The secret passage was long. The group walked for over half an hour before reaching its end, and the cobwebs along the way had been quite troublesome. Like the entrance, the end had a vertical iron ladder. Standing before it, Dario turned to Ronan and the others.
"The room above can only be opened from the inside, so it should be safe when we first go up. The exit is not far from the dungeon, but we do not know how the enemy has deployed their forces. Try not to speak after we get up there. If we are discovered, we move quickly and carve a bloody path out. Everyone, may victory be ours!"
Ronan and the others all nodded. Dario said no more, turned, and climbed the ladder. Upon reaching the top, he used both hands to work the mechanism at the exit and opened the valve, slowly shifting aside the iron hatch. Dario cautiously poked his head out and scanned the area. Seeing that all was clear, he waved to Ronan and the others before climbing up.
Ronan and the others followed closely, climbing up the ladder as well. The exit led into a small room of roughly sixty square meters. There was nothing around them, only bare walls.
Dario had already reached the room's only iron door. He gently turned its mechanism and opened it. It was a concealed revolving door that looked exactly like part of the wall from the outside.
Once the revolving door was open, Ronan and the others filed out of the room. It was deep in the night, and the corridor was exceedingly dim. Only a few of the braziers along the walls remained lit.
Seeing no patrolling guards, Dario breathed a sigh of relief and led the group toward the dungeon.