Chapter 331 -324:The Ride back

The Iron Bastion

The chain between Ghara’s wrists groaned again as she braced one boot against the base of the opposite bench, wrapping both hands around the short length of reinforced metal to pull until the muscles across her shoulders tightened beneath her clothes. Although the cuffs held firm, a faint pattern of runes along the metal brightened as mana gathered through her arms; the moment the glow appeared, Ghara’s strength dipped sharply, forcing her to stop pulling. The light faded, and after staring at the restraints for a beat, she tried again.

Aldis watched from across the prisoner compartment, observing dryly, "You know what happened the first three times."

"I’m checking."

"For what?"

"Improvement."

"From the chain?"

"From me."Ghara said

Aldis closed his eyes.

Thorne had been conducting his own experiment beside her, twisting one cuff as far as its construction allowed to examine the hinge rather than attempting to tear the chain apart directly. Leaning sideways to watch, Durn muttered, "You’re wasting your time."

Thorne looked up. "You’ve inspected them?"

"I have eyes."

"You also have a hammer."

"Had" Durn corrected, his expression darkening at the reminder that everything—weapons, tools, pouches, and spatial rings—had been stripped during processing before they were loaded into the car.

Pib’s attention went immediately to Durn’s bare hand. "You keep looking at the finger."

"I’m aware."

"Maybe if you stare hard enough, the ring will come back."

Durn turned his glare toward her. "Perhaps if I stare hard enough, you’ll disappear."

"Less likely."

Sitting nearest the reinforced door, Renna listened intently to the wheels beneath them while Elenwe examined the glowing pattern around her cuffs. The mage had tried feeding mana into the restraints only once, but the reaction had been immediate—the runes had brightened, the mana circulating through her arms had broken apart, and she had spent the next several seconds staring at the metal.

Slowly turning one wrist, she noted, "Disruption matrix."

Durn looked toward her. "Strong?"

"Annoyingly."

"Can you break it?"

"Given time, tools, and the ability to use magic without the restraint reacting to the magic I’m trying to use, yes."

Pib nodded gravely. "So no."

Vale sat against the another wall in silence, having already tested his own restraints once—a trial that proved quite sufficient. They were not designed to completely suppress a Knight’s mana, but rather to interfere with the concentration and circulation required for physical reinforcement. While he could probably break the chain eventually, the presence of guards outside, the speed of the moving military train, and their stripped equipment made an immediate attempt reckless. Having already spent one afternoon ignoring Malen advice, he was not eager to make a habit of it.

When Ghara pulled again, the cuffs flashed, forcing her to stop once more.

"Still nothing," Aldis remarked.

She glared at him. "I noticed."

A lock shifted outside,silence spead to the compartment instantly as Thorne released his cuff, Ghara sat upright, and everyone turned toward the door. When the reinforced door opened, Malen Voldric stood in the corridor with two armored commandos behind him.

Neither commando entered as Malen surveyed the scene, taking in Ghara’s posture, Thorne’s half-turned wrist, and the fading glow on Elenwe’s restraints before settling his gaze on the chain between Ghara’s wrists.

"You’ve been busy,i see."Ghara leaned back.

"Your chains are annoying."

"I will consider that a compliment," Malen replied as he stepped inside, accepting a plain wooden stool passed to him through the doorway by one of the guards.

Pib stared at the seat. "You brought furniture?"

"I’ve learned that conversations tend to last longer when people aren’t standing."

Placing the stool in the center of the car, Malen sat down, resting his forearms casually across his thighs while the door remained open and the commandos stayed outside. Looking across all eight prisoners, he asked, "So how is your little experiment ongoing?"

Ghara stared back. "Work in progress and i hope you didnt come here for it"

"Partly. Lord Lucien specifically requested eight living prisoners, and I’d rather not arrive with seven and an explanation."

Pib leaned toward Durn. "I still like the old man."

Durn muttered, "Your judgment remains as defective as your products"

Overhearing them, Malen smiled faintly. "I appreciate the support."

"You don’t have it," Durn replied.

