The miners carried torches and pulled carts, gradually disappearing into the deep night beyond the valley.
Those who remained stood among the buildings as if they had just woken from a dream.
Before long, some came to their senses and ran into the buildings to search for what had been left behind. More and more joined the looting. Little Smo had taken most of the valuables and supplies, but some heavy things he had no use for remained. One was a mantel clock with a gold pointer.
The exquisite machine, a relic of the Goblin Empire, was torn apart just for that gold pointer. The redwood table and bookshelves were dismantled too. Only the books escaped—not because anyone recognized their value, but because Lame Bob had taken them all.
Not long after the Blade of Freedom left, the buildings, once reasonably orderly, looked as though bandits had swept through them.
The miners searched everywhere. Just as they turned their attention to the Cooks and workers who had indirectly oppressed them, a line of torchlight appeared west of the mine.
The guard who had fled back to Ize Bay had brought reinforcements.
The miners, giddy with their spoils, came to their senses as if doused with cold water. They huddled off to one side, clothes bulging with loot, afraid they would be caught and thrown back into the mine tunnels...
The Cooks and workers, who had been terrified moments before, breathed sighs of relief and ran to the valley entrance to welcome the newcomers. But when they saw the approaching force clearly, they too were too frightened to speak.
Knights in gleaming armor, the Mage Corps in mage robes, rangers moving nimbly around the flanks... Even the most naïve among them knew these veteran knights had not been sent by the