Hello, acolyte. What is it you wish to know about the Night's Hand?

“Where is their base? And are they reasonable? Can they be convinced to let the child go? I'd rather not have to go skulking about in search for this child.” Edmund asks, hoping to have the business done with.

I can show you their base of operations. As for whether they can be reasoned with, who can say? But if it's skulking that needs to be done, I can be of great assistance, young acolyte.

Edmund rubs his hand on his hairless chin as he considers the matter. Skulking or no skulking? He considers. For that matter, how can I be sure that they can even be convinced? I am no great speaker by any means, and the attempt would announce my presence and intention too clearly. No, they would be on guard after that… And I doubt they would allow anyone to know where their headquarters are… Edmund thinks.

Edmund lets out a sigh. “Fine. We’ll go skulking.” He says in defeat.

…

…

Edmund’s eyes widen in surprise. “Everything on this block?” He asks, unsure how believable the matter was.

Yes, young acolyte. The Night’s Hand has full ownership of every house on this block, and there are various entryways into their underground base in many of these houses. Now relax yourself. I shall imbue my spirit into your body.

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Edmund lets a shake run through his body, getting rid of his nervousness. It was a rather weird matter to have another spirit housed in your body, but there was no way around it. He could not complete this mission without the shadow spirit.

Edmund feels a presence sink into his flesh, sharing his body with his soul. Suddenly, Edmund feels a sort of magical energy course through his body and his body begins to sort of feel incorporeal. The dim lights in the surroundings began to move through him, and his figure became but a shadow of what it was.

Edmund’s eyes widen. What is happening? He wonders, somewhat amazed at the experience.

Relax, young acolyte. Let the magic run through you. With this, you’ll be able to move through their base unhindered.

Edmund lets out a breath to calm himself. “Okay, let’s go.” He says, affirming his intention.

…

…

Edmund drops into the hole, his incorporeal feet pushing out a gust of air as his body lands to the ground.

Edmund’s eyes widen. He had landed right in front of a guard. Edmund gulps down some saliva as he stands there like a deer who had spotted its hunter.

The guard raises an eyebrow. “What was that?” He asks as he looks at the place where Edmund stood. Even Edmund’s shadow of a body could somehow be made out under the dim light of the single lantern, but the shadow spirit’s magic continued to work; it directed the guard’s focus around Edmund, making it almost as if the guard was unable to look directly at him.

After a moment of attention, the guard shrugs and sits back in his seat. For some reason he felt that it wasn’t too important; in fact he was starting to think that this would be a good time to take a nap. Alas, he still had work to do.

Edmund lets out a breath of relief, and on his tippy toes, he begins to slowly make his way forward and away from the guard’s vision.

Edmund wipes the partially material sweat dripping down from his forehead. This was going to take some getting used to.

…

…

Edmund continues to make his way through the underground base, avoiding anyone he came across. The base seemed to go on for quite a while, and there seemed to be various levels to the place. But for all the rooms he searched, he could still not find the child in the dark underground base.

And halfway through Edmund’s search, he came upon an unusual sight. He watched a hooded man sneak up on another person and slit his throat. The man was like a panther pouncing from the darkness, in an instant a man had died and in the next his body was being carried away and stuffed into a crate.

Edmund’s eyes widen. What the hell just happened? He wonders.