An Expected Betrayal |TBATE

Chapter 55

TESSIA ERALITH

"Ughhhh..." I groaned. My whole body was moping in dull pain. I could feel the rugged and stone ground underneath me. The last thing I remembered was following the Scythe through the castle's portal to Alacrya.

Then... Grey. Cold dead eyes and an aura of despair. The way he walked didn't change. A trained warrior who kept himself at arms length. It was very much unlike how I met him in the forest. Back then he seemed almost frantic. Here, he had a more straightforward goal.

Eleanor and Sylvie. Two of the three people who didn't turn outright hostile. 'So that's why he was there.'

But how did they even find us in the first place? The castle is always moving and stays in the clouds. The only way they could've found it is if they flew around the continent looking in every cloud. But then they would've needed white cores. And sensory types considering Alacrya's magic system.

Even if they did do that, that wouldn't have granted access to the teleportation gate.

We were betrayed.

But by who? Blaine? I know he almost did back with the Greysunders. I don't think it would be any of Grandpa's friends. They're too loyal to Dicathen. Priscilla? No. She's significantly different from Blaine. There were even rumors that she refused to speak to him for a whole month outside of meetings solely because of that close call.

None of the Lances would've either. After Oldfred's betrayal, each one was given an order to never betray Dicathen. No one thought it would be necessary once the war began hence why it was never implemented back when the war started.

I finally opened my eyes after my little monologue and saw exactly what I was expecting. A stoney ceiling that hadn't been cared for in decades. Possibly centuries if I was going to hyperbole it.

I realized I was still in the same clothing I was while in the castle. At least Agrona seemed to preserve my dignity when he captured me.

Pushing off the straw blanket that was covering me (I'm surprised I was even given that), I stood up and took a look around the room. Just as I was anticipating, it was a room made entirely out of stone. It was untidy and unkempt. The years of disrepair were obvious. One wall seemed to almost collapse with a pile of pebbles on the floor.

On the opposite wall was a collection of cave roots growing along the wall. A thick white plant that resembles a mix of a vine and root. Back when Grey was still Arthur, he called them bioluminescent. A common plant found deep underground in moist caves and little light. Very common in dungeons with bug type monsters.

The whole place reeked of moss and dead animals. The air stunk, it was old and musty. It smelled like an old tomb that hadn't once been opened. I had to consciously try to breathe with my mouth and ignore the smell.

Turning away from my stone carved bed, I looked at the one I hadn't paid attention to. Instead of the cell bars I was expecting, there was a simple door frame with a cloth hanging from nails hammered into the top. It worked well enough, covering about three quarters of the door frame.

I began walking towards it. The dull pains that plagued me seemed to disappear as I exercised my body. Pushing the cloth out of the way, I looked around.

It was a giant cavern. Instead of the cave walls I was expecting to see, every side was lined with houses carved from stone, some independent and others stacked on top of another. They were nearly identical to the one I woke up in, except most didn't have a door. Lights – that as far as I could tell didn't use mana – seemed to scatter throughout the whole cavern.

A safe haven. It could house dozens, if not hundreds of people.

"Hey, you. You're finally awake."

I turned around and saw the only form of light that wasn't built into the wall. There, near a small lake – or giant puddle if you're pessimistic – was a fire. A cast iron pot was held up my nearby rocks over it, cooking some sort of stew if I had to guess.