They left the quarry without wasting any time. The return journey began at a brisk pace, with Damon leading the way as if every wasted minute were a personal offense. Lysandra followed with her wrists bound, guided by Ingrivid without unnecessary brutality, but without any room for escape. Cherry walked beside her by choice, seemingly dedicated to making the journey uncomfortable with just her comments.
"If you try to run, I'll trip you up," said Cherry, distractedly fiddling with her sword sheath.
"What a creative threat," replied Lysandra, maintaining the same calm tone.
"It wasn't a threat. It was a promise."
Ester was a few steps behind, rereading the collected documents and mentally comparing the codes with everything they had found in the last few days. Her silence indicated genuine concentration. Damon perceived this without needing to look.
"Anything useful?"
