So the group began to split up. Marvin took the metro to the northern district of Zephandrel, arriving at the foot of the Fifth Hill, at the door of a partly sunken building known as the Cistern of Aspar. He knocked on the door.

  "Beneath the eagle's wing," came a low murmur from behind the door.

  "Surely there is shadow," Marvin replied.

  The door swung open, and a bald man clad in tight leather armor peered out. He wore a one-sided eye patch while his other, unblemished eye scrutinized Marvin with caution. "I don't know you, kid," he said.

  "But I know you, Maestro," Marvin answered with a dismissive smile. "I heard that Zephandrel is the queen of cities, the nexus of Eastern and Western commerce. Half the world's goods can be bought here, and the contraband that does not appear on the open market is available from the black market of Zephandrel's Thieves Guild."

  "How did you find this place?" Maestro retorted, his eyes roaming over Marvin and settling on the silver handgun at his waist.

  "Introduced by an acquaintance," Marvin replied.

  "Oh, so next you are going to invent a name I have never heard and then swear by oath that he is a lifelong friend of our guild?" Maestro's gaze shifted, lingering on the handgun. "The Imperial Eagle… anyone who wields such a 'hand cannon' is either an idiot or a master."

  "Then what do you think I am?" Marvin asked.

  "If you were an idiot, you would never have found this place," Maestro spat roughly on the ground. "But I suppose I believe you are neither a church informant nor a royal spy… at least, they would not be foolish enough to parade around with an Imperial Eagle."

  "Indeed, I even know that your Thieves Guild uses Zephandrel's 'Drowned Palace' as its base," Marvin said bluntly. "If I were a church or royal agent, you would have been taken down long ago."

  "Come in," Maestro said, stepping aside with his guard lowered. "And don't say I didn't warn you if you get killed."

  "I trust my own abilities," Marvin replied with a casual smile.

  Every city's Thieves Guild was established in places beyond ordinary imagination. In Zephandrel, for instance, the local guild is hidden within the 'Drowned Palace'—a cluster of ancient cisterns from the old Pendragon city. In modern siege warfare, city walls are far from being the last line of defense. The dense networks of skyscrapers and metro lines in contemporary urban life can trigger urban battles that turn into nightmares for besiegers. As a result, attackers often resort to tactics such as cutting off power, water, and food supplies to sap the defenders' morale.

  Regarding water supply, Zephandrel mirrors the methods of ancient Pendragon people. They dig vast cisterns and channel water from the depths of the Black Sea. These cisterns are constructed in the style of ancient subterranean aqueducts, with soaring Corinthian and Doric columns, graceful arched corridors, and all the finery of an ancient palace. The only difference is that one-third of these underground palaces is submerged, and more than twenty kilometers of water channels connect them. The waterways are built as nine-meter-high corridors so that anyone can easily navigate by boat.

  Maestro himself manned the prow of a small boat while Marvin sat calmly at the stern, gazing at the rows of stone pillars and the dark, mirror-like water. Some areas were lit, yet most lay cloaked in impenetrable darkness. Maestro had set up a high-powered searchlight, powered by rechargeable batteries, at the prow to illuminate the path ahead.

  Marvin lowered his head and could clearly see schools of fish swimming along the boat's edge. It was obvious that the guild had stocked the cisterns with plenty of fish fry so that even if they remained within the Drowned Palace, food would be self-sufficient. He could not imagine there was no arrangement between the Thieves Guild and Zephandrel's water company, Marvin thought skeptically.

  After about half an hour, the boat sailed toward a larger, dimly lit palace. Here the Thieves Guild had, inspired by the design of Venice, driven wooden piles deep into the water and laid stone slabs coated with waterproof cement atop them to construct a miniature city on the water. In this floating city, they even maintained their own blacksmith, vegetable market, clinic, and security office. All the buildings were bathed in colorful lights from the guild's own oil-burning generators, and the shimmering reflections on the water gave everything a surreal, dreamlike quality.

  "A newcomer has arrived!" Maestro announced as he maneuvered the boat to a makeshift dock and leaped onto the stone slab. "Old Sororo! Give him a passage badge!"

  An elderly, stooped man scurried over eagerly and, in an obsequious manner, produced a mouse-shaped badge. He affixed it to the collar of Marvin's cotton armor and even took a moment to wipe its greasy surface.

  If you come across this story on Amazon, it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

  "How is that?" Maestro declared, waving his arm with an inexplicable note of pride. "This is our Thieves Guild's Drowned Palace! It rivals the eighth wonder of the world! You are among the few lucky ones to witness it in all its glory."

  "It is truly astonishing," Marvin remarked. "Especially to see you all raising fish here."

  "Hahaha!" Maestro burst into loud laughter. "Not only do we raise fish, but we have also built a 'waste purification recycling system' here; otherwise, all the nobles of Zephandrel would have to drink our urine!"

