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Mike: “Other than the Nighthounds.”

Cindy: “I mean, any smuggler group could potentially sneak a person out of the city and hide them. But, I take it you’re looking for a particularly proficient group.”

Mike: “Yeah, someone really good. There are wanted posters for Jixi all over Golgatta, yet there has been no sightings of him anywhere. Joe suspects that he might have even left the country.”

Cindy: “If he left the country, then it would have been by boat. He would have gone north to Loffa then.”

Mike: “We checked that already. There were no boats leaving Loffa for another country from today to when Jixi complicity was discovered.”

Cindy: “I don’t know what to tell you then. If the police or university can’t find any trace of him, I have no idea who could have sneaked this guy out. Heck, it sounds like not even those bounty hunters have found him, and those guys are really motivated to find someone when it\'s such a big bounty. The only group that I know who could do it without being discovered are the Nighthounds.”

Mike: “But, you said you were confident it wasn\'t them?”

Cindy: “I did, and still stand by that. I still don’t think they\'re involved, but they’re the only group that could pull this off. If this Jixi guy didn’t leave by boat then it was by foot, and trying to leave the Union State on foot without a single person seeing him is nearly impossible. The only other form of transportation that would allow him to go unnoticed is teleportation. And, there are rumors that the Nighthounds have their own secret teleportation network, and even a guy that can teleport people without a circle.”

Mike: “Is there any truth to that?”

Cindy: “Probably not. This is Graheel, a city brimming with mages and the largest magical institution on this side of the world. The Nighthounds are good, but there is no way they could construct a teleportation network without the university detecting that. And, have you ever heard of anyone teleporting without the use of a circle and surviving?”

Teleportation magic had always been known as a particularly finicky and demanding branch of the arcane arts. It couldn\'t be cast casually or on a whim. The process required a teleportation circle inscribed with an extraordinarily complex arcane mathematical formula and precise coordinates. These circles needed to be in fixed locations and could only teleport a person to another circle it was specifically connected to.

Attempting to use teleportation magic without the aid of a circle was widely considered suicidal. Without the exact coordinates embedded in the teleportation circle, a mage could easily miscalculate and teleport themselves into the ground or other solid matter, resulting in instant death.

And as Cindy suggested, this type of magic was remarkably easy to detect. Each use emitted a massive pulse of aether that radiated out into the surrounding area for miles. These pulses could be picked up by various aether detection tools, making it nearly impossible to use teleportation magic without alerting those nearby.

Cindy: “My point is, that rumor exists because the Nighthounds are that good at secretly moving things around. Even before they became as powerful as they are now.”

Mike: “Hmm, but you do bring up a good point. The university has their own teleportation network they closely monitor. I imagine they would have told us if Jixi used it, but I should ask just in case.”

Cindy: “I’m sorry I can’t point you to any particular smuggling group. I only know two groups that are really good, but they don’t mess with the university. And, helping Jixi might catch the ire of the Nighthounds, so they definitely wouldn’t try sneaking him out of the city. All the other groups I know of are pretty sloppy, so you should have found some signs of Jixi if it was them. Those groups are also pretty unscrupulous, they might have tried to betray Jixi and collect the bounty on his head.”

Mike: “All the same, could you tell me the two you think could move Jixi out of the city.”

Cindy

: “I don’t know for sure, but I\'ll ask my old partner in crime, Vennessa"

When Cindy worked as a smuggler, she never did it alone. She collaborated with a group of people to move goods. Vennessa, her right-hand woman in that entire operation, was a name Mike was familiar with.

Mike: “She still smuggling?”

Cindy: “No, she went straight after I got out. It was easier for her than me. She didn’t have a record like me when she left that world behind. But, she did develop a knack for moving stuff and now imports goods through legal channels. She, hypothetically, could move someone out of the city. But like I said, I doubt she would.”

Mike: “And the other?”

Cindy: “I don’t know for sure if he could move someone out of the city, but there is someone named Wrenn Cummy that might be able to.”

Mike: “Wait, Wrenn?” he said, surprised.

Cindy: “Do you know him?”

Mike: “Jack told us about him. He’s a drug dealer.”

Cindy: “Yeah, he moves dream-shrooms into the city. So, I’m guessing he has some sort of channel to move stuff.”

Mike began to recall his last interaction with Wrenn. It had been a tense and unusual encounter. Joe and Dan had decided to investigate Wrenn\'s basement while Mike stayed upstairs, keeping an eye on Wrenn. They then came back smelling awful and said he was growing the illegal shroom in a wooden crate downstairs.

