Chương 45: Chapter 43. Brief Solace

"Alright, let's go now then. Aurelia's injured, we can't allow her to recover," Oz said and whistled for Wail to come back inside the bank. Since Wail was short, he'd apparently been able to sneak out when Aurelia had first shown up. Oz had assigned him to stand outside the bank and watch for any potential reinforcements. According to Wail, Aurelia had assigned [Guards] to block off the road to the bank already. In her sudden escape, it seemed that she'd forgotten to inform those [Guards] to stop.

The poor boy looked awful. No doubt guilt racked his brain at not having been able to do anything to save his friends. He'd done the right thing in fetching Oz. Without him, it was possible that Aurelia would've killed them all.

"Alright, I allowed the explanation partly because you had me by the neck, but now that I'm free and you've gotten the truth… I need to know who you are," Bruno said as he lit up a cigar.

"I can tell you're similar to Oscar. That much is easy to tell. What I don't know is how you two know each other and how you're still sane—relatively speaking, that is."

"You didn't tell him about me?" Oz asked Oscar.

"Uh, no… I was afraid he might've tried to kill you. His purpose is sort of exterminating corruption in the world and all that, you know?"

"Guilty as charged," Bruno said.

"But I suppose this little intervention of yours has shown me that we share a common enemy."

"Hmph, not much to say about me, I'm afraid," Oz said and motioned for one of Bruno's cigars, which he obliged and lit.

"Ozolo Vyke, [Abyssal Shifter] and local rescuer of abandoned Shiftlings. Although, I suppose I've failed in that regard. I've been looking into the death of a friend of mine who was killed. When I met Oscar and discovered our shared connection, I asked him for his help."

"That's what I was doing this morning and how I knew we'd been attacked by more people from the Depths," Oscar said. Bruno took two puffs from his cigar before replying.

"Well, now you know the full story. The [King] is up to some shady shit, and I'm here to investigate further. If you wish to help, then I won't turn down another body. However, you're stupid if you think that I'm immediately heading down into the Depths after… that."

"And why can't you?" Oz asked, clearly annoyed.

"If you want to go into the Depths without some sort of map, or any form of knowledge about the layout… then you're fucking insane," Bruno said.

"Now that I have Janine's key, I can try and investigate to see if there are any clues she left behind. All in all… it's going to be around another day or two until we can be ready. And that's assuming everything goes smoothly…"

"Yeah and nothing ever goes smoothly with you around," Gita said.

"You're maybe the biggest source of chaos that I've ever met." Bruno pretended to be hurt and threw one hand over his heart.

"Dear Gita, you wound me. Contrary to what you may believe, I'm a simple man that'd love a simple life."

"Bullshit."

"It's true. All I need to be happy is a home on the coast, some of the finest cigars obtainable, and women with ample opinions and fat asses. And yet... I dedicate my time to making the world better. How noble of me, right?" Oz cleared his throat, drawing attention back onto him.

"What about you, Oscar? Do you have no say?"

"Uh… that's a tricky question. Technically, I'm always at risk of being executed, however, I do feel Bruno warming up to me each day," Oscar said.

"That being said… as much as I want to rescue Cry, Sob, Bawl, and Weep… that fight took a lot out of me. I mean I literally lost my arm!" he showed everyone the patchwork repair job he'd done, evoking grimaces from everyone as they saw the shadow veins.

"I'm sorry, Oz, I just can't go down to the Depths right now. It'd be a suicide mission." Oz morphed his whole hand into one viper and slammed it down onto a broken desk, breaking it even further.

"They might not have another day or two in that monster's care!" he hissed.

"I barely escaped from that prison myself! None of you have any idea what it's like down there!"

"Wait… couldn't Oz be our guide?" Oscar said.

"If you remember how to maneuver to where the prisoners are held—""No, I can't guide you inside the Depths," Oz said, cutting him off.

"My memory about my time down there is hazy at best. The experiments and torture are vivid memories, as well as her face now that I've seen it again, but nothing else. I only managed to escape because of the whole rebuilding process," he stopped and took a hit of his cigar before ashing it underneath his boot.

"Which… we could use to escape as well. Even if they've repaired the wall, we can just break it down again as there's not much they can do to cover up that hole. Wasn't like they were exactly putting too much effort in the rebuilding efforts either." Bruno looked annoyed at the waste of cigar, but didn't comment.

"How did you escape? The Depths is called the Depths for a reason. I don't understand how a wall could provide escape."

"The old sewer system," Oz replied.

