The secret workshop

Immediately after the right turn is another metal door. One which is also wide open, like the first one. It leads to a big round chamber. From inside the chamber comes a red glow, probably from a torch, and I am also hearing voices.

“Shit, there really are gems here. And lots of them too.” One of the two strangers says. “How did you know about this?”

“I used to work with the guy who made them.” The other guy says. “He created the crystals, I took them to places where I could sell them. Don’t take the emeralds by the way. Those are fakes. He was never able to make real ones.”

“Ah, so we can’t sell the fake ones?” The first guy asks.

“Oh no, I can easily fool people into thinking they are real emeralds. That was my whole job, by the way. Take the green quartz crystals and sell them as if they were real emeralds.” The second guy replies. “It’s just that the sapphires and the rubies are the only true gems he ever made. The only ones with real value and I can sell for the most money, so let’s take those first. We can always come back tomorrow for the fake ones. They’ll make less money, but it's still decent.”

I lean forward and peek into the room. I can notice a desk from over here. Both men are standing in front of it with their backs towards me. I carefully step forward, making certain not to make a sound. Kiara and Amelia sneak into the room with me. Kiara already uses her [Shadow Manipulation] to crease a shield in her left hand.

“So, what happened to the guy who made these gems.” The guy in the left asks his friend. “I can’t see him leaving without taking all of this with him.”

“Eh. It’s a terrible story. I was actually here when it happened.” The guy on the right answers. “I just came back with the money I made from my last trip.”

“Through the secret passage?” The first guy asks.

“Of course, I always use the secret passage. Imagine someone follows me here. If I were to walk through the front gate and they see me do it, it would implicated Lorenzo. Can’t let that happen. Also, I can cast earth magic. So, if somebody tries to ambush me in the secret passage, well, we’re surrounded by earth there. I could actually take out an A rank over there. Provided I can take him by surprise.”

As the men talk to each other, I survey the room. To figure out any potential obstacles in case a fight starts. The room is square shaped and entirely made of large metal plates. There are 4 holders for torches on the walls, but only one of them, the one near the door, has a lit torch. There is a second table on my right, between Kiara and the men. On it are what appear to be some metals and a candleholder with some half-burned candles in it.

“Right, yeah. That’s pretty smart. So, you came here through the passage and then?”

“Well, first I said hello to both him and his wives. I had become good friends with all of them over the years. The kids even called me uncle, if you can believe it. So, the women showed me their hospitality by providing me with some food and wine, as they usually do. Meanwhile I show Lorenzo how much money I made and we divide it between ourselves. Well, minus a few silvers, for travel expenses. Haha.”

“Aha, skimming a little. Yeah, I would do that too. People sometimes forget how dangerous travelling can be. You got to get compensated for that.”

All of us are in position. The guy on the right seems like the smart choice to take out first. He is only wearing leather armor. Then we could take down the guy on the left who wears chainmail. I could strike now, or announce myself and arrest them. But I am curious about what more information they would unwittingly share with us.

“Anyways, before we can come to this workshop of his so I can pick up the bag or fake kunzite he made, one of the kids comes running and says there are some people at the front door. I had no idea who it was, but I decided to stay out of sight. Just in case it was someone I scammed with fake gems in the past. Besides, Lorenzo is an A rank. He should be able to handle a group of strangers like that by himself. Yes well, I was in the dining room, standing next to the door to the hallway and keeping my ear open. I hear them talking, until eventually one of the women starts screaming and calling Lorenzo’s name. Then I hear some guy yelling ‘Kill the rest of these squatters!’. That was my que to leave.”

“Shit. They actually killed an A rank?”

“I didn’t hear him cast any spells so my guess is they caught him by surprise. Maybe a rogue or someone with the camouflage ability. So yeah, I bailed. I mean, I am just a D rank while Lorenzo was A. Anyone who can kill Lorenzo so quickly can certainly kill me too. And as I ran, I could hear the screams of his wives and his children.”

“Dude! That’s sick! The least they could have done is let them leave! There was no need for an outright slaughter!”

“I know. Nobles, am I right? Commoners like us are nothing more than cattle to them. Free to be slaughtered at a moment’s notice, simply because of their whim. So yeah, that’s why I asked for your help. Otherwise, it would have been a matter of time until they found this hidden workshop and taken Lorenzo’s treasures for themselves. I would have hated for these to fall into their hands.

