After enough time for Jasper to regain his breath, the courtyard was crossed in search of the sewer entrance.
"Wha—ugh, fine!" Nova accepted as they walked away, hurrying along.
It was in the grass to the left of the castle gate that a soil-covered, circular lid was found in the ground.
"Not used much by the looks of it," Jasper said while kneeling down, still out of breath.
"You know, we can wait longer if you're still feeling tired," Finn offered the clearly exhausted knight.
"Yeah, it's no problem," Charlotte assured.
Jasper brushed off the offer with a wave of his hand, holding a smile, "Me? No, I'm fine, mates—no worries."
"If you say so," Finn said.
"Don't expect me to carry you if you can't walk," Magnus jokingly reminded the knight.
"Not in a million years," Jasper responded.
As they gathered around the massive lid, the layer of soil was brushed off as the keyhole revealed itself in the center.
"You've got the key, right?" Magnus asked while looking at the assassin.
Finn reached into his pocket, bringing the required object out, "--Right here."
The key slid right into the lock, though it required some elbow grease to turn it, having to use both hands to do so.
"Do you need a hand?--" Charlotte offered, standing beside him.
Finn breathed out, breaking a sweat as he continued to turn the unnecessarily heavy lock, "Nope...I've got it...!"
With a "click", the mechanism was secured as the seals on the sewage gateway were withdrawn. It felt all too grand for what were merely sewers, though none of it was humble; not the overwhelmingly large castle of glistening marble, nor the floating continent it sat upon.
"We're really going down there, aren't we? Oh..." Nova mumbled as the lid was unlocked.
Finn grabbed onto one of the handles, beginning to pull, "Some help?--"
"We don't need to go anywhere specific, right? All we need to do is get into the castle itself," Charlotte reminded them all.
"Yeah, you're right," Finn agreed.
"Well, flip a coin?" Jasper suggested jokingly while peering side-to-side.
While it was given thought for a moment by Finn, all of that was thrown to the wayside as Nova marched her way to the left tunnel, "This way!"
"Hey–what're you doing?" Finn asked sharply.
Nova looked back, "It doesn't matter which way we go, right? So...left! C'mon!"
Though it was frustrating to follow along, it didn't mean anything one way or the other, leaving the left to be the chosen path. Of course, Nova was left quietly humming as she walked now, seeming happy with herself.
Finn moved past her, taking the lead as he ruffled her hair, "Next time, don't do things on your own."
"Hey–watch the hair!" Nova protested, attempting to fix her messy tufts.
While the young woman huffed, they were quickly interrupted as the river of sewage moved. A ripple in the murky water brought them all to a still, listening in as something moved.
"An alligator?--" Charlotte guessed, glancing over at Jasper.
"Why're you looking at me? First off, we have crocs in the Oz, not alligators!" Jasper corrected.
"Alligators in sewers is a myth, anyway–I don't know what that is in the water, but it's probably not good," Finn explained, keeping his daggers ready.
The rippling drew closer, getting between both walkways before what lurked in the putrid waters emerged. Muddy liquid cascaded down its back of pearly scales; it rose to its hind legs, though a reptile of familiar origin.
It presented two heads on its shoulders, each hissing at the intruders of the sewers as its double tails flicked behind its body. The monstrosity stood hunched over with its back pressed against the ceiling, looming over twice the height of the humans.
["Sleuth Status"]
[Enemy Recognized: "Albino Double-Headed Alligator"] [Level: 32]
"It is an alligator! See!" Charlotte pointed out while drawing her sword.
"What sorta history channel did you watch?!" Finn asked.
"I'd hardly qualify this thing as one!" Jasper responded.