The Runic Alchemist

[The city of Greenclouds, New Ashenvale region, Sam's POV.]

The city of Greenclouds was the same as most cities in the mainland; this one, however, was unimpressive by even the lowest standards.

Only the pugilist lord of the Eldoris border city had asked them their purpose on arrival. Through the sanctum officials' channel, they had already informed their people managing the waygate, among other things, that they were coming and to inform the lord of the Fayengin city.

Sam only said to the guy that they had some business to attend to in the New Eldoris, not giving any specifics. The pugilist was a trustworthy guy, but right now, they didn't want to implicate him in their actions.

From there, they flew straight towards the city and arrived in less than an hour.

The whole way, Sam's mind was thinking about the worst possible scenario continuously. So much time had passed since he last saw the old man. His health wasn't at its best to begin with; how would he be after years of captivity?

That was if he was alive at all.

It was the greatest happiness mixed with tons of guilt that filled Sam's heart. If he had continued the pursuit to find the man after returning from the dungeon, would things have turned out differently? They certainly wouldn't have to make deals with deranged criminals, at least. h

Had he been so lost in enjoying his time with Grace that he had completely abandoned his only family?

Since when was Uncle Anthony in captivity?

'I hope he isn't hurt or anything.'

Damian's potions should take care of injuries, but age was not something that could be fixed. Last time Sam had seen the guy, he was near forty. After ten plus years, he should be above fifty at least. That wasn't too old, but the man had serious drinking issues that affected his health even back in the village. Aging wouldn't be kind to him at all.

"We will find him, no matter what."

Suddenly, a voice broke his chain of thoughts. It belonged to Lucian. Souldealer was holding her, both flying beside him.

Sam smiled. Lucian wasn't a consoling type. For her to say this to him, he must be making some serious faces.

She continued, "Even if we don't find him, we won't stop searching for him. Even if we have to take control of the whole of Ashenvale, eradicating the shadow organization from the roots."

"Our Lord Keeper might have a slight issue with that.." Souldealer said with a light chuckle.

Sam shook his head, "Damian fought a literal Demon Lord for us. Man would go to any lengths when it comes to people he holds dear."

"Yes," Lucian agreed.

Souldealer smiled. "Guess I am a lucky one to have him on my side."

"You have no idea," Sam replied as all three landed inside the castle walls.

The guards standing guard on the walls rushed all around in a hurry, but none dared to come near, though. Even a first ranker could feel the enormous wave of mana leaking from the three transcendent figures.

The chances of letting their mana rein free out of their bodies were rare. All three of them took full advantage of that, drowning the whole castle in their mana signatures.

Sam did not stop for anyone at all. Good thing they didn't cross his path, or he would have tossed people aside. With messy hair and dressed in casual sleeping garments, the Verdant family gathered in the inner castle, barring the massive iron door.

Sam punched the massive door, breaking the locking mechanism in a single try. They waltzed in there, reducing the mana leakage a little to not poison the mundanes.

"Who is the lord?" Sam asked.

A man in his mid-forties stepped forward with a trembling body. The group of Verdant household comprised several men, women, and teenage children.

"Show us your dungeon. A Sanctuary citizen is trapped inside. Resist, and it won't end well for you. Do as we say and you can go back to sleep in an hour." Sam got directly to the point.

The old lord knew what was better for him. He nodded and led the way. Dealing with the constant threat of the underworld must have made him compliant if nothing else.

The old man opened the basement gate with a hidden mechanism, and the dungeon entrance was revealed. Sam poured his mana into the bracelet connecting to Grace.

She was with Evrin and Sanctuary knights, holding the healed beastmen ready. They needed one of them to enter and get Anthony back, as stated in the contract.

***

[Inside the dungeon, The Pasture of Silent Hooves, floor 10, Anthony's POV.]

Anthony stared mindlessly at the distant silver horses running, leaving behind a trail of dirt. A place where the sun never settles, where the light breeze never stops, where the grass always remains green.

It would be a heaven for some.

But to Anthony, an eternal spring was awfully tiresome. Not that he could move around much. There were seven in total, including their captors. Four pathfinders, all decently talented, albeit a bit slow.

And three prisoners.

All lived in two wooden houses, built upon a tall tree. They were allowed to move inside the room, and even allowed to roam under the tree. Spiked wooden barricade protected the lonesome tree from being burnt by the red war horses. They were not allowed to go outside, and it wasn't wise to do so either.

The four pathfinders could reach the keypoint across the meadow with their strength, with some difficulty. The boss monster was killed ages ago, and slowly, they had dwindled the number of aggressive monsters alive on the floor.

Still, for Anthony alone it was impossible to reach there. His fellow prisoners were one beastmen woman in her mid-forties, she was neither a pathfinder nor a pugilist - a mundane just like him. And the other prisoner was a short, wide man with a full beard and long hair.

Short was actually an understatement. The guy was barely 4'5'' or 4'7'' in height. His short legs were built big and thick like an elephant's. His long arms were muscular and full of strength.

He wasn't a human, Anthony had concluded.

Other than his appearance, another reason for this conclusion was the fact that in the corner of the wooden room, the bearded man was wrapped with dozens of thick steel chains. Glowing purple runic inscriptions were etched on every single chain, along with several enchanted charms attached to it.

The man had been unconscious ever since Anthony had laid eyes on him. He wasn't even sure if the guy was still alive or not. He didn't eat or breathe. But the four beastmen guards didn't miss a single day checking on the guy's restrictions, as if afraid the old, short man would open eyes any day and obliterate all of them.