Vale studied the Knight carefully. Malen had entered without armor or an escort inside the car, sitting within arm’s reach of a Peak Knight, two Grand Knights, a High Knight, a Master Knight, an Archmage, an agitated dwarf, and Pib—a risk suggesting he either trusted the restraints completely or trusted his own combat abilities. After their previous encounter, Vale suspected the latter.

"Where are we going?" Vale asked.

"Elarion."

"We were already in Elarion."

"The capital city."

"To Lord Valen?"

"Eventually."

Catching the subtle emphasis, Vale repeated, "Eventually?"

"You’re prisoners who attacked a military transport; there are procedures."

Pib raised her cuffed hands. "Technically, the transport attacked a mountain first."

Malen met her gaze silently until she added, "That sounded better before I said it."

"Most things do," Malen agreed, prompting Durn to nod in rare agreement.

Redirecting the conversation, Vale pressed, "You knew we’d attack the train."

"I suspected you’d do something."

"The blueprints were bait."

When nobody moved and Malen’s expression remained unreadable,

Vale continued analyzing aloud: "You let us reach the vault, your men aboard the train held back, and the train conveniently slowed after we took them."

"Trains do occasionally slow," Malen noted mildly.

Renna gave a quiet snort, and when Malen glanced toward her, she merely shrugged. "2 out of 10 for the joke old man."

"Thank you for the assessment."

Vale refused to let him dodge the point. "The forest was already occupied, another train was already waiting, and the firing positions were prepared before we ever reached the tunnel."

Malen remained silent for a moment before offering a faint, knowing smile. "There we are."

"There we are?"

"I was wondering how long it would take you."Ghara leaned forward, her eyes narrowing. "So it was a trap."

"Yes," Malen confirmed plainly, casting a brief silence over the car.

"You just told us?" Pib blinked.

"You’ve already been captured."

"Fair."

Vale pressed on. "You wanted to know what we were after."Malen tipped his head slightly. "That was one of the questions."

"And now you know," Durn grunted, his expression hardening.

"We know what you were willing to steal," Malen said, his eyes shifting briefly toward Durn’s bare, hand. "Those aren’t necessarily the same thing."

The observation made Vale pause, and Malen clearly noticed, deliberately giving him just enough information to keep him guessing.

Aldis spoke next. "How long were you watching us?"

"Long enough."

Renna shifted against the wall. "You knew our abilities."

"We knew enough."

Elenwe finally interjected, "The two Grand Mages—they were there for me."Malen smiled faintly. "You sound disappointed."

"I want an answer."

"Putting powerful mages on an operation involving an unidentified, exceptionally powerful mage seemed prudent. Sending only one Grand Mage would have been rude."

Pib made a quiet choking sound, though Elenwe looked thoroughly unamused."Those suits are standard for your mages?" Elenwe asked. "Since when?"

Malen raised an eyebrow. "Now we’re drifting from ’captured infiltrator’ into a ’military procurement interview.’ I wasn’t planning to answer."

Watching the exchange, Vale noted there was no vanity or boastfulness in Malen’s demeanor—the mage-commandos were clearly established military assets rather than novel experiments, a realization that was far from comforting.

Changing his tone, Vale asked, "Our rings. Where are they?"

"Secured."

"Have they been opened?"Malen’s expression shifted by the smallest fraction, but it was enough to make Vale regret asking so quickly. As Pib slowly closed her eyes and Durn stared at the wall, Malen leaned back slightly on the stool."Interesting. You’ve lost your weapons, your tools, and your freedom, yet those rings are the first thing you ask me to account for."

"They’re valuable."

"So are your swords."

"They’re replaceable."

"Spatial rings are replaceable too," Malen countered, his faint smile returning. "What’s inside them?"

"Personal belongings."

"That answer has never made anyone less suspicious."Pib muttered, "We’re doing wonderfully," earning a sharp look from Vale that she met with an innocent smile.

Malen turned his attention toward Durn, whose brow furrowed immediately. "What?"

"Nothing."

"You’re looking at me."

"I have eyes."

"Use them elsewhere."Malen chuckled softly. "Your ring was the one you reacted to most when it was removed."Durn froze for a fraction of a second before sighing heavily. "I dislike experienced people."

"The feeling is often mutual."

Vale leaned forward. "Have they been opened?"

