In twenty days, nothing more has come of "Minstrel Piper's" vague threats against Piper for the Gallah's refusal to surrender his name. Jojo's plodding but diligent efforts to map the sewers have continued ceaselessly, though he often requires some hand-holding from Piper over the latest spooky occurrence during their trips. Even the vermite catcher, largely inured to the tribulations of the sewers from his years of earning a living out of them, is starting to think – privately – that the sewers never used to be this scary.

The last couple of days, however, have passed without turbulence, and their gutter-crawl has led them to an area Piper has cause to remember – he found Kassie near here, a year and a half ago. Jojo putters around with his slates and his measuring cords, checking the depth of the partially-submerged tunnel. Piper, serving, as usual, as a mobile furry security blanket for the Zerda, can hear the faint squeaks of distant vermites, probably around a bend or turn-off in the tunnel, judging by the echoes.

Piper tightens the string on his bow as he watches the Zerda work. He's trying not to jump at every little noise he hears these days but the chittering of the Vermites sets his hackles out anyway. He clears his throat softly and continues his work.

The squeaking vermites don't come any closer, at least. Whatever they're interested in, it's not where Jojo and Piper are. Jojo's large ears swivel around, and he looks up from his work to look at the Gallah briefly – then he grits his teeth and returns to methodically plumbing the depth of the tunnel. The tunnel is shallow enough that it would be faster and easier to walk down it then use the cords, but the mapmaker is still averse to the filth. Or, perhaps, he's scared of what might be lurking beneath it.

"They are probably just having lunch, Misseur Jojo," the Gallah says, plucking at his bowstring. "The vermites are our allies here, in fact. Sometimes they can sense danger before us, oui?"

The Zerda laughs nervously. "I guess there are scarier things down here than vermites," he says, and then looks as if he regrets saying it. He coils up his measuring cord and adds, "I'm done with this section. Let's … go on." He pauses, and Piper can tell immediately why – they've already mapped the tunnel in the other direction, and the one that remains is where the vermite sounds are coming from.

"A votre service." The Gallah tries to force a grin and hefts his supplies. He notches an arrow into his bow and starts to slowly walk towards the tunnel.

Jojo lets Piper lead the way, as the two of them walk down the narrow maintenance ledge. He trails a cord along behind them, measuring out the distance of this new length. After a few minutes, the tunnel bends south, and continues another half-dozen yards straight, then intersects with a narrower tunnel that spills sewage into theirs. Jojo stops at the bend, noting down the length of his cord on one of his slates, then going back to retrieve the other end. The vermite chittering sounds like it's coming from the narrower, intersecting tunnel.

Piper takes a cautious sniff of the air. "Would you like me to investigate and see what the vermites are up to, Misseur, or should we just continue on our way?"

As usual, the sewers smell strongest of sewage – rotting organic waste, and other scents still less pleasant. Piper's sensitive nose can pick out a few other scents, despite the overload. One is that of vermites – no surprise – and the other, a fishy smell. Dead fish, a few days old, probably, and starting to decompose, but not as rotted as most of what's down here.

Jojo returns, his cord coiled in one hand. "Uh… " His ears swivel around at the chittering sounds as he nears Piper once more, and the narrow tunnel down which it sounds like the vermites are. "Would you?" he asks, almost plaintively.

Rubbing his nose, the canine nods and creeps towards the tunnel. "I shall let you know if all is clear." He eases his way towards the smaller tunnel and tries to mentally reassure himself that he's just letting Jojo's nervousness get the better of him.

The tunnel, similar to the one he found Kassie in a year ago, is narrow, short, and flooded to the walls, forcing the Gallah to wade, crouched, through the sewage towards the chittering. Jojo shines his lantern light after the Gallah, to help him see, but the weak beam isn't much good at a distance. Judging by the sounds and smells, the vermites are well down in the tunnel, and tearing up the fish he scented earlier.

The Gallah stops for a moment as he ponders his options – if he takes up a lantern he won't be able to use his bow, but if he doesn't, it might be difficult to see. Finally he swallows and creeps forward even slower than before, blinking and snuffling as he tries to get his nose to guide him better and tries to force his eyes to adjust quicker.

As his eyes adjust to the darkness of the narrow tunnel, he can make out more details, and a grayish light in the tunnel well before him. At first, he thinks the latter might just be an afterimage on his retinas, but after a few moments, as it persists, he can guess that it's light filtered through one of the grates in the street above. There must be a shaft leading from the street level down to where he is, somewhere past the area where the vermites seem to be nesting. As he approaches them, their chittering changes, with some notes pitching into the "alarm" mode he recognizes. Most of the vermites seem more interested in their prize than they are in him, however.

