Chapter 7: infiltrating the Ruins

The horizon was brightening above the tree tops.

My men and i were waiting for the signal the start the attack.

From the cover of the trees an arrow was shot into one of the enemies archers throat.

Before he hit the floor five other projectile were cutting though the air, taking the life of the remaining guards. My group and another one went through the tree lines and carried the bodies away, adding the to those of the sentinels.

They i lightly opened the door. looking inside a saw two other guards, nodding off. looking at my men i raised two fingers and mimicked being asleep.

Weapons at the ready, i flunked the door open and entered the long corridor. with my knife under his troat i pulled him out in the open air. Nathan had done the same for the second guard. Landell closed the door again.

Our brusque handling of them had woken the two guards but our hands on their mouths and the blade pressing on their throat kept them quiet.

We pulled them under the trees showed them their dead companions then only i spoke to the two of them.

"I am gonna ask you guys a few questions, if you answer to them truthfully we will not kill you, if you don't, you will end up like your colleagues here present. Understood?"

The men nodded clearly frightened by him and him cordial smile.

"Good. then here is my first question: where is your armoury located?"

The bandits looked at each other none of them wanting to start rating their friends.

"I understand their is an honour code between criminals but i would recommend you to talk now or i will have to make you through less... civilised means."

I kept smiling knowing fully that they would not know what to think of my smile. still they said nothing. quiet upset it was taking this long i took one of the men's hand and pulled his finger until it cracked. when i released it, it was standing in an unnatural angle.

The man's pain cries were muffled by Landell's hand covering his Mouth.

"Again where is the Armoury?"

The man hooded by Nathan tried to talk and i made a sign to him to release the man's mouth.

"Th-the Armoury is down the corridor third door to the right."

"I see... what about the food storage?"

"One is two doors left from here, another next behind the dinning hall and the third..."

"Keep talking or i do his next finger."

"The last is at the end of the left corridor, just before where the roof has tumbled!"

"Your map has been updated.

You can now see were the small food storage and the Large open ceiling farm room is."

Only half of the places he gave me were added to my map, which meat that...

"You lied to me."

I felt the man in my grip shudder and saw the other captive pale.

"What is awaiting us in the third door to the right?"

"I don't know what you are talking about..."

I broke another finger. I was still politely smiling.

"Do not make me repeat myself."

"The main sleeping quarters! i tried to send you to the main sleeping quarters!"

"I see. that's okay. i forgive you."

"Really?"

"Yes but only this time. Now, where is the armoury?"

"First door to the right is a small one, second one has some outside materials for cold nights. first door to the left is a dormitory, second one a bathing room."

"Your map has been updated: you can now see the old forest ruins bandit camps Armoury #1, closet #1, dormitory #1, and bathing room #1."

"Okay. then what?."

"The corridors splits and goes in three directions. the left has two small rooms full of farming material, then the farm at the far end..."

"Anything else?"

"Behind! behind the farm there is a room where we stash everything we steal!"

"Your map has been updated: you can now see the Bandits camp's closet #2&3 and the treasure room."

"What about the right side of the ruins?"

On the left side a dormitory, a bathing room, another dormitory, the dining hall, kitchen and storage room, On the right side three dormitories."

At this point the men had lost any will to lie and kept telling me everything i wanted. at some point i looked at my map and saw that the ruins formed an approximate plus sign. the right was composed of the living quarters, the left of a farm, however that worked underground, and the opposite direction had the chiefs rooms, big meeting hall, a second armoury, storage and one last dormitory. then there was the big wooden door leading to the last bandit camp.

A howl made me turn my head and i saw from above the tree tops at the East a giant pillar of black smocke rising to the sky.

The first camp had been taken care off.

I turned back to the man who had also seen the smocke and said

"Thank you for answering my questions. it was a pleasure to have talked to you and i sincerely regret to have to shorten our meeting like this however this is a busy morning for me so i will now leave you in my friends care. Goodbye!"

Nathan and i gave the two outlaws to the second group of men and i shared my updated map to the 3 other team Leaders.

The first team leader talked first, his unit was mainly composed of close range fighters.

"Me and my men will be right behind Ben’s unit, clearing the dormitories until the crossroad. There we will take care of the dormitories on the right side of the tunnels. with that sleeping smock there should be no trouble."

