[09:15 | May 06, 2035]

As they arrived on the rooftops above the scene of the trade, they searched the area to see if they could find any of the shady figures. Nightingale and Shin looked down at the pedestrians to no avail. With doubt building, Shin ran back to Fuyumi.

“Are you sure it was here?”

“I’m certain it was here. This scenery is exactly like how I saw it in my clone’s vision. Let me check where it is now.”

She closed her eyes and concentrated on her clone.

“They’re walking on the street level. We should be able to find them around here. They’re all wearing fancy suits so they should stick out in a poorer part of the city like this.”

“They should stick out? Nightingale and I checked the streets and didn’t notice anyone with a suit.

“Just try checking again.”

Fuyumi crossed her arms, the pain from concentrating on her clone beginning to frustrate her. Shin ran back to Nightingale, who gestured for him to hurry. When he got there, Nightingale peered over the edge of the roof and pointed at a suspicious group of men turning into a dark alleyway beside a merchant stand directly below them.

“Three guys wearing suits, huh?”

Nightingale and Shin went back to Fuyumi to tell her about the shady figures.

“I think we found them.”

They walked along the edge of the roof, trailing behind the suited men. One of them seemed to be the leader as they were the tallest and stood behind the other two in a V-like formation. The men weaved around wooden crates and barrels before reaching the end of the alleyway. There, the tallest one pointed at one of the boxes, instructing them to push the box out of the way. As the box moved, it revealed a small iron-reinforced wooden trapdoor. They stepped inside and closed it behind them. Shortly after, the box moved back on top of the trapdoor, covering it.

Fuyumi, Nightingale, and Shin looked at each other in agreement before leaping off of the rooftop and into the alleyway. A black cloud of wispy smoke crept out from under the box and into Fuyumi’s shadow. Shin moved to the side of the box and got in position to push it.

“Help me out, Nightingale.”

He nodded and went to Shin’s side, pushing the massive crate in the same manner that the suited men did.

Fuyumi squatted in front of the trapdoor, pointing at it.

“I’ll scout inside first.”

She collapsed into hazy smoke which slipped between the cracks in the trapdoor. Nightingale and Shin leaned against the crates along the wall. Shin shrugged and spoke quietly to his friend.

“Guess we’ll just wait here.”

Inside, was a staircase that led to a long and narrow hallway. Immediately to the right were a small lever and a lit candle on a small plate. The light from the candle was not enough to tell how far the hallway extended. The walls were painted a light beige color and seemed to be made of the same adobe material as the buildings outside. However, cracks, mold, and rust were visible where the wall met the ceiling. A small makeshift wooden aqueduct ran along the top right of the hallway. Water leaked from it, dripping onto the floor and walls. The floor consisted of bumpy stone.

Fuyumi’s smoke traveled along the floor, traveling in the darkness. She noticed a flickering light at the end of the hallway that turned the corner before disappearing. She inspected her surroundings before opening carefully opening the trapdoor.

“It’s safe. Oh, and speak softly, I think your voice might echo if you’re a little too loud.

Nightingale and Shin looked over at Fuyumi whose blue eyes barely peeked out from the hole. Nightingale chuckled and whispered to Shin.

“She’s like an albino mole coming out of the ground.”

Shin slightly smiled and shook his head as he walked toward her. They carefully descended wooden stairs one at a time. Fuyumi pulled the lever, moving the crate over the trapdoor, and grabbed the candle. Each step made a weary creaking sound.

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“Are you sure this is safe?”

Fuyumi lightly chopped Nightingale’s shoulder.

“I checked it. They already left the hallway.”

“This is a hallway? It’s too dark to see anything.” Shin asked, squinting.

They reached the end of the stairs. Nightingale placed his hand on the wall to catch his bearings but quickly retracted his arm when he felt the wet surface. He looked down at his hand, covered in brown rust.

“Ugh, gross.”

Fuyumi passed the candle to Shin and walked ahead, leading the way.

“You can see in here?”

She stopped when she heard Shin’s voice.

“I can see in the dark perfectly. It looks about the same as daylight to me right now. It’s a passive skill of mine.”