Mike: “I don’t think he’s moving any of that into the city. Pretty sure he’s growing it in his basement.

Cindy: “Really? That stuff is not easy to cultivate. It only grows in a forest on dead trees. I find it hard to imagine anyone being able to grow that stuff inside the city.”

Mike: “No, I’m pretty sure he was growing it in his store. Maybe he knows some sort of secret cult method to get them to grow better in the city.”

Cindy: “Ah, OK…huh? Cult method?” she said as she briefly paused to process what Mike had just said. “Hold on a second. Are you saying Wrenn is a cultist?!?”

Mike: “Yeah, didn’t you know?”

Cindy: “NO!” she yelled out.

As she yelled out, everyone in the store paused, their activities coming to an abrupt halt. Heads turned and eyes focused on Cindy, curiosity and concern evident on their faces as they wondered why she was yelling. The once bustling atmosphere of the store fell into a momentary silence, with all attention riveted on the source of the commotion.

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Cindy: “Um, sorry everyone. Everything is fine. There’s nothing to see. Just heard some shocking news,” she addressed all her customers looking at her.

Realizing that the commotion was nothing serious, everyone in the hookah bar quickly returned to their previous activities. Conversations resumed, tea was sipped on, and the aromatic smoke lazily continued to fill up the space as the patrons settled back into their relaxed state.

Once Cindy was confident no one was looking at her, or trying to listen in, she turned her focus back onto Mike.

Cindy: “How long has he been a cultist? Which cult does he belong to? Damn it. I buy herbs from him to make some of my brews and smokes. I’m going to have to stop going to him now.”

Mike: “I’m surprised you didn’t know.”

Cindy: “I stay away from those kinds of people, even when I was a smuggler. You either like playing with fire, or you\'re stupid if you willingly work with a worshiper of the nameless gods. They might be more dangerous than the Nighthounds, and that is saying something. If I knew Wrenn was a cultist, I would have never associated with him.”

Mike: “I wouldn’t worry. Wrenn is harmless. He belongs to one few cults that are not outlawed.”

Cindy: “Those exist? Cults that are harmless and legal?”

Mike: “Yeah, they are rare, but they do exist. They mostly keep to themselves and don’t bother anyone else. I would say based on what I now know about Wrenn’s cult, The Putrid Rot, they are weird and kinda gross, but not dangerous.”

Cindy: “Ugh, Putrid Rot. That sounds so gross. But, that tracks. Wrenn stinks like a garbage dump. I always thought it was because he doesn\'t shower. The only saving grace is that inside his store he has so many aromatic herbs laying about, it covers his stank. But, outside his store, oof. It’s bad.”

Mike: “Hope this does not affect your relationship with him. You and Jack seem like you might be friends with him. I had to look into Wrenn when I found out about the cult shenanigans. But, overall he wasn\'t that bad of a person. And, I haven’t found any indication of him doing the messed up cult things you’d expect.”

Cindy: “We are friends. Were friends? I don’t know. Yeah, Wrenn is strange. But, like you said, not a bad person. I’m going to have to talk to Jack about confronting Wrenn about this. I really don’t want to find another herbal supplier if I can help it.”

Mike nodded and picked up the cup of tea, now cooled to nearly room temperature. Without hesitation, he raised the cup to his lips and gulped down the entire contents in one swift motion. He then placed the empty cup back on the table in front of him.

Mike: “Well, thank you for the information. I\'ll come back later after you talk to Vennessa,” he said as stood and prepared to leave.

Cindy: “Wait, before you go. Let me posit you a theory, for the information you told me about Wrenn.”

Mike did as he was told and sat back down to listen to what Cindy was going to tell him.

Cindy: “It’s possible that Jixi didn’t leave the city.”

Mike: “You think he’s hiding somewhere in Graheel? Hmm, that was considered, but everyone working on this thought it was unlikely. There are a lot of people looking for him. And like you said a little bit ago, there are bounty hunters after him as well. They\'re all over the city looking for him to collect that money. Between us and the bounty hunters, he would have been found already if he was hiding somewhere here.”

Cindy: “You’re probably right if this was a normal city, but Graheel is not a normal city. It is old, extremely so.”

Mike: “What does being old have to do with anything?”

Cindy: “This is a city full of mages due to the presence of the university and the Arcanium Archive. In the early days of the Graheel, some mages would seek out some less than savory material for their experiments. To get a hold of those materials without anyone knowing, they constructed tunnels under the city to move them.”

