In the heart of Sunset Forest, lied the Crystal Cavern. An underground, natural gem horde that was greatly sought after, but entirely elusive. It was first discovered by Blaine Swelter as a child, who found it accidentally. Years later, Blaine met John Reech. Revealing the secret location to him as well, Reech converted the cavern into his personal base and headquarters, where he began his organization and recruitment efforts.

  The governments and major factions knew of Reech's dealings and manipulation. They had pinpointed him somewhere in the vast forest, but none of them knew his exact location, or even the existence of the cavern. It had been the perfect hiding spot for the widely infamous plotter and organizer.

  Jorgen, a talented blacksmith and stonemason, was sworn in to seal various exits, and create a hidden stone door to the only entrance. Reech took great care in considering who joined his organization. He had to be in order to preserve his hideout.

  It was midday in the forest, and at that time, a shadow elemental in dispersion form slipped through the cracks of the secret stone door into the cavern. The wisp traveled the maze of entrance caves that served as a natural deterrent before it finally approached the vast open cavern.

  Now inside, the wisp of shadowy purple smoke condensed into a black robed figure of mysterious origin.

  Almost throughout the whole day, John Reech remained in his personal quarters in the far back-end of the cavern, receiving updates, attending meetings, giving orders, and reading documents. This moment it was no different. The black robed figure entered his quarters with no heed, almost as if he was above everyone in the base.

  As intimidating as he looked, though, Reech made no attempt to recognize the figure as it approached him from the other end of the desk.

  "Hazorath," John uttered.

  "I return," a slithery voiced responded from the shady figure.

  "Indeed you do. What news do you have from Tarenfall?" Reech asked, anxious to get to the bottom of what happened to the roguish faction that had dominated the city.

  "The Scarlet Eye is no more. Lorette is dead. All the members have disappeared." Hazorath's facial features were hidden in thick smog, a dark smoke that oozed from his body.

  The statement left more questions than answers. Reech had figured something as severe as that occurred. Denying communication with him would certainly spell disaster if it had not already overcome them.

  "Surely you've more to give me than that. I didn't send you all the way there to witness a tragedy. Specifically, what happened to them?"

  It was interesting how John's voice sounded so soft yet threatening at the same time.

  "I understand you would need more than that to go off of. I can describe what I saw, but I could not gather a reason for it at all. Maybe you would understand," Hazorath offered.

  "Then please, share with me what you've learned."

  Hazorath nodded, and began to explain to Reech his unusual inspection at the crime ridden city. He began with tracking down the Scarlet Eye's base deep in the sewers, and discovering that not a soul was present for him to question. Not even any of the leaders or higher ups. It was almost as if the entire bandit presence had been scrubbed in a single event.

  He had later discovered that the faction's primary leader had been killed, but there were no reports of an internal struggle within the ranks. It left Hazorath dumbfounded, but he was at least able to discover some clues that might be helpful.

  "It was difficult to track Lorette's body down, but when I did, I had discovered that she had been frozen to death. Her entire body was frostbitten by the time she thawed. What's more, is that their base of operations deep in the sewers had been excavated at the leader's meeting hall. I can't tell if someone had dug in or out of the location, but a great force had caused chaos to the place."

  "All that, and you mean to tell me that not one rogue of the Scarlet Eye could be recovered?" Reech asked, still unsatisfied with the description.

  "I tracked their movements to an abandoned house at the edge of town. It had collapsed by the time I got there, but it was the home of Doctor Edward Eisen. From that point, I couldn't find any leads of a further destination. It was like they had all vanished at that very location."

  Reech lowered his head. The entire report made very little sense. Something extreme had happened to the criminal organization he used to make dealings with. He had used them to monitor Tarenfall, but without them, he was blind in the city once again. Something had wiped all of them out in a single event.

  "...Frozen, you said?" Reech spoke, referring to the death of Lorette.

  "Flash frozen. Likely the work of a powerful ice elemental. I would've inspected the body further, but the mortuary was well guarded at the time."

  "I see."

  Reech had received reports a while ago that Marin and one of his castle guards had spent time in Tarenfall, recruiting new allies to his Kingdom. It would seem quite unlikely that Marin played a hand in the downfall of the rogues.

  Yet, it couldn't be written off as impossible, especially considering that Edward Eisen later showed up in the citizen listings of Nocturne Castle. The freezing demise of the faction's leader as well seemed like more than a coincidence.