“Lucky… I guess that makes sense though given your class.”

Fuyumi signaled for them to stop. She stuck her head out to see what was ahead. Around the corner, the hallway opened up to a room that seemed to be more well-kept. Right before the room was a small corridor to the right. Inside the room was a single wooden table and chair in the middle. Torches were mounted on the walls, illuminating the room with a flickering blue light.

Fuyumi went first, followed by Shin and Nightingale. They stuck close to the wall, turning into the corridor which led to a kitchen. Suddenly, they heard the voices of two men yelling. They ducked down under the counter.

Shin tried to sneak a peek over the counter. Beside the table were empty cages about the same size as the table. He couldn’t make much out before Fuyumi pulled him back down.

“Shh, stop.” She angrily whispered to him.

The two men walked into the room.

“Breyll! I told you to bring in the next batch! Where the fuck are they?”

“I-I-I was told by the wolf that they would be in by this morning. I have no clue captain, I swear! I’ll try to see w-w-what I can do.”

“If you don’t bring them in by the next hour, it’ll be you instead!”

The burly bearded captain kicked the other man to the ground. The captain had several chains and a mace hanging from his belt. Breyll crawled backward and into a fetal position against the corner.

“Know your place, trash.”

He spat on his face and threw a set of chains in front of Breyll before leaving through a door at the end of the room, slamming it shut. Breyll put his hand to his face, crying and shivering. He looked disheveled, his hair was long and messy and covered his eyes. Breyll wore broken and tattered garbs and mismatched shoes.

Nightingale turned his attention to his left to Fuyumi and Shin.

“What is going on here?”

Before anyone could answer him, they heard Breyll stomp and throw the chains on the table. He walked around in circles and yelled out in frustration.

“Fuck! Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!”

He eventually settled down, sitting in the chair.

“This is fine. It’s fine. It’s actually great. No, no it’s not. Hahahaa… Yes.”

He laughed maniacally.

“I’ll just do as I’m told. All will be well. Yes, surely. Yes, it’ll be great! That’s it!”

Breyll suddenly stood up, kicking the chair back.

“He’s definitely not all there in the head.” Fuyumi whispered.

“More! More slaves! That’s all it takes, hehehahhahaha!”

He went to the door and screamed through the barred window in the door.

“I’m going now!”

Breyll ran out of the room and past the corridor. After a few seconds, they heard the trapdoor open and shut.

“Do we chase after him? Nightingale asked his allies, pointing at the exit with his thumb.

“We could, but te captain might be the better option.”

Nightingale scratched his chin at the thought of Shin’s suggestion. They sat there arguing back and forth for a few minutes. Without a word, Fuyumi collapsed into a cloud of smoke. She jumped from the shadows of each object, making it close to the door. She reappeared, making a hand signal to Nightingale and Shin to stay in place. She rested her ear against the door. Fuyumi heard scribbling coming from the other side. She turned into smoke again, traveling under the crack between the floor and the door.

On the other side was a small room with a desk. The captain was signing sheets of paper and stamping them before putting them aside onto various stacks of paper. On the floor were crumpled-up pieces of paper. Very slowly, she carefully unraveled the paper.

Hearing the sound, the captain quickly turned around in his seat.

“Who’s there?!”

He looked around his eye level and found nothing.

“Hmmmm.”

The captain turned back around. During this, Fuyumi went back through the door and made her way back to Nightingale and Shin. She reappeared between them.

“This… is disturbing… they ar-”

Fuyumi was stopped in the middle of her words by the sounds of people walking down the hallway. Rattling chains swung from left and right, it began to get louder as they came closer. A group of people came into the room, Breyll led the way.

“Here! We’re here! Everyone! Places please!”

He jumped around excitedly between each prisoner. He removed the chains connecting the prisoners together. However, their arms were still bound by a rope. Breyll shuttled each prisoner into a different cage.

“Captain, they’re here!”

Fuyumi signaled for Nightingale and Shin to lean in closer. She whispered into their ears.

“These slaves aren’t NPCs.”