Elizabeth and Alice in Otherland: Part 4

The nightmare architecture of the city twisted and bent in ways that seemed totally at odds with common sense. The myriad roofs and walkways formed a canopy that choked the sky and allowed for only the faintest of illumination from the bright red moon overhead. Each window was darkened and the streets were empty, save for Elizabeth and her two companions. Perhaps they were the only ones left? But that didn't seem likely judging from the streetlights.

Elizabeth turned to Finder and put a finger to her lips as he bounded across the street. Finder gave a nervous grin and shrugged in reply.

As the group rounded a corner Finder's ears perked up.

"Hear that?"

Elizabeth nodded. "Sounds like marching."

"The King's men." Alice added, drawing closer.

The marching became louder by the second. Taking cover, the group watched on as a legion of knights constructed from parchment marched through the streets. Some weird wiry and carried long lances, others were stout and wielded long poleaxes. In the middle of the legion an especially large knight, some kind of leader, could be seen.

Just as it seemed that the legion would turn onto their street a great cry rang out from the commander. "Lacrimosas!" Twisted shadowy creatures seemed to swell out from cracks in the street and assailed the knights from every side.

"What are those?" Finder asked, turning to Elizabeth.

"I was hoping you knew."

"Psst! Hey!"

Elizabeth and the others looked around in confusion. The origin of the voice was a nearby cellar window. Two bright glowing eyes could be seen emanating from behind the glass.

"You need ta get outta the street!"

The group exchanged glances. What choice did they have? As they approached the cellar the window swung out, allowing barely enough room for all of them to squeeze through on their bellies.

As Elizabeth's eyes adjusted to the light she took in the sight of their savior. The man's bulk nearly scraped the ceiling and it was hard to imagine how such a large person managed to get around without great inconvenience. His large yellow raincoat and thick grey beard gave him the look of an old fisherman, the kind you might see on the cover of a novel or used in advertising some kind of canned food. One of his great limbs ended in a large hook, which he took great care to avoid showing off.

"They call me the Mariner, nice to meet ya." The hulking man said in a bizarre accent that seemed to come and go as he spoke.

"I'm Elizabeth."

"Alice."

"Finder's the name."

Mariner smiled, revealing a mouthful of broad teeth. Suddenly his eyes lit up in realization. "You three must be hungry, hold on and I'll get ya somethin'."

Shuffling off into a side-room the Mariner left Elizabeth and the others to stand in waiting, unsure of what exactly to do. Finally Finder settled on taking a seat at a small wooden table in the back of the room, where he was soon joined by Elizabeth and Alice.

"Here ya go, girls." Mariner bellowed as he shambled into the room. "I'll have yers ready in a hurry."

The two of them stared down at their plate in confusion. Whatever was on their plate looked equal parts fish and bird and was entirely uncooked.

"Well, he seems nice." Finder chirped.

"Seems that way." Alice muttered as she poked the meal with her finger. "Or this food could be poison."

"That's a terrible thing to say." Elizabeth replied.

Lurching up to the small table Mariner placed a plate in front of Finder and took up a seat of his own. "So what're ya two doing in the city? You don't look like locals, iffin ya don't mind me saying so."

"We're trying to reach the towers."

"The towers? What fer? The king lives there!" Mariner asked between bites of the strange fish-bird, which seemed to consist of some kind of jelly once the skin was pierced.

"And that's precisely why we need to go."

"Don't suppose I can talk you out of going, can I?" Mariner said, more to himself than to Elizabeth. Grunting, he pushed a section of thw wall, revealing a small staircase. "Well, the least I can do is make sure you get there safely."

Sticking to the walls the group followed behind Mariner, who was up to the knees of his waders in the pitch black liquid that flowed through the sewer. The sole sources of illumination were Mariner's glowing eyes and the occasional flickering electric light that hung from the ceiling. These factors combined to form an oppressive cloud that hung over the group and colored their every move.

Alice's face wrinkled. "It smells awful down here."

"It'll smell worse before it smells better." Mariner could be heard responding from up ahead.

"That's reassuring."

As they progressed deeper and deeper the lights became more frequent and eventually they arrived at a junction where a series of walkways connected various tunnels together. Mariner looked around briefly before moving on ahead, but abruptly stopped half-way across. "Girls, there be something in here with us."

As if summoned by the remark a bright red slight cuts through the darkened depths. Springing out of the water the intruder begins to rapidly ascend the walls, the sharp needles of it's feet clacking against the stone rhythmically.

With a great leap the spider-like beast pounced on the walkway. It's great weight unbalancing the walkway and threatening to plunge everyone into the dark waters below. Alice looked back at Elizabeth as she drew a weapon seemingly from thin air.

"Shall we?"