The final and largest building was the main one in the middle of the fort. It was once important enough to build walls around it so there"s going to be lots of rooms and people.

We scouted around finding numerous entryways from doors to windows. Rayna took the lead and inches towards a small window that was high up.

Rayna: "Look, a window."

I boosted her up and she was able to open it outwards and get a good view inside.

Steven: "You see anything?"

Rayna: "Looks like a storeroom."

She leaps in without saying a word and I naturally became worried. I actually thought for a moment that one of the bandits pulled her in. I could hear things falling down followed by a moment of silence. Just as I was about to scale the wall to get in, Rayna peeks around the corner and calls out to me.

Rayna: "Well, hurry up!"

I followed her trying to understand what happened. When I entered the storeroom the noise she made was from stacked crates falling over. The broken crates spilled out grains like wheat and oats. So, this is where they keep their food?

Steven: "What was that about?"

Rayna: "I fell and hit my elbow."

Steven: "You idiot. Tell me when you"re going to do something like that next time. I thought someone yanked you in."

Rayna: "O-oh… I"m sorry sweetheart, I"ll be mindful next time."

I searched around for anything useful but everything was mostly dry food. I"m not sure how good the food is because the room was uncomfortably warm and humid like a swamp. I could feel the armor sticking to me!

Steven: "Ugh, it"s too warm in here."

Rayna: "We"re moving. There"s nothing here."

We slowly opened up another door to a hallway. It was lit with magic crystals which meant that someone around here is familiar with magic. A quick scan of the area and we realize that there"s n.o.body around and only a couple more doors on opposite ends of the hallway. It gave us some breathing room and allowed us to move freely as we plan out our next move.
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Rayna: "It"s clear."

Steven: "Which direction do we go?"

Rayna: "We came in from the east. So… let"s go right and counterclockwise and see if we can circle around. We have to check every door and room."

We moved quickly through the towers compared to the main building. There were so many rooms serving many different purposes that we can"t tell for sure if someone was in there or not. The fact that we relied heavily on the element of surprise to drop the bandits only made us slower.


Someone was walking across the hallway in front of us repeatedly, forcing us to stop, hide, and watch. Whoever it was, he was moving different kinds of food back and forth.

Rayna: "He could be bringing food to the others. We can follow him."

Steven: "Let"s wait out."

I had a bad feeling about following him. He could lead us to the others but where would that leave us? We can wait until he"s done moving the food and trace his steps.

Once he returned and walked out with a serving platter, I knew it was time to trail behind him unnoticed. He went to a ma.s.sive feast hall where a couple more were enjoying themselves. There wasn"t a lot to hide behind but we were forced to hide behind a single barrel in an isolated corner.

Steven: "It"s a big room."

Rayna: "It"s the main hall. Usually, everyone comes and eats. There"s only 3 of them."

Steven: "I see Saxton Lowe and Sophie Fertig."

Rayna: "What does the Headmistress want?"

Steven: "Us to put a stop to them."

Rayna: "We can earn her favor if we captured them alive."

Steven: "Good… can we do it?"

Rayna: "Just watch."

She sits on her knees and raises her arms up while avoiding attention at the same time. She starts to chant something as quietly as possible and each one at the table fell one by one. I peeked over the barrel to see it myself and find the unconscious bodies on the floor.

Steven: "Rayna, what the h.e.l.l was that?!"

Rayna: "Crying Winds… it takes a lot out of now that I"m a Wight. I"ll be fine as long as I don"t overdo it."

I"ve seen a lot, but knocking people out with a single spell tops everything…

We move over to the bandits and move them to a corner. They were all still breathing. We had to move faster because we didn"t know do sure when they"ll wake back up. I definitely recognize 2 of them, Saxton and Sophie. I should"ve brought rope to tie them up.

Rayna: "I don"t recognize this one."

She drags the unknown one away a short distance. I wasn"t aware of what she was planning until she unsheathed her dagger. I didn"t want to watch and immediately turned around to watch the doors.

Rayna: "What"s wrong?"

Steven: "Nothing… just don"t make him suffer."

She was quick her blade. With the Unknown dead, she hides him behind the barrel where we hid. We focused on the rest of the rooms and thoroughly searched for anyone else before coming back to the main hall. The bandits were still unconscious in the corner where we left them.

Rayna: "Top floor secure."

Steven: "We got 7"

Rayna: "7… there"s more. Let"s find that dungeon and keep moving."

There was another door that leads to the spiral stairwell that went down. It was dark and frigid. I took the lead and Rayna had her hand on my shoulder to help her through the stairwell. The light picked up again near the bottom as we reached some variant of a lounge. 2 more of our bandits were playing cards and one of them I recognized as Geralda.

Geralda: "It"s raining pretty hard outside."

Bandit #6: "Where"s Mayer?"

Geralda: "Patrolling the dungeons. He"s been paranoid and upset since 2 of his captives escaped."

Bandit #6: "Escaped? There"s only one way in and out."

Geralda: "You"re telling me… they did some real f.u.c.king phantom s.h.i.t unless they"re still hiding in one of the cells."

I definitely recognize this room! I was slammed through a table when Lilith and I tied escaping! We readied our daggers and prepared for the attack. Geralda was on the right but it would be difficult to incapacitate her without Rayna doing something fancy with her magic.

Rayna: "Drop them. You have the left one."

The unknown one on the left had his back turned on me. A good attack with Slashed Winds at the back of his neck and he"ll be dead instantly.

Rayna: "Now."

My cast was dead on and the bandit flopped to the floor with any struggle. Geralda was. .h.i.t in the mouth and blood spewed out. We needed her unconscious! Rayna dashes for her and kicks her into the wall, knocking her out.

The lounge was too open and bright to hide the bodies. The only way was back up the stairwell with the others.

Rayna: "d.a.m.n, there"s nowhere to hide them. Steven, we have to drag them back upstairs to the others."

Steven: "She"s still alive?"

Rayna: "Yeah, I"ll use healing magic on the way up."

I stuck Candlelight to my armor and led the way up with the Unknown bandit. Rayna had Geralda and was slower while she used healing magic periodically. At the top, I dropped my bandit with the other dead one while Rayna put Geralda with the others.

Instead of lying her down, she was placed sitting against the wall.

Rayna: "We have to sit her upright so she doesn"t drown in her blood."

Steven: "Didn"t you use healing magic?"

Rayna: "I did… but she"s still bleeding somewhere and unless we can spare at least half an hour, I don"t know where it"s coming from."

We don"t have that kind of time! Right now we have to grab the last member, Mayer, and any stragglers that slipped past us. We find him and we won"t have to watch our backs once Rayna treats Geralda.

Rayna: "Steven?"

Steven: "What?"

Rayna: "What"s wrong? You"ve been silent."

Steven: "There"s not a lot to say. We"re killing people."

Rayna: "I know, but it"s a burden we have to carry to protect the Academy."

I know what I signed up for…

Rayna: "Only the dungeons are left. Will you watch my back?"

I nodded.

Steven: "I understand… that"s why I"m here."

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