Unas turned toward the voice. A petite figure was gripping the iron bars with both hands, looking at him. The light of the stars and moon seemed to shimmer in her eyes.
He stepped forward and held up his torch, revealing her in full.
She was a young female Night Elf, with short, dark blue-black hair hanging messily over her shoulders. Two slender, pointed ears jutted straight back through it. Her lavender skin was covered in black soot, obscuring her features, and she was the only one left in the otherwise empty iron cage.
"Are you a Druid?" Unas asked, recalling his earlier guess.
"No, I just know a little nature magic." The Night Elf's clear voice sounded excited. "Looks like you got my hint!"
Unas nodded, motioned for her to step back, and swung his silver hammer at the cage.
With a clang, the iron cage burst open.
"Thank you so very much!" The Night Elf skipped out of the cage, an exaggerated smile on her face.
What had allowed her to remain so lively in such cruel conditions? Was it because she had mushrooms to eat?
Looking around at the lifeless prisoners, Unas sighed inwardly. If only everyone were as cheerful as she was.
The soldiers searched the area and found no sign of the enemy, then smashed the cages open one by one.
Only then did the prisoners in the cages believe they had been saved. Faint sobs quickly swelled into a chorus of wails.
Unas understood how they felt, but this was no time to cry.
"Everyone, please be quiet. Quiet! Quiet! Quiet!" Unas nearly shouted himself hoarse before the wailing finally died down.
"Hello, everyone. I'm Unas, a Paladin." He secretly channeled Holy Power, making his body radiate a dazzling white light like a god descending to earth. "The Dreadlord has been defeated by the Argent Dawn Knights. You're free!"
Silence fell. Everyone stared at him expectantly, but the cheers he had anticipated never came. Unas broke into a cold sweat. This wasn't the time to be quiet.
"Oh, yeah! That's amazing! Can I join the Argent Dawn?" The elf girl suddenly clapped and cried out, giving Unas a fright. Still, she was the only one who had shown him any support.
Unas ignored the elf's question and continued loudly, "But the enemy hasn't been completely wiped out. We're still in danger. If you want to stay alive, get moving now. Tears won't solve anything!"
With that, he paid no attention to their reactions and immediately ordered the soldiers to organize the women and children into a group.
By his rough estimate, there were more than three hundred people, counting the children, and almost all of them were human. The Dreadlord really did have quite an appetite. Feeding so many people in captivity would have taken no small amount of food.
Leaving Hans and a few others to bring up the rear, Unas led the rather large group slowly toward the surface. The prisoners were all so weak that he couldn't have hurried even if he wanted to.
They climbed out of the dungeon and passed through the torture chamber and the tunnel beyond it, arriving at the stone wall they had built.
Along the way, he had noticed that the red dots on the minimap had all disappeared. Now he could see that the stone wall was indeed intact.
The Undead trapped behind it hadn't tried to dig through. They had chosen to retreat instead. Had their commander lost his nerve? Or was he waiting for an opportunity?
He left Stonebrow and two Dwarves to lead the way, while he and half the soldiers stood guard in front of the stone wall. If the Undead came charging out while the others were halfway through, they could at least hold them off for a while.
The prisoners, dressed in rags, came through the iron gate one after another and entered the tunnel by which they had come.
Only after watching Hans, who was bringing up the rear, disappear into the tunnel did Unas breathe a sigh of relief. Yet he had the feeling something was missing.
"Mr. Paladin!" a clear voice suddenly called out.
So she was what had been missing.
The Night Elf girl poked her head through the iron gate. "I have a question for you."
"I have a lot of questions for you, too." Unas was very curious about her.
"I asked first! When you fought your way in, did you see a young Undead Mage? I couldn't find his body."
Unas thought back for a moment. "No. We only ran into a handful of low-level Undead. They might have been his underlings."
"Wait here a moment!" With that, she closed her eyes and sat down cross-legged. A thin layer of green light began to flow over her body.
It was green energy, too, but Bessarius's Fel was filled with violence and destruction, while her energy felt like a spring breeze, adding a touch of freshness and nature to the dark, oppressive stone chamber. This had to be a Druid's nature magic.
After a short wait, the green light faded. The elf girl opened her eyes and jumped up. "I found him!"
From her tone, she sounded as though she had found a long-lost relative. Unas asked curiously, "Why are you in such a hurry to find him?"
"Revenge!"
Unas nearly choked again. Judging by her tone, he had thought she wanted to repay a kindness. Something seemed wrong with this elf's emotional control. Had being locked up driven her insane? He had heard that prison could drive people mad.
The girl began muttering to herself. "Aunt Seline, Sister Lani, little Deli... They were all dragged away, one by one, and never came back. I know the Dreadlord ate them, but it was that Undead Mage who caused them the most pain. I have to kill him!"
"I have to kill him, I have to kill him..." she repeated obsessively. Then her eyes suddenly widened, and she shouted at Unas, "Help me kill him! Please!"
Unas looked into her terrified eyes, his feelings complicated. He felt both sympathy and sorrow. A sudden surge of chivalry rose in his chest, and his blood ran hot. "Where is he? Lead the way!"
"Lokolomaxi-do! Thank you so very much!" The girl jumped three feet into the air, ran over, and grabbed Unas by the arm. "Can you give me a sword?"
Unas was having trouble following her train of thought. "What does a little girl like you need a sword for? We'll protect you. Just lead the way."
"I'm not a little girl! I turned sixty-two last year. Mom says I'm a grown woman!"
Only then did Unas remember that elves measured their lifespans in centuries and millennia. They stayed young for a long time, and an elf's age couldn't be judged by appearance.
The "young" girl, who was old enough to be his grandmother, was unbearable when she acted coy. She shook his arm. "I want one! Please?"
"No." Unas refused without hesitation. No matter how he looked at it, letting someone mentally unstable have a weapon was dangerous.
"Why not? I used to dream of joining the Sentinels, and I practiced swordsmanship for years. I won't hurt myself, so you don't need to worry about me."
I'm not worried about you. I'm worried about us. Who knows if you'll suddenly go crazy and turn your sword on us!
Unas kept his thoughts to himself and firmly refused again. "In any case, no."
The elf immediately stuck out her lower lip in a pout, which looked rather cute. But Unas didn't soften. Now that he knew her age, he couldn't find her cute at all.
That was why women really needed to keep their ages secret.
"Are all you elves this carefree? I don't have time to keep arguing with you. If you don't intend to lead the way, come back to the surface with us."
"How can I do that? You promised me!" The elf clung to Unas's arm and wouldn't let go.
Unas was beginning to regret his impulsive decision. Now this old woman had latched onto him, and he couldn't shake her off.
"Then hurry up and lead the way, old... um, I don't know your name yet, do I?"
"I'm Beryl Bladesong, from Darkshore. My hobby is dancing, and my interest is singing!" The words rolled smoothly off her tongue. Apparently, she often introduced herself that way.
Bladesong. Did that mean a voice like a blade? Hopefully, her singing wouldn't live up to her name.
"Then, Miss Beryl, where exactly is that Undead Mage, your enemy, hiding?"
"Follow me!"