Chapter 15

"Prisoner 43" silently bearing the name I self-assigned to myself. Golden cloaked figures surround me.. sentries stand solemnly at high vantage points… troopers scout the surroundings… trying to escape this encirclement is nigh impossible. Yet.. I believe myself to be a master of getting myself out of these sort of situations.

I ease the expression on my face as I attempt to curry favor with the troopers. Although I am a prisoner, the troopers are quite friendly. They chuckle and tell jokes about how they've slain dragons and colossal sized hydras.. I don't believe them of course but the way they so vividly describe the battles captures my attention. It's as if they actually battled these creatures... the commander even points out a scar he received from fighting such a creature.. "You don't need to go that far.." I mutter inwardly but still give him a fist bump.

They seem quite enthusiastic as they each tell their own stories.. I accept their stories seemingly unfazed, after all its just a figment of their imagination. A trace of uneasiness can be seen in the troopers eyes… "I swear my battle with the Scaled Wyvern would have surprised him.. maybe he has already slain one himself?" a trooper mutters. "Impossible… they travel in packs… its incredibly rare to encounter a wyvern alone… unless… did he perhaps slay a whole pack of them!?" the trooper continues to ramble on.

You notice Sara looking around curiously at the troopers.. she seems to be enjoying herself… "Ahh she hasn't realised the seriousness of the situation… ignorance is bliss sometimes.. should I kindly inform her?..... I'll let it be…"

The escort trudges on as we finally enter into the mountain itself… the atmosphere darkens.. caves seems to connect and criss cross… pathways stretch endlessly… glancing around I diligently memorize the route we have taken. "Fools" scoffing lightly I nod to myself as I look forward to the day I will escape.

"These caves have no patterns whatsoever, and with the magicians shifting the pathways randomly it makes it impossible to navigate." A trooper silently admires.

While my attention is focused I fail to notice the commander holding some sort of compass. The compass glows with some sort of mysterious energy and seems to guide the escort forward.

"Wooolf wolff" the pup's head pops out from under my robe... the pup gazes into the darkness… it's noses twitches.. "You don't like this underground environment either huh.. yeah that makes two of us buddy." Giving the pup a pat on the head, the pup looks up at me for a moment, before then nestling back into my robe.

After a couple of hours, a light starts to shine in the distance… "Here we are men! Just ahead is the Inner Conclave! Let us go meet the Emperor shall we" "Yes Sir!" the troopers shout in unison.

As the escort disappears from sight, silence once more returns to the caverns… an unknown amount of time passes… before a pair of glowing yellow eyes appear....

To be Continued