A Werewolf In Under-Town

“So this Mr. Tilly is some kind of hot-shot with the Rakgu?” Shaggy asked as he finished his fourth hot dog.

They had left the arena, and Vlad and Slink had picked up some food from a stall near the entrance. After scarfing down four hot dogs and some soda, Shaggy’s legs had healed, and he was now walking behind Tinsel. The NPC was leading them toward what he called Dirt Row while explaining who they had just met.

“Mr. Tillani.” Tinsel corrected. “And yeah, he has some pull with a lot of the lower level guys in their organization.”

Ren grunted. “Why not just say ‘gang?’ The dude has a lot of pull in their gang.”

“I don’t know. It’s what they call themselves. They try to stay away from any criminal talk because they don’t want to draw attention when they are above ground.” Tinsel shrugged.

Shaggy glanced around as they continued down the dirt path, heading north, away from the arena. The standard broken down shacks grew closer and closer together as they walked. He thought he saw a few faces peer out at them around dirt-covered curtains and more than a few lights went out as they passed. Most of Under-Town had seemed unwelcoming, but Shaggy thought that the nearby NPCs seemed downright scared.

Before he could ask about it though, Tinsel took a hard right and started walking east. The Perinadon had to squeeze his colossal frame between two building and Shaggy swore he saw one of the building tilt, but Tinsel made it through fine. Ephemara and Blobby went through next. The latter conforming their gelatinous body through the narrow space. Vlad and Shaggy glanced at each other before turning to Ren.

The Perinadon player grimaced before he pushed his way between the squat buildings and followed their guide. Shaggy and Vlad waited to see if either of the buildings fell over. Once they were sure it was safe, they followed with Shaggy bringing up the rear. As he passed between the sheet metal buildings, he thought he could hear shuffling coming from within. He ignored it as he came out the other side.

They stood in a narrow alley between the squat buildings. Ren and Tinsel looked particularly uncomfortable. Blobby seemed fine squashed, as they were, against an old bike tire and a couple of metal trash cans. Vlad was watching the nearby houses before he glanced back at Tinsel. The question was obvious in his eyes. The NPC was standing there, obviously waiting for something.

Before Vlad could ask, Ephemara appeared in the middle of their narrow alley. She had her typical mad grin on her face as she looked at Tinsel and Ren.

“You were right, Tin. It’s dark as all hell, but it’s there.”

Shaggy tried to look around and guess what she was talking about, but he couldn’t see anything. Eventually he gave up and tried to ask, but Tinsel answered their unasked questions.

“So a couple of years ago. There was another gang in Under-Town, The Con Crew.” Tinsel began. “They were a group of Aliens, Mutants, and Magic users who specialized in underground work.”

Shaggy raised an eyebrow. “What? Like black market stuff? Assassinations and such?”

Tinsel laughed. “Hahaha. No. Nothing like that. The Con Crew literally worked underground. They would dig into banks and other types of buildings and steal things. They were even asked to expand Under-Town by some of the bigger gangs.”

“... And then they were killed off.” Ren sighed.

Shaggy and Vlad stared at their friend, but the big Alien shrugged his shoulders. “It makes the most sense. A group of people capable of building tunnels into and out of various gangs territories. They weren’t going to let that kind of crew last long.”

“Sure, but there have to be other earth-based Mages or Aliens around. What? Do the Big Four just kill them all?” Shaggy asked.

“Or maybe they hire them?” Vlad guessed.

“The gangs are more careful now.” Tinsel explained. “They keep an eye out for any ‘diggers’ that show up in Under-Town. They’ll hire or kill any that come down here, but mostly, they’ve got a lot of their territories Warded against underground incursions.”

“It wasn’t cheap from what I here.” Ephemara snickered.

“So I take it we’re heading underground?” Shaggy asked.

Tinsel nodded as he pointed to a patch of ground. “Yeah, there’s a sort of tunnel system below us we can get to if we dig here.”

“How did you get down there?” Vlad asked, turning to Ephemara.

The pale brunette smiled as she disappeared from where she stood, reappearing next to Vlad. “I’m not just invisible when phase. My body goes intangible. My people make excellent spies. Just saying.”

Shaggy felt his eyebrows go up in surprise as he glanced between Ren and Vlad. They were obviously thinking the same thing. That power seemed OP as all hell. Something must have shown on their faces, because the short woman coughed before she continued.

“Ahem, but some types of vision can see us. Oh, and magic. Plus, we have to reappear to touch anything.”

Shaggy nodded as he saw Tinsel shift from foot to foot. Sighing, he said. “Either way, I guess we have to start digging.”

“Not to mention find someway for us to see down there.” Ren added.

“~I can help with moving dirt, boss~” Blobby said, shifting its body to stand next to Shaggy.

Vlad was going through the nearby trash as he spoke up. “Go for it, Blobby. We’ll search around for something to light on fire.”

Blobby flattened their body and seemed to dissolve into the dirt as Shaggy joined the others in looking around the alley. There was plenty of trash to light on fire, but it quickly became apparent they had no way to start a fire. Shaggy glanced between the others as they all searched their pockets.

“Seriously? No one has a lighter or anything?” Shaggy complained.

“Maybe there’s something in one of these houses.” A voice said behind him.

Shaggy spun quickly, transforming his hand into a set of claws. He felt the others all shift into combat positions. He came face to face with Slink. The young Alien looked concerned as their group all turned on him. But his concerned quickly turned into annoyance as he seemed to figure out why they were surprised.

