Prince Marko

After traveling through the beautiful field for several minutes, the jellyfish creature Dustan, Lucundiz and Leo rode descended into an underground cavern which was ten times bigger than Echia's surface. unlike most prisons, they embedded many glistering crystals into the walls which made the large river within the cavern glow with a myriad of colors. However, as large as the cavern was, not a single prison cell could be seen. Instead, only the offices belonging to the prison staff lined the interior of the cold cavern.

"Lucu, where is everyone? What happened to your men and the prisoners?" Dustan asked with a startled look on his face. Just like him, Leo was also curious. But he could not bring himself to ask Lucundiz.

With Lucundiz's status as the warden, naturally are subordinates should have gathered to greet her after he return. Instead, they could not see a single soul in sight, and their surroundings was eerily quiet.

"They are waiting over there," Lucundiz said as she pointed to the multicolored river. Naturally, Dustan and Leo had unmasked bewildered expressions on their faces. Sensing her mistake, Lucundiz coughed lightly while saying, "Forgive me. I forgot this is your first time experiencing a lockdown. Don't worry, my people and the prisoners are okay. Follow me, you'll see for yourself," Lucundiz said as she walked in light steps towards the river.

Since the jellyfish creature dropped them on a raised platform, they had to climb down a flight of stairs. As Lucundiz made her way down, Dustan and Leo followed her without making a sound. Although they had suspicions in their hearts, especially Leo, they did not doubt Lucundiz's words.

A few minutes later, the trio stood at the bank of the multicolored river which resembled a mythical sight out from a fairytale.

"What now? Do we jump into the river or what?" Leo muttered with his arms at akimbo.

"If you want to die, then go ahead," Lucundiz snickered as she stared at him. Which made Leo to let out a dry laugh while scratching his head.

"Lucu, what's the liquid in this river? It is not water, right?" Dustan suddenly said. Since they reached the bank of the river, he had been staring at it with keen interest. Just as Lucundiz heard Dustan's words, her pupils dilated in surprise while her mouth opened slightly.

"Commander, what do you mean? They only made it look fancy because.." before Leo could finish his casual remark, Lucundiz interrupted him.

"Shut up, buffoon!" Lucundiz said. Although Lucundiz unleashed her fiery temper on him, Leo said nothing in response. Instead, he stared at Dustan hoping he would fight on his behalf. However, Dustan only silently watched the river without glancing at Leo or Lucundiz.

Calming her nerves, she stared at Dustan with her eyes filled with curiosity, as she said, "Dustan, how did you know?"

"Hmm.. Initially, I was uncertain, but after careful observation; I noticed the river emitted a faint aura similar to Mana. If my guess is right, the crystals on the walls are extracting the Mana from the Prisoners. And this is the gathering point, right?" Dustan said in a light voice.

Leo became dumbstruck after listening to Dustan's conjecture. 'How is that possible? Is there really an Item that can extract Mana? Hanging out with the Great Sage must have influenced the Commander too much,' Leo thought.

Just as he was about to speak up, he glanced at Lucundiz and he forgot what he wanted to say. Because, she had a stronger reaction when compared to him. She could not even close her mouth as she stared at Dustan with a strange gleam in her eyes. Her reaction alone, was all the proof Leo needed. Although he had questions he wanted to ask, he knew Lucundiz wouldn't give him the answers.

"No wonder you're one of the Four Kings. From mere observation alone, you deduced so much. Others might think of you as muscle-head who only knows how to fight, but I know you're among the most intelligent people in the kingdom," Lucundiz muttered as she recovered from her amazement.

"Hahaha.. Don't tease me, Lucu. It's the temporary effects of staying with the Great Sage," Dustan said with a slight smile on his face. "Don't worry, neither of us will report what we have seen. I'm sure you don't want others to know about it. I'm sorry for asking earlier, you don't have to tell us," Dustan added as he stared at Lucundiz.

However, Lucundiz said nothing as she lowered her head to avoid Dustan's gaze. Dustan did not mind Lucundiz reaction, being a commander, he knew that some secrets existed which they could not afford to leak to their enemies. From Dustan's point of view, the strange crystals on the walls was one. To him, it was better if Leo and himself remained ignorant of its properties. Because, various sorcerers in the Black Lands had made a name for themselves stealing information from the armies and citizens of the Great Kingdoms. Although the odds of such a scenario happening was minimal, Dustan did not want to take any chances.

"Thank you, Dustan," Lucundiz whispered after being silent for over a minute.

"Stop it, Lucu. There is no need for that among friends. So.. How do we get in? Let's not keep Prince Marko waiting. I don't want him to hurt your people," Dustan said while tapping Lucundiz on her shoulder. Smiling faintly at Dustan, Lucundiz walked in light steps towards the river as she muttered a series of inaudible words. As she chanted these words, the tribal markings on her face had a radiant green glow while her black robes emitted faint tendrils blackish Mana. Watching the mysterious scene from the side, Dustan and Leo stared intently at Lucundiz. Meanwhile, the faint tendrils of Mana being emitted by Lucundiz had become thicker and the green glow from her tribal tattoo had become more radiant, too.

Just as the glow on forehead reached its peak, the tendrils which had grown to the size of a giant octopus tentacles dived into the river. At that moment, the multicolored river churned while making a strange screeching sound.

"What the fuck is happening?" Leo cursed while exhaling deeply.

Just as he uttered those words, the trio heard a muffled explosion. Before any of them could react, the river slowly divided into two.

"Let's go. Don't use your mana as you climb the stairs. Wait until you reach the last floor, okay?" Lucundiz said as she stared at the Dustan and Leo who stared at the incredulous scene. Saying nothing, the duo nodded their heads like agama lizards while urging Lucundiz to take the lead. With a gentle nod, Lucundiz took light steps as she approached the divided path between the two halves of the river. There, there was a spiral staircase which looked as if it went down towards the depths of the earth. Naturally, Dustan and Leo could not hide their amazement when they saw it.

