BLOOD OMEN 2

THREE: The Lower City

After navigating the underground i found the smugglers tunnel and finally emerged into the section called the lower city. This was a farcry from the slums as serviceable buildings and well dressed peasants moved in the streets. Gone was the stench of poverty and decadence but that of fear was far stronger here. I soon found out why when i saw sarafan patrols about, more of them in one place than i had seen in the entire slum district. I made a note to avoid them for while i was now able to combat them, killing a guard in that section would most likely draw unwanted attention to my presence. 

My senses twitched and i looked up to the rooftop of a nearby building. As expected, Umah was there watching me, a look of relief on her face. No doubt she had been worried when she had found herself unable to sense me in the underground. But as always she was unlikely to reveal that fact. 

"Well done, Kain." She said normally, knowing i would hear her even at that distance. "You have already proven your ingenuity in negotiating the Smuggler's Den. Perhaps our leader was right about you, after all." 

Her need for secrecy was becoming annoying so i spoke in a similar though more annoyed tone. "Ah yes, the mysterious leader. Perhaps you will tell me now who he is." 

"I will not name him to you for secrecy's sake, but it is time that you two meet. You must go to Sanctuary, our headquarters. There you will find our leader." 

She turned to leave, jumping to the next building but i had had enough of her games and ran to the front of the building. "Go here! Go there! What do you take me for? Your errand boy!" 

She stopped and looked at me like an irritated mother looked at an annoying child. "You are not a general now, Kain. You are in not in a position to demand. Go to Sanctuary and await me there. My orders are to investigate the Industrial Quarters in the North of the city. I will join you at Sanctuary and bring anything I discover." 

"I need answers, girl! I want the Sarafan Lord!" 

"So do we all, Kain, but the time must be right and you must be ready." 

"Do not make the mistake of underestimating me." 

She sighed tiredly. "I don't. You are our last hope. I will not let you be wasted by premature action." 

The sincerety in her voice was not lost to me and i realized i was indeed behaving like a spoilt child. For all her games, she was looking out for my well-being. I calmed myself as i spoke again. "Where, then, is this Sanctuary?" 

"Nearby is the Red Raven Pub. Speak with the tapster, she will tell you what to do." She replied. 

I watched in silence as she leaped to the building on the opposite side of the street, wondering why I obeyed her? Why did I trust her, even for a moment? I had gone my own way, always. This time...

"I was impressed by you today, Kain." She said, looking back. "Soon we will work together again and rid this plague from our land." 

Whether or not she had intended for me to hear it, i did and she jumped off, heading another way. Perhaps been the first vampire i had met since my awakening i had grown abit attached, but that was all. She was a means to an end and no more. Once i had the sarafan lord, i cared less what became of her. 

As i moved i passed several humans, dressed better than those in the slums but having the same problem with the sarafan. The fact that i wasn't dressed like a sarafan meant not one of them gave me a second glance, except for some pesky merchants that tried to sell their wares to me while ignoring the customers that berated them for over pricing their goods. 

The strife under which the people were stuck was also apparent here, from people complaining of insane increase in products due to raised taxes to the rise in criminal affairs within the city, there was a lot to complain about. One pair spoke of a friend that had lost his shop and signed on as a caravan guard heading north of Meridian. From what I could gather there was no hope of their sickly friend returning because the bandits rules the wilds beyond the city walls as well as strange monsterousities. Though I have always had a dislike for human commerce, even when I was human, I could not help wondering what the sarafan were using all the funds they got from their overtaxing for. Obviously not for development, or security. The only thing that seemed apparent were the glyph energy that seemed to span equally throughout the city, which made movement for me all the more tedious as more than once I was forced to go through back allies and rooftops to bypass ward gates. One such bypass brought me to a sealed gate which was the only way i could find out of that area.