They began scoping out the mining area which the Thorston family maintained.

It was clean from a preliminary glance.

Too clean.

Not a single person could be found lingering about the area, as people who had to go by it moved quickly, as if avoiding the area. Given the number of disappearances, and the lack of action as a result, it was no surprise that people rushed past it so quickly.

They had to use camouflage magic, otherwise they'd clearly stand out with no one to blend in with.

Panda had shrunk into a smaller form, now resting on Richard's shoulder.

Richard had asked the squirrel when he gained the ability to shrink, only to receive a mysterious answer.

'The voices in my head told me'

Richard decided to chalk that up to his bloodline, or else he'd have to suspect the squirrel had a ghost in his head.

Frodo's voice echoed out as he praised sister Alexandria.

"Madam truly is a master of magic!" He praised honestly, as sister Alexandria chuckled and waived her hand.

"Nonsense. This is just a small trick. " She said, yet revealed a proud smile, clearly happy for the praise.

Frodo shook his head, and continued to praise earnestly. "You are being humble, Mother-in-law! We've already attempted to cooperate with the local authorities around here, and have been exposed more than once!" He frowned recalling those escapades, yet smiled earnestly once more as he looked at sister Alexandria. "Yet with you here, they haven't even noticed us at all, not even a slight suspicion."

Sister Alexandria clearly look flattered as she chuckled. "Of course, for I have practiced for a very long time! Wouldn't my efforts have been pointless if a bunch of children could detect me!?"

She enjoyed the compliment clearly.

"So we just gonna walk in and investigate? Seeing as we're all invisible? Olivia asked, and Alexandria nodded.

"It should be fine. Even if we walk right into them, they'll come up with their own reasons subconsciously and forget."

"Oh cool!" Panda said excitedly, running up to one of the guards of the area, and then promptly slapping him, one for each cheek.

The guard looks utterly confused, as Panda leaned in whispering loudly. "The gods despise you!"

The man muttered quietly. They hate me?" he said confusedly, yet looking for no one, clearly believing it to be a thought of his own.

The squirrel lept back, snickering. "You're right, it works." He said, clearly amused, as did Olivia as she snickered.

The two seemed to be a dangerous pairing.

Richard chided the squirrel. "Don't do that again. They're just guards doing their job. No need to give them such terrible thoughts." He scolded, yet did nothing afterwards, merely issuing the warning.

The group decided to walk in and explore the complex.

It was not a subtle complex, being large, larger than most other mining operations in the city. After all, a mining operation often aims down rather than up, yet there were many buildings seemingly irrelevant to the mining.

Perhaps for the supervisors. Richard had seen other mining operations in the area, and though they too had buildings, none of there's was as extravagant, all of them being one floor, and the dwarves spending most of their time in the mines. Dwarves are quite adjusted to the underground afterall. According to personal accounts of dwarves he'd read, it was like returning to the ancestors.

They believed themselves to be descended from worms who used to burrow the ground after all, so the idea of being comfortable in the ground and adept at mining fit this narrative.

The people working this mine were not dwarves. They were humans, and human slaves from what he could tell of their poor condition, as well as the magic circles on the back of their necks.

Often, slaves are bound either by magical chains, given that they are often more humane, and less damaging to slaves when removed. After all, many slaves are debt slaves rather than criminal slaves, so they are unlikely to spend the rest of their lives as criminals.

Engraving magic circles on one's skin is damaging to the body, and ruins their potential, thus is rarely used by slavers, not only because of the inhumane nature of it, but also because it ruins the image of the merchants who sell the slaves and encourages people to run from their debts more. After all, a debt slave who's assured his freedom after doing his due and leaving unscathed is more likely to accept his chains for they are temporary.

But if the chains are engraved on one's skin and can permanently ruin their lives? Of course they'd try to break out.

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Skin-engravings are mostly used by those who can't afford magical chains, or are unwilling to waste that kind of money. They're often used on criminal slaves, who are unlikely to ever leave their chains.

Whichever of the two these slaves were, it was still unnatural, and made Richard clench his hands.

He was extremely angry, as his view of his father degraded even further. An inhuman slave driver.

He looked even angrier than before, which made sister Alexandria surprised.

She looked over to the dragonewt. "Has he never..." She asked and Ellie noded.

He's never seen a slave, or at least not a slave treated like this. No one would dare drag a slave into the temple, much less in this condition. This is probably his first time ever seeing it." She said, and seeing the angry look on his face, reached her hand out to quietly rub it, seeking to calm him down.

Although his tempter dissipated, he still had an angry look on his face.

"Can you get rid of the markings?" he asked sister Alexandria softly, and she smiled confidently.

"Of course! Didn't I tell you earlier? This is kidsplay for me!" she said confidently, reassuring the young man.

Hearing this, he felt a little better, as they turned to venture deeper into the area.

"We'll free the slaves later." he said determinedly, and sister Alexandria smiled. "of course."

They turned to focus on the rest of the mining operation deeper underground.

Heading underground, Richard felt nothing for it. Much like the caverns they had first entered, yet it had less of a lively feeling and more of a dreadful aura, a solemn one.

