A Time of Tigers - From Peasant to Emperor

"But who's taken her?" Nila tried to ask, only to bite her tongue when she saw the exhaustion on Beam's face. She'd realized it over and over, just how much of a toll the responsibility was taking on the young boy, yet again and again she made the same mistake.

The other children were beginning to wake up around them, though they were weak, and many could hardly move. Some looked as though a strong gust of wind would blow them away. Fear was the one thing they all shared. Even as the soldiers attempted to reassure them, even as Nila joined them in that task, they never truly calmed down.

"Our fifteen minutes are up," Beam noted. He had no clock, but his conscientiousness would not allow him to run late on a promise that he had made.

"Judas, you and two soldiers begin carrying the children out of here. Focus merely on getting them above ground – the villagers will take care of the rest," Beam said.

"Right," Judas said with a serious nod. He asked no further questions, but merely grabbed the nearest two children under his arm, and began scaling the ladder with them.

The soldiers looked to their sergeant for confirmation before they followed Beam's order, but following his nod, they too began to move. Though they wore their badge as members of the Serving Class with haughty arrogance, and that had even been a cause for strife between the villagers and them, there seemed to be something universal about the plight of children that crossed those social boundaries.

They moved just as quickly as the rest of them to ensure the safety of these children. With the innocent right in front of them, so thoroughly afflicted by the cruelty of the world, it was a veritable instinct to reach out and help them, no matter what class they might belong to.

"What of us, then?" The sergeant asked. It was only the three of them left behind, as the others set about escorting the children away. Only Nila, the sergeant, and Beam.

Beam's gaze was fixed firmly on that rotten wood door ahead of them. Even without Judas' help, he imagined he'd have no trouble getting through it with a single sharp kick of his boot.

"Nila – see to the children. Bring them closer to the ladder, and reassure them. We still have to find who it was that was left behind, after all," Beam said, drawing his sword. He found reassurance in its steel.

The children widened their eyes at the sight of him. He did not exactly make for the picturesque sight of a hero then, covered in filth as he was, with that unsure look on his face. Some even quivered in fear, thinking him to be one of the enemy. It made Nila's heart ache to see that.

"Right," she said firmly, hurriedly grabbing the children by the hand to reassure them, to tell them that he would protect them. That boy, who was similarly as wounded.

Under her direction, she began to gather the children around the ladder. They were able to watch as their fellow victims were carried to the surface, and some were even allowed to hope. Many simply stared with wide eyes, as though so deeply traumatised that they couldn't process a single thing that was happening. Many more still had yet to wake up.

The sergeant matched Beam's step as they crossed the long room together, their feet echoing on the damn stone.

"Let me take the torch," the sergeant said. "If there is a fight, I'd rather it be you who has access to both hands."

Beam said nothing and wordlessly passed him the torch. His heart was pounding. He could feel the residue of something in the air. Something viciously evil. He'd felt it ever since he'd stepped into this underground hell pit. Rarely in normal life did one face something so startling, so outlandishly cruel, that there was nothing they could even compare it to.

But Ingolsol knew. Ingolsol knew, and he delighted. He coaxed Beam toward further anger, even as he delighted in the suffering of those around him. 'The Elder must pay for this, mustn't he?' That feeling almost carried an audible voice now. It matched his own thoughts on the matter, but came honeyed with far more malevolence than Beam was yet capable of summoning.

They paused at the door. Beam ran his hand against the wood. It was as rotten as he had expected. He tried the handle, but of course, the lock on the other side was thoroughly bolted in place. Things would never be that easy.

"Evil bastard," the sergeant muttered under his breath as he stood beside him. Beam saw him glancing back at the children, shaking his head. "What kind of monster goes through all this, eh? What kind of sick pleasure does one get from harming kids like this?"

"…I do not think he did it exclusively for pleasure," Beam said, as he returned his eyes back towards the door.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Those crystals on their necks, they must have served some sort of purpose," Beam said. And he thought he knew what that purpose might have been, but knowing as little about magic as he did, he could not confirm it until he asked the man himself, or his master.

Beam found a weakness towards the hinges of the door. The nails that bound them in place were half-rusted and rotten. He took a step back. The sergeant noted what he was about to do, and he took a step back with him.

Before he threw a kick, Beam glanced back over his shoulder. Half the children were already gone from the cellar, with the other half being steadily filtered away. He caught Nila's gaze as he looked over. She must have guessed what he was about to do, for she nodded firmly.

With her permission – for he didn't truly want to scare the children more than was already necessary – Beam drew back his boot.

BAM!

Flecks of rotten wood went flying, as the lower hinge tore free of the door. The children cowered at the noise. Beam could feel their fear, but he did not look back to see it. Judas and the soldiers came down once again, and more children were taken to safety.