[Great Divide, Third Floor, secret hideout]
"Oh, hey! Vee's back!"
Steeping through the wooden door of their makeshift hideout with a sour expression, Vee turned toward the sound of the voice.
Hopping off the crate he was sitting on, Cole greeted Vee's arrival cheerily. Despite being in his early twenties, he was unusually short and effeminate in appearance – easily being mistaken for a young, teenage girl. He had bright yellow eyes, fluffy, chin-length silver hair that curled around his soft, baby face, and pale skin with a seemingly slim and delicate physique that concealed how toned he actually was. He had on a close fitting, yellow shirt under a slightly large, open, long-sleeved, black winter coat with a gold fur collar and a pair of tight-fitting, black shorts that came to just above the knee that showcased his long, toned legs and firm rear. Finally, he had on a pair of black and yellow striped sneakers.
The room the two stood in was not terribly large to where even just the two of them could make it feel crowded. Resembling a wooden shack, various crates were stacked up to one side while a pair of hammocks were set up on the other. Opposite the entrance, there was a floor-to-ceiling drape blocking a doorway.
Cole approached Vee happily but froze upon noticing her slight limping. His eyes trailed down to her legs and noticed one of them was injured. He began to panic. "Vee! You're injured!"
"Shut up, loser," Vee snapped – causing Cole to flinch back with his hands raised placatingly. Turning away from him, she asked, "Gee in her closet?"
"Office," a voice called out from behind the drape.
Her question answered, Vee ignored Cole who stood still as she continued forward. "Call it whatever you want, it's still a closet!"
Pushing aside the drape, Vee walked into a room about half the size of the main one. To the side a made bed was set up with black and yellow sheets. In front of her was a large desk with a brown, high-back, executive office chair. The quality of these items far outdid what would be expected from the rest of the shack-like building.
Stacked on top of the desk was a series of papers that the individual situated behind the desk was going through. However, upon hearing that Vee had returned and was injured they had stopped and waited for her to step in. Still holding a pen between their fingers in one hand and a few papers in the other, they raised an eyebrow curiously as they asked, "Run into some trouble?"
Gee – or by her actual name, Gloria – was a woman in her mid-twenties. She had straight, shoulder-length silver hair that curled slightly, bright yellow eyes, and pale skin. Her outfit consisting of a black suit with thin, vertical, yellow stripes, a black shirt with a yellow tie, and black, pencil skirt clung closely to her figure which was in no way inferior to Vee's. Her chest may have been a size smaller, but her hips and rear were undeniably better as they filled out her tight skirt. Knee-high, black stockings were held up by black suspenders with the contrast against the pale skin of her long legs highlighting her plump thighs. Finally, she had on a pair of black heels. Hanging off the back of her chair was a long-sleeved coat with golden fur collar, cuffs, and lining.
Vee rolled her eyes. "It was nothing."
"It was enough to hurt you."
Vee leveled a pouting glare at Gloria. The creatures she encountered were nothing. That makes the fact she let herself be injured by them a point of humiliation for her.
Leveling her own unamused look at Vee, Gloria asked, "Was there something you wanted to report?"
"Yeah. There's some weird hole in the wall not far from here. Got some strange creatures I've never seen inside too."
Gloria frowned. Setting the papers she held down, she began lightly wagging the pen in her other hand as she considered this. The sudden appearance of a passage in the Great Divide was not strange, but there were no indications of such a thing happening. Focusing back on Vee, she asked, "Anything else?"
"Yeah," Vee said. Reaching into her coat pockets, she pulled out the azure vial and medallion she had found inside the Dungeon. Lazily holding them up to see, she explained, "Figured you'd send me back to investigate anyway, so I looked around. There was a little hidey-hole with two boxes. They each held one of these."
Gloria put down her pen and reached out for Vee to hand over the two items. Carefully holding the medallion in one hand and the vial in the other, she examined the vial first. "What are these? I can sense a trace of magic in them, but they don't look like anything I've seen from Alber…"
"Honestly, the whole thing reminds me of a video game," Vee absentmindedly said. "Got a dungeon with trash mobs and secret rooms with treasure chests…"
Heaving a disapproving sigh, Gloria set down the medallion on her desk and used her hand to massage her forehead. "I really wish you'd stop wasting time on trash like that when we have a job to do."
"What the fuck do you expect me to do then," Vee snapped. "That bitch keeps us cooped up in here almost twenty-four-seven and there ain't shit to do."
Gloria sighed again – though this time more understanding. "Well, then, it might please you to know that this latest shipment means we're almost ready to begin operations."
Vee stilled for a moment at hearing this. "You mean we can finally get started and leave this shit-shack?"
"All resources go toward cultivating new members and production. There just wasn't room in the budget for a batter base."
Vee scoffed and muttered, "Yet you get a fancy ass bed, desk, and chair while me and Cole get some hammocks and crates."
Gloria smirked as she leaned back in her chair. "The benefits of being put in charge. Naturally as the leader and unofficial second-in-command, it's only natural that a larger portion of the budget gets allocated for my use. Besides, these are necessary, work-related expenses. How am I supposed to operate with a subpar sleep and work station? Unless, you want to handle the paperwork?"
Vee visibly shivered and looked frightened. "Fine! Keep your stupid desk."
Gloria smiled victoriously.
"If we're finally starting, I'm guessing you'll be sending me topside?"
"Yes," Gloria confirmed – dropping her smile and returning to a more professional tone. "We obviously can't trust Cole to handle the lower ranked members we'll be using for distribution."
Vee laughed. "They'd walk all over him."
