Blake walked at the very front. His night vision allowed him to see the full layout of this underground space—large quantities of wooden crates and sacks were piled on both sides of the warehouse, stacked more densely and chaotically than in the one above.
“There are indeed far more supplies here than above.” Blake walked over to the nearest wooden crate and pried open the lid with his fingertip. Inside were neatly arranged arrows.
“It does feel like a lot has been moved away.” Leopold walked a few steps deeper, his gaze sweeping across a large area of empty wooden crates.
Leopold squatted down, ran his fingertip along the edge of an empty wooden crate, and pinched a layer of fine dust.
“These crates have been empty for a while. They weren't moved in just the last few days.” He stood up and walked deeper into the warehouse.
Isabella had already flipped open the lids of several wooden crates and casually rummaged through them. “Weapons, arrows... the categories all match up. But if Minnie is telling the truth, at least sixty percent of this place is empty, and what's left is just a facade to get through inspections.”
Blake flipped open a few more wooden crates, and the contents all matched—arrows, spare swords. But the more he searched, the tighter his brow furrowed.
“The quantity of these supplies is indeed not enough to sustain a prolonged war.” Blake closed the last crate and slapped the dust off his hands. “Is the Fifth Elder planning to make the front-line soldiers fight empty-handed?”
“We shouldn't jump to conclusions so quickly.” Leopold shook his head. “Just because the supplies were moved doesn't necessarily mean treason. They might have just been transferred to another warehouse. We need more evidence.”
Leopold couldn't help but pinch his brow. Although Gorn hoped he wouldn't get involved in the goblins' internal strife, given the current situation, he wasn't sure if he should meddle...
“...Come take a look at this,” Oliver spoke up weakly.
Blake was the first to turn around. He saw Oliver squatting in an inconspicuous corner in the deepest part of the warehouse, in front of a crate that was a step shorter than the ordinary wooden ones.
“What is it?” Blake walked over.
Oliver didn't answer immediately. He dragged the short crate outward a bit and pointed at the metal on it.
“This ore doesn't belong to the Eisenberg Mountain Range.”
“Explain in detail.” Leopold walked over and squatted down beside him.
“First, there are many grooves on this crate, which look like they're designed to be secured with ropes or straps.” Oliver touched the surface of the crate.
“And there are scratches and indentations here. It shows that this crate has been transported many times.”
“So I conclude,” Oliver stood up and looked Leopold in the eye, “this crate is definitely not for storage, but for transporting goods!”
“And since the metal used for the crate isn't found here, it must have been provided by a foreign race...” Leopold immediately understood what Oliver was getting at.
“So the supplies were indeed transported away,” Isabella said, walking over to stand by his side. “And it was done over a long period, in batches.”
“Dwarf iron,” Oliver said with certainty. “My father once acquired a few dwarf-made tools, and they had this exact color and texture.”
“So the Fifth Elder has turned traitor...” Leopold furrowed his brow.
“It seems the entire tribe is currently facing both internal strife and external threats,” Isabella murmured to herself.
Leopold didn't reply immediately. He stood in place, his gaze falling on the empty wooden crates, remaining silent for a few seconds.
“...Let's go,” he said. “There's nothing more to see here.”
When the four of them emerged from the underground storage chamber, Minnie was indeed still standing respectfully outside the secret door. Seeing them come out, she immediately went to greet them.
“How was it? Did you find anything inside?”
Blake glanced at Leopold and didn't rush to speak.
Leopold thought for a moment before saying, “...There are indeed quite a few supplies inside, more than the inventory in the warehouse above. But some of the crates are empty, and they've been empty for a while.”
“...I told you,” her voice grew quiet. “The Fifth Elder... he really is moving the supplies.”
“You said earlier that you saw the supplies being moved into the elevator shaft and transported to the lower level?” Leopold asked.
Minnie nodded.
“Where is the elevator shaft?”
“It's a bit far from here...”
“How far?”
Minnie thought for a moment and held up three fingers. “If we walk, it'll take about forty minutes. It's to the northwest, past the edge of the residential area, and then through two abandoned mine shafts.”
Isabella glanced sideways at him. She didn't speak, but Leopold understood her meaning—she was asking: “Should we go?”
“...Let's go take a look first,” Leopold said. “Since we've already come this far, we should at least confirm the situation at the elevator shaft.”
Blake didn't object. He stretched his shoulders. “Then let's not waste time. Let's go.”
Minnie walked at the very front to lead the way, taking small steps. Blake followed closely behind her, occasionally glancing back at the three behind them.
“Did you use to walk this way often?” Leopold, walking diagonally behind her, asked casually.
Minnie's steps didn't falter. “I've been here a few times. The first time was out of curiosity.”
“Curiosity?”
“...Yes. Ever since I was a child, I've been very curious about the world outside the underground.” She spoke very naturally. “When my father was still around, he told me that above our heads, there is a vast, empty space with no rock ceiling, called—the sky.”
“...The sky,” Leopold repeated the word. “Your father told you that?”
“Yes.” Minnie nodded, not looking back. “He said the sky is a very, very big place, a place of true freedom.”
Walking ahead, Blake heard this and chimed in casually, “Your father has been to the surface?”
Minnie's steps paused almost imperceptibly. “...No. He also heard it from others.”
Leopold didn't speak. Isabella walked by his side, and she noticed that Leopold's brow furrowed slightly before quickly smoothing out.
The location of the elevator shaft was even more remote than Minnie had described. As the group passed through the edge of the residential area, the pedestrians on the streets became sparse, and the stone houses on both sides were gradually replaced by abandoned mine shaft entrances.
Minnie stopped in front of a mine shaft entrance blocked by an iron gate, which had a brand-new lock hanging from it.
“This is it,” Minnie said in a low voice. “The elevator shaft is at the end of the mine shaft, about a five-minute walk from here.”
“We don't have a key...” Oliver said softly.
With a look of disdain, Blake stepped forward, grabbed the lock, and gave a light tug—the lock snapped instantly.
“Are you always this violent?” Leopold said, feeling somewhat helpless.
Standing to the side, Minnie wrung her hands in front of her, looking at the gate that had been forced open, and said softly, “...The guards will come if they hear the noise.”
“We'll deal with the guards when they get here.” Blake had already stepped into the mine shaft.
Blake walked at the very front of the four-person group, taking the largest strides. Leopold walked near the back of the line, occasionally studying Minnie.
“How much further?” Blake asked without turning his head.
“We're almost there,” Minnie's voice came from behind him. “Once we round that corner ahead, we'll see the entrance to the elevator shaft.”
Blake kept walking and turned the corner. He had only taken two steps when he suddenly froze.
“Who are—” Blake almost collided with a cloaked figure at the corner.
“Shh!” The figure hurriedly hushed Blake's loud voice before it could fully ring out.
“Don't hit me, it's me!”
Blake's fist hung in midair as he narrowed his eyes. “...Who are you?”
The figure pulled back their hood slightly, revealing a dust-covered face.
“Sixth Elder?” Minnie exclaimed in disbelief.
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