Two days had passed since my meeting with the envoy from the Noble Alliance.
Today, I decided to go to the bandit fortress they mentioned to steal that magical bracelet.
Silvertower and Arthur decided to come with me. I was first skeptical because I didn't want to take two of my most trusted men with me and leave the fort alone, and second, I wasn't sure if poor Fionnlagh would be able to carry all of us three.
Though I mentioned my worries, they silenced me.
"What do you think will happen if you get captured, or worse, die? Do you think we have any power to stop those abominations you chained?" Arthur was on point.
"Let's forget the abominations. These people are fighting because they believe in you. If you die, it won't take long for this place to fall." Silvertower added.
Their reasons defeated me, so I agreed to take them with me.
So, we waited until night. Arthur trained his blade while Silvertower and I modified Fionnlaghs saddle for extra space.
Thankfully, Fionnlagh had grown quite a bit since I found him and managed to carry all three of us to the location.
Fionnlagh flew high and fast. He also avoided any eyes that might spot us until we arrived at our destination.
It was a successful flight, though not a comfortable one.
We landed twenty minutes walk away from the bandit fortress.
"You know the drill boy, hide and fly to help us when I give the signal." I petted Fionnlagh and sent him deep into the forest.
I turned towards my allies. "Now, what is our plan."
"We can just walk in," Arthur said. "I am pretty sure some bandits up in North won't cause any of us problems."
Silvertower nodded. "For three of us, they shouldn't pose much threat, but some might try to run away with the treasure."
"Then, we assault from the front, and while you two take the enemies outside, I will search for the bracelet."
"Then let me start." Silvertower suddenly started walking towards the fortress.
His presence alarmed the bandits inside, and archers and crossbowmen filled the walls.
Archers and crossbowmen lined up at the walls and began shooting toward Silvertower, but his armor was so thick that neither bolts nor arrows left a dent.
He quickly reached the front gate. "Now, now, this will take some strength." Silvertower grabbed the portcullis from its empty parts and began pulling it.
He shook the entire wall as he ripped the giant metal door.
"Argh!" Silvertower shouted as rubble dropped from the worn-out fortress walls.
A group of bandits reached the gate and began poking Silvertower with spears from the holes of the portcullis, but Dwarven King wasn't bothered by it.
"Stop that thing."
"For the sake of Goddes, what is this creature."
The enemy was panicking.
"Ha! Those toothpicks of yours are nothing but an annoyance for me." Silvertower laughed as he finally managed to rip the barrier from its place and throw it towards the enemy like a javelin.
Portcullis killed whatever it hit and breached the wall it landed.
"Shall we join him?" Arthur asked.
"Yeah, before he destroys the entire structure."
We quickly joined Silvertower's slaughter. But it looked like he didn't even need our help.
He wasn't using the maul he brought. He was just using his fists to kill armored bandits.
Arthur had already climbed a wall and decimated their ranged troops with extreme speed and precision.
"I leave these to you two!" I shouted and entered the fortress from the hole Silvertower opened.
Unlike the outside, the inside felt calm.
"Halt! I don't know what you monsters want from us, but we will take at least one of you down!"
I turned towards where the sound came from and saw a group of six raiders blocking the way. I suppose I got caught in their little ambush.
They stand in a tight formation and have good reach with their spears. Reasonably, I must take this battle to another place, for example, somewhere open that will allow me to use my sword better.
But I am not limited to weapons.
I gathered mana on my prosthetic arm and created a fire spear.
"Look, unlike these two monsters, I am more eager to approach this diplomatically. We want a bracelet and search for something about a missing convoy."
But the enemy didn't look too eager to accept my words and decided to charge forward.
So I threw my flame spear at the middle of their group. The explosion killed four of them and left one badly wounded.
The last bandit looked unable to speak, so I delivered him a quick death as a sign of mercy.
I turned around and kept walking until an unarmed bandit stopped me.
"I surrender, I surrender!" He shouted.
I grabbed the hilt of my sword, "And?"
"I heard you, I heard you! I don't know about the bracelet, but I think I know what you are looking for."
