The Old City

0.38: The Occupation of the Grand Bazaar Part 4

The Underground, East of the Grand Bazaar

"Hold up." Banjo whispered even though no one was around. The endless shadows of the Underground always made him feel like he was being watched, like faceless enemies lurked just outside their crystal's light waiting for the moment to strike.

He and Marcus had walked for an hour in a wide arc of sorts, as close as one could get in these labyrinthine caverns. As soon as they sank beneath the surface, a world of souls came alive to his senses.Most of the auras were dull and misshapen and distant. They seemed shrunken, as though cowed by this forever sunless scape.

Here and there, though, brighter auras exploded into his view. A smoldering light burned in the west. Seared with sorrow and weariness, it stood out among dozens of smaller flames nearby. 

Who could that be? Banjo wondered, recognizing that it wasn't Seneca and moving on.

The signals flickered as they walked around.

"Do you think I can find the Magnarians like this?" he asked aloud.

"Most war mages mask their auras or possess tokens that hide them. Focus on my aura for a minute."

He turned his attention to Marcus and was shocked as his red flame grew intense and hot then cooled again, till it was barely different from those around them. "You'll have to teach me that."Banjo continued his search, turning his attention elsewhere. He pushed past the dense group of auras he'd noticed earlier. The Underground was vast and dark and most of that space was empty, but he was drawn now to two lights a few hundred meters away. One was steady and blue while the other one, a dully yellow, was erratic, sharp and frayed in places yet sagging in others.

"I think...I think I found them. They are about half a mile that way, just past where the Grand Bazaar should be. It looks like Mika is there, but their auras are confused. Mika seems panicked and I'm not sure what to make—"

WHY ARE YOU STILL ALLOWED TO LIVE?

The voice cracked in his head like thunder. Banjo recognized the echo as thought-speak, but his eyes darted around to see if anyone nearby had shot the words into his mind. It was so foreign, certainly not the voice of anyone Banjo knew. Yet its accusation took such a familiar and agonized tone that he wondered if he'd forgotten. It sounded vengeful, desperate for violence.

He felt Marcus's hands press against him, shaking him, and Banjo realized he'd fallen to the ground from the shock and force of that voice. The leader's mouth was moving, yet Banjo heard no sound.

I'm still connected to Seneca, he slowly understood. With a grunt, as though dropping a heavy weight he'd been carrying for miles, he released his connection.

"I know where he is," Banjo gasped. "I doubt he's goin' anywhere. It felt like he was talkin' to someone. I heard this agonized, furious voice...I don't understand."

Marcus's face darkened in the crystal light, but it was obscured by shadow that Banjo wasn't sure if it held fear or apprehension. The feeling passed after a moment and Marcus gathered himself.

"Which way do we have to go? Let's move."

***

The Underground, nearer the Grand Bazaar Storeroom

"I need you to calm down!" Mika shouted, shaking Seneca. "There's nothing here. Whatever you're seein', it's in your mind!"

But Seneca could not hear her. His eyes were glazed over, as though they no longer could see the physical realm and were instead focused on some preternatural space.