Igwinte, Lower District, a certain rooftop.
The daytime breeze swept across the city's sky, bringing the pungent smell of distant black smoke. Carriages and pedestrians came and went on the long streets, while above them, several pairs of eyes overlooked and monitored.
"Hoo... another boring task..." Leaning against the wall on the rooftop of the building, Grego, in a black uniform, sighed and complained, his eyes scanning the team members on guard at various points on the rooftop.
"Guarding the gathering of Gray Hill from a distance, one or two teams are enough for this kind of thing. We still need to be on standby here for support. I really don't understand if it's necessary to have so many people?"
Grego's tone was somewhat complaining, while Eilina, not far from him, spoke up.
"After all, it's a special period recently. The Holy Communion Society is frequently active, so it's normal for the Director to send more people out of concern for any accidents."
"The Holy Communion Society... one hundred percent of them are in that gathering, but we can only monitor remotely to prevent unexpected situations and can't go in to search and apprehend them. I really don't understand." Grego continued to complain, while Eilina sighed and spoke.
"There's nothing we can do. After all, we have an agreement with Gray Hill. He is willing to disclose some dangerous information collected during the gathering. We cannot openly interfere with his gathering; he doesn't want others to see him as the authorities' dog."
"You know... if Gray Hill's gathering is gone, Igwinte will only have a bunch of smaller gatherings that are even more uncontrollable. Not only will we lose a window to monitor the hidden world of Igwinte, but after Gray Hill gets angry, we will also face the predicament of equipment shortages."
After hearing Eilina's words, Grego couldn't help but give a wry smile, then lit a cigarette, took a puff, and continued to speak.
"Heh... how does that saying go? No matter who it is, don't offend the 'Craftsman'..."
...
Dark Water Lane is a small alley located in the Lower District of Igwinte. It is quite far from the normal city streets and requires turning into streets and alleys, then making many turns to get here. It is a place difficult for non-locals to find, a dark corner forgotten by the city.
In Dark Water Lane, a figure in a gray cloak and gray hood walked quickly. On both sides were towering walls, the passage between the two walls was only about three meters wide, the walls were mottled and peeling, and the sky-like opening above the alley was full of clotheslines. The surroundings were dimly lit and the air was damp, the pungent smell of a sewage ditch permeated everywhere, and the sound of gurgling water came from under the flagstones beneath his feet.
In this dark and deserted alley, the figure in the gray cloak, concealing himself, continued forward until he stopped before a small, round wooden door. After looking around, he began to knock on the door.
He knocked three times at the top, four times at the bottom, paused for a moment, and then knocked twice more at the top.
Immediately after, the door opened, the figure in the gray cloak walked inside, and then the door closed tightly again.
And at this moment, on a clothesline between the alleys, a crow was staring in the direction of the wooden door, everything that just happened was seen by it.
"Top three, bottom four, pause two..."
Standing on a rooftop, Dorothy, in a black cloak, recalled the information transmitted back by the Crow Corpse Puppet and summarized it.
This was already the seventh newcomer she had monitored. Their way of knocking on the door was exactly the same.
"Almost there, the secret code can be confirmed..."
Murmuring softly, Dorothy pulled up the black cloth strip on her neck to cover her face, then turned and went downstairs. Soon, she appeared at the entrance of Dark Water Lane.
Wearing a cloak and a mask, Dorothy walked directly into the alley and proceeded all the way to the wooden door. She then paused for a moment in front of the door, and then began to knock on the door just like the few people she had observed earlier: top three, bottom four, pause two...
Immediately after, Dorothy stepped back. After holding her breath and concentrating for a moment, the wooden door creaked open.
Without hesitation, Dorothy stepped forward and entered the door. The tall doorkeeper behind the door, wearing a wooden mask, showed a hint of surprise in his eyes after seeing the figure who walked in, but he didn't bother with anything else and closed the wooden door.
After Dorothy entered the door, what appeared before her was not a spacious area, but a stairway leading downwards. Dorothy descended without hesitation and soon arrived at a wide basement.
The light in this basement was dim, with only a few gas lamps hanging from the ceiling. The surrounding walls were built from large stone bricks, without any decoration.
In the center of the basement was a round table, and about twenty people were already seated around it. Almost everyone was dressed the same way, in cloaks and masked hoods, just in slightly different colors. Some wore ordinary clothes with masks. Clearly, everyone here was unwilling to reveal their identity.
'Well, everyone's taste in clothing is similar. My outfit can be considered perfectly blended into the style, right...'
Thinking this, Dorothy walked towards the round table, found an empty seat, and sat down directly. The people on either side of her had no further reaction after glancing at Dorothy.
'It seems to be a broad and loose gathering. There's no membership system; anyone who knows some tricks and gets the secret code can participate. This can't be considered an organization, at most it's a trading market...' Seeing herself successfully seated, Dorothy thought this.
Just like that, Dorothy sat in her seat, silently waiting for the gathering to officially begin. At the round table in the basement, only a few people sitting next to each other were whispering to each other. The surrounding environment was Silence and oppressive.
Just as Dorothy had waited for a while, and after two or three more people had taken their seats at the table, the gathering finally showed signs of beginning.
Accompanied by a sound, a door in the basement opened, and four knights in full gray-white plate armor walked out in formation. Helmets, armor, swords at their waists, their movements were uniform, their steps completely identical. The heavy armor stepped on the ground with a rhythmic precision, the 'clank-clank' sound of footsteps echoing in the small space, giving people a sense of oppression.
After the four knights, they walked to the four directions of the round table and stood still, surrounding the table while maintaining a sword-holding posture. After the knights, the figure who entered the scene was wearing a gray-white robe and a Stone-carved mask on his head. This figure slowly walked towards a high-backed main seat at the northernmost end of the round table and sat down there.
As that figure sat down, the figures at the round table all stood up, placed their hands on their chests, and bowed slightly in greeting.
"Mr. Gray Hill..."
Seeing the actions of the people around her, Dorothy also quickly got up and bowed, and immediately thought to herself.
'Is this Gray Hill? It seems he's someone the An Yin Bureau also needs to show respect to...'
Looking at the scene before him, Gray Hill also waved his hand, telling everyone to sit down. After the Stone-carved mask, which had no mouth, scanned the surroundings, a deep male voice came from within it.
"Let's begin..."