Jhinto had thought for a long time, and had finally thought of a solution; the royal gardens. The were still open to the air, and if one knew where to go, lots of ways to get in and out without being detected.
The only problem was getting permission to go there, but luckily - he had an idea. He approached Harbinger with the more meager demeanor he could muster up and walked into his office with the face of a humble old man.
"What is it now, Jhinto?" Harbinger asked with annoyance. He didn't even look up from whatever schematics he had in front of him. It looked like he was going to make quarters for soldiers to watch over the lower tunnels at all times.
"Ah, my Alpha - I came here with excellent news. I have found a docile potion. If vaporized it can be sent to the lower levels to keep them nice and complacent. It will be as though nothing were wrong at all. They'll be stupid and happy. It would aid a lot I think in our quest to keep control. I can make some with the right flowers, but I wanted to ask permission before I went into the garden," the old wizard replied with a kind smile as though he were a grandfather offering their grandchild a cookie.
"Oh? How long does it last?" Harbinger asked with interest and looked up to the old man's silver eyes.
"The book states it works for a full moon cycle. I think I can make it work longer with the right concentrations," Jhinto replied with a little sly tone in his voice to keep up the persona he had cultivated.
"Oh? What makes you think the right flowers are in the garden?" Harbinger asked with suspicion.
"Oh, this old mind can't remember the flora out there. Goddesses know I haven't been out there in a decade or two. I merely wanted to search, and your permission is required," Jhinto replied as innocently as he could.
"Do you require assistance or something?" Harbinger asked with annoyance.
"No, my Alpha. I just wished for your blessing," Jhinto replied and gave him an friendly smile.
"I don't care - do what you'd like out there. If you're worried about protection, don't. There are soldiers in there to keep people from sneaking out or in. You won't be harmed," Harbinger sighed softly and waved off the old man in front of him.
"Oh good, thank you" Jhinto feigned a sigh of relief and stood on his feet with much 'difficulty' and turned to leave with the small pouch he had brought with him to "collect flowers in".
Harbinger just rolled his eyes and nodded towards the 'pathetic' and frail old man. To the Alpha-General, it was a good thing Jhinto had been so useful, otherwise he would have offed the old mage a long time a go.
Typically the weak were annoying to Harbinger, but at least this one was useful and somewhat strong in the mind. After this, though - he'd probably sequester the mage into his office, as he was growing tired of having to see those silver eyes lingering around his desk.
'Good, good - just the guards', Jhinto thought to himself peacefully as he made his way to the castle which while carved from the mountain, stood apart from the rest of the tunnels.
It shape was that of a classic medieval castle, but it disappeared into the rock above as though it had fused into the rock itself from sort of magic. Right behind it, however was a full view of the sky where air, weather, and pieces of nature trickled in to paint the rock with greenery and different colors of flora that grew threw vines, on tree roots, and sprinkled on the rocks where moss had blanketed the warm surfaces graced by the sun.
If one walked through the castle on the ground floor, and to the ballroom - they could easily see and access the large garden that was once a crater that had been cause by the human war so long ago.
Some of the life here was unlike anything anyone of our current age would know thanks to the mutations and magic that had laced together and caused beautiful monstrosities like giant, colorful plants with moving tentacles as stamens who literally snapped flies and other bugs out of the air as though they had little hands.
The garden was lush, and grew up the sides of the sloped surfaces that surrounded the entire castle. When the bomb had made contact with the Rocky Mountains, it seemed to have also opened up a hole into the base that had been built there when the wars began.
After the radiation had become acceptable to the blood of the magical creatures, the werewolves moved in and crafted the place for themselves, including carving out a gorgeous castle from the remains of the destruction.
If only the wolves of the past could see all of this now, they'd be quite proud of how much their work had grown.
As Jhinto passed through the ornate glass windows that made up the back of the ballroom, he felt at peace. The many scents of the flowers gave his nose a brief respite from the musty old books he was often lingering over, and he felt free.
He should have to, for in this moment he felt much like a bird as the wind swept his old, grey hair back and made the grass and other flora shift gently with applause from the grass as the blades ran into one another tenderly.
The scent was well needed, too. The deep, heavy perfume of the roses, to the light and airy sent of the daisies and sunflowers. To be able to have saved any of the old-world plants was a miracle. When they found some seeds in some man-made lab on the other continent, they weren't sure if they would grow at all. Although some did not - a few did, and as the seeds were divided amongst the different magical nations, each had their own special gardens and flora to protect.
Thanks to this, gifting flowers became something exceedingly special for everyone, especially if it was from outside of their residing kingdoms. The hardest ones to get came from the undersea world, but Black Sea Rose was highly sought after and traded for with gems and items of high value.
A very, very long time ago, the Selkie Queen had gifted the Luna of the mountain a box of dried black sea roses, and it was her most valuable possession. One she gave up easily to protect her child when the vampires raided their compound for what seemed like decades now.
Jhinto was too old to remember names, but the lesson was still absorbed: flowers were more than just plants. They were everything in this world.
He gave a kind smile here and there to guards who were at their posts as he went around inspecting the flowers with joy and awe. The old male looked so innocent and frail that most of them dismissed him like he was a burden.
As he made his way to the taller portions of grass that collected underneath the gigantic tree in the center of the entire garden, he started to look for signs of the old runes he had carved on a hidden, over-grown slab that resided somewhere in the shade of the lush, long branches.