Even as he made sure to keep himself under control, his eyes flicked all over the facility soaking up everything they could.

He memorized every catwalk. Every pipe. Every doorway. The way the guards and overseers walked with their arrogant stride. It could be invaluable information for a later assault.

If he got out alive.

He kept his pace slightly slower than the group behind him so they would overtake him, and he could follow after them.

But, he had to make sure not to go too slow as to seem suspicious.

His mind worked at a feverish pace. Could he make a mad dash back up the tunnel? Perhaps just double back and stroll out? No. That’d be too suspicious… he’d just come from there…

Better to follow this group and find a way out later when he could.

He was surrounded by enemies, and his hearing that before had given him incredible situational awareness was now worse than useless.

There was simply too much noise to pick up on any specific detail, and his head throbbed. He felt more vulnerable than ever.

He glanced over the factory floor again. Row upon row of collared slaves with dead-eyed expressions stretched off into the distance, making everything from swords and shields to armor and arrows.

The underground facility dwarfed the massive factory above, and this wasn’t even all of it.

Passages led into other parts of the facility.

How had anyone built something so huge and left so few traces behind?

More slaves arrived and carted off piles of weapons and armor.

He tore his eyes away again.

He wanted to see as much of their operation as he could, but he couldn’t afford to be seen staring.

He had to pretend that this was nothing new for him. His hand itched to hold onto his rapier, and it took great restraint to keep himself from doing just that.

The sheer scale of the operation was daunting. The number of people that had gone missing within the city had been growing as of late, but nowhere near as many as there were here.

They must have brought them in from other cities, and even other parts of the world.

Just how long had they been at this?

Victor had mentioned cases of abductions in other cities, but who could’ve expected this? With so many slaves working at this rate… they could outfit an army.

He’d known the city needed Victor back. The kidnappings, and the spike in the slavery trade needed to be dealt with. Chamberlain Davison and his power play needed to be stopped, but this went beyond that.

He needed to get to the bottom of this and put a stop to it. This wasn’t just about Victor anymore.

Nobody made this much equipment for no reason. They were planning something. Something big.

The slaves, the city above them, the country, and perhaps even the world depended on him to put a stop to this madness.

He silently prayed that they hadn’t been running long and that this was their only facility.

He couldn’t help but fear the worst.

The group of almost thirty armed men that had forced him out into the open overtook him, and he followed them into yet another section of the factory, much like the first.

Except that here, the collared slaves weren’t forging weapons and armor. Rather, they were using the same crystal powder as he’d seen in the factory above to further enhance what they made with enchantments.

"Gods..." he said before he could stop himself, and his heart almost stopped.

Thankfully, nobody paid him any heed. Either the noise had drowned out what he said, or they just didn't care.

With this... he didn't know what army could ever stand against this… they weren’t just forging enough to outfit an army… they were enchanting it too?

He continued to study everything around him while pretending not to be paying much attention.

Stolen story; please report.

Thankfully, the potion that heightened his senses also allowed him to process the sensory information faster. He could just flick his eyes over the area and take in details without seeming as though he was staring.

He was also able to get a slightly closer look at some of what they were working on. Other than the normal weapons and armor, they were also enchanting massive pieces of metal.

He could only assume it was plate armor, but each piece was bigger than a horse.

If they outfitted even half of what they were making on actual soldiers and... gods know what else… they could crush kingdoms.

Some of the larger alliances might hold out, but even they would be hard pressed. Without warning, they would be ill-prepared to deal with something like this.

If this wasn’t the only facility… the world would be plunged into chaos and destruction.

They went through room after room, and he felt increasingly overwhelmed by the scale of what he witnessed.

It was like walking through one factory after another. Each making weapons of war.

The group he was following moved deeper and deeper into the facility, and he wondered if he should stop tailing them.

Was it normal or would they get suspicious? What if he took a turn somewhere restricted and someone challenged him?

After following them for a little longer, he decided to split away from them. He needed to leave, and as they’d just returned they probably wouldn’t be heading out again any time soon.

He needed to find the exit himself.

He turned down another passageway and came out onto another factory floor much like the others. Except, this one made something that both horrified him and filled him with hope.

