Chapter 5

The gate groaned shut behind me, its iron weight closing with an eerie finality. I had thought the pit was dark, but now, this was something else. Absolute darkness enveloped me, so complete that I couldn’t even see my own hands in front of me. My breath echoed off unseen walls, the air thick and damp.

I took a step forward, my boots crunching over something hollow. Startled, I bent down and picked it up. It felt solid in my hands, cold and hollow like a shell, but I couldn’t tell what it was. I brought it closer to my face, squinting in vain against the blackness. No light, no form. It could have been anything, and that mystery gnawed at my nerves.

I pushed forward, gripping my mace tightly. Every step felt like a leap into the unknown, each crunch beneath my feet sending a shiver up my spine. More of those hollow objects littered the ground, but I didn’t stop to inspect them again. My focus shifted to the faint breeze on my face—the only guide I had in this oppressive dark.

Where was it coming from? There had to be an opening, a way out. That thought kept me moving, one foot in front of the other, deeper into this unseen tunnel.

The air stirred around me, brushing against my skin like a warning. My heart thudded in my chest, each beat growing louder as something unsettled stirred within me. It was subtle at first, like a distant whisper of unease. But the feeling grew, swelling into something more primal.

Danger.

I stopped, every muscle tensing as the hair on the back of my neck stood up. Instinct screamed at me to freeze. A split second later, something whizzed by my head, slicing through the air with a sharp hiss. It was too fast to see—too fast to react—but I heard it thud against the stone wall behind me, followed by the clatter of metal on the ground.

I dropped to my knees in an instant, heart pounding in my throat as I rummaged the cold stone floor, fingers shaking. What was that? A trap? My hand brushed against something metallic, but before I could grasp it, a sharp pain ripped through my palm. I pulled back with a hiss, feeling the warm sting of blood. My mind raced.

The mace. I still had my mace. Gripping the handle tightly, I prodded the ground in front of me, pushing through the debris with caution now. My weapon brushed something again, something long, metal-tipped, and light in my grip.

I lifted it from the floor, careful this time. It was long, thin—a bolt, cold and deadly. My fingers traced its sharp tip, and the realization hit me like a punch to the gut.

Crossbow traps.

I scanned the darkness, or at least, I tried. My breath came in shallow, quick bursts. The hollow objects I had been stepping over—they were bones, weren’t they? This place was filled with traps, and judging by the bolt in my hand, they were as lethal as the wolf. How many had already fallen victim to this place, stumbling blindly like me?

I knelt in the darkness, the bolt still in my hand, running through every possibility in my mind. Something had triggered that shot, something unseen. I hadn't touched anything above or around me. That left only one answer—the ground. My heart sank. Pressure plates. They had to be scattered throughout the tunnel, hidden beneath my feet. But how could I possibly avoid them? Even if I stayed along the walls, the traps could be anywhere, ready to spring.

I tried to think back, grasping for the details of how I had dodged that first bolt. I hadn’t seen or heard anything before it shot out, no mechanical click or sudden movement. Just that gut-wrenching feeling—a raw instinct warning me of danger, flaring just in time for me to react. How had I done that? I wasn’t sure, but I didn’t have the luxury of figuring it out now.

I had to move. Slowly, I crept towards the edge of the tunnel, hoping the sides might be safer. Every step was careful, deliberate, as I tested the ground before putting weight on it. But there it was again—that feeling. A sudden spike of dread, like the air around me had thickened with malice. Instinct screamed at me to duck.

I dropped to the ground just in time. A rush of air passed over my head as something massive sliced through the space where I had just been standing. I barely caught the swish of it before it disappeared back into the wall. My pulse thundered in my ears. This wasn’t another bolt—it was something bigger, deadlier. I scrambled back and pressed myself against the wall, my breath ragged as I surveyed my surroundings.

There—a thin horizontal slot cut into the stone just above where I crouched. The blade must have come from there, swinging across the tunnel in a deadly arc. I leaned closer to inspect it, trying to make sense of how it worked. But before I could fully understand, I felt my foot shift ever so slightly. A low click echoed beneath me.

My heart jumped into my throat.

I flung myself to the ground again, my arms covering my head as another sharp hiss sliced through the air. This time, I saw it—a large, curved blade gleaming faintly as it shot out from the slot and swung across the tunnel, following the exact same path as before. It was terrifyingly fast, a blur of steel that disappeared as quickly as it had appeared, leaving only the memory of its vicious swing.

Panting, I forced myself to my feet. That was close—too close. One wrong step and that thing would’ve cut me in half. Now I knew for sure—this place was riddled with traps, each more dangerous than the last. I had to be smarter, quicker. That sense of foreboding, whatever it was, had saved me twice now.

