[Edanian Journey] Markthanan

Chapter 5: Signs of an Intruder I defeated the supervisors and gathered the gate keys, and Brynhild combined them to unlock the gate. We fought our way through the monsters that rushed us and entered the inner castle, only to find the path blocked yet again. We could not simply force our way through, so Brynhild and I decided to detour through the outer keep. She apologized that every route she led me down seemed to be blocked, but said there was still the <b>central passage on the second floor</b>. The key was held by Elder Vercas. Brynhild told me he was one of Markthanan's most trusted aides and would likely be training at the outdoor grounds. But when we reached the square via the second floor, we found the bodies of dragons and dragonkin scattered across it. Vercas was already dead. Brynhild considered whether Markthanan might have killed them himself, but these were not wounds inflicted by a dragon. Was there <b>another intruder</b> here besides us? We still had no idea who they were, what they wanted, or how they had gotten inside. We continued forward through the traps until a great rumble sounded from the main castle. We hurried toward it, only to find the way already breached. Someone had reached Markthanan before us. After wandering through one blocked path after another, we followed the trail they had left behind.