"Yes. And I'm needed to act as an intermediary between Boss and the rest of you. That leaves you to be the point of contact with the others. Cole will continue to handle transport while I deal with logistics and you make sure to keep the others in line."
"Any issues with how I do it," Vee asked – raising an eyebrow while giving a vicious smirk.
Gloria kept a neutral expression as she answered. "Those under our station are expendable, but we've devoted resources to nurture them. Should they need replacing, it will put an unnecessary burden on the group to replace them and devote more resources to bring them up to standard. Do keep that in mind. Undoubtedly a certain amount of force will be necessary, but remember to keep all things in moderation. Carrot-and-stick."
"Yeah, yeah," Vee said with a roll of her eyes.
Shifting gears, Gloria refocused on the vial she was still holding. "Now back to this. Is there anything you found that could explain what exactly this is?"
"Nope," Vee shrugged lazily. "The place was weird. Whenever I killed the little freaks, they just vanished into nothing. And it's not like there was a note or anything explaining what was going on."
Swirling the azure liquid, Gloria hummed thoughtfully. After a moment, she closed her eyes. "Well, I guess there's only one way to find out." She then held the vial back out for Vee to take. "You drink it."
Vee startled. "Why me!? Make Cole drink it!"
"Because, if it's poison, you'll probably be fine. Cole's a meat shield, but poison can still hurt him."
"That doesn't mean I'm immune. What are you going to do if this stuff kills me!?"
"You said that the creatures where you found this were nothing, right? Do you think it's likely that this random vial would have something potent enough to hurt you?"
Vee frowned deeply. She then stepped forward and snatched the vial from Gloria knowing she would not win an argument with her. "Whatever. Not like this couldn't be a hundred other things that might kill me."
Holding the vial in one hand, Vee pulled out the cork with the other. Looking into it with hesitation, she gave one last aggrieved look at Gloria. "If this kills me, I am going to haunt you."
"Duly noted. But the magic energy I can sense from that is incredibly low. I'll be surprised if it could give you so much as a stomach ache."
Maintaining her indignation, Vee quickly brought the vial to her lips before tilting her head back to down its contents in one go.
Swallowing the unknown substance, Vee let out a loud sigh before tossing away the now empty vial. Sailing toward Gloria's desk, the woman quickly stood up from her chair to reach out and grab it so to prevent it from hitting something and breaking. Practically bent over her desk, she shot a glare at Vee whose eyes were closed and did not notice.
However, the next moment, Vee's eyes shot open in shock. She turned her head to look down at her injured leg.
Gloria's confused gaze followed Vee's and saw a faint blue energy enveloping her lower leg.
Though the bleeding had long since stopped, the deep puncture wounds remained – disfiguring Vee's otherwise flawless skin. Yet, before the two's eyes, the wounds healed. Once again, her flesh was restored to its pristine state.
Gloria narrowed her eyes. "How do you feel," she asked even toned.
Vee did not pay attention to Gloria as she tried applying pressure to her leg only to find she could walk fine now. Absently, she responded, "Still a little sore, but otherwise, all good."
Returning to her chair, Gloria gazed at the empty vial in her hand – her eyes revealing her awe and curiosity. "An honest to good healing potion," she whispered questioningly.
Seeing the state of disbelief Gloria was in Vee could not help but tease. "What's the matter with you? Healing magic isn't all that special."
Focused on the vial, Gloria halfheartedly responded to Vee, "That's why you're just a meathead who'll never get promoted. You might be competent and know how to do your job, but you're still an idiot – almost as bad as Cole."
"HEY!"
"This is a healing item. The thing about healing magic is that it only works on yourself. Like how Cole's and your magic naturally grants you increased durability. Magic can be used to afflict others but cannot directly be used on them. Poison, curses, enchantments; these are all just magic acting to harm or support people. But healing – actually healing and regenerating – another person. Magic can't do that. Not unless it's part of some ritual or something at least. Sure, healing items do exist, but they are notoriously difficult to make and limited in supply. Even in Alber, they are horded the same way people on Earth horde magic in general."
Vee's indignation cooled some as the gravity of what she just encountered settled in.
Meanwhile, Gloria's mind was calculating.
"Where did you say this 'hole in the wall' was located?"
"Huh," Vee uttered. She saw as Gloria put the vial aside and began diffing round the drawers of her desk. "Um, I don't know. Not all that far from here."
Barely letting Vee finish her sentence, Gloria added, "And, do you think there might be more of these vials?"
Vee opened her mouth to insist on knowing why she was asking or deny that there were, but stopped when a thought crossed her mind. "Mmh, well, I doubt it, but I didn't check the whole place out. Once one of those annoying things managed to bite me, I decided to leave and happened to notice the hidden area with the boxes. So, maybe?"
Pulling out a stack of blank paper, Gloria grabbed her pen and readied a sheet. "Something like this doesn't just 'appear' out of nowhere. This requires further investigation. First, you're going to tell me everything – everything – about what you encountered. I'll write a report for the boss, and then we'll prepare to check things out more thoroughly. This could be an amazing opportunity."
"What if someone's already owns this stuff and is hiding it there," Vee felt the need to argue in the face of Gloria's enthusiasm.
"Then we capture them, find out where they're getting these from, kill them, and take it all for ourselves," Gloria replied simply.
Vee opened her mouth to say something more but ultimately shrugged. "Fine with me. So where should I start?"
"From the moment you noticed the hole in the wall," Gloria said – pen at the ready.
As Vee began to recount her encounter with the Dungeon, Gloria furiously wrote down the information. However, a part of her mind was occupied with something else. It was not just the healing potion. Vee had said that the medallion was located next to it. If so, then did it contain some lucrative secret?