Secret Meeting

As Aldwyn left the house, he walked into a deserted alleyway. The alley was a narrow corridor of shadows, the cobblestones slick with the remnants of the night's snow. The smell of damp earth hung in the air, a stark contrast to the jasmine-scented letters he had just read.

"No one should see me here," he murmured to himself, pulling the hood of his charcoal-gray coat up over his head. His silver eyes gleamed, the only sign of life in the cold, lifeless face.

He concentrated, breathed in and out several times, and slowly enveloped himself in shadow. The darkness coalesced around him, wrapping him in a cloak of shadows. His heartbeat slowed, his breaths grew shallower, until it seemed as if he was a part of the very shadows themselves. The world around him grew dimmer, the sounds of the distant city muffled and distorted by the veil that separated him from the mundane.

With a silent leap, he launched himself onto the nearest rooftop, his boots landing without a sound. The tiles were slick with frost, but he moved with the grace of a cat, his boots leaving no trace of his passage. The city of Vellaris stretched out before him, a sprawling mass of cobblestone streets and towering buildings, their chimneys belching smoke into the gray sky.

Aldwyn's eyes searched the horizon for any sign of movement, his senses heightened by the power of the shadows.

„I shouldn't overuse my energy." He thought while getting prepared.

The next moment he was racing through the alleys and rooftops towards Lady Verdie's family estate, his black form a silent specter against the gray of the sky. The buildings grew smaller as he moved away from the city center, replaced by rolling fields and the occasional solitary tree. The wind bit at his cheeks, carrying with it the promise of a harsh winter.

As he approached the estate, he had his shadows retract, and he dropped to the ground, his feet making no sound on the crunchy snow. His eyes searched the horizon, and he could just make out the silhouette of the manor, a dark stain on the otherwise pristine landscape.

The property looked like a well-managed farm, with a large manor house at its center. The manor itself was a two-story stone building, with ivy clinging to its sides and a thatched roof that had seen better days. A few outbuildings dotted the area, their wooden frames stark against the snow. A stable, a barn, and what looked like a greenhouse stood at the periphery, surrounded by a neatly fenced-in garden.

Aldwyn kept to the shadows of the nearby trees, his breath misting in the cold air. His gaze was sharp, his senses honed to detect any signs of danger.

After several hours of surveillance, the monotony was broken by the distant sound of hooves against the hard ground. A carriage approached the estate, pulling his attention from the quietude. It was a simple carriage, not one that would draw the eye, but it was not one that belonged to the estate. The driver's cloak was pulled tight around their face, obscuring any identifying features.

As the carriage drew closer, Aldwyn tensed. The driver disembarked and moved with a swift grace that suggested they were no stranger to such clandestine meetings. They approached the estate's side entrance, knocked softly, and the door swung open to reveal a figure shrouded in darkness.

The tension in the air grew palpable as Aldwyn recognized the silhouette of a woman. She stepped out into the early light, her form swaddled in a fur-lined cloak. The driver offered a hand to help her into the carriage, and as the door closed, the vehicle lurched back from which it had come.

„Hmm, what should I do now... Should I follow her or search the estate for more information? I suspect there's someone else in the house, probably her mother... So I would have to be very careful..." Aldwyn thought about his next move.

He decided to follow the carriage, his instincts telling him that this was the most immediate source of answers. The vehicle moved at a brisk pace, and he had to push his physical limits to keep up without being seen. The journey was long and the cold wind stung his cheeks, but he remained relentless, driven by the need to uncover the truth behind Lady Verdie's actions.

The carriage eventually stopped in a secluded grove, surrounded by tall, skeletal trees that seemed to reach out with gnarled branches, as if to claim the secrets held within their shadows. Aldwyn watched from a safe distance as Lady Verdie stepped out, her cloak billowing around her like a shroud. The driver remained silent, their eyes never meeting hers as they helped her down.

"What the hell is she doing here?" Aldwyn mumbled to himself as he continued to watch her carefully.

He waited, his breaths shallow and his eyes sharp. The driver remained with the horses, their posture relaxed but attentive, ready to flee at a moment's notice. Lady Verdie disappeared into the grove, her footsteps muffled by the thick blanket of snow.

Aldwyn took a calculated risk, creeping slowly towards the carriage driver. Each step was deliberate, the driver's focus remained on the horses, their breath misting in the cold air

In a swift movement, Aldwyn's hand closed around the driver's shoulder. The man jolted but before he could react, the cold metal of the Black Elemental revolver was pressed against his temple. "Not a sound," Aldwyn hissed, his voice a serrated whisper in the quiet of the grove.

The driver's eyes widened in terror, and he nodded frantically. "Please," he stammered, "I'm just a hired hand. I don't know anything!"

Despite the fear in his voice, Aldwyn's heightened senses allowed him to recognize that the driver wasn't telling the whole truth. His heart rate was erratic, his eyes flickering towards the grove where Lady Verdie had disappeared. The scent of nervous sweat clung to him like a second skin.

"Where did she go?" Aldwyn demanded, his voice cold and unyielding as the steel of his revolver.

The driver's voice trembling as he pointed to the grove. "In there," he managed to choke out, his words almost lost to the whipping wind.

Aldwyn's gaze narrowed, "I have seen that myself... I need more specific details, what exactly does she want there, for example..."

The driver's eyes grew even wider, and he swallowed hard. "I... I don't know. She meets someone, a man, but I've never seen his face. They talk in whispers, and she gives him... something. I don't know what it is, I swear!"

The driver's eyes darted towards the grove, and his voice grew quieter, almost lost to the hiss of the wind. "Once every two weeks," he whispered. "Always around this time."

Aldwyn nodded, his thoughts racing. A meeting place this secluded and secretive could only mean one thing: Lady Verdie was indeed involved in something she didn't want her husband to know about.

With a swift, precise motion, he raised the Black Elemental revolver and brought it down on the driver's head with the butt. The man's eyes rolled back in his skull, and he crumpled to the ground, unconscious but alive. The sound of his body hitting the snow was muffled, barely a disturbance in the quiet grove.

Aldwyn dragged the driver to the carriage, his movements swift and efficient. He checked the man's pockets and found nothing of use, except for a few Lexus banknotes and a simple, leather-bound book filled with dates and names, likely the driver's schedule and passengers.

He placed the unconscious body into the carriage, ensuring it was hidden from view. The driver would likely come to with a nasty headache, but alive and unable to raise an alarm for some time. The horses snorted, sensing the tension, but remained still as the shadows of the trees danced over them.