Kelsey continued walking around the slums for another few hours, talking to random people she passed. Each one of them was able to confirm what Bertrand had said about the missing people. But not a single one of them had heard the story about a group being sent to check out a building. On top of that, as far as the other people she spoke to knew, the disappearances had nothing to do with delaying their entrance to the city. She thanked each of the people she spoke to by giving them a few silver coins for their time.
That confirms it. Bertrand knows something the others don’t. He must be involved somehow. Just great… I guess I have no other option but to check out that building tonight. Even if it is a trap, I’ll at least get more information. Plus, I can always run away if need be.
Walking back into Whitebranch, Kelsey immediately began making her way to Thadius’ house. Thankfully, he was home. Seeing he was in the front room thanks to her domain; she knocked on the door a few times and immediately opened it. “Thadius, I need to talk to you.” she said seriously and quickly before Thadius was able to react to her entering.
“What’s going on Kel, I didn’t expect you back for at least another few weeks.” he said curiously.
Instead of answering his question she simply shared her level and class with Thadius and continued with her reason for being here. “We need to talk in private, can we talk in the vault, please?”
“Understood. Let’s go.” he said, moving quickly downstairs.
Once they were in the vault and the door was closed, Kelsey told Thadius everything she knew about the slums, and the missing people, then told him her plan to stake out the building that night.
“I know this is upsetting. I learned about the disappearances the day we reunited. Listen, Kel. I’ve been pushing the mayor, and he assures me that he’s told the captain of the guard to look into it.” Thadius said comfortingly.
Hearing that Thadius had known this was going on but had done nothing about it immediately set Kelsey into a rage. “You knew about the disappearances and didn’t tell me about it? Why haven’t you done anything? You’re strong, right?” she yelled angrily. “What's the point of having power if you aren’t going to use it to help people, Thadius!?”
Thadius held up his hands in a defensive calming motion as he answered her. “Kel, listen. I’m not allowed to do anything. I’m not a guard. I’m not part of the Adventurers Guild, or even a Classer. If I went out and solved this problem tonight, I’d be thrown in jail tomorrow.” he said patiently. “I’m not saying you shouldn’t do something about this. Hell. I likely would have if I didn’t have a wife and kids to think about. I would love to deal with this myself, but if I get thrown in prison for a few years, what would happen to my kids? I can’t risk it.”
Hearing his reasoning was like a cold bucket of water on Kelsey's anger. She knew he was right and nodded to show she understood.
Seeing Kelsey was feeling a bit better, he reached out and placed his arm around her shoulder. “I’m glad you want to help, and I think you should do whatever you feel is right. Just make sure that you do just enough to ‘lead’ the guards and the Guild to the evidence. Give them a reason to search, to poke, to prod, and they’ll turn up something. If you spend the next decade in prison, you’ll miss your chance to become an Immortal before you turn 31 and then you’ll be old forever, like me.” he said with a small grin on his face.
Kelsey listened to what Thadius said and nodded along. “Thanks, big bro, you’re right. Hey, listen, I’m sorry about getting angry, I didn’t consider Claire and the kids.”
“It’s okay Kel, I understand that this is all pretty new to you. From your perspective I was single and crippled less than 3 months ago.” He said calmly.
Thadius looked at Kelsey seriously before he continued. "Kel, listen. If you find out the Viscount is somehow involved, whatever you do, don't kill him. You likely wouldn't be targeted by the crown for it, but the other nobility would probably put a target on your head, and you'd be dead within the month."
Kelsey nodded grimly. "Yeah... Okay, I won't kill him. Probably a smart move. Ideally, I won't need to kill anyone. I don't exactly love the idea of dishing out vigilante justice if I don't need to."
"Good. You will undoubtedly take another person's life during your time on Anoura. Nearly all adventurers do. Just... put that day off as long as possible." Thadius said with a bit of remorse in his voice.
Kelsey could tell that he was speaking from experience, but was clearly not interested in discussing it, so she decided to leave that conversation for another time. “Alright, I’m going to head out. I need to go see the Guild Master about some stuff. And hey, Thadius. This may be the last time I see you for a while. Take care, alright?”
Bringing her in for a tighter hug, he said “You too little sis, but before you go. I’ve got a shopping list for you. There are some skills you should learn before becoming an Immortal in order to make your advancement as strong as possible. Learning a few of them before 100 would be good too.” he said as he pulled out a piece of paper and began writing down a list of books. “There is a bookstore in the town center that should sell all of these. Good luck. I love you sis.”