"It was a long drop down, but those disgusting waters are right below."

"Heights you say?" Oscar asked anxiously. One thing about being a shut-in his whole life was that he hadn't ever had the chance to gain a taste for roller coasters or other high adrenaline rides.

"I'm sure we can find another way out…"

"How long are you all going to sit around and talk in a place that'll soon be swarmed with [Guards]?" Plank asked as he and Ariesa stepped inside. The old man and Ariesa hadn't been able to escape due to Bruno's typhoon, so they had hunkered back near the lift that went to the vaults.

"If you need the blueprints for the Depths… I can help with that. Perhaps we can discuss that when we're away from the active crime scene."

"Plank's right, we should get out of here," Oscar said.

"I think it's probably best if you let us handle getting that blueprint, Oz. Once we have it, we'll be ready to save them." Oz looked vexed as he stared at everyone.

"Fine, but just because I know I can't do it alone. If you're not ready in two days… then we're going to have problems," he said and stalked out of the bank. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. Oscar and everyone else followed and made their way towards the Burrow. The Dragonash ring on his finger hummed softly as it gathered more charge. Bruno had said it was a ring of momentum.

It gained charge by siphoning a very small portion of Oscar's kinetic energy as he moved, storing it within the ring until it was ready to be used. Apparently his anxious rubbing of the ring earlier had resulted in him withdrawing all of the stored energy. He still didn't know how to properly withdraw an appropriate amount of energy yet, and couldn't be bothered to ask Bruno about it now either. All he wanted right now was to have this meeting to discuss their next steps, and then go to sleep.

Which was something he expected everyone wanted as well, as even Bruno was having a hard time maintaining his jovial attitude. Oscar looked to his right and saw Ariesa sulking. The news that her father was orchestrating these inhumane experiments was clearly—and justifiably—weighing her down. The likelihood of Romulus being one of the six soulstone holders was becoming more and more real, and something that not even she could deny for much longer.

Oscar's mouth opened to speak something to cheer her up, but nothing came out. This wasn't his specialty. All he'd do was make her feel worse or anger her. Which was tough as he really did like Ariesa. Their time together had been limited, but she was a pleasant girl to be around despite her occasional teasing. Or maybe he was just smitten by her looks.

Upon entering Plank's study, Bruno set up the secrecy bubble. Oscar stole the nice chair before anyone else could. The soft cushion was so nice that he almost fell asleep then and there. Unfortunately, Bruno spoke and disturbed the peace.

"Alright, let's keep this short, yeah?" Bruno said and then gestured to Plank.

"You said you know how we can get our hands on the Depths blueprints?"

"Those explosives I used, they were created by a friend of mine. A friend who is considered the greatest [Architect] this city—and perhaps the world—has ever seen despite his young age," Plank said.

"Veo Vintly also has a side business working as an [Inventor]. The two of us do business quite frequently. He supplies me with new useful inventions to supply unto my [Thiefs], and in return I give him information regarding what's going on in the lower city."

"Veo is working with peasants? I mean… he's working with non-nobles?" Ariesa said, flushing at the accidental insult.

"I didn't mean it like that… it's just that he's seen as this young man that every noble is desperate to commission."

"Oh, yes, girl. Veo is no stranger to playing in the mud with us low-borns," Plank replied, making himself sound like an uneducated hick.

"Veo was hired to assist with the redevelopment of the Depths. I'm sure he'd be willing to assist you, the [Princess], and hand over the blueprints if he knows you're with me. I don't know what he'll ask for payment, but I know it won't be gold." Ariesa let out a loud sigh.

"I could pay him a visit tomorrow. I was kind of hoping that my sudden disappearance was going to last longer than a few days… but so be it."

"Take Oscar with you," Bruno said.

"The boy could use a peaceful mission for once." Oscar narrowed his eyes in suspicion at Bruno.

"Why the sudden surge of compassion?"

"You've been through a lot lately, and it's not going to get easier. Use tomorrow as a day to recharge with a task simple in nature."

"You want me to go on the off-chance that I run into the [King], don't you? If he's one of the soulstone holders, I'll be able to tell immediately, right?"

"I mean… that'd be nice to find out, would it not?"

"And have you considered that if I were to notice him, then he'd notice me as well?"

"That's why Ariesa will be with you. I'm sure the [King] won't do anything terrible with his lovely daughter present."

"Uh…" Oscar leaned in to whisper." Aurelia was willing to kill Ariesa because she said that the [King] wouldn't care all too much."