"What about the kitchen and food storage?"

"I will have a men inventory it all as soon as we cleared our side of the tunnels."

"Good enough."

"My unit will stay behind and guard your rear, as planed before"

"Mine will push forward to the other entry and take over the wooden gates. We will close them from the inside, leaving the Bandits to fend for themselves on the outside."

I took a moment to think then decided.

"Me i my group will first stay here to take care of the storage, then

Go to the dinning halls and recuperate anything worthy. we will then switch to lhe left side. the farm supplies could be useful. and we might find the lords belongings in the small treasure room. once we are done here we will go to the chiefs rooms. he should be keeping a few interesting things there."

"Very well."

"Lets move."

By the time all 4 teams had gone inside the Tunnel, a second pillar of black twirling smock was rising to the skies.

When i had passed the door a message window popped up.

"You and your Expedition party members are the first to enter the Forest Ruins Underground Tunnels dungeon. as a result all the experience points and the quality of the loot given by defeated enemies will double."

"Do you wish to register the Forest Ruins Underground Tunnels Dungeon in the wall of fame?

If you do you will receive 100 Fame and 1000 exp points."

I thought about it for a while. As soon as the dungeon would be registered it would be known to any players looking at the official web site. players would come in big numbers and the loot would have to be shared.

I was about to refuse when the thought that, unless they were already in the forest, players would never be able to arrive before we had finished the battle and completely emptied the Tunnel crossed my mind.

I was still deliberating when i heard a player whispers a small "yes", no doubt accepting to register the dungeon. the decision had been taken from me. with no other option i also accepted the offer.

"You have registered the Forest Ruins Underground Tunnels Dungeon on the Wall of Fame.

You have received 100 Fame and 1000 Exp points."

We had went down a series of steps going deep into the ground. Armand, Vrenn and Remy were at the front looking for any traps. there were none. when the soil flattened and we finally saw the first two doors i let Team 2 go in front positioning themselves along the walls. one of the men opened the dormitory door and threw two herbs braids in. A few seconds later we heard a few movements and caught then the calm came back.

The team went in, we heard wet sounds and a few metallic noises then, when they came out i sent Landell in with his Mullet and Bradon that i had designated as his body guard. Owen and Jamy went to the closet room, while entered the Armoury. The rest of the team was to accompany the other teams up ahead and search for any traps.

As the second team was switching to the bathing room checking if anyone was in there i went inside the Armoury.

No one else was there. the room was full of iron swords racks, heavy wooden masses, bows arrows and a few closings.

I immediately chose 10 shining iron swords, 5 hunting bows, 5 light brown new tunics, 3 dark green new tunics, 7 trousers ( 3 light brown, 4 dark brown ones ), 4 pairs of good clouted travelling boots, 12 hunting knife, 3 ornamented swords and a pair of light brass armbands. i put everything in my backpack and satchels space slots and went back out carrying in my arms a bunch of swords. Owen and Landell were also coming out of their respective rooms.

"So, what did you find?"

"Dirty clothes mostly, some cheese and ham slices. A few weapons too"

"Covers, candles, paper scrolls, tents, flint, fire wood...what about the armoury?"

"Plenty of weapons most of them are rusted through."

The three of us started packing the maximum of weapons on the donkeys and Owen and Landell's backs. Bradon and Jemy had to stay free of their movements to fight.

Once fully packed with weapons the four of them (+ 2 donkeys) went back up the stairs. they came back ten minutes later free loaded.

To empty the first small armoury we had to so a total of seven forth and back trips.

By then messengers had come to us informing us that said rooms had been cleared and were clear for looting.

When Owen came back the sixth time he told us that a third black smock colon had appeared.

The three clearing camps attacks were over, the Ruin's back entry bandit camp would currently be under attack at this very moment.

The other three teams had gone half way through their corridors...

They had to hurry.

I sent a

Messenger to each team leader with the news of the successful attacks and informed them that finally we would directly go to the treasure rooms direction.

We started advancing again, briefly stopping at the crossroad to wait for the return of my team members.

We turned left and entered an area of the tunnel dungeon no one had visited yet. Armand, Remy and Vrenn went first followed by Carl Tirry and Nathan, me and the donkeys, masters and body guards.