  "Have you anything else to share? Any tidbit of information that might be of importance?" Reech continued to press, quite dissatisfied with the report from his best spy.

  "I wish I had more to give you… Ah, Lorette's ex-partner still lives, despite the roll he played in the organization." Hazorath thought for a moment, eager to give as much to his boss as he could.

  "The name was Travis, if I recall," he added.

  John Reech took a deep breath. Hazorath knew it was one of disappointment.

  "You're free to go. Thank you for what you've told me. I'll be in contact with you later," Reech commanded.

  Hazorath bowed, and his form shortly after dissolved back into smoke before leaving the room.

  The trail of smoke flowed down the hall, and past Blaine's morbidly obese body as he walked the opposite direction.

  Blaine cocked his head for a moment, knowing that if Hazorath didn't greet him, it was because he was in a bad mood. Why that could be, Blaine could only ask in a second.

  Blaine entered Reech's quarters next, and found his boss grasping his long white beard deep in troubled thought.

  "Hazorath was just here?" Blaine asked in his deep, bassy voice.

  "Yes. He reported back to me his findings on why The Scarlet Eye ceased contact with us."

  Blaine's interest was peaked. "And?"

  "The explanation leaves more questions than answers. The whole faction has befallen destruction with no clear cause. Hazorath gave me little to go off of, though I fear Sullivan Marin might have been involved."

  "You're kidding…"

  This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  "I do wish I was." There was a long pause as Reech thought.

  "He has not provided me with enough information to satisfy me. I fear that I may have to take a trip to Tarenfall myself and investigate," Reech spoke.

  "Leave the cavern? You haven't been out in nearly a year," Blaine pointed out.

  "All the more reason for me to go."

  "You'd risk exposure of yourself to find answers that even your best spy couldn't gather?"

  "Tarenfall is not associated with the continental factions. Their forces are entirely localized under control of the magistrates. No one there would recognize me or understand who I was," Reech wisely explained.

  Reech had been able to compose all his business from the safety of his base for quite sometime, due to the amount of agents under his employment. But seeing as one of his best spies failed to gather proper intel, it would benefit him greatly to do some personal field work once again. He was likely to better discover answers since he had an eye for clues that no one else had, from being alive as long as he had.

  "I will make plans for it later…" Eager to get off the topic, Reech changed the subject to the mail in Blaine's grasp. "Please, present to me today's deliveries."

  Blaine casually landed the thick stack of papers and envelopes in front of his boss and friend. He then took seat on the opposite side to the desk in quite the uncomfortable manner. The reinforced chair groaned in agony under his weight.

  "Ah, Nocturne Kingdom's latest census. I mailed a request to RAM that I receive a copy since they became a formal Kingdom," Reech explained while tearing open a seal.

  He began to flip through the pages, easily browsing the entire index of names sorted alphabetically. His eyes darted rapidly over the pages, his ability to read and take in information at a rapid pace was unmatched.

  Blaine waited patiently. He knew what Reech was looking for.

  Finally, Reech folded the list back up and rested it to the side of him. "It was just as I thought," he spoke.

  "Rocko…" Blaine uttered.

  "He is not listed as a citizen under Nocturne anymore. He has fled the Kingdom."

  "And you're not sure why?"

  "I'm inclined to believe that his position was compromised, and he removed himself before his imminent arrest. Though I can't ignore the possibility that he has decided to quit his service early and escape his duty, especially since he has not produced himself at base yet. Both are troubling, to say the least.

  But now that I have confirmation that he is no longer at the castle, I feel it's safe to retrieve him."

  "He likely hasn't returned since Phil is with him. He knows that Phil could never be brought here," Blaine tried sticking up for the friend he hadn't seen in years.

  Reech understood that Blaine liked Rocko, but it was hardly a valid excuse.

  "Regardless, his service to me comes first. He will be brought back here, and he will explain." Reech didn't have to raise his voice to express his absolution on the matter.

  There wasn't much else Blaine could say about it. With that concluded, the two continued to talk for a while, going over events and ongoing plans. After a while, business was concluded.

  "Would you get Ryno for me?" John asked as Blaine prepared to leave.

  Blaine nodded, and left the messy room, walking back down the brick-lined hallway. His walk was more like a waddle, due to his weight. He huffed as he trailed on, making anyone who saw him wonder how he moved at all in the first place.

  There were only a few places Ryno could be found at any given time while he was at base. He was either eating in the food hall, sleeping in his empty room, or working out at the training facility.

