"Keep your defenses ready, we do not know what we will find." Duncan warned, while Hatsumi worked on the lock. She had summoned some blood and manoeuvred it into the keyhole.

I readied my water shield, while I watched Hatsumi with concern. If there was a trap she would be in the centre of it. Nyx sat next to me on the floor. She tilted her head as she watched the door.

The blood Hatsumi was using froze, as she formed a key. Then she tried to turn it. "Hm. I think the key should be right but something is missing. I am afraid I might not be able to open this."

"Damn. We should have brought someone more familiar with enchantments. I did not expect them to have such security. I thought their main defense would be concealment." Duncan admitted. "We might have to call for a specialist, or find someone with the key."

Nyx walked over to the door. She touched it with her paw. She was still in her kitten form.

"Nyx?" I asked.

She turned her head towards me. "Meow."

"What is she saying?" Duncan asked.

"Um… I am not sure." I admitted. Somehow I felt annoyance through the bond.

"We could try other entrances. They should have a back door." Connor suggested.

"Cassie does have explosives." I pointed out.

"Hm. Do you think she could use a controlled detonation to open the lock?" Duncan asked.

"I am not sure how controlled it would be…" I admitted. "I could also give orders to the Iron Beak inside. But it can't really tell me anything and it's rather dumb. All I could do is give some basic orders, like explode."

"What is it with you girls and explosions?" Connor asked.

I blushed. "That is mostly Cassie." I mumbled.

"Meow!" Nyx tried to get our attention again. She had walked over to a small fireplace at the back of the shop. It was not on, since it was summer. Nyx simply walked into it.

Suddenly I understood. "Air! An alchemy lab needs a way to get rid of fumes. There must be a vent, or something."

"I doubt we will fit inside a vent." Duncan pointed out.

I grinned. "But a cat might."

"What is a small skeleton going to do?" Connor asked.

"If there is someone inside they will have a key. They would not lock themselves in." I pointed out.

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"I doubt they will hand that over willingly." Connor replied.

"You should not underestimate her. She is the most powerful servant Koyuki has." Hatsumi replied.

Nyx had not returned. I guess she was climbing somewhere, inside the chimney. Perhaps they had connected the alchemy vents to the chimney? Or was she climbing towards the roof and looking there for a vent?

"Shall I call her back?" I asked.

"If you trust her, let's see what she can do." Duncan replied.

"I trust her." I said. Well, I would not trust her with food, but this was serious.

We stood there waiting for several minutes. Then we heard a click. We readied our magic and faced the door, which swung open. Inside sat Nyx, looking smug. A key was inside the keyhole.

"How?" Duncan asked.

"She has incapacitated someone." Hatsumi said, while pointing towards a person lying on the floor. He looked rather pale.

We quickly moved inside, past the smug feline, and Hatsumi checked the man on the ground. "He is alive, just incapacitated with cold magic. Interesting, Nyx has injected him with something."

Wait, did Nyx have a poisonous bite? She did consume a poison gland from an ice viper some time ago. Had she managed to develop something similar?

Duncan retrieved handcuffs and secured the potential prisoner, who was out cold. I snickered at my joke. Now was not the time.

The lab itself looked fairly similar to the ones we had at the academy. They had two alchemy tables with burners, a large work surface and plenty of shelves filled with ingredients. Something was bubbling inside a cauldron. Nyx must have come from the vent above, and judging by the location of our captive, she had dropped right onto his head.

"I can see the Iron Beak, it is in a metal cage." I said. My undead was not doing anything since it did not have any orders. It just stood inside its cage, obediently.

"There is a staircase in the corner." Connor said, while pointing at it.

"I suppose it is time to check their basement. However, I have already spotted at least one illegal ingredient here." Duncan replied. "We will have to bring in an alchemist to ensure everything is properly taken care of."

"I did have some alchemy, I can at least make sure this potion does not explode." I offered.

"What? Why does everything always explode?" Connor asked.

I ignored him and approached the cauldron. I could not identify what he had been mixing but I could feel some magic inside the liquid. I turned off the heat and carefully sat it aside. It was a fire base, so I added a drop of cold extract which I found on the table. It should ensure the mixture was stable.

Meanwhile the team was ready to move down. This time the door was not locked. Hatsumi took the lead, and opened it.

Inside we found a small mundane storage room. It held typical things for an alchemy shop. Larger ingredients, barrels, glassware for finished products,...

However, there was a person sitting on a chair. He wore some sort of leather armour with a short sword at his belt. He turned towards us with a bored expression, which quickly turned into shock.

"ALAR…" He shouted, while jumping from his chair.

Hatsumi was on him in an instant, her fangs piercing his throat. He immediately went quiet as his body froze. However, the damage was done.

A door in the back burst open and two armed men emerged. They wore chainmail and carried longswords. "Shit." One of them shouted, as they saw us. Instead of attacking, they retreated, closing the door behind them.

"They will try to block the door and escape!" Duncan shouted.

"Nyx." I said. My trusted feline companion grew, then she charged.

The door in the back splintered as an angry cat charged through it. All of us followed. What we found caught me by surprise. It looked like a tavern! There were tables, a bar and several corridors leading deeper into the structure. I spotted five people inside, including the two guards who had fled.

"Oh my, this looks an awful lot like a thieves guild hideout." Duncan stated.

The people inside the room froze, most of them stared at the giant skeletal cat, who was licking her lips. Then a door at the left side of the room opened.

A man entered. He had a hard face, covered in multiple scars. His head was bald, but not from age. It looked clean shaven just like his face. He wore a black rope with red stitching along the sleeves.

"Colonel Duncan…" He said in a deep voice. His eyes were cold as he studied our group. "You have become bold. Do you truly think a student and a handful of undead will be enough?"

"All of you are under arrest." Duncan said, holding up a badge. "Surrender, or we shall have to use force."

The bald man smiled. "Force you say? What a coincidence, I had a similar thought. Especially since we have some guests."

A door at the back of the room opened and a few skeletons entered. Two people in dark robes followed, their faces hidden behind their hoods.

Duncan gave me a sign with his fingers. I used my link to the other cats and Kaito and ordered them to advance. It was time for our backup to move in.

I was not entirely certain what we had walked into. The guards had looked surprised but the bald man seemed confident. Had the Iron Beak been bait? Or was he simply confident in his powers?

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