"Ah… well, she seemed a tad bit crazy, right? We can't trust such an interaction. Hope for the best should you meet him," Bruno whispered back.

"As for Gita and myself, we shall investigate Janine's house and see if we can't figure out anything else."

"Nah, I'm good," Gita said from the back of the room.

"You don't need me for that."

"How could I possibly decline help from someone as wonderful as you?" Bruno said sweetly.

"Nope, I literally didn't offer any help. What do you mean decline? What sort of sentence did you think you heard from me?" Gita began to protest further, but stopped herself.

"Fine, fine, but if this Janine lady has something cool… I'm taking it."

"Heartless, but considering where we are right now… fair," Bruno said and then suddenly became serious.

"Look… I know today was rough. Not even I expected someone like Aurelia to be apart of this, but that just shows you how serious this situation is. Take it as easy as you can tomorrow, because I don't know what awaits us within the Depths, nor do I know what will happen after." There had been something troubling Oscar since he learned of the plan.

"This Depths place is somewhere vital to the [King's] schemes, right? So, assuming we break in and free all of these captives… wouldn't that make the operation to retrieve Romulus' soulstone that much harder? Surely he'd been on high alert if somewhere in the upper city was assaulted, yeah?"

"I've thought about that as well. To be truthful, I don't know if saving Janine or those Shiftlings is even the right call to make," Bruno admitted.

"I'm almost completely certain that Romulus is one of the soulstone holders, so saving Janine is only for the small possibility that she's discovered a weakness of his. No matter what, the final confrontation with Romulus will be ugly and difficult. So, I've decided that having him be a bit more on-guard is worth it for any potential advantage."

"I… I still believe my father to not be the man you think he is," Ariesa said.

"However… I can't deny he needs to be stopped. I've thought his malady something that I could find a cure for, but it's becoming clear that… that it might be best if he were to be put down. I'm afraid there might not be a cure for him…"

"There's a chance that if we were to steal away the soulstone from him, that he'd return to normal," Bruno said.

"That's easier said than done considering the soulstone is what's giving him strength and vitality, but… we can try to save him," he said softly and placed a comforting hand on Ariesa's shoulder.

"I'd greatly appreciate that," Ariesa said simply. There was definitely more on her mind, but Oscar instead made the offer for everyone to break for the day and get rest. Bruno instead had one last ask of everyone before they all retired for the night.

"I need to do some research on Aurelia to try and see if I can't think of a way to beat her next time. I know Plank has stolen a book or two on Vythe. Everyone help me find it and then you can all sleep." Everyone groaned, but figured it was for the best in the long term. And with so many eyes scouting, eventually Ariesa found one of the books. It was dusty from neglect, but the title of the book seemed promising for research. But that research had to be done by Bruno, as Oscar was too damned tired.

Mumbling out a goodnight, he left the group and stumbled his way towards his room. Piling his clothes on the chair next to his desk, Oscar collapsed into his bed, too tired to even shower first. Level Increase! [Abyssal Acolyte Level 8] Skill Obtained! Skill: [Increased Shadow Reserve] obtained! Level Increase! [Abyssal Acolyte Level 9] Skills Obtained! Skill: [Shadow Step] obtained! Skill: [Shadow Stitching] obtained!

Ariesa had a much more difficult time falling asleep. The idea of losing her father plagued her thoughts. She'd already lost her mother, and now she was to lose her father as well? Despite her anger towards him, she still wanted him in her life. Just not as he was right now. Plank's words were also repeating in her head. Even if they were able to save her father, there was no way she'd want him to rule again. The role had obviously proven itself far too taxing on him in the wake of her mother's assassination.

And the saying that time healed? Yeah, that was a farce. If anything, her father was worse now a few years removed from the event than he had been when it happened. In hindsight, she should have noticed something was off when her father didn't even arrange an investigation into which kingdom had sent the [Assassins]. But grief blinds and only Praxios knows how many nights she'd spent crying herself to sleep.

"Suck it up, Ariesa! You're a big girl now!" she said to her empty room, in an attempt to pump herself up.

"No more losing levels. You are going to be [Queen] one day… and maybe also a secret [Thief] still when you have free time. But the most important thing is that you will be [Queen]. You…" She let out a heavy sigh.

"I have to be [Queen] for Father's sake…" Eventually she passed out, and despite her words of encouragement… Level Decrease! [Princess Level 10 to Princess Level 9!] Skill lost! Skill [Quick Study] has been removed! Level Increase! [Thief Level 9] Skill Obtained! [Sense Presence] obtained!