Chapter 15 Sunken Palace

So everyone began to split up and get moving. Aske took the subway to the northern district of Constantinople, at the foot of the Fifth Mountain, to the entrance of a house named Aspar, half-sunken into the ground (Cistern_of_Aspar).

He knocked on the door.

"Beneath the eagle's wings," the person behind the door said in a low voice.

"There must be a shadow," Aske responded.

The door opened, and a bald man wearing tight leather armor peeked out, sporting an eyepatch on one side. His intact eye scrutinized Aske, and he said cautiously:

"I don't know you, kid."

"But I know you, Master," Aske smiled nonchalantly, "I've heard Constantinople is the queen of cities, the trading nexus of the East and West, where half of the world's goods can be purchased. As for the other half—the contraband not available on the market—that can all be sourced from the black market of Constantinople's Thief Guild."

"How did you find this place?" the Master asked, ignoring Aske's flattery.

"Someone recommended me," Aske said.

"Oh, so next are you going to make up some name I've never heard of and swear an oath that he's bosom buddies with someone in our guild?" The Master's eyes roved over him, pausing on the silver handgun at his waist. "The Imperial Eagle... only an idiot or an expert would carry around that kind of 'hand cannon'."

"Which do you think I am?" Aske asked.

"If you were an idiot, you wouldn't have found this place," the Master spat rudely on the ground. "But I guess I can believe you're not a secret agent of the Church or a spy of the Royal Family... at least they wouldn't be stupid enough to parade around with an Imperial Eagle."

"Yeah, and I also know that the Thief Guild uses 'Sunken Palace' in Constantinople as a base." Aske was blunt, "If I were with the Church or the Royal Family, you'd have been taken down long ago."

"Come on in," the Master stepped aside, and his expression seemed to relax his guard a little, "Don't blame me if you get killed."

"I'm confident in my ability to protect myself," Aske said with an indifferent smile.

The Thief Guild of each city is always located in places beyond the imagination of ordinary people. In Constantinople, for instance, the local Thief Guild was established in the "Sunken Palace," actually a cluster of Solomon City's water cisterns.

In modern siege warfare, city walls are far from the last line of defense. The modern urban environment, replete with high-rise buildings and subway networks, can turn street-to-street conflicts into a nightmare for any besieging force. Consequently, siegers often use various methods to undercut the morale of the defenders, such as cutting off their power, water, and food supply.

Speaking of water supply alone, Constantinople practices the same method as the ancient people of Solomon. That is, by heavily excavating cisterns while also channeling deep water from the Black Sea as a source. These cisterns were built by the people of East Solomon in the style of the ancient Solomon subterranean channels, complete with towering Corinthian and Doric columns, galleries with beautifully curved domes, and all the decorations befitting a normal Solomon Palace.

The only difference from a typical palace is that these underground palaces are one-third submerged in water, and they are connected by longer than 20 kilometers of water channels. Of course, the water channels are also built 9 meters high in corridor style, so that anyone can easily pass through by boat.

The Thief Guild of Constantinople was set deep within these "Sunken Palaces." The Master himself was poling at the bow of the boat, while Aske sat serenely at the stern, watching the looming columns and dark waters in the distance. Some areas were lit, but many more were shrouded in impenetrable darkness. The Master at the bow placed a high-powered searchlight connected to a battery to illuminate the way for the boat ahead.

Aske looked down to see schools of fish swimming by the boat in the water. Clearly, the Thief Guild had released a multitude of fish fry in the cisterns, ensuring that even without leaving the "Sunken Palace," food self-sufficiency was possible. This setup... Aske definitely didn't believe that there was no under-the-table deal between the Thief Guild and the Constantinople water company.

About half an hour later, the boat gradually approached a larger, dim palace interior. Here, imitating the design of Venice, the Thief Guild drove wooden stakes deep into the bottom of the water. They then laid stones coated with waterproof cement on top, thereby creating a minuscule city out of nowhere above the water surface—in this place, they even have their own blacksmith, market, clinic, and police station, all bathed in the light of various colored lamps (powered by the Thief Guild's own oil generators). Combined with the shimmering water in the distance, everything had an eerie, fantastical air of unreality.

"A newcomer has arrived!" The Master moored the boat beside the makeshift dock and leapt onto the stone slab, "Old Soro! Issue him a pass badge!"

An old man with a hunched back scurried over, eagerly presenting a rat-shaped badge, which he pinned on the collar of Aske's Cotton Armor, then reached out to wipe off the greasy surface.

"How about that!" The Master swung his arms, boasting with enigmatic pride, "This is our Thief Guild's 'Sunken Palace'! Comparable to the eighth wonder of the world! You're one of the few lucky enough to see it alive."

"It's truly astonishing," Aske replied. "Especially seeing you raising fish here."

"Hahaha," the Master roared with laughter, "Not just fish, we've also established an 'excrement purification recycling system' here. Otherwise, all the nobles of Constantinople would be drinking our urine!"

