» Within the Southside Tower
Zeri took a moment to stare at her handiwork.
Five black, rustic bars lay piled in a decorative curve of the large stone ledge that lay beneath the window. There, too, was now a gaping hole in the dark-stained glass window, just large enough to allow her access.
Initially, she'd been afraid that the glass would crack beneath the heat of her aspect, given how cold it was. Luckily for her though, it melted like normal.
Zeri did a final mental check before she crept forward through the broken window, stalling for a moment behind the long, thick blackout curtains. Once inside, she slowly sidled to the right.
The light breeze from the Southside air vents, far, far away, brushed against the curtains that shielded her figure from view. They blew forward a little, their wafting movement catching Zeri's attention.
Zeri decided to move away quickly, before any of the workers she suspected of lying within discovered the source of the sudden draft.
The mechanical sounds of industrial machinery at work were louder than ever now, filling her straining ears with the hum of production.
Zeri reached the edge of the curtain, halting again for a moment before cautiously peeking around it. Her yellow eyes narrowed beneath her wooden mask as she took in the scene ahead of her.
Long transport belts hanging from the ceiling carried buckets between filling stations which pushed out a constant wave of dark glass vials.
Vials that were filled to the brim with a shimmering purple liquid.
Zeri's paranoid eyes quickly raked across the rest of the spacious room, taking in its more innocuous details. She didn't dwell on any of them for long, however. Maintaining the agenda was her top priority.
Strangely enough, it seemed that there were no personnel manning any of the industrial stations within. None that she could see anyway. It looked to be a fully automated process.
Cautiously, Zeri stepped out from the dark curtain. She flinched suddenly as one of the room's few lamps flickered out, momentarily plunging the surrounding area into near darkness.
In the next second, however, the lamp flickered back on again. A simple malfunction.
Zeri, though, had long since vanished from her previous position, however. In that second of blackness, she had darted forward across the room at an impossible speed.
Now stood beside the thick metal door, which seemed to be the room's only exit, Zeri hesitated. Her yellow eyes sharpened as she pondered the matter ahead of her.
There was no window in the door—meaning that anything and anyone could be waiting on the other side. The consistent wave of noise emanating from the production line behind her was also far too loud to allow for any kind of auditory recon—especially through such a thick-looking door.
Zeri's jaw clenched in irritation. In the brief seconds that followed, she carefully deliberated over her current objectives.
Callian hadn't given her a clear priority in his orders for this mission. She knew that for a fact. This meant that what she prioritised was solely up to her interpretation of what was most important.
Without clear direction, Zeri was at a loss as to whether to prioritise information gathering or maintain the secrecy of her infiltration.
Given that the man was always incredibly precise in his wording, his unexpectedly open-air attitude made Zeri unbearably anxious.
Ultimately, she saw two possibilities. Either it truly didn't matter, or her decision would reflect on how he evaluated her results. It didn't take a genius to figure out it was almost definitely the latter.
Zeri clenched one of her fists tightly as she stared ahead at the looming door. She knew this action was a subconscious coping mechanism, but she allowed it.
Restraint did not equate to control. She'd learnt that from him.
Still, the constant reminder that she was being tested bore down on Zeri in ways she couldn't even begin to describe.
She had to do well.
Zeri closed her eyes as she made an effort to clear her mind. Her anxiousness quickly faded as an unnatural wave of calm spread throughout her body.
A strange, tingling numbness crept outward from the back of her head as she opened her eyes again. Her racing thoughts had all but dissipated.
A deadly sharpness returned to Zeri's gaze as it snapped toward one of the few filling stations. She turned away from the room's door.
First things first. She would begin by categorising what she had already uncovered. Perhaps it would be enough to retreat with.
Zeri reached the automated filling station briskly, coming to a halt beside the conveyor belt which served to input the freshly moulded, empty glass vials.
After a moment's observation, she followed the belt backwards away from the large filling station. Once she was sufficiently far along the track, she picked up one of the vials and glared down at it.
Zeri was careful to follow the now empty space on the conveyer forward, ensuring that she would be able place the vial back before it was required. While doing so, she turned the item over in her hands.
She'd seen these types of vials before of course. She doubted anyone in Zaun hadn't at this point. The decrepit Outskirt slums were littered with them—broken or otherwise.
Still, those abandoned vials were always empty. Not a drop of shimmer was ever left to waste.
What stuck out to Zeri most was that these vials were the containers used by the dealers over in Westside. An entire district away.
Filing away this information for later, Zeri's eye found the small manufacturer's logo which was pressed into the vial's base.
Zeri made a second mental note, memorising the strange design. She then replaced the object upon the conveyor belt as she lost herself in thought.
The logo was quite simple. It consisted of three vertical wavy lines encircled midway by a thin ring. Zeri assumed the former represented heat, given the industrial implications. The latter part though, she had no idea.
