Somewhere within the Dwarfen Kingdom of Doria.
In a dim corridor, a suspicious man in black hooded robe traced the long stoned path. He walked without concern for his surroundings as he knew he had nothing to sweat of.
Only the flames of the torches illuminated the area not magically powered bulbs. Not that they don’t have budget to purchase lightings, but it’s a countermeasure to avoid any usage of magic being detected in their secluded spot.
The man stepped his feet endlessly until he passed a door. Upon pushing it, five figures unfold behind the cold walls. Each of them sat on their own chair facing each other on a rectangular table.
“You’re late.” The man at the end of the table scoffed. “Tardiness is what makes people lost opportunities, you know?” He reminded the latecomer while his feet laid crossed on the wooden table.
“Hmph. This location is in the middle of nowhere and the hallway is long. Not a good place for a old man like myself to follow.” The hooded man whined begrudgingly as he is taking off the hood of his black robe.
Just as the man said, he is really passed his prime, appeared to be at his seventies. Gray locks with sign of alopecia, ridged forehead and thin body composition.
“Putting that aside. Are you perhaps here to request a job again, Liscio?”
“Indeed. The last attack failed. My master put the order again. Are you willing to work with me again, Sir Kolben?”
Kolben, the man with wine red hair, remove his calves from the table and placed his right arm instead. The other four around him broke a smile, which made Liscio increased his awareness. He knew he is currently dealing with a demon.
“Don’t make that kind of face, old man. We are still open with transactions. Sit down and relax. I know you’ve been tired of walking.”
“…I’ll take your concern.” Liscio accepted Kolben’s offer and lay his back on a chair across him.
Liscio has been making himself to be more cautious and careful about his gestures and actions in front of the group. Displeasing them might call off the transaction, or his head on the floor at worst.
He had reasons to fear the group, for them to be the upper echelons of an infamous underground organization.
Five Headed Hydra, the name of their organization. An organization lurking under the shadows of the countries of of the Northern Continent.
Notorious for their crimes and illegal activities throughout the region. Most countries are aware of the deeds that they have done then and now. The whole truth of their power and influence has been a mystery until now.
The authorities are still trying to find out their base of operations but no good. The organization has been snitching up with some aristocrats that shielded them from the law, their business has been making them dimes for their own satisfaction.
“So what’s the reason of the failure?” The only woman in the group expressed her confusion with a seductive tone. “We accommodated you high quality sword, isn’t it?”
Her name is Sabrina, the leader of the human trafficking division. Crimes such as kidnapping and illegal slave trading are there daily activities. A few pleasure houses that offered high caliber services.
She is in her early thirties and has long wavy wheat-blonde hair, a bewitching beauty and figure that instantly charms every men around. A former famous first-class nymph of darkness that owned several high-class brothels, legally and illegally, through the continent.
“Why do you have to ask that if we already knew the answer?” A muscular man chuckled with his arms crossed. “He failed because he didn’t have the brain to hire my men.”
He is Mordred, the one in charge of the assassination division of the underground organization. Being the head of manpower implying his absolute strength among all his underlings.
He appeared to be in his early forties but his prime didn’t deteriorate a bit. Gray locks sit atop his head, not from aging but his natural hue. Pierce face and menacing gaze that immobilize weak in a glance.
Mordred was used to be a former Supreme Ranked adventurer. A famous warrior that spread his name throughout the empire but suddenly disappeared and left his glory in history. For some reason, he is now sitting under the shadows as an elite member of an underground organization.
“…That was the decision I regret the most.” Liscio showed a tired face. “I should have hired your men instead of those stupid outlaws.”
“That means the items that I provided wasn’t the cause. Qualities are guaranteed if recommended by myself after all.”
The man who just spoke was a dwarf, the leader of the black market division. Although wearing a black mask under a hood, his stoutness over height clearly says so. He is a man of authority so he’s been concealing his identity.
“That’s right. It’s a waste that all of those expensive swords were confiscated by the Imperial Knights.” Liscio showed his disappointment. ．
“Well, it’s already done, no need to cry over a spilt milk.” The slender man in charge in illegal drugs dealing, Methis, muttered. “Our influence in the empire wasn’t as solid as the other countries yet do we cannot take those swords back.”
The Five Headed Hydra is the one responsible of the production and distribution of a certain kind of drug that widely spread throughout the continent.
An addictive drug that put the consumers in cloud nine and lost reasons along it. Some nobles has been corrupted by it and even secretly shielding them from the authorities.
“Are you going to request the same as last time.”
“The same as before. Here are the details.”
Liscio then threw an envelope on the table, to which Kolben, the leader of all divisions of the Five Headed Hydra, took and read.
“You got the nerve to take down an aristocrat. Are you perhaps working under an another noble.”
Liscio was taken aback by the words of Kolben but managed to contain himself immediately.
“…It’s not on your business. I am just a servant who is obediently following his master’s demands.”
“Well, trust is the most important thing in business.”
Liscio took something under his robe and placed it on the table. It was a small bag that emitted jiggling sounds upon contacting the wood.
“Fifty gold coins as down payment, Master is willing to pay double if you succeed.”
Methis, who sat nearest to Liscio, took the bag of coins and threw it to their leader. Kolben jiggled the bag of coins and confirmed the number of golds in it by just listening to the sound.
“You’re boss is quite gallant, must be influential and rich. Quest accepted. You can leave now.”
“Thank you for accepting my Master’s demand. I hope you accomplish it.”
Following Kolben’s instruction, the old man stood up and walked out the room. With nothing to worry, they can discuss the matter thoroughly.
“Can you tell us about the ambush, Velfast?”
“Understood.”
A man clad in black suddenly appeared in the room. The silent reaction of the members inside indicating he is a member of the committee.
His name is Velfast, the head of the intelligence division. In charge of gathering information around the continent. He’s been concealing his presence the whole time until now.
“The scout I’ve been dispatched to observe the incident never came back. But it was said that a group interrupted the ambush.”
“So the scout had been killed as well…”
“There’s a high possibility. We have been concluded that that was the case. But killing a man of his caliber required a strength comparable to mine. They must have a good rouge among them.”
The person Velfast sent was an elite underling of his, not your average rouge. Kolben couldn’t think someone of his caliber was detected and beaten by someone who is on par or greater the Velfast.
“Have you heard anything about the ones who interrupted?”
“Nothing at all. Only one survive among the bandits and was in the custody of the knights. The knight that they bribed to get rid off the mages was incidentally killed by the bandits. The others knights were tight lipped and didn’t exposed their benefactors.”
“If the group wiped out the band of bandits and even found out our scout, they must be strong. Let’s take this case to increase our awareness in the empire.”
“Yes, sir.”
Once the conversation was done, Kolben shifted his gaze to Mordred to change the topic.
“Mordred, you said that your men in the Imperial Capital fled here and isolated themselves, right?”
“Yes, they never explained what happened to them. It was like they were tortured mentally and spiritually. They’ve been shutting themselves and never got back to work since then.”
“Hmm…”
A few months ago, one of the few mercenary group that the organization despatch into the empire came back to their base mentally unstable and with frightened eyes. They seemed to be desperately trying to escape from something that disabled their ability to talk about it.
“That party was strong enough to be recognized by myself. But they encountered something that wasn’t supposed to be touched, resulting to their neutralization.”
“Something is happening in the empire, which is the next venue for our next mission. So Mordred, tell your men not to mess up and be discreet.”
“I understand, boss.”
“Good.” Kolben turn his attention to the masked man. “You know what to do.”
“Alrighty, boss. Leave the items to me.”
The six of them chuckled within the darkness of the world.