The merchant isles of the Sub Terras stretched out before him in uneven layers of wooden platforms and crooked walkways suspended over dark, unmoving water. Buildings clustered together and dozens of people moved through its crowded streets striking up one deal or another.

Lanterns swayed lazily from rusted chains, casting fractured reflections that made the entire place feel like it was drifting rather than standing still.

The people who came here cared not for luxury. They only cared about profiting from the illegal trade that took place within the taverns and inns that littered the isles.

Zayn walked through it all without hesitation. His blindfold was back in place and his cane tapped softly against the warped planks beneath his feet, though he didn’t need it. Not really. It was just a prop after all.

The familiar bar at the edge of the town was shrouded in its usual air of mystery. The blue neon sign swung with the light breeze that passed over the isle, blowing dust through the filthy streets. He didn't care for the filth, after all he was only here for one thing. Information.

A low, crooked structure leaned against one of the central pillars, its entrance half hidden behind hanging beads and tattered cloth. Laughter spilled from within as he pushed through the thick, heavy, mahogany doors. 

The lights were dimmed low but music blasted all around him making it impossible to hear anything but that didn't stop anyone from staring as he casually walked in. Dozens of eyes flicked toward him immediately. Everyone was a potential client. A transaction waiting to happen and nobody would miss the opportunity to catch their next meal ticket.

He ignored all of them. He knew exactly who he was here to deal with and that particular person wasn't available for the regular dealer. With a network of spies that operated in every region, The Black Ledger; king of the underground; profited from valuable information. He operated from the bar’s underground VIP room that was only accessible to those with big enough pockets.

The bouncers by the door looked him up and down and when Zayn flicked his a single solid gold coin, the bouncer stepped aside. In this place of sin, there was nothing money couldn't buy. Even access to the Sub Terras’ underground.

Down here the atmosphere was different from upstairs. The men and women in here barely numbered a dozen. They were dressed in rich fabrics and guarded by heavily armed men. He ignored most of them, focusing his attention on the one man who sat by a private booth at the far back.

The Black Ledger sat back against the leather couches, sipping his drink casually as he stared at particularly nothing. He didn’t greet Zayn when he sat across from him. He merely studied him casually, probably wondering how much he was about to make from this transaction as Zayn made himself comfortable.

“I’m looking for information,” he said simply, a finger casually tapping on his cane.

“Isn’t everyone here?” The Black Ledger snorted. “What do you have to offer that the next guy doesn't have?”

Zayne reached into his coat and slid a single gold coin to him. It was unlike your regular coin with a skull stamped in the middle.

“My my. It's been a while since I encountered one of the Undead,” he muttered, as he looked down at the coin in front of him before pocketing it. “Never a good sign.”

“Is that a refusal?” Zayne asked calmly. “I wasn't aware that the Black Ledger was discriminatory.”

“No,” the Black Ledger said, folding his arms in front of him. “That’s me deciding how much I don’t like this already.”

He leaned forward slightly and gave Zayn an amused smile.

“What kind of trouble are you buying tonight, Undead? What can I interest you in?”

“Disturbances,”Zayn responded slowly. “Unusual ones.”

The Black Ledger simply chuckled before responding.

“You’re going to have to be more specific. Everything in my line of business can be classified as a disturbance to the right people.”

Zayne didn’t react.

“Something recent,” he added. “Something that one can view as… otherworldly.”

“Ah, mage business and the like. I see. Well you’re a little behind if you’re chasing after this piece of information.” the Black Ledger said with a snap of his fingers and an excited glint in his eyes.

Zayne’s grip on his cane tightened almost imperceptibly.

“What do you mean by that?”

“I mean whatever you’re sniffing around for has already stirred quite the attention. The gist of it is at this moment public knowledge. But you didn’t come here for public knowledge, I presume.”

“Whose attention?” Zayn inquired, his fingers tapping lightly on the table.

He didn’t care about the public view. The information he needed was probably embedded in the deep, dark places of society.

“Everyone with just the right kind of influence. Word is in Korin something … otherworldly… was spotted by the beach on what should have been a regular festival.”

Zayne’s expression didn’t change but the air around him did. This story sounded familiar. He had seen it with his own eyes but he needed validation. That day he had been too preoccupied to stand and truly comprehend what he was seeing. But he remembered Amara all too well.