We advanced silently, opening the doors of the two closets. like the bandit had told us it was full of farming equipment’s. nothing that would interest us or the Expedition.

We arrived at the end of the tunnel, in front of a sturdy wooden door. its surface was covered in faded inscribed Ancient Runes. Most of the runes were illegible, from those that were complete only three were known to him.

"Enter... ???... be worthy... ???... The Spirit of the ... ?."

Nathan came to me and looking how much i was concentrating on the

Inscriptions curiously asked.

"What are those signs?"

"Ancient Druidique Runes. they are saying something about being worthy and a spirit."

"Druids? those legendary mighty healers and sage men?"

"If you say so."

"You can understand their writings?"

"Yeah."

"Druids were men that could understand nature itself... does it have something to do with your...'beastly' side?"

"You are way too smart for my own good. We should be careful, even if the inscriptions are old, Spirits are not subject to the flow of time the same way than us. it could still be there."

Nathan nodded, seemingly impressed by me. Not minding, i pushed the door open, my black sword ready.

We entered a large space of bright green lush grass the size of a football field. it was surrounded by high stone walls, its roof broken down.

In the middle of the clearing a single white marble obelisk stood. under its massive body a small grey stone table (similar to those old sacrificial tables you could see in bad movies about dark magic) stood.

Completely ruining the ancient and magnificent atmosphere a light brown hen was siting on its middle.

Other hens and a few of their offspring’s were spread throughout the clearing. There also was a dozen goats and caws, and the triple of sheep’s and pigs.

What the hell!?

The left wall had fallen, revealing a small room that the bandits had transformed into a stable. Ten sturdy pulling horses with thick legs were peacefully eating stew. On the right side wall, a iron bars barrier lead to a storage.

Inside of it 5 wagons and chariots were parked. On the closest to the door and most preserved one, a bandit was wrapped in a blanket, sleeping.

I quickly slit his throat, not tacking any chances.

So that's how they produced their food. They must have stolen all those animals and brought them here on the wagons that they got from their heists... Wait, how did they get the wagons in here?

I looked a the ground and saw deep wheels marks in the dirt soil going forth and back from the trailer storage to the high double wooden door opposite to the entrance of the 'Open ceiling large Farm'.

I neared the door in silence, followed by the rest of my team.

On the right side of the door, a sliding wooden panel attracted my attention. Making sure the rest of them had seen it too i gestured for them to post themselves out of the small window 's eye sight. i made Owen stand next to me, holding a plate full of nuts, berries bread and ham then knocked on the door while holding another one in one hand and hiding my hunting knife in my second hand behind my back.

The wooden panel slided away. Along with an angry deep voice i saw a pair of eyes looking at me.

"You are late! Wait, where is the next guard roll?"

"There is a step back in today's schedule. We are stretched thin right now so you guys will have to pull a double shift until we settle it. i brought your breakfast."

"Humph!"

"The men closed the panel and i heard a series of bolts, chains and locks turn and clatter.

That’s heavy security!

The door started opening as the man started talking again.

I stepped in, seeing six other armed men in a small room with three other doors the same size as the one i had just crossed.

Damn bandit! he never said anything about all of this!

I kept a serene expression and said

"That won't be enough for all six of you, so i will have to come back."

"Hey, do you know what is happening? does it have anything to do with the smock coming from the other camps?"

How the hell do they know about... A third access point! shit! Okay, have to stay calm. you don't know how many men are guarding this side. find something to say. keep close to the truth. Make it believable.

"Yeah. those assholes from Djaden found our clearing camps and thought they could beat us. they attacked an hour or so before dawn. we took the opportunity to attack their defenceless wagon. it should arrive by mid day with all their weapons, clothes and food. i warn you, it will be heavy. will you be enough to handle it?

"I think that twenty people is enough thanks."

"Okay."

Owen gave his food plate to another bandit. they had now all closed in on us, eating hungrily and listening to my lies.

"So what about the black smock?"

"Oh, that the funerary pillars"

"Oh, i see"

There was a second of silence before one of the guards that had been intently watching me finally spoke up.

"I've seen you somewhere before... i think it was in one of the recent battles."

I tensed up. the parade was over.

"Oh?"

"Yeah, you were at the clearing when the chief died... wait, you're the guy that...!"