"Remember, don't use your Mana until you get to the bottom floor," Lucundiz said while staring at Dustan and Leo with a stern expression on her face. Just like before, they did not respond. Rather, they nodded their heads while assuming a serious demeanor.

With a gentle sigh, Lucundiz approached the spiral staircase. The moment her foot touched it, a gentle black glow covered her body, and it caused her to hover above the stairs. Just like that, she began her descent. Wasting no time, Dustan and Leo followed her.

Although they could see their destination - the ground floor, darkness covered the pathway, and a chilling air assaulted their bodies. If not for the black glow covering them, they would have turned to ice-statues the moment they entered the pathway.

In silence, the trio slowly descended with the aid of the black glow. The moment they got to the midway point of the pathway, Dustan and Leo's eyes bulged in disbelief with shock gripping their hearts. Unlike before, a brilliant yellow glow illuminated this area. Which enabled Dustan and Leo to see thousands of gigantic transparent pods buried in ice. What made they afraid, was the creatures in the pods. These bipedal creatures had a luscious white fur growing all over their body. The shortest among them was at least ten feet in height while the tallest laid in a pod over twenty feet high. Since their fur covered their facial features, Dustan and Leo could not identify them. In fact, this was the first time they had seen something like that.

Just as Leo could no longer suppress his curiosity, Lucundiz turned her head while index finger vertically to her mouth. At that moment, the duo swallowed their curiosity and only stared at the creatures with thousands of thought flashing through their mind.

A few minutes later, the trio arrived at their destination - a small room which seemed to serve the purpose of linking the river to the underground chamber.

"Warden, what were those.." before Leo could finish his statement, Lucundiz interrupted him. "I can't answer that question. For your own interest, do not divulge want you have seen today. Do you understand?" Lucundiz asked as she stared at Leo with a probing gaze.

"Of course. Of Course! I understand," Leo said while avoiding Lucundiz's stare.

"Once we exit this room, we will make our way to where to Halflings are staying. Don't worry, I know a shortcut we can use," Lucundiz explained while stretching her body. As she titled her head to stare at Dustan, she became stunned because he had a stern expression on his face.

"Dustan, what's the problem?" Lucundiz asked in a concerned voice. She hoped Dustan was not angry she could not divulge the mystery behind the beasts. However, Dustan's next words caught her and Leo by surprise.

"Lucu, we won't be able to take your shortcut anymore. Prince Marko and his men are waiting for us outside," Dustan said.

Before Leo or Lucundiz could gather their thoughts, Dustan walked in light steps towards the steel door of the room. Without saying a word, he opened it with a bland look on his face. Meanwhile, a young man who looked only twenty years old sat on a wooden chair on the other side of the room. Over ten guards clad in the armor of Hoogport's military stood behind his chair as they stared at the opened door.

"Dustan, what took you so long? I was hoping you had ran away. Too bad, I had such a big event planned out for such a scenario," the young man said as he played with a rapier in his right hand. He did not even look at Dustan as he uttered his statement.

"Greetings, your highness. Surely you jest. Why would I ever run away from my kingdom?" Dustan said with one knee on the ground and his head lowered. Just like him, Leo and Lucundiz also assumed the same position. But they did not greet the young man.

This young man had a blonde, oily hair neatly coiffured to reveal his chiseled, handsome face. His sparkling green eyes, set sunken within their sockets, as he lazily stared at Dustan while ignoring Lucundiz and Leo. A small and thin goatee gracefully complimented his eyes and cheekbones. Although he sat with the indifference accustomed to royalty as he fiddled with the golden rapier in his hand, he had the aura of a venomous snake who was patiently stalking its prey. He was one of the seven princes of the Great Kingdom of Hoogport - Prince Marko.

"Your highness, pardon me for asking, but why have you come to Echia?" Dustan asked with his head lowered. However, the sides of Marko's lips curved into a smirk as he continued to fiddle with his rapier.

"You're a terrible liar, Dustan. Do you honestly expect me to believe that the warden hasn't told you what's going on? Hahaha.. Or, do you take me for a fool?" Marko said with his eyes staring at Dustan intently.

"Your highness, I would never! Warden Lucundiz only stated she had something to discuss with us. I only know it involves the prisoners we captured from the Tiodon Kingdom. Naturally, I never would have expected to meet you," Dustan explained. But from the look on Marko's face, he did not believe a word Dustan said.

"Since the first day you entered this kingdom, I've always suspected you were a traitor. It seems the heavens are finally on my side. You have a lot of explaining to do, Dustan," Marko said with a sly grin on his face as he got up from his seat.

Before Dustan and the others could react, Marko gestured towards his men while saying, "Watch over his deputy." Nodding their heads in agreement, the guards took hurried steps to the room where Leo and Lucundiz kneeled.

"Dustan, come with me. Let's see how you wriggle your way out of this. Warden, join us, too," Marko added. He was already walking towards an unknown location in the long hallway. Meanwhile, Dustan and Lucundiz said nothing in response. But they rose from their kneeling position as they walked towards the same direction Marko went. However, just as Dustan took six or seven steps, he faced the Marko's guards with a bright smile on his face as he said, "For your sake, I hope nothing happens to my Vice-Commander." Titling his head slightly, Dustan faced Leo, as he said, "I'll be back soon. Don't do anything rash."

After he finished his statement, Dustan hurriedly walked away. Meanwhile, Marko's guards had petrified looks on their faces while Leo could not stop himself from laughing.

'It is been a while since someone has pissed off the Commander. I think he should take his own advice,' Leo thought as he stared at the frightened faces of the guards.