The Guild wasn't as lavish as Camar's, but it still stood out as I approached. The white and gold was the same but instead of the purple, Briar's Bridge opted for black.
I climbed the steps, pushing the door open, only to witness the loud end of what seemed to be a heated discussion.
"People are trapped under there!" A young man around my age shouted. He wore a yellow jacket, had a bag on him that seemed to jingle with glass bottles, and soot covered pants and dirtied boots. "If we can't get the Guild's help now, the city's not gonna do shit and those people are going to die!"
"I already told you, Mr. Horus, we can't do anything. We've put the job up but no one's taken it. I've done everything I can—" The guild receptionist began to say when this 'Horus' guy yelled in frustration.
"Like I said, I don't care how much I pay for this. Their lives are worth more than any kind of money. Please, anyone."
"I'll help you." I stepped forward. The receptionist and Mr. Horus turned to look at me.
"Really?" Mr. Horus rushed over and grabbed my hands. I could feel hope flood his system as his blue eyes softened. A tuft of white hair poked out from underneath the hooded part of his jacket.
"If that's so, may I please see your emblem? You have to be at least C-rank to take on the quest." The receptionist spoke up.
I made my way with Horus in tow, pulling out my badge out of thin air and handing it over.
"Alright… Mr. Elias Voyer… Mage… C-rank. Alright…" The receptionist looked up, nervously. "Do you have any others you'd want to help you with this? I only ask because you're a mage so this might be difficult for you."
"It'll be just me." I answered.
"A-are you sure?" Horus and the receptionist asked at the same time.
"This mission goes underground and it's very dangerous for a mage!" Horus continued. "I only say this because I'm a support mage and the place is filled with monsters—"
"I'll be fine." I cut him off. "Is there anything else I need to do before I leave?"
"Well… no." The receptionist shook their head.
I stuck my hand out for the emblem. "Well, then, as soon as I get my emblem, you'll show me the way, Mr. Horus?"
The receptionist handed my emblem and I stuck it back into my sub-space inventory, looking to Horus.
"You don't need to call me mister." Horus replied. "But I can show you the way. I'd actually prefer it if I was there with you."
"Mr. Horus, that isn't the safest—" The receptionist began.
"I need to know they're okay!" Horus shouted.
"That's fine." I nodded. "I won't even ask for more money. Let's say…" I thought for a moment before snapping my fingers. "You owe me a favor."
"A favor?" Horus raised his eyebrows like he hadn't expect me to allow him to join me. "A-are you sure?"
"More than sure." I nodded.
- - -
Horus led me down into the sewers. It was definitely what I thought it would be — waste water running down the middle, circular with bricks covering the walls, cracked pavement walkways on the sides flanking nasty sewage, and… a strange feeling.
"What were you guys doing down here?" I asked Horus as he led the way.
"They were studying the waste water to see if it was affecting lives." Horus replied.
"How did they get trapped down here? It doesn't look anything could happen without the city's infrastructure caving in on itself."
"They…" Horus stopped, slightly turning to face me. "Found an opening in one of the pathways that led to a strange underground network of caves."
So they got trapped exploring the caves. I surmised.
"Why didn't think stick to their job? Why go into the network of caves?" I asked. Something didn't make sense about all of this as we continued walking. Horus was quiet for a long time. Did he not want to share the answer or did he not know the reason?
The turns quickly disoriented me, but Horus moved forward like he knew where he was going.
"Hold on." Horus stuck his hand out before we were about to turn right, yet again.
Mana flooded my ears and I caught it; a crackle noises of chirps.
What is that? I wondered.
"Toxic rats…" Horus muttered under his breath. He looked over to me. "Those rats are dangerous, we should—"
I stepped forward, rounding the corner and revealing myself. "It'll be alright."
"But aren't you a—"
I summoned my staff and watched as the toxic rats all turned to look at me. They were different shades of green with bloodshot eyes and sharp teeth. They leapt from the toxic sludge of waste and rushed at me. I twirled my staff, slamming the butt end on the ground and watching as purple motes and glyphs fluttered outwards.
"Stiffen." I spoke the trigger word.
The glyph completed itself midair. Purple symbols locked into place around the rats like invisible clamps. Their bodies jerked mid-leap, muscles seizing, momentum dying instantly. One by one, they hit the ground with wet thuds, skidding across brick and stone, twitching but unable to rise.
The sewer went quiet.
"You… didn't kill them." Horus stared.
I exhaled slowly, the pressure between my eyes easing just a bit. "No need to."
The rats hissed, jaws snapping uselessly in the air as toxic saliva spilled onot the stone. The glyphs pulsed faintly, holding, but not crushing.
"Most sewer monsters are territorial," I surmised, stepping past them. "Killing one means inviting the rest."
Horus swallowed. "You… planned that?"
"More like I hoped that would be the case." I chuckled.
AS if offended by the word, the glyphs flickered.
I froze. The weight returned, the same one I'd felt back in the warehouse. Not physical. Conceptual like the spell was asking me why it existed. The rat strained harder.
"Elias?" Horus asked carefully.
"Something's wrong," I muttered.
The glyph fractured. Not shattered - misinterpreted.
The Stiffen command didn't release. It spread like tendrils. Purple lines crawled along the sewer walls, surging into the bricks, int othe sludge, into the air itself. The rats went still, not frozen, but all wrong. Their chests no long rose.
Horus stumbled back. "You said you didn't kill them."
"I-I didn't," I stuttered, heart pounding. "The spell—"
The sewer answered. A low tremor rippled through the tunnel, water sloshing violently. The glyphs along the walls lit up in response as if the space itself had accepted my command and expanded it.
Stiffen.
Not just muscle. Not just the monsters. The wastewater slowed then stopped entirely.
"Elias, the sewer—" Horus gasped.
"I know!" I clenched my staff, forcing my will inward instead of outward. "Damn it, this isn't what I meant!" The pressure behind my eyes spiked. Blood trickled down my nose. Rewrite wasn't asking how. It was asking what I believed Stiffen should mean.
And for a split second, I realized the truth: I hadn't defined my Creed clearly enough.
I didn't want to kill, but I hadn't decided what I was willing to halt, break, or sacrifice to protect others.
The sewer groaned. Cracks spiderwebbed through the brick ceiling ahead.
Horus shouted, "The cave sytem— they're beyond this point. If the tunnel collapses—"
I slammed the staff down again.
"Stiffen," I said hoarsely. "Only what threatens life."
The glyphs shrieked. They rewrote themselves. The frozen wastewater shattered frree, surging forward violently but redirected, flowing away from the cave entrance. The rats collapsed fully this time, unconscious, toxic glow fading to a dull green.
The tremor died. Silence returned, thick and heavy.
I dropped to one knee, breathing hard.
"A-are you okay?" Horus rushed to my side.
"…I think so," I said, wiping blood from my lip. "This place… it noticed me."
Horus looked down the tunnel ahead, toward the cave system. His voice was quiet now. "Then we'd better move. If those people are still alive…"
I pushed myself to my feet, gripping my staff tighter. I had fully realized what had just happened.
My Creed didn't fail. It spoke back. I used Rewrite without understanding my limits.
What I had thought was mercy was just a mask for negligence.
"Lead the way," I motioned Horus. "And Horus?"
"Y-yes?" Horus looked at me with a hint of worry and curiosity.
"If things go bad down there," I met his eyes. "I will do whatever is needed to get everyone out."