Valeria's dangerous discovery

Valeria continued to sneak through the shadows and slowly moved towards the market. Her body was almost invisible in the darkness of the alleys, and her step was as quiet as the whisper of the wind. She noticed other scouts watching the streets, looking for possible enemies. But Valeria, as the daughter of the shadow, could see through her veil without being spotted herself. Even if these scouts possessed higher stats than she did, they could not compete with her abilities. Valeria was able to distract them or lead them on false trails.

This mischievous behavior made Valeria giggle herself, but it still didn't fill her up completely. So she continued to look around, roaming inns and the city's poor quarter. In the poor quarter, however, Valeria was shocked. The conditions here were worse than in Bamberg when Mortis had taken control. There were even destroyed houses where people lived, and the smell of urine and alcohol was in the air everywhere. Women on the street looked like they were dying of hunger and seemed mentally out of it.

After watching for a while, Valeria saw an overweight man walking among the women and looking into their purses. When he found nothing, he would hit the women and yell at them. Valeria felt a strong urge to slit this man's throat immediately, but she kept control and remained calm. When the man finished and made his way down a dark alley where a back door was opened to let him in, Valeria followed him and stayed close. She was ready to strike if it became necessary, but she wanted to know what was behind that secret door.

Valeria continued to creep after the overweight man as he pushed aside an old closet to reveal a staircase to the basement. Her heart began to beat faster as she followed him into the basement. As the light fell into the basement room, Valeria was met with a horrific sight. Cages filled with women kept like dogs were revealed. The cages were filled with drinking bottles full of drugs given to the women by derelict men and other women.

The trapped women wailed and cried, some of them still with enough sense to realize what was happening around them, others seemed unresponsive. They were enveloped in a chemical fog of drugs that dulled their senses and broke their willpower. One of the women struggled desperately against her tormentors, but the fat man just smiled at her and continued unperturbed.

"You're really brave," he said to the woman, "but no matter how much you struggle, eventually you too will reach for the potions and the food, and then we'll have you." He laughed maliciously and continued on his way into the darkness of the cellar.

The woman was crying, but hatred blazed in her eyes, and a clear will was evident. She would rather die than become a puppet for this monster. Valeria struggled with her emotions, knowing that this place could be extremely dangerous. She had not fully explored it yet, and it was possible that some of the men here were adventurers who had gone astray. She had to be careful and find out what was really going on here before she acted.

Valeria continued to follow the fat man as he entered another hallway. In this room they reached, there were many cauldrons with substances bubbling in them, and a young woman was busy giving orders. As the fat man approached with a grim smile, the young woman spoke to him in a harsh tone and asked how the new effect was.

"So, is it going?" she asked, "Is the new effect to your liking?"

The fat man smiled grimly and replied, "It seems to work better than before, and the time before they break is shorter. Really good stuff, I think. I hope you continue with your research. A new shipment of materials is also coming tomorrow, we are now getting high quality ingredients from the castle as well, since I was able to make some contacts. So until then, my sweet witch."

The young woman, "Feti,you can keep your flattery to yourself, but it's nice that you continue to supply me. I can use it to further my alchemy. Now go, I have some notes to make."

The witch turned to her desk as the fat man walked quietly away with a hateful expression on his face. Valeria could hear his quiet but understandable words: "I'll pump you full of your own alchemy yet, bitch, and then you'll be sent prostituting like all beggars."

He laughed softly to himself and opened another passage that apparently led to his room. Valeria knew she had to be careful, because she hadn't figured out everything that was going on in this horrible place, but she had some important information now.

Valeria continued to watch the fat man enter another hallway. The room they reached turned out to be a wine cellar and liquor store. Here bottles and barrels were piled up, and the fat man made his way up the stairs. Soon he reached his brothel, where agonizing screams of women could be heard. The fat man laughed mischievously and remarked, "It seems the frustrated soldiers are back to prey on women. Oh, I love the sound of money."

With a cynical grin, he walked into his brothel, the back rooms of which were already guarded by two burly men. Valeria had seen and heard enough. She now knew that this place was a place of horror where women were held captive and abused. It was time to gather information and make a plan to destroy this terrible place and free the imprisoned women.