Checking to make sure the guard was unconscious, I bent down and checked his pulse, before retrieving the dart. I suppose that was us getting through! We moved onto the next door which blocked our path. Peering through the windows, I began to recognise some of the area ahead of us; to the left was the entrance to the sewage outlet which I had used to escape my cell, and to the right was the interrogation room. Further ahead, there were the countless cells, most of which seemed to have closed doors. Not seeing any more guards ahead, we flicked the levers and continued through. Carefully and slowly, we moved down the corridor, making sure we couldn't be heard or seen. UOPETA moved to the left to check in the sewage outlet, whilst I went right to check the interrogation room. As I got closer, the cold feeling running through me intensified, and, for want of a better word, I froze up! THEROS stopped with me, whilst UOPETA continued ahead. I started breathing deeply, trying to regain my sense of control, but it was hard. I had vowed never to come back to this place, and here I was, entering of my own accord! Luckily I was snapped from my freeze-up by UOPETA; a high-pitched whistle was heard, and then a splash. I knew what I had happened, and so did THEROS, but it didn't stop us looking towards the sewage entrance with bemused looks on our faces... Eventually UOPETA emerged.
"Sorry. There was a guard there. Got him in the neck, but he decided to flop into the water... Nearly fell through one of the grates!"
He joined us again, and motioned for me to enter the interrogation room. I slowly rounded the corner, not making any sudden noise or movements. There was no-one there; the small room that lead into the interrogation chamber was empty, except for the chest and the table. Peering further into the blank chamber, I couldn't see anyone else, but for all I knew, there could be someone on the other side of the mirrored glass, so I didn't stay in sight for too long. Going back into the small room, I went through the chest and picked up the book with the HoN Co. symbol on it. This might be worth taking...
I left the small room and we continued down the hallway. I refrained from looking in the cells, already knowing what they were like, and trying to suppress my mind from lapsing into another horror dream! The other two on the other hand, kept stopping at each one, peered through the bars and progressed to the next one. I suppose they were looking for more people trapped here. Maybe other miners that HoN Co. had imprisoned...
"Is this where you were put? In these... These... Holes?"
I nodded. That's literally all they were. A wrought-iron bed with a paper-thin mattress that stank of unmentionable excretions, and a hole in the corner where you were expected to do your business... It was sickening that any one human would submit another to this type of treatment... The we stopped! Up ahead, at the far end of the corridor, we could hear whistling and footsteps... Was... Was that the same guard? I wasn't able to find out, as UOPETA disappeared into an open cell, whilst THEROS pulled me into the opposite one. We waited with breaths held, in the corner, trying to blend in with the walls. The footsteps and whistling grew louder, until they sounded like they were right on top of us! The shadow of a man passed across the door, and we tried harder to remain silent! His head came into view from the door, but he seemed completely oblivious to our presence. A few moments later, and he collapsed to the floor. Waiting a few moments longer in case it was a trap, we then cautiously moved to the door. UOPETA was crouched over him, removing a dart from his neck.
"Friend of yours?"
We moved forward, following the corridor around. We reached my cell, and I stopped and peered in; it looked exactly as how I remembered it... Dull, dank and depressing. I moved back away from it, and we continued around the corner. We reached the small opening that led us out to the main floor, which was, in reality, a single corridor. Once inside, I motioned towards the ladders and I went up first with UOPETA on the adjacent ladder. Carefully emerging, I stopped, instantly seeing a guard! He had his back to me, and was leaning on the wall, looking out across the land. I had to do this just right so as to not draw attention to any other guards that might be around. Oddly though, I heard a high pitched whistle, and reflexively, I fired my dart. It caught the guard in the neck, just as he was turning around. He dropped his sword with a clang, clutched his throat and fell to the floor. Maybe it had been a lucky break he had been distracted; the way he was positioned, a dart might have made him fall off the side! Emerging fully from the ladder, I checked on the guard, removing the dart. UOPETA turned the corner, seeing the guards unconscious form on the floor, and smiled.
"Good eye! We can't afford to slip up. Especially not in places like this. It's too easy to be pinned down."
We put the blowpipes away, allowing us to climb further up the tower. We were at the last hurdle. If we fell now, it was going to be fatal! I climbed the ladder first, hoping that there would be no-one there. I also hoped that if there was, they would remain in the room, and not attempt to climb down the ladder. A situation like that would be incredibly complex to deal with. On the one hand I could attempt to sedate them, causing them to inevitably fall to their death below, or force them back up, or be forced back down... Luckily it didn't happen, and I made it to the hatch with no further hassle. Peering through the hatch, I couldn't see anyone there, so I emerged slightly, allowing me to look properly into the room. This bit was new to me too, but from the looks of things, this was totally void of life... I emerged totally, allowing UOPETA and THEROS to climb through. It was an office. A modest office stacked on top of a huge tower... Who worked here? What did they do?
As we looked around, I felt the cold breeze blowing against me, and I turned to face the source. Close to a desk was an open doorway, leading out to a balcony which was stretching across a small walkway. That was what the strange outcropping was from below! It was a balcony! It seemed very precarious, and I decided to risk going on it and looking down. It was beautiful! The sun had begun to go down, and the moon was rising in the Eastern sky. You could see for huge distances! I remained out there for what seemed like a long time; gazing down at the scenery below, marvelling at the sights. I knew I was putting everyone at risk by merely being here, but I couldn't help it. Eventually UOPETA called me back in.
"Come on Syeonyx, We're here to find reports about obsidian, not admire the view. Start with that pile over there."
He motioned to a shelf on the far side of the room, and crossed over to it, and began flicking through the files and books, looking for the word "obsidian" or "portal".
Syeonyx signing off
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