Piper inches closer to the vermites and makes a sharp snarling bark, the sound of a predator or a larger scavenger. The memory of finding the broken up fox-girl in the sewers still lingers in his memory, and he wants to make for certain that all the creatures are eating at the moment is some fish that was discarded.

The "alarm" pitch of the vermites grows several fold, accompanied by sounds of the creatures scuttling in all directions. A few hover at the same spot, ripping hunks of meat from fish carcasses, but most favor their instincts to hide over those to eat. As the Gallah closes on the remainder, and their catch, he sees nothing more unusual than the thin, half-gnawed bones and scaly hides of what looks like quite a few dead fish.

The Gallah lets his breath out with relief. He wanders closer to the pile and gives it a gentle kick with his boot just to make sure something isn't buried under the fish.

The "pile" has been pretty well scattered already by the tugging and prying of various vermite claws. The toe of his boot nudges the corpses further apart, stirring a layer of sediment built up beneath them, then taps against the wall which the dead fish were piled before with a faint, hollow thump.

Piper lets a smile of relief creep across his face. He turns around to walk back to the Zerda, but taps his boot against the wall every few steps just to see if it sounds hollow all the way down or if it might just be that particular point.

The sound of the wall when he taps it on the way back is different – solid, and more muffled than the slight echo he got earlier. As he leaves, some of the vermites swarm back onto their catch, devouring the stirred remnants.

"Misseur Jojo, all is clear, although I think the vermites have inadvertently helped us to find something." The Gallah pauses and itches at one of his sagging ears. "I think there is a tunnel or a chamber that was closed off. Do you know anything of this?"

Jojo starts to scratch at his head, then remembers where his hands have been and stops himself. "These sewers are pretty old," he says, thoughtfully. "There's been a lot of work done on them at various times, opening new passages and closing them off. Seen signs of it, here and there. I guess I ought to have a look at it, though." He moves to the entrance of the side tunnel and pulls himself into it, waiting for Piper to lead the way back to what he found.

"Mind your nose, Misseur Jojo. There is a pile of rotting fish there, and some determined vermites that don't want to be deprived of their dinner for too long." The Gallah barks sharply down the tunnel again, hoping to keep the vermites frightened off so he doesn't have to worry about a swarm of them scaring the fennec.

"Er … uh … vermites?" The Zerda flattens his ears against his scalp at the bark, hesitating as the vermites chitter and squabble up ahead. To Piper's ears, they sound less alarmed and more determined, this time, perhaps since they suffered no harm after the last bark a few minutes ago.

"You have nothing to fear, Misseur. Just keep behind me." He draws his bow. "Although I may have to kill one to get them to scatter. We shall see how in our way they plan to be."

Jojo swallows. He inches through the muck behind Piper, reluctantly. "Uh … it's probably not that important that I look at this particular wall," he mumbles, shining his lantern around the Gallah. The beam reflects red off the eyes of a vermite, who stares back at them, its teeth clenched around a tattered, silver-scaled piece of flesh.

Piper aims his bow at the vermite and gives one last growling threat. "You may want to close your eyes for un moment, Misseur." He lets the arrow fly, aiming on one of the creatures closest to them, so that any scattering vermites will hopefully run away from them and not go charging towards.

The vermite stares fearlessly at Piper, as the arrow goes wide past him, clattering against the walls. Jojo, unnerved by the red-eyed gaze of the creature, makes a squeaking noise at the arrow shot. Another pair of vermites joins the first in staring at the Gallah and his companion, and Jojo backs nervously away, the swinging lantern casting shadows everywhere. "Really, I think we c-can c-come b-back to this later," the fennec whimpers.

Piper determinedly re-notches his bow and takes aim again. "No, Misseur. We have been jumping at shadows all day. They are just trying to stare us down. If you let them do this too much, they will learn to be fearless of people and even more dangerous." He locks eyes with one of the larger creatures and fires.

The arrow speeds to the unmoving vermite, and thuds through it, skewering it into the sewage behind it as it writhes and wriggles pitifully. The other two scatter down the tunnel, away from their dead companion. The Zerda flinches at the arrow strike, clutching at his lantern with both hands, and squeaking in a way not wholly unlike the vermites themselves. A few vermites remain, picking at the fish bodies, and indifferent to the hunter's approach.

The Gallah clears his throat. "The rest will have to be kicked away or stomped, but I think that as long as we let them eat they will allow us to investigate the wall." He hastily moves to collect the dead vermite and slip it into a sack. He can see about the bounty when he's finished with his work.

