"This is the most detailed layout of the mines I could find." Robert said as he placed a piece of paper with a drawing on it on the table.

All six members of the group were gathered around, and Durgan still had an irritated look in Ethan's direction, as if he wanted to jump at the young man's throat at any moment.

However, the dwarf seemed to control himself, casting casual, anxious glances at the other members of the group, as if trying to confirm something.

As for Eve, she seemed to be fully recovered and looked at Ethan like a defeated tigress eager for revenge against an old enemy, of course with more desire than hatred.

"Great. What do you want us to do?" Ethan asked; this meeting had already been going on for a long time, and apart from small talk, neither of them had talked about anything productive.

"No rush, Ethan; we still have a day to plan everything properly, but if you want to know that much, it's easy." Robert said, pointing to a single hut in the middle of the drawing.

"This is where the guards and workers will spend the night. Eve will go to this hut and put on a show as if she were a young lady lost in the woods. She will seduce them and attract the attention of the guards and workers while I cover for her."

Immediately after that, Robert pointed his finger in another direction, this time toward the interior of the mine: "Here is the vault; the place is guarded by three or four guards, all at intermediate levels of awakening. Ethan and Durgan will hold these guards, while Clark and Jhon will take care of stealing the keys and breaking into the vault.".

"Hm... sounds good," Ethan let out a breath when he heard the plan. It was far from being an extremely detailed plan, but he shouldn't have expected too much from something that was done so hastily.

In the end, it was decent enough for him to have the confidence to proceed.

"Perfect! If everyone agrees, I've already obtained the runes needed to break the vault's protection; we'll plan the smaller details and start the mission at dawn tomorrow." Robert spoke before picking up a glass of beer and drinking it all in one gulp, his face smiling as he looked forward to the riches that awaited him.

***

While the small group discussed how to carry out their mission, an unpleasant acquaintance of Ethan's was in the confines of a lair in the sewers of Stormerga.

It was a large, wide room dozens of feet underground, its walls damp and putrid, and on the floor, dozens of rats were gathering as they ran toward the corridors.

In the center of the room was a metal structure, and around it, raised in the air, were more than 60 cells, each holding 4-5 people who were screaming and crying desperately to get out.

But their cries were completely ignored by the men below.

"You know, Stuart... I understand that you wanted to get your money back; I really do, but you made a mistake: you used my men to do it. Those brothers were not only the most talented but also the most powerful among my forces."

An irritating voice rang out from a man whose face could only be described as demonically ugly, like the fusion of a man and a pig; his stature was short, no taller than a six-year-old child; and his body had a structure so deformed that it could hardly be considered human.

Kneeling before him was a man who was only slightly more handsome, as if this were a slightly more flawed version of the creation of an unholy god who exalted ugliness.

"Please, Mr. Gobini! I didn't send anyone after that brat, I swear! I only told him about the three gold coins I'd given him! They left on their own." Stuart pleaded, crying, but his desperation was cut short by a loud, dry slap.

"Three gold coins? I paid over four hundred gold coins for those two, and you tell me you had them killed for only three gold?" Gobini's already angry voice became even more distorted as he beat the poor man relentlessly.

"Please. Guh... ouch... I... argh... didn't send them." Stuart continued to beg, his groans of pain with each blow from Gobini soon turning into a desperate cry.

"Argh, useless thing!" Gobini gave Stuart one last kick and threw him to the ground before turning and looking back.

"Well, what's done is done, but you're going to have to pay me at least half of the four hundred gold coins if you want to get out alive, and all of it if you want to get out in one piece." Gobini sighed. He was still clearly angry, but he wouldn't be the man he is today if he let himself be carried away by explosive emotions so easily.

"Please, I don't have anything." Stuart knelt down and hugged Gobini's feet, but his voice suddenly caught and he remembered something.

"Actually, I might have something for you, Mr. Gobini!" He exclaimed in a slightly more excited voice as his mind spun at top speed.

"You do? What exactly, hahaha?" Gobini laughed at Stuart's pathetic attempt to win his forgiveness, but he couldn't deny that he was interested in this 'something' that gave Stuart so much confidence.

"My wife! She's not very talented, but she's still a woman from a noble family!" Stuart spoke, his bloodied and badly bruised face taking on a smiling expression as he finally saw a use for the woman he himself considered a "fat, useless piece of trash.

"Honorary noble, dear Stuart. Which is worth as much as shit to me." Gobini corrected, dashing Stuart's hopes before looking at one of the thugs beside him.

Noticing his master's gaze, the thug stepped forward and said, "I've never spoken to her, but I've got a good look at her, Mr. Gobini. She's a chubby bitch with a huge ass and the biggest breasts I've ever seen in my life!"

"The biggest, huh? hehehehe" Gobini laughed, his shrill, irritating voice sounding more like an endless torture session to everyone present.

"Yes, the biggest! I guarantee you'll love it!" Stuart exclaimed, his crushed hope rekindling into a small flame at the sight of Gobini's excited laughter.

"Well, I'll accept your offer, but that's only half of the deal. Since you don't have anything else to pay me, I guess you'll have to give me one of your limbs. Which will it be? An arm or a leg?" Gobini asked with an amused look on his face.

"It can be my left arm." Mr. Gobini, I promise to use my right arm to work and repay you for your infinite mercy." Stuart exclaimed as he pulled up the sleeves of his left arm and held it out to Gobini. He trembled at the thought of losing his arm, but he was willing to pay that price if he could live.

"No, I don't like your choice. How about your head? hehehehe" Gobini laughed contemptuously before waving to one of the thugs who accompanied him.

Stuart begged and cried like a child, but it was no use, and soon his head was flying through the air and his decapitated body collapsed on the floor.

"Would you like me to bring Miss Victoria, Mr. Stuart?" The bandit asked that, now that Stuart had agreed to take her as his future wife, he didn't dare refer to her in a disrespectful way.

"No, how's the crystal thing going?" Gobini just shook his head.

"It's going well, my lord. Our team has already received the items needed to break into the vault, and they have secured a sixth person to serve as a sacrifice for the break-in runes. They should start the mission late at night and be here before dawn." The bandit replied promptly.

"Good! We'll begin the ritual as soon as they arrive! As for that bastard's ex-wife, you should pick her up on the night of the mission; I want her to be here to see the man her new husband will become before I take her as my wife."