The villagers who had resisted earlier remained under guard, too weak to interfere with the operation. Some had collapsed after the effects of the ritual were disrupted, while others remained unconscious inside the temporary holding area the Shadow Guards had established near the village.
The physicians continued monitoring them, but Ryker had no intention of allowing anyone to approach the shrine while the work was still underway.
Whatever had been taking place beneath the village had continued for generations, and even though the structure was being destroyed, they had already learned enough to know that carelessness could cost them valuable evidence.
In no time, the shrine no longer resembled the structure they had discovered that morning. The wooden sections had been dismantled and burned under supervision, the stone platform had been broken apart, and the statue had been removed from its original position.
