They entered, and this was the first time I had seen the chamber so silent. It was unnerving—it was a place of constant movement and dejected stares.
"There won’t be work here for a few days. I don’t know how the Nyxori pulled it off, but the Steelclaw Alliance allowed it," Taiwo said calmly when she noticed my look.
I nodded. ’At least it’ll provide the workers with some rest. Maybe’
"You. You’re Vale, right?"
The voice jarred me from my thoughts. I looked up to see Emily staring at me expectantly. I nodded.
"You’ll stay close to me at the front. You, woman... Taiwo, go to the middle but keep your eyes on me for any instructions. Where’s the last Squire? Go to the back."
Similarly, the other teams were doing the same. The captains waited patiently for them. Once the arrangements were complete, they threw up enchanted globes that lit up the surroundings.
We followed the well-worn stone floor and made our way deep into the tunnel. We passed the last-used wing tunnel and began descending even deeper into the darkness.
The air shifted from fresh to stale, and the smell of old stones and dirt grew heavy. To keep myself busy, I thought about our team leader, Emily, and wondered how strong she was compared to me or the assassins who had ambushed me.
’I was able to defeat her with a surprise attack, and I’m sure she didn’t use her strongest technique. What will happen if we fight with a good measure of each other’s strength?’
’And how will an Alchemist Knight be different?’ I mused to myself.
I glanced around. The teams were silent, and even with the potions boosting their confidence, I could see the tension in the way they looked around and gripped their weapons and pickaxes.
’If Kade were here, I’m sure he’d be breaking the tension by talking about random things. I wonder if he’s dead... Wait... or did he run away? No, that guy’s not the type. He’s like the typical person in the Borderlands who has power, they always want more. Yes, that might lead him to...’
I sighed internally. ’To think the Athrimir... no, my father or stepbrother, would go as far as to kidnap someone they thought was close to me. I should really exclude my father in this case because it doesn’t suit him’
’This is what’s been baffling me about it. If my father wanted me dead, why go to all the trouble to send me here first? To satisfy Cleir? I doubt it; he doesn’t care about her feelings. So, if it’s not my father, then it can only be Thrain, my stepbrother’
’But Thrain can’t really act without my father’s permission... Or maybe one of the elders or chiefs is helping him?’
Just then, a hiss reverberated through the tunnel, yanking me out of my thoughts. I looked up and slowed with the others.
In front of the captains, darkness pooled together into a disjointed mass that solidified into imps, their fangs flashing as they clung to each other.
I wanted to see how they would handle the imps, but the captains didn’t slow down. A ripple of power spread from them and blasted forward.
The wave of imps recoiled, pulling back like a tide, and quickly disappeared into the ground. Kren and Arvas marched on as if nothing had happened.
’That was only essence pressure!* I thought, stunned. *But it’s so powerful even I can feel the potency from here. If they were to direct that at me...’
I shuddered. That was something I didn’t want to think about.
No monsters crossed our path after that for a long time. The imps were too low in rank to stand up against Errant Knights, not even if they formed into a wave.
Eventually, the captains slowed.
"We will take a break," Kren called, his voice echoing.
We stopped, and the workers sat down immediately.
"I’m tired," Slya grumbled from her place on the ground. "It’s been a while since I’ve walked that far and hard without stopping."
We had been walking for close to three hours, and I finally understood why the workers the Nyxori allowed to follow all looked healthy.
Tiber glanced at me, who remained standing. "You look as if you’d rather run instead. I’m jealous."
I shrugged, it was true. I didn’t feel tired. None of the Squires did; we were all standing and keeping watch.
"Do you know when we’ll reach the ruin?"
Tiber snorted. "No. The original team who came here was led personally by the Steelclaw Flagbearer. This is a valuable asset, you know. The original teams are all in the deeper layers, all very powerful, so I doubt there’s anyone here who actually knows the way to the ruin behind the ruin. Except for them, of course."
I turned to look at the two captains whispering quietly to each other. ’They really should have brought even a single team from those that came earlier. But what do I know? This is my first ruin exploration!’
After a brief rest, we stood up again and went deeper still. We passed destroyed lairs from the previous operation and saw broken buildings. The imps in the tunnel didn’t want to engage, so there was little disturbance.
I felt their eyes on me but noticed they made no move.
Four hours later, we finally crossed the mine ruin and entered the territory of the new one. There wasn’t any physical sign at first, but once we passed it, everyone knew. It was as if we had crossed an invisible line.
Danger tingled down my spine, and I stiffened with the rest. Gradually, the walls shifted color and turned white, white stones that glowed in the dark.
Then we reached the end of the tunnel and stepped onto a new ground of shifting black sands. The sky above was heavy with darkness, and a small red light shone overhead like an eye watching us.
Arvas’s voice came from the front. "We’re here. We’ll make for that door. Stay close to each other!"