Unspeakable Secrets The Alchemist Series (A Dark Medieval Progression Fantasy)

Chapter 39 Mass Production

Even as he made sure to keep himself under control, his eyes flicked all over the facility soaking up everything they could.

He memorized every catwalk. Every pipe. Every doorway. The way the guards and overseers walked with their arrogant stride. It could be invaluable information for a later assault.

If he got out alive.

He kept his pace slightly slower than the group behind him so they would overtake him, and he could follow after them.

But, he had to make sure not to go too slow as to seem suspicious.

His mind worked at a feverish pace. Could he make a mad dash back up the tunnel? Perhaps just double back and stroll out? No. That'd be too suspicious... he'd just come from there...

Better to follow this group and find a way out later when he could.

He was surrounded by enemies, and his hearing that before had given him incredible situational awareness was now worse than useless.

There was simply too much noise to pick up on any specific detail, and his head throbbed. He felt more vulnerable than ever.

He glanced over the factory floor again. Row upon row of collared slaves with dead-eyed expressions stretched off into the distance, making everything from swords and shields to armor and arrows.

The underground facility dwarfed the massive factory above, and this wasn't even all of it.

Passages led into other parts of the facility.

How had anyone built something so huge and left so few traces behind?

More slaves arrived and carted off piles of weapons and armor.

He tore his eyes away again.

He wanted to see as much of their operation as he could, but he couldn't afford to be seen staring.

He had to pretend that this was nothing new for him. His hand itched to hold onto his rapier, and it took great restraint to keep himself from doing just that.

The sheer scale of the operation was daunting. The number of people that had gone missing within the city had been growing as of late, but nowhere near as many as there were here.

They must have brought them in from other cities, and even other parts of the world.

Just how long had they been at this?

Victor had mentioned cases of abductions in other cities, but who could've expected this? With so many slaves working at this rate... they could outfit an army.

He'd known the city needed Victor back. The kidnappings, and the spike in the slavery trade needed to be dealt with. Chamberlain Davison and his power play needed to be stopped, but this went beyond that.

He needed to get to the bottom of this and put a stop to it. This wasn't just about Victor anymore.

Nobody made this much equipment for no reason. They were planning something. Something big.

The slaves, the city above them, the country, and perhaps even the world depended on him to put a stop to this madness.

He silently prayed that they hadn't been running long and that this was their only facility.

He couldn't help but fear the worst.

The group of almost thirty armed men that had forced him out into the open overtook him, and he followed them into yet another section of the factory, much like the first.

Except that here, the collared slaves weren't forging weapons and armor. Rather, they were using the same crystal powder as he'd seen in the factory above to further enhance what they made with enchantments.