Chương 116: Chapter 115- The Pit

Astra's POV Voices rang out in the cavern behind her as the 3rd and 5th squads attempted to marshal the civilians into some kind of order before setting off to march for the surface, as Astra and her squad arrayed themselves before the dark tunnel entrance ahead. Resuming a similar marching order to the previous trek through the tunnels, they stepped into the gloom, the light of Ms Farrier's orbs leading the way.

Unlike the cavern before, the tunnel was more similar to the previous ones they had found near the kitchens in that they bore the signs of being deliberately constructed. Rough hewn stone walls were interspersed with mage shaped portions using as much of the naturally occurring tunnels as possible, with the excavators widening the natural portions into something passable by humans while traveling mostly in a single direction.

After a few twists and turns, the tunnel began to lighten, and the group came to a pause as they stepped into a wider chamber, this one man-made instead of the natural cavern from before. What was most unusual was not the construction however, but what the room contained, as the new chamber resembled nothing more than a waiting room.

The room was the kind you would expect from a guild hall or a large merchant house, one where prospective members or guests preparing to join a caravan could wait while the rest were being assembled. Ms Farrier dispersed her orbs. While the ambient lighting may not have been as bright as daylight, it was more than enough to see by and lit their surroundings with an eerie clarity.

The tunnel exit led to an aisle cut between several rows of low stone benches before feeding into a section that was roped off in a snaking pattern, leading to a chest high counter with a series of work stations set in a row on the far side. A section of stone wall behind the counter had been smoothed and shaped into a series of orderly rectangles, spaces that were covered in a series of chalk markings.

Astra's brow rose as her gaze traveled over the boards, " Awaiting processing- 25," her eyes skipped to the next one, "Harvest teams report to Overseer Holden…", and the next " Visitors are to remain in designated areas…" She paused, " What is this?" Eli stepped up next to her, his eyes scanning the boards before speaking, " Work assignments I think? They mostly look like schedule boards…"

As her guards swept the room for threats Astra strode down the aisle, pausing for a moment to stare down at the roped lanes before her. Why do they need to wait in line? She grunted at the absurdity of such a thing in this place before turning to step around the ropes and lean over the counter ahead, finding only blank papers, writing utensils, and stools for clerks to rest on as they processed whomever was in line." Huh."

She glanced back forwards where Mr Smith and Mr Taylor waited by the double doors exiting the chambers, Mr Smith glancing through for a moment before looking back at her in confusion. As she stepped around the counter and joined them by the door she asked, " Something the matter?" Mr Smith gave her a strange look for a moment before shrugging, " See for yourself milady." and holding the door open. Astra entered the next chamber to find this one was filled with row after row of desks.

Most were neat and orderly, but there were a few chairs tipped over, and several desks near the back still had ledgers open and spread across the workspace, albeit knocked askew as if the occupants had left in a rush. Some of the desks still had writing implements and stationary laid out on their desks, but like the room before, it was well lit and well used, but empty.

Maps of the surrounding area were posted on one of the walls, both the immediate environs of the estate, but also ones showing much of the western frontier. They were sectioned into regions and districts, color coded, colors that matched a series of large scheduling boards along one wall. Boards that were far more detailed than the ones in the previous room. A ripple of confusion trickled down the tether in her chest, and Astra turned to catch Elias entering the room covering his thoughts with a neutral expression.

Not so much for Mr Cooper who followed behind Eli, the disquiet and unease was writ large across the man's face as he eyes shot around the room looking for threats as he gripped the hilts of his cleavers. The front line duo stalked quietly through the room, tense as they glanced around, taking position at the far door as Astra followed. She paused at one of the open ledgers in the back row before joining them, glancing down some at the lines on the last open page. Entry 1437- Intake- Western Farms District- 8 …

Entry 1445- Holding Pens 3 & 4 At Capacity … Entry 1452- Additional Bedding Requested … Entry 1459- Final Preparations Accelerated By Order of Viscount Andrew Whitten Astra's eyes narrowed at the last line, there were not many additional lines, and the last ones were scrawled in a rush. No question now. Not as if there was any doubt before.

