The two made their way through the claustrophobic tunnel that lie underneath The Creekstone Bridge.
Both boys were quite small for their age, and yet they still found it quite difficult to fit in-between the tightly closed off stone walls.
Chase had to turn his body sideways, while maintaining a semi-crouched position.
Gabriel cursed several times, as his head repeatedly bumped into the weathered down walls.
After what could have been gods know how long, they finally spotted a strange blue light at the end of the tunnel.
As they got closer, Chase was struck with a sense of disbelief.
They cautiously crawled out of the tunnel, and were met with the sight of an entire underground city.
Along the cavern walls stood hundreds of buildings that had been stacked on top of each other. Cat walks and suspended bridges made pathways that led to the different sections of the city.
The two boys stood on an overlapping balcony at the very top of the cavern, looking down on everything below them.
Hundreds of shops, alleys, and even poorly designed housing lie below them at the bottom of the city.
But what stood in the center of everything was truly breathtaking.
A massive square-shaped arena stood, with coliseum stands for the crowd, and special boxes for what could only be VIP spectators, sat at the very top of the stands.
Chase took a deep breath, as he looked around.
Several people were sitting on ebony-black picnic benches on the very same platform as them. They looked extremely shady, and wore dark clothing, some wore barely any at that, as if they were savages who had grown up in the alleys of the city.
And for all Chase knew, they very much could have.
They gave the boys a strange look, but went back to their secretive discussion.
"What is this place?"
Chase whispered, looking at Gabriel out of the corner of his eyes.
"Only the most dangerous place in the city if you aren't careful."
He paused, his eyes narrowing at a shop that hung from the ceiling above the arena. It looked far more grander than all of the rest of the shops.
Black pillars held it to the ceiling, as many catwalks led to the somewhat open platform at its lowest floor.
But it could also be considered its highest floor, as the building looked like a gothic castle that had been flipped upside down, defying everything humans knew about gravity.
"They call it The Underbelly; however, most people know it as one of the biggest black markets on the continent."
Chase scratched his shoulder, and began to make his way onto one of the many suspended bridges.
"Where do we find the keeper then?"
He said, letting Gabriel walk in front of him, so that he could lead the way.
"Where do you think?"
He said with a humorous tone, as he looked up at the grand central shop.
"Ah."
Chase let out a low sigh, as he followed behind, looking down at the hundreds of gothic-styled markets below the two.
He had never liked heights, but had to force himself to adapt to them, after sleeping atop the giant tree's of The Dark Forest.
He had of course, eventually grown used to being high up over time; however, this was truly a new spectacle.
Vibrant crystals hung from small caves within the ceiling of The Underbelly, that lit up the entire place with a hue of blue.
After walking for an eternity, the two finally closed in on the grand shop at the center.
Plenty of shoppers were inside. Some were studying the racks of weapons and artifacts, while others were either just standing idly against the walls, or at the center of the place, where a dimly lit tavern-like area was bustling with life.
Once they walked into the grand market, the stench of alcohol burned at Chase's nostrils, making him nearly gag from the powerful smell.
Lots of people gave them strange looks, as they walked through the shop.
Chase's attention was caught multiple times by the wide range of different items that were sold.
Swords, potions, and all kinds of materials lined the many racks of the market.
He could have sworn that a large eye was hanging from one of the side racks, with a sign that read, Dragon Eye - Price of 1000 gold.
Gabriel had to grab him by the shoulder, pulling him along several times.
Chase promised himself that he would return, when he had the money to actually purchase the things that he had found interest in.
As they stepped onto the platform of the tavern that was slightly higher up then the rest of the shop, they walked toward a small walled off section of the shop, where a black-metal door was left slightly open.
"Hey, Dorian isn't taking any visitors right now."
A man in a sleeveless black tunic said. He had a rough face, and plenty of scars to back it up.
He wore a distasteful look, as he stepped in front of the door.
Gabriel began to speak, before he was cut off by the man.
"Scram, this aint a place for kids."
Chase rolled his eyes.
'I don't think anywhere I've been could be considered a place for kids.'
He thought, wanting to speak; however, Gabriel just calmly assured the man.
"We have a package for Dorian of The House of Graves."
He said, holding up a small package that had several FRAGILE warnings stamped onto it.
"It's quite alright dear friend, let them in."
A joyful voice called out from the other side of the door.
With a tired sigh, the man stepped out of the way, and let the boys pass.
Gabriel led the way, slowly pushing open the door, as Chase followed.
When they entered the small dorm-like room, they were met with a man lying on a small sofa eating straight off of a vine of grapes.
He had slick, long black hair, and wore an open jacket made of some sort of exotic fur.
"Welcome to The Underbelly, guests from the world above. I do hope your visit has been pleasant."
He said with a slight chuckle.
The room had strong smell of grapes, and Chase soon realized why, as on the table in front of Dorian, lie nearly a dozen glasses that only had a few drops of red liquid left inside.
'That's a lot of wine.'
Chase thought to himself, raising an eyebrow, as he stood behind the quiet boy of House Envixity.
Dorian had a strange appearance to him, his face wasn't necessarily soft per say, but he did have sharp facial features, that would make any girl swoon for him.
Gabriel stepped closer, and handed him the package.
Before Dorian took the package, he rubbed his hands together, and gave the two a toothy grin. Revealing a set of diamond encrusted teeth.
He quickly took the package and began to rip off the cover like a kid who had just received his first birthday present.
Underneath the packaging was a vibrant blue crystal that was at least the length of the mans forearm.
It had a strange glowing hue, with natural cracks that had formed in its surface.
"Kester! Come here! It's here!"
He yelled excitedly.
Chase had seen rare materials before, but this crystal must have surpassed all of them by miles. It felt like it was radiating raw power within Dorian's hand.
Then Dorian looked at the two delivery boys, and scratched his clean-shaven chin.
"Ah, give me a second."
He said, reaching his free hand into the pockets of his black leather pants.
After a couple seconds of him searching for something, he finally pulled out ten golden coins.
"Something in exchange for making the journey into my underground world. It does take quite the bravery for a couple of kids such as yourself to even cross underneath the bridge."
He said with a strange smirk.
"Anyway, I have a fortune to make with my new toy, take the payment and shop around a little, or don't. I could honestly care less."
Dorian said, walking into a small hallway at the back of his exotic room.
Upon further studying, Chase realized just how expensive the furniture inside of this small cabin must have really been.
A black and white striped sofa, with a golden tag at the base, could have been made of quite a rare material for all he knew.
"Come on, I don't want to be here any longer."
Gabriel said, his voice full of worry.
He handed Chase five of the golden coins, and began on his way out of the black market.
Chase sighed, and followed behind.
Surely with five golden coins, he could buy a vox and maybe even his own set of armor. So he wore quite a joyful grin on his face, as they left the black market.