The cave was so dark, Chinara would probably have turned around and walked straight out again—and not been the only one. But De Cheney raised her staff, and a muted light shone from the purple gem atop it. It revealed the walls of the chamber on both sides. The place was empty of guards, animals, and whatever monsters they had each been imagining lurked in its recesses.

  They walked on, relying on Rosalind’s magic. It was just as well they had it. At the rear of the cavern was a sheer drop into the even darker depths below. The Durnishwoman held out her staff, revealing a wall that offered a near vertical descent down.

  “Oh great,” said Rake. “Climbing.”

  But there was no sense that they were about to give up. Chinara imagined it was her being held captive somewhere down there instead of Clamor. Rittel would have come for her, she was sure. So she had to do the same.

  When they all reached the bottom, De Cheney illuminated the area. They were in an underground cavern that dwarfed the one above.

  “Over there,” said Wynter, pointing.

  At the far end, the cavern narrowed, and became a tunnel. They headed towards it. Small droppings on the floor gave off an unpleasant, acrid smell. Chinara was relieved when they entered the tunnel.

  De Cheney stopped her magic, leaving them in darkness.

  “What are you doing?” Rake hissed.

  “Up ahead. There is light, can you see?”

  It looked like the tunnel ended in a doorway, framed by the light behind it.

  “I see it,” Wynter said. “Let’s take extra care now.”

  De Cheney repeated her magic, but the light she offered was even more muted now. They crept towards the door, weapons in hand. Chinara could feel her heart hammering in her chest, as she gripped her sling tightly. Her gaze was fixed on that door, expecting it to burst open at any moment.

  They reached it without incident. The Harvester positioned himself in front of it, a tactic Chinara could wholeheartedly get behind. She didn’t like the fact that the old bastard ignored her. But at times like this, she was quite happy to have him on her side.

  De Cheney stopped her magic once more, moving to the rear of their little group.

  Vytenis kicked the door. It swung inwards, and the Livanian leapt inside. The others followed, Chinara desperately trying to get a look at what awaited them.

  There were people there, and a fire. Warriors, just like the guards she had taken out at the cavern entrance. Maybe as many as forty of them. She followed Wynter into the room. It was weird. They were all gathered around the fire. Only now did they turn to face the intruders, as if waking from a stupor.

  The Harvester decided against giving them a chance to attack. He found some space, and started swinging.

  ACTION ROUND

  The Harvester swung two-handed with Deliverer, hitting his targets on 7 out of 10 strikes. Every strike was a kill, tipping the balance of the fight a little more favourably to the intruders.

  The Guvnah moved next, rushing the enemy with sword and shield. When he was done, six more lay dead.

  Vixen didn’t need to move, sending her bullets at the Silent Warriors. Cramped inside the room, at close range, they were easy targets. She got two kills from four successful hits.

  Rake followed The Guvnah into the action, fighting with two swords. Chinara knew he’d be disappointed with only four hits. But it was enough for two kills, and a third warrior badly injured.

  Wynter opted against joining the melee, placing herself between the enemy and Vixen and Rosalind behind her. She took a defensive stance.

  It meant they’d killed seventeen in one turn. But twenty full health warriors remained, and went on the attack.

  Just as they did so, Rosalind snuffed out the fire. It went pitch black inside the room. The enemy had no choice but to attack with disadvantage, struggling with their accuracy.

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  Ten of them surrounded The Harvester. Despite Rosalind’s magic, enough of them got hits in to inflict 15 damage. He also lost 3 action points.

  The Guvnah faced five warriors. He defended well, taking only 7 damage.

  Joining the injured warrior facing Rake were three fresh ones. He was knocked down to 17 hit points, and 4 action points.

  The two remaining warriors made up the distance to Wynter. She was hit just the once, for 4 damage.

  As the turn ended, the fire in the centre of the room blazed back into life.

  With Wynter’s opponents a bit too close, Vixen aimed for Rake’s adversaries. Only two hits was poor, but enough to send one of them to Gehenna.

  Fortunately, Rake more than made up for his poor start. With only four actions, he finished his opponents and struck down two of The Guvnah’s.

  The Guvnah was even more deadly, slicing through his three opponents, before launching himself at The Harvester’s. Five of the ten lay dead when he was done.

  Vytenis swung his mighty blade, leaving all but one alive when he was done.

  Wynter tore through her two opponents, fighting equally brutally with shield as sword. She then had enough actions to reach the last remaining warrior, finishing with a sword and shield combination.

  They’d done it. Vixen looked about the room in awe. She’d been in some bloody fights with the Blades, it was true. None more so than their defeat at Dorwich. But here, six had killed thirty-eight. In two rounds of fighting. Maybe there was something to be said for being a Rotten Apple.

  The room stank, and Vixen was relieved to exit via a door opposite the one they had entered. The group found themselves in a large open space, a rocky ceiling about twenty feet above. Around it were rooms just like the one they had left. On the far side, steps led down to another level.

  She took a breath. It was stale and unpleasant, but better than the slaughterhouse they had left. “Did you notice,” she whispered to Wynter, “none of them spoke, or made a noise.”

  Wynter nodded.

  “It was creepy as fuck,” Rake commented.

  The other three were looking into the rooms that faced them.

  “In there,” Alfie said.

  “And that one,” said The Harvester.

  Both rooms were exactly like the one they had left, with fires in their centres, and about forty warriors huddled around them.

  The Harvester took his sword and marched towards one.

  De Cheney dared to put a hand on his arm to stop him. “Wait. They are not moving. They would have come for us by now with the noise of that fight. I think they’ll remain like that so long as we don’t disturb them.”

  “What exactly is going on here?” Chinara demanded of her. “Magic?”