Her bronze skin, her long dark brown locs and those green eyes that had found him within the chaos. At that moment he had been almost certain he had blown his cover; the chaos that followed had erased all those worries. After all, no one questioned what he had been doing at that particular point in time if they were too preoccupied with  making it out of there safe and unharmed.

“People make things up,” he said. “I hear Korinian festivals are quite merry. They share all sorts of alcoholic beverages and narcotics to get into the festive spirit.”

“Sure, but hundreds of people would have to be very high to swear up and down that they saw the Creator.”

“The Creator? Where exactly did people claim to see this phenomenon?"

“Like I said, it was by the beaches. One minute everyone is getting groovy, the next a fire breaks out and before anyone knows what's happening the fire takes the form of the goddess Annatah. But that's not even the juicy bit.”

“There's more?”

“There's always more if you know what to look for. Anyways, my sources tell me this girl; the one who supposedly summoned the Creator; had no summon card. Now I'm not an expert in the mage arts but I do know that the mages use their special summon cards whenever they call upon another power. Especially one as magnanimous as our Lady Creator.”

His eyes locked onto Zayne’s blindfold.

“She must be something pretty special to pull off a feat like that.”

Zayn said nothing, he merely took the information that was handed to him and digested it silently. Reaction in a place like this was dangerous. He needed to maintain his air of indifference at all times. Whatever thoughts he had about this issue were his alone and he had an odd suspicion that people like the Black Ledger could translate every expression, every gesture, into valuable information.

“Anything else?” He asked after a short while.

“Yeah,” the Black Ledger replied, placing his goblet down. “Whoever did it, she's still alive but she won’t be for long.”

Zayne reached for his cane.
“And why is that?”

“You really don’t know?” The Black Ledger asked with a dark chuckle.

Zayne didn’t answer, he didn’t need to. He knew personally how vulnerable someone with god like abilities could get without anyone backing them up or protecting them. He was lucky to have been found and inducted as one of The Undead otherwise his story would have ended up differently.

“Because, when one performs mage arts outside of the set rules they place a target on their back. A very large target.Everyone who is anybody wants that kind of power. And getting to an inexperienced girl… that's relatively easy. Depending on who gets to her first. At this point let's roll a dice and let the gods decide her fate.” The Black Ledger continued, interrupting his train of thoughts.

Zayne reached into his coat again and seconds later a second coin slid across the counter.

“I didn’t come for half a story,” he said. “And I sense there's more than one disturbance that sells tonight.”

“You really are pulling all my stops tonight, Undead,” The Black Ledger muttered, pocketing the coin anyway.

He leaned forward, lowering his voice just enough that it didn’t travel.

“Fine. Then listen carefully. The surface world’s already cracking. There was also an incident in Lythos,” the bartender said. “Big one. A political scandal like nothing we've seen in this decade. The Governor’s dead,” the man continued. “Murdered in his own office. And do you wanna guess who the streets are saying was the person to see him alive? The Archon of The First. Quite a hefty criminal charge for someone the world views as a saint serving the Creator.”

“That doesn’t make sense. The Order doesn’t go around murdering people. And anyone looking to get away with that type of murder would not leave self incriminating evidence.” Zayn said.

“Doesn’t have to make sense,” the bartender shrugged. “It just has to look right.”

Zayne considered that.

“You're right. Where there's smoke there's fire.” He said almost thoughtfully. “What happened after?”

“Chaos, obviously.” the Black Ledger replied simply. “The Governor’s brother assumed the title of Regent and they say he was quite vocal about his opinions of the Archon and his people agreed with him. Crowds turned and accusations flew. The Archon had to vanish before they tore him apart. Right now Lythos is breathing down the Order’s neck. Petitions, investigations, the whole circus. Faith’s a fragile thing. Turns out it cracks faster than bone.”

Zayne said nothing but the silence around him sharpened.

“Funny timing too. You’ve got a divine tantrum lighting up one corner of the world and a political assassination shaking the other.”

“It could be a mere coincidence. Otherwise you would know if either party was related to the other” Zayn said.

“You’re in the wrong place to believe in those.”

“Fine. Let's say I don't. Let's say it's not a coincidence. Who benefits from this?” Zayn asked, his mind already drawing up a dozen possibilities.

That question earned him a longer look.

“Anyone who wants the Order of The First distracted,” he said. “Who wants them questioned and weakened…or removed.”

The Black Ledger let his words sink in for a moment before he continued.

