Chapter 104: Abduction


    Abel stepped out of his villa, the quiet night air cooling his face as he made his way towards Fourth Street. Hours had passed since Vander’s visit, and his thoughts swirled as he aimed to clear his head with a walk. Reinhart was peaceful at night, though recently there had been murmurs of strange disappearances after sundown, even the reports Jet gave him mentioned so—particularly on Fourth Street a small street between Fifth and Third. Abel figured it was as good a time as any to investigate, or at least access the situation and general vibe of the environment.


    As he walked down the cobblestone road, the town was eerily silent. He wore his hood, which made him almost unrecognizable. The occasional hoot of an owl echoed in the distance, and the dim street lanterns cast long shadows against the stone buildings. He passed a few homes, their windows dark as their inhabitants slept soundly inside. The air felt thick with a kind of tension, something lurking just beneath the surface of the ordinary town.


    Suddenly, a hooded figure appeared, turning from Chestnut Street and walking down Fourth Street toward him. Abel noted the figure''s movements—their steps deliberate and cautious. There was a strange familiarity to this person''s walk. As they passed one another, Abel’s senses tingled. Magic. He could sense traces of it emanating from the person. It felt faint yet real.


    The figure stopped abruptly, and so did Abel, turning slightly to observe him. It was obvious now that the figure had intentions. Abel smirked inwardly. Mundanes with magical artifacts always thought they were untouchable. The gap in power between a mere human with an artifact and an Apostle was laughable, and Abel was well aware of his superiority.


    The figure turned slowly, raising a masked face that revealed almost nothing at this time of night, and proceeded to pull out a chained watch from his cloak. The man began to swing the watch side to side, murmuring a strange ritual under his breath, it sounded foreign with each word causing the watch to vibrate intensely. The watch glew with a faint pinkish light as it moved side to side like a pendulum. Abel felt a wave of energy brush over him—it was weak but designed to control minds or at least perspective. If he was a mundane, this attack, might’ve had some affect, but on him, this was children''s play, especially compared to the holy nectar of the illusory world that entrapped his mind and body when he was in the expedition.


    Abel decided to play along.


    Feigning the effects of mind control, he let his body slacken slightly, his expression dulling. The man chuckled triumphantly, believing his trick had worked. He took a good look at Abel’s face which was lightly obscured by the hood he wore to confirm he was trully under control. He approached Abel and commanded him to follow. Abel obliged, allowing himself to be led further into the town, feeling amused at how gullible the man was and how much faith he placed in his simple artifact.


    The streets were deserted, making their journey swift. Abel noted the fact that there simply weren''t enough patrolling officers around, something he would have to ask Burt about. The figure led Abel to the same house he had noticed earlier—the one connected to the man he had followed from the bar. Abel’s curiosity piqued as the man tied his arms with a rope and blindfolded him. Of course, the bindings were paper-thin to Abel’s Apostolic strength, but he remained docile, listening carefully for any useful information.


    Another voice greeted the man, clearly a second individual involved in whatever plot was unfolding.


    "Got another one, huh?" the second man asked, his voice hoarse and filled with glee.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    "Yeah big bro," the man with the watch replied. "This one''s clean. He was easy. We’ll have enough for the ritual soon."


    They spoke openly, thinking Abel was under their full control.


    "The new night bazaar will be glorious," the younger brother boasted, clearly excited. "With the materials we gather, we’ll create an artifact that''ll make us rich after we sell it at the next meeting. Maybe even the one most wealthy in Reinhart!"


    "Yeah, with the ritual we bought from the last bazaar and the right sacrifices, we''ll enchant the weapon and be unstoppable."


    The mention of enchantment caught Abel’s attention. There was something deeper going on here. This wasn’t just petty crime—it was connected to the night bazaar which was another name for the black market that Jet had mentioned, and these men were trying to craft powerful magical items to sell. This Idea peaked his interest due to the knowledge book he used to possess back in the tower. This could be something that helps him learn more of these so called enchantments.


    "Throw him in the room with the others," the second man ordered.


    Abel was guided into a room and shoved inside, the door closing behind him with a loud thud. His acute hearing picked up whimpering and cries. There were others in the room, no doubt ordinary townsfolk caught up in this grim scheme. The air smelled of sweat, dirt, and fear, heavy and oppressive.


    Despite the grim situation, Abel remained calm. He had the power to end this whenever he wanted, but now wasn’t the time. Acting too quickly would expose his presence, and he wasn’t ready to show his hand. The greater goal was information—he needed to understand who these men worked for, how the night bazaar operated, and who else was involved.


    He could feel the fear in the room around him, the despair of those trapped, and it kindled a small flame of anger inside him. But Abel had always been patient. He knew that rushing in would jeopardize everything. So, he sat silently, his mind carefully processing every sound and word spoken by the men outside.


    "They said the ritual circle needs to be painted with their blood," one man said. "Then we carve the symbols on their bones. Ten buckets of blood from them, and we’ll have enough for the enchantment."


    "The last bazaar didn’t have anything this good, Cant believe this was real, ontop of the fact that we were also able to buy the watch, we might become powerful figues in reinhart soon enough" the other man replied. "We really hit the jackpot with this one bro."


    Abel’s ears perked up as he listened intently. The ritual was a means of creating magical weapons—clearly, these two brothers were trying to move up in Reinhart’s growing underworld, hoping to capitalize on the town’s increasing hunger for magical artifacts.


    Though Abel had no desire to play hero, the thought of these two bumbling criminals killing many innocent lives and amassing enough power to disrupt the town’s balance was concerning. His goal wasn’t to save the captives in this room—not directly, at least. But he needed to stop the brothers before they succeeded in creating a powerful artifact that could throw the entire town into chaos.


    As the men outside continued talking, Abel’s mind worked quickly. He needed more details, more names. The brothers were clearly small-time criminals, but someone had sold them the ritual and the crafting technique—someone with deeper connections to the magical black market. If Abel could trace this back to the source, he could learn more about how the underworld in Reinhart functioned.


    His lips curled into a faint smile. He had stumbled upon far more than he had expected tonight. His decision to follow that man on Fourth Street had paid off, and now he had the chance to uncover secrets that could aid him in his mission.


    For now, though, he would wait. Let the night unfold. Let the brothers think they were in control. Abel was always focused on the bigger picture—his own growth and his family’s well-being. Everything else was secondary.


    The cries of the prisoners softened in the background as Abel’s thoughts deepened. He had always despised injustice, but life had taught him that patience was the key to mastering both power and survival. Acting on impulse never ended well, he told himself thinking back at Lorne who had a hero''s heart but ultimately met his demise by FiendFinger. And tonight, patience would reward him with the answers he sought.