The air in the Dreadmire canals was a thick, fungal miasma. Bioluminescent moss painted the crumbling brickwork in eerie greens and blues, casting long, dancing shadows. The only sounds were the drip of stagnant water and their own cautious footsteps.
"Soul-residue is stronger here," Raguel murmured, his hand outstretched. A faint, ghostly trail, visible only to his Abyss-touched sight, glimmered ahead. "It's fresh. Hours old, maybe less."
"Good," Cassiathon said, her hand resting on her sword's hilt. "Let's finish this and get paid."
A skittering sound echoed from a side tunnel. Lilithiel spun, a dagger flashing into her hand.
"We're not alone."
From the darkness, shapes emerged. Not mortal vermin, but spectral scavengers—Wisp Hounds. Their forms were semi-transparent, like smoke given fangs and a hungry glimmer in their empty eye sockets.
"Fantastic," Cassiathon growled.
The lead Hound lunged. Cassiathon met it head-on, her blade singing with a low, fiery hum as it passed through the creature's insubstantial form. It yelped, dissipating into foul mist.
Raguel fired his pistol. The rune-etched bullet flared with white light, tearing through two more hounds. They weren't powerful, but there were many.
Lilithiel did not attack. Instead, she closed her eyes and began a low, melodic chant. A soft, silver light emanated from her, washing over the hounds. They recoiled, hissing at the touch of the purified energy.
As the last hound faded, Lilithiel staggered, a hand flying to her temple. A trickle of dark blood escaped her nose.
"Lilith!" Raguel moved to steady her.
"I'm fine," she insisted, wiping the blood away. "That power… it's a part of me I'd rather forget. It has a cost."
Cassiathon watched, a conflicted look on her face. "Just don't burn out before we get the bounty."
Further down the tunnel, Raguel knelt, picking up a sodden piece of parchment. It was a torn page from a journal. The ink was blurred, but a few phrases were legible: "…cannot let the Bloodthorn secret be unearthed… Razamon will burn all of creation to get it… the Dusk Shard is the only key to…"
The rest was lost to the murky water.
"Bloodthorn secret," Raguel read aloud. The name hung in the damp air, heavy with implication.
"We're not just hunting a traitor," Lilithiel said, her voice hollow. "We're chasing a spark that could start a war."