Hurry up
"If you can do it yourself, why did you ask that question?" the group was walking down a corridor in the cave as Betty asked this question.
"To take a calmer approach." Asteri replied casually.
This corridor they were walking down was not lit by the torches, but not by their absence, but rather they had not been lit. So Asteri took one of those already lit near the door and started walking down the corridor. The latter should lead to the section for the tallest members of this gang.
After two minutes of walking, he reached another door, but fortunately this was not protected by a spell. Opening it, they entered what looked like a canteen. There were chairs, tables, empty beer mugs, and leftover food.
"Before they left this place, apparently they were having a good time." Asteri deduced by observing what the state of this room was like.
"Are you sure they're gone? What if some entity kidnapped them?" Allatu looks at the surrounding area and asks the boy.
"I don't think, in this case they would have kidnapped the other members too, or at least that's my hypothesis." Asteri did not say that he was right, after all he was not omniscient.
From this room they moved to another wing of the cave. They found the same rooms as there were in the weaker members section, only they were fewer in number. After a while they entered through another door, where the stairs leading down were hidden. They went down these stairs and found themselves in front of a room where there was a table with a chair.
And next to it, an open door. Which led to a small room, which, unlike the others, was almost completely bare of everything. All you could find was a bed and a bucket, and on the ground you could see a chain attached to a wooden post that connected from the ground to the ceiling.
"It looks like a prison, that's why that table is the chair, most likely the guard on duty was positioned there. It is very likely that the girl we were looking for was imprisoned here. But that just means ..." Asteri was speaking in a dark tone.
"That we were late. They disappeared with the girl, left the weaker members just to guard this place or even as a decoy." Allatu concludes Asteri's speech.
"And now it remains to know where they went. The only alternative we have is that secondary route." Betty was annoyed that those bandits had made fun of them.
"Quickly, let's look for that passage. Chances are we still have time to reach them." Asteri left the prison and continued walking along the corridor that stretched in front of their station.
And next to it, an open door. Which led to a small room, which, unlike the others, was almost completely bare of everything. All you could find was a bed and a bucket, and on the ground you could see a chain attached to a wooden post that connected from the ground to the ceiling.
"It looks like a prison, that's why that table is the chair, most likely the guard on duty was positioned there. It is very likely that the girl we were looking for was imprisoned here. But that just means ..." Asteri intervenes with a dark tone in the voice.
"That we were late. They disappeared with the girl, left the weaker members just to guard this place or even as a decoy." Allatu concludes Asteri's speech.
"And now it remains to know where they went. The only alternative we have is that secondary route." Betty was annoyed that those bandits had made fun of them.
"Quickly, let's look for that passage. Chances are we still have time to reach them." Asteri left the prison and continued walking along the corridor that stretched in front of their station.
"We hope to be in time". Asteri had this in mind as he ran down this corridor.
He quickly reached a dead end, but all three knew that the path did not end there.
"Do we have to find some kind of hidden button?" Allatu asked a quick question.
"I have no idea." Betty responded immediately.
The trio started looking, when suddenly they found a cavity in the wall, this cavity had a key inside it.
"So there must be a lock around here." Betty says as she searches for this lock.
"Found it! It's here." Allatu tells Asteri.
Immediately the boy put the key in the lock and turned it.
* click *
There was a clear opening sound and the wall moved aside, revealing a passage.
"Leaving such a free key is not a smart move." Betty reflects.
"Most likely it's a copy of the one that the leader of this gang certainly has, but now let's not get lost in chatter, let's get moving." Asteri started running, the same thing did the two women behind him.
...
At the same time, a group of bandits walked into a corridor, and in their midst was a hooded figure, with both hands tied by a rope.
"Well, we're here, our client should join us in a moment." the chief talks to the rest of the bandits.
"Boss, are you sure it was a wise move to leave even the weakest members behind us? Don't you think it would have been better to take some with us?" a bandit speaks, looking at the chief.
"Idiot! What's the point of bringing more members to a meeting with a client? They won't attack us, that's for sure. Better leave someone guarding the base, and then I left Ros with them, he's not an inexperienced wizard will know what to do." the boss replies irritably to the bandit who asked the question.
Suddenly a passage opened before them, and behind it was a simple room, made of wood. So completely different from the cave scenery.
"They have arrived. We will finally have our reward." the leader of the bandits smiled openly, showing his dirty yellow teeth. Savoring the reward he will soon have.