Big Black and Second Husky

The foul-smelling sewers were a maze of twisted pipes and waterways. Anyone unfamiliar with the layout would be hopelessly lost after just a couple of turns.

They had to endure not only the ever-present poisonous stench, but also the many dangerous creatures lurking in the darkness.

Fortunately, both rogues and rangers were skilled at moving unseen.

Hastings and Hares were brothers. Those who knew them usually called them Big Black and Second Husky. In public, the brothers pretended not to know each other. From time to time, they would team up to trick rookies, and they had even pulled off a few scams where they preyed on other crooks.

This time, they had planned to fleece Amber Xiu. They just hadn't expected him to be more cunning than the two of them put together. They'd followed him all the way into the sewers, only to lose him and end up in danger themselves.

The filthy, dim sewer had suddenly turned into a beautiful garden. Even the stench in the air had vanished, replaced by a rich floral fragrance.

Big Black, the rogue, frowned. "Something's not right. How could there be a garden in Alchemy City's sewers?"

Second Husky, the ranger, replied casually, "Who knows? Those alchemists could make anything."

Big Black had sensed that something was wrong, but Second Husky's explanation immediately put him at ease.

"You've got a point. This place is wonderful. The flowers smell amazing."

Big Black took a few deep breaths, feeling his body and mind relax. He didn't notice his eyes slowly turning bloodshot. The brothers had only been wandering around the garden for a few minutes, but soon they were like dazed zombies, their mouths hanging open as they drooled.

At that moment, a goddess wreathed in golden light appeared before them.

"Mortal, you have trespassed into a god's domain."

The ethereal voice brought excited smiles to the brothers' dazed faces. They gazed at the beautiful goddess, glowing all over, and hurriedly fell to their knees.

Drooling, Big Black asked, "Beautiful goddess, may I ask which deity you are?"

"I am Mystra, Goddess of Magic. You were lucky enough to find my garden, so I can grant you one wish."

Second Husky looked confused. "The Goddess of Magic? But I'm a ranger..."

Big Black, however, blurted out eagerly, "Great goddess, I—I want... I want you!"

In Big Black's eyes, Mystra was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, the embodiment of all his fantasies. He had nearly lost his reason and no longer cared whether his desire would blaspheme a goddess. He only wanted to give in to it.

Second Husky was startled by his brother's shamelessly lewd request. This was a goddess!

But to their surprise, the golden Mystra didn't get angry. Instead, she laughed sweetly.

"You have excellent taste, mortal. I will grant your wish."

The goddess's answer sent Big Black into a frenzy. He threw himself at her and began kissing her eagerly.

Second Husky watched enviously, wondering if he should make the same wish. But before he could, a tremendous force seized him and dragged him to the side.

Second Husky didn't even have time to react. His head spun, and the world around him changed completely.

The lovely garden, full of birdsong and flowers, had turned back into a filthy, stinking sewer. Several burly men wearing leaves and antlers had appeared beside him.

One of them, a dark-skinned man, grabbed Second Husky's arm and warned him, "Don't move. The hag's illusion is too powerful. We can barely keep it at bay. If you rush back in, we won't be able to save you."

Just out of the illusion, Second Husky was still dazed and had no idea what was happening. "Rush back in? Wait, where's my brother?!"

Second Husky looked toward where they had been before. He was now twenty or thirty meters away from Big Black. Even more shocking, his brother was kissing a hideous old hag covered in poisonous sores.

"Ugh!"

Whether it was a side effect of the illusion or the sight was simply too much to bear, Second Husky vomited until he could hardly breathe. It took him a long while to recover.

When he looked again at his poor brother, Big Black was lying contentedly in the hideous monster's arms. Filth that made his stomach turn covered his face and body, yet he wore an expression of bliss. Even worse, the hag and Big Black were sprawled atop a pile of rotting, mutated rats, their bodies drenched in poisonous pus.

"Ugh..."

Second Husky couldn't help it. He vomited again.

Looking back at the muscular men in leaves, Second Husky felt a surge of gratitude. If they hadn't helped him, he would have suffered the same despairing torment.

After thanking them over and over, Second Husky asked, "Are you Druids?"

The dark-skinned man who had pulled him aside replied, "I'm Van Jones. We're Druids of the Golden Vine Tribe. We also fell into the hag's illusion, and now we can't escape."

Second Husky looked around. There were six people dressed as Druids, four men and two women. Three of them stood together, chanting, seemingly maintaining some kind of magic ritual.

Van Jones continued, "For now, we can only use the Thorn Ritual to shield ourselves from the illusion. But even with us taking turns, we can't hold out much longer."

Only then did Second Husky notice how haggard the Druids looked. They seemed as if they hadn't slept in days.

"What do we do?" Second Husky asked anxiously.

He wanted to save his brother, but he probably couldn't do it on his own.

"We don't know. We're just holding on for the faintest, most elusive hope."

Van Jones sounded just as helpless. They couldn't break the hag's illusion. They had tried attacking her several times, but she appeared and vanished unpredictably. Neither summoning beasts nor using nature magic could hurt her.

Meanwhile, the illusion kept draining the Druids' strength. If they stopped the Thorn Ritual, the hag would bewitch them all again.

They had saved Second Husky only because of their innate kindness as Druids, and because they hoped he might bring them a chance to turn things around.

But as things stood, this ranger probably had no way to break the stalemate either.

Van Jones sighed. "Sylvanus above, perhaps it's time for us to return to the forest."

Second Husky thought of Amber Xiu and Naomi, whom he had met at the tavern, and asked, "Don't you have another tribeswoman, a young female Druid with short blond hair?"

Van Jones asked in surprise, "You know Naomi?"

"I don't know her, but I've seen her. She brought help too, and they should have reached the sewers by now. If we hold on a little longer, maybe we can be saved." Second Husky was trying to reassure Van Jones as much as himself. He had no thoughts of preying on anyone now. He just wanted Amber Xiu to hurry up and show up to kill the hag.

Van Jones, however, was shocked. "Naomi came back? That girl... Is she crazy? She's throwing away all our sacrifices for nothing!"

Second Husky said anxiously, "Don't be so pessimistic! The person she brought should be powerful, and he's an undead. He's especially suited to an environment like the sewers. He can definitely deal with this hag!"

Van Jones suddenly seized Second Husky by the collar and demanded loudly, "What did you say? An undead?!"