ASHES OF BETRAYAL THE SORCERER'S VENGEANCE

CHAPTER 9

Kael caught them and swung himself up onto the mare's back. The moment he was seated, Marcus kicked his stallion into motion, and they were off at a gallop before Kael could even get his bearings.

They thundered out of the castle grounds and onto the main road heading east. The morning air was cool and crisp, carrying the scent of pine and earth. Under different circumstances, Kael might have enjoyed the ride. 

But Marcus set a punishing pace, and Kael had to focus all his attention on keeping up.

After what felt like an hour but was probably only twenty minutes, Kael finally worked up the courage to shout over the thunder of hoofbeats: 

"Sir! Where are we going?!"

Marcus didn't slow down, but he turned his head slightly so his voice would carry back. 

"The Dungeon of Crystal! About ten miles east!"

"The Dungeon of…why?! What's there?!"

"We got a report last night!"

 Marcus called back.

 "Monster sighting! It's been killing travellers who venture too close! The squad was sent to investigate and eliminate it!"

Kael's heartleaptd. A real monster hunt. This was exactly the kind of mission he'd dreamed about. 

"What kind of monster?!"

"You'll see when we get there! Now stop talking and ride!"

They pressed on in silence after that, the horses eating up the distance with powerful strides. The road gradually narrowed, civilisation falling away as they moved deeper into the wilderness. Trees grew thicker here, their branches forming a canopy overhead that blocked out much of the sunlight. The temperature dropped noticeably.

Finally, Marcus pulled his horse to a stop at the edge of a clearing. Kael drew up beside him, his mare breathing hard, flanks slick with sweat.

"On foot from here." 

Marcus said, dismounting with practised ease.

 "The dungeon entrance is just ahead. Tie up your horse."

Kael did as instructed, securing his mare to a low-hanging branch. His hand drifted to his knife, fingers wrapping around the hilt. The forest was too quiet. No birds sang nor signs of small animals rustled in the underbrush. Just... silence.

Marcus started walking, and Kael followed, his senses on high alert. They pushed through thick vegetation, branches catching at their clothes, until suddenly the forest opened up into another, larger clearing.

And there it was. The Dungeon of Crystal.

It wasn't what Kael had expected. Rather than a proper dungeon with walls and towers, this was a cave mouth set into a rocky hillside. But the entrance was framed by massive crystals that jutted from the earth like frozen lightning, clear as glass and taller than a man.

 They caught the filtered sunlight and threw it back in rainbow refractions that would have been beautiful under any other circumstances.

But Kael couldn't appreciate the beauty. Because scattered across the clearing, leading right up to the cave entrance, were bodies.

At least a dozen of them.

Travellers, by the look of their clothes. Merchants, pilgrims, maybe a few adventurers who'd gotten unlucky. They lay where they'd fallen, their blood soaking into the earth. Some were whole. Others... weren't. Torn apart by something with claws and teeth and immense strength.

Kael felt bile rise in his throat. He'd seen death before, training accidents, a few executions, but never carnage like this. Never this much blood.

"Welcome to your first real mission." 

Marcus said quietly beside him. His voice held no emotion at all.

 "Still excited?"

Kael swallowed hard and nodded. 

"Yes, sir."

"Good. Stay close. Stay alert. And whatever you do, don't run."

 Marcus drew his sword, a beautiful blade that seemed to shimmer with internal fire.

 "Let's go find the others."

They stepped carefully around the bodies, Kael trying not to look too closely at the dead faces, the glassy eyes, the expressions of terror frozen in death. The cave entrance loomed ahead, dark and uninviting. 

The crystals around it seemed to pulse with their own light, creating shifting shadows that made it hard to see what lay within.

Marcus paused at the entrance, listening. Then he stepped inside, and Kael had no choice but to follow.

The transition from bright clearing to dark cave was jarring. Kael's eyes struggled to adjust, seeing only vague shapes in the gloom. The air was colder here, damp and heavy with a smell that made his nose wrinkle, decay and something else, something animal and wrong.

"Sir?" 

Kael whispered. 

"Where's the squad? I don't see…"

"Keep moving." 

Marcus commanded, his voice echoing slightly off the stone walls. 

"They're deeper in."

They walked in single file, Marcus in front with his glowing sword providing the only light. The tunnel was narrow, barely wide enough for them to walk without their shoulders brushing the walls. Crystals jutted from the ceiling and floor, forcing them to duck and step carefully.

The tunnel twisted and turned, descending gradually. Kael lost all sense of direction. How deep were they going? How would they find their way back out?

Then, abruptly, the tunnel opened up into a larger chamber. It was roughly circular, maybe thirty feet across, with a high ceiling studded with more crystals that cast faint, eerie light. 

The floor was smooth stone, worn by centuries of water and footsteps.

And standing on the far side of the chamber, their backs to another tunnel entrance, was the rest of the Elite Squad.

Relief flooded through Kael.

 "Oh, thank the gods. I thought…"