Finding the Base

"Are we there yet?" The Dark Lord asked impatiently as Aurora led the way, followed by the shapeshifter.

"We'll be here soon," She answered as she moved a tree branch out of the way.

They had only left the village a few minutes ago, but thanks to Aurora's knowledge of teleportation magic, they were already close to Thorrin's hideout. They would have needed to travel for hours to get there by foot, but teleportation had made the journey much faster. Despite this, Dark couldn't help but express his impatience. It wasn't that he disliked waiting, but rather he was becoming increasingly bloodthirsty and eager to engage in battle.

Aurora could sense his bloodthirst, as she was a bit corrupted. She tried not to overthink it in case it overcame her. That did make her wonder how much Iden was corrupted if he was corrupted at all. She knew he had worked under the Dark Lord for many years and should have been corrupted to the bone. Yet, he seemed sane and rational. It was true that the Dark Lord controlled how much he influenced the people under his power, but she figured Iden would have been beyond twisted by this magic to have kept the Dark Lord's essence for so long and revived him.

"It will look like a regular house from the outside, but it's nothing but a cover. I know it leads to an underground base, but I have no idea how to access the passage to it since it's likely hidden," She explained before stopping in her tracks to look at the Dark Lord. "But I'm sure it will pose no issues to you considering you will probably brute your way in…" She said before pausing as she realized she only knew his title. "I forgot to ask, but what is your name? Even my mother and grandmother never revealed it,"

"My name? Didn't I say it enough already?" He inquired with a look of disbelief, making Aurora think back on their conversations. Seeing her puzzled look, Dark decided to speak up again. "Dark Lord," He finally said, making her widen her eyes in surprise.

"Dark Lord?" She questioned again as he nodded in annoyance.

"You heard it right. Try to remember it this time or I will make you,"

"Your name is literally Dark Lord?"

"Indeed,"

"But wasn't there a Dark Lord before you? What was his name?"

"It was Dark Lord, too, of course! It shouldn't be unusual for father and son to have the same name," Dark sighed while the witch was taken back. "However, my friends call me Dark,"

"A-Alright. I understand, Dark. It was just unusual…" She started as she was abruptly cut off.

"I don't have any friends," He said in a cold tone, which was a clear enough message to tell her not to call him Dark.

"If I may interject, she also should call you "my Lord", my Lord," Iden commented, earning a silent glare from Aurora. However, Dark raised his hand to stop him.

"Please, Iden. No need for that yet, she may call me Master if she wants to," He permitted her while Aurora tried to remain calm, which she successfully did because she was too afraid of the Dark Lord. One might have thought they were making a bit, and that they were totally joking. However, she knew they were completely serious by their tone alone.

"I think my Lord will be fine," She mumbled before resuming her walk to her brother's hideout.

They soon arrived at their destination, and Aurora halted at the first glimpse of a house. True to her earlier description, it appeared to be a typical wooden house that one would find in the village they had left earlier. However, its location, in the middle of the forest, made it seem suspicious. Aurora gestured towards it, and both Dark and Iden comprehended that it was their target.

Interestingly, there were no visible defenses or guards around the house, which could have made it more suspicious if there were any. Aurora, being the closest to the door, knocked first. The Dark Lord seemed amused and impatiently pushed her aside, stepping forward to take the lead.

"Who's there?" A gruff voice came from behind the door after the witch had knocked. Dark didn't respond. Instead, he punched the door, making his fist go through a hole of its own making as he grabbed the bandit behind by the head, then pulled him out of the house through the door, smashing it to pieces. "ARG!" The bandit shouted in pain as he was thrown to the ground.

"[Freezing Blast]" Aurora cast as she outstretched her hand to him. The bandit had no time to react or stand up as he was engulfed in cold air, and frozen in only a few seconds.

"S-Shit! A mage!" A second bandit, who was also in the house, exclaimed as picked up his sword to fight. Unfortunately, Iden left him no time to struggle as the shapeshifter turned his left arm into a blade and extended it until it skewered the man through the heart.

"I always love warm welcomes," Dark Lord chuckled as he stepped on the frozen bandit and broke him in half. "Now for that hidden passage…" He muttered while looking around.

"There's probably a trapdoor somewhere… I think I can use a spell to find it," Aurora pointed out only for Iden to pull her out of the house. She looked at him questioningly, and didn't even have enough time to let her words out while Dark let out a warcry, then punched the floor, making a dust cloud while the house collapsed. "Or you can do that. That works fine, too," She mumbled with a tired tone. "I'll need some time to get used to… that ruffian," She commented under her breath.