  “Certainly, magic of some kind. These people are under an enchantment. Beyond that, I can’t say. No one has come to challenge us. I think it is safe to explore, but be careful. Go back to the room and fetch the firewood.”

  Vixen shook her head. An underground lair full of spellbound warriors. Exploring it wasn’t exactly what she had in mind.

  She felt Wynter shudder next to her, and gave her a comforting look. As if in response to having revealed some weakness, Blair led them back to the room. As they approached the fire, it died. The only light came from Rosalind’s staff behind them.

  “What is she playing at?” Rake grumbled.

  Wynter grabbed two arms full of wood, and so Vixen and the others did the same. When they returned and dumped it on the ground, Rosalind relit it. It shed enough light for them to explore the rest of the area. The Guvnah picked up a firebrand for good measure.

  “The Harvester and I will head down there,” De Cheney said, indicating the steps that led down to another level.

  “What?” said Rake. “Something wrong with sticking together?”

  Vixen stared at the dark hole De Cheney had proposed to search. She had no intention of going down there. Let the witch and the knight handle that particular task, she told herself. “It’s alright,” she said out loud. “We’ll search this level.”

  “If you need me,” Rosalind said, “just call.”

  They inspected the empty rooms, soon finding a pattern. All of them had dead fires, and signs of occupation.

  “They were all full,” The Guvnah noted. “And not that long ago.”

  “Which means there is an army of these creatures, hundreds strong,” Wynter added. “It makes them the biggest army in this part of Gal’azu now those goblins have gone.”

  “Shit,” said Alfie, as if some great realisation had dawned on him.

  “What?” Wynter demanded.

  “Those goblins were slaughtered in a valley just south of Urlay.”

  “By the army based here,” Chinara finished for him, as she realised what he was getting at.

  “Then who the fuck are they?” asked Wynter. “And where have they gone?”

  They continued the search. Each room they found added another forty to the running total of the army they had discovered.

  “If you need me, just call,” Rake muttered, parroting De Cheney’s last words. “That was a power move and a half.”

  Chinara ignored him. She liked Raimy. But he wouldn’t have been complaining if a man had said it, and so he could fuck right off with that shit.

  “This room looks different,” she said.

  Inside were a desk, beds, tables, and chests. It looked like a mix between a personal space and a workroom of some kind. But it was deserted, with few personal items. Those had been taken, when whoever had lived here had left.

  “The commander’s room, perhaps?” Rake suggested.

  The Guvnah was at one of the tables, wiping a finger across the surface.

  “What?” Chinara asked him.

  “Dried blood.”

  That gave her a whole new perspective, and a pretty unwelcome one. She looked about. What has taken place here? “Maybe this is where those people got enchanted,” she suggested.

  “More than likely,” Wynter agreed. “The people of Urlay ended up here, don’t you think?”

  They waited for De Cheney, sure that she would want to see it for herself. Vixen was relieved to see the light from the woman’s staff appear from the depths, followed by Rosalind and Vytenis. They wore grim looks as they joined them in the room.

  “You go first,” said Wynter.

  “Not much down there. One room is full of corpses. Just dumped inside. I can’t be completely sure, but I think some are from Urlay.”

  “I’ll take your word for it,” said Chinara. “We think the ones who were enchanted were brought here. Maybe if it didn’t work, they were taken below?”

  De Cheney nodded. She moved slowly about the room, stopping regularly to inspect the furniture and any other items that caught her interest. She would make the light from her staff brighter when needed. Everyone else just watched, until she had completed her circuit.

  “You are right. This place has been the home of a sorcerer—a powerful one. He has been active here a long time. The people he enchanted must have been collected over an extended period. Those from Urlay were, I believe, his most recent.

  “The stories of a wight could be about him. Or it could have been a ploy on his part to keep the curious away from the Moors.”

  “Clamor was brought here, wasn’t he?” Alfie asked.

  Chinara glanced at him. She hadn’t realised he had become close with Rittel. He hadn’t been in Gal’azu long. But the emotion in his voice and face was clear.

  “It’s the most logical explanation,” De Cheney admitted. “He went looking for the wight, and found this place. Or was taken here, against his will. If he had been free, he wouldn’t have stayed. What would a powerful sorcerer with ambitions to create a loyal army do with a man like Clamor? He’d have enchanted him, and added him to his army. Perhaps, when Clamor discovered them, they decided to leave.”

  “Makes sense,” said Wynter. “If they’ve only left in the last few days, that could have been the reason. What about those hundred and twenty or so left here?”

  “I don’t know why they were left behind. It would be mere speculation, since we don’t know where they have gone. Though I have my suspicions.”

  “Which you’re willing to share?” Wynter asked her.

  “The Deepwood.”

  “I see. And what can you do with those that remain?”

  Chinara looked over at the warriors in the two rooms, still staring into the flames. She shivered. Please, Wynter, she thought. Let’s not mess with magic any more than we must. Chinara Makinde had few illusions about the life she had chosen. Death was always around the corner. But she didn’t want her final moments to be down in this cursed hollow.

  “I can’t undo the enchantment, if that’s what you mean,” Rosalind answered. “There might be a case for taking one with us and studying them. But I don’t think it’s worth risking another fight like the one we just had.”

  “So we’re leaving ’em?”

  “I think we’ll have to.” De Cheney looked at them all. “Time to leave this place and get back to the surface. Up there we can think clearly and decide what to do next.”

  Chinara still wasn’t sure what to make of Rosalind De Cheney. But at that moment, she was right with her.

  MISSION COMPLETE

  FAILURE: Clamor wasn’t found

  Some of your mercs improved their stats:

  Wynter:

  Skill with shields: proficient

  Rake:

  Grit +1

  Hit Points +1

  No mercs levelled up

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