11: Crossing the Threshold

"Addy, Mark, Tom!" Sam called out his fallen comrades' names.

"They're still alive, but their minds are enthralled," Vo calmly explained.

Lyra suggested carrying them back, but Vo blocked it.

"Situations are accelerating." He momentarily glanced at the sky, recalling Shane's words about being a new moon. "We have to act now."

He held one of the enthralled warrior's hands to the boulder, which triggered an activation. The boulder began to move.

"Once we enter, we have to find another way out."

"Or be enthralled... cause seems to be the key." Zen added, which earned him a round of frowns. "What? Like if you can come up with a better idea, be my guest."

"We're not getting enthralled." Vo sighed and checked his gear, then boldly entered once the boulder had moved to one side to reveal a cave entrance.

"What he said." Zen followed.

"Kiara, daddy's coming." Sam looked to Lyra.

"Of course I'm behind you." She slapped his back.

Leizan watched the cave boulder slam to a close, stirring clouds of dust before the way settled.

He glanced around the area then pulled out a strip of paper and matchstick: rolled the paper then struck the match on a rock.

As the paper burned the symbol of a swan was released with whispered words carried in the air. He then turned and briskly walked away from the area.

Watching from a distance, was a crow. It saw the commander light the magical message back to a source. Its inverted vision saw the magic trail the message cast.

It lifted off from a high perch and followed the trail through the air, coving across the ravine canyon road and down toward a small clump of trees nestled between the mountain side, which was the start of another, more secret, road.

The bird landed on an overhanging ledge, seeing the magic flow into a burly man's ears.

This man was armed in black and red bandit leather armor with a two-hand weapon on his back. He looked like one of the mage bandits Vo had killed, carrying the almost invisible mark of a swan on the back of his gauntlet.

Humans would miss this identification, but a crow's sight saw the truth.

The burly bandit was coordinating with other well armed black-red armored bandits, who also bore the swan motif on their gauntlets.

Its vision expanded to see the wider area. Those men were moving and lining up large cages on wheels. The types used to transport captured beasts across the region.

But the beasts inside those caged wagons were human people. They looked out of mind and sat docile. Its coverings of black magic surrounded them like smoke, but was absorbing the people's life energies: only so much they didn't die on the spot.

This was how slaves were transported without resistance. These people were destined for somewhere.

The crow let out a squawk then lifted off to fly away. Its new instruction was to carry the message back to its mistress.