All of us, who were tasked with infiltrating the Dairy Lodge district, woke up without any hassle. Both Ciel and I were used to waking up at such a time, since we were once adventurers, while elder sister Sarah usually woke up at this ungodly hour to train her martial arts. Bringing our rucksacks with us, we walked in the darkness, accompanied by the occasional street light, and the sleeping drunks, after their night of merry-making and imbibing alcohol, along with various other substances.
The path continued on, and we soldiered on, and on, and on, until at last the chilly morning breeze greeted us with its slightly damp breath; the Lone River is near. Beyond the refreshing morning fog, countless traders and grocers could be seen traversing the Twin Bridge, coming to and fro past the river, where the Dairy Lodge and Char-Harbour were located. In the middle of the entrances of the Twin Bridge, was a man we identified as Theo, the detective, who was waving his hands at us. Approaching him, we saw a horse cart, where a stack of wooden boxes could be found within. He briefly explained about each of the items he brought with him, which consists of clothing, foodstuffs, and small trinkets, before he gestured to us to board the cart. A crack of whip sent the horse, with its trademark clacking sound of horseshoe against paved stone, and the cart, with its trademark rickety creak, slowly but surely moving along the Twin Bridge, towards our destination, the Dairy Lodge.
The Dairy Lodge itself, as a district, was one that was created to be full of smaller lodgings and housings, intended for the workers who commuted to the Char-Harbour for their work. However, as the number of people living here increased, it evolves into a somewhat slum-like area, although not yet a full-blown slum. If it was to be characterized, then words such as rowdy, raucous, and loud, could be used; though it was full of naughty children, thieves, and skanks, it's also full of life, and joyous spark. Truly, such a place was the perfect nesting ground for a pack of vampires, always searching for blood to satiate their hunger. Elder sister Sarah had explained that since the Dairy Lodge was so big and full of people, having one or two people disappear without ever being found, was quite normal, and even the constables had given up on searching for the lost ones.
Arriving at the center of the Dairy Lodge district, with the sun finally embarking from its home in the horizon, We found out why it was named as the most chaotic place ever sighted at this time of day. Verily, the amount of people present here, should be categorized as illegal. Shouts of bargains from both peddlers and consumers was not only the reason why this place needed order. Both customer and sellers also used the first come first served basis, that has no enforcing rule whatsoever, so there were line-spotters, line-cutters, and so on, and so forth. It was horrendous.
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
At noon, however, all the noise stopped, and calmness could be felt in the marketplace. The atmosphere it had was so contagious that both Ciel and I yawned at the same time, and as they said, yawns are contagious, since both elder sister Sarah and Theo, the detective, also yawned right after.
In the evening, the marketplace got a little rowdy, although not as hellish as its morning counterpart. After helping Theo pack up the items we were peddling, we split up from him. The three of us went towards the deeper part of the district, while Theo went back, past the river.
"We're going to a safe house, right?" I asked.
“Yes, that place is one of the safest places to be in the Dairy Lodge. The Sewerhall, secret posts created for the knights charged with the security of the populace.”
The leader of the group, the Knight Captain of the Second Division, Sarah Carter, rummaged her way into a blind alley. She touched her fingertips along the bricks of the alleyway until at last, we arrived at a dead end. Her fingers never leaving the wall of the alley, she pressed one last brick, and a quiet click could be heard. Looking around, left, right, up, down, and behind, as the standard procedure, she grabbed us and pushed the wall as it rotates and locks itself in place. The mechanism has not ended, however, as she pulled her necklace, shaped like a key, and touched it to various parts of the rotating wall, before another click could be heard. This time, the wall after the rotating wall slid open, and behind it was a large room, full of dust and paraphernalia of ages long gone.
"It certainly has seen better days," Sarah lamented, before adding in, "Although, considering the fact that the last time it was used was a hundred-something ago, this little bit of dust, seems like nothing."
Brushing off the dust inside this place, and placing down our rucksacks, we quickly divided amongst ourselves, the tasks to be done, to make this place livable. Ciel was tasked with rearranging the room, so that we may use it as easily as possible, while I am tasked with spreading out our daily necessities, such as bedrolls and the like. Meanwhile, elder sister Sarah was going over the texts that were preserved in this place.
Waiting for Ciel to arrange the room, before I could start on my task, I lounge around my elder sister, reading the texts she had read.
"Found something?" I asked.
"Yeah, one that might help with our task."
"Oh yeah? Pray tell, elder sister, what have you found?"
"It was stated here, that there were a lot of tunnels that were connected to this place, and those tunnels were created in such a way, that sounds could enter, yet can't escape. If we managed to find a tunnel that corresponds with the vampire's hiding place, we might get some vital information."
"That's one mighty fine idea," I stated, before being called by Ciel since her task was done, and it was time to do mine.