Chapter 305: The Narrow Path

‘This is perfect.’

Darion almost felt a surge of excitement. He had spent all this time sneaking around, observing soldiers, watching buildings, and trying to figure out where the important people were.

He had expected that getting anywhere near the Chief would be extremely difficult. Yet here he was. Being invited into a meeting.

‘I’m actually going to hear what they’re planning.’

Darion quickly followed the masked warrior. He made sure not to walk too quickly. He didn’t want to look suspicious or make it obvious that he was eager to get there.

Instead, he adopted the same calm, confident posture he had been using since entering Vrethka. Shoulders straight. Steps steady. Head held high. He was supposed to be someone important. Someone who belonged here.

So he acted like it. ‘Just act normal.’

The masked warrior walked ahead of him without saying another word. Darion followed.

They entered deeper into the building. The atmosphere immediately changed.

Outside, Vrethka had been loud and active. Warriors moved through the streets, families talked, weapons clattered, and people constantly passed by. Inside, everything was much quieter.

The building was illuminated by torches and lanterns mounted along the walls. Their flames flickered across the stone, creating moving shadows that stretched and disappeared with every step. Darion’s footsteps echoed softly beneath him.

‘So this is where the important people stay.’

He carefully looked around without making it obvious. The walls were made of stone, sturdy enough to withstand an attack. There weren’t many decorations.

This wasn’t some luxurious palace. It felt more like a military headquarters. Everything seemed designed for practicality.

The corridors were narrow, forcing people to move through them in a single direction. Darion followed the masked warrior through one corridor. Then they turned right. Darion kept walking. Another turn. Then another.

‘How far is this place?’

The warrior continued without hesitation. He clearly knew exactly where he was going. Darion, meanwhile, had no idea where they were.

The farther they went, the tighter the passage became. The walls seemed to close in around them. Darion’s eyes moved from one side to the other. There were no windows. No obvious exits. Just stone walls, flickering torchlight, and the sound of their footsteps.

The masked warrior continued ahead. He didn’t speak. He didn’t look back. He simply walked.

Darion’s excitement began to fade slightly. In its place came a creeping feeling of paranoia.

‘Wait.’

He had been so focused on the opportunity that he hadn’t stopped to consider something important.

He didn’t actually know what he was walking into. He had assumed this would be a meeting room somewhere near the main palace. Instead, they were taking a winding path through the interior of the building.

‘What if this isn’t the way to the meeting?’

Darion’s eyes narrowed.

‘What if there’s some kind of greeting code?’

He had no idea how Vrethka’s military hierarchy worked. He didn’t know the names of the officers. He didn’t know their ranks. He didn’t know their procedures. He didn’t even know what the guard whose armor he had stolen was supposed to do at a meeting.

‘What if they expect me to say something?’

His stomach tightened.

‘What if there’s a password?’

He imagined walking into the meeting room and someone immediately asking him a question. “What’s the signal?” And Darion would just stand there like an idiot.

‘Fuck.’

He had been so lucky getting this far that he had almost forgotten how fragile his disguise actually was.

Another thought entered his mind.

‘What if they take off their masks?’

Darion’s eyes widened slightly. The mask had been incredibly useful outside. It concealed his face completely.

But what happened if everyone in the meeting was expected to remove theirs? If that happened, he would be standing among people who knew each other while he was the only stranger. One look at his face could expose him.

‘Maybe they don’t remove them.’ He tried to reassure himself. ‘They’re probably wearing them for a reason.’

But that didn’t completely calm him. Another possibility immediately came to mind.

‘What if someone here actually knows the guard I killed?’

Darion’s thoughts became increasingly uncomfortable. The man had clearly been important. People had saluted Darion because of his armor and mask. That meant the original owner probably had responsibilities. People might know him personally. They might expect him to behave a certain way. They might notice if something was different.

‘I don’t even know this guy’s name.’

Darion silently cursed himself. He had never considered asking. Obviously, asking the dead man for his name wasn’t exactly an option.

‘Well… I’m already here.’

There was no point panicking now.

Darion forced himself to relax. His walking pace remained unchanged. He didn’t look around too much. He didn’t suddenly start acting nervous. As far as anyone watching him could tell, he was simply another high-ranking guard heading toward an important meeting.

‘Just keep acting like you belong here.’

That was the only thing keeping his disguise together.

The warrior ahead still hadn’t said a word. His boots continued striking the stone floor. Step. Step. Step. The sound echoed through the narrow passage.

Darion listened carefully. The further they went, the more isolated they became from the rest of Vrethka. He couldn’t hear the sounds of the settlement anymore. No conversations. No children. No weapons being moved around. Nothing. Just the two of them.

And that silence made Darion even more alert.

Darion’s hand slowly drifted toward the sword at his side. His fingers stopped just short of the hilt. He didn’t grip it. He didn’t want the warrior ahead to notice. But he wanted it close. If something went wrong, he needed to react immediately.

His undead were still available to him. If necessary, he could summon them. Ghet Ulg. Edric Vorne. Yuimon. The others. He could create chaos in the building and force his way out. It wouldn’t be easy. But it was better than dying here.

‘If they discover me, I summon them immediately.’

He thought through the escape route. Fight his way out. Get outside. Reach Seren. Then leave Vrethka before their entire army could surround them. It was risky. But at least he had a plan.

His fingers remained close to his sword.

‘Hopefully I won’t need it.’

Then the passage finally began to change. The narrow corridor opened slightly. Darion looked ahead. A wider hallway appeared beyond it. And with the extra space came something else. Sound. Voices.

Darion slowed his breathing. He could hear multiple people talking somewhere ahead. Not one or two. Many. Several voices overlapped, some deeper than others. The sound was muffled by the walls, making it impossible to understand what they were saying. But there was no doubt. There were a lot of people ahead.

Darion’s heartbeat immediately increased.

‘We’re here.’

This had to be the meeting. The leadership. The Chief. Maybe the people who had planned the attack on Percvale were all waiting just ahead.

Darion took a slow breath. He forced his shoulders to remain relaxed. His hand moved away from his sword. He couldn’t walk into a meeting looking ready for a fight. Not now. He needed to look confident. Like he belonged. Like nothing was wrong.

The masked warrior continued forward. Darion followed. With every step, the voices became clearer. His heart beat harder beneath the armor.

‘Too late to turn back now.’

The warrior finally stopped. Darion stopped behind him. In front of them stood a large wooden door. It was much larger than the doors they had passed earlier. Heavy. Reinforced. Important.

The voices from behind it were clearer now. Darion could hear several people talking. His eyes remained fixed on the door.

‘They’re all in there.’

He swallowed. Whatever was happening inside that room could completely change what he knew about Vrethka. He had entered this settlement looking for information. Somehow, he had gotten closer to the Chief than he could have imagined.

The masked warrior turned slightly toward him. He raised one hand and gestured toward the door.

“Go ahead.”

Darion stared at the entrance. His heart pounded. He could feel every beat beneath the mask. For a brief moment, he wondered whether he was making a mistake. But there was no turning back now.

Darion stepped forward. His hand moved toward the door. The voices continued on the other side.

He took one final breath. Then he prepared to enter.

——

Darion pushed the large door open and stepped inside.

The first thing that struck him was the size of the room. It was much larger than he had expected. He had imagined some small chamber where a handful of officers would gather around a table and discuss the upcoming attack. Instead, the room was packed.

Warriors stood throughout the chamber, most of them wearing the same kind of heavy armor and masks that Darion had seen throughout Vrethka. Torchlight reflected off their armor, making the entire room appear to shimmer whenever the flames moved.

Darion’s eyes quickly swept across the gathering.