  The so-called "waste purification recycling system" was nothing more than composting. In the center of the underground palace was a courtyard where sunlight streamed in from above. According to Maestro, this courtyard connected upward to the Second Hill of Zephandrel, providing ventilation and light for the entire underground complex. The guild had piled soil in areas where light could reach, adjacent to heaps of excrement that fermented into fertilizer, and then planted hops in the soil. In this way, they managed to produce enough alcohol to sustain themselves.

  I am truly impressed by you game devs... Marvin thought blankly. Meanwhile, Maestro was eagerly leading him on a tour of more places, to which Marvin quickly interjected, "I am here to purchase items."

  "Oh, then you have come to the right place, kid," Maestro said, baring his large yellow teeth with a grin. "We have all sorts of contraband here, as long as you are willing to pay."

  Marvin swiftly pulled out a sheet of paper on which a list of items to be purchased was already written. Maestro took it and read aloud: "Riverwater of Garr Valley from West Frank... Eden Fruit of Xiris... should be no problem; we have Western channels. One spoonful of Olive Oil of Corven? We sell by the barrel, so if you calculate one spoonful, we'll include it. Panacea of Bathnia Gulf? Heh, kid, you have some interesting need for this, don't you?"

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

  "I certainly know these are spiritual materials," Maestro said disdainfully. "If they were not, who would bother to mark their origin clearly? But these materials are not all part of the same elixir formula. In truth, what you wish to purchase is only the Panacea, right? Trying to pass it off among other materials, Master Fontaine, is not a display of trust in us."

  "You know me?" Marvin asked in surprise.

  "We know all the nobles in the city," Maestro said, adding, "especially the wealthy ones. In fact, on the day you sold your two shops to the church, we took note of your name. We originally planned to visit you for the thousand-plus pounds in your pocket…"

  "Aren't I sending them over in advance?" Marvin joked.

  "Yes, yes," Maestro mumbled. "Selling you contraband to make money is far better than having money taken out of your pocket and then getting beaten to death. We certainly do not wish to repeat the fate of that vampire."

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

  "There are two we cannot provide," Maestro said gravely, "the Mash of Golden Leech and the Valar Eagle – we have no clues for those either."

  "I have a clue," Marvin said. "Valar Eagles like to build their nests in high places. As far as I know, their nests can be found atop St. Sophia's and the Golden Executive Palace. Moreover, they incorporate their feathers into the nesting materials so that when the chicks hatch, they immediately become familiar with their parents' scent."

  "St. Sophia's and the Golden Executive Palace are not easily accessible places," Maestro laughed.

  "Yes, St. Sophia's is right on the Orthodox Church's forehead, and I believe you would not dare go there. But the Golden Executive Palace is accessible," Marvin replied. "Your Thieves Guild should have talent with Duskwalk I. I have heard that extraordinary ones of that sequence particularly enjoy climbing high places to admire the view and then take a leap of faith."

  "Occasionally one might climb to enjoy the view, but a leap of faith is something one would never dare," a voice from behind said. "If you fail to vanish into Duskwalk, won't you end up with your head shattered and your brain splintered on the spot?"

  Marvin turned his head and saw a young girl standing behind him, casually leaning against the wall of the building while fiddling with a dagger.

  "This is…" Marvin looked toward Maestro.

  "Lily Seria," Maestro introduced. "Our newly recruited thief, who also possesses the Duskwalk I ability."

  "Can you climb to the top of the Golden Executive Palace and retrieve the feathers of a Valar Eagle?" Marvin asked the girl. "I will pay 100 pounds."

  "No problem," the girl replied.

  That voice sounded somewhat familiar… Marvin paused thoughtfully and probed, "Justiciar X?"

  "Is it you?" the girl responded, then laughed softly. "So this afternoon you purchased my formula? No wonder. When I heard Valar Eagle, it should have come to mind. The Justiciar sequence, haha… If it were not so incompatible with my profession, I had planned to keep it for myself."

  "Duskwalk sequence and Justiciar sequence are not in conflict, are they?" Marvin asked in astonishment. "No bloodline contains both these sequences, do they?"

  "Conflict? Bloodline?" the girl frowned, clearly unfamiliar with these terms.

  "Conflict means that when you take an elixir of a new sequence, it clashes with the sequence already within your body. Bloodline means that elixirs from different sequences merge together," Maestro said seriously. "Lily, how is it that I was not aware of the formula for the Justiciar sequence?"

  "Ahem, I swiped it from the palace last week…" Lily stuck out her tongue.

  "Every extraordinary item must be reported to me before use. Have I not stressed that to you?" Maestro suddenly exploded. "Not to mention that with your barely half-baked understanding of extraordinary knowledge, if you secretly crafted and consumed a Justiciar elixir, you would have long since lost control in transformation!"

  "Understood, understood," Lily replied, conceding with a hint of defiance.

  "At her age, that's just her nature," Marvin said in an experienced tone. "If you try to stop her, she will insist on doing it. Like a stubborn mule that refuses to be led, kicking and retreating. Give her a challenging task and she will immediately forget everything else."

  "Hey! Who did you just call a stubborn mule!" Lily shouted in anger.