Cyril really felt uneasy at the moment.
It was a weird feeling, like his imagination was making things way worse than they actually are.
In his mind, if Gethyn, the most simple-minded-looking out of the group, was capable of such skilled deceit, then how good were the others?
Perhaps every word and action they did before had even less truth than Cyril thought before.
Still, he didn't panic, instead answering calmly, pointing his finger at that previous spot, "Look closer."
Jack and Kenneth, nearby, stared at that previous spot.
"Ah," Kenneth voiced in pleasant surprise, quickly wearing gloves that he got from somewhere, and scooped up with his fingers from the bottom of the crate.
He flipped his hand and opened his palm, in there was now lying a bit of black, sparkly dust. "We have some traces!"
Then, Kenneth excitedly looked at Cyril again, or more precisely, at the butterfly now sitting on his shoulder. "With this, we can track the stone more easily, right?"
Cyril nodded with conviction, Morpho even fluttered her wings a few times too.
Kenneth's mood noticeably improved. "I didn't expect to have a lead so soon! Maybe we can actually get that reward..." He very carefully put the dust inside of a small bag and stored it in his pocket.
The others were glad as well, even Gethyn no longer looked dissatisfied.
Their collective happiness was interrupted by a louder banging on the door. It seems the thugs were now trying to break down the door with magic directly, though unsuccessful so far.
"Let's leave!" Katherine urgently said and moved towards the wall.
She put her hand on solid stone and focused.
Soon a spell activated, and a good chunk of the wall became completely frozen.
After a delay, it exploded from the inside, creating a convenient exit for the group.
Everyone quickly jumped in one after the other.
This wall happened to lead into secluded alleways so passersby didn't witness this escape.
Swiftly everyone followed after Kenneth, who ran with a calm gait, observing the area around him at the same time.
Cyril saw them casting spells, the effects of which he didn't understand. It only felt like the area they were in became a bit darker, like lowering the brightness on a mana lamp.
After a few twists and turns, Kenneth opened up a sewer lid and jumped in. Everyone else followed him in.
Aside from Cyril, who briefly hesitated right at the edge of the hole.
Then with a frown, he jumped in as well.
"I'll remove the smell if it will be too much..."
Please...
Sometimes, having enhanced senses was really not that good.
...
As expected the smell was revolting, thankfully Rhamn quickly solved that issue.
"Cyril, hurry, in here!" Kenenth called out.
He was currently standing in front of an opened hidden wall, much like the ones in the Hidden Merit bar.
Cyril hurriedly went inside.
Kenneth took one last look at the hole to the surface. It didn't seem like anyone managed to pursue them this far.
He quietly stepped inside and closed the wall behind him.
This place was much cleaner, however, it kept the same architectural design as other parts of the sewers.
"Don't the sewers belong to the Empire? How did you manage to make hidden entrances here?" Cyril voiced his confusion.
Jack was quick to reply, "We are not contesting their claim on this important land. Our employers simply helped finance the construction of the sewers and left themselves a few bonuses as a reward."
"I wonder just how far-reaching is the hand of Rennock Trading Company..."
"Come on, let's go towards the hideout," Katherine called out as she was walking away. She didn't like standing so close to the actual sewer.
She was not alone in this feeling, everyone joined her soon.
...
After a few turns, they reached something that resembled a resting room.
It was still built out of the same stone as other parts, but this room had a few amenities as well.
It even resembled someone's apartment. There was everything needed to survive a few days without seeing the outside.
Jack and Gethyn immediately went to relax on the sofa.
"Can someone bring me the hangover medicine? I think there should be some here..." Gethyn helplessly asked.
"No problem," Kenenth replied and, familiarly, opened a drawer near the kitchen, inside were many different pill bottles, and he took one out.
Katherine stood with her arms crossed in the middle of the room, looking quite impatient. "What is our next course of action?"
Kenneth slowly gave the bottle to Gethyn and turned around to face her, his face carrying the same polite smile, "Don't be in a hurry. We've had good progress today."
"Don't forget that this is a competition, we must find the stones faster than other groups. I doubt we are the only ones who discovered Power Society's involvement." She quickly replied.
At this moment Cyril wanted to ask how many groups Rennock funded, however he decided against it in the end. He doubted they would answer him.
"Haste leads to waste," Kenneth replied without any emotional upheavals. "We should be careful in our actions. The Power Society will be on alert for a bit after this. It would be too dangerous to act now."
Katherine sighed with frustration, looked like she expected an answer like this: "You are always so unreasonably cautious..."
She walked into one of the rooms, which looked like a bedroom, and closed the door behind her with a bang.
Kenneth shook his head but didn't say anything about her actions, he only turned towards the rest and smiled, "Don't worry, everyone. We got a huge advantage today, that's enough for now.
Jack and Gethyn both nodded with optimistic smiles.
Everyone took a seat on the sofa and relaxed, waiting out the commotion on the surface.
Cyril sat down too; he looked at their actions with a bit of pity hidden in his eyes.
They looked quite eager to get whatever reward they were hoping for. Unfortunately, they are doomed for failure.
There was a Black Tulip inside of that crate. Granted, not as big a piece as the one he found previously. Looked like someone crushed the stone into several chunks, but a piece nonetheless.
It was now safely hidden by Cyril, not in any container or pocket, but inside of his own body.
It was a rather bizarre experience for him.
Back when Cyril opened the crate, he found the stone immediately and grabbed it with his hand.
Then the flesh in the middle of his palm opened up and swallowed the small stone whole before immediately healing itself, leaving no trace behind. It was like a magician's trick, only much more grisly.
Good job. Your idea worked. Rhamn proposed this method of storage, which used her miraculous control over his flesh, before the whole operation started.
"Yes! We've struck gold!" Rhamn happily clenched her fists. She couldn't wait to get out of this place already.