From the Ocean to New Land

Special Blood

It had been a month since Sona came to the surface, with most of that time spent traveling north with Ulpianus. While she was saddened that her first day on the surface wasn't a dream, her resolve had hardened during those passing days. Her family was in danger, and she wouldn't let any harm come to them for as long as she lived.

The two Abyssal Hunters had traveled through city after city, searching for any clues that would indicate where their comrades were being held. But their searches bore no fruit, every hideout they found was filled with brainwashed people that acted like drones, mindlessly following orders and throwing themselves at her and Ulpianus. It didn't matter where the city was located, whether it was near the sea or further inland, the Church of the Deep always had some form of presence.

The sound of a sword cutting through the air caught Sona's attention. She turned her body to the side as the sword crashed against the wooden floor. Her shortsword cleaved upwards through the man's arm, severing his hold on the sword before ending his life with a stab through the chest. The man gave a brief scream of pain before she pulled the weapon out of him. Evading another attack, Sona stepped out of the way of an arrow that grazed her cheek. Her tired eyes met the cultist's figure and she rushed forward, there was no second shot as Sona swiftly ended the man's life with another stab, eliciting another scream.

"Sona." Turning her head, she saw Ulpianus had already ended his fight. The older Abyssal Hunter was rummaging through the corpses looking for something. "These surface dwellers had more autonomy compared to the others we've fought this month." Sona quickly caught on to what he wanted, doing a quick clean of her weapons before searching the two she had killed for anything noteworthy.

She found nothing on the crossbowman, only bits of whatever currency Iberia used and a few pieces of blue paper that also seemed to be currency. She wasn't taught about economy, nor did she have to worry about money after joining the Abyssal Hunters so she left it on the dead man's corpse. Turning around to check the swordsman, Sona found a notebook in the man's cloak.

"Captain, I found something." Sona tossed the notebook over to Ulpianus who silently caught it and began reading through it. The young Ægir stood up and found a nearby wall to lean against as she waited for Ulpianus to give their next course of action. Gazing down at her gloveless hand, Sona clenched her fist. At first it didn't bother her, but now she was beginning to feel incomplete without it, like she was missing a piece of herself.

With a silent groan, Sona scanned the room the two hunters found themselves in. It was a small hideout that seemed to be used often. To most it would seem like a normal storage room. But to her, the room reeked of the sea terror's stench. How she managed to smell it she didn't know, but she guessed it had something to do with the surface and the Church of the Deep's fanatical worship of the Seaborn.

"We have a lead. It seems Thadius isn't dead like we originally thought." His voice was filled with concern but Sona couldn't hear it. She was ecstatic, for a month their searches were always dead ends with no signs of any Abyssal Hunters being captive or even mentioned. But now there was someone she knew being mentioned.

"Sona," he interrupted, "let's go. He's being held further east." Nodding her head, Sona quickly followed behind Ulpianus as the two left the hideout and mobile city, speeding across an open plateau towards their destination.

Their travel quickly led them to another mobile city, this one next to Iberia's coast. It was almost refreshing to have the scent of the sea back, but Sona had little time to appreciate the view – a comrade was in need of saving.

The two discreetly entered the city, waiting until nightfall to enter. The midnight streets were silent, only the occasional flicker of lamp posts creating noise. Making their way through the dark alleys and streets they find themselves in front of an open square where a lone man sits on a fountain, seemingly lost in thought. The man wore a large cloth over his body, hiding his features from the two hunters. But something seemed to be moving within the cloth, either that or he was shifting around in discomfort.