I nodded and released my grip. "Show me the way."
There was no sound but his shivering, our footsteps, and the cling of my armor inside the fortress.
"You. What's your name?"
Man stopped and looked at me. "Did you ask that to me? Sir?"
I didn't answer that stupid question but glared at him instead.
"My name is Mec, sir."
"Okay, Mec, I want you to answer some of my questions while we walk."
Mec nodded and turned back to walking. "Ask anything you want, sir."
"What the hell happened in this kingdom? Civil war, why did it begin? Sorry for my lack of knowledge, but I am a stranger to this land."
"Sorry, sir. I am at least alien to that topic as you, but as far as rumors say, everything got caused by a power struggle between the now-dead king and his bastard brother." He suddenly chuckled. "But now that bastard is sitting on the throne in the capital."
I opened my mouth again to ask another question, but Mec stopped me.
"We arrived." He pointed towards a spiral staircase. "Just follow the stairs to one floor belove, and you will reach the slave chambers."
"Slave chambers?"
"Yes, yes. Elven slaves, very beautiful, and from far lands! We don't know what they were doing here, but we caught them. They should be worth fortunes!"
Of course, slavery is still happening in this land. Thinking of it, I was a slave on this work camp not too long ago.
If I ever to sit on the throne, I must ban this foul act.
I grabbed a torch from a nearby wall, walked down the stairs, and opened a door to a large, dark hall.
"No."
The terror of the image I just saw sent a chill down my spine.
Corpses of elves, chained to the walls or lying on the ground. Mutilated, dismembered, tortured, and some even raped.
I reached the closest one to me.
She is completely nude, not even wearing a piece of rag in the cold of this realm. Some of her fingers are missing, and scars from tortures shine under the light of my torch.
Other corpses seem to be sharing a similar fate. Too inhumanly, even by the standards of outlaws.
Then, I felt shivers down my spine and suddenly turned around.
A blade was approaching me, but I blocked it with my prosthetic arm.
It was Mec.
"I showed you mercy, but a dog is a dog."
I grabbed the bandit from his neck and snapped it.
At first, I felt for the bandits, watching Arthur and Silvertower slaughter them, but this terrifying scene changed my mind.
I began checking all the elves to see if any survived this hell.
My faith in this world decreased.
But as I lost all hope, a baby's cry echoed inside the dungeon chamber.
I charged toward the source of the sound and found a small basket in the corner.
I quickly moved towards the basket and pulled the thin fabric covering it. Right behind it, a baby was lying inside. "How unexpected." I gently picked the basket from the ground. "Poor creature, you must be shivering because of the cold."
The baby had long knife-like ears and a slightly different anatomy than a human. She was holding the rumored artifact we were after.
I wrapped the little creature in fabric and left the room. "I wonder if that bracelet kept you alive."
When I arrived back at the outside, Silvertower and Arthur were pilling and burning bodies.
It was an old tradition in the North. People here preferred cremation over burying.
They noticed my presence. "You found the artifact?"
"Yes, and I also found this." I showed the elven baby. "There people from her kin down there, but all murdered in a brutal and sadistic fashion."
Arthur moved closer and inspected the baby. "A Citadel Elf. Their closest settlement is three kingdoms away from here."
Silvertower looked confused. "What is a Citadel Elf?"
"One's who dwell in Citadels built by the Empire and serve as soldiers in exchange for their lives and freedom. They are part of the Empire since the great expansion," Arthur answered, but he only caused more confusion.
He then sighed. "But of course, you died before the Empire was even a thing."
Silvertower nodded. "I know very little of this world as now. Still, this elven child shouldn't be here in North, especially in their presence."
"Presence of whom?" I asked.
"Moon worshippers, an elven species enemy to others. First ones to leave their ancient homelands."
This time, Silvertower confused us.
"I don't understand," Arthur said.
"Dark Elves."
Arthur scratched his head. "They are just a myth."
I raised my hand. "Let's talk about this when we go back. It's freezing here, and little one needs warm."
They agreed with me, so I called Fionnlagh, but I gave dead Elves a proper ceremony before leaving.