But it was too late, my knife was already in the nearest men's throat, same for Owen's. Armand and Nathan had gotten out of hiding and shot an arrow at two other guards. Jamy ran to Owen's side, ready to fulfil his guard duties.

The two last guard were transperced by two thrown spears and Tirry and Carl walked in to retrieve their weapons.

Owen and Landell quickly took the guards weapons and put them on their donkeys.

Looking at my map i saw that this was considered to be the treasure room.

On the stone floor i noticed that there was traces of trailers intensive passage leading at the middle door. That was the way to the third entry of the Tunnels.

He decided to check the other rooms before anything else.

He opened the one on the right. it was filled with bags of bronze and silvers coins, precious stones and ingots of various metals.

Suddenly i regretted the presence of my team members. if i had been alone i could have taken as many riches as i wished. but it was too late. once we made sure that there was no one in the room we went to the left one. it was filled with luxurious clothing, pots and vases of good artistic quality, paintings, sculptures, swords, shields and armours covered in gold, silver or precious gems...

We had found the treasure rooms.

Nathan started looking around examining the paintings rapidly.

He stopped in front of one placed close to the left side entry. it showed an important looking, crown wearing man.

"Found it!"

Wait? that was it? the great treasure stolen from the Lord had been a boring Painting of an old geezer?

WTF?!

I had believed to be so much more important as it was evident that the outlaws were a very well organised and structured group of thief’s. moreover the sheer amount of treasures they had pictured proved they were professionals.

Such a band should have attracted the Lords attention a long time ago yet he did not bother until they took from him, a mistake that the thieves avoided doing until now.

To me, the stolen goods must have been worth hundreds of gold coins at least! but no, it was a simple looking portrait of a, i would admit it, handsome and noble man wearing a gold crown and a few rings.

"The Kings Portrait! we are saved!"

"Saved what do you mean?"

"Don't tell me you do not know?!"

"I don't know."

"Unbelievable! this is a gift from the King himself to our Lord, a portrait of our Majesty. it was stolen by the thief’s as it was secretly transported in a banal Merchant's trailer. Because the King will soon visit us the Lord was desperate to get it back."

"I see. all of this was a matter of bad luck and politics..."

"Exactly"

I sent Nathan to the other Three team leader indicating our recent discoveries and asking for help to occupy the last Tunnel Entry. in the mean while, Owen and Landell, they donkeys and protectors went all the way back, transporting fully charged backpacks and satchels and the King's Portrait.

When Nathan came back he was with five archers and ten pikemen. the other teams had taken over their parts of the tunnels and were now engaging the few remaining bandits in the back entry camp.

I organised my group the best i could but my my Leadership stat was too low to be obeyed perfectly. at the end i devised the men in three groups and designated two other leaders. when exiting the tunnel each group would take a side and clear it of any opposition.

I opened the double dors wide, shouting the words "Guard roll" out loud. anything to gain even a second of surprise effect on our opponents.

We found ourselves in another open ceiling space. except that this one was small, stone paved and had a strange wooden platform attached to a set of metallic cranks in its surrounding stone wall.

A group of men armed of swords and bows watched us come out with relief until they noticed the Djaden City Guards Uniforms and understood a split second later that they were being attacked.

Their hesitation gave us the advantage, arrow flew above us and truck some of us, the pikemen killed a group of bandits close to the gates. the rest of the teams were advancing towards the rest of them. i was in the back, viewing the battle. One of the bandit who was holding a two handed double axe, their leader, called for help and two other men, holding an iron sword stood next to him, fighting back.

Something is wrong... 1,2,3...

I started counting the bandits, automatically adding the six from before.

...12,13,14 and 15 with the axe wielding guy... their is 5 less than their should!

Worried i looked around for the 5 missing bandits. i spotted them above us, on top of the stone wall readying their bows to shot us from above.

"Archers on the wall!"

Responding to my warning, Nathan and Armand switched their target to the enemies above them. A few other men did the same and i also pulled out my bow to help them.

On the other side, the three last bandits in the room finally fell. The bow-less soldiers had no choice but to go back in the tunnel, a sword men with a round shield protected an archer from any incoming arrows and the pike men trew their spears. Three of the archers fell down, another one just crumbled. the last one tried to run but i hit him at the back of his head with my third arrow

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