Eldion returned his gaze to the man who was tied to the large wooden apparatus in the middle of the cavern. There was blood streaming down a cut from the man’s left eyebrow. His body was tied against the apparatus while his arms hung limply from the thick beam where his hands were secured with thick rope. The man’s chin was resting on his chest that moved with his labored breathing. Eldion could only place the man’s face at the ancient temple in Alanca when he attacked and was able to subdue Verna, but he could not remember him before that. No other memory was triggered upon seeing the man in front of him. Eldion knew who the man was, Mira had told him who he was. Mira told him how that man placed magic-imbued slugs on his temples and how Eldion screamed in pain as the psylugs did something to him. Yet, Eldion had no memory of it all. Everyone around him was probably thinking that he should feel anger or hatred against the man, but instead of feeling animosity at the man who was respo

Remuel led Casser out of the cavern and they walked through the narrow tunnels until Remuel came to a closed door. He fished a set of keys in his pocket and unlocked the door. Then, he took a torch from the recess on the wall and entered the cavern with Casser.What Casser saw inside the small storage room made his jaw drop. There were amulets hanging on the walls and artifacts of different shapes and sizes were placed on open shelves. Remuel lit a torch inside the room before placing the one he held on an empty socket on the wall.“Hey, Casser! Close your mouth before the flies could enter.” Remuel chuckled. “I did not really intend to show you this room, but I need your help to select the right pieces for that experiment the keeper talked about.”Casser looked around him at all the glittering objects that sparkled even more with the torches’ flickering light. He then approached the amulets that were hanging from a wooden peg that

Lankko stepped inside the room and found a small space lit by the two torches installed on the walls. There was a large table in the middle of the room along with a couple of chairs. There was a recess on the far wall next to a stack of firewood. Lankko saw that it was a fireplace yet to be lit. Nearby there was also a large jug that Lankko guessed contained drinking water. There was a small wooden bed at one side, but it was bare and looked hard and uncomfortable.Suddenly, the door swung shut behind Lankko and he heard the lock being turned. He found himself imprisoned inside the room and thoughts began to race inside his head on what he was going to do when a small window on the door opened and Remuel peered in.“I hope you like your new accommodations, Lankko. I reserve this room only for my most important guests.” Remuel said with a raised eyebrow. “I have two of my men stationed outside your door. You’ve met them already when they got bett

Wen knew it was morning when she woke up in the darkness. She was in a small cavern assigned to her by Remuel where she slept with the other women outlaws. She sat up and saw the silhouette of the other women who had risen to get ready for their work on that day. The movements around her and the scuffles of feet had roused Wen from her sleep.As the lamps were lit inside the cavern, it became clearer to Wen that some of the beds were already empty. Some of the women had risen earlier, probably to start with their own chores. It was always busy in the tunnels. There was always a flurry of activity which only slowed gradually as it became night and people settled in their beds.The previous night, Wen instructed Mira on how to clean Enzir’s wounds. Mira knew well how to do it, having done it many times before, but the nature of Enzir’s wounds were different. Wen had to make sure that the thousands of small cuts that Enzir had endured from the scourge were pro

Casser stopped snoring and opened an eye, looking around the sleeping cavern for anyone who might have stayed behind. Finding no one, he rose from his bed and stretched his arms, all the while on the lookout if he missed anyone who could still be there in the room with him. Satisfied that he was alone, Casser reached under his shirt and brought out a small bunch of brown feathers. He picked one and returned the others from where he got them. He smoothened the brown feather and even blew at it.“Is it possible?” Casser asked no one. Then, he approached a torch at the wall while gently brushing his chest with the feather. Upon reaching the torch, he raised the feather and placed it near the flame. He waited a while and then saw a change in the brown feather.“I never could have guessed!” said Casser as he looked at the feather in his hand. Heated by the flame, the feather started to have a fluorescent quality that was even more pronounced at the t