The caves yawned open before the group. There were only half of them left after all the battles they fought since coming from the city.
A few of them were left outside to rest and tend to their wounds while three guards, including Feroy and the hunter Phillips, followed Kai and Killian.
Standing before the cave, Kai looked at the darkness that escaped from it. It seemed to swallow all the light from outside.
Giving a nod to the others, he took the lead and walked cautiously.
Right when they stepped inside the cave, their footsteps echoed softly against the cold stone floor. The dim light that came from the opening of the cave cast shadows on the cave walls.
They walked inside, slowly but steadily.
"It's so dark, we can't see anything beyond this point," one of the guards said.
"Take out the torches," Killian ordered and one of the guards held a torch in his hand and passed it to him.
As soon as the area lit up, they were met with skeleton remains of what looked like rabbits. Kai guessed the necromancer might have killed them to eat.
The empty sockets of the rabbits caught his eye, seeming to stare accusingly at the intruders.
Killian grimaced seeing the skeletons. His grip tightened on the hilt of his sword. "Looks like our necromancer friend had a taste for rabbit stew," he muttered, his voice barely above a whisper.
Kai nodded in agreement and ignored the remains.
He started moving forward. The torchlight showed the narrow passages before them.
The cave seemed like it had been used frequently. The smell— it was extremely similar to what the necromancer smelled like. Clotted blood, and a mix of wet mud.
As they ventured forward, the cave seemed empty. Apart from a few animal bones here and there, the rest was vacant. The further ahead they moved, the air seemed to get chilly.
Kai continued to move the torch and check if there were any signs of the lost people. Or other belongings.
He found nothing.
Finally, they reached the end of the cavern, only to find a dead end.
It was a small room with a mat laid out on the side that the necromancer must have used to sleep. There were a few boxes around and a table. He could also see cauldrons and pots that he might have used to make food and potions.
Opening up the boxes, the guards found nothing other than a few books and there were no signs of any prisoners.
Kai furrowed his brow in frustration. His mind raced as his eyes raked around, taking note of every corner of the cave.
"There must be something we're missing," he murmured. His voice tinged with uncertainty.
"Do you think he killed off the prisoners and made them undead?" Killian asked, looking through the books the guards had taken out.
"Maybe, but we can't be sure. We should still find their clothes or any belongings if he killed and made them undead," he said, feeling like he was missing something. "Phillips, how big are the caves?"
"I have never stepped foot inside, so it's hard to say, but they are long and interconnected with each other. The hunters that have entered here said there are several rooms inside where bears and other monsters used to live. The necromancer probably killed them off or they left for the dungeon during winter."
He nodded, taking another look at the walls and deciding to check more. Turning to the guards, Kai issued a command.
"Search the area," he instructed, his tone firm and authoritative. "Look for any signs of a hidden passage or a concealed doorway. There has to be a way forward."
The guards immediately went searching, searching the walls and the floor.
Their hands placed on the solid rock, each pressing the cave harder trying to find something.
Both Kai and Killian started searching the surroundings themselves, looking over the boxes and under the mat.
Finding nothing, his fingers started tracing the wall, attempting to scour every inch for any indication of a secret entrance.
Minutes stretched like that and suddenly, Feroy groaned.
"I think I feel something," he said, taking everyone's attention. "There's a crack on the wall here!"
Turning to look at him, Kai saw his hands pressed on the wall on the side. He had his eyes squinted, trying to look at the other side.
Looking closely, Feroy discovered a small indentation, similar to the rest of the wall and the shimmer was visible.
He pressed his hand on it.
With a low rumble, the wall slid aside, revealing a passage that had remained hidden from the view.
"Wow!" Feroy gulped, looking back to the rest.
Kai patted his shoulders, "Good job."
He looked back and others and gestured to them to follow him before taking the lead, using the torch to make sure there weren't any traps around.
The rest of them silently followed Kai.
