Not many people could claim that they knew exactly how long it took to walk the entirety of Almund. To claim that they had visited every single location and recorded what was seen. Would it take breaks? Trials? Seasons? Evidently the world might never never know because again, not many people could claim they had walked the entirety of Almund.
Balthazar couldn't either but he had to have a close guess.
It had felt like a few breaks since Balthazar sent Lyanna back and continued on his own. He'd followed through with the routine that the two of them had adopted to avoid
leaving a trace. Balthazar's own experience in
hunting down even the
smallest clue helped him cover up his own actions. It was a little more difficult to move the crates and check them on his own but he managed it without making any extra noise.
He had come to think he enjoyed people more then when he was younger but there was something simpler about moving through the tunnels on his own. He didn't have to worry about anyone else seeing his diri. Plus he could process his thoughts with them and didn't have to worry about being overheard. He and two diri stopped at as many significant places as they could. He never felt lost due to the enhancements granted by Vri's mark and his sparks but whenever he wanted to be more sure about where he was he would check the journal again for any instructions to guide him. Even without that, there were noticeable signs intended to guide those who used the tunnels. Balthazar might not have been able to understand the code they used, but he had the common sense to put two and two together given all his mystical advantages.
In the end the searching was worthwhile. Balthazar learned things that he wouldn't have been able to gather from the journal alone. All of Almund was set to go. If one cache went off it might very well set off the other caches in the city. That wouldn't have been clear from the journal alone. Neither would the specifics that suggested alignment. The journal was vague, presumably because its magic was heavily impacted already by whatever caused its delayed activation, but searching the tunnels in person made implicit things a lot clearer. In many places it seemed that the rumors were true.
In the grand scheme of the journey Balthazar managed to intentionally visit four more businesses and two other locations he considered significant, as well as one on accident before he decided he had enough information to make informed decisions about the rest of the stockpiles. The businesses were ones he had personal connections to. He visited Dukharn's Medical Facility first. Well, that's untrue. The first place he visited was the Witchwood Graveyard because it happened to pass between the two locations. He didn't realize he was passing through it until he began to find recesses in the walls with bones and other haunting shades. The graveyard only seemed to have weapons. The stockpile here was meant to arm whoever had filled it. Destroying the graveyard served no purpose tactically so there were no barrels with the alchemical mix inside.
When he reached the tunnels underneath Dukharn's Medical Facility his heart sank immediately. It was terribly ironic. His heart sank because he didn't see the same mass of explosives that they had found underneath the bazaar. Instead they had weapons like The Kennel. It hurt. He had saved Dukharn's. He had rebuilt their facility after the pirates attacked them. He had build a relationship with them that he felt included some trust. It wasn't the same trust he gave the Black Cats or even the Albarech but it was trust. Now he was just... disappointed.
From Dukharn's he eventually made his way beneath the area where the Scalvoris Council Halls were. By now the pattern was becoming repetitive enough that Balthazar had his suspicions before he arrived and they were confirmed again. Beneath the Council Halls sat enough barrels of explosives to decimate the landscape. Fortunately, it was the same type that he had found everywhere else. It had the same smell and consistency. He took a vial as a sample from each place he visited and kept them in the small pockets of his enchanted bag so that they didn't have enough space to rustle around as he moved.
The Element Hall was the same. There were no weapons, just the liquid explosives in dozens of different marked barrels. The explosives seemed to be placed beneath locations and businesses that Balthazar wouldn't have thought complicit in the scheme. He
understood why. Central leadership could be entirely taken out if the explosives were set off at the correct time. All of the Element leadership in their main headquarters would be wiped away. Anyone recovering in an Order facility too. Anyone who would support the current system would go boom.
