I pushed open the doors to the church and walked in. It was dimly lit with candles much like earlier. The bishop who had been conducting prayer earlier was sitting in the front row of the pews with his head bowed.
Upon taking the first step inside, the bishop turned his head to look over at me. He had a sturdy, rugged face with whitening hair. He was still wearing his white cassock that matched his aura.
"Elias, what brings you here at this hour?" The bishop asked.
"You know me?" I replied slightly confused.
The bishop began walking towards me as I took Lorenzo off my shoulder and sat him down in the pew.
"You expect a bishop of the Church of the Keeper of Time doesn't know a fellow arcanist under him? Of course, I know you." He replied with a chuckle. "Now what brings you here."
I guess as The Church of the Keeper of Time has authority over The Huntsmen, it only makes sense that this bishop would know me.
"I was tasked with finding and capturing this here gentleman," I said to the bishop while taking a glance over at Lorenzo. "He has connections to the incident with Pandora. A supplier. I was hoping you could take care of him for me. He's harmless."
"This wasn't tasked by us? Was it a separate task given to the Huntsmen?" The bishop asked.
I slightly tensed up. "Well, no. It was just given to me." I paused thinking if I should tell him the rest, but seeing as The Church of the Keeper of Time was on the side of The Huntsmen, it wouldn't matter. They'd find out eventually. "It was issued to me by the messenger from Mr Haywood Ahern himself."
"Mr Ahern? That's… rather odd." The bishop replied, his brows furrowed.
What could be odd about that? It's just a small bounty. "Odd?"
The bishop paused for quite a moment and then spoke slowly. "Mr Ahern shouldn't be aware of, the Pandora incident. He shouldn't even know their names. Yet he wanted Lorenzo taken out. Could someone have leaked this?"
I took a step closer. "Their names? Is this, The Black Rose? Were Lorenzo and Pandora both a part of it?"
With a sigh, the bishop looked over at me again. "I guess if you already know and are asking anyway, yes. Both of them are part of The Black Rose. Well, Pandora is. Lorenzo was recruited by Pandora from what we know."
There was a moment of pause again while the bishop pondered over things.
"I'll make sure he's taken care of. None of this will get out to the enforcers or even The Huntsmen. I imagine you wouldn't want that."
I bowed slightly, "Thanks, sir." Keeping it a secret was rather important to me.
Stepping back, I cast a final glance at the bishop as he got Lorenzo up onto his shoulder. "Thank you, Bishop... uh, forgive me, I didn't catch your name."
The bishop chuckled again, a deep rumble in his chest. "Pablo. You may call me Bishop Pablo."
Pablo had an air about him, like Bishop August I encountered a while back. A weight that hinted at power. He was no ordinary clergyman; his presence echoed with a great arcanist's strength.
Walking down the stone steps away from the church, I reflected on my encounter with Lorenzo. His reaction hinted at dark secrets, tied intricately to Pandora and the recent incidents with his supplying.
His mention of The Black Rose was the truth. Basically confirmed by Pablo.
The Black Rose was an organisation and Lorenzo was a low-level grunt, taken in by Pandora to do her bidding. But what Pablo said was indeed strange. Why would someone like Haywood Ahern be concerned with taking out someone as disposable as Lorenzo?
But this also showed how much the church already knew. They had already known of The Black Rose, and it looked like Pablo knew even more. Why would they keep this from us at The Den? Did the church not actually know about Fritz and the Rose till after our encounter?
Going back to my battles again I realised I had faster reflexes and enhanced prowess. The brief skirmish I had with Fritz had honed me, not just physically but arcanist-wise. I felt the surge of power within, a growing strength that demanded respect. Fritz was far stronger and faster than Lorenzo was, it gave me an edge of experience I didn't know I had gotten.
As I strode through the cobblestone streets, Lorenzo's warning echoed, a cryptic message within its words. The Black Rose organisation and Fritz Haand's connection to them made more sense now. Their names resonated in the shadows.
After going against Lorezno, I was pumping with energy and couldn't be bothered going back home to sleep just yet. Though it was very late in the night.
I took out my pocket watch. Around ten at night, not as late as I thought.
Instead of going back home, I decided I would take the night off to wander around the entertainment district. The nightlife would be far different to what the daytime would be. Especially with what kind of shops and venues I had seen there over the past few days.
During the day it may have been busy, but it was more family-friendly. People would be exploring the markets, going to circus and theatre shows and buying lavish clothing.
The nighttime however was more fitting to the title: Pink Colored District. It was more suited to adults with different kinds of shows playing and alcoholic drinks flowing freely. It really was an entertainment district.
That kind of nightlife wasn't really suited to me so just going to The Red Anchor to people-watch and relax was more my speed.
I took a seat up at the counter stools and ordered an Aurich apple juice. I wasn't opposed to drinking alcohol, but it wouldn't keep me consistently sharp.
