The trio, now hidden in an abandoned store Kaiser had once previously attacked, are just going until they get their next plan to salvage the already horrible start.
"How are we going to get to the princess now? We've already been exposed, and we've had to kill more than 40 soldiers .They aren't just going to let us walk around freely now that has happened."
Hearing Deakon's frustration, Kaiser merely sighed in annoyance, for their mission was already teetering on the brink of failure
Zoephelia looked through the dusty bookshelves, checking through books, pulling some one by one until she pulled one that opened a basement door.
"What the hell, Kaiser, did you know this was here? Why does it smell so bad?"
Deakon smelled the air and his face pales quickly, the familiar smell of death and suffering.
"You shouldn't go down there, because whatever you see will be hard to swallow. I thought I'd stopped them, but I just bought more time," Kaiser admitted.
Zoephelia closed the hidden entrance, her eyes closed as she whispered a prayer to release the pain and suffering from the basement.
"I discovered a stash house belonging to a slave trafficking ring. I found several others before, and I also stopped them, but my shadows still linger in those places, I guess I failed." Kaiser said.
Deakon and Zoehelia look at each other before sitting next to Kaiser, as he just looks at the floor, his shadows seeping back into him.
Zoephelia puts her hand on his shoulder slightly tapping her fingers.
"Not everything you do will solve problems of this magnitude, but time is necessary. Once we eliminate that man, everything will fall into place."
Zoephelia smiles at him before walking around picking a book off the floor to read. Deakon, still sitting next to Kaiser, begins to whisper something to him.
Kaiser looks up and looks Deakon in the eyes and closes his mouth with shadows.
"Alright, that's enough of that. I'll ignore that this time."
A few hours later.
Kaiser peeked through the cracks of the boards as he saw the sun setting. He smiled slightly, as so far nothing else had gone wrong.
He stood up, dusting himself off and lightly kicking Deakon's boots. Deakon's eyes sprang open instantly.
"Can you not do that? You only need to say my name I'll hear you immediately"
Kaiser simply ignored him and went over to Zoephelia, who was surrounded by books, some open and others closed.
"Are you ready to get going? We have to move while it's dark, better chance to move around undetected" Kaiser Said
Zoephelia still reading a book flips through another page before looking up at him
"And if I said I'm not ready yet, what would you do? You won't fight me, you've already lost to me before," Zoephelia said smugly.
Kaiser flicks a shadow toward her head as she moves the book in the way to prevent it from hitting her.
"Do that again and see what happens"
Kaiser looks at her and mockingly puts his hands up, shivering.
"I'm so scared, how will I ever do anything ever!"
Deakon chuckled as the two argued.
"You know the two of you argued like an old married couple, y'all should kiss and make-
Before he could finish, two blades were pointed at his neck: Kaiser's Shadow sword and Zoephelia's spear.
Deakon only smiled as the two now stared at him with unmoving eyes.
"You don't seem to enjoy that joke. I personally think you two make a terrible couple."
Kaiser and Zoephelia sheathed their blades. Deacon clapped his hands and headed toward the door.
"Wait Don't open that"
Kaiser places his hand on the ground and spreads his shadows, which stretch under the doorway and across the corner where the abandoned shop is.
"I don't sense anything except us
Kaiser lifts his hand up and steps towards the door, his sword disappearing back into his shadow.
"Let's go we can get into the heart of the slums with the cover of night, be on guard they could still be searching for us this time of night"
Deakon and Zoephelia nodded, pulled their hoods up, and followed Kaiser through the door, entering the darkness of the Golden City.
Elsewhere in a lab hidden in a golden tower
A small, elven woman enters a lab through a door triggered by her magic Aura. She sees her boss standing before vats of subjects.
"Sir our spies have confirmed they're on the move now, how should we proceed?"
The man with pulsing hair turns around a needle in his hand.
"Let's send a few test subjects, hmm? Contact the other labs we'll send a few of the weaker ones"
The elven woman nods and begins to leave before she is grabbed by her shoulder.
"Do make sure they are monitored at all times. I don't want the Queen to find out about this. We may have the princess working with us, but that alone won't be enough."
The elven woman nods her head then leaves the labs to check the others hidden in the capital.
Now alone, he sits down on a chair, looking up at the captured travelers slowly being turned by his poison, elves, humans, and even wolfmen
"Don't worry you all will soon become very important in making the perfect specimen"
He grabs a knife and cuts his arm, the blood dripping to the floor causing multiple of the subjects to awaken, breaking through the vats.
"Good, good, my little pets. Now find them, test their strength, die for my research, and maybe I'll reward you."
The test subjects then run out of the lab to search for the three teens and please their master.
The man walked to a window overlooking the city, his eyes pulsing purple as he spotted the trio entering a tavern in the slums.
"There you are little ones oh how fun this'll be"
A magic rune appears in front of him as he tells the other labs to release some subjects.
The trio walks into the tavern unaware of what's coming as the mutated test subjects search the slums for them, their bodies mutating every minute.
The mutants finally found the trio as they sat and waited, perched outside the tavern on the rooftop.
The three of them sat down and ordered drinks at the bar, planning their next move, when Deakon perked up.
"There's something wrong, the Air it's like when we found the Wolf" Deakon said
Kaiser and Zoephelia look at each other before drawing their weapons, the rest of the patrons surprised at the scene.
"how Many?"
Deakon inhales and can only shake his head.
"They're surrounding the Building as we speak"
Kaiser quickly extends his shadows, trying to figure out exactly where they're hiding, only to discover how surrounded they were.
"There's got to be more than 20 of them, where the hell did they come from"
Zoephelia throws her cloak aside, spinning her spear, the lightning crackling around it.
Deacon stood up, cracking his knuckles and popping his neck as he walked towards the door.
"fine let's go"
The patrons began to move away from the windows and doors, seeking any shelter from the mysterious people outside the tavern.
Kaiser, now standing next to Deakon, calls back his shadows, having them fly back into his own.
"How annoying"
Kaiser kicks the door open and steps outside to see dozens of glowing eyes staring at him. Deakon and Zoephelia follow behind him.
A mutant lunged at Kaiser, intending to kill him instantly, but Kaiser swung quickly. The mutant's body split in two, purple blood splattering across the ground.
"Who's next?"
The mutants all jump towards the trio as they prepare to kill their mutated enemies, all while in a golden tower their master looks on in pure enjoyment.
"Let's see how you do against my pets"
To be continued