World of Karik: A Game of Villains 86 The Dungeon

It seemed that I managed to find out another secret without any risk. Apparently, having seen us at night, Osipov concluded that we already knew everything, and he let it slip. Shadows would move easier in the morning. Those were his words, and I knew that these creatures were the main danger in the Forbidden City. Therefore the shadows needed light as they simply couldn't exist in the dark; nighttime was the safest time to explore the ruins. If I hadn't known that, we would've used torches and lured our own deaths.

I silently looked at the old man's figure, now accompanied by three zombies that staggered from side to side as they walked. The guys will have a hard time, but it will be worth it. It seemed that I finally remembered where I had seen Osipov before.

"Cyril," I called the guy who was groaning in pain. "He's from your detachment. He stabbed himself in the heart when we attacked your six newbies while they were leveling up."

"What?" Cyril replied. "Have you lost your mind? I've never seen him before."

"Really?" I mistrustfully asked.

"Really…" the guy growled. "We didn't have any old people. Nikolai's the oldest; he's forty-five. And this man is at least seventy years old! Plus, we had only five newbies."

I was confused and speechless. I thought I had it figured out. What the hell is going on here? I was certain that that was him…

Why didn't anyone remember this guy? If that really was him back then, why did he, powerful as he is, run away so quickly? Had he tried to stop me then, there would have been nothing left of the enthusiastic hand-chopper.

However, given the power of his illusions, which affected even me with my 20 points of magic defense, it wasn't surprising that Vlada's former detachment failed to notice him. We never discussed what had happened to them before our union, how they had lived, or what incidents and oddities had occurred to them. Maybe that was then when they lost a few people, and Osipov's zombie collection got richer for few members.

How did I notice him back then, if now I had nothing to oppose his illusions with? It could be that the old man just didn't expect someone with magic defense to be there. However, he quickly fixed the situation. I was willing to bet that there was no actual knife in his heart. I just happened to be trapped in his illusion too, and the alleged corpse was probably just standing further away and enjoying the show.

Does that make sense? I think it does. Moreover, I believed that I knew the name of his master. I was even tempted to tell him that and see how he would react, but I had the sneaking suspicion that I would end up dead. Having looked once again at the apprentice of Polina Lyutova, the Reaper, who, as Baldy used to say, could subdue any mind, I was surprised to notice that the earth shifted under one of the zombies. Did I imagine that? Or was there an underground hiding place that no one had noticed so far?

I should keep silent as we couldn't be sure if Osipov's departure was another illusion and that he wasn't watching us at the moment though I doubted that there was anything but filth and desolation in this place. However, where was it more likely to hit the jackpot: in the ruins, where any psycho with zombies could go, or in a closed basement? I would prefer the second option, especially because I really didn't want to return to Petrovich empty handed.
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"I will tell Petrovich everything," Sergey informed me. By and large, I wasn't bothered by what had happened. Just a bit disappointed.

"Should I make you report to him right now?" I couldn't help but answer sarcastically, stroking the scythe with my hand. All the comments about my wise leadership were immediately postponed for a better moment. It's good when you have reasonable people around.

In the meantime, the old man seemed to have already left. I wondered if I should check that suspicious piece of ground or if we should wait a little longer.

"Guys, let's go back, we've already lost so many people, it's time to stop." Honestly, I thought that we had only one whining person in the detachment, Dasha, but Lena was going for a record today.

"Too early," I cut short any discussions. Cyril and Sergey immediately realized that I had noticed something.

"Are you going to tell us?" After a few minutes of silence, the crossbowman couldn't wait anymore. We had threatened each other just recently, but as soon as he understood that the campaign wasn't over yet, he got himself together and got ready to listen to my commands. It was a shame that such an intelligent person supported Petrovich. Semyon was also behaving surprisingly adequate today. Maybe I had underestimated the lancer. Smart people wouldn't gather around him for no reason.

"We'll wait until our guest leaves, no need to hurry." I was trying to figure out how much time we had until dawn. Despite the old man's words, complete darkness still surrounded us. However, I didn't want to be late.

If we don't do this today, I can't guarantee that another undesired guest won't visit us again. Though I asked Petrovich to look after Vlada and Igor, I doubted that he would bother himself with that, which is why they would catch up with us sooner or later. The rest of the detachment was ordered to stand still next to me for at least half an hour before I gave them a sign that the time had come.

This delay turned out to be good for us. My surviving wards turned their fear into displeasure with me. As a result, there was no trace of shaky hands or widened eyes. Soon, all three of them got down to business. Ground that had shifted under the zombie wasn't just a trick of the light.

"There are wooden planks under the stones and mud," Sergey was the first to figure out what I had noticed. I finally relaxed. Until now, I wasn't sure if the old man was a pulling a prank on me.

Having cleared about two square yards of the territory, we pulled out a wooden bar, soaked in something black and similar to fuel oil. Then we pulled out another one, having cleared a part of the way wide enough for one person to go through.

"I have a lighter," Lena said, but I grabbed her hand in time. As soon as fire appears, the shadows would immediately come. I didn't want to know what would happen then.

"We can't," I explained in a few words what it might lead to. On one hand, I didn't want to share valuable information that gave me advantage over the others in the Forbidden City. On the other, this was my detachment, so I should have a sense of priorities. Moreover, it would be much worse to suffer due to someone's ignorance. "Better get your rope ready now, I'll try to go down and see what's there."

At first I wanted to send Sergey or Cyril, but I thought that an extra pair of hands would be useful. Among the four of us, I would be able to defend myself in case of danger. I didn't have to ask the girl twice. She unbuckled her weapon, a thin but strong rope, from her belt and lowered it down. I waited a little longer just in case, even pulled up the rope to see if there was anything on its lower end, but it was empty. Cyril also tried to carry out a test, throwing down a couple of stones. Unfortunately, none of us could determine by the echo neither what awaited us at the bottom, nor even the depth. In the end, I was the one to go down.

Chapter end