She paused for a moment to point out the line to Eli with a tap of her finger before they continued on, joining the men at the door to the next room as Mr Taylor pushed it open for her. A single aisle cut through the room, with rows and rows of bunks arranged along either side, and Astra paused to peer down the rows where they split off from the central aisle.

Just like the previous room, most of the bunks were neatly arranged, the mattress dressed and made with bedding and any personal effects were stored in a pair of footlockers at the base of the bunks. There were also many more that were not. Several bunks had spare boots tucked under the bed, sketches and letters pinned to the bed posts, and more than one had a splash of playing cards across the mattress, as if a game had been interrupted midway through.

Elias walked up to one of the bunks that was still unmade, the sheets thrown back in a haphazard rumple as he slid his hand between the sheets and the mattress, pausing for a moment." Still warm." Astra glanced back and forth, for a moment she began to count the bunks before stopping and shaking her head. Just how many are there? Two score, maybe three or four. More than a platoon, but short of a company. How many knew exactly what this place was? Would they still have joined if they had?

Her gaze drifted over the rows and rows of empty bunks. So many… This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. The clatter of Tia's claws on the ground as she stepped over to a bunk to pick up a playing card and chirp at Eli shook Astra out of her thoughts. She turned and strode down the aisle through the center of the room.

The doors at the end of the bunk house were a double set instead of the single on the other end, and thicker as if to provide sound proofing. The reason for this was apparent once they passed through a short hallway into the larger chamber beyond. Given that it was a large dining hall, the choice made a little more sense. Ancients forbid their meals be interrupted… One wall sported another set of doors next to a long waist high serving counter paired with a long pass through window into the open kitchen beyond.

The air was warmer and drier in this space, the smells of a recently cooked meal lingering in the air, still just as empty. The room was filled with tables and seating with many places set for a meal, the cups and plates abandoned still half filled. A few of the tables even had playing cards as well, and one held a single neatly folded book, placed next to a still steaming mug of dark fluid, the fragrant scent of hot tea filling the air.

There was a large set of heavy thick stone doors at the far end of the room, but whatever space was not filled by those doors or the serving counter was periodically filled with the same statement. The same phrase was stamped in bold black letters, block after block, segment by segment, until it seemed to surround the room. THE SACRIFICE OF ONE PRESERVES THE FUTURE OF THE MANY Astra paused for a moment staring at the phrase, No one ever thinks they are in the wrong.

As her guards crossed the room she swung to the left to peer through into the open kitchen through the serving window, finding cookfires still lit before stoves, and ovens still closed with baked goods inside. The fires may have chased away the chill and the dampness of the subterranean air, but a waft of the acrid scent of burnt bread in the air of the kitchen hinted that pretty soon the smell would spread, covering the far more pleasant lingering smells of the recently prepared meal.

Mr Cooper joined her and waved a hand through the steam over one of the pots of stew on the serving line, " Set out no less than an hour ago for certain my Lady, but likely more than half that." Astra nodded, murmuring her thanks before heading to the set of heavy doors on the far side of the room, Mr Smith and Mr Taylor leaned against the stone pressing on the doors. Mr Smith let out a grunt, Mr Taylor glancing over at him before speaking up, " Stupid heavy, these ones, can you give us a hand Coop?"

Mr Cooper waved at Elias before leaning in next to Mr Smith on one door, as Eli joined Mr Taylor on the other. There were a few moments of grunting and swearing before a sharp crack could be heard as the doors gave way and slowly opened. Mr Mason spoke up from next to Astra as they pushed, " They must have joined the stone between the doors and the floor to…" His words drifted off as the men ahead froze in the doorway, Astra glanced up sharply as a massive spike of alarm and dread shot down the tether from Eli.

Astra rushed forward in response only to halt, coughing as she caught the wave of air sweeping outward from the room. She choked and gagged on the stench as the overwhelming scent of blood, death, and harsh disinfectants washed over them. Tia made a gurgling noise next to her, as she scrabbled at her nose for a moment and shook her head trying to shake off the olfactory shock that assaulted their senses.

