{NOVELETTE} A Heist To Remember - Part 05

The first thing Alphonse noticed was the smell. That moldy smell these large basements were prone to having. He perked to attention straight away, as he heard a rustling noise from behind him. His fall must have been heard for anyone that was down here. And sure enough, he could see a light source getting brighter in the pitch black basement. He relaxed his breathing, leaving it to his shadows to protect him from unwanted eyes.

“Damned rats.” He heard a slurred curse from behind him. The man, evidently intoxicated, did not find anything of interest. So he returned back the way he came, behind a stack of barrels. Alphonse turned and saw the man, a fat guard – his favorite - sitting down at a desk in the corner of the cold basement. Remaining unseen to the guard would not be difficult.

Alphonse moved. He let his eyes wander all across the basement, but nothing grabbed his attention. He moved towards some boxes, inspecting their markings. Whatever they were, they were not alchemical, he moved on to the next set of boxes. And the next.

A sudden sound almost made him jump. It took him a second to discover the source - it was the guard from before – snoring. How pathetic. It seemed this heist was all but complete.

Alphonse finally spotted something glaring in the corner, a cracked alembic. He then noticed the boxes behind it: one seemed to be smashed open. He reached them with haste, paying absolutely no attention to the useless, sleeping guard. Sure enough the rest of the boxes had the same markings, he was getting closer. Alphonse stepped behind the massive pile, careful not to touch anything. The stone wall was cracked by a huge wooden plank, imbedded into it. This was it. He had found his mark.

There was enough space between the boxes and the wall to fit two men walking side-by-side, so Alphonse did not have to worry about pushing any of the boxes. He reached the makeshift door and paused, listening. There was nothing – well apart from the guard’s snoring – the basement was silent.

He pushed the door open, a cold breeze hit him immediately, and pitch darkness greeted him. He could see absolutely nothing inside while the breeze coming out of the room chilled him to the bone.

Is this really it? Alphonse hesitated. He debated drinking an eel’s potion, which would give him night vision, but thought better of it. Drinking three subsequent potions would be reckless to a fault. Feeling the constant chill, he entered the blackness. He prayed he would stumble upon a discarded lantern as his eyes were slow to adjust to the darkness. The documents however, should be easy to find, the briefing said they had a large golden seal decorating them, very distinctive.

Alphonse stopped after just a few paces inside the hidden room – he could still see absolutely nothing. This was ridiculous. He couldn’t even see his hand right in front of his face. He looked back to the door, his teeth beginning to chatter, and gaped in horror, as it slammed shut.

Blue light, sudden and blinding. Alphonse took a step back, his foot catching on something, a statue? Then He saw other strange, indistinguishable statues of creatures around him, banners on the walls, alchemical benches and… Four robed figures encircling him. He reached for his smoke bomb and – Gone. It was gone!

He then saw the alter in the middle of the chamber. Was this –

“Colleagues, the conditions have been met.” One of the robed figures said, voice booming in the cold chamber. “This man has laid eyes upon, and touched, what is sacred. By his own volition.

"The prerequisites have been seen to. The laws have been obeyed.”

“And now he serves us all.” They said in unison.

Something in the corner of his eye, pain in the back of his head, numbness…

Blackness.