“Better to fall into our hands, right? Haha”

I’ve heard enough. It is time for me to arrest them.

“Sorry, guys.” I say with my sword ready to strike. Both men immediately turn around with an expression of shock and fear on their faces. “But Lorenzo’s treasures aren’t going anywhere right now.”

The men quickly scan the room with their eyes and notice there’s three of us. They also see we are in combat stance and therefore can strike at any moment.

“Shit.” The guy in the leather armor says. “You guys must’ve been sent by that count. Haven’t you.”

“We are here to investigate why people have been getting sick, if that’s what you’re asking.” I tell them.

The guy in the chainmail looks angry at his friend and says, “I told you, we should’ve come at night.”

“Well, right now, you’re getting arrested.” I say. “Surrender and we will spare your lives.”

“Listen, guy.” The dude in the leather armor says as he picks up 2 full bags. “You’ve probably heard us talk, which means you know there are gems here, and that only the sapphires and the rubies are real. So why don’t you take this bag of sapphires and we take this bag of rubies. You pretend we were never here and we will not come here again. That way, you can go to the guy who sent you on this quest, tell him whatever story that makes him happy, you let him know the sickness thing has been solved and he will even pay you for it. We get something, you get more, it’s a reasonable offer.”

“Oh yeah, I would totally take it if I were you. That is such a good offer.” The other guy says.

If I was in their position, I would not be making such an offer if I thought I could win. Only if I thought I would lose. By making this suggestion, they have pretty much admitted that I can take them on. If I do and win, I could take all bags of gems. It’s not as if Amelia’s quest giver will notice. Like these guys said, the count and his servants don’t know about this underground workshop.

“Sorry, guys. Hands where I can see them. We will take you in.” I say calmly.

“Eh, fine. I guess we got ****.” The guy in the chainmail sighs and raises his hands. The other guy, the one holding the bags with gems in them, does the same.

But before I can tell Kiara to tie them up, the guy in the chainmail pushes his hands forwards and casts a [Gust] spell from both his palms. The air currents he creates are enough to hurt my eyes and I bring my left arm up to shield them. I also reflexively cast [Water Shield] in case the guy attacks me. Rather than an attack, he casts another spell. One that causes a yellow mist to fly into my direction. I counter with my own air magic and make is to the yellow mist can’t reach me. Unfortunately, the yellow mist does reach Kiara and Amelia both. They breath it in and immediately start groaning in pain while reaching for their foreheads.

Hearing my friends in pain, I let myself be distracted and turn to face them.

“Kiara? Amelia!” I call out to them.

The strangers make use of my distraction and start running. They move around the second table. Keeping clear from both us and the yellow mist. I recover from my distraction and cast a [Ball of Water] towards the guy holding the bags. I hit him on his arm and the strike is hard enough that the pain makes him drop one of the bags. The bag hits the ground with enough **** that it opens up and precious stones are scattered everywhere.

The guy in the leather armor swears, but his friend grabs him by the wrist and says “Forget about it! Just go!” and pulls him towards the exit.

I use some more air magic and cast my own [Gust] spell in the direction of the exit. The spell pushes any yellow smoke aside, leaving me with a chance to go after them. I am close behind the two of them and run up the stairs. When I am nearly at the top, I see the guy in leather turn back and raise his hand. The raised pile of ground which normally covers the stairway to this underground workshop starts to move. I jump out of the stairway and onto the lawn just in time. Just before the ground is back into its original place and blocks the passage to the workshop again. Shit, that means Kiara and Amelia are trapped.

“Amelia!”

I check if I the ground is loose enough for me to move it. It isn’t. Then I check where my opponents are. I am just in time to see both of them disappear into the hedge maze. I am fine with them escaping. I need to save my girlfriend.

I summon water from the pond and use it to cast the [Water Lance] spell. I then push the lance into the ground, where the hidden stairway is supposed to be and try my best to push the dirt aside. Until suddenly I hear “Go after them!” from underneath me.

“Is that you, Kiara!?” I yell towards the ground.

“The one guy is a plague mage!” Kiara yells at me. “He’s the one who caused the diseases! He gave me and Amelia a fever! Go after him! But don’t take any unnecessary risks! We can get ourselves out!”

“Alright! I’ll get them!” I yell at Kiara one more time.

Then I head into the direction of the hedge maze and chase after those guys.