Secret Passage

Castle dungeon.

“Don't attack, I know her.”

Vera reached out to stop Nikus and the other knights, stepping forward.

“Alysia, looks like you had a tough fight earlier.”

She looked at the black-robed figure ahead, her eyes darting toward the tears in the robe as she spoke.

Alysia pushed her hood back over her shoulders, revealing a pale face and her signature pointed ears.

Her gaze swept quickly across the surrounding knights before she spoke calmly:

“I ran into two vampires. Fortunately, Rosie took care of one.”

She was draped completely in a black robe, covering herself tightly, which looked extremely suspicious in the dark dungeon.

If Vera hadn't stopped him quickly, Nikus might have chopped her down, mistaking her for a vampire.

“Alysia! Where did you go?”

Hearing the commotion from inside the cell, Rosie walked out quickly.

“Two vampires ran past the other side of the dungeon earlier, so I went to check it out,” Alysia said.

“Vampires?”

Rosie paused in her tracks.

“What did you find?”

“They suddenly vanished at the end of the passage. I searched all around, but couldn't find them,” Alysia replied.

Rosie immediately understood. No wonder something had felt off earlier.

Why would vampires bother assigning guards to protect victims who had already lost their value?

It turned out they weren't guarding those women—they were guarding a secret passage.

Once again, she had stumbled upon the truth by pure chance.

Alysia squeezed past her and walked quickly into the dungeon cell.

The golden light of the holy symbol was healing and purifying the victims.

The women's breathing had stabilized, and a faint touch of color was returning to their faces.

The edges of their shallower wounds contracted slightly under the golden light, while black fluid seeped from some wounds, making a subtle sizzling noise upon touching the golden light before evaporating into wisps of dark smoke.

A moment later, the glow on the holy symbol began to fade until it went out completely.

The white-robed cleric swayed slightly, his face noticeably paler than before.

A nearby knight stepped forward quickly to steady his arm. “Your Reverence, are you all right?”

The cleric shook his head, his tone laced with exhaustion. “The blood poison in their bodies has been cleansed. They are out of danger for now.”

Alysia knelt before her gaunt fellow elf, placing her hand gently on the elf's forehead.

After a few breaths, she withdrew her hand, stood up, and turned to the cleric. “Thank you.”

The cleric merely nodded without a word.

Nikus strode through the crowd toward Rosie.

His visor was pushed up, revealing an anxious face. “Miss Rosie, they're fine now. Where is the secret passage you mentioned?”

Rosie met his gaze and raised her hand, pointing at Alysia. “Ask her.”

Meeting Nikus's gaze, Rosie added before Alysia could speak:

“I thought it was strange from the beginning. Why would vampires assign guards for victims who were no longer useful? I didn't realize until she said those vampires disappeared in the dungeon. They weren't guarding those women...”

Alysia was smart as well. Before Rosie could even finish her sentence, she chimed in:

“And the vampires didn't vanish into thin air. They entered a secret passage.”

“Quick, take us there,” Nikus urged, unable to suppress the eagerness in his voice.

Alysia didn't move. She looked at the women in the cell. “I'm bringing them with us.”

Nikus hesitated for a moment, then turned and waved a hand at the knights behind him. “A few of you, carry them. Be careful not to hurt them.”

Several knights stepped forward at his command.

Lucius was among them. He gently picked up a woman curled against the wall, taking extra care with his movements.

The other knights also picked up the limp, weak bodies.

Rosie and Vera each helped up a woman who could barely stand.

The castle servants who had followed them also stepped forward to support the remaining women.

“Can we go now?” Nikus looked at Alysia.

Alysia didn't reply.

She bent down, carefully lifting her gaunt elven kin onto her back, then looked up. “Follow me.”

Instead of heading toward the entrance they had come from, Alysia turned down a side branch near the dungeon entrance and walked all the way to the deepest part.

That side corridor was narrower and darker than the main passage. Water drops seeped from the walls on both sides, and after long years of foot traffic, the edges of the flagstones beneath their feet had worn smooth.

The group moved forward slowly, holding oil lamps that cast a dim, yellow glow.

At the end of the side corridor, there was nothing except an uneven stone wall and a few abandoned, empty cells along the sides.

“This is the place. They disappeared right here.”

Alysia's voice echoed softly in the cavernous hallway.

Nikus stepped out from the group. He examined the stone wall, tracing his gloved fingers along the seams between the stones.

Then he shook his head; he couldn't see any obvious signs of a hidden door or mechanism.

Vera stepped out from the group.

