Rahj carried his ticket out of this forsaken Planet, like a sack of grain on his shoulder, moving into the cave like an excited child wanting to report an accomplishment to their parent.
The cave was damp, lined with fine bricks carefully carved from a material that seemed to suck out light from its surroundings. Rahj moved through the familiar area at speeds that defied what was considered normal. Gusts of wind followed him with every step he took.
The cave was huge, unnaturally so. It was as if it had been dug by the group that took it as their temporary home. He got to a point where there were multiple intersections, obviously from different cave openings in different locations.
There were a dozen such intersections leading to different areas. Rahj didn't stop to think as he dove into an entrance without hesitation. This one was different from the one he was coming from.
There were many traps around: flying knives, concealed pits, poison vipers, and many more. It was clear that whoever/whatever resides here does not appreciate visitors. Luckily for him, he created most of the traps here, so he could easily maneuver around without the risk of joining Jack the Occupier in whatever hell he was sent to.
The many measures taken by the inhabitants of the cave only slowed him down for a bit before arriving at a wide area in the cave 3 hours later.
It was truly massive, about 5km square in area. It was illuminated by glowing floating orbs of light that were numerous, like stars in the night sky.
In this massive cave, there were pits, hundreds of them, that were scattered around the ground. if one listened closely, one could hear groans of children from the ends of the pits.
Rahj scanned the area for a brief second before heading to a massively constructed building far from the entrance.
The building was makeshift, made of wooden parts. It looked as though it would crumble at any exerted force, but looks can be deceiving, can't they?
As he approached, Rahj saw a man standing guard at the entrance door. He was wearing a black accent armor and a head guard while holding a spear.
"Hold," the man said as he held up his spear and pointed it at the approaching Rahj, still sporting his black outfit, carrying a boy on his shoulder.
"State your purpose here."
Looking at the man pointing a weapon at him, Rahj couldn't help but show a smile on his face. 'I hate this brute. Thankfully, I won't be seeing him after this for a very long time, hopefully never.'
"I brought a gift for the boss, knight," Rahj said while smiling politely.
The man seemed to be offended by his words as he gripped his spear tightly and replied, "I am no knight, snake. The boss is busy with some work, maybe you should come tomorrow, or next, or maybe the day after that. Just make yourself scarce."
Rahj has always shown a dislike for this guard just doing his duty. He believes in knowledge, and any who does not seek it he abhors. He doesn't hate ignorant people; he hates ignorant people who do nothing to change their state of 'ignorance'. if you are ignorant, why not seek knowledge?
Normally, he would rid the world of such filth, but he couldn't as he was the boss's favourite guard. So he changed his approach to mocking him any chance he gets, hoping that maybe, just maybe, by some miracle, he would seek knowledge out of feeling inferior.
Rahj quickly turned serious, foregoing his usual mocking attitude, as he said, "This is important; she needs to evaluate this child."
"Hmm, she is in her workshop. I wasn't lying when I said she was busy. Make sure not to annoy her," the guard said while lowering his weapon. He stepped to the side and opened one side of the door.
Creak*
The door creaked open as Rahj stepped in. He scanned the area before heading to the workshop. He had been there before, so he knew exactly where to go.
Getting there, he knocked on the door three times before stepping back and waiting for a response.
"Ah Rahj, come on in. Have you come bearing gifts?" A beautiful female voice came from inside the lab.
Rahj opened the door and stepped inside the room. It was misty, as the smell of something he wasn't familiar with lingered in the air. He could see systems made of glass that had viscous liquids running through them. A purification process? Who knows.
He slowly brought his gaze to the sole woman in the room with him. She was at least 6 feet tall, with a beautiful face and equally bountiful physique. She was wearing a black coat, not exactly 'lab material', had long black hair that was tied in a bun, and was wearing black lipstick.
Rahj wouldn't be fooled by her beauty. She was a very powerful practitioner. Powerful enough to kill him with little effort. Since he stepped into the cave, he knew she had noticed his presence.
Her name was Aina, with no recorded last name. She was the assigned leader of this cave and the leader of their organization in this region.
Rahj bowed his head at her slightly before laying Alaric down in front of her. "This child killed 5 bandits alone. He would have escaped if I hadn't shown up."
"Oh? You mean this boy, who is barely 5, killed 5 grown men? How?" Aina asked with curiosity written all over her face.
Rahj started explaining everything he saw, without missing anything.
"Brilliant, such combat talent exists? What you just described is impossible for a 5-year-old, unless he isn't human?" She looked closely at the boy who was still. How could a boy this young fight off bandits like that?
"I check him, boss, he is very much human," Rahj replied. It had also puzzled him, seeing how the boy fought, but he confirmed that the boy was indeed human.
"If that is true, then…" she paused while contemplating something, then she shook her head, "not possible".
"Take him a pit," she said with no room for questions. She looked Rahj in the eyes before saying, "You will be rewarded for your hard work, Rahj. I will send a report to headquarters for your reward."
"Thank you, boss," Rahj tried to hide his excitement, but couldn't hold himself back. This was a day to remember for him.
"Check the concealments on the cave entrances before the end of today. When you receive your reward, we wouldn't have you around to do that anymore," Aina said before dismissing him.
He hauled Alaric up again before going out of the building. Heading straight for the hundreds of pits around the massive area.
Each pit had its wall made from the same material as the walls close to the cave entrance. They were dark, even in the illuminated area. They seem to suck out the light in the area.
He found an empty pit before throwing Alaric inside. "Serve your purpose well, little spark," he said, hearing him hit the button, undoing the binding spell he had placed on him.