As I perched at the counter, the chatter around me mingled with the clinks of glasses and distant laughter. The Pink Colored District lived up to its name tonight, bathed in hues of vibrant revelry.
Sipping on my apple juice, I scanned the room, my gaze flitting from one character to the next. Amongst the shifting crowd, a face caught my attention—a presence I had seen in the underground market. The person who had been whispering about the new supplier.
With my drink in hand, I maneuvered closer. My steps weaved through the throng of people. Pretending an accidental bump, I angled toward the figure.
"Sorry about that," I muttered, raising my drink to my lips.
"Don't worry," came the reply, "we're all here for a good time. It happens"
I tapped the person's shoulder, feigning camaraderie, and my mind briefly whirred with possibilities. My fingers lightly brushed against their coat as I activated fractured sight.
The webbed fractures of a possible near future entered my sight—The familiar underground market was different. A stage, an auction, and a figure that sent a shiver down my spine: King. He was standing up on the stage with his flowing white hair. And a glass case next to him, three old-looking pages nestled within. They sparked a sense of familiarity, a memory teasing the edges of my consciousness.
The rush of images faded with a blink of my eyes, leaving me reeling as I tried to anchor myself in the present moment. King, the auctioneer—their presence in that future event was undeniable.
With a calculated calm, I finished my drink, the tang of apple juice still lingering on my tongue. The auction was eminent. The underground market I had been to was transformed into an auction house, ready to sell arcanist-related goods. This fracture confirmed everything.
But how would I get in without being caught? King will be there. And what even was our goal? Were we shutting down the auction? Taking something that was being sold? Just investigating and reporting back? I would have to ask Darius tomorrow.
The pages in the glass case. They reminded me of pages I had seen before. The ones at the library that came fluttering out of the old book. The pages with the enigmatic diary entry. Could they have a relationship? Hopefully, Darius will have some answers.
Taking note of this new information, I decided to head back home for the night. The Red Anchor had served its purpose of relieving my stresses from my encounter with Lorenzo earlier and rest was now needed.
Morning soon arrived, and with it, so did my thoughts. I had been getting mysterious yet interesting dreams while in this place. Dreams that felt familiar yet foreign. Though none had come this past night.
But that didn't matter in that moment, I needed to let Darius and the others know about this new information gathered last night.
After grabbing a few pastries from the bakery, I made my way into the Den.
As I strode into The Den, Jean sat at the front desk, engrossed in a newspaper. My companions—Fleur, Lucas, Mar, and Caius—huddled around the meeting table, veiling their conversation with subtle gestures. Likely disgusting things about the underground event and how to gather more information.
With a nod of acknowledgement from the team, I asked, "Is Boss in? I need to discuss something with him urgently."
She gestured toward Darius's office, and just as her hand moved, Darius emerged.
I made my way over to him, wasting no time. "Boss, I've uncovered crucial intel about the Underground Auction."
I wanted to tell Darius about my fractured vision I had scene of the auction, but that would reveal my abilities as a Tier 8 Watcher. Telling him that I can see the future would be troublesome too. I had to be careful with what I told him.
"Very well, better to tell the whole team though," Darius said taking the conversation over to the meeting table with the rest of the team.
Around the meeting table, my companions huddled. Fleur's piercing gaze met mine briefly, a silent inquiry mirrored in her eyes.
"I spent a good part of last night around the entertainment district and the Red Anchor, and upon this, I ended up hearing some crucial information about the eminent Underground Market Auction. The auction will be going ahead soon as we suspected with King as the auctioneer. And there's talk of leaks about the product being auctioned off. Most notably three distinct and worn pages that many people have been eyeing up from what it sounds like."
My mind raced, teeming with the weight of unspoken truths. The fractured vision from last night remained a secret, a glimpse of the future I dared not reveal. This was all I could say for the moment, not telling them that was was a possible future but just a leak of information.
Darius's brow furrowed, his eyes searching for details I could not divulge. "Elias, the specifics? What else have you learned?"
I paused. "This was all I found out. Hopefully, it's enough seeing as the auction could happen any day now from the sounds of it."
"No no, that's perfect," Darius said. "The pages, is there anything more about them that you found out?"
The pages? Did Darius in fact know of them? Was my theory correct about them being linked to the diary I found in the library?
"Unfortunately not," I replied.
Fleur picked up, "Boss, are these pages that important?"
"If my memory is correct," Darius went on. "They… wait a minute"
Darius swiftly turned around and walked back to his office.
Lucas leaned forward, his eyes narrowed in concentration. "So, King's the auctioneer... that complicates things."
Fleur's expression remained inscrutable. "Well, that only makes sense. King is the one running the whole Underground Markets. But having someone else as the auctioneer would make sense too. I doubt King will be the only authority there."
In a moment, Darius reemerged from his office with an aged-looking record book, its cover coated in a film of dust. Laying it gently on the table, he brushed away the accumulated grime and flipped it to a page near the centre.
"I knew those pages you said reminded me of something." He said.