The secret escape tunnel beneath the Lord's Keep smelled of damp earth, rat droppings, and panic. It was a narrow, claustrophobic passage that had been carved centuries ago for emergencies just like this, though it had likely never seen a Lord run through it with such pathetic desperation.
"Move!" Lord Caelum screamed, his voice echoing shrilly off the low ceiling. "Faster, you incompetent mules! If the monsters breach the keep before we are clear, I will have your heads!"
He was sweating profusely, his expensive silk robes stained with cobwebs and dirt. He wasn't carrying anything. He was letting his personal guard do the heavy lifting.
Behind him, six guards struggled under the weight of heavy iron-bound chests filled with gold, jewels, and artifacts looted from the city treasury. They were panting, their boots slipping in the muck, sweat stinging their eyes.