“Love you too, bro.” she said as she took the piece of paper and walked out the door.
Kelsey stored the list in her vault as she walked outside and began making her way towards the Adventurers Guild.
As she entered the Guild, Kelsey didn’t bother heading to the back desk, she simply walked up the stairs, down to the Guild Master’s office and knocked.
“Come in!” she heard the Guild Master say through the door.
She opened the door and immediately began talking. “Gregory, we need to talk about the slums.”
“Hello to you too Kelsey, come on in, sit down. What are you do-” he was saying as he received a notification to allow him to see Kelsey’s level and class. “I see...”
The next few minutes were a repeat of what she told Thadius, minus the part about her plan to stake out the building that night. She wasn’t sure how he would react, so she didn’t say anything.
“I see. I had heard there were some people disappearing, but I had no idea it was such a grim situation. What would you like me to do?” he asked, a serious expression on his face.
“I would like to create a Silver ranked contract with a reward of 1 copper piece for someone to investigate the disappearances and either put a stop to them or submit the information to the town of Whitebranch.” she said confidently. “I would also like to accept that contract.”
“I'm sorry, you cannot create that contract. I would need that kind of contract to come from the captain of the guard or the mayor himself. Remember, the guild isn't a government agency, we're an international guild. We only have as much authority as the town gives us when it comes to investigating the things going on inside the walls.” he said with a tinge of guilt in his voice.
Kelsey was feeling very frustrated by this point and couldn’t contain herself anymore. “Why does it feel like everyone in this town is out to get these poor refugees? The guards aren’t doing anything, you won't let me make a contract to solve it. People are missing for fucks sake!” she slammed her fist on the desk before continuing. “They could be dead, or worse, by now and everyone is just sitting around doing nothing!”
Taking a deep breath and entering Meditation, Kelsey calmed herself for several seconds before continuing.
“What are my limits? What will get me thrown in jail but will also help put these people away for good?” she asked, her voice shaky with barely contained rage.
Gregory waited a few long seconds before answering carefully. “Officially; no deaths except in self-defense or the direct defense of an innocent.” Gregory paused briefly before continuing in a much less formal tone. “Practically speaking, if the crimes they are committing are bad enough and can be corroborated by other people, then there is no limit. But Kelsey, I want to make it clear that if you go through with this, you will be breaking the law, and the mayor could decide to press charges.”
Kelsey sighed deeply. “I know, but I can’t just sit around and let people around me suffer. What would you do if you were in my situation, Gregory?”
“Well, I think if I were you, I’d probably use my domain to slowly scout out the people I thought were potentially involved, and if that didn’t turn up anything, I’d stake out the building you were told about. Then, once I had some evidence that there was something going on, I’d report it to the Guild and the town to see if the town would be willing to put up a contract for the solution.” he said after considering it for a few seconds.
“That is too slow. By that point too many extra people could go missing or wind-up dead. I’m going to skip straight to the ‘staking out the building’ part.” she said.
Gregory nodded his head once. “Okay. Just be warned. If ye start dropping people and there be a commotion where the Guild sends out a Classer, they would be well within their right to arrest you depending on who is sent. I will keep an ear out for anything happening tonight, and if I do, I’ll make sure we send a Classer I can trust to be lenient. I understand you have joined a party with Lisa and my brother. Would you like me to send word to them?”
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Kelsey shook her head. "What I'm planning on doing is illegal, I don't want to get them involved in something that could potentially get them thrown in prison."
Gregory grinned. "No wonder they invited ye to their party, already looking out for the team. Well, I personally hope this goes well and ye find something that sticks."
“Thanks Greg, I appreciate it. Let Lisa and Owen know that I’m sorry that I’m skipping out on our plan. I still intend to go to The Trial after this, but I can’t guarantee anything. If they want to risk it, I’d be happy to meet them there.”
“I will let them know. Good luck, Kelsey. Stay safe.”
“I’ll try.”
Kelsey left the Guild Master’s office and began making her way to the center of the town. Why does it feel like there is some piece missing to all this? The guards should be looking into the disappearances, but the people of the slums confirmed what Bertrand had said, that the guards don’t believe them. The mayor himself is aware of the issue according to Thadius, so the guards should be aware of the problem too. There is a missing link in the chain of command. Somewhere along the lines, the guards are being decieved. If this building in the woods doesn’t turn up anything, I’ll do check on that next.
