty things. 

In the drawers, there were large folios of papers. She rifled one carefully for any pictures, and noted nothing. She started on another. 

She prayed to any deity for some luck. Any deity would do. If there was one with a particular leaning towards feeling affection for scruffy street kids with a tendency towards crime and incredibly bad luck, she hoped they would come through.  

She froze. For a second, she wasn’t sure why. 

Then she heard voices past the door, and the creaking of floorboards.

Lilli looked down at her pile of folios. She still couldn’t read a goddamn thing. So much for spontaneous godly blessings. But she didn’t have time to put them all away, either. She shut the drawer carefully and shoved the folios down her tunic. 

She quickly eyed the window, and then the spot she’d checked earlier. Her instincts were telling her to leave. 

But something deep within her bones told her to take her chances with the space under the drawers. 

The voices were getting closer. She could now discern that there were at least three of them. Time was running out, and fast. 

She slipped around the desk, making sure she didn’t disturb anything in her panic. Panic would get her found and killed. She really needed a level head right now. 

Lilli carefully laid down on the floor just as the key was being inserted into the lock. She gave all her focus to what she needed to do, silently breathing out as she quickly shoved her body under. 

The lock thudded open, and Lilli quickly looked back to make sure her entire body was hidden. It was, but her left foot might be a little far out and could be seen from a certain angle. She pulled it farther underneath. 

The door swung open and three pairs of metal-tipped boots thudded inside. 

Lilli felt sick. She really hoped she hadn’t left anything out of place. She was sure she hadn’t but…. She was definitely in the wrong place to be sloppy. 

“Close the door.” A gruff man’s voice commanded. One of the pairs of feet turned back, shutting the door and relocking it. Then, they bolted the deadbolt. 

Oh, shit. 

A pair of feet walked towards the desk and Lilli held her breath. The owner of said feet sat down in the chair. 

“Captains Larent and Foum.” The same voice said. “Report.”

The other two pairs of feet scrambled to line up. She could only  surmise that they saluted. 

“More deaths in the Poureoin District, Sir.” A voice said. “There’s barely anyone alive there anymore.”

“And the bodies?” Big Boss Guard asked. He tapped his fingers on the desk. Each little thud made Lilli’s chest feel more like it was about to explode.

“Moved to the Pits, Sir. We were too late to burn all of them. Some of the…. Creatures…. Got away before we were informed.” The voice drifted off at the end. They sounded at least a little scared. 

Which was fair. The Ktharyis Kthings were a fucking nightmare. 

“How many?”  The tapping grew more desperate.

“Three, that we can be sure of.” Lilli couldn’t believe this. Three? That was so many. One was bad enough. 

A different voice spoke up. “And today there was a report of a creature found in the water tunnels.”

“Was it verified?” Big Boss asked. The air in the room was tense. 

Someone coughed. “They brought in this head, sir. It was real.” There was a soft thudding sound as the Kthing head was placed on the desk. 

“Gods. Tuul help me.” Big Boss groaned. “But it was dead, then? Who killed it?”

“Guardsman Brouth said it was brought in by a wizard and some sort of street urchin. The wizard seems to have killed this one.”

“Lucky for them and lucky for us.” The Big Boss said, sounding tired. “Civilians are dying by the dozen. Did they look ill? If so, you should send a guardsman after to watch and detain them. We can’t let these things get more out of control.”

“The guardsman assured me that they were displaying none of the signs of the afflicted.” One of the captains said. “I sent men to that area of the tunnels to search for a body.”

“Good, good.” Big Boss said. He tapped on the desk more. It almost sounded like it was a song, there was a steady rhythm. Lilli couldn’t place it. “Have that area thoroughly searched, and burn that head.”

“Sir, shouldn’t we sent it to the Magician’s University? The plague is spreading more quickly now.” A captain protested. 

“They already have so many of those creatures.” Big Boss dismissed. “And I can’t stand looking at it. I’m starting to see those things in my sleep.”

The boots straightened. “Yes, sir.”

“But we lost more than twenty people last night,” Big Boss continued, “so I want you guards out patrolling everywhere. We need these bodies picked up immediately for disposal. No more fuck-ups. Even one of these things getting away is too many.” He pointed at the cloth bundle with anger.  

Somehow, Lilli felt like it felt anger for him, too. 

“I’ll go out with squads to find them and hunt them down. If you’re low on equipment, go to the University and stock up.” Big Boss stood up. “Don’t tell anyone how bad this is. Remember to split your squads. We can’t chance having guards find out their family is dead or, even worse, finding the bodies themselves if we can help it.” He walked around and right in front of Lilli’s face, pausing.

“And get that fucking thing off of my desk. The wood is going to smell.”

“Yes, sir!” Two voices barked, before unbolting the door. The two captains walked out. The Big Boss lingered in the direction of the door. 

Something told Lilli that this was the Time to Move. 

But what if he left? She’d have plenty of time. 

No, something said. Move. Now. 

So Lilli listened. She shot one arm out of the dresser as the Big Boss took a step forward, and pulled herself out. He was walking towards the door. She used the momentum to propel herself to her feet and took long, silent strides towards the window. 

She heard the door close. 

Oh, shit. 

She leapt towards the window and out onto the sill. The locked turned. 

Lilli could only hope he felt like deadbolting the damned thing. She couldn’t look back. No time. She saw the ledge she’d used earlier and jumped. 

She fell through the air, and landed on her feet. The folios in her tunic jostled, but her belt held them up. 

That was close. That was too close. Too close too close too close. 

But there was no noticeable sound coming from the BIg Boss’ office. She had to assume she’d gotten away for now. 

Lilli slid down the wall and inserted herself back into the streets. Her heart was in her mouth. It was all she could do to focus on getting back to Elathor. 

When she did, she attached herself to their robes. She was definitely not about to throw up on them. For sure. No way. 

Her face was buried in the soft fabric and Lilli breathed in the scent of calming herbs and old paper. It was nice. 

Talons patted her head. "Hello, you weren't gone long at all! Find any good information?"

She swallowed the nervous bile and pulled her head back. They didn't even look like they found her panic attack weird. Just bright eyes and hope. 

Ugh. What was that like.

"Yeah..." she thought about the folios under her tunic and decided those were best left for private perusal. "Have you ever heard of the Pits?"