"The warehouses are linked by railroads, and each one assembles parts. But for what purpose? The first warehouse put together, stored, and shipped small parts. The third warehouse, from what I gathered, handled large metal plates and glass panels. I’m unsure about the second warehouse, but I doubt I’d understand what they were making and transporting anyway…”
Bones shared his thoughts while pacing the living room. The lack of information frustrated him, but he knew it was crucial to follow the lead and discover where the assembled parts were being sent.
Bones halted his pacing and, after brief contemplation, decided it was time to meet Frank. The spy had been living in Valencia for several years, and though his mission was to observe rather than infiltrate, he had gathered enough information to guide Bones. Under the cover of night, Bones ventured outside.
Five kilometers away, in an alley off the main street, Bones knocked on the door of a house with a small signboard displaying an anvil. The wooden floorboard creaked under the heavy footsteps of the person approaching the door.
“Who is it?” asked a hoarse, deep voice.
“I’m new around here and need directions,” Bones recited the code phrase he had been given for such situations. Silence followed, then the door opened to reveal a bald, burly man, two meters tall with a curly beard and a smithing hammer in hand.
“It’s been a while since someone asked for directions. Come on in,” the man said and turned to place the hammer on a nearby desk without waiting for a response. Bones entered cautiously, sizing up the smith. It seemed like common sense to be wary of someone a head taller and three times his weight.
“Frank, I presume?” Bones asked as he closed the door behind him.
“Aye, you presume right. You must be the new scout Lewry mentioned.”
“I am. Did he say anything else about me or the mission?”
“Only what I needed to know. You’re here on a special assignment, and I’m to assist you if you visit before your mission ends. I take it you're stuck going forward?”
“Yes. For the past two days, I’ve been working in the warehouse, assembling industrial parts I couldn’t identify, and following train tracks. The tracks led from one warehouse to another but stopped at the third. I can’t figure out what they’re doing with the parts or where to go next. I have other locations marked on the city map but thought I’d see what information you could share first.”
Frank nodded, expecting this, and added that the parts from the third warehouse were transported via different routes, by horse-drawn carriages.
“You knew?” Bones retorted, feeling his efforts were wasted. Frank, sensing the frustration, quickly explained that they needed to know what was being assembled to get a clear picture of the operation.
“Every few months, we send a new scout to infiltrate the warehouses, and each report records different items being transported. What did you find out?”
Bones recounted his experiences assembling and loading parts onto transport carriages. Frank listened attentively, then asked Bones to follow him. He led Bones through the house to the smithy, where he pushed against a wall, revealing a hidden entrance to a basement.
"Come. Watch your step." Frank cautioned, lighting the way with a small flame at his fingertip. Once they reached the basement, Frank pointed to a corner and fired a flame projectile, igniting a candle. Bones, halfway down the stairs, noticed stacks of boxes almost reaching the ceiling, which then seemed to vanish.
“What?” Bones exclaimed. Frank continued lighting candles until the basement was fully illuminated. The stacks of boxes were gone, revealing shelves and desks with sketches and reports at the far end. Frank turned to Bones, who still looked puzzled, and explained with simple “illusions.”
Illusion Magic? Bones thought, intrigued. It was his first time seeing a formation casting illusions.
“Is this your base of operations?” he asked.
“Yes. I run a legitimate business outside, but everything else happens within these walls. We can discuss the mission safely here.” Frank assured him, motioning Bones to a giant map on the right wall. Bones saw dozens of notes and pins across the city map, except for a small part in the west, separated by an inner wall.
Frank pointed to a house in the south, stating that was where Bones was staying.
"You're here in the south. The first warehouse is southeast, the second in the east, and the third in the north. From the third warehouse, the transport route leads west, toward the Upper City.”
“The Upper City?” Bones asked.
“A fancy term for a western district controlled by the Vampire Lord. It’s where all the wealth and power of the city are concentrated.”
“You mean thralls?”
Frank nodded. “Think of them as nobles, controlling every aspect of the city. The locations marked on your map are manors with suspected access to the Undercity, but we haven’t found a way to approach the western district undetected. Your mission’s primary task is to reach the Undercity and report your findings. There have been reports of increased activity lately. Something’s brewing, and it doesn’t look good. That might be why Gauss pushed for a special mission."
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"When was the last special mission?"
"In my lifetime, this is the first. It’s not that the mission is difficult but that it requires specific conditions: mastery over mana, the ability to mask mana signature, avoid lifeforce detection, and advanced stealth. I see you use Camouflage; it should be enough. What about lifeforce and stealth?"
Bones stroked his beard and replied that he is undead. As for stealth, he admitted to only having a basic Sneak skill.
"Undead? That explains it," Frank murmured. "How does that work? Are you—normal?" he asked.
"I suppose? I’ve been told I’m an enlightened undead. I’m not sure what you mean by 'normal.'"
"It doesn’t matter, as long as you’re up for the task," Frank said dismissively. "Regarding stealth, I’ll think of something."
“Is infiltrating the Upper City that difficult, even for someone like Lew? What about other spies? And you mentioned Undercity—is it like the sewer system?”
