The night was deep.
Six dark figures slipped like ghosts through the streets and alleys of Newborn Town.
They avoided the torches along the main roads, using the shadows of buildings to approach a cluster of warehouses on the western side of town without a sound. By observing the guards' patrols and postings, they had finally identified this as the dungeon's location.
Cat's Eye moved the fastest. Just before reaching the target warehouse, he raised a hand, and the entire team froze, melting into the darkness.
Years of experience had taught him that the more poorly guarded a place appeared, the more likely it was to conceal a trap.
"Two sentries ahead." He signaled with his hand.
Two team members immediately circled around the flanks, their daggers tracing two cold glints in the moonlight.
Thud. Thud.
Two muffled sounds. Thin lines of blood spurted from the necks of the guards dozing against the wall, and their bodies slid limply to the ground without a sound.
"Done."
A team member's confirmation came from the shadows.
Cat's Eye's taut nerves relaxed.
A bunch of amateurs.
Perhaps I was overthinking it.
So this was all the defense this fledgling territory could muster.
He signaled again.
[Four-man team, breach.]
[Two-man team, keep watch.]
Cat's Eye kicked open the dungeon's rotten wooden door.
Crash!
The door collapsed inward, raising a cloud of dust.
Cat's Eye and three of his men rushed in behind it, weapons trained on the depths of the dungeon.
But Mia was not inside, bound as they had expected.
In the center stood a table and an oil lamp.
A short man, so powerfully built he hardly looked human, sat at the table, slowly wiping a battleaxe with an oiled cloth.
Lamplight flowed along the axe blade, its cold gleam dazzling.
Hearing