This place was a death trap—literally.

I wiped the sweat from my brow, the cold dampness mixing with the grime already caking my skin. But there was no turning back. The way forward was my only option, no matter how dangerous it seemed. I crouched lower, prodding at the ground as I grabbed something tangible —a bone.

I tossed it in front of me.

The hollow clatter echoed in the tunnel, bouncing off the walls. Nothing.

I grabbed another and threw it further this time, holding my breath. The faint sound of a click echoed back, and my heart stopped. I threw myself to the side just as another bolt whizzed past, the rush of air brushing against my skin like a ghost. I barely had time to react before it slammed into the wall behind me.

I exhaled sharply, steadying my breath. So that’s where the next trap was. The realization hit me hard—this place was crawling with hidden mechanisms, ready to take me down at every step. But I couldn’t see anything in the suffocating darkness. I could only feel it, that gnawing sense of danger, and hope that each bone I tossed would give me enough warning to dodge.

I continued, throwing bones ahead of me, each clattering sound followed by a split second of tense silence. Sometimes nothing happened, and I moved forward cautiously. Other times, a hidden trap would spring, forcing me to dodge, to roll, to leap out of the way. A crossbow bolt here, a swinging blade there. Each step was a gamble, and each close call sent my heart racing.

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Then, up ahead—I saw it.

A door.

It wasn’t much, just a rough outline barely visible in the oppressive darkness, but light crept through its edges, illuminating faint streaks of the floor and walls around it. It was almost like a beacon, taunting me with the promise of escape. My breath caught in my throat. Fifty meters away, not far, but the space between me and that door felt like an eternity. I could feel it—there would be more traps, deadlier ones. They were waiting for me, lurking just beneath the surface.

I couldn’t hesitate, though. The door was my only chance. My only hope.

I picked up more bones from the ground, feeling the jagged edges digging into my fingers. One by one, I hurled them forward, listening intently. Some bones hit the ground with nothing but an innocent rattle. Others triggered clicks, metallic hisses, and sudden bursts of movement as blades swung and bolts fired. Each time, I dodged, weaving through the chaos, narrowly avoiding death at every turn.

As I inched closer to the door, the light seeping through its cracks grew brighter, guiding me, urging me forward. My limbs were heavy with exhaustion, my muscles burning from the strain, but I pushed on.

One more step, then another. Just a little further.

The instant I took another step, my heart seized in my chest. That same instinctual feeling that had saved me so many times before flared, stronger than ever. The air felt thick, suffocating, and every nerve in my body screamed a single warning: above.

Without thinking, I threw myself to the left, just as a massive blade came crashing down from the ceiling, a vertical swing that would have cleaved me in two had I not moved. The sound of it cutting through the air sent a chill down my spine as it embedded itself into the stone floor with a deafening thud.

I barely had a moment to breathe before a sharp click echoed beneath my foot, followed by the hiss of another mechanism—this time, a bolt from a hidden crossbow. My body reacted before my mind could, pivoting sharply, but not fast enough. The bolt caught me in the arm, the pain immediate and searing causing me to drop the mace. I staggered backward, clutching the wound, my head swimming as I fought to stay upright.

Click! Another trigger.

I bit down on my tongue to stay focused, adrenaline now the only thing keeping me moving. I couldn’t think; I could only react. I leaped forward, my body twisting midair as another crossbow bolt sailed through the spot I’d just vacated. I hit the ground hard, rolling into the landing and feeling the impact rattle through my bones.

Another click! I was out of time.

The door was just a stride away now, my only chance at survival. I couldn’t hesitate. With every ounce of energy left in me, I dove for it.

The world seemed to move in slow motion as I crashed into the door, bursting through it just as something massive slammed into the space I had been seconds before. A loud crash resounded behind me, but I didn’t dare look back.

I tumbled onto cold stone, my breath coming in ragged, desperate gasps as I landed hard on my side. For a moment, I lay there, dazed, trying to process everything that had just happened. My body was shaking, the pain in my arm flaring up again. Slowly, I rolled onto my back and stared up at the ceiling, feeling the pounding of my heart in my ears.

But I couldn’t rest—not yet. My breath was still coming in sharp bursts as I pushed myself up onto my hands and knees, forcing myself to take in my surroundings.

My chest heaved with the effort of breathing, each inhale sharp and jagged, and the pain in my arm throbbed relentlessly where the bolt had pierced. I was alive, though—barely—but alive nonetheless.

