Hiding in the forest, Zyro gazes at the small village up ahead. It's the vampire settlement he visited before as a caravan slave. Back then, the sun was shining brightly in the sky. But settlement was desolate, with empty streets and closed windows. Now, deep at night, Zyro could see numerous warm lights from the houses and hear vigorous noises coming from the village. The town was full of life in the dead of night.
They're following Scarlet steps as they continue making their way forward, realizing she had no intention of stopping. Pert asked curiously.
"What do we do now?"
Scarlet said without delay, expressing her confidence.
"We're going to infiltrate, of course."
Zyro thought for a moment.
By the time they enter the village, the sun would have already risen. Which means, the village would be in a state of bright midnight, when every residence is resting comfortably in their homes. It would be the perfect time to sneak in.
As expected, invading the vampire village are a walked in the park. A small settlement like this lack finance to build mighty walls and several watch posts. So, there's many loopholes in their defense. Furthermore, the village defense is meant to prevent mindless beast from getting nearer. Such creatures are easily spotted, and don't think much about approaching. On the other hand, Zyro, Scarlet and Pert was intelligent beings, with nimble bodies.
Once they passed the wooden fence when no vampire wardens were looking, the group of three successfully entered unnoticed.
It's already morning, so the previous liveliness of its residents are gone. Replaced by desolate streets and closed houses. The homes of vampires around them are a mix of wood and stones, ranging from first and second floors, similar to medieval architectures.
As they sneak into the village street, Zyro thought they'll be going straight where carriages are located to rob and drove off immediately. But, instead, Scarlet lead them to one of the most luxurious houses. It's a second floor building with stone fence and a small garden in it's courtyard.
Seeing this, Zyro can't help but expressed his opinion.
"Um, princess Scarlet, I doubt infiltrating the house will be beneficial for us."
Scarlet then realized her mistake, she said they will be infiltrating, but wasn't specific enough. She corrected.
"Oh, no. Not the houses, what I want to infiltrate is the underworld."
She enters the house gate. There were locks, of course, but surprisingly, the royal princess seemed proficient picking the locks by using her blood manipulation ability to recreate a suitable key for every she encountered.
Scarlet gracefully smirked, saying over her shoulder.
"Neat, right? This is a hobby of mine I developed at the castle since I was a kid. Needless to say, my home had so many doors. And all of them have dedicated keys! It's irritating."
'And a royal bandit is born.' Zyro rolled his eyes internally.
With Scarlet lock picking skills, the houses intruder defense are almost none-existent. They invade the property silently, following the princess lead, they found a door lying on the floor.
"So... this is the entrance to the underworld?" Pert exclaimed.
Knowledge of the underworld is not a secret. Almost everyone in Foggy Ring had heard of it. It's not some abysmal environment but it is a shady place created by vampires.
Vampires are sensitive to sunlight, preventing them from going out during the day. However, perhaps due to other species influence, which is mostly active at daytime. Some vampires want to do the same. Furthermore, dealing with other species is inconvenient when the other party's active and sleep schedule are reversed.
However, their vulnerability to sunlight is inborn. To solve this, the underworld are made. It's an underground structure under vampire settlements, that shield them from sunlight during the day. Allowing them to stay active in daytime to handle business dealings with other species.
But not all vampire's had access to that place, that's probably why Scarlet chose a fancy house to intrude. Because, the richer an individual is, the more likely for their home to afford passage to the underworld.
Unlocking the lock, Scarlet opened the door. Revealing defending stairs within, leading towards the deep shadows underground. It would have been completely ominous if it weren't for the warm glow of light at the stairs end, and subtle voices resounding from time to time. Hinting that it wasn't pure darkness there.
Scarlet had been in the underworld countless times already, so she made her way without fear. Pert and Zyro hesitated for a moment, before following her receding back.
As the hooded maiden descended the stairs, leading her two followers into the hidden world if vampires. She calmly explained to them.
"First of all, please accept my apologies, I thought you two might back out halfway. So I didn't inform you of my strategy in detail. You two might be wondering why I brought you here, instead of getting a carriage outside. Well, it's because I had a better plan. Traveling outside is a riskier than traveling in the underworld. I hope you understand."
Pert raise his hand, wanting to question something crucial.
Scarlet look at him, before giving her permission with a smile.
"What is it?"
Pert anxiously said.
"Umm, princess. How do we exactly travel in the underworld to get to the castle? I mean, such a small village like this doesn't have the luxury to afford a long underground route leading to the main settlement. If I'm not mistaken."
The young Aster worries are not without basis. This village can't even build, tall stone defensive wall to protect it's citizens from intruder such as them. Let alone, a underground passage, long enough to reach the other settlements.
Or so, he thought.
Scarlet chuckled.
"Good question, I was planning to tell you once we get there, but there's no point hiding it now..." She paused, lost in thought before adding.
"You see, my father is a great man who cared for his people. The Gricks and vampires are in conflict for a long time now. My mirage with prince Ron are supposed to eased that. But Father wasn't fully convinced that peace would prosper after my wedding. Or maybe... his not willing to send me off. Nevertheless, before he died, he prepared for war. Although, not all his plans are met, he at least successfully completed one big project. And that's connecting all vampire settlements underground so every citizens had a path of retreat. And serve some military purposes, as well. It was recently finished, so knowledge of this tunnels are confidential."
"But worry not, as the daughter of the former king. How could I not memorize the underground passages? That's why I'm confident in getting out of here and returning to my home... I hope you two will continue believing in me."
Silence hang over them for a moment, letting the two digest her resolute words coming from the future queen.
Pert broke the silence, with a touched voice.
"Of course, I'll believe in you, princess."
Zyro simply nood, implying his agreement.
His thoughts elsewhere.
He had suspected Scarlet might have something up her sleeve, giving her confidence in returning to the castle. Her home, where no one can touch the heir of the throne. By the time she returned, surely, she won't make the same mistake that dumped her in this situation. And if that happens, she would be able to fulfill Zyro and Pert wish to be set free from Foggy Ring. And live in the Kingdom of Strays.
It's a win - win situation.
And now, learning of the path she planned to take. Zyro was reassured he didn't follow an aimless princess. From now on, Zyro would do his best to deliver her to the castle.
'It's time to take this escort mission seriously.'
After that, they step out of the stairs and fully entered the underworld. This underworld belong to a small village, they didn't expect much. Still, the place interested Zyro's mind.
The place was dark, illuminated only by dim lanterns hanging on the walls. It's similar to the Mine they work before, but visibly better. The tunnels are larger and perfectly square passage. On the side, the walls are made of bricks with steady, iron frames serving as durability support. The underworld was mostly made of relatively large, long, twisting corridors made of woods and bricks. On the walls, windows of merchants can be seen, while vampires, young and old are wandering around the underground streets as they live their daily lives normally. They work on stalls, but some stuffs, chat with friends while the kids play.
It's a underground street, where the walls are littered by doors and windows. However, the place are noticeably small for this vampires to roam around, fortunately, there's not many of them either. Most vampires are resting this time of day, while the ones here are either all-nighters or daytime actives.
Scarlet walked in the crowd with her hood down, hiding his face and hair to not be recognized. Zyro and Pert behind her, tracing her tracks. She seemed to be looking for something in the underground street of the village.
But Zyro's attention was elsewhere.
As they moved, his dark eyes were sharply observing the surrounding vampires reaction.
Their group keeps wandering around the street. Luckily, the village underworld wasn't big, so it probably won't take long to find what she's looking for.
In the back, Zyro suddenly sighed.
'Things can't be smooth sailing, I guess.'
He then tapped Pert's shoulder, and whispered.
"Prepare for battle."