Chapter 13: The Alchemist of the Void (Part 2)
Location: The North Wall, Arken Estate.
Time: 11:00 PM.
Status: Stealth Mode.
The estate was a prison. Vargo's mercenaries patrolled the perimeter with torches and hounds. But every prison has a crack.
Ren and Kaelith stood in the shadow of the old granary, near the drainage output.
"This is disgusting," Kaelith whispered, wrinkling her nose at the grate. "We're crawling through the sewage?"
"It's storm water, not sewage," Ren corrected. "Mostly. And the dogs can't smell us through the water."
Ren pried the grate open with his Gauntlet. He gestured for her to go first.
"Ladies first," Ren deadpanned.
"I hate you," Kaelith muttered, but she slipped into the dark tunnel.
They crawled for three hundred meters, emerging in the muddy ditch outside the estate walls. They were covered in muck, but they were free.
"Onyx is too conspicuous," Ren said, wiping mud from his face. "We walk to the city. It's five miles."
"Run," Kaelith corrected. She cast a minor wind buff. "We run."
Location: Oakhaven City.
Time: 1:00 AM.
Oakhaven was the jewel of the North, a sprawling city of grey stone and iron built into the side of the mountain. The Upper District glowed with magical lamps, while the Lower District—the slums where Ren was born—was a labyrinth of shadows and smoke.
They didn't go to the Upper District. They headed for the Dockyards, where the black market thrived.
In a dark alley behind a tannery, Ren stopped.
"I can't go in looking like a stable boy," Ren said. "And you can't go in looking like a Ranger. The Shadow Pavilion respects power and mystery."
Ren reached into his Dimensional Pouch. He pulled out a bundle of clothes he had stolen from the laundry (originally belonging to a visiting scholar). A dark, hooded robe made of heavy velvet.
He also pulled out a mask. It wasn't the porcelain mask of the Assassin. It was a simple, featureless mask made of wood that he had scorched black with alchemy.
He put on the robe. It was too big, but he used a belt to cinch it, making him look short but bulky.
"From now on," Ren said, his voice deepened by a deliberate rasp, "I am Raven. You are my bodyguard."
Kaelith pulled up her hood, hiding her elf ears. "Understood. But if things go south, I'm shooting first."
Location: The Shadow Pavilion Entrance (The Bleeding Coin Tavern).
The tavern was loud, smelling of cheap ale and unwashed bodies. But at the back, guarded by two massive Ogres wearing tuxedos (ill-fitting ones), was a heavy iron door.
Ren walked up to the Ogres. He didn't look up at them.
"Ticket," the Ogre grunted, extending a hand the size of a ham.
Ren pulled out the black card Vargo had given him. He placed it in the Ogre's palm.
The Ogre looked at the card. The silver eye on it glowed.
"Bronze Invitation," the Ogre grunted. "Standard seating. No weapons allowed."
"My bodyguard keeps her bow," Ren said. His voice was cold, carrying a trace of [Void Presence]. "Or we leave. And I take my gold elsewhere."
The Ogre paused. He sniffed the air. He couldn't smell mana on Ren (thanks to the Ring), but he smelled something dangerous—the scent of the Dire Bear Ren had butchered recently, lingering on Kaelith's gear, and the alchemical sulfur on Ren.
"Fine," the Ogre stepped aside. "But if she draws it, she loses the hand."
Ren walked past them.
They descended a spiral staircase lined with red velvet. The air grew cooler, scented with expensive perfume and incense.
They emerged into a massive underground amphitheater.
It was breathtaking. Crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling. Hundreds of people sat in plush booths—nobles in masks, merchants in silk, criminals in leather.
In the center was a stage illuminated by spotlights.
Ren found a booth in the shadows of the back row. He sat down, scanning the room with [Analytical Eye].
[ Target: Crowd ]
[ Average Level: 15 ]
[ Notable Threats Detected: 4 ]
He saw Vargo.
The merchant was sitting in a VIP box near the stage, surrounded by his Black Serpent guards. He was laughing, drinking wine with a masked man who wore the crest of the Mages Guild.
"He's here," Kaelith whispered.
"Good," Ren said. "It means he thinks he's safe."
The lights dimmed.
A spotlight hit the stage. A man in a white suit walked out. He had a charming smile and dead eyes.
[ NPC: The Auctioneer ]
[ Level: 25 ]
[ Class: Bard / Rogue ]
"Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the Shadow Pavilion!" the Auctioneer boomed. "Tonight, we have treasures from the deepest dungeons and secrets from the highest towers!"
The auction began.
Lot 1 was a Cursed Sword (sold for 200 Gold).
Lot 2 was a crate of Elven Wine (sold for 50 Gold).
Ren waited. His fingers drummed on the table.
"And now," the Auctioneer lowered his voice. "A special addition to tonight's catalog. Lot 9."
Two servants wheeled out a small cart. On it sat a glass display case.
Inside the case was a Vial. It contained a dark, crimson liquid that seemed to swirl on its own.
"Lot 9: The Blood of the Vane," the Auctioneer announced. "Recovered from the ruins of the Heretic Clan's sanctuary twenty years ago. This is high-purity blood of the Keepers."