He could not sense much signs of life, save the slave miners working tirelessly as they dug through the rock with the poor quality pickaxes, and their unprotected bodies, covered in scars and cuts and scabs.

There were slave drivers as well, shouting at the slaves, but not whipping them.

They looked like they couldn't be bothered, as if it wasn't worth it, as they merely stood around, talking casually, and occasionally telling the slaves to work harder.

It looked like a normal mining operation at first glance, it was no wonder why they couldn't find anything.

Far too well concealed.

Of course, when sister Alexandria took a look at it, she quickly discovered multiple secrets.

"Half the mine has already been mined." She noted, and Frodo's eyebrows raised.

"They hid that much?" He asked astonished, and she nodded.

"The half that has already been mined is covered in formations and planted stones, to give the feeling of being a normal wall. There are people behind the wall" she noted, observing the group. "They're all bound up and hidden, so Im guessing prisoners rather than slaves in this instance."

They could only nod along, as only sister Alexandria could see through the facade, and was unwilling to interfere with the circle, and let the enemy realize they've been seen through.

"Huh, there's even a arachne, or at least a half-arachne." She said, which caused the dwarf and Olivia to gasp.

"So they were here." Frodo said, both being relieved, yet also worried.

"They?" Richard asked, and Frodo explained. "A famous writer from the Australian continent, Que M. Ongas, disappeared in mountain city a few moths ago, leading to some conflict with the Australian delegation. His wife is a half-arachne."

He turned to Sister Alexandria. "Mother-in-law, can you see anyone with this symbol?" he asked, pulling out a symbol, one with a black and yellow spider crouched over a yellow web.

She looked at it, then scanned the area hidden from her eyes, before nodding. "Yes. In fact, the man with the logo is currently being held in the arachne's grasp."

Richard frowned, as Olivia's eyes narrowed. "Wonderful. Fucking wonderful. It's an international issue now. Only an absolute moron would kidnap a continent wide famous writer while their delegation is in town." she complained, and RIchard couldn't help but agree.

Apparently stupid had to be added to his father's long list of horrid adjectives. He had imagined his father to be smart to some degree, cunning even, but clearly he overestimated him. Why would he do something so stupid that would put him on the international stage in the worst way?

"Who else?" Frodo asked, and Alexandria turned to ask them. "You guys have a list of the missing people. I could probably line them up and see if any of them match."

Hearing this, Frodo pulled out a list filled with pictures of the people captured. "Here. Made with the latest photocrystal technology. We were hoping to find the missing people sneaked into the slaves, but we couldn't find them. Looks like that was for a reason."

Alexandria observed the list, and then looking at the people there. "Yeah, most of them are there. A few are missing here and there, but that seems to be all of them." She said, handing the list back.

Frodo sighed helplessly. "Well, at least most of them are alive. May Thanatos guide the rest who have fallen, so their souls may rest." He sighed, quickly sending a prayer to the gods for the ones who have likely already passed.

"Is there anything deeper?" Richard asked, and sister Alexandria nodded. "There is a lot more going on down there. Wow, they really made the extra effort to hide whatever it is down there" she exclaimed, before adding on. "A hexagram from the east, and one of the spirit transformation level no less." the currently lamia turned to explain.

"Think of it like low-god level. Like one of them local gods." Hearing this, the group looked worried, as Olivia asked. "Does that mean you can't see past it gra-aunty?"

Sister Alexandria snorted. "Nonsense! It's merely blocking my sight because we're not close enough. Once I get closer, I can easily crack the damn thing. I've cracked the palace's formations, a mere hexagram can't stop me!" As she led them further down the mineshaft, getting closer to the hexagram.

The mineshaft dropped steeply downward, which made little sense to Richard.

What were they mining for that would cause them to head downward this deep? This clearly wasn't an ordinary mineshaft.

The miners were all slaves, people who could not reveal the truth with magic circles engraved on their skin.

It was clear that there was something to hide, and seeing the expression on each miner made that suspicion grow. They all had a look of hopelessness, yet did not slow down, working frantically.

There was more to this mineshaft, and they had yet to get to the bottom of it.

Eventually, they reached near the bottom f the shaft, which had dropped down hundreds of meters.This drop had also been covered up, though not with magic, and more secret entrance, which was easier to deal with.

Once there, sister Alexandria did not seem hindered in the least as she clearly entered the formation and dissipated it with ease.

She came back in a few minutes, clearly having observed what was hidden so well at the bottom.

However, her expression was far from proud.

It was an upset expression, a bad sign of what was on the other side..

"This, is far more serious than I thought it'd be." Sister Alexandria said as a frown creased her forehead.

"It's that bad?" Richard asked worriedly as he looked up at her. She nodded gravely as she observed the lumbering things, hidden creatively behind multiple magic circles behind a formation, yet the grave crime could not be hidden from her.

"It's necromancy. She stated, and everyone's face turned ugly at this statement, understanding the implication immediately.

The thing the people at the mine were trying to hide- the conspiracy of necromancy.