The whole passage seemed to lead to another small room and it didn't take them a long time to get to the end of it. Unlike the last room, this one was spacious and had torches put on the walls.
As they entered, they saw people inside the room. Their footsteps seemed to make them aware and noticing that it wasn't the necromancer, a few of them groaned.
"Please save u-us!" one of them said aloud. It was an old woman whose voice was weary and shaky.
The sight sent a shiver down Kai's spine. There were at least six people in the room who were tied with metallic, rusted chains around their bodies.
"Don't get closer to them yet," Kai ordered, looking at the guards. "Phillips."
Phillips walked forward from behind and looked at the small group of people.
"Do you recognize your friend here?" he asked, still eyeing the people who had bruises on their faces and were squirming for someone to save them.
Phillips eyed the prisoners before his eyes widened. "Zanma! There he is, Lord Arzan… These four are from our village too," he said, pointing to four more people. "They were the ones who were reported as missing, and for the others… I don't know, I have no idea." Philip pointed at a few people in the back before his eyes stared back at Zanma who was lying on the floor.
Kai nodded. He took a good look at the son of the old woman from the village. He crouched, eyeing him carefully.
Kai noticed how the skin on his face was peeling. Apart from it, parts of his face were blackening, and so was his neck. It resembled a fading injury, but he was corrupted.
The people who sat behind Zanma started to break into sobs as they saw the guards, probably thinking that help was finally here. He gave a quick over and saw similar injuries on their faces.
"Thank you," one of them said, tears welling up in his eyes.
Kai just nodded and inspected them.
This time, the corruption was different. It wasn't similar to Palman who had come in contact with dead mana and turned into a weaver.
The signs were completely different and he had seen it before.
Their skin was peeling and cracking from the corruption that the necromancer had inserted in them. He had been giving them small dosages and probably trying to see how they react to it without letting it turn them into weavers.
They have been experimented on and tortured!
He looked in between the individuals. They were all the same. The smell of dead mana in the air proved his point. He could still heal them if he regained his mana, but they were going to suffer from after-effects for a long time.
"T-there…" Zanma said and twisted his head to look behind.
Kai looked where he pointed and saw people sprawled on the floor. A guard walked to take a look and turned to face him with a frown.
"They are dead," he said.
"Take a look around and help free the ones that are still alive," he ordered. The smell was getting stronger with every breath he took and he didn't want to stay in the room for long.
"Will they be able to heal?" Killian asked, looking at Zanma.
"I will be able to help them once I recover my mana," Kai said and stood up. "Just hold on for a little longer." He stared at the old woman.
The guards worked to break the chains. They were just metallic chains and were easy to break with a sword. Once they were free, all of them thanked Kai and the guards.
"Take them outside."
The guards obeyed his commands and started carrying the people one after another outside.
Kai took one last look around the room and halted as he saw a woman who was on the floor, lying.
He first thought she was dead too, but her hands were twitching and she was reacting to the noises the guards were making.
He bent on one knee and looked at her.
There were bruises on her arms and she seemed to have been badly beaten. Her skin was pale, but it was not peeling like the others. There were no traces of dead mana on her face and neck.
There were darkened areas on the faces of other people which showed corruption, though in this woman, the only signs were bruises. She just seemed to be not cared for and malnourished.
Kai took a good look at her appearance.
Her hair was white, but she didn't seem older than 20. She was extremely thin and was wearing a cloth that barely covered her and through her fluttering eyes, he saw a golden iris that he had never seen before.
Around her eyes, eye bags were prominent. She was partially conscious, shaking. Her lips were crusty due to the lack of water given to her.
This is just strange.
If she was in the same room as the rest of them, for weeks— or even more? How come she showed not even a single strand of corruption?
Kai's eyebrows knitted and lips pursed.
Even if she avoided the corruption somehow, why hadn't the necromancer experimented on her?
"Phillip, come here," Kai said loudly.
His voice echoed through the walls.
