heavily armed men surveyed the palisade, the entrance to the settlement and the gates, while members of the Azure Guard unceremoniously searched the dilapidated huts. Darius was almost certain that they would find a lot, probably far too much, that should never have been there.
‘What are they doing...? They're not one of ours!’, one of the ragged men protested, for which he was almost immediately struck on the head by the burly commander.
‘Forgive us, sir... He doesn't know what he's saying.’ The senior private seemed to sober up before their eyes, or perhaps fear and adrenaline had won out over alcohol. Regardless, the man began to speak more coherently.
Neither Darius nor Rex commented, completely ignoring the soldiers and focusing on the ongoing searches. Mostly bottles, both full and empty, flew out of the cottages. In addition to them, there were a few personal items, some rather exotic goods that should not have been there, and too much gold. A Guardsman emerged from one of the huts holding a small box and hurried towards the colonel. Bleist could not see his subordinate's face, but his frantic movements spoke volumes. Certainly nothing good.
‘Colonel.’ The Guard stopped next to Bellator and handed Darius the box with slight distaste. ‘I found this in the cottage where those two were staying.’ He pointed to the soldiers without uniforms, staggering on their feet and rolling their blind eyes around.
Darius cautiously looked inside the box and immediately understood his subordinate's disgust. Inside were three vials - two full and one significantly emptied. Inside the containers, a thick, green-purple liquid with black specks sloshed unpleasantly. Even though he did not move the box, the liquid seemed to mix on its own. Bleist did not need advanced alchemical knowledge or complicated research to know what he was dealing with, and it was not the first time. Aphalis, sometimes called the Devil's Embrace, was a drug with a very strong intoxicating effect and an even stronger addictive effect. Even in small amounts, it caused agitation, colourful hallucinations and a disconnect from external stimuli, and withdrawal
