City of Fallen Souls: A LitRPG Adventure (UnderVerse Book 3) by Jez Cajiao

Author:Jez Cajiao [Cajiao, Jez]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: MAH Publishings
Published: 2020-10-31T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty

I made eye contact with Augustus and gestured to the guards with my chin, getting a nod of confirmation in return. Two men slipped away towards either end of the street, and I looked up at the entrance to the Emporium. The doorway was flanked by an impressive pair of columns on either side. A single magelight, glowing steadily, jutted from a recess on each, casting a subdued glow, as if in warning, and I felt the pull of magic coming from inside.

I peered up the street, seeing my Legionnaires in the guard huts, and I drew in a deep breath. I knew they’d have almost certainly killed them, and I felt my stomach knot up at the thought of casually killing innocent guards, until I made myself consider the slaving, the bribery, blackmail, and worse they indulged in. Grizz had told me about the kind of strings that would have to be pulled, according to rumor, to get a guard to literally watch over an empty street, while the mobs were being held back on the outside of the district.

I didn’t know if I believed it, but I did know I needed this, and they were, technically at least, my enemies. I forced the thoughts of the guards from my mind and concentrated on the Emporium, walking up the steps to inspect the door. Oracle flitted forward from my shoulder and we examined it together.

“It’s a big lock, and it’s chained shut…” I pointed out, and she nodded. “But it seems a bit…clumsy?”

“It’s not magical, or at least, I don’t think so…” she said, slowly circling it.

“Maybe he thinks the Golems are all he needs, then?” I asked, and she shrugged, evidently reaching the same conclusion. “Joy. Well, let’s go find out, then, eh?” I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. This was the riskiest part of the entire night, including the arena fights. If I couldn’t get control of the Golems before they attacked, we’d have to run for it.

“Be careful,” Yen whispered up to me. “It’s probably trapped. Do you want me to look at it?” she offered, and I shook my head.

“Maybe, if I can’t, but I need the practice…”

I reached out, feeding my mana into the lock, forming a flexible ‘finger’ of mana to fill it. It seemed like ages since I’d used my spell ‘Manatouch,’ and I grinned as I felt it expanding out to lift the little bars and levers that composed the lock, pushing the tumblers until they clicked, one by one, and then turning it, ever so slowly.

There was an audible ‘clunk,’ and a needle suddenly appeared, jutting out from the lock, right where my hand would have been. I would have been unable to avoid it if I had used a standard lockpick instead of one created by magic.

I let out a grunt of surprise, examining the needle and seeing the glistening tip, coated with something I didn’t want to think about. Not wanting any other surprises, I slowly, and oh so carefully, undid the chains and set the lock on the floor.

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