“Y’all fuckers forgot about me, didn’t you?!” Slink shouted from his spot between the two buildings they had squeezed through.

Luckily, the boy was skinny enough to fit comfortably between the two buildings. He had obviously been leaning up against a building, listening to them. Shaggy scratched the back of his head as he tried to avoid eye contact with his friend. He had forgotten all about the youngest member of their crew. By the looks on the other’s faces, they had as well.

“Well,” Vlad coughed. “Of course not. You just surprised us. Your race must have some bonuses to stealth. You know, to help you with your scouting.”

Slink didn’t look like he believed the mutant vampire, but luckily a sound drew everyone’s attention back to the center of the alley. Looking at the dirt where Blobby had disappeared, Shaggy could see the dirt bubbling and roiling as if something were moving underneath it. Soon, spots of Blobby’s blue skin popped into existence.

The slime-person was slowly shifting upward in a flat square shape. As they shifted, the dirt sank into their blue skin. Shaggy could see the clumps of dirt dissolve as they floated in Blobby’s translucent form. The blob was eating its way upward.

“Should we move some of the dirt?” Slink asked as they watched. “I mean, how much can they eat?”

Ephemara shrugged. “Mucunoid’s are known for their prodigious appetites.”

“Let’s wait and see if they ask for help. For now, we need to find some way to start a fire.” Shaggy said.

Everyone nodded as they continued their search of the cramped alley. But it was becoming apparent that they would have to search the houses. Vlad, Ren and Shaggy shared a look before they all turned to Slink. The young man still looked miffed at having been forgotten.

“Just check the houses without people first.” Ren said, giving the boy a stern look.

Slink threw up his hands. “What for? You think someone just left some matches lying around? Maybe an old-fashioned stove? One that uses gas? Come on.”

“Well, we need something,” Shaggy said. “Or else those of you without any sort of night vision are going to be blind down there.”

“Like us.” Ren said waving a hand between himself and Tinsel.

Ephemara also nodded. “Yeah, dark tunnels are always bad. Especially in Under-Town. Who knows what could be down there and I would prefer to at least see what ends up eating me.”

Blobby had finished his munching on their dirt meal and there was now a rather large square hole in the ground.

“~My people don’t really perceive the world like those of you with optical nerves. But I would also prefer some light. Also, the tunnel is complete. I ran into another already constructed tunnel down there~”

Tinsel nodded. “That would be it!”

“What’s it?” Shaggy, Vlad, and Ren all asked simultaneously. Nearby, Slink was leaning up against a building with his eyes closed.

The young teen shifted from foot to foot as Tinsel explained.

“So the Con Crew, underground experts, help the old gangs build out Under-Town. But afterward they are hunted. What do you think a crew of diggers will do once they have to run for their lives?”

“Dig escape tunnels?” Shaggy asked, slightly excited.

“Not just tunnels…” Tinsel began before Ephemara snorted.

“Oh, please, you can’t be serious. You don’t honestly believe the old Bolt Holes theory?” She asked.

Tinsel just pointed a large gray finger down at the square hole. As if its existence proved everything.

She just snorted again. “Please. We all know the Con Crew built escape tunnels every which way down there. But there has been no proof that some sort of hidden cache or hideout was built down there.”

Tinsel just crossed his massive arms across his chest and glanced down at the hole. The smaller woman looked between the hole and everyone else present before she threw her hands in the air in exasperation. Shaggy glanced between his friends before he realized Slink was gone.

“Slink?” He said, looking around for the inexperienced player.

The others looked around as well until Slink’s voice echoed from a nearby house. He had apparently snuck off into an empty house. At least Shaggy hoped it was empty.

“Curly thinks he found something in here.”

Ren walked closer to the squat metal building the boy’s voice was coming from. He checked the sheet metal ‘wall’ of the home. Coming to some kind of decision, the big Alien reached out and grabbed a side of the wall. Shaggy saw Ren’s arm muscles tense as he ripped down the wall of the house. Everyone cringed as the sound of screeching metal echoed in their small alley.

Shaggy had to cover his ears as his enhanced hearing went nuts at the sound of tearing metal. He saw Vlad also cradle his own head, as Ren curled the thin metal wall up like an old blanket. Once Ren finished and the noise died down, they all got a look at an astonished Slink standing in what looked like an abandoned living room. He was holding an old-fashioned lighter as one of his green snakes slithered into his pant leg.

“Vell, it’s better than nothing.” Vlad said, back again to his accent.

Shaggy looked around at everyone. “So we are doing this? Even if we don’t know if anything is down there?”

Tinsel straightened up, looking affronted. “It’s down there. Or at least some hidden cache is down there.”

“Based on what, Tin? Hearsay? You haven’t given us a lot to go on.” Ren said as he helped Slink out of the abandoned house.

“I knew one of the Con Crew, okay?” Tinsel said, throwing up his hands. “He was one of the Con Crew that got away and he used to do jobs with my mom and dad. He always used to talk about all the bolt holes and hideaways his old crew planned on building down there.”

“Planned on…” Shaggy said, sounding dubious.

Vlad shrugged his shoulders. “It’s a little more to go on and besides, I would like to find a headquarters of some sort before I have to log out.”

Slink and Ren were breaking down an old chair and making some makeshift torches. Ren was nodding along as Vlad spoke, and Slink also agreed.

“Yeah, it’s been fun, but I might have to go soon, anyway.”

Shaggy shrugged and looked at Blobby and Ephemara, both of whom looked contemplative.

“Well, I guess we are going down into the dark, scary pit.”