It wasn't a single cave, but one leading into a network of interconnected caverns. The air was damp, the darkness thick, with the only illumination coming from flickering torches scattered throughout. Every so often, distant screams echoed through the tunnels.
Cadets.
Zephyrion moved toward the nearest one. The darkness made it easy to stay out of sight. Soon he reached an opening and peered inside.
Several dozen cadets were bound in chains. Stripped down to their underwear.
Seven sanguines wandered through the cavern, dousing the cadets with icy water before whipping them with belts. The only light came from two torches flickering along the walls.
"Which one of you little shits is gonna talk, huh? The academy's training schedule. Tell me, and I'll let ya go. Simple, yeah?"
The cadets shivered, battered, several even weeping, yet none of them spoke. None were his people. He recognized them. Most were Tier Twos.
Zephyrion slipped into the darkness of the cave.
