Legend of the Swords

24: Dimitri

It wasn't until the afternoon that news of Erilyn's disappearance spread throughout the castle grounds. When word got back to me I sprinted through the castle, back to her room, and tore through the place looking for any signs that she had been taken alive or where she could be. The guards captured her hand maiden when she tried to escape and locked her in one of the cells for further questioning. I couldn't pull myself together knowing that Erilyn had been taken from me the second I walked out the door. I was sent here to protect her, to ensure that she would be kept safe, and the enemy stole her from me with ease. 

Lord Varen found me sitting on the floor, her crown in my hands as I planned my next move. I was enraged, heat building behind my eyes as I thought of every disgusting thing they could be doing to her, the unknown horrors she would face. Erilyn was strong, the most brave and determined woman I had ever met, but the torture she would most likely be put through was a terrifying thought. I was so trapped in my own spiraling thoughts I didn't hear Lord Varen approach me until I felt his hand on my shoulder. "We'll find her." He said, a dark tone to his voice. 

"They'll all pay." I growled as I traced a finger along one of the diamonds delicately placed in her crown. 

"They say that she was taken out with the laundry. Thrown into the sheets as though she was nothing but trash." My blood boiled at the thought. Erilyn deserved so much better, she deserved the world, and all I wanted to do was give that to her. "I take full responsibility for this. We should have vetted the situation better and limited her contact." 

"No, this is my fault. I shouldn't have left her side. I was planning on going to get her some roses to make her feel more at home while she got ready for the day. I never would have imagined her hand maiden would betray her." Lord Varen sighed, but I heard the sound of metal as he placed a sword beside me. 

"We need to get to work and save her. Neither Ryan nor my father are known for being merciful." I looked up at him, and then looked at the sword. I took it, ready for the battle ahead. 

"Let's go."

We interrogated the servants involved with Erilyn's kidnapping and learned that Lord Ryan and the king had traveled back to Stivaria to hide with the rest of their minions in the catacombs. I updated Lord Varen on Erilyn's informant's report on Saint's Domain's intentions to light the place ablaze. That was all the information he needed to have us saddled and rushing to Stivaria, making the journey as quickly as we could. By the time we got to the catacombs, The Eater's had been completely wiped out, their bodies littering the floor in the temple along with those of the ones that had met their end in the mouths of these cannibalistic ghouls. As we stepped further into the temple towards the entry to the catacombs the silence became deafening. There had always been snarling Eaters, hushed conversations, and the sound of men roughing around down here, but now there was nothing except dead silence, only partially interrupted by the sound of the torches burning on the walls as we went deeper within the decrepit passageways.  

"Keep your sword at the ready. We don't know who or what we'll encounter down here." I ordered Lord Varen, and he grunted in acknowledgement as we quietly made our way through the catacombs. The place was like a maze, with spiraling corridors, dim lighting, and hallways that went to dead ends. Devil's Judgement had done a phenomenal job in making the place almost impossible to navigate. Even so far under the ground, there were levels upon levels of channels and empty rooms. Still we persisted, making our way further into the abyss as we continued to look for Erilyn. Finding her in here was going to be a challenge for sure.

The further down we got, the corridors grew colder and wetter. Every now and then we would also hear the faint sound of voices, and we tried to get closer to them, listening into the conversation as we went.