Kim Dokja climbed out of the window, down a long makeshift rope made from his bedsheets and other cloth he scrounged up from around his room, with one end secured to the leg of his bed. He was yet again greeted by the darkness of the night. The garden had become eerily quiet, the only sound being the rustling of some bushes and the distant steps of knights patrolling the castle. Unlike last time he snuck out, he didn't bring Hand Sooyoung or Jung Heewon.
Dokja needed to gather some essential information for the future prosperity of the story, starting with anything he could find out about a certain drug from the novel. Later in the plot a noble family would go on to trick Yoo Mia into ingesting it, ultimately killing her, but little was revealed about how it worked or its exact effects.
Fortunately, his escape using the rock in the garden went much better than the first night, and he quickly made his way out of the castle and into the dark urban streets. Even though it was late at night, there were still a significant amount people walking about. Dokja wrapped his cloak tighter around his person and sped up his walking.
He arrived to a small alleyway between a butcher shop and a blacksmithing store. Dokja immediately entered it and went through the first door he saw, seeing light seeping from between it's cracks. Once in the building, his eyes had to take a second to adjust to the light, but the sight that greeted him was a sparsely filled tavern. The interior was deteriorated slightly, with all the customers either drinking by themselves or passed out on the floor.
Sitting down at the bar with his face and body still concealed by his cloak, Dokja waved to get the bartender's attention.
"Good evenin' dear customer, what I can get for ya'!" the older bartender asked jovially.
"…Omniscient,"
The bartender's eyes turned stone cold within the second. After taking a look around the room for a second, he hunched over the bar, bracing his elbows on it.
"What do you need from me, sir?"
Kim Dokja had frequented this bar often, though rather than drinking he'd used it as a base for his info gatherers, though he'd made a point to always conceal his face and identity from them.
"The White Kill drugs, tell me everything you know about them." The bartender's eyes widened in alarm.
"H-How do you know of those sir…!"
The White Kill drugs were exclusively sold on the black market. While the general populace and the empire are unaware of these medications, there were still a select few aristocrats who are already familiar with them. In small doses, the drugs were actually used for medicinal purposes, but nobles had started abusing them for their own purposes.
Dokja leaned in closer to the man and spoke coldly, "It's not your business to how or where I attain my knowledge from. Just tell me what you know and we'll both be on our way."
His body tensed with anxiety and his lips trembling, the bartender whispered, " When ingested, the drug makes you obey the person you first see after take it. It's often used by nobles to coerce strangers to bed with them of their own will."
"Hmmm, does it have the same effects of an aphrodisiac? Are there any other side effects?"
The older man hummed thoughtfully as contemplating the question, then abruptly snapped his finger.
"No, it doesn't act as an aphrodisiac, but after the drug wears off the target will forget everything they had said or done while under it's effects."
"But the target will still remember the person that drugged them, correct?"
"Yes… though it's useless if the target has no idea they'd been drugged in the first place."
Nodding his head at the bartender, Dokja fixed my cloak and stood from his seat.
"Thank you for the information as always," he said, putting down a bag of gold coins on the bar top, "Expect to see me again."
"Pleasure workin' with ya' as always, Salvation"
Dokja wordlessly stepped out the door and took a deep breath of fresh air. Having no more business to take care of in the town, Dokja decided it'd be best to return back to his home. But the walk back was long, and when he'd brought coins he'd failed to bring enough to afford a carriage ride after paying off the bartender.
After pondering about it for a bit, he decided to take a short cut through the forest. It's not like he was afraid of spirits haunting it or anything. The woodland was gloomy when he arrived; the only illumination came from the soft moonlight. Moving hurriedly through the forest to get home before someone noticed his absence, Dokja paused when he noticed a rustling in the plants. He turned to look at the rustling plant, not daring to move an inch of his body.
When the plant's rustling stopped, he held my breath. Suddenly, something leaped out of the plant toward him. he flinched backwards and put his arms up in defense, letting out a frightened squeak. When nothing happened, Dokja slowly peaked out from behind his arms.
What greeted him was a rather strange creature. It looked like a dense ball of whit fluff. Looking closer he could see little nubs on its body, and assumed they were probably the creature's limbs. It had big eyes, but no nose, and a horn that is ivory in color.
Dokja moved back even more when it abruptly began to float towards him, not even aware of the man's wide-eyed horror. They both stared at each other for a moment before Dokja raised his hand up to lightly pet it.
"Ba-at!" the little creature exclaimed cutely. Caught off guard by it's friendliness, Dokja smiled hesitantly at the little puffball.
"Hello..."
She simply exclaimed "BAAHT!" and drew nearer to him, inviting a hug. She was soft, unlike any creature he'd had ever seen. Wracking his head Dokja couldn't think of anytime a monster like this appeared in the novel.
He questioned it, "Do you understand me?"
"BAAHT!" it exclaimed again.
"Do you have a name?"
"B-Baaht?" it said with puzzled eyes.
Dokja grinned and looked at her. "Hmm… well then, Biyoo it is! Do you like that?" She started bouncing up and down energetically, Dokja could only assume she was trying to nod.
"BAAHT!"
Wrapping her in his arms, he started fawning over her.
"Ahh, my cute Biyoo!"
Just as he'd let his guard down again, another rustling sound came from nearby. Biyoo, alarmed, pushed herself away from Dokja as he was letting her go.
"Baaht!" she yelled, and flew away deeper into the forest cover. Despite his confusion, Dokja followed her. The two of them ducked behind a large fallen tree. Glancing around for any more dangerous monsters, he ducked down and covered his mouth, holding Biyoo close.
A horse's clomping footsteps could be heard from the distance. They approached the hiding spot at a constant pace. As the moments passed by the forest became foggy out of nowhere, the fog purple in hue. Dokja's shoulders tensed as the footsteps passed right in front of his hiding spot. Peaking out from behind the tree, he could see a knight, or at least a figure dressed as on, riding on the horse. The figure lacked a head and clutched a skull in its arms, whether it was its own or not, Dokja had no idea. A purple smoke encircled its body. Dokja ducked back down behind the tree, not running to risk being spotted. It was probably best just to wait for it to pass by.
Thankfully, whatever it was passed by quickly, with the two figures emerging from the tree when they couldn't here the horse's footfalls anymore. Dokja breathed a sigh of relief as he got up, while Biyoo floated up to his side. He turned to her.
"Biyoo, do you know how to get out of the forest?" I urged her, wanting to go right away before the knight returned.
"Baaht" she mumbled, and drifted off. Dokja kept pace with her and looked out for any other threats. If only all the things living here were as cute as Biyoo. They soon made it out of the forest, and Dokja was able to spot the lights of his manor from the forest's edge.
"Thanks for the help, Biyoo!"
"Baaht!"
"Would you like to accompany me?" he asked, but she shook her head. Giving her one last pat on the head, he gave his farewells, "Okay, but be careful, okay?"
"Baaht!" she yelled and flew into the forest. Staring at her until she disappeared, Dokja turned away from the woodlands, and began to walking back home.
Until we cross paths again, Biyoo.