She handed the woman she was supporting to a servant, took an oil lamp from a nearby knight, and walked up to the stone wall.

The angle of the lamp's light moved slowly across the wall with the turn of her wrist, illuminating every crack and patch of moss.

Suddenly, she stopped.

The oil lamp paused on an inconspicuous spot at the lower left corner of the wall.

There was a stone there. Unless illuminated by the light from an extremely low, oblique angle, no one would ever notice the ultra-fine gap between it and the surrounding stone wall.

Vera handed the lamp back to the knight beside her, squatted down, and extended a finger to probe along the gap. Then she pressed her palm flat against the stone, applying force to push it sideways.

A faint mechanical click echoed from inside the wall.

Like a pushed-open bookcase, the stone wall slid open silently along an axis hidden within the gap, revealing a profound darkness beyond.

A gust of stale air surged out from within the hidden door.

Vera stood up, brushed the dust off her hands, and glanced over at Rosie:

“Rosie, your mouth sure is prophetic. Why don't you tell us what's up ahead next?”

“It's nothing more than an escape passage for vampires. It's not like it could be a secret vampire lair,” Rosie replied without breaking composure. “You're the professional here—it's safer if you take the lead.”

Vera nodded, picked up the oil lamp, and slipped sideways through the secret door.

Nikus followed close behind.

Next were the unburdened knights, followed by the knights carrying the victims and the cleric.

Alysia gave Rosie a slight nod and entered the secret door with her kin on her back.

Rosie handed the woman she was supporting to a servant.

“Follow the people ahead. I'll cover the rear.”

The servants went inside while supporting the victims.

Only after everyone had entered did Rosie step through the hidden door.

Just as her front foot crossed the threshold, a burst of rapid, chaotic running sounds echoed from the direction of the dungeon entrance, mixed with a few raspy roars.

The feral ghouls wandering the castle had finally found their way down to the dungeon.

Rosie glanced left and right, reached out to grab the metal handle on the wall, and pulled down hard.

The secret door closed silently, fitting perfectly back into the stone wall's seams.

The thick rock completely blocked out the noise from the dungeon.

The only sounds remaining in the passage were her own breathing and the footsteps of the group ahead.

The passage behind the secret door was very narrow.

Rough stone lined both sides, and the ceiling was low; several tall knights in the front had to lower their heads slightly to pass through.

The oil lamp cast swaying shadows on the walls. No one spoke, only footsteps echoing muted through the narrow space.

After walking for an unknown length of time, the space ahead suddenly opened up.

The knights walking in front slowed their steps one after another.

A massive underground space revealed itself.

Neat stone slabs were laid across the floor, each carefully designed in size and shape.

The surrounding walls were carved with large reliefs and patterns—ancient yet intricate. Despite being covered in a thick layer of dust, one could still tell how much painstaking effort had gone into creating them.

In the very center of the underground space sat a massive stone coffin.

Its surface was covered in dense runes and patterns, glowing with a faint, dark red light that lent an exceptionally eerie atmosphere to the entire cavern.

“There's actually a place like this under Stratholme?”

Nikus's voice echoed through the cavern, carrying unmasked astonishment.

He stood at the front of the group, looking up at the cavern ceiling and the reliefs on the walls.

Vera stopped to examine the stone coffin, seemingly trying hard to recall something.

Hearing Nikus's voice, she spoke slowly:

“No wonder those vampires would rather kill everyone than leave this place.”

Nikus shifted his gaze from the reliefs to her. “What do you mean?”

“This should be the resting place of a vampire elder.”

Vera's voice echoed in the empty cave.

“A vampire elder's resting place?”

Nikus repeated her words.

“Does that mean we're trapped here?”

“No,” Vera interrupted him. “There's no way a place like this only has one entrance. There must be another exit.”

Rosie squeezed through the crowd to the very front of the group.

“Elder or not, let's just get out of here first.”

Before her voice could even fully fade in the cavern, a voice chimed in from the shadows:

“To think you actually followed us all the way here! Well then, I'll just have to make sure you stay here forever.”

A man walked out from the shadow of the stone coffin.

It was none other than the vampire noble who had rescued Elizabeth from the banquet hall.

As he stepped out, seven or eight other figures emerged from the surrounding shadows.

Rosie's gaze swept slowly across the emerging figures, locking onto the face of the lead vampire noble.

Then she turned her head and said to Vera beside her:

“Happy now? The vampires you wanted came right to your door.”

The corner of Vera's mouth twitched slightly.

“Is your mouth blessed or what?”