I glanced back at the door I had just crashed through, expecting to see it swinging on its hinges. Instead, it was sealed shut, as if it had never been a door at all. The dark, dangerous tunnel was locked away behind me now, but with it, any chance of turning back.

I staggered to my feet, clutching my wounded arm. My vision was blurry with exhaustion and pain, but the dim light illuminating the space gave me enough to see. It wasn’t a sanctuary, though. It was something worse.

A prison.

As I looked around, my surroundings came into sharper focus. I found myself inside a cell, one of several, with iron bars separating me from the hallway beyond. The room was small and claustrophobic, its stone walls cold and damp.

The cell had two doors: the sealed one I had just burst through, now firmly shut behind me, and a gate made of iron bars in front, locking me inside. It opened into a long hallway that ran the length of the cell block, a dark and desolate place lined with more cells like the one I was trapped in. My heart pounded in my chest as I tried to steady my breathing, the weight of the situation pressing down on me.

The hallway beyond the gate stretched into darkness, only dimly lit by a faint light coming from somewhere ahead, casting eerie shadows along the stone floor.

Each cell I could see seemed identical to the one I was trapped in, with its own sealed door and iron gate. The sound of my breathing was deafening in the silence, and the metallic scent of rust hung thick in the air, mixed with the musty dampness of the old stone walls.

I gripped the bars of the gate, shaking them to test their strength. Solid. Of course. My eyes drifted to the far end of the hallway, where a larger, more imposing gate blocked the way out. Chains and a heavy lock barred the gate, just like the one in front of me.

I turned my attention to my immediate surroundings, scanning the cell for anything I might use. It was empty. Not even bones, which I had gotten used to seeing by now. Just cold stone and metal. The walls felt like they were closing in on me, and my arm throbbed from where the bolt had struck, making it hard to focus.

"Help… please…"

I called out, my voice hoarse from thirst, barely louder than a whisper. My hands gripped the cold iron bars once more, knuckles white with desperation. But the hallway remained silent, an indifferent void. My voice felt so small in this vast, oppressive space. No one came. No one ever came.

With no response, I slumped down against the metal bars, my back pressed to the cold iron, and cradled my head in my hands. Hunger gnawed at my insides, my stomach twisting in painful knots. My lips, cracked and dry, burned with each breath.

I could feel the strength draining from me with every passing moment, and for a second, I wondered if this was how it all ended. Not by a trap or a beast, but by slow, agonizing starvation in some forsaken cell, forgotten by the world.

I searched my mind, desperately trying to piece together how I had ended up here, why this was happening. But each time I tried, a wave of sharp, unbearable pain surged through my skull.

It felt like needles being driven into my brain, searing with an intensity that forced me to stop thinking entirely. I gasped, clutching my head as the agony ripped through me. No memories. Nothing. Just this endless, relentless pain.

Suddenly, a sound pierced the suffocating silence—a sharp click, followed by the groaning of old, heavy hinges. I jolted forward, instinctively leaping to my feet, heart racing, expecting another trap to spring. But nothing happened. The noise wasn’t inside my cell. It came from the hallway.

I crept closer to the bars, peering through them. At the far end, the large gate I had seen before was slowly swinging open. For a brief, fleeting moment, hope stirred inside me. I shouted, my voice cracking.

"Help! Over here!"

But as I called out, my words seemed to vanish into the dark. From the widening doorway, a large silhouette appeared, slowly stepping forward. A hooded figure, draped in a heavy cloak, moved with deliberate slowness. The faint light caught just the edges of his form, but his face remained hidden in shadow.

"Help me, please!"

I called again, more desperately this time, pressing my hands against the bars, gripping them as if they were my only lifeline.

But the figure said nothing. He just continued his approach, his footsteps echoing down the stone hallway. His silence filled me with dread. Something wasn’t right.

I backed away from the gate, the cold stone floor unforgiving under my bare feet. The closer he got, the more the air around him seemed to thicken, pressing down on me, making it hard to breathe. His presence filled the cell with a suffocating weight.

He finally stopped in front of my cell, standing motionless just beyond the bars. I could barely make out his features, his face obscured in the shadows of the hood. But I could feel his gaze, piercing through me like a dagger. My skin crawled.

Then, in a voice that was low and gravelly, he spoke a single word.

"Pawn."

The moment he said it, a searing, unbearable pain exploded in my head. Worse than before, this time it was like my entire brain was being torn apart. I screamed inwardly, dropping to my knees, clutching my skull as if it might shatter from the inside.

My body moved against my will, bowing down, forcing me into a position of submission. I tried to fight it, to resist, but it was impossible.

The word echoed in my mind, repeating over and over as the pain drilled deeper into my skull, until everything else faded away.