They were so close. Marten, his parents, Jorick’s dad, all the villagers—they were right down another hallway. After they saved them, Evin decided, then he’d confront Bet. What could she do against so many people? She’d have to hand over the Practical Guide.

Evin smiled. “Let’s go,” he said.

Chapter Fifteen

The hallway turned several corners and then reached another doorway. Tentatively, the trio peered through.

Moonlight spilled in through gaping holes in the ceiling. The room was carved from the earth and bisected by a stone-and-mortar wall that rose into the craggy cave ceiling and ended just before a giant, natural stone pillar at the south end of the room. To the left of the doorway, Evin could just make out stacks of wooden crates and barrels overflowing with baskets, pottery, and clothing. He thought he recognized Marten’s dark coat in the pile.

And then he saw the cages.

From what Evin could tell in the low light, there were four of them on this side of the mortar wall. Each cage was as big as Hesiod’s now destroyed town hall and packed with dozens and dozens of people.

“We did it, Evin!” Jorick whispered, his voice wavering. “We found them!”

The boy began to leap out from behind the doorway, but Evin and Bet each grabbed an arm to hold him back.

“We have to—” Evin whispered.

“We should—” Bet said at the same time.

Evin glared at Bet, and she glared back. He spoke again, still in a whisper. “We have to make sure there are no gnolls first. We’re so close, we can’t ruin it now.”

Jorick swallowed and backed down. “All right.”

The three studied the room. Evin listened for howls and the click of claws on stone. But all he heard was the soft crying of several of the captives. All he saw were the shadowy faces of people he vaguely recognized.

Bet looked at Evin, her eyebrow arched. He nodded. She waved her wand and conjured a small ball of light. Then, together they rounded the corner.

Mrs. Needman, the baker’s wife, spotted the trio from the nearest cage. Her eyes widened and she began to shake. The old woman raised a hand to point at them. Her lips moved but no sound came out. Finally, she managed to say, “We’re saved!”

And then all of the people in the cages turned to face the trio and began talking at the same time. Many rushed to the bars and shoved themselves against them, crying out, “Help us!” Evin saw other villagers he knew: Mr. and Mrs. Hammersmith and their daughter Nell, bulbous market overseer Manfred Wimple, and reedy stable boy Adam, whose last name Evin didn’t know.

He did not, however, see his mother, father, or Marten. His heart sank, but he ran to the closest cage, reaching through grasping arms, searching for a lock.