Chapter 423: The Worrisome Guard

The warming light of the setting sun made its last efforts to gleam through the dilapidating wooden buildings and tattered huts when the sound of footsteps could be heard from behind the grated gate.

The four guards stationed to thwart any foolish attempt from the locals to make their desperate and forlorn attempts to take revenge for the loss of their loved ones were coming to the end of their 12-hour shifts. Each but one of the quartet has long since forgotten the band of youngsters that came in front of them this very morning and brazenly stepped inside this ominous hellish hole with this gut-wrenching stench.

All, but one guard remembered their folly, as they tackled the unknown. Over the span of the last several hours he tried to listen in, peak, or at the very least sense and confirm their continued existence on this living plane. Yet, after the first hour or so, their life signs faded, reaching a point where the trained and experienced veteran could no longer perceive them, adding to his helpless worry.

Being a father of two similarly aged children, he was concerned about the safety of this foolish, naive little troupe. He hoped that despite the inauspicious chances mostly in favor of their untimely demise, they would pull that miracle that not just them, but even this world was in dire need of nowadays.

Still, when the sun reached its highest point up in the clear, unclouded sky and continued to scorch the land beneath it, the guard had to accept the harsh reality and come to terms with what was the most obvious answer to his concerns. That band of good-hearted and talented youth most likely have perished either by under the small, clawed hands of the nasty sewer-dweller skinks, or some other monstrosity lurking in those long-abandoned and forgotten halls.

"What's up with you Hephas? You have been gazing at the entrance for like the fifth time today." Seeing as their partner, Hephas was continuously glancing over the grates, Ovid, his partner could no longer hold down his curiosity and asked whilst he reached for the medium-sized leather pouch at his side and pulled out a dried piece of red smoked meat from its depth.

Raising it in front of his already salivating mouth, Ovid was about to chew on the quick lunch his wife had prepared for his shift, but before his yellowish teeth could clasp around its edges, his eyes ultimately overcome his primeval desire. He pulled back the meat and grabbed its opposing edges with his hands, whilst he looked in his concerned, worried-looking partner's direction once again.

His hungry gaze slanted, morphing into a sighing, sympathetic look. He broke the dried meat into two with a decisive move, offering the one in his left hand to Hephas.

"Here, eat something. Not sure what's eating away at your soul all day, but you need to calm down. If you are worried about the little bastards attacking, you shouldn't. From the reports, it was clear that they would not attempt anything foolish during daylight. Also, it's more than likely that there are other, hidden exits that they would prefer to use rather than willingly clash with us, the guards." He offered words to allay his friend's worries, albeit from the look on his face, unsuccessfully.

Keeping his gaze a few seconds longer on the obscure darkness lying in wait behind them, the middle-aged guard, Hephas, sighed helplessly at his partner's words. As the used-up air left his lungs only to be replaced by the newly inhaled, but foul-smelling stale air he forcefully calmed his nerves and swallowed his fatherly worries. 

Why was he so agitated anyways? It's not that those bunch of kids had anything to do with him, he had his own family, their own life to worry about. Why waste his effort on a bunch of strangers? 

He shook his head with a discontent look on his face. He couldn't understand himself, his reactions were way out of the norm recently. 

'Was it because of this place?' He pondered as he turned around and with a gentle nod accepted the offered piece of lunch. As he silently bit into the cured flesh of this piece of the domesticated Sun Hug's pork, his thoughts slowly returned to normalcy, and his strange, ungrounded fears and worries were slowly wafted away, albeit as it later turned out, temporarily.

"Thanks, Ovid, I really needed that!" Hephas sighed with a visible content stretched across his face. His pride not allowing to leave this gesture of friendly sharing unreturned, he also reached for his side, where instead of a leather pouch a flask shined with its metallic luster. 

Hephas grabbed it, pulling it from his waist, and presented it to Ovid.

He didn't say anything, nor was there a need to, the gesture was plainly obvious.

Ovid did not hesitate either, with an appreciative smile, he took the water bottle from his friend, and took a large gulp from it. He wasn't surprised when he noticed that the refreshing fluid substance was still cold as it washed down his parched throat, quenching his thirst in mere moments. As City Guards, when they were stationed out in the plains, or anywhere where they were subjected to the torturously bright sun for hours on end, they were each given these enchanted flasks that could retain its cool temperature regardless of the scorching, blistering heat.

Being lunchtime, they took turns taking their short lunch break and find a small shade to freshen up. Hephas and Ovid were the ones that this time had to stay at their stations, whilst the other two were a few blocks away.

After a refreshing sigh and a satisfying burp, Ovid wiped his mouth with his arm. Giving the flask back to his friend he asked.

"So, care to tell what's eating at you? What's the sour look man? Did you had a fight with your wife?" 

Ovid's actions did their trick, the agitated and nervous-looking Hephas was much calmer than before. Taking a quick gander over the closed-up gate, he smiled bitterly as he began to explain and voice his worries.

"Remember that group of youngsters that had the guild permit and ventured down in the morning?" Instead of straight-up answering, Hephas began his response with a question of his own.

"Ehrm…" Ovid flashed an empty look at first, but a moment later, the image of the little band of youngsters and their two huge-bodied dogs came to his mind, he nodded. "Y-yeah, I do. What about them?"

"Haven't you noticed it yet? They still haven't returned, nor could you hear the signs of fighting at all. In fact, no matter how hard I try, I can't even feel their presence at all!" He exclaimed, adding it after a momentary pause. "In fact, after like the first hour, I completely lost them!"

Ovid looked at his friend with a confused, bewildered expression, not really sharing the same concern as he did.

"And? What do you care? They are just some naive fledgling adventurers, what do you care what becomes of them? It was their decision to walk into their deaths even as we tried to warn them." He shrugged his shoulders, clearly not bothered if Aiden's group were to die in these maze-like depths or not.

He had no business with them, why would he bother?