Astra pressed forwards, stepping between the men in the doorway only to freeze herself at the sight, her mind refusing to believe what lay before her. Stone floors. Tables. Chains. Hooks. Restraints. Drainage channels. Processing tables. A pit. THE PIT. … The room was far different from the ones before, those could have been in any office, warehouse, or garrison, but there was only one place where this one belonged.

The fixtures were impossible to mistake, a line of slightly angled tables were arrayed against each wall, the outline of a human body sunk into the surface of the tables, stained leather straps covering the wrist, ankles, and neckline. Channels had been cut into the surface of the tables, converging into a deeper hole cut into the lower edge of the table, a faint series of stained rings on the ground beneath where a bucket had been placed but moved often.

A set of hooks and chains were hung through rings into the ceiling next to each table, and another set of dark rings could be seen beneath them. A stained bucket and mop was neatly aligned along the wall behind each station, leaving no allusions as to what they had been used for. The dark stains on the buckets would have been ominous enough on their own, except for the pit. Oh, Ancients above the pit.

Astra wandered through the rest of the room in a daze, barely glancing at the fixtures as she drifted past, the cold and clinical setting that reduced human lives to nothing more than livestock barely registering. She only had eyes for the horror that awaited her on the far side of the room. A hole sat at the back of the room. Not a large one.

No, it was little more than a dozen feet across, and a small decline was cut into the floor around it to ease the burdens being dragged towards it, Ancient's forbid they strain their wrists. As she stepped up to the edge, the sight before her was barely processing, as if her mind refused to believe what she was seeing.

She could only see the top layer clearly, no more than five or six corpses, the wrists and necks slit, holes punched through the ankles, and a couple that had been completely decapitated, but exsanguinated one and all. Her mind flashed through all she had seen in recent weeks, the faces flashing through her mind, superimposed with the still forms before her. The smiling faces of the Hostlers sisters. Dancing with the villagers along the village green in Springdale. The old man from the pens.

The worst part was that there was no clue to how far the pit extended, but the limbs that she could see poking around the extremities indicated there was more. So much more. Astra's eyes caught on one foot that emerged from below a bloody torso, a foot that was far too small to be in this place. A wracking sob slipped from her lips as idle thought drifted through her mind as she wondered if that foot belonged to the tiny shoe she had found in the snow outside in the gardens.

Astra had started to grow numb to the feelings of anger and despair over the course of their journey through the estate, the crackling embers of those emotions were still present in her heart. She had thought that one person can only witness so much pain before there is nothing left. She had been wrong. Oh so very wrong. As she stood frozen, her eyes boring into that tiny limb, still and cold.

The pale skin like porcelain and the outsized holes punched through each heel, Astra realized she had thought she knew what anger was. Blood rushed through her veins as her pulse raced, the song in her chest stirring to life, the hymns chanting a litany of condemnation. The distant sound of drums answered, echoing down the tether, the tempo rising to match her own, the beat thrumming in time with the beating of her heart as the crackling embers blazed into a bonfire. Fury.

Before this moment it had just been a word, one she had thought she understood. A word the bards used for when the heroes were pushed past their limits, when they bared their fangs, willing to drag their enemies to the grave or die trying. At least that was what those words had meant. There were no words that could describe what she felt, for they rang hollow and wholly insufficient. The song rose, a furious and indignant chorus joined by the booming beat of war drums in her mind as her pulse thundered in her ears.

BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. The wordless hymns rose into screams of fury in her mind as flames in her heart roared in response, white hot, spiraling into a blaze hot enough that even her vision rippled. A towering funeral pyre, not for the fallen, but for the damned. Astra could barely hear anything of her surroundings as her world dissolved into a white hot blaze of fury as she beheld the fate of the missing people, her people.

Only one phrase registered just enough to cut through the haze in her mind, her eyes snapping to the doorway beyond the pit." I think I can hear voices coming from the next room."