Far from the city's walls and laughter, deep in a valley hidden by twisting rivers and ancient trees, something dark stirred. Underneath a jagged rock face, a hidden complex buzzed with low, methodical activity. Beasts of all sizes—chained, caged, and sedated—groaned softly in their enclosures. Cries were muffled by magical dampeners, but the despair hung heavy in the air, a quiet scream caught in time.
Hooded figures moved like shadows through the makeshift corridors. One of them, taller than the rest and wearing a mask shaped like a wolf's snarl, stopped before a particularly large cage. A hulking storm bull, its eyes dull with exhaustion, shivered inside.
"How long before this one's spirit breaks?" the figure asked, voice cold.
A second figure checked a crystal tablet. "Another week. Maybe less if we up the dosage."
"Good. The buyer in Greyfang wants fresh stock. No wild instincts."
The first figure turned and walked toward a glowing map etched into the wall with pulsating energy lines. A new pulse blinked near the western ridge—an area supposed to be completely unmonitored.
"Check that signature," the leader ordered. "It's not one of ours."
Outside, the skies remained clear, serene… for now.
Meanwhile, above the canopy of trees miles away, Professor Hootsworth glided smoothly through the air. The forest below stretched like an emerald sea, endless and beautiful. Mia sat comfortably between his wings, Nutmeg sprawled behind her with a pair of goggles he'd insisted on wearing.
They'd been flying for about twenty minutes, and so far, things were too quiet.
"Something's weird," Nutmeg muttered, ears twitching. "I can't hear a single squirrel down there. No birdsong. Not even bugs."
Mia glanced down. The forest looked normal, but the lack of sound gnawed at her instincts. "Hootsworth?"
"I agree," he said, voice low and alert. "I've noticed the silence as well. No signs of movement in the usual nesting sites."
He dipped lower, wings spread wide as he began casting a psychic camouflage, blending them into the cloudy sky like a smear of fog. The spell shrouded their energy signatures and distorted light around them—a skill he'd been developing since joining the Alchemy Guild.
"If anything dangerous is nearby, it won't sense us coming," he said.
Mia's fingers tightened around her travel pack. "Let's not stay long. If it feels off, we pull out."
"Agreed," Hootsworth replied.
For the next ten minutes, they hovered low over treetops, Nutmeg scanning the area with his newly enhanced senses. Every so often he'd point in a direction, only to shake his head seconds later. "It's all… dead quiet. Like something scared the whole forest away."
Then, without warning, the sky darkened.
One moment it was cloudless blue, and the next it churned into rolling black thunderclouds. A low rumble vibrated through the air, followed by a sudden flash of white-hot lightning that cracked across the sky like a whip. Wind howled between the trees, and Hootsworth let out a startled hoot, wings beating hard to stabilize them.
"This storm is unnatural!" he shouted. "It wasn't in any of the morning readings!"
A second bolt split the sky just meters away, and Hootsworth flinched in mid-air. Rain came down in sheets, stinging and cold, soaking them instantly.
"We need to land!" Mia yelled. "Now!"
"I see a ridge ahead!" Nutmeg shouted, pointing with a paw. "Cave system—big enough to shelter in!"
With great effort, Hootsworth angled his wings and dived toward the darkened stone ridge. The winds fought against him, each gust nearly flipping them from the sky, but he gritted his beak and powered through. Finally, they made it—slamming into the ground just outside the cave mouth. Mia slid off his back, soaked and gasping.
"Everyone okay?" she asked quickly.
"Ruffled," Hootsworth grumbled, shaking out his feathers, "but alive."
"Eardrums still intact," Nutmeg replied, peeking into the cave. "And dry, so far. Smells… weird, though."
The cavern was quiet. Empty, from what they could see, with no immediate signs of danger. Nutmeg sniffed the air, eyes narrowing. "Hold on…"
He stepped in, tail low, ears scanning for vibrations. After a few minutes, he turned to Mia and pointed to a stone wall on the far side of the chamber.
"There's something behind that," he said. "Like… a magical curtain. Energy feels like an anti-detection barrier."
Hootsworth narrowed his eyes. "An illusion or barrier field, likely cast to hide something."
Mia approached slowly, reaching out with her own senses. At first, the wall looked solid, but as she moved closer, the air shimmered faintly, like heat waves rising off pavement. She gently placed a hand on the surface—and felt it pulse.
Without a word, Nutmeg raised his paw and gave the shimmering air a light push. The illusion cracked like glass, revealing a narrow corridor leading deeper into the mountain.
And the smell hit them.
Fur. Blood. Fear.
The corridor opened into a massive hidden chamber.
Cages lined every wall. Stacked in metal towers, iron bars warped from claw scratches and mana burns. Beasts of all shapes and sizes filled them—some asleep, some groaning, others completely still. It was a prison. No—worse. A slaughterhouse dressed as a zoo.
Mia's heart twisted.
"What in the world…" she breathed.
Professor Hootsworth's feathers puffed, eyes narrowed. "This… this is criminal. These are high-tier beasts, most of them rare. Who would—?"
"There's more," Nutmeg said, stepping forward. "Some of these cages are rune-locked. That's… specialized gear. Expensive."
"A beast syndicate," Hootsworth said grimly. "There have been rumors—organizations capturing and trafficking beasts for illegal fights or enchantment harvesting. I didn't want to believe it."
Mia moved closer to a cage holding a baby wind tiger. It was thin, malnourished, barely able to lift its head. Its glowing eyes flickered weakly as it looked at her.
She clenched her fists. "We have to report this."
"Agreed," Hootsworth said. "But first, we get out. We don't know how many of them are nearby. We were only lucky the storm forced us down and let us see this."
Nutmeg growled softly. "If we're lucky, they didn't detect us."
"We stay low, exit carefully, and fly back under cover," Mia instructed. "No risks. We'll alert the city's Beast Guild and the law enforcement division. These animals need rescuing, and whoever's running this… needs to pay."
They backed out slowly, replacing the veil with care. As they exited into the rain-drenched world again, lightning flashed—and for just a moment, Mia swore she saw a shadow on the ridge opposite theirs.
A cloaked figure. Watching.
But when she blinked, it was gone.
The storm continued to roar, but Mia's blood was boiling for an entirely different reason now. They'd stumbled on something big—and she had a feeling this was only the beginning.