Chapter 92: Unasked Questions

The descent was easier than the climb, though still treacherous enough that they had to watch every step. The snow here was older, packed hard by wind and time, creating a surface that was simultaneously slippery and uneven. More than once, Nacho had to catch himself on a jutting rock or buried branch to keep from sliding off the path entirely.

They stopped once, around mid-afternoon, to eat and rest in a sheltered hollow beneath an overhanging cliff. Sera pulled out the map again, tracing the route they’d been following and comparing it to what they could see of the terrain ahead.

"The mining shaft Corvus mentioned should be here," she said, tapping a spot on the map that corresponded to a rocky outcropping about half a mile from the fortress’s eastern wall. "If his information was accurate, there’ll be a concealed entrance somewhere in this area."

"And if it wasn’t accurate?"

"Then we improvise." She folded the map and tucked it back into her pack. "I’ve assaulted fortified positions before. Usually with more support than this, but the principles are the same. Find the weak point. Exploit it. Move fast before they can organize a response."

"You make it sound simple."

"The concept is simple. The execution is where things get complicated." She stood, brushing snow from her clothes. "But we’ve come too far to turn back now. Whatever’s waiting for us in that fortress, we’ll deal with it."

They continued their descent as the sun began its slow slide toward the horizon, painting the snow in shades of orange and pink. The temperature dropped as the light faded, but they pressed on, following the map through terrain that grew increasingly rough and broken.

The old mining roads were still visible beneath the snow, their edges marked by the remains of wooden support structures that had long since rotted into ruin. Evidence of the operation that had once flourished here lay scattered across the landscape: rusted tools, collapsed cart tracks, piles of tailings that created small hills of displaced earth and stone.

"Mining operation shut down about fifty years ago," Sera said as they picked their way through the debris. "The veins ran dry, and the company that owned the land went bankrupt. The Consortium bought it ten years later for a fraction of its original value."

"And nobody questioned why a criminal organization wanted an abandoned mine in the middle of nowhere?"

"Money buys a lot of unasked questions." Her voice had gone flat, carrying an edge of old anger. "Besides, by then the local lord had stopped pretending to care about Imperial law. As long as the Consortium paid their bribes and didn’t cause too much obvious trouble, he was content to look the other way."

The outcropping Corvus had mentioned came into view as the last light faded from the sky. It was larger than Nacho had expected, a massive spur of grey stone that jutted from the mountainside like the prow of a ship. Scrub brush and small trees had colonized its lower slopes, creating a tangled barrier that would hide anyone approaching from casual observation.

They circled around to the eastern face, moving slowly and carefully to avoid leaving obvious tracks in the snow. Nacho’s Apex Senses were running at full capacity, probing the darkness for any sign of guards or surveillance. He found nothing but the normal sounds and smells of a mountain wilderness, the scurry of small animals in the underbrush, the distant call of an owl, the crisp scent of pine and cold stone.

"There." Sera pointed to a spot where the vegetation seemed slightly thicker than the surrounding area. "See how the brush grows differently? Something’s underneath."

They approached carefully, pushing through branches that grabbed at their clothes like clutching fingers. Behind the screen of vegetation, partially concealed by a fall of loose rock, was a dark opening in the cliff face. The entrance to the mining shaft.

It was smaller than Nacho had expected, maybe four feet wide and five feet tall, barely large enough for a person to pass through without crouching. The darkness inside was absolute, swallowing the faint moonlight that filtered through the clouds.

He extended his senses into the shaft, probing for any sign of danger. The tunnel extended back into the mountain for at least a hundred yards before opening into a larger space. No guards that he could detect. No alarms. No traps.

"Looks clear."

"Then let’s go." Sera was already ducking into the entrance, her sword drawn and held low in a fighting grip. "Stay close. Watch for any sign that they’ve discovered this access point."

The shaft was cramped and dark, the walls pressing in on both sides as they moved deeper into the mountain. Nacho’s enhanced vision adapted quickly, rendering the absolute darkness into shades of grey and silver, but he kept his free hand on the wall anyway, using touch to supplement sight.

The air grew warmer as they descended, taking on a stale quality that spoke of poor ventilation and enclosed spaces. He could hear the distant drip of water somewhere ahead, and beneath that, so faint it was almost subliminal, the hum of magical energy.

They emerged from the shaft into a chamber that had once been a junction point for multiple tunnels. Most of the side passages had collapsed or been deliberately sealed, their entrances blocked by piles of rubble or heavy iron gates. Only one remained open, leading deeper into the mountain toward the source of that magical hum.

Sera gestured for him to stop, pressing herself against the wall and listening intently. After a moment, she held up two fingers. Guards. Two of them. Coming their way.

Nacho felt his tentacles stir beneath his clothes, eager for action after days of inactivity. He forced them to stay hidden, trusting in the darkness and their concealment to keep them undetected.

The guards appeared a moment later, carrying lanterns that threw dancing shadows across the rough stone walls. They wore the same kind of armor Nacho had seen on the Consortium soldiers who’d tried to capture them at sea, practical and well-maintained, designed for function rather than show.