The so-called "excrement purification recycling system" was actually a compost... In the center of the underground palace was a courtyard, with light from above shining down. According to the Master, this courtyard continued upwards to the second mountain of Constantinople, providing air and light for the entire underground palace. The Thief Guild piled dirt where the light could reach, surrounded by compost heaps of excrement which, after fermentation, became fertilizer. They also planted hops in the soil, so beer was also barely able to be self-supplied.

I am truly amazed by you game designers... Aske thought without expression. The Master was eager to continue the tour, but Aske quickly stated his purpose:

"I've come to make a purchase."

"Oh, you've come to the right place, kid," Master sneered with a mouthful of yellow teeth, "We have all kinds of prohibited items here, just as long as you can afford them."

Aske swiftly pulled out a sheet of paper that already had a list of items he intended to purchase. Master took the list and read out loud:

"River water from the West Frankish Galleon Canyon... Sirius Eden Fruit... that shouldn't be a problem; we have channels from the west. A spoonful of Corfu Island Olive Oil? We sell it by the barrel, but fine, we'll throw in a spoonful for free... Elephant Clams from Basnia Bay? Heh, heh, you're in a bit of a bind, aren't you?"

"No," Aske shook his head, "These are all spiritual materials."

"Of course I know they're spiritual materials," Master said disdainfully, "If they weren't, who would go to the trouble of listing the places of origin so clearly? But these materials aren't from the same magic potion recipe. Actually, you only want to buy the Elephant Clams, right? Hiding it amongst the other materials, trying to make it look like something else. Mr. Achilles, this isn't showing much trust in us."

"You know me?" Aske asked curiously.

"We know all the nobles in the city," Master said, and then added, "Especially the wealthy ones. In fact, the day you sold those two shops to the Church, we noted your name. We planned to pay a little visit to the more than a thousand pounds cash in your pocket..."

"I've brought it to you ahead of time, haven't I?" Aske joked.

"Yes, yes," Master mumbled, "Earning money by selling you prohibited items is better than trying to pick your pocket and then getting killed. We'd rather not end up like that vampire."

"So, you can provide all the spiritual materials listed on this paper?" Aske confirmed.

"Two are not possible," Master said seriously, "Golden-striped leeches, Valar Eagle; we don't have any leads on these."

"I have a lead," Aske said, "Valar Eagles like to build their nests high up. As far as I know, there are nests at the top of the Saint Sophia Cathedral in Constantinople and the top of the Golden Governance Palace. Valar Eagles like to incorporate their feathers into the nesting materials, so that the chicks can recognize the scent of their parents as soon as they hatch."

"Saint Sophia Cathedral, Golden Governance Palace; those aren't easy places to reach," Master laughed.

"Yes, the Saint Sophia Cathedral is right on top of the Orthodox Church's head. I believe you wouldn't dare go there. But Golden Governance Palace should not be a problem," said Aske, "Your Thieves Guild should have some talent from the Shadow Sequence. I've heard that Transcendents from this Sequence particularly enjoy climbing to high places to enjoy the view, followed by a Leap of Faith?"

"Climbing to enjoy the view might be occasional, but a Leap of Faith, definitely not," a voice said from behind, "If the escape into shadow fails, wouldn't that result in a head-cracking, brain-splattering fall?"

Aske turned around and saw a young girl standing behind him, leisurely leaning against the wall of a house, playing with a dagger in her hand.

"Who is this..." Aske looked to Master.

"Mia Xinkuimani," Master introduced, "Our rising thief and an Extraordinary Ability User from Shadow I."

"Climbing to the top of Golden Governance Palace and snatching Valar Eagle feathers, can you do it?" Aske asked the girl, "100 pounds."

"No problem," the girl said.

That voice sounds familiar... Aske thought for a moment and then ventured, "Justice X?"

"Is that you?" The girl reacted, and then chuckled, "So you were the one who bought my formula this afternoon. I should have guessed when I heard Valar Eagle. The Justice Sequence, heh... If this potion didn't have such a bad fit with my profession, I would have kept it for my own use."

"Are the Shadow Sequence and Justice Sequence not in conflict?" Aske said in amazement, "There isn't any bloodline that includes both Sequences, is there?"

"Conflict? Bloodline?" The girl furrowed her brow, clearly unfamiliar with these terms.

"Conflict refers to taking a new Sequence potion and having it clash with the existing Sequence in your body. Bloodline refers to the fusion of different Sequence potions," Master explained seriously, "Mia, how come I didn't know about the Justice Sequence recipe?"

"Ahem, I just took it from the palace last week..." Mia stuck out her tongue.

"Before you touch Extraordinary Items, you have to report to me, haven't I stressed this?" Master suddenly looked furious, "Not to mention, with your half-baked knowledge of Extraordinary Abilities, if you had clandestinely made and used a Justice Potion, you would have mutated and lost control by now!"

"I got it, I got it," Mia admitted her fault, but still replied somewhat rebelliously.

"At her age, that's just how she is," Aske said with the air of someone who had seen it all before, "Whatever you tell her not to do, she'll insist on doing. Like a stubborn mule, not moving when led, backing up when pushed. If you assign her a difficult task, she'll immediately forget all about these things."

"Hey! Who are you calling a stubborn mule?" Mia flared up.