Free Web NovelChapter 352: The Abandoned Well.
Standing beneath a dune, Thoren looked at the common dune before him and creased his brow. From the tortured Slave Trade Guild member, he knew there was a hidden tunnel buried under this sand.
Whoosh!
Two undead Echo Scarabs appeared before him, and he commanded them to search for the hidden paths. Instantly, the two undead Echo Scarabs rushed forward and vanished deep into the dune.
Others might find it difficult to find the path, but not him. It was only a matter of waiting a few minutes, and the hidden path would become obvious.
The crimson sand looked ordinary from the outside, no different from the countless dunes scattered across the Bleeding Desert.
However, Thoren knew very well that the Slave Trade Guild would never choose a location without a reason.
A few seconds later, a faint smile appeared on his face. The undead Echo Scarabs had found the path. Without hesitation, he summoned a Lesser Dune Scorpion to clear the path.
The undead Lesser Dune Scorpion dug into the sand with terrifying speed, its sharp legs tearing through the packed layer beneath the dune.
Two minutes later, a deep, narrow tunnel appeared before him. A windy howl came from the tunnel, and it was dry and sharp. He stared at it for a second before he walked forward.
The tunnel was dark and tight, with rough walls pressed close on both sides. Faint traces of old footprints could be seen beneath the thin layer of sand. freeweɓnovēl.coɱ
He had the two undead Echo Scarabs scout ahead for any danger. Behind him, he had the undead Lesser Dune Scorpion guard his rear.
His steps were steady and light.
For thirty minutes, Thoren continued to walk through the tunnel with no end in sight. But he was not worried or scared. Just from the airflow, he had already noticed the changes.
It was no longer dry and sharp.
The air reeked.
It was nauseating.
The smell was a mixture of blood, sweat, rot, and something damp that did not belong beneath the desert sand.
But that did not deter him.
This only made him walk faster. A few minutes later, he saw faint light in the distance, and more importantly, he heard the sound of human voices coming from the top.
"I have arrived," he muttered under his breath.
He increased his pace and arrived quickly at the bottom of the well. Arriving at the bottom of the well, he raised his head and looked at the tunnel walls.
To the surface, the tunnel was more than ten feet, but to him, climbing out posed no problem.
The walls were old, damp, and covered with claw marks, as if people had used this place countless times before.
He commanded his undead Echo Scarabs to go out and scan the vicinity. This was a covert operation, and he wished to make it remain like that.
If he could annihilate the Slave Trade Guild and find all the necessary clues to the Scorpion Men and Cressida without alerting his enemies, that would be much better.
Outside the abandoned well, a few humans were present. Their robes were torn in many places, and their armor had cracks all over the place.
Their faces were covered in grime, and their hair was filled with desert sand.
Their bodies carried the exhaustion of people who had recently survived something dangerous, but their eyes still contained traces of resentment and fear.
"When is this going to stop?" one of them said in a low, dejected voice.
A woman.
Her colleagues did not move. It was as if they did not hear her. Each was conserving their strength.
Their backs leaned against the broken walls around the abandoned well, and their weapons rested beside them within reach.
"This is the path we have all chosen. We can only hope it will not be our doom," one of them responded. He was a young man with short brown hair.
"But we have not received the so-called promise the guild promised," the woman continued, her voice laced with subtle anger. "We all joined the guild just for the hope of completing our trial easily, but now..." Her voice trailed off.
The atmosphere among the group turned heavy. Each knew the sacrifices they had paid and the many inhumane actions they had done in the past. And for what? For an empty promise.
They had helped capture wanderers.
They had guarded prisoners.
They had lied to desperate awakeners and sent them into traps.
They had stained their hands so deeply that washing them clean had long become impossible.
Many would have escaped from the guild if they had options. Unfortunately, they had none.
Since they joined the pirate ship, they could only follow it to the end.
While the group was lamenting about their unfortunate situation, they failed to react to the two undead Echo Scarabs that shot out of the abandoned well at a blinding speed.
"Did you sense that?" one of them asked.
It was a frail young man with his chest wrapped in bandages covered in dried blood.
"What?" the group looked at him in confusion.
Seeing their faces, the frail young man shook his head.
"Forget it. I must be mistaken," he said, lowering his head and deciding not to think about it.
Perhaps he was just too exhausted from their last ruin run or worse.
Perhaps the fear in his heart had begun turning ordinary sounds into imagined threats.
Unknown to them, the two undead Echo Scarabs hovered at the edge of the backyard, sensing every movement in the building. While in the abandoned well, Thoren received the real time update.
He closed his eyes slightly, allowing the information from the undead Echo Scarabs to settle in his mind.
There were more people inside than he expected. And deeper inside the building, faint traces of restrained breathing could be heard.
Captives.
Thoren’s eyes became colder.
For two hours, the group sat there wallowing in their pain, misfortune, and bleak future. Suddenly, the door to the backyard was pushed open, and a sturdy man walked out.
"Come. It is now your turn," he called out.
The group did not react immediately. They stared at him for a moment before they slowly rose to their feet. Watching their expressions, the sturdy man sneered.
This was not the first time he had seen such an expression. He clicked his tongue and followed them into the building.
Silence.
A still silence hung over the backyard with the wind howling gently. The abandoned well sat motionless in the corner like a forgotten wound in the earth.
Just then, a faint sound came from the well. At first, it was distant, but with each passing second, it grew louder and louder.
But for those inside, they could never hear the sound coming from the well.
Whoosh!
Thoren pushed away the wooden plank used to cover the well and jumped out. His blue eyes brightened as he stared at the building.
