Chapter 92: Revelations in the Cave

With the battle finally over, the cave fell into a heavy silence. The smell of iron in the air, mixed with the dust raised by the combat, created a dense atmosphere. Rodrigo, still breathing heavily, lowered his sword and gestured for his men to begin exploring the place. It was time to understand exactly what they had faced and why that cave was so important.

Sebastião approached, wiping the blood from the blade of his sword. "These hooded men... I've never seen anything like it. They fought as if they weren't afraid of death."

Rodrigo nodded, still absorbing what had just happened. "They knew what was at stake. Something here is much more valuable than we imagined."

While the soldiers searched the place, Olavo approached, holding a small parchment in his hands. "I found this on one of the bodies. It seems to be a map, but I can't understand the inscriptions."

Rodrigo took the parchment and looked at the markings drawn on it. They were ancient symbols, something he vaguely recognized from his years of study and field experience. "This is no ordinary map. These symbols are from an ancient language, used by those who sought power in the depths of the earth." Sebastian frowned. "Power in the depths of the earth? Are we talking about magic?" Rodrigo stared at the map, feeling a chill run down his spine. "Possibly. But this is no ordinary magic. If this is what I think it is, we are dealing with something that could change the course of this war in ways no one has imagined." The soldiers continued to explore, while Rodrigo, Sebastian and Olavo tried to decipher the mystery at hand. The cave, which at first seemed like just a hiding place, was revealing itself to be a central point in a much larger plot. It was then that one of the soldiers, searching a dark corner of the cave, found a hidden passage. It was a narrow entrance, disguised by carefully stacked rocks. He called Rodrigo over, who came over to investigate.

"It seems we've found the next step on our path," Rodrigo said, a mix of apprehension and determination in his voice. "Let's see where this passage takes us."

With the map in hand and the newly discovered passage, the group prepared to descend deeper into the cave. Rodrigo knew they were about to discover something that could change not only the fate of this battle, but of the entire war.