Mike: “Yeah, the city and governments put a stop to that a long time ago. Like literally two thousand years ago. Now there are proper channels to get those materials if they’re needed for an experiment.

Cindy: “But, the tunnels still remain. And, there are a lot of them. Dig around a little and you’ll find a tunnel that you weren\'t expecting to find. Smugglers today, and back when I was one, use those tunnels. They\'re quite expansive and branch out like a complex underground spider web. If you wanted to move something or someone in and out of the city, without anyone knowing, you would use those tunnels. But more important than that, they’re also a good place to hide.”

Mike: “He’s hiding…in those tunnels?”

Cindy: “Yup, but it\'s just a theory of mine. I have no evidence. But, it would explain why there are no clues of his whereabouts anywhere. He fled the university after being discovered and went straight into the tunnels below to hide.”

Mike: “Is that even possible? He’s been missing for a while now. He would have to leave the tunnels eventually to come for things like food and water.”

Cindy: “Not necessarily. Those tunnels also connect to underground chambers that are quite spacious and have a lot of utilities you would need to live. Things like running water and electricity. All you would need is some canned food and you could stay underground for a long time.”

Mike: “Really? I knew about the tunnels a little bit, but what are these chambers about?”

Cindy: “I think some of them used to be hidden storage houses to store their questionable material, or a place the mages of old would hide away in.”

Mike: “But they didn\'t have electricity or plumbing back then. How do they have running water in them?”

Cindy: “Some of the chambers were discovered and incorporated into buildings above them and then abandoned again. That is why some of them have plumbing and electricity installed. Or, in my case, my group dug into some electrical work above and leached into the network to get some lights going on in our little secret underground bunker. By the way, I don’t have access anymore to that bunker anymore. It was discovered and incorporated into a building above.”

Mike: “In that case, the bounty hunters should find him soon. They’re relentless. I’m sure they’re going through those tunnels looking for him.”

Cindy: “I think you’re underestimating how many tunnels there are. I don’t think anyone has ever mapped all of them from two thousand years ago. Tunnels no one knew about are always being found. And, those are just the tunnels the mages of ancient Graheel made. There are even more below that, and they\'re even more expansive and older still. We call them the deep tunnels. The stonework in those passages are really fancy and make me think it’s from the mythic era.”

Mike: “I heard that Graheel was built on top of an ancient forgotten city. Those tunnels might be remnants of that city. Possibly even from the mythic era like you said. I think the archives were originally partly built here to study those old ruins.”

Cindy: “Yeah, but I doubt he is hiding specificity in those tunnels. I’ve only gone down that deep once and… I don’t know. I’m not claustrophobic, but something about when I was down there in the deep tunnels made me feel uncomfortable. It was something the others in my smuggling crew also felt. I think just being that far below the earth has a weird effect on the psyche, and I couldn’t imagine spending days or weeks that far underground. The normal tunnels closer to the surface would be fine, but not the deep tunnels.”

Mike: “Is it dangerous down there?”

Cindy: “Oh, definitely. If one of the tunnels the old mages of Graheel made collapse while you’re in it and become trapped, there is still a possibility of rescue. You’d be close enough to the surface that a team of mages specializing in moving earth could get you out. But, that is not the case for the deep tunnels. It is too far below the surface to effectively move earth, even with magic. So, if you become trapped down there you’re screwed. Not to mention those tunnels are booby trapped. Lost the tip of my toe to a giant blade that popped out of the wall when I stepped on the wrong stone. Came within a hair\'s length of also losing my head back then too. Decided to never go that deep again after that.” she said while rubbing her neck.

Mike: “Sounds like it might be too dangerous of a place to hide, even for Jixi.”

Cindy: “I mean, if he hid in the deep tunnels, no one would find him—ever.” she said ominously, hinting at how unsettling the deep tunnels were to her.

Mike let out a long sigh.

Mike: “Thank you for this information Cindy. I’m sure it will help somehow. I’ll let my team know what you told me about the tunnels.” he said, as began to leave.

As Mike stood up to leave once again, Cindy grabbed his hand, delaying his departure. She had a concerned look and worry etched on her face, her eyes filled with apprehension as they locked onto Mike\'s.

Cindy: “MIke, I heard you and Joe had a run in with the Nighthounds. I don\'t know what happened or how you managed to walk away from it, but… be careful. During the Bloody Days it was so…” she said before stopping and making a painful expression.

Mike: “You don’t need to say it. I was there too,” he said before walking away.