Rows of collared slaves churned out hundreds of glass vials at a time. Those same vials were then brought around to another group of slaves who extracted carefully measured liquid from a large cauldron and filled the vials one at a time.

He clenched his fists.

Potions. The bastards were using his uncle to make potions!

Victor had said how a single alchemist could radically shift the balance of power… was this their goal from the start?

After a moment, he got his anger under control, but he made a silent oath from the depths of his soul that he would see to it that whoever was behind this paid dearly.

Nobody could do this to his family and get away with it. Nobody.

He dared not linger long, but he kept his pace slow and watched everything around him like a hawk. Victor had to be somewhere nearby… but where?

Another dead-eyed slave came down from one of the passages, pushing a cart with a large cauldron on top.

He brought it to the slaves who busily measured out the potions, and deposited it there. He then took the racks of potions and carted them off elsewhere.

The sheer volume was staggering. Victor had been practicing alchemy for far longer than he had. His potions were more powerful and the amount he produced far greater… an entire army filled with those potions was unthinkable.

What could stop them?

He shook off those thoughts. He had to find Victor. The two of them could put a stop to this together.

He went down the passageway the cart had come from, but the passage soon split in different directions and he was forced to guess.

He took a wrong turn into a broom closet before he saw another slave pushing a cart with a cauldron of potion.

He went in the direction the slave had come from, and there he saw a large metal door at the end of a passageway lined with guards in gleaming metal armor.

He swallowed hard.

They were heavily armored and carried spears. They would skewer him before he could find a gap in the defense of even one of them.

"You there!" shouted one of the guards, "this area is off limits. What are you doing here?"

Connor ground his teeth under his cloth mask.

These men were standing between him and his uncle, and there was nothing he could do. If only he had the power to reach the door on the other side. He was so incredibly close.

The guard approached him. "I asked you a question," he said.

He needed to come up with an answer, but all he could think of was how close he was to his uncle. He was likely right behind that door!

The guard drew closer, holding his spear at the ready. The other guards glared at Connor and tightened their grip on their spears.

"Uh... I guess I took a wrong turn," Connor said.

"Oh?" said the guard.

"Uh... yeah... you know how big this place is. I swear the number of times I end up just going in circles! Could you help me?" Connor said.

All the guards stared at him in silence.

"Where were you trying to get to?" asked the guard.

"Well... I was supposed to go out with my group, but I had to run an errand first, and they got ahead of me. Now I have no idea where I am, and I’m running late. If you could just help me get out of this damnable maze, I can navigate topside and catch up with them faster. Everything looks the same down here. I don’t know how you guys manage," Connor said.

That was the best he could think of? Damn it!

The guards laughed.

He gave an embarrassed laugh. “Could you help me get back on track?" he said, "I think I've already kept them waiting long enough."

This prompted another round of chuckles from the guards.

The metal door behind the guards opened wide, and another collared slave with a vacant expression pushed a cart with a cauldron filled with a green liquid down the passageway.

The guards and Connor stepped out of the man’s way, and he passed by.

As Connor moved out of the way, he caught a glimpse through the open door at the other end of the passageway.

Alchemy equipment was set up on tables, and ingredients of all kinds lined the shelves. In the middle of it all was Victor with a slightly different version of the metal collars the slaves wore.

He’d found his uncle! He was alive, and he was here!

Connor took an unintentional step forward.

The guard stepped in front of Connor and blocked his view. "Nothing for you to see there," said the guard.

Connor wanted to rip out his throat, but he restrained himself and backed off. “Sorry,” he said.

"Well, I suppose I could help you find your way out," said the guard.

The guard gave him directions to one of the exits from the underground, and he took careful note of what he was told. Everything recorded in his memory as best he could.

“Thanks,” Connor said. He turned away and walked back down the corridor. Each step pained him greatly, but he had no other choice.

“Just hang in there… I’ll be back soon,” he muttered as though Victor could hear him.

He followed the guard's directions and moved swiftly through the facility. He’d done more than he’d planned, but it was just as well. The Syndicate’s operation was far grander than any of them could’ve expected.

At least Victor was alive. His deepest fears had been eased. It was time to get out of here. The others had to know.