Before continuing on her investigation, Kelsey went shopping. She first went to the bookstore and spent the vast majority of her money on the books Thadius recommended to her. They were all books on specific general skills. Most of them being minor elemental creation and manipulation skills. One of them however caught her eye. It was a book on Identify. She wasn’t in the right headspace to delve into why Thadius might want her to buy a book on a skill she already had, but she was extremely curious. While she was there, she also bought some writing tools and a notebook in case she wanted to take notes.
She then went to a store that specialized in dungeoneering equipment. It basically sold all the tools someone would need to spend months or years camping in a dungeon. Rope, ladders, packs, monster cores, knives, pots, pans, lanterns, torches and even oil for both cooking, and lighting lanterns. This is where Kelsey spent the rest of her money, buying everything she could possibly need for her excursion into a dungeon.
After walking out of the store, she found a private spot and stored all of her new equipment in her vault before leaving the town and going to find the building Bertrand had told her about. It was still in the late afternoon and the sun was still several hours from setting, but she wanted to find a nice spot to set up so she could stake out the building through the night.
It took her roughly thirty minutes to find the building.
It was a small wooden cabin built on a densely packed dirt foundation in the middle of a pocket of dense woods. Inside the building seemed to be a simple living quarters that was likely used as a hunting lodge, or housing for a lumberjack, when the area surrounding it was more heavily wooded. The building seemed abandoned. There were no personal belongings or articles of clothing to be found, it was completely empty top to bottom. She could tell that the dust was disturbed, which indicated that people had in fact been here somewhat recently.
One important thing did catch her attention however, and that was the fact that there was a void underneath the building where her domain couldn’t penetrate. For some reason this seemingly random shack in the middle of nowhere had a set of expensive enchantments to block domains. That was enough of a red flag for her to conclude that investigating this cabin was worth her time. If that’s not confirmation that this cabin is relevant, I don’t know what is.
Kelsey waited in the trees near the cabin for almost seven hours before anything of note happened. Right around what she would assume was midnight, the trap door leading to the enchanted room under the cabin opened. In the brief window when the trap door was open, Kelsey was able to see inside the room with her domain, and what she saw was confusing. There were six men in total, all wearing thick clothing and cloaks that covered their entire bodies except for their faces. They were each wearing a mask across their mouths that were covering the bottom half of their faces, leaving just their eyes and foreheads visible. They had weapons at their hips and one of them was carrying a bundle of rope. That’s them for sure. I guess this means Bertrand wasn’t lying about this cabin being connected to the kidnappings.
The thing that drew most of her attention however was what was in the room the men exited from. Inside the small room there was a circle carved into the stone floor that was approximately two meters wide. On the outside of the circle were nine small orbs that she assumed were monster cores; it was impossible to tell for sure with her domain.
Is that a teleportation circle? Kelsey couldn’t think of any other explanation how the men had gotten into the room unless they had all been waiting patiently in the small room, alone, with nothing to do, for at least the past seven hours. That didn’t seem likely.
The men then climbed up the ladder, closed the trapdoor, and exited the building. As much as Kelsey would like to have attacked them then and there, she first needed to find out what was on the other side of that teleportation circle. She had read a lot of books on how monster cores worked while she was on the road with Lisa and Owen, so she felt confident in her ability to figure it out.
Waiting a few minutes to ensure the men had left the area, she teleported to the trap door, opened it, and dropped down into the room below, letting the trap door close behind her. She spent the next several minutes looking closely at each monster core, trying to figure out how the magic worked. It has to be simple enough to activate so that anyone in the group can do it.
Kelsey activated her Magesight and could see the mana channels that were used in order to make the circle function. As it turns out, one of the cores wasn’t even connected to the circle. Physically speaking it was in the circle, and things were drawn to it, but according to Magesight, it was magically irrelevant to the circle as a whole. It was a red herring meant to throw people off. If someone were to try to activate the circle with the incorrect core included, it would activate the other cores in the incorrect order and who knows what kinds of nasty side effects that would have. Even with her Magesight It still took her roughly 10 minutes to figure out the correct places to channel mana into and once she did, she didn’t waste any time and began pouring mana into the circle immediately, directing the mana into their proper paths.
The circle took about 2,000 mana and 3 seconds to activate. Someone relatively low level can activate this thing; those henchmen probably aren’t that strong then. Good.
Once the circle activated, it teleported her automatically. She noted that it felt very similar to the time she had used her long-range teleport.
As Kelsey arrived at her destination, she found herself in a place from her nightmares. She was in a dark windowless room with a stone floor, stone walls, and a metal door roughly 50 meters away from her. The only lighting in the entire room was from a few dim light cores that were hanging from the ceiling. In the corner of the room on the same side as the teleportation circle Kelsey noticed a small three-meter by three-meter room that her domain was unable to penetrate.