  At this time of day, Blaine had a decent guess.

  "YEAH C'MON, HIT ME HARDER!" Ryno cried out, wiping dust off his face.

  Oscar trembled in fear and confusion. "...Are you sure this is a good idea?" He asked, standing by a dwindling stack of cinder blocks.

  "Don't question me! Just do! Now load up another!" Ryno demanded, bracing himself for another impact.

  Oscar was too scared of Ryno to turn down his demands. He gulped, and lifted another heavy cinder block, placing it into a jerry-rigged slingshot Ryno had crafted earlier.

  With all his might, Oscar pulled back on the sling, aiming the block for Ryno's head. When he no longer had the strength to pull it back anymore, he released, and the block shot forward with great momentum.

  Ryno braced himself, and strained his face. The cinder block smashed into the front of his head, breaking into many small pieces. Ryno's face, of course, received no noticeable damage.

  "YES!" Ryno cried out again, wiping more gray dust from his sweaty face. "God, that one was good. I almost felt that!"

  "Ryno!" A fierce voice came from the entryway of the room. Before any more cinder blocks could be loaded and launched at Ryno's face for some vague reason, both of them turned to see a large man standing at the door way.

  "Friend Blaine!" Ryno declared.

  "...I don't know what the hell it is you think you're accomplishing, but you will replace those blocks," Blaine spoke with disappointment. He rubbed his eyes under his glasses, just barely tolerating the situation.

  "Anyways, Reech wants to see you. I'd go now, and not keep him waiting," he added.

  The questionable work out, if you could even call it that, was put on hold at the message. Ryno cleaned his face, thanked Oscar for his assistance, and then left the training area to go meet with Reech.

  Ryno and Vera hadn't been back at base for more than a few days and John already was calling him in for more work. He didn't mind it so much, it kept him from boredom, and boredom would just result in him causing chaos.

  It was not his first choice to run around and complete tasks for Reech, but the promise of immortality after so many years of service would make it all worth it.

  Ryno found John sitting behind the desk in his typical royal maroon robes idly waiting. Surrounded by an endless amount of packed bookshelves, he seemed to have a lot on his mind. Yet, that was normal for a man of such genius as him. He sat with his fingers crossed in his lap.

  Ryno went for a cute nickname for his boss, but for some reason this time, none came to mind. It made him a bit sad.

  "Ryno," the bearded, frail man greeted.

  "Heyo boss!"

  Reech didn't even wait for the electric elemental to sit down.

  "I need you to go get Rocko."

  Ryno froze in place.

  "What?"

  "He's not at Nocturne Castle anymore. You'll have to scour the local area, but it's likely he hasn't gone far," Reech explained.

  "You don't even know where he is? You want me to fly around and search for him?" Ryno confirmed.

  "That's what I'm asking."

  There was a pause for a moment.

  "...I understand it might take you a few days. But he's likely still north of Tresdor. Do your best to avoid being seen, and keep your eyes peeled. When you find him, I want him brought back here unharmed.

  Think you can manage that?"

  Ryno knew he was quite the wanted man. Taking a lot of time to search for him in big cities would be risky. If law enforcement recognized him, he would likely have to do some killing. Despite his slight amusement in the action, he knew it was an undesirable outcome.

  "Aye, Reechie. I think I can sniff him out!" Ryno gave a goofy salute.

  "Good. Get going then, I wish you luck."

  Ryno was about to exit the room, but at the last minute, halted, and turned back around. There was a question that had been lingering on his mind for a while.

  "Hey John?" Ryno asked suddenly.

  "Yes?"

  "You said if I pledged ten years of service to you, you'd give me an immortality potion."

  Reech shifted uncomfortably in his chair. He seemed a bit offended that Ryno even brought up the subject.

  "That is correct," Reech confirmed.

  "It's been nine years now. You still have that vial waiting for me at the end of this year?" Ryno asked in all seriousness.

  "I do."

  "Alright. Well, then. I'll get going. I'll have Rocko back here in a jiffy."

  Ryno's voice echoed down the hallway. "I look forward to never dying!"

  John Reech took a deep breath. Ryno was already too strong for his own good, but at least his age was getting late. Making the old man immortal would be a large inconvenience for many people.

  Yet, it was the only thing John could offer the man of nearly limitless power. There was no other bargaining tool to recruit him for absolute service.

  It was yet another issue that John needed to solve eventually. Ryno might soon enough turn from an ally to an enemy in the future.