Jojo looks green at the thought. "Uh … kicked?" He doesn't move from where he stands. "Stomped?"

"Give me a moment, Misseur. I will just relocate the creatures so they will not be in your way." Piper begins shoving the vermites around with his boots as well as pushing the chunks of fish out from in front of the hollow area.

With Piper stomping about in their midst, most of the remaining vermites have the sense to scamper away. One stays in the area, large and fat, gnawing at the bones of a fish, even after Piper kicks him away from the questionable wall. Most of the fish have been reduced to skeleton and spiky bits of thin bones by this time; vermites don't dawdle when presented with food. Despite that the area is mostly free of vermin now, Jojo remains where he was in the tunnel. The closest he comes to approaching is shining his lantern onto Piper again.

The Gallah gives the wall another kick, although he looks like he'd dearly like to get the bounty on the fat Vermite. "It is clear now, Misseur. Come and see."

The wall gives the same hollow thump at the kick as before, more distinct now that Piper is hitting it solidly. It looks as if it is bricked over, like the rest of this tunnel. Despite the hollow echo behind it, it doesn't move underneath the impact, seeming to be pretty solid. Jojo takes a few halting steps over to Piper. "Sounds like a tunnel that's been closed off," the Zerda ventures.

Piper nods. "It is still something to make note of though, oui? Do you know where this may have once lead?"

Jojo flicks his ears around, and takes a few steps forward to peer at the wall – still keeping a safe distance, in case the vermin return, or the fat one gets bored with the fish body it's working on now. "Uh… " He unslings his pack, lowering it to the crook of his elbow, and balances his lantern awkwardly around his wrist as he rummages through it. "Let me look. The old plans for this area haven't been as much off as most of them… "

Piper nervously picks up one of the scraggly fish remains and throws it over the fat vermite's head, trying to lure him farther down the tunnel.

The mapmaker pulls out a few rolled scrolls, and looks over first one, then at another. "It was a shaft leading to an old purification plant. That plant doesn't work anymore, not even when this was drawn … uh… " The Zerda adjusts the lantern to shine it on the corner of the map. "Er. Three hundred years ago. This must've been sealed for a long time."

The rotund rodent lifts its head, sniffing, as the fish carcass sails past, then it waddles after the new tidbit. It snuffles once over the remains, then starts in on it contentedly.

Piper nods and steps away from the section of wall. "I am sorry for wasting your time, Misseur. I think I am letting the shadows get the better of me. Shall we go back to the main tunnel now or would you like to continue up this one?"

"We may as well finish this one, now that we're in it," Jojo says. He peers at the grimy brickwork over the hollow section, then shakes his head, and moves on. "Wonder where the fish came from?" he muses idly, sloshing several yards down the tunnel, until he reaches the point where it ends, a shaft over head leading up to the street, where gray light filters in past the grate.

"Perhaps it washed up after being dropped down the grates, or was pulled out of the water by the vermites." The Gallah stares up the shaft and whimpers sadly. "I wonder how Mam'selle Kassie is doing these days? I should pay her a visit sometime."

"Who's Kassie?" the Zerda asks. He anchors one of his cords to a rock and leaves the end there, crouching back down the length of the tunnel as he measures it out. The fat vermite waddles over to the taut cord after Jojo passes by, and gives it a tentative nibble.

Piper tries to shove the fat thing out of the way. "She was a lady fox I met about a year ago. Some brute had pushedher down a shaft like this one, or it could have been this very one. I am not too sure. She needed care for a long while, but is mostly mended now. She is a sweet little belle who did not deserve such pain."

Jojo winces at the story, not even noticing the indignant squeak from the displaced vermite. "Thrown down here?" He shudders. "With the vermites?" He quickly finishes counting out the cord, then calls back to Piper, "Would you untie the cord and carry it back to me?"

The fat vermite gives up on the cord after the discouragement, and goes back to the area where the fish had been. Several other vermites have returned there, as well, despite the spot being cleared of meat by now. This time, they appear more wary of the two sentients.

"Yes Misseur!" the Gallah calls back as he fumbles with the cord. "Mam'selle Kassie is doing much better now. I tamed a Creen for her to keep her company."

"A creen?" Jojo says the word in much the same tones he earlier used with vermites. "For company?"

Piper coils the cord as he rejoins the fennec and hands it to him. "You never had a pet when you were a puppy, did you, Misseur?" He shrugs. "It does not matter. Since we are finished here we might as well clean ourselves up and I can collect the bounty on my catches." He eyes the fat vermite one more time and makes a mental note to come back here and try to catch it later.