"I don’t know," Malen answered, his tone genuine. "They were transferred for cataloguing after you were searched—weapons, documents, spatial storage, magical objects, everything gets inventoried."Elenwe’s expression tightened, a reaction Malen caught instantly before scanning Aldis, Pib, and finally returning to Vale.

"Oh," Malen said softly as his smile widened. "Oh, that’s interesting."

Ghara glanced between them still unable to catch upto the information. "What?"

"Nothing," Vale said immediately, though Malen laughed."That was terrible. But to answer your implied question: yes, they are being inventoried, and likely already have been."

The compartment seemed to grow smaller as Pib whispered toward Durn, "How much trouble?"

"Potentially? Don’t ask questions you don’t want answered," Durn grunted.

Malen chuckled again. "Now I definitely want to see that inventory."

"You’re enjoying this," Vale glared.

"A little."

As the train swung into a wide curve, Renna’s head tilted automatically, an action Malen didn’t miss. "You’ve been tracking the route?"

"Trying."

"And?"

"You’ve taken us east, changed onto a larger line, and we’re slowing into a denser rail network."Malen blinked once in slight surprise. "Good."

Renna frowned. "That’s it?"

"What would you like, applause?"Pib raised her cuffed hands slightly. "I would."

Ignoring Pib, Malen looked back at Vale. "You haven’t asked the obvious question: why Lord Valen wants you alive.""Why?"Malen rested his hands loosely together. "Because eight unrecognized individuals appeared in his territory, spent days quietly collecting military intelligence, and then attacked a secured transport to steal blueprints. People don’t usually do that recreationally."

Ghara shrugged. "You haven’t met Pib then."

"Lord Valen wants to know who you are, who sent you, and why you were willing to go this far," Malen continued, ignoring her.

"You already know who we are," Vale replied neutrally.

"I know your names," Malen corrected softly.

A heavy silence fell over the car."Torrin Vale," Malen listed smoothly without hesitation. "Ghara Mok-Sûl. Aldis Ferren. Vashek Durn. Pib Skarrow."Pib brightened slightly. "You pronounced it correctly. Most people don’t."

Malen paused briefly. "Thank you... Renna Coil. Elenwe Sarath. Sevik Thorne."

Vale’s mind raced. Names could be gathered, but names did not equate to knowing their true origin."You don’t know where we’re from,"Vale stated .

"I didn’t say that."

"You would have used it already if you did."Malen considered him for a second. "Maybe."

Vale leaned back, reassured that while Elarion knew their cover identities, their connection to the Central Continent remained hidden—a secret he intended to guard at all costs.Reading the shift in Vale’s posture, Malen remarked, "You really do think loudly."

As the train slowed significantly, Malen stood up and picked up his stool. "We’re close to the city. You’ll be processed into secure holding and eventually interrogated—though not by me, as I’ve spent quite enough time with you."

Pib looked offended again. "What did we do?"

"Lord Valen wants to meet you himself," Malen added, shifting the mood instantly.

Standing to go, Malen paused near the doorway when Vale asked, "Why warn me before our fight?"

Malen paused, looking back. "Because Lord Valen wanted eight prisoners, and capturing experienced Knights alive is an enormous nuisance—particularly that one," he said, gesturing toward Ghara, who offered a satisfied grin. "Furthermore, Vale, you weren’t going to surrender without testing the cage first. I gave you the opportunity to make a better decision."

"I still didn’t."

"No."

"Would you have, at my age?"Malen considered it briefly. "Absolutely not."

Before stepping into the corridor, Malen offered a final parting thought: "If i were you,i would tell the truth though if you decide to lie please choose a decent one."

The door locked shut behind him, leaving silence in its wake until Pib broke it: "I definitely like him."

Soon the train thundered into a dark tunnel before bursting back into daylight among the sprawling steel and stone structures of a heavily fortified military depot. Rail lines converged beneath watchtowers, and armed guards marched along elevated gantries. When the train squealed to a final halt inside an enclosed platform, the heavy doors opened to reveal four commandos beneath white lamps, flanked by Malen and a man in dark coat—Cedric.

"Got all eight bud," Malen said

Cedric’s cold, analytical gaze swept over them without a flicker of surprise or curiosity. "Good.

Then he turned to commandos"Bring them."