Zeri's face dropped into a frown, pausing for a second as her intuition screamed at her to look back at the vial again.
Unfortunately, the one she had taken earlier had already disappeared into the filling station. Luckily, there were many others on the belt that were up for grabs.
Trusting her instincts, Zeri retrieved a second vial and took another look at the symbol pressed into the vial's base.
That logo… She recognised it.
Zeri's sharp eyes widened a fraction as many different scenes she'd witnessed over the past few months suddenly overlapped in her mind.
A glass at a Westside bar. A manhole cover in Northside. The heads of pickaxes used down in the mines. All items with that same logo pressed somewhere on their surface.
Zeri was slightly stunned. So many different products scattered across the entirety of Zaun. This was a wide web of influence—especially considering the numerous gangs constantly fought to keep each other in check.
Zeri dropped the vial back onto the conveyor as she once again lost herself in thought.
Even if this doubled as a test, she could now see that this mission wasn't a simple matter. A single name like this one was just too widespread to be considered normal.
How had she never heard of Glasc Industries before today? Were they an unaffiliated supplier, and were thus allowed to spread so far?
No. The ruling gangs would never just sit by and allow that. They had their own factories—their own products they needed to push in order to stay afloat.
How was this possible?
With great effort, Zeri pushed her alarm to the side. She couldn't let herself be carried away by this discovery yet. For now, she needed to focus on the task at hand.
She pondered what to do next.
On the surface, this did look like a drastic revelation. However, she suspected that it was something Callian had already picked up on himself. His eye for detail far exceeded her own, after all—and this logo was apparently scattered practically everywhere outside of this tower.
Zeri raised a hand and rubbed her lips thoughtfully.
If she went forward with this logic, it meant that if she left now with only this discovery under her belt, it would likely be akin to leaving this place empty-handed.
With this in mind, Zeri carefully summarised her thoughts. It was clear that she needed more information—if there was any more to be found.
Thus, this left her back at square one. Locked in only a single room out of the entire building.
Zeri glanced toward the door again as she thought over her options, which were unfortunately very few.
She wondered for a moment, if she was being too cautious. The prospect of this being a test had indeed left her very highly strung.
She could return outside the tower again and break her way into another room, which could potentially lead to more discoveries. Or she could take the greater risk of exposure and brave the heavy door ahead of her.
In the moment, neither option looked appealing.
Zeri's eyes did a second once-over of the poorly lit room, hoping to stumble upon some inspiration.
If this room were empty, perhaps the space beyond the door would be empty too.
After a moment's quiet consideration, Zeri blinked in surprise. Her somewhat absentminded scanning had actually borne fruit.
Tucked away in a corner of the room, above a smoking furnace, a sizeable air vent lay screwed to the ceiling.
It wasn't much, but it was enough. An idea at least.
She stared at it for a second before her eyes slid down to the thin wisps of smoke which were curling upward beneath it.
Despite the smoke, which no doubt filled its interior, it seemed doable.
This wasn't to say that she wasn't wary of the heat which was clearly wafting upwards in tandem with it—only that she believed her aspect would keep her safe from that particular danger.
Zeri flexed her left hand, stimming once again as she mulled the possibility over. She cast another brief glance toward the door.
Given what she could do, logic dictated that she was likely quite resistant to high temperatures. She decided that it was worth a try.
In a green flash, Zeri was beside the base of the furnace.
She was upon the ceiling in the next second, hanging from the grate by a hand as the skin of her other glowed with a deep green lustre.
Her free fingertips glittered with light as she hoisted herself upward with her other arm. She hesitated for a second before gently pushing her powered digits through the screws that held the grate in place.
Her fingers seared as they fought their way through the opposing metal.
The grate was quickly freed from its joints beneath the careful application of Zeri's aspect, bringing her down along with it.
She landed upon the top of the furnace with a feline grace, wholly unbothered by the waves of heat that promptly assaulted her underside.
She jumped back up toward the vent quickly, leaving behind only a lingering trace of green static which rapidly disappeared half a second later.
Now inside the rather spacious air duct, Zeri lowered the damaged metal grate onto its floor.
The smoke wasn't too thick, unlike what she'd suspected previously. She blinked away her discomfort quickly. This—this was more than doable.
Zeri turned her gaze toward the dark slanted passage which lay ahead.
Upon seeing this, a bright electricity instantly sprang into life around her. It curled across her clothing in small arcs, casting a dancing glow which lit up the surrounding area.
Zeri took one look back at the furnace that lay below her before she hardened her resolve and crept forward into the depths of the Southside tower.
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〘 A/N: Salutations chat. Here's the next upload for my three consistent readers. Hope you enjoyed. 👍 〙