"Here is our entrance to their little playground!" The Dark Lord announced as he showed them the huge hole in the ground. The roof of the house seemed to have conveniently missed the Dark Lord and the hole leading to the base; however, the several burnt pieces of wood led Aurora to believe he used his magic to protect himself.

"Excellent job, my Lord! However, they are likely aware of our intrusion now," Iden commented as Dark scoffed in dismissal.

"I'm not worried about that. Nothing they could do would prepare them for my arrival. All they can do is bow their head and beg for mercy," He replied before going down the stairs, closely followed by the witch. "You will stay here, Iden. Make sure none of them escape. If they persist, you are free to kill them," He ordered as the shapeshifter kneeled.

"Your wish is my command, my Lord," He declared as Dark and Aurora disappeared from view, slowly descending into the bandit's lair.

"Any particular directives for me?" Aurora inquired, making her lord nod in confirmation.

"Try not to kill too many. We don't know if they have great numbers or not, but I'd rather keep them as soldiers until I find better ones. Moreover, we still need them to destroy the village, too," He said as Aurora replied with a simple 'understood'.

Meanwhile, further down the second entrance, a group of bandits sat at tables, enjoying their drinks and laughing. The setting was an expansive tunnel with torches lighting the walls. The tunnel's wooden structures included pillars supporting the ceiling and towers connected by a suspended bridge, which served as a defense measure. It was evident that Thorrin had been productive during his absence, and the place was almost reminiscent of a dwarven settlement. There were likely even more structures further in the tunnel.

The place the dozen of bandits were drinking was the second entrance to the underground hideout, the first being the house above. The bandits here were guards, but since no intruder even tried to ever set foot in their base, their job wasn't difficult. They even set a few tables and drank from time to time.

"To the great haul, we got today!" One of the bandits exclaimed as he raised his glass excitedly.

"Those merchants sure did have great tastes for alcohol!" Another one remarked with red cheeks, seemingly affected by his drink.

"The only ones who hadn't come back are from Darren's group, aren't they? Hope they found a good catch if it takes that long to return," One of them commented before taking a sip of his whiskey.

"Maybe some women like last time! Drinking is good to pass the time, but I need real relief there," A more muscly bandit interjected dreamily. "The boss always gets them first, then gives them to the guys at the sand pit while we're all the way over there playing with our dicks," He added with frustration.

"An elven slut would be ideal," One said with a perverted gaze as he poured some whiskey into his glass.

"Are all of you really still talking about that?" Another bandit mocked as he earned the stares of his comrades. "Who cares about new goods or having women down there? Soon enough, we will enjoy those to our heart's content!" He said excitedly as the others looked at one another.

"What do you mean?" The bulky bandit asked as the first one motioned for them to come closer.

"I heard a few rumors in the sand pit, but apparently we've got good numbers and plenty of new recruits. Since we're well-armed, too, the boss is talking about invading a city! We're finally gonna do it! It's gonna be the start of our own nation!" He revealed as the others widened their eyes.

"Seriously?! I always thought he was joking or dreaming out loud! He's actually gonna send us to invade a whole city?" The bulky bandit exclaimed in shock.

"What? You don't want to do it? You'd at least get any woman you want if we win,"

"Of course, I do! I'm just surprised! Never heard of bandits conquering a city before, even if it's the Neutral Grounds," He retorted before smiling and looking away as if lost in his thoughts. "Last time I went to Uola, there was this hot barmaid… hard to forget her… I hope that city is our target…" He said dreamily.

"Not like any bandits would have the balls or the strength to do it! But our boss does! That's why we couldn't ask for a better leader!"

"To the boss!"

"To the boss!"

They raised their glasses in unison until they heard a loud bang, stopping them in their celebration. They turned their heads in the sound's direction, which came from the large steel door that led to the stairs leading above ground. There was a dent in the door. Suddenly, a second one appeared as if someone just punched it.

One of the bandits stood up, sword in hand, and slowly walked over to the door. However, right before he could reach for the handle, the door was torn off its hinges and crashed on him, nearly squishing him while someone stepped on it. The dust cloud slowly dissipated, revealing Dark and Aurora, standing side by side.

"I'll make this short. I am the Dark Lord. Whoever wants to die may step forward,"