The ride on the cargo lift was long and quiet. Valerius and Elara huddled together between two large crates, the darkness a comforting blanket. After what felt like hours, the deep humming sound of the lift changed. With a soft jolt, it came to a stop. They had arrived. Elara peeked through a crack between the crates. "We're here," she whispered, her voice full of wonder.
When the cargo was unloaded, they slipped away from the lift and into their new world. The change was shocking. The air in the Undercity was thick, heavy, and smelled of smoke and oil. Here, in the upper spires, the air was clean and crisp. The sky was not a dirty brown, but a brilliant blue. The buildings were not dark and crowded, but tall, elegant towers of polished brass and white stone that gleamed in the sunlight. The streets were clean and wide, filled with wealthy citizens in beautiful, colorful clothes. There was no sign of the dirt and poverty of the world below.
Valerius looked at the beauty around him, but he felt no joy. This place was a gilded cage, a beautiful lie built on the suffering of the people in the Undercity. He felt a surge of anger. This was the world Corvus had stolen from him. For Elara, it was different. She looked at everything with wide, amazed eyes. She had never seen anything so clean or so beautiful in her entire life. It was like stepping into a dream.
They looked completely out of place in their patched, dirty clothes. People stared at them with suspicion and disgust. They needed to find a place to hide, and fast. "This way," Elara whispered, pulling Valerius into a small, clean alley. Even the alleys here were cleaner than the main streets below.
Elara, with her scavenger's instincts, found them a safe place. It was a small, unused maintenance level between two of the giant towers. It was a space of vents, pipes, and forgotten storage rooms that the rich citizens never saw. It was their new hidden base, a small piece of the Undercity's shadow in the heart of the bright upper world.
From a high ventilation shaft, Valerius looked out at the city. He could see the grand tower where the Artificer's Council held their meetings. He could see the beautiful spire that he knew was Master Corvus's home. He was closer to his enemy now than he had been in years. The feeling was intoxicating. He was no longer a helpless worker trapped below. He was a virus in the system, an unseen threat in a perfect, gilded cage. He had made it past the walls. Now, it was time to find his enemy's secrets.