Her domain was cut off from the rest of the world too, but what she saw inside the main room made her blood run cold.
Cages. Dozens of filthy cages with men, women, and children huddled in small groups living on top of their own waste. Every single one of them had clearly been abused in some way. Many of them were so badly injured that Kelsey was amazed they were still alive.
There are way more than were reported missing... Who would do something like this?
The walls on the sides of the room were covered in various devices designed specifically for causing pain, there were also some that were clearly intended to be used in somehow even more disgusting ways.
Realizing what was happening down here, Kelsey leaned over to the side of the teleportation circle and emptied the contents of her stomach.
As she recovered, she noticed that a small number of the prisoners near the teleportation circle were currently bleeding from wounds suffered very recently.
It must be those people that just left, those bastards. I’m going to kill every last one of them.
Kelsey was furious enough at the sight of all the nameless victims, but what she saw next made her vow to herself that anyone who had taken part in this would be paying the ultimate price for their involvement. Through her domain, she saw two faces she recognized.
She saw a small boy, and a woman that was roughly her age with a soft face and golden blonde hair.
It was Caroline and Charlie, the mother and son pair she had saved from the Treant just a few weeks earlier. And she could see Caroline’s corpse; broken, beaten, and tied up naked to the outside of a cage right next to Charlie’s. She focused her domain on Charlie and could see that he was hurt, badly, and staring blankly at his mother’s corpse, his will to live clearly broken.
She pushed her emotions down and looked around the room, formulating a plan. I’m going to get you all out of here and get you justice for the pain you’ve been through.
It had only been a few seconds since Kelsey arrived, but she immediately burst into action. Using her domain, the first thing she did was cut the ropes tying Caroline’s body to the cage, then she turned her over and away from Charlie with telekinesis, so at least he wouldn’t have to look into his mother’s eyes anymore. Then, she teleported to the large metal door on the opposite side of the room and opened it slightly so she could take a look at the surroundings outside of the large room.
What she saw confirmed one of her suspicions. She was underneath the Viscount’s estate. She made a mental note of the guards in the estate, as well as the general layout of the building before closing the door.
She then used her magic to open every cage in the room by cutting the locks off with small blades and then creating hundreds of wires to pull the doors open all at once. As she was doing this, she shouted to the prisoners. “You are now free from your cages. You are under Viscount Walter’s estate. I do not believe there to be more than a few guards, and they do not look particularly strong. Is there anyone here who is able to fight if I were to give you a weapon?”
A few of the men and women raised their hands weakly. They were clearly people who were good under pressure and still had some fighting spirit left in them. One by one she asked them for their preferred weapon and used Telekinetic Creation to make the weapons, and distributed them, ignoring the voice in her head that warned her of using her creation magic in such a public way. This process took several minutes, and by the end of it, her head was thundering in pain.
“I’m going to open the door; the stairs are to your right as you walk out. That will bring you to the first floor. There are two guards in the room above the stairs. Once you deal with them, the door to the exit will be to the left. Once you’re outside, start screaming, get people’s attention. Make them call the guards, make them call a Classer.” Kelsey said with as much confidence and authority as she could muster. “I’m going to go stop the kidnappers from taking any more victims.”
With that, the men and women who had the weapons sprang into action, taking charge of the situation and leading the other people out of the room. She saw them form into small groups and help those who were suffering from the worst of the wounds. Thankfully, she saw a middle-aged woman walk over to Charlie and start helping him out of the cage. Kelsey unfortunately couldn’t stay and help the others, as she had other business to attend to.
Seeing that she wasn’t needed in here anymore, she moved to the room in the corner that was blocking her domain. She got to the door and tried to turn the handle, but found it locked. Not bothering with trying to find a clever way inside, Kelsey poured mana into the palm of her hand and released it in the form of a powerful telekinetic wave. The blast slammed into the door, ripping it off its hinges and sending it flying into the room.
Once the door was open, Kelsey sprinted it and saw that the room was filled to the brim with documents, ledgers, and books. She skimmed some of them very briefly and determined that not only were these people being abused, but they had also planned on selling them. Kelsey started pulling everything she could get her hands on into her vault, and within minutes the room was completely empty.
Having finished ransacking the office, she went back to the teleportation circle and spent a brief moment confirming that the activation method was the same as the one in the cabin so she wouldn’t make a potentially life ending mistake.
Seeing they were identical, she activated the circle and appeared back in the trap door room under the cabin a few seconds later.