Bound and Broken: An Isekai Adventure Dark Fantasy (Melas Book 1) by V.A. Lewis (autobiographies to read .TXT) 📕

Of course there is! My face didn’t change in it’s expression; it was the expected outcome, and reacting took too much energy. I just waited for what he had to say.

"Hrn, the problem is that the basement is also where most of the guards are. They have a small cafeteria down there, and that’s where most of the night guards gather when it’s not their shift."

"So what?" a high pitched voice spoke up from behind me. Rin was standing at my elbow, and she crossed her arms impatiently. "We took care of the guys here no problem! Why do we have to worry about a couple more guys we can easily handle?"

"The problem, Rin, is that these guys might alert more guards to come help them. Or worse, they draw in the city guards." The Dog Beastkin took a deep breath, his lips pressed into a thin line, and shook his head. "We’ll have to be very careful. Move silently and in the shadows. Take out any guards we see as quickly as possible, and stay away from anyone we don’t need to mess with."

"Nn, sounds complicated."

"Rin, I’m being serious right now."

"I know you are. That’s why it’s complicated."

"Rin—"

"Nn, shut up! Of course I know that!" The Cat Beastkin sighed and slumped her shoulders. "I was just trying to lighten the mood. Jeez! Can we not be all doom and gloom right now, and just worry later once this is all over?"

"I— fine," Shang resigned the issue to the catgirl, and turned to face me. "Young Melas, please stick close to Rin. She may not act it, but she’s an incredibly skilled fighter."

I met the Dog Beastkin’s eyes, and nodded my head. "Yes," that was all I said.

"And Rin," the man spoke to his companion, resting a hand on the catgirl’s shoulder. "Make sure you protect her."

"Nn. I will."

There was no more joking or bantering around; the Cat Beastkin spoke simply and with certainty. It was like the gravity of the situation was finally sinking into everyone’s minds. We hugged the walls and silently made our way down the stairs as a sense of dread— the uncertainty of what the next few hours will bring about— hung in the air between. I felt my hands trembling, shaking with an anxiety I had never felt in my previous life. Calm down, I tried to tell myself that, but the feeling never went away.

Slowly and quietly, we crept down towards the corridor that led to the basement with the other slaves. Rin peeked her head over the corner, while Shang sniffed the air and kept an ear out for any noise; the Cat Beastkin’s night vision let her see down the dark hallway, while the Dog Beastkin’s enhanced hearing and smell alerted him to anybody in the main room.

"All clear." The young woman threw a thumbs up back our way.

"I don’t smell anyone either. Not nearby, at least." Shang nodded in agreement, and turned to the rest of us. "Let’s go. Quietly."

The hallway was lined with doors on either side, with only sparse torchlight to illuminate it; Shang stood at the front of the group, alongside Feri who helped direct us through the corridor. There were a few intersections down the hallway, which would have forced us to split up if not for the young human man who just joined us.

We continued straight on the first hallway junction, and came across a ‘T’ intersection that we turned left on; we turned left again when we reached a corner, and left once more at the first side passage we came across. Finally, at the end of this hallway, there was a thick wooden door on the right side. It was the staircase leading down to the basement, and where Theodore and the rest were being held.

Shang pressed his ears against the door, and listened for a moment. After about a minute, he took a step back and looked at the rest of us.

"Well?" Rin stared at the Dog Beastkin expectantly.

"Hrn, it’s faint, but I hear a bit of noise. It’s difficult to make out. The walls and floors are too thick. But it’s like a distant sort of chatter and clamor. Not as rambunctious as a tavern in the middle of night, but something… similar."

Shang’s voice was deep, heavy, almost as if he was hinting at something; but I couldn’t figure out what it was.

All I knew was that whatever awaited us down there was something noisy, yet... unsettling. I felt a shiver go up my spine as all the possibilities flashed through my mind:

A man was lying on the ground covered in bruises. He was frail and looked past his prime. His face was covered in blood, and as he looked up at me I recognized him.

It was Theodore.

And he was beaten for trying to stop something. A guard had battered him for getting in his way, and now there was no one to stop him.

The guard stood over a young woman, his clothes hanging loosely off him, and—

I felt my stomach lurch, and steadied myself. I stared at the wooden door right in front of me, ignoring my imagination; beyond it laid an infinite number of possible scenarios, each one worse than the one before. I did not know what it was going on down there, nor did I want to know.

But I knew that, didn’t I?

I steadied myself. The door held in it not evil unimaginable— since it was an evil that was known— but instead, the possibility of freedom; I should behold it with anticipation, not fear.

I turned to Shang, and grinned.

"If they’re being that loud, and even you can barely hear it, then all the better for us. We don’t have to worry about