“Identification and reason for visit?” the guard asked in a bored tone. The woman on the cart rolled her eyes. “Do we have to do this every time? I literally come by two times a week.”

  “Identification and reason for visit?” the guard repeated in the exact same tone. Annoyed the woman answered, “Mey Rose, delivering a shipment of baked goods from the Baker’s Association of Seran.” The guard nodded and signed for another guard to check the shipment. After briefly glancing at the boxes, he gave the go-ahead to let the cart through.

  Grumbling, the woman guided the lemac pulling the cart through the gate and towards an area of the courtyard where various shipments were being unloaded. Once there, she jumped off, scratched the animal behind its ears, and went to talk to someone in charge.

  It was a busy day in the castle, with many shipments being delivered from all across the city. With her absence, the cart lost any sort of uniqueness and became just one among many. Nobody had time to focus on anything besides their own work, let alone a singular cart. The figure that quickly jumped out of it and joined the workers in carrying various boxes was simply too inconsequential for anybody to notice.

  Pecta tried his best to not look around as he carried a random box he had grabbed into a storage room. He was just one of many workers trying to earn a few coins. The servants directing them had no reason to be suspicious of him, and he wanted to keep it that way.

  On their way back to the courtyard he purposely let himself fall behind. As a servant glanced at him he bent down to tie his shoes. When Pecta was sure that nobody was focused on him, he quickly scurried down a different hallway and into an unlocked room. A restroom to be exact, which was luckily unoccupied.

  Before doing anything else he simply took a deep breath and thanked Persa for her grace. This was his first and hopefully last time infiltrating a castle. However, considering the place he was sneaking into, it had been surprisingly easy. Hiding in a cart heading for the castle just before it departed hadn’t been a problem. Then the brief check by the guards had surprised him with how lax it had been. Considering the crackdown in the rest of the city he had expected more. Well, he wasn’t going to complain about things going his way.

  Centring himself, he thought about his objective. The cultists, or whatever they were, hadn’t entered the castle through the main gate, but a side entrance. Sadly for him, sneaking through it undetected would have been impossible. He had checked, there were as many guards as at the gate and they only let very specific people through. Now that he was in the castle, he had to locate where that side entrance led and see if he could go there from inside the castle.

  Pecta was about to leave when he spotted his reflection in the mirror. The man staring back at him looked surprisingly calm and collected. But what stopped Pecta were the eyes. Those eyes belong to a man who would continue to fight for what was right, no matter the cost.

  He let out a self-deprecating chuckle. Where had that confidence been when he had truly needed it? Where had it been when he had suffered under his mother or fled from the Children? He stopped that train of thought before the past could consume him. Not today. Today he would help a soul in need and do what was right.

  Before he could do anything else, the door opened. A man dressed in a servant uniform walked in while humming a merry tune. He was halfway to one of the stalls before noticing Pecta. “What are you doing here?” The servant asked surprised, while eying his dirty worker garb. Pecta scratched his head and tried to appear embarrassed.

  “Ah, sorry my friend. Got a bit lost while working, since it's my first time here. It’s truly amazing how you guys can find your way around. Would you mind telling me where I can find the rest of my group?”

  The older man frowned, his surprise morphing into irritation. “Do you think I have nothing better to do, than being a babysitter for some idiot?” he angrily stated. “By Abnar’s light, do they not teach you how to follow orders in the slum?” Pecta tried to retain the smile, even though the servant was making it very difficult. “I’m sorry for causing you any trouble, good man. Don’t worry, I’m sure I’ll find my way back.”

  He tried to leave the bathroom but the older man blocked him while scowling. “I know your kind. As soon as you’re out of my sight, everything that isn’t nailed down will disappear. No, you stay here, while I call someone to escort you out.” The servant turned around and headed towards the exit to call a guard. But before he could even grab the doorknob, Pecta rushed forward and punched him in the bag of the head.

  He had purposely restrained his punch, which made it even more surprising when the man collapsed like a sack of potatoes. Pecta winced as he hit the ground. “Shit.” He quickly checked his vitals before sighing in relief. Everything seemed to be fine. The man may have been an asshole but, to be fair, Pecta was currently trespassing. Even if it was for a good cause.

  As he dragged the man into one of the stalls, his eyes landed on the servant's garment. Pecta groaned as an idea took shape in his head. “Great goddess Persa, I hope you can forgive me. I swear, stealing this man’s clothes helps a good cause,” he whispered before proceeding with his plan. Before Pecta left, he placed most of the money that he had next to the unconscious man. Hopefully, he would be able to buy something for the headache once he woke up.

