The Mine Beneath the Town

"Mm..." Linda groaned and tried to move, only to hear a rattling sound. When she realized she could not move at all, she jolted fully awake. Opening her eyes, she found herself tightly bound and unable to budge. Just as she was about to cry for help, she heard, "Ah, the beautiful Miss Linda is awake. Here, look over here." With great difficulty, Linda twisted around and saw that Peru, Siso, and Alpha were also bound in iron chains. Their restraints were even more elaborate than hers, especially Peru's—his face was almost completely hidden.

"What is going on?" Linda asked anxiously. "Why is this happening? Weren't we perfectly safe in the tent?"

Alpha said indifferently, "As you can see, we were drugged and then tied up. As for who did it... you'll find out soon enough."

"Haha, looks like you're all awake. Slept well last night, I hope? This humble fellow did not entertain you properly." Rudolf entered with a laugh. Seeing Linda about to begin chanting, he immediately cut her off. "Don't even think about casting a spell. I can kill you before you finish chanting. Try me if you don't believe it."

"You despicable bastard! Why have you tied us up? Aren't you afraid of Lord's punishment? Release us at once!" Linda shouted furiously. Rudolf shook his head. "How could I possibly release you? From the moment you stepped into this military camp, your fate was sealed. Who told you to come to Moonbrook, and at a time like this? As for Lord, when the time comes, I'll simply leave your bodies in town and say you were already dead when we found you. I doubt Lord will have anything to say about it."

Siso spoke up. "What exactly are you doing this for? What does it benefit you?" Peru also tried to speak excitedly, but the chains bound him so tightly that he could not even open his mouth.

"Benefits? You ask me about benefits? It's so I can live a better life." Rudolf glanced at Peru. "I know what you want to ask, great knight. This goes against a soldier's code, doesn't it?" Rudolf spoke with a regretful look. "Actually, I didn't want to violate a soldier's code either. But think about it—after serving as garrison commander for so long, how much do I earn each year? I risk my life here and make barely any money, while those officials in the city do nothing and still have so much wealth. It isn't fair, so..."

"So you joined the Defias Brotherhood because they could give you more money and power. I'm guessing they also promised that once they took Westfall, Sentinel Hill would be yours. Am I right?" Alpha suddenly said.

Rudolf looked at Alpha with admiration. "You guessed every bit of it right, smart fellow. I'd like to know how you figured it out."

Alpha said disdainfully, "Ever since we entered this place, I felt something was wrong. It was too peaceful. By all reason, news of the battle at Sentinel Hill should have spread throughout Westfall within days, but you said you knew nothing about it. That was strange. Even if you really didn't know, the sharp drop in the number of thieves here should have caught your attention. Didn't that seem suspicious to you? So I kept my guard up." He paused. "Then, the next day, when you sent someone to take us around and investigate, I noticed something off about that soldier. He was too familiar with this place, familiar to an unbelievable degree. He felt like he belonged here. At the same time, there was a scent on him that I had smelled before."

Rudolf applauded in admiration. "You actually noticed something was wrong. But so what? In the end, you still fell into my hands. Don't worry, though. You're safe for now, because that person wants to meet you. He wants to see who ruined his plan." With that, he left, leaving behind two soldiers to guard them.

Linda looked at Alpha and said angrily, "You saw through it long ago, so why didn't you tell us? You let us get captured like idiots. What are you trying to do?"

Peru also looked at Alpha, his gaze full of dissatisfaction. Only Siso looked at Alpha differently. When he saw the corner of Alpha's mouth lift, he could not help shrinking back and silently lit a candle for Rudolf in his heart.

Alpha said calmly, "Don't rush. We had no way of finding the Brotherhood's location anyway. Now someone is leading the way for us. Isn't that the fastest method? Trust me."

After noon, Rudolf returned. "Let's go. It's time for you to hit the road." With a wave of his hand, two soldiers entered and escorted them away. The group arrived in front of an inn in town. In the storage room behind the inn's kitchen, a hidden door revealed itself. "So it was here. Hidden well enough," Alpha remarked.

"Indeed. The first time I came here, I also thought it was well hidden. No one would ever think to look here." Rudolf said. "But where is this?" Siso asked.

Rudolf had just begun to answer when Linda's cry interrupted him. "Ghosts! There, oh heavens, there are ghosts here too! Why are there so many?" Rudolf looked at the nearly tearful Linda and said impatiently, "Quiet down. These ghosts won't do anything to you. Can't you see they don't dare come near?" He waved his torch as he spoke.

"You should know that Westfall once possessed the Alliance's richest gold mines. Later, after the Orcs captured Stormwind, this place was abandoned. The Defias Brotherhood took it over and turned it into a fortified underground stronghold. But you don't need to know any more than that."

When they reached the mouth of a cave, Alpha suddenly stopped and asked, "Is this the entrance? How much farther do we have to go?" The soldier behind him shoved him. "Why are you asking so many questions? This isn't the entrance yet, but we're almost there. Move." Alpha did not move. Rudolf noticed something was wrong and walked over. "Why aren't you moving? What are you trying to do, delay your deaths?"

Alpha raised his head and smiled at Rudolf. "Here will do. Thank you for leading the way." As he spoke, his body began to change—he transformed into a wolf. Rudolf watched Alpha suddenly grow taller. In the faint light of the torch, he saw a werewolf appear before him, the chains snapping apart in an instant. Just as he was about to say something, he realized he could not make a sound. A sharp pain shot through his neck. He instinctively clutched it and felt something sticky. Then his body fell forward, his vision slowly darkening. Until his death, he never understood why Alpha had turned into a werewolf.

The other two soldiers could not escape death either. Once the battle was over, Alpha returned to the others and broke the chains on each of them. He sat down, prepared to answer their questions. Yet what puzzled him was that Siso was understandable—after all, he had known already—but Linda merely clicked her tongue twice and asked nothing, while Peru looked at Alpha in his werewolf form and said nothing more.

Now it was Alpha's turn to feel awkward. "Don't you want to ask anything?" Linda said as she straightened her clothes, "Oh, you look much better as a werewolf than before. A different kind of handsome." Peru answered, "I've seen werewolves before." That was it? Alpha screamed inwardly. Siso snickered from the side, but when Alpha's sharp gaze swept over him, he instantly became serious.

Looking at the corpses on the ground, Alpha coughed twice and said, "This is the Brotherhood's main base, after all. We need to proceed carefully and avoid being discovered. Otherwise, death will be the only road waiting for us. Understand?"

Siso finally voiced his question. "Are we just going to follow this path all the way? What if there are traps, passwords, or something along the way? Was it really a good idea to kill Rudolf so early?"

Alpha coughed twice more. "Uh, I didn't control my strength well. He was so weak he couldn't even take one swipe from me. But it's fine. We have a guide here, one who knows this place extremely well. Remember when I said I smelled a familiar scent on that soldier? I remember now. I smelled it once back in my hometown. Now, allow me to formally introduce our guide—the undead, Kri."

A soldier clad in armor emerged from the shadows, revealing a pale face—the soldier who had led them around to investigate the town yesterday. No, he should be called a former human soldier, now an undead soldier—Kri.