Chapter 47 Naivety of the plan
Words : 355
Updated : Sep 22nd, 2025
The echoes of battle still rang through the chamber when Lady Maena and her group emerged from the upper tunnel entrance.
Torchlight spilled down as they descended, revealing several bound prisoners being roughly guided by her knights.
Among them was a figure that stood out—a man in elaborate dark robes, his hands bound with special iron shackles marked with glowing runes to suppress magic.
Blood stained Maena's armour, fresh crimson droplets still sliding down the polished steel. Her sword, yet unsheathed, bore testament to the violence that had occurred above. Behind her calm expression lurked something feral—a predator's satisfaction after a successful hunt.
She surveyed the scene below, her eyes immediately drawn to the massive form of the fallen orc and Jolthar standing over it. The young man's transformation was evident—something about him seemed different, darker.
"Impressive," Maena said, her voice carrying across the chamber.
Oteys had underestimated Maena and her unit. He thought after killing the bandits they came across in the forest, she would just leave. He didn't think that she would be thorough with her investigation.
The reason they were still present in the mines was because the vault was guarded by magic, and they were to destroy the machinations guarding the vault. That's why they brought a mage with them, but they didn't have enough time as Maena arrived with her men.
Throughout this revelation, Baroness Cleora maintained an eerily passive expression, her beautiful features carved from marble. But Jolthar noticed something flash behind her amber eyes—satisfaction, perhaps? Or was it merely the torchlight playing tricks?
"Search them all," Maena commanded. Her knights moved quickly, stripping the captured bandits and the robed mage of any remaining weapons or magical items. Each prisoner was thoroughly checked for hidden messages or identifying marks. Several bore tattoos or brands that would help trace their affiliations.
What they found painted a picture of a carefully orchestrated operation. These weren't random bandits but a coordinated force, mixing common thugs with elite mercenaries and at least one trained mage.
Someone had spent considerable resources to put this together.
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