The frost grew more ruthless the further the companions ventured north toward the "Land of Silence." The mist that once shrouded the forest was replaced here by a fine, snowy dust that stung their faces like needles. Miron, with his freshly shaved head and tattered cloak, looked like a broken shadow trying to reclaim its pride.
Pecos (shivering and tightening his cloak around his belly):
"Ortinus, tell me for heaven's sake, are we going to face Ajax or are we going to freeze and turn into ice statues to decorate the King's garden? My fingers have lost all feeling, and I think my nose will shatter if I touch it!"
Nerar (with hawk-like eyes scanning the horizon):
"Save your breath for running, Pecos. The air here carries sound for vast distances. If you keep grumbling, the Royal Heaters will hear us before we even reach the mountains."
Darius (supporting his father, Nikos):
"Father, do you feel that? The ground beneath our feet feels... hollow. As if we are walking on a giant drum."
Old Nikos (leaning with dignity on his staff):
"You are observant, my son. The Land of Silence, it seems, is not silent at all."
Suddenly, Ortinus signaled everyone to drop to the ground. Two hundred meters away, a massive royal patrol was crossing the slope. They wore heavy armor painted white to camouflage them against the snow, accompanied by "Thermal Hounds" that breathed blue fire from their nostrils.
Miron (whispering with spite):
"They are the 'Elite Knights.' Rakion isn't playing around; he's sent his best men to scour the borders. If they spot us, Nikos's spices won't save us this time."
Romelius (struggling to hold his breath):
"Look at those hounds! They're searching for heat... and we are alive, overflowing with it! Nerar, do something!"
Nerar (pulling out small clay balls):
"these are 'Cold Earth' spheres. I'll throw them in the opposite direction to distract the hounds. When I give the signal, crawl toward that rocky crevice."
Nerar threw the spheres with incredible precision. They struck a distant rock and emitted false thermal pulses. The hounds barked frantically and the patrol lunged toward the sound.
Ortinus: "Now! Move!"
The companions ran with all their might toward a dark depression in the ground. It wasn't just a dip; it was the mouth of a massive "Dark Pit," looking like a jagged wound in the earth's body, its bottom invisible due to the absolute blackness.
Pecos (stopping at the edge of the pit, panting):
"Oh! Is this the way? Ajax lives in this hole? I'd rather go back and surrender to Rakion—at least his dungeon has a roof!"
Miron (with troubled eyes):
"Ajax said that true power is born from darkness. This pit leads to the tunnels of the 'Land of Silence.' The earth breathes here."
As they argued, a strange sound began to rise from the depths of the pit—a sound like metal blades scraping together, mixed with high-pitched screams that tore at the eardrums.
Old Nikos (in a trembling voice):
"Get back from the edge! This isn't wind... it's bats!"
Suddenly, a massive swarm of flying creatures exploded from the pit. They resembled bats, but their wings were made of a transparent, razor-sharp glassy membrane, and their eyes glowed with a purple light similar to the "Potion" Miron had drunk.
Ortinus (drawing his sword):
"Circular formation! Darius, Nerar, protect Nikos and Pecos!"
Pecos (wildly waving his metal pot):
"Stay away from me, you glass monsters! My meat is bitter!"
The creatures attacked fiercely. They flew at lightning speed, their wings slicing through air and clothing alike. One monster lunged at Darius, but he repelled it with a powerful sword strike that shattered the creature's wing, which disintegrated like broken glass.
Darius: "They are fragile, but so fast! And their numbers... they're endless!"
Nerar (firing his arrows with precision):
"Ortinus! I'm running out of arrows! We must go down into the pit; there are side passages that might shield us from the swarm!"
Miron (shouting as he pushed a beast away):
"Darkness is the solution! They rely on the faint light reflected off the snow! If we enter the pit, they'll lose their balance!"
Pecos (almost crying):
"You're joking! You want us to jump into that void? There might be bigger monsters down there that eat these bats as a snack!"
Ortinus: "No other choice! Jump now! I'll be the last one down!"
Darius, Nikos, and Romelius jumped, followed by Nerar, who dragged Pecos by his collar as he screamed. Miron jumped with an eerie grace, and finally Ortinus, after shattering three monsters trying to hinder him.
They tumbled down a smooth muddy slope inside the pit for a long distance until they settled in a cold, pitch-black bottom. The swarm above did not follow, as if an invisible barrier prevented them from entering deep.
Pecos (groping his body in the dark):
"Am I alive? Do I still have all my parts? Nerar, don't touch me, I think I've had a nervous breakdown... and my knee hurts."
Nerar (lighting a small torch):
"Quiet, Pecos. Look around you."
The torchlight illuminated the cave walls. They weren't ordinary rocks; the walls were covered in ancient inscriptions and symbols glowing softly in blue. At the end of the passage, there was a stone bridge suspended over a bottomless abyss.
Nerar (approaching the walls):
"This is the language of the Ancient Actanians. It says here: 'The path to the throne passes through the forgetting of the self.'"
Miron (in a faint voice):
"I hear his voice... I hear the echo of Ajax in my head. He is laughing at us."
Ortinus (placing his hand on Miron's shoulder):
"He won't be laughing for long. If this is the path he chose, then we will face him in his own lair. Pecos, do you have the pot?"
Pecos (wiping dust off his pot):
"It's here... but it's as empty as my courage right now. Ortinus, if we get out of here alive, I promise I'll cook you a feast that history will write about."
Nerar: "Move quietly. The pit has ears, and I suspect those flying creatures were merely the gatekeepers."