“Lew is our only third-tier operative here, and as a half-vampire, he’d be noticed immediately. The guards you’ve seen so far are first-tier, but the western district is different. Access is restricted to thralls and vetted underlings, with second-tier guards capable of detecting intruders. The Undercity is a cavern system below the sewer tunnels. We only learned about it recently..." Frank paused, locking eyes with Bones.
"You need to understand that what I’m about to share cannot leave this room, understand?" Frank waited for Bones's confirmation.
"Good, because depending on your mission’s success, we might no longer be needed here and could finally return home." Frank smiled but then grew stern.
"Three years ago, someone claiming to be part of the resistance in the Undercity approached us. Their information was helpful, and we learned of disappearances linked to parts of the Undercity even the resistance couldn't access."
"What kind of vanishings? People?"
"Yes. Initially, it was dozens, then hundreds, and last month, around a thousand individuals vanished overnight. There's more."
"What?"
"The intelligence from the resistance indicated that people were taken to specific sites monthly, and their blood was drawn."
"You mean like, donating blood or becoming victims of vampires?" Bones asked for clarification.
"Well, I suppose being taken to an undisclosed location against your will, having your blood extracted, and then being made to forget could be seen as a forceful blood donation."
"Is that why the people appear so-" Bones began.
"Drained? Yes," Frank concluded.
"And we deduced that this was the Vampire Lord's long-term strategy instead of killing the populace. Healthy men under the age of sixty-five succumbed to frequent blood extractions, while children up to the age of fifteen were spared. But with the recent uptick in disappearances, we're uncertain. We still don't know the fate of the elderly. You might not have noticed since you just arrived, but there are no individuals over sixty-five in the city."
"What can you tell me about the resistance? Since they made contact, they must know another way into the Undercity, right?" Bones inquired, his curiosity piqued by the elusive group.
"There was a man-made tunnel leading down, but that piece of information hasn't been shared. Three months ago, the tunnel collapsed, and our only contact with the resistance now is through a rat familiar. Messages are exchanged every two months, and we're awaiting a crucial piece of information that might clarify the situation."
"What about their numbers? Are they prepared to fight their way out of the city?"
Frank took a deep breath, exhaling the vexation that showed on his face. The resistance consisted of fewer than thirty members, with half of them at tier one, and the leader being the only one at tier two. He was also the one with the rat familiar.
"Their only chance of fighting back and escaping the city hinges on Wolford making a move, but that seems unlikely anytime soon."
A heavy silence filled the room after Frank delivered the harsh reality. Bones turned his focus to the city map on the wall, contemplating the resistance, Undercity, and the disappearances. Everything he had heard about the Vampire Lord, the thralls, the victims, and the resistance reeked of conspiracy. Frank was right; something sinister was unfolding. Bones' past experiences hinted that the disappearances were likely tied to experiments. He had abducted wanted men for research himself. He could only speculate on the nature of a Vampire Lord's experiments, but given the vampires' involvement...
"You mentioned that Wolford is unlikely to act soon—is it because of the distance between the cities?" Bones asked, his eyes still on the map. Frank, looking surprised, confirmed this and inquired about Bones' reasoning.
"Strategically, with the Dark Forest and its inherent dangers surrounding most of Wolford, it makes sense they wouldn’t risk the journey and leave their city exposed. It took me a considerable time to reach Valencia, as well. This raises the question: if the Vampire Lord is gathering an army, where would he go? Would Wolford only stand by and watch?"
Frank remained silent, lacking a definitive answer. "I think," he began, "if Alucard is indeed preparing for war, his likely target would be Igraco, a city to the east, about five hours away. Igraco is a desolate city inhabited by the Igraco family and led by Vampire Lord Marius Igraco. A battle between them would devastate the city, but I believe Alucard would prevail. Afterward, he would absorb the remaining forces, strengthening his own, and look for his next target. As long as the Dark Forest lies between us, Wolford won't mobilize an army."
"So, Wolford wouldn’t intervene, you say. What about adventurers?" Bones shifted his gaze from the map to Frank.
"Adventurers are even less likely to risk their lives in a war. Most are here for experience and rewards—that's always been the case. Instead of mobilizing an army, it would be more effective to form a small elite assassination unit. They could operate independently, with precision, and a single objective—to eliminate a Vampire Lord. Realistically, forming such a unit would be a monumental task."
"No matter how I see it, the citizens are at the Vampire Lord's mercy." Bones sighed while Frank concurred, adding that their best course of action now was to infiltrate the Undercity and uncover the plot brewing beneath the city.
"What should we do next?" Despite all the information, Bones still felt uncertain about the next steps. He had numerous unanswered questions and turned to Frank for guidance.
"Now, I get in touch with Mathias and Jeanie to arrange a meeting."
"The other two operatives?" Bones sought confirmation.
"Precisely. They've been operating within the city for years and have vital information. We need to formulate a detailed strategy to ensure you can infiltrate and exit undetected. It will take a few days to gather everyone. In the meantime, you can stay here and use the time as you see fit."
"Thank you. I'll take you up on that. Can I review the records you have?" Bones gestured toward the neatly arranged rows of documents on the shelves. Frank was more than willing, reiterating that Bones was free to do as he wished, including examining the documents. He then excused himself and headed upstairs to continue his work. Bones watched Frank leave, glanced around the basement, and then approached the shelf to start browsing the reports.