“You’ve heard of the Brotherhood, yeah?. They’ve been moving more openly lately. Still hidden but bolder. Almost as if they know something everyone else doesn’t and if I had to bet I’d say they’re not done yet. I'd look out for the next fews days. We might get something surprising.”

Zayn absorbed that slowly. There were two threads now and he had to figure out the common factor. The common link and he had to do it fast before time ran out.

“Oh, one more thing. The Governor of Lythos had a daughter,” The Black Ledger continued. “I'm told she disappeared right before her father's assassination. One minute she's on her way home with a friend and the next moment the Brotherhood attacks. The train she was on went up in flames and there were casualties everywhere. Bodies were recovered but some were not. Her name never showed up on the list. She was reported missing immediately after and in this line of work, you know what that usually means.”

Zayn said nothing because yes, he did.

“But here’s the funny part,” the Black Ledger added. “One of my spies tells me when at first the Brotherhood approached the girl she was protected by a giant see through snake they couldn't touch her. Their leader had to use a simple knock out spell and they ended up taking her with them.”

Zayn felt a sudden pressure in his chest. A giant see through snake? It couldn't possibly be… No. He would remain calm and try to figure it out later. For now he would extract every bit of necessary information. That is why he came here, after all.

With a nod, he slid the final coin across the table as he slowly stood.

“For your next round of drinks. Thank you for your time.” He said.

“Pleasure doing business with you, Undead. Maybe next time you will sell me a piece of information or two, yeah?”

Zayn said nothing as he walked out of the bar back outside into the busy streets. His mind was processing all the information he had been given.

“So there are two. And only one of them is my target.” He thought to himself.

He thought back to Korin, to Amara. He had only met her for a few moments but he already knew she was a kind and generous soul. Maybe a little too trusting. Did she deserve to die? That was not up to him. He was not meant to know the details and stories of his targets.

Now for the other one. The Governor’s daughter. As his thoughts drifted to her, Zay felt that pressure in his chest again. He knew nothing about her except for the wild tail that was being spun about her. The Brotherhood of Night had her, so confirming if this rumor was true or not would require some stealth work. Infiltrating the Order was the easier task. The Brotherhood was a different level of task altogether.

He was now approaching the docks. Staying in one place for too long usually attracted unwanted attention and he had no intention of having his secret identity exposed. He had already booked a ticket onto the first ship out of the Sub Terras. The crew merely gave him an acknowledging nod as he made his way to his private cabin. Teleportation would have been faster but he was conserving his mana and hopefully he could gather some valuable intel along the way. Drunk and merry sailors could never keep their mouths shut about anything important.

After securely locking the door behind him, he took off the blindfold and laid it on the bed. He slowly scanned the cabin to make sure everything was still as he had left it, his iridescent eyes shifting between pale violet and glacial blue. Satisfied with his check, he sat down on the small bed. That’s when he felt the pull again. This time he didn’t resist it, he allowed himself to be pulled into the dark.

For a moment he saw nothing but slowly his vision cleared. He could see wisps of cosmic purple spreading gathering around the room and he traced them to where they were coming from. The room was dark and gloomy but well furnished. The stone walls were old but he could tell they had stood the test of time. On the far edge of the room, a young teenage girl still in her school uniform sat on a bed, her head resting on her knees. She was hugging herself in a vulnerable position. As if sensing his stare, she lifted up her head and the moment she saw him, her eyes widened. So many emotions passed her eyes; from fear, to uncertainty to helplessness.

He stood there trying to put his head around why this girl could see her but then he saw the purple wisps gather around her until they formed a huge serpentine figure that hovered above her. She didn’t seem to realize what was happening around her, her eyes were focusing rather on him.

His eyes shifted to the serpent.

Why are you showing me this?

Python didn’t speak, rather the girl spoke to him in a small voice.

“Will you… will you help me?” She asked, her voice shaking.

“What is your name, girl?” He asked.

“Cassie…”

“Cassie, can you tell me where you are?”

“I don't know… they brought me here… I just wanna go home.” She replied, growing even more distressed.

She was traumatized, and in this state of mind he wouldn't be able to get much information out of her. Before he could say anything he heard the key turning and the door swung open. For a moment he feared he would get caught. It didn't matter that he had only astral projected here; one could never be too sure about it. But when  before he could react he was back in the little cabin on the ship.

He sat up slowly, letting out a small breath. It had been a very long time since Python had appeared to him. What did the cosmic serpent want from him now?