In the dim light of the prison cell, the four adventurers huddled close, their voices barely above a whisper.
Outside the bars, torchlight flickered dimly from the hallway, casting long, trembling shadows across the damp stone floor.
Karr sat with his back to the wall, his right arm crudely bound with a strip of torn cloth. The healing spell Vivian had managed to cast earlier had stopped the bleeding, but only just. Pain flickered in his eyes with every shallow breath he took, though he tried to mask it for the others.
Eric lay nearby, propped gently against a pile of straw. His chest rose and fell slowly, each breath wheezing, but steady. They'd bought him time—nothing more.
"We can't stay here and wait for a miracle," Mei muttered. Her eyes flicked toward the iron bars for the third time in under a minute, watching for movement, any sign of an approaching guard. "We need to find a way out."
Karr shifted, a low grunt escaping him as he adjusted his bandaged arm. "Even if we do break out… there are too many captives," he said grimly. "Too many to protect. We'll be overrun before we even reach the forest line, assuming we even get that far."
Vivian glanced toward Eric, then at the others. "But we can't just leave them here," she said, voice trembling but resolute. "You saw them—children, women. Some of them can barely stand, let alone run. If we walk out now and leave them—"
Eric stirred weakly, his voice a broken rasp. "T-Trying to move... all of them... without a plan... it's suicide…"
There was a pause.
"That's why we get out first," Karr said finally. "We slip past the guards, get back to find help. Then we return with force. And wipe them out."
Silence stretched between them.
Vivian stared down at her hands. "And if we don't make it out?"
"It's the only way," Karr murmured.
Before they could discuss further, the heavy echo of a guard's boots crept down the hallway. The adventurers fell silent, eyes turning toward the sound.
Torchlight flickered on the rough prison walls as two bandits ambled down the hallway, their shadows stretching long across the barred cells. Inside, Mei, Karr, Vivian, and Eric feigned sleep, their bodies slumped against each other near the bars.
The bandits stopped just outside the bars, their eyes glinting with malice.
"Heh… look at that," the taller one said, nudging the bars with his boot. "Think the boss would notice if I took a little... preview?" He eyed Mei and Vivian with a disgusting grin.
His companion, a stockier man with a bent nose, glanced nervously down the hallway.
"Don't be stupid. The boss will have your guts for rope if he finds out. They're merchandise—gonna be sold in a few days."
The taller one snorted. "Just a little touch. Ain't gonna leave a mark. What's the harm?"
Their backs turned as they were arguing and stepped closer to the bars. That was all it took.
Karr's eyes snapped open. In a fluid motion, he surged forward, wrapping his arm around the stockier one's throat and dragging him hard into the bars with a loud clang. At the same time, Mei launched upward, silent and fast, hooking her arm around the taller one's neck and yanking him down.
The bandits struggled, flailing in panic. The taller one managed a half-scream before Vivian clamped a hand over his mouth from inside the cell, her other hand helping Mei drag him to the floor. Within seconds, both were limp.
Mei quickly grabbed the key ring, her fingers shaking slightly from adrenaline. The lock clicked open with a rusty groan.
Karr lifted Eric with effort, his jaw clenched in pain. Vivian steadied him, wrapping her arm around his shoulders.
They paused, before looking into the frightened faces of women and children.
"We'll come back," Mei whispered to them, gripping the bars. "We swear. Just hold on."
A woman inside nodded, her tear-streaked face full of fading hope.
Then came the voice.
"Hey!"
A shout, followed by the clatter of boots.
"They're escaping!"
Karr set Eric down gently as five bandits turned the corner, weapons drawn and eyes blazing.
Karr and Mei stepped forward.
"Vivian, protect Eric," Karr said, flexing his injured arm. "We hold them here."
Steel rang out in the narrow corridor as chaos erupted. Mei, with her last bit of mana, summoned the last flicker of fire into her palm. With a cry, she unleashed a scorching burst directly into the face of a charging bandit. He collapsed mid-scream, clutching his seared flesh as the smell of burnt skin filled the air.
Beside her, Karr roared and drove his fist into another attacker's jaw with bone-cracking force. The man's head snapped sideways with a sickening crunch, blood spraying against the stone wall as he crumpled in a heap.
But more were coming—dozens. The alarm had been raised. From every direction, torches lit up the corridor, more bandits pouring in like rats.
"Fall back!" Karr barked, but it was too late.
Rough hands grabbed them from behind. Vivian screamed as someone dragged her by the hair. Karr was tackled and pinned. Mei lashed out, kicking, until the pommel of a sword struck her in the temple, and everything went black for a moment.
When she came to, her hands were chained again. They were being dragged through the compound—through twisted halls and open campfire rings filled with leering, filthy men.
They were hauled before a raised wooden platform. At its center sat the bandit leader: a broad-shouldered man in layered leather armor, a necklace of fangs around his thick neck, and a goblet in one hand. His face was weathered and cruel, split by a jagged scar down his cheek.
This was Marden Vosk—the man the prisoners had only heard about in fearful whispers.
"Well, well," Vosk drawled, standing. He stepped down from his throne and stopped before Mei.
"Bold little rats, aren't you?" he muttered, reaching down and pinching Mei's cheek between his rough fingers. "I like that."
Mei looked him dead in the eyes—and spat directly into his face.
The room went silent.
Slowly, Vosk wiped the spit from his cheek. Then his hand came up fast and hard, striking Mei across the face with a brutal crack. She crumpled to her knees, blood trailing from her lip.
"Let's begin," Marden Vosk growled, his voice like gravel. He turned toward the gathered crowd of bandits and raised his arms high.
"Let the bloody game begin!"
A deafening roar echoed through the compound. Bandits shouted, some pounding the ground with weapons, others laughing, their cheers echoing like a death knell across the base.
In chains and bruised, the adventurers could only look on—knowing this nightmare was far from over.