“People who have something to hide always show it in some part of their demeanor, generally without realizing it.” - Haerkul of Clan Poisonrot, investigator constable from Elmaiya.

There were stairs hidden underneath the trapdoor as expected. They were larger than her expectations though, easily wide enough for two adults to walk side by side, and as she descended while remaining as silent as she could, Aideen noticed that there was also quite a bit of airflow in the basement, which implied a well-ventilated area, one likely larger than her initial estimations.

Fortunately there were no guards at the bottom of the stairs, as it would have been difficult to hide her presence otherwise. The trapdoor was somewhat rusty at the hinges and made an unpleasant creaking noise when she first opened it that would have alerted any nearby guards. Apparently the ones who built the basement felt that the guards at the top were plenty.

Given that they very likely have something to hide down there, they probably didn’t take many of the guards into confidence either.

She quietly navigated the poorly-lit underground corridors, lit only by the occasional enchanted light every ten meters or so. The corridors were far more sparse, which made it difficult for her to hide herself, but she could still advance silently so as not to warn anyone nearby. The corridor that connected to the stairs came to an end before long and split into two, one to each side, and Aideen followed her gut as she headed down the left one.

Not too far past the intersection, she noticed another bend, and peeked around the corner carefully, only to see an area that seemed to hold many cells. The cells were further secured by bars of steel that separated them from the corridor, and before the bars, Aideen spotted two clearly sleepy guards standing in position.

Unlike the guards up top, there was something different about the pair of guards she saw before her. They had an air about them that made her recall street thugs and other criminal types, and their lackadaisical demeanor further strengthened that impression. One of them even brought out a small flask he had hidden in his armor and took a drink out of it, the smell making it obvious that the flask contained some strong alcohol.

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Even though they were ineffective as guards went, Aideen still had a decision to make. If she wished to investigate the celled area she would need to take the two guards out, but given their position it would be difficult for her to do it as stealthily as the previous ones. She might be able to knock one out by surprise, but was not sure she could get the second before he raised an alarm.

At least not in a way that would not endanger the guard’s life, that was.

After a moment of deliberation, Aideen decided that these two guards were likely in the know of whatever happened down there, and whatever it was, it was unlikely to be anything good, so she made up her mind, brought out her three-sectioned staff, and charged out towards the still-relaxed guards who had no idea someone was coming for them.

Before the two guards could react, one end of Aideen’s staff had struck one in the forehead, while the second end landed square on the other’s throat. The blow to the throat crushed the man’s windpipe and made him unable to utter any sound other than some desperate wheezing, while the other man just dropped like a rock from Aideen’s blow.

Aideen took a moment to treat those injuries while at the same time putting the guards into unconsciousness for at least a few hours before she continued. Fortunately the blow to the forehead hadn’t shattered the guard’s skull and only cracked it, so the man got away with only a concussion instead of dying on the spot.

She found a ring of keys hanging from a hook on the wall to the side of the barred gate, and after a couple tries found one that fitted the gate. Fortunately the gate opened with barely any noise, the hinges well-oiled and maintained unlike the trapdoor by the stairs. Any good feeling Aideen had from having made her way so far into the basement without causing a ruckus soon died out the moment she peeked into the cells, though.

Specifically, the moment she caught a glimpse at what the cells contained.

Inside every cell was either a woman – all of them of fox therian heritage like Kino, Aideen noticed – or a child, ranging from toddlers maybe three to four years old to young teenagers. They were clothed in rough fabric, and from the looks of things, were confined in the cells all the time, given how other than a bed the cells also had large tubs people usually used to wash and wooden coverings in the corner that likely covered openings that linked the cell to the sewers.

Every single one of them looked rather thin and in relatively poor condition, with some of them also showing bald patches in their fur where they had recently been shaved and cut into, the stitching of the wound still visible. Aideen wished she could get all of them out immediately, but she knew that it would be counterproductive to do at the moment.

Instead, she needed to find more solid evidence so she could shut down whatever was happening down there once and for all.

As she left, she locked the gate once more and returned the keys to where she found them. The guards would probably think they had drunk too much and imagined her when they woke up, which was something she further encouraged them to think by splashing some of the alcohol in the flask over their clothes, making them stink like drunkards would.

That done, she left them behind and headed towards the other corridor, expecting to find the reason for those confined women and children on the other side of the basement complex.