So why did he find a mix of weapons and explosives beneath the Merchant Guild headquarters? He was making is was to the nearest exit and it happened to be beneath the Merchant's Guild. He was surprised to find both weapons and explosive barrels but he noted the placement. The weapons and poison crates were all closer to the ladder leading out of the tunnels than the explosives. Whatever supporters the conspirators had in the Guild would be able to arm themselves and escape before setting off the bombs if they needed to. It was similar to the distribution of barrels beneath the bazaar. Weapons were close to the exits and explosives were further in. Intriguing but not very helpful when it came to figuring out who had put it all there.
The time and exhaustion spent moving like a ghost beneath Almund gave Balthazar the ability to
attune with the entire city. He'd attuned to Scalvoris Town once and Haven after that. Almund was easier because the time was spent fully engaged.
Every sense was dedicated to his surroundings whereas the first few times it had only been his magic reaching out. He wasn't sure whether his spark would be limited to the world above or the world below when he attempted to project but the theory was that he would be able to project his senses to any of the stockpiles and examine them for changes. Projection limited him in some ways. He wouldn't be able to touch them himself but he'd be able to make sure nothing was added or taken and nobody would be able to see him. Alas that was forward thinking, he had to get out of the tunnels first. He didn't know it didn't work that way. The cities frequency would give him a broad image, but projection was limited to specific large buildings.
Across the entire journey through the tunnels under Almund there were deviations but some things remained consistent. Shady businesses and shady areas had weapons underneath them. Well intentioned and supportive groups had explosives planted beneath them. Areas where you might find both types of people had barrels with both beneath them. His headquarters was safe. It was built too recently for any tunnels to run underneath it. That wasn't an assumption either, he had to exit near the Merchant Guild because the tunnels didn't lead back to the Black Cats. It was good to know his building wouldn't blow up from underneath him but it wouldn't make much of a difference if the rest of the stockpiles went off. The Black Cats would burn like everything else.
If they were ever going to stop the liquid in the barrels from being used, they were going to need to take control of everything in one swift strike... or they were going to need to render everything entirely useless.
He was going to need to run some tests. If he could figure out how to reproduce the explosive he could figure out how to nullify it. Hm. The Elements had alchemists. He'd almost gotten into contact with them while he worked there. Perhaps they'd have someone more suited to creating something to counteract the explosive? Then again, perhaps some of them had been involved in creating the liquid. Including them might tip off whoever was in control of all this.
Even that was an unsubstantiated fear. There was no proof that one group was in control of everything.
Proof.
Evidence. It was evidence enough for Balthazar that all the barrels had the same markings. It had to be connected. Even if whoever made the stockpiles hadn't made the tunnels.
Balthazar emerged from the depths in the alley behind the Merchant's Guild and he covered his tracks well. He was amazed he'd never accidentally stumbled across any of the entrances in his arcs. Amazed and upset by his own lack of senses. If anyone knew the ground beneath them was hollow, it should have been Balthazar. He slipped his black cloak back into the larger pocket of his bag and
turned his mask into an eyepatchThis acts as a "duplicity" item for your head /hat / eypatches / etc. Any accessory which would be worn on your head, it's for that! before slipping it into a smaller pocket.
In some ways it was fortunate that he had discovered the tunnels during Cylus. So many people remained indoors during the dark season that sneaking around became a lot easier. He was back at his headquarters within half a break of emerging. Robin and Lyanna were fully dressed for battle in the middle of the gymnasium when Balthazar arrived and both seemed relieved to see him.
"We were just about to-" Robin began explaining but Lyanna cut him off.
"Where have you been?" She demanded,
"We thought you'd been captured! We thought-"
"Really?" Balthazar said bluntly,
"You've seen me fight. If I was caught, Almund would probably be ashes right now."
"That's what Croft said." Robin chimed in to Lyanna's annoyance.
"Shut up." She told Robin before turning back to Balthazar
"Are you sure you weren't seen?"
"It wouldn't have taken so long if I wasn't being careful." Balthazar insisted.
"Now we have work to do and no time to waste. Let's find somewhere to set off an explosive."
