Chapter 335 Into Darkness (1/2)
”Are you certain you want to do this?” Captain Kaleesh looked at Arran with troubled eyes, but he did not reject the idea out of hand
Before Arran could answer, Lasha turned to the captain ”You actually plan to let hih with this idiot plan?! Are you mad?!”
”It's not that I want this,” the captain replied ”But right now, our options are few If Arran wishes to go…” He did not finish the sentence, though he cast another troubled look at Arran
”Other than the captain, I' us,” Arran said ”And byeven if the creatures are still around But with a larger group, we'll wake every single thing that's lurking down there”
It was all true, of course A single scout's chances would have a better chance of success than a large group, and of all the mercenaries, Arran was thehis strength
Yet eager though he was to shorten their stay at the estion
Rather, what drew hiht who'd been sent into the h centuries had passed since then, Arran did not think anyone had claiht would certainly not risk it, and if a Lord had gone there, the mines would have been cleared of ht's treasures should still be there, ripe for the taking
At the very least, there should be a Living Shadoeapon and starreed, but what interested hiht's other treasures — if there were any
He still knew far less about Knights than he would have liked, and studying a fallen Knight's possessionsuseful For an opportunity like that, he would gladly brave whatever the ht hold
Captain Kaleesh faced Arran, his expression serious ”If you make the offer of your oill, I shall not refuse it But first, you should spend a week or two resting and preparing”
Arran shook his head ”I'll leave today There's no point in delaying The sooner this is over with, the better”
”Today?” Lasha er for death that you can't wait even a week? If you're going to gamble with your life, at least take the ti,” Arran replied ”And what's there to prepare? I only need a good sword and a bag of supplies, and I already have one of those”
”Then we'll take care of the other,” Captain Kaleesh said He frowned, then added, ”But perhaps some armor would be helpful, as well? Maybe a second weapon?”
Again, Arran shook his head ”Best to travel as light as I can And armor will be too noisy All I need is food and water for a week or two”
Of course, his void ring held enough supplies to sustain hi he could not adave hi to do
Barely an hour later, Arran stood at the entrance of theover his shoulder and the captain and other coht the overseer, too, along with roughly a dozen of his subordinates
”Again,” the tall man said, ”this is a terrible idea The lower levels of the mines are like a vast ers there”
He put a heavy eh he could not speak freely with others there, it was clear that he thought Arran's mission little more than suicide
”The decision's been uide us inside”
They spent the next few hours slowly h the mines, and Arran soon understood that even the upper levels were much like a h the dense rock that lay beneath the h they carried torches, even the overseer'stheir way
Yet Arran needed no torches to see in the dark, and as they e sense of coed from the tunnels in the mountains near A the open sky again Yet now, he was surprised to realize that descending into the earth so an old friend
The tunnels near the mines' entrance had been wide, but the deeper they went, the narrower the tunnels grew Soon, they were only barely wide enough for three men to walk abreast, and Gar had to bend his neck to avoid hitting the tunnels' roof — a lesson he learned only after bu his head half a dozen tier chamber, and the overseer ca to the lower levels,” he said, his eyes wary as he looked at the center of the cha, this is where our ill part”
Arran looked at the center of the chae hole in the ground ”It's down there?”
The overseer nodded ”Opening it up will be difficult, but with all of us here, it should take no more than half an hour”