  Soon an ordinary servant left the bathroom. A couple of people gave him weird looks for constantly muttering prayers, but otherwise, nobody noticed him.

  Casek winced as the wall behind him shook. A quick look showed that the iron door separating him from the monstrosity inside was still there. Just as he was about to turn back more banging made the hall tremble. “By the gods, does this thing ever calm down?” He muttered.

  His partner, Hedrik, scoffed at the remark. “Of course not. All the things that are contained this deep are never calm. They will always gladly rip you limb from limb if they get the chance.” Casek shuddered and tried to ignore the continued banging. Hedrik glanced at him and raised an eyebrow. “How long have you been an Enforcer?”

  “5 years, if I remember correctly,” he answered. “Usually I’m just on standard guard duty, but for some reason, I was assigned this post today. The only knowledge I have of the monsters down here is from rumours.”

  Hedrik chuckled and decided to pity his partner. “Don’t worry, basically every rumour about this place is exaggerated.” Casek raised an eyebrow. “So, that comment about the monsters ripping me limb from limb was also exaggerated?”

  “Oh, absolutely not. They would kill you,” answered the older Enforcer nonchalantly. As Casek’s face lost a bit more colour he decided to elaborate. “But the chance of them getting out is basically nonexistent. In my 7 years of working on this level, there have been only two incidents and both of them ended with minimal deaths. It also helps that there are currently just three subjects contained here.”

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  “Thank you, that didn’t help my fears,” Casek muttered. His partner chuckled but otherwise didn’t react. As more time passed, only the banging resounded through the halls. Surprisingly, Casek started getting used to it. It was amazing how quickly a human brain could adapt to any situation. He wasn’t relaxed, but most of his fear had dissipated. Then he glanced to his left.

  Hedrik was fantasising about his evening plans when his partner’s voice interrupted him. “H-hey, does one of the subjects happen to be a… floating ball of water?” He glanced at Casek, whose face was as white as a sheet. Then his attention was pulled to the monster, making him step back. Casek followed him, just as quickly.

  A water ball the size of a head was floating in the middle of the hallway. Its surface was covered in red splotches, which constantly moved and formed small faces that were staring at them. “Shit, he cursed, while slowly backing up. “How the hell did that thing escape?” He glanced at his partner.

  Casek’s body was trembling like a leaf in the wind. Despite this, he had managed to raise his wrist-mounted crossbow. “Should I shoot?” He whispered. Hedrik shook his head. “Not now. Your ammunition drains essence, so it can hurt this subject.” He took another step back. “But we would be dead before this thing is even halfway drained.”

  Casek backed away further. “So what do we do?” During all of this, the ball hadn’t moved. The older guard sighed dejectedly. “Standard procedure is to back away slowly and to wait for a mage. That usually stops the orb from killing people.” He glanced at his partner. “Don’t move too quickly and we will both make it out of this alive. Then we can find the fool who let this thing escape and show them our gratitude.” He didn’t mention that the blood splatters on the ball likely meant that this fool wouldn’t be very receptive to their gratitude.

  As both of them inched towards the exit, a slimmer of hope grew in their minds. Every step away from that thing brought them closer to salvation. But their hope was quickly dashed when the runes on the door that they had been guarding lit up. Before any of them could react the door flew off its hinges and imbedded itself into the opposing wall. Out stepped a grotesque abomination of muscles and tumours that barely resembled a human.

  This was too much for Casek. He screamed and tried to run away. Before he could take more than a couple of steps, blood exploded from his pores. Hedrik could only watch as it was slowly pulled towards the ball of water, which grew bigger. All that remained of his partner was a dry husk that collapsed to the ground.

  Hedrik knew his end was coming, so he did the only thing he could do. He raised his crossbow and started shooting. Two bolts hit the orb, which stopped floating and fell to the ground. That was all he could manage before the brute charged him. The last thing he saw was a giant fist before everything went dark.

  Eleura was having a great day before everything went to shit. Her mood today was so high, that she even allowed herself the occasional smile. One of her main problems had been solved and all it had cost were a couple of coins. Now she was writing a report to the Overseers, explaining everything that had happened. Of course, most of what she wrote down was a lie to make herself look as good as possible.

  How did the subject escape? Facility Lord Milgram betrayed the Institution and somehow pulled his entire facility into the abyss. The subject barely managed to escape.

  How was the subject recontained? Eleura personally led the search and orchestrated the capture.

  Why didn’t Eleura report about this sooner? Well, she was still looking for a viable answer to this question.

  As the cherry on top, she dedicated a long section of the report to Facility Lord Werth’s “suspicious” behaviour and how he tried to stop her from doing her job. This would hopefully get him demoted or, if she was lucky, executed.

