The smoke from the burned Council chamber hadn't even cleared when Kael was already moving. He didn't need Therun's orders or Mara's reluctant blessing — the hive's escape trail was obvious to him, even through the chaos. The moss residue that had dripped from Saren's dissolving body hadn't simply seeped into the marble cracks; it had run downward, following paths that only the city's foundations knew.
Paths that led underground.
Ryn caught up with him in the barracks courtyard."Tell me you're not going after it right now.""I'm going after it right now," Kael said.
Captain Dorrin came striding over, still wearing smoke-streaked armor. B-Rank (Low), ~1,100 GP."You think you can track it through the aqueducts?"Kael nodded. "It's not just water down there anymore. Those roots will take the oldest routes, the ones people forgot."
Dorrin hesitated, then jerked his head toward the armory. "You'll want rope and oil. If the roots have gone into the stone, fire alone won't kill them."
The aqueduct entrance was a grated arch near the east wall, guarded by two soldiers who looked less than thrilled to be posted there. C-Rank (Low), ~150–180 GP each. Their spears were clean — too clean for anyone who'd had to fight moss growth before.
Ryn handed them a slip with Dorrin's seal, and they reluctantly moved aside. The grate came open with a groan of rusted hinges, and Kael dropped into the damp tunnel beyond.
The smell hit first — wet stone, stagnant water, and underneath it, that living-green scent he'd come to know too well.
Ryn landed behind him, crossbow ready. "Light?"Kael shook his head. "Not yet. Let your eyes adjust."
They moved in near-darkness, the tunnel's trickle of water guiding their steps. The sound of dripping echoed off the curved stone ceiling, but beneath it Kael could hear something else — a slow, pulsing creak, like wood swelling under pressure.
The first sign of intrusion came in the form of a side passage blocked entirely by tangled roots. They weren't dead. They pulsed faintly, like veins.
Kael crouched, running his fingers over the bark. Warm. The same warmth that bled from a node's body."This is the right way," he murmured.
They hacked through, the smell of green intensifying with each cut. As they stepped into the next chamber, the roots pulled back slightly — not retreating, but flexing, aware.
Something moved in the water ahead.
At first, Kael thought it was debris. Then it rose — a hunched shape, dripping, with stalks of moss growing from its shoulders like a grotesque garden. Its face was human once, but now half-covered by a plate of bark.
Root-Tender Drone — C-Rank (Mid), GP ~350.
It didn't roar. It just waded forward, silent, swinging a root-club in both hands.
Kael sidestepped the first swing and slashed low, severing the knee. The creature didn't scream — its head just lolled, and it came on one-legged.
Ryn's bolt punched through its throat, slowing it just enough for Kael to open the chest. The warm pulse hit instantly.
[C-Rank (High) | GP: 640 + 10 = 650]
The drone sagged, roots curling back into the water as it died.
They pressed on, following the root-lined walls deeper into the aqueduct. The water was ankle-deep now, rippling with unseen currents. The stone was old here, carved with marks so faded they were more suggestion than shape — symbols from before the city.
Ryn's voice was low. "You feel that?"
Kael did — a faint vibration underfoot, steady as a heartbeat. The roots here were thicker, braided into the stone. This wasn't just a hiding place. This was where the hive fed.
The next chamber was wide, its ceiling lost in shadow. Water pooled in the center, and at its heart stood a mound of intertwined roots. They pulsed slowly, and in the middle of the mound was something worse — a human figure, or what had once been one, suspended upright within the roots. Its skin was pale, stretched tight, its mouth open in a silent scream.
Kael stepped forward, heart pounding. This wasn't a drone. It wasn't even a node.
It was a root-heart — a growth the hive used to anchor its network underground. Killing it could sever dozens of aboveground nodes.
[Root-Heart Guardian — B-Rank (Low), GP ~1,050.]
The figure's eyes snapped open.
Roots shot out from the mound, smashing into the water, sending up a spray. Kael rolled aside, Stonehide flaring as one tendril clipped his shoulder. The blow was heavy enough to crack bone if he hadn't hardened.
Ryn fired, her bolt embedding deep into the guardian's chest — but the thing didn't slow. It reached for her, pulling itself partly free from the mound.
Kael charged, cutting into the nearest root, feeling the hot blood spray over his hands.
[C-Rank (High) | GP: 650 + 15 = 665]
The guardian roared, voice layered with too many tones. It lashed out, catching Kael's leg and yanking him toward the mound. He jammed his knife into the tendril, severing it, and landed hard in the water.
Ryn's next shot hit one of the thicker braids connecting the guardian to the mound. The root shuddered, sap gushing into the pool.
Kael saw his opening. He waded forward, ignoring the roots that scraped at his arms, and drove his blade into the gland pulsing under the guardian's ribs.
The warmth hit him like fire.
[C-Rank (High) | GP: 665 + 20 = 685]
The guardian screamed, thrashing violently. Roots splintered, slamming into the ceiling. Chunks of stone fell, splashing into the pool.
Kael yanked his blade free and slashed again, severing the last of the thick braids. The guardian convulsed once — then collapsed into the water, lifeless. The mound sagged, its pulsing slowing to nothing.
All around, the roots began to retract into the walls, curling away like burned paper. The green scent faded.
Kael stood, chest heaving. The silence was sudden and deep.
Ryn waded over, eyes scanning the chamber. "That anchor's gone. How many nodes do you think it fed?"
"Enough to make the Council safer. For now."
She nodded, but her eyes lingered on the mound's empty space. "This wasn't the only root-heart, was it?"
Kael shook his head. "No. But it's the first we've found. And the hive knows we can kill them now."
They took a narrow side passage back toward the surface, emerging into the cold evening air near the river gate. Kael's arms were heavy, his limbs still burning from the GP gains — C-Rank (High), GP: 685. He could feel the difference in every step.
At the gate, Dorrin was waiting, flanked by two new faces.
Lieutenant Cale — Military scout, C-Rank (High), ~630 GP.
Sergeant Brenn — Flamecaster, B-Rank (Low), ~1,020 GP.
"You were right," Dorrin said without preamble. "The hive's been using the aqueducts. We'll post guards at every known entrance."
Kael shook his head. "It won't be enough. They'll find new ways in."
Ryn added, "We need maps. Old ones. Before the modern sewer lines. The hive's using tunnels we don't even remember."
Dorrin grimaced. "That means the Archive. And the Archive means Council approval."
Kael's jaw tightened. "Then we take it. With or without them."
That night, as Kael sat in his small rented room, the city seemed quieter than it should have been. No market bells, no distant arguments. Just the faint, rhythmic sound of water dripping somewhere out of sight.
He knew it was in his head. He also knew it might not be.
The hive had lost a root-heart. It would be hurting. But it would also be planning.
And next time, it wouldn't run. It would call him.