"HP: Too Late, System!"Chapter 398: Last Hope—The Abandoned Mining District!
"The map came from a friend I trust deeply," Douglas said, his tone gentle but firm. "Maybe your chief sensed danger and asked her to pass it on to me—just in case."
He offered no further explanation. Now was not the time for secrets.
"What matters most now is finding your people, Mr. Aldo. With this more detailed map, where do you think they're most likely to have gone?"
Aldo drew a slow, steadying breath. He caught the pronoun—her. So, the woman who'd passed information to the chief…
He bent over Isabella's map, his finger hovering over several marked locations. Each symbol was a memory: a desperate migration, a brush with disaster.
Outside, daylight poured through the cave's cracks, chasing away the lingering chill.
From his seemingly bottomless pocket, Douglas produced a bundle of food wrapped in oilskin—hard-baked bread, strips of smoked meat, a pouch of dried fruit, and a small water flask.
"Eat something," he urged Aldo and Lupin. "We'll need our strength."
Aldo, famished beyond pride, devoured the food in grateful, greedy mouthfuls. Lupin took his share, chewing thoughtfully, eyes darting between the