  She was about to add the finishing touch to her report when the door to her office flew open. A Knowledge Seeker burst through while cradling his limp arm. His robe was ripped in multiple places and covered in blood and dust. Despite looking awful, he managed to remain standing and even saluted her.

  “There has been a breach in the lower level, Administrator. Somehow the runes malfunctioned and now most, if not all, subjects on the lower levels have escaped. What are your orders?” Eleura wanted to curse but restrained herself. The timing of this breach was awful and it was a problem, but it could have been worse. All three subjects contained in the maximum security sector of this facility were manageable. A bunch of people would die, but the losses could be replaced.

  “Where are the Facility Lord and the Head Facility Enforcer?” Eleura asked while getting ready to leave. She hoped to not have to join the fight, but if it turned out to be necessary then she would. The Knowledge Seeker was hesitant to answer her question, which made it obvious that something was unusual. “Facility Lord Werth’s location is unknown. Nobody has reported seeing him, but the current situation is chaotic. Head Facility Enforcer Entor is trying to organise the Enforcers but there seem to be complications.”

  The Administrator couldn’t help but roll her eyes. How convenient. An emergency occurs and Werth is nowhere in sight. She didn’t know his exact plan, but that couldn’t be a coincidence. The idea that he caused this escape briefly flashed through her mind before she dismissed it. Werth was a lot of things, but insane wasn’t one of them. Besides, this was his facility, so the fault would land at his feet.

  However, there being a problem with Entor was strange. That man was competent and loyal to the cause. Even if some of his men were too beholden to the Facility Lord. In the end, it didn’t matter. She would get out there and figure it out. Having prepared everything, she stood up and headed for the exit. “Lead me to Entor.”

  Before the Knowledge Seeker could comply, he let out an anguished cry as he stumbled forward and collapsed. Behind him stood an Enforcer, who had just sliced his back open with a sword. Now he raised his wrist-mounted crossbow and, without hesitation, started shooting.

  Less than a second had passed since the man’s appearance, but that was enough time for Eleura. The Dryam blocked the shots with her bark- and scale-covered arms and immediately went on the attack. Enforcers working for the Institution were talented at fighting and equipped with advanced weaponry, that would make any soldier green with envy. But all that didn’t save the Enforcer from the Administrator’s wrath.

  Eleura was also highly skilled, and Dryam’s had physical advantages over humans. But what sealed the deal were her artefacts. All of them were her own creations and turned her into a real monster in combat.

  As soon as the fight started, a green aura encased her, boosting all her physical capabilities. Then as she rushed at the man, her bracelet became active. Suddenly he found it harder to move, as if something was inhibiting the signals from his brain to his muscles. Despite this, the Enforcer raised his sword. “GLORIA PRO HUMANITA!” he cried out, trying to hit her. Before he could even finish his swing, Eleura’s fist hit his chest.

  A cracking sound resounded through the room, as his chest folded inward. The strike launched him out of Eleura’s office and into the reception hall, where he lay sprawled on the ground, trying to inhale air into lungs that had been turned into paste. The Administrator followed and glared down at his gurgling form. Before he could do anything else, she stomped on his head, staining the blue carpet red.

  Her assistant peeked from the desk she had been hiding behind. She asked the Administrator something, but Eleura wasn’t listening. It all made sense now. The difficulties, Werth’s attitude, and this breach. It all was their fault. “Gloria pro humanita,” she muttered. An old phrase associated with a cancer that had been growing inside the Institution since its inception. An ideology of worship and a sense of superiority.

  “Shut up.” Without the babbling of her assistant, her thoughts became clearer. She didn’t know how many traitors were in this facility, but it seemed like Werth had helped them infiltrate the Enforcers. A thorough purge would be necessary to find all of them. This would require resources that she currently didn’t have.

  She needed outside assistance to stop this, but considering the remote location, it would take some time for the rest of the Institution to send help. No, what she needed to do was to quarantine the entire facility. Nobody could be let out unless their allegiance was certain. For that, she would require the help of the City Lord and his guards. He would help her, since this entire situation, if it got out of control, would jeopardise his position.

  Her thoughts wandered to Sarvad, or whatever had become of him. Quarantining the facility would mean risking his life. If he died, then all of her efforts would count for nothing. Luckily, nobody knew of the importance of the subject. Well, her current assistant knew, but she couldn’t talk about it. There was no need for a repeat of the fate her first assistant had suffered.

  Furthermore, Eleura was the only one who could deactivate the barrier trapping the subject, as it was keyed to her signature. All in all, she believed the risks to be minimal.

  Without even glancing at her assistant she strode out of the reception hall. It was time to finally solve this problem for good.