Richie made Iris stay airborne with Eddie, despite Eddie's irritable yells. Though Iris clearly didn't want Richie entering a potential war zone alone, she could sense how serious he was and how much he didn't want Eddie near the ground.
The broken rocks and shaky ground made Richie shudder. He walked near the landslide, but saw no signs of Lucantian soldiers. It was eerily silent, making Richie all the more uncomfortable and tense. He prayed that none of his friends got caught in the land slide, but he couldn't be sure.
The entrance to the cave had been obliterated and torn open. There were splatters of blood and the air smelled of sulfur mixed with the metallic smell of silver on blood.
Richie made it into the grand hall, feeling even more unsettled when there was no one inside. He couldn't see any Lucantians, Konillians, or any bonds.
Then, he heard a pained yell.
Richie knew it was stupid, but he sprinted toward the sound. He came upon the lab, where two Lucantians were standing, both clutching spears. He saw Wentworth laying on the ground, face bloodied.
"Tell us where they are!" one of the Lucantians yelled in a deep voice, slamming his foot into Wentworth's stomach.
Wentworth gasped, trying to breath. "I'd rather die. I will not put them in danger," he said in a powerful voice, dispute his pain.
"Why do you care? They are worthless Tenebrians," the other Lucantian said with a snarky laugh.
"They're looking for us?!" Richie thought, slightly shocked. He had figured that they'd just be looking for Eddie and the other Lucantians.
"They haven't done..." Wentworth paused to try to breathe. "They haven't done a thing wrong."
"They're kidnappers and they know too much. One of our Lucantians... he's gone rogue. We need to make sure that they don't let any of our secrets get out."
Richie held his knife firmly in hand, inching closer. He made brief eye contact with Wentworth, who seemed shocked that Richie had shown up. They broke their eye contact once Richie held up his knife, showing what he was about to do.
Wentworth tried to sit up, but was pushed down by the butt of one of the spears. He groaned in pain, coughing and choking on spit and blood.
"You will regret attacking my people," Wentworth said as one of the Lucantians turned his spear, ready to attack.
"What will they do?" one of the Lucantians asked with a dark chuckle.
"You'll find out," Richie said, throwing his knife and hitting one of the Lucantians in the chest.
The Lucantian coughed and fell to the ground, crying in pain.
As Richie grabbed his second knife, the other one turned, his spear raised. Richie threw his knife as the Lucantian released his spear. He shrieked and tried to cover himself as the Lucantian threw the spear, but he never got hit. He nervously opened his eyes and his heart dropped.
The Lucantian had succeeded in throwing, but it didn't hit his intended target.
Wentworth had gotten in the way.
"Holy shit!" Richie yelled, collapsing to the ground. "Why the fuck would you do that?!"
Wentworth laughed weakly, the spear head buried deep in his chest. Blood was seeping out of the wound, making a crimson puddle on the ground.
"I c-couldn't let my son die," Wentworth whispered, grabbing onto Richie's forearm.
"Wait, what?" Richie asked, more to himself than to Wentworth.
