499 CDXCIX. The Rock Prison

Kranus, already knowing what Dag was referring to, got off his horse and approached the pile of corpses looking disgusted at them.

He raised his arm, which came out from under his cloak, and opened his hand, pointing it at them.

A slight airstream was generated around it and within seconds increased its intensity by swirling around the wrist and wrapping its hand.

In a delicate gesture, as if stroking an invisible object, Kranus moved his hand forward and the icy airstream began to float towards the bodies, enveloping them too and becoming denser and denser, until it prevented their sight.

The magician continued to hold his hand still in the same place and under the surprised gaze of all the others, that current of air that had wrapped the bodies entirely became a block of whitish ice, and compressed the bones and muscles, reducing the volume of the corpses to a few centimeters thick. 

Suddenly, it was as if those bodies had never existed and Kranus and Dag had made this possible within minutes.

"We can go. Try to walk without ever stopping, our destination is not far away... no more rash moves, Dag" the white-bearded mage said, climbing on Iron's back and leading the line along with the young Master who did not answer, knowing that he had solved the situation as quickly as possible.

"Dag, how did you do that? What was that stuff that came out from under your cloak? Where did it come from?" Atran asked, who could not forget what he had seen.

"There are many things you don't know about me... I just got rid of those annoying men quickly and quietly, trying to keep a low profile... the only way to do that was through my powers. But now is not the time to explain how they work, we have a mission to complete" Dag replied, who did not want to dwell on that aspect and did not want to say more about himself, knowing that Kranus was already aware of it.

After turning his gaze towards Freydis and making sure his woman was safe and sound, he continued to ride forward without ever stopping, hoping that no one would notice the block of ice that had suddenly appeared at the intersection of the main road and that of the first camp.

Looking around, he noticed that they had arrived at their destination just as most Claws Of Fenir warriors woke up, realizing that the bonfires of the settlements that had remained lit all night, were turned off one by one, releasing the typical whitish smoke into the air.

"Come on, we're almost there! Let's speed up the pace... we must arrive before other warriors notice our presence! Maybe we should have come in the afternoon" Kranus said, reflecting aloud and wondering if that has been the right move.

After passing six more settlments, three on the left and three on the right, the last two separated them from the huge entrance to the underground city, dug inside that magnificent inactive volcano.

"Fuck, it's really huge!" Atran exclaimed, raising his head to the thick beam that rested above the two mammoth columns.

"What is it written up there?" Dag asked, noting that besides the various drawings on it there was also a large central writing in Krypstorm's alphabet.

"It says 'Rock Prison'... I think it's the name of this place..." Kranus replied, who was looking at the same thing and had been reflecting silently for a few seconds.

"Rock Prison? Wasn't it an underground city?" Atran asked again, failing to get deeper into the intrinsic meaning of those words.

"Of course it is, but for these people, the Randt Mastiff can never replace Klorr, their real capital. As beautiful as this city may be, in their minds, it will always be like a prison... surely this is the reason behind this name" Kron explained, who immediately had a clear idea of what they were reading.

Unlike the other warriors, he used to be very attentive to the details and think long before talking: this was the real reason behind his usual silence.

Strangely, the entrance to rock prison was not guarded by any kind of guard and when they climbed the threshold of the stairway riding their horses, they looked down, trying to figure out where the stairs were leading.

They went down more than ten meters deep and immediately afterward followed a curve, still not making it possible to see the place where it led from the surface.

"The stairs are very large... seem to have been designed to get on with horses. We don't need to leave them here, let's never separate from them" Dag said, who took courage and first began to go down the stairs on his steed, who after hesitating for a few seconds, laid one of his hooves on the first step of dark stone of the staircase.

As they descended deep, daylight faded completely and in its place, the light generated by large torches hanging along the walls illuminated the surrounding space.

Dag could not help but remember that the last time he had descended such a long staircase, it was during his encounter with the God Weland, who had led him into the Great Forge, within the continental crust of the planet.

This time, however, the staircase was very long, but it lasted a hundred meters and after the curve they saw before starting to descend, the walls of the tunnel widened until it disappeared completely and became the vaults of the huge natural cavity that left everyone speechless.

With a ceiling more than 100 meters high and a larger width than the base of the volcano that was visible from outside, a real underground city appeared before their eyes and the group of adventurers stopped on the staircase to admire the view.