The crowd murmured.
"Why is it valuable?" someone shouted.
"Because," the Auctioneer smiled cruelly, "The Vane bloodline is the key to the Third Seal. The purchaser of this blood can use it to track down any surviving members of the clan... or use it in a ritual to bypass the Seal's outer defenses."
Ren's heart stopped.
It wasn't just blood. It was a homing beacon. If Vargo or the Inquisition got that blood, they could use a locator spell. It would point straight to Ren.
"Bidding starts at 500 Gold Coins!"
Ren froze. 500 Gold.
He had 40 Gold. Even with the bear parts Kaelith sold, they had maybe 150.
"I can't buy it," Ren realized.
"500!" shouted a voice from the front row. A man in Inquisition robes (disguised, but Ren saw the holy symbol under the cloak).
"600!" shouted Vargo from his box.
"700!" the Inquisitor yelled back.
"1,000 Gold," Vargo said lazily, raising his glass.
Silence filled the room. 1,000 Gold was a fortune. It could buy a small castle.
"Sold! To the gentleman in the VIP box!"
Vargo smiled. He signaled his guards to go collect the vial.
Ren clenched his fist until his nails dug into his palm.
"He has it," Kaelith whispered. "Ren, if he uses that..."
"He finds me," Ren finished. "And he finds the Archive."
Ren stood up.
"We can't outbid him," Ren said. "So we steal it."
"Here? Now?" Kaelith looked at the fifty guards in the room. "That's suicide."
"No," Ren said. "We don't steal it from his hands. We steal it from his cart."
Ren looked at the stage. The servants were boxing up the vial to deliver it to Vargo's box. They had to pass through a service corridor.
Ren looked at his inventory.
He had three vials of Sweat of the Sloth.
He had the Jar of Famine (Too dangerous).
He had the [Void-Chew].
And he had Grim.
"Kaelith," Ren whispered. "I need a distraction. A big one."
"How big?"
Ren pointed at the massive crystal chandelier hanging above the stage.
"Can you hit the chain from here?"
Kaelith measured the distance. 100 yards. Dim light. Moving target.
She smiled. A feral, dangerous smile.
"Is the Pope a Catholic? Or whatever they say here?"
She drew her bow. She didn't stand up. She fired from under the table, threading the arrow between two nobles' heads.
Thwip.
The arrow flew silently.
PING.
It struck the main chain of the chandelier. The chain snapped.
The massive crystal structure plummeted.
CRASH!
It smashed onto the stage, glass flying everywhere. The Auctioneer dove for cover. Panic erupted. People screamed and ran for the exits.
"Now!" Ren moved.
He didn't run for the exit. He ran toward the chaos.
He activated [Flash Step].
He blurred through the crowd. He reached the service corridor just as the servants were trying to wheel the cart away to safety.
"Halt!" a guard shouted.
Ren threw a vial of Sweat of the Sloth.
Smash.
The grey gas exploded. The guard and the two servants inhaled it. They instantly collapsed, snoring on the floor.
Ren grabbed the box containing the Blood of the Vane.
He swapped it.
He took the vial out and put it in his Dimension Pouch.
He replaced it with a vial of Sweat of the Sloth.
He closed the box.
He turned and vanished into the shadows just as Vargo's elite guards burst into the corridor.
"Secure the package!" the guard captain shouted. He grabbed the box (now containing the gas bomb). "We have it, Lord Vargo!"
Ren slipped back into the crowd, grabbing Kaelith's arm.
"Got it," Ren whispered.
"Go, go, go!"
They blended into the stampede of terrified nobles fleeing the "terrorist attack."
Location: Oakhaven Streets.
Time: 2:30 AM.
They ran until their lungs burned. They didn't stop until they reached the safety of the storm drain exit.
Ren leaned against the wall, gasping. He pulled out the vial.
The red liquid swirled angrily.
"My mother's blood," Ren whispered. "Or her kin's."
He looked at Kaelith. "Thank you."
"That was insane," Kaelith laughed, breathless. "Did you see the Auctioneer's face? I think he wet himself."
Ren put the vial away.
"Vargo thinks he has the blood," Ren said. "When he opens that box... he's going to get a face full of sleeping gas."
Ren's expression hardened.
"But now he will be angry. He won't just occupy the estate. He will tear it apart looking for the thief."
Ren looked at the distant lights of the Arken Estate.
"The Cold War is over," Ren said. "Tomorrow, the war turns hot."
End of Chapter 13
Summary of Events:
Infiltration: Ren (disguised as "Raven") and Kaelith enter the Shadow Pavilion underground auction.
The Auction: They witness Vargo winning the bid for "The Blood of the Vane" (Ren's ancestral blood, usable for tracking him) for 1,000 Gold.
The Heist: Unable to pay, Ren executes a daring theft. Kaelith shoots down a chandelier to create chaos.
The Switch: Ren intercepts the cart, swaps the Blood Vial with a vial of Sweat of the Sloth (Fatigue Gas), and escapes.
The Aftermath: Ren secures his family's blood. Vargo unknowingly possesses a booby trap.