Daydreams And Nightshade (DaN #1)

Chapter 43: The underground

"How did I not know about this?" Luna gestured around the huge underground town. "It's amazing, and it's been right underneath me all this time?"

"Happy you like it," Shyen said, looking up towards the ceiling not visible in the darkness above. "It'd be a bummer to bring you all the way down here and then have you decide you hate it."

"But how... For how long has this been going on?" Luna let go of Shyen's arm and walked faster to get a better view of the streets. "This must've taken ages, and just digging your way underground?"

"Ah well, there was a natural cave system, so most of the work was already done." Shyen hurried after. "And then Derek's had a lot of time on his hands, and doesn't really get exhausted, so here we are."

Luna turned another corner and couldn't help but laugh at the whole situation. It was an entirely different town but so close to South Kerilia, just not in the way someone would have thought. So many questions swirled in her head, so she had no choice but to start somewhere.

"So people live down here? I hear voices in the distance after all, but like... How many?"

"Oh." Shyen shrugged. "I don't know, maybe around three hundred? But I think there will be more."

"That's still a lot of people." Luna looked around. "And they can all go upstairs, but no one's seen them?"

"Not everyone goes upstairs, we have most things we need down here. I mean, we do have some people going up to get supplies, but we do pretty well just here if needed."

"But it must be inconvenient still," Luna insisted. "How do you even get fresh air? And fresh water?"

"Well, it's a natural—"

"And I mean, not that we get a lot of sunlight upstairs in South Kerilia either, but you—"

"Look, I get the feeling you're gonna have a lot of questions, so list them in your head as you go and let's save them for later, shall we?" Shyen grinned at her and Luna shrugged as she once again disappeared around a corner.

The next street was empty too. If Luna hadn't heard those voices from somewhere she would have been certain Shyen was making it all up and this was all an unnecessarily large murder den.

"Alright," she said as she turned around to Shyen who'd followed her around the corner. "Not a question, but a statement. There should be other people here but there aren't."

"Oh. Yeah, they're probably at the grand hall." Shyen nodded further into town. "Come."

While following him she noticed carved stairs up to another floor where the walls were covered in doors. Living quarters, Luna assumed.

They didn't have to walk for long until they reached the hall, or supposedly a hall. Luna was not convinced a bunch of pillars, despite being neatly carved and lined up to at least give her the impression of walls, counted as a room.

There were indeed people inside. Luna passed by two elevated bowls with sweet-scented smoke welling out of them, and her entire body relaxed. That was some great incense.

Shyen slowed down as they neared the crowd.

"Huh. That's odd." He looked around. "They should've started by now."

"What?"

"We usually have a masquerade ball at this time of the week, but..." Shyen gestured at the gathered crowd and began walking towards it again. Luna followed. "... Something seems to be holding it up.

They did all look awfully dressed up, and if Luna looked a bit closer some of them were holding masks. As Shyen approached them they politely let him through, and Luna hurried after. It wasn't until they'd reached the front row he held out a hand to stop her.