Soon, the man came running. He was helping the guards to carry the people outside. Few could walk even with their limp form while others needed to be carried on a stretcher.
"Do you know her?" Kai asked.
Phillip shook his head immediately.
"I've never seen her around the village."
Kai's frown deepened. "Are you sure?"
"Yes, Lord Arzan. I grew up in the village, and the community is tight. So, she… is not from our village or the neighbouring ones. If she was, I would know since white hair isn't common around these parts." he said.
"Okay, hand me the water," Kai motioned to the small bag of belongings Phillips had.
Kai retrieved the flask of water, its contents sloshing softly within.
Gently, he lifted the woman's head, carefully tilting the flask to allow a trickle of water to flow into her parched lips. She stirred slightly, the cool liquid pouring from the sides of her lips.
Her eyes fluttered more. She finally looked at Kai clearly and opened her mouth to say something. Nothing came out.
"It's okay, drink this," Kai said and poured some more.
The woman slowly sipped from the flask.
Once satisfied that she had enough to drink, Kai looked at Phillips. "Help me," he instructed.
Together, they lifted the woman's limp form, cradling her gently in their arms. As she was unconscious, they had to carry her outside.
***
As soon as they stepped outside into the forest, they were hit with the chilly wind.
Kai had ordered them to move out after making sure that there was no one left behind in the cave. It wouldn't have been safe for them to stay inside the cave, even though the necromancer wasn't alive anymore.
They'd also made sure to take all the belongings from the necromancer and carry them with them.
It was already night and he didn't want to stay around the caves. Although they might be able to camp, he wanted the prisoners to get good rest.
So, after a brief talk, they'd decided to head back. Since it wasn't possible to carry all the dead bodies back with them, he'd laid them on the ground and ordered Killian to bring them back with the carriage tomorrow.
Now, with the prisoners, they started to walk back. Kai's eyes roamed around the forest, taking in the evening beauty of the forest.
He and Killian walked in the front alongside Phillips who led them all. The guards were in the back with the prisoners who were barely keeping up with them, but unlike before, they had hope in their eyes that they would be fine.
A few of the guards limped due to injuries in their legs and due to that, the hike went on at a slower pace.
"Also, Lord Arzan," Killian whispered as they left the premises of the clearing. "When we reach back, I'll see if the necromancer had any bounties on him. Since he had such a strong army, he must have a presence elsewhere too."
Kai nodded once again. "Yeah, you might be right. Let me know whatever it is that you find."
The silence approached them as they continued to walk through the trees. The moon was already up in the night sky and everyone kept an eye around for any monsters that might be roaming.
Kai continued to look around for the same before his eyes landed on something.
Wait, are those-
"Stop, everyone!" Kai's loud voice halted Killian on his feet. The guards followed his action and looked at Kai. "Do you see those herbs? The ones with the four leaves and yellow stem? Pick as much as you can to take back," he said and pointed to the floor.
The big trees were already withered due to the coldness, but on the floor, along with the herbs he showed, there were a few other plants that seemed to absorb all the nutrients on the ground and grow themselves despite the weather.
Without wasting another second, the two guards immediately got to work.
"Uh, those seem pretty useless to me. They're everywhere, is it necessary?" Killian asked, looking at Kai curiously.
"Yes, it's necessary. Just do as I say," Kai said and looked at the guards.
Killian didn't object to that, fully knowing that he always had his reasons to do something. After the battle with the necromancer and the goblins, he seemed to look at Kai with a different glint in his eyes.
Soon, the guards cleared the herbs in the area and stuffed them up in their carriers.
"We should reach the village in an hour," Phillips said, keeping up the pace.
All of them kept walking, taking short breaks from time to time to check up on the prisoners. They were exhausted from the battle, but with Hagmons Keep so close by, they managed to keep up.
Finally, after hours, Killian saw light coming from a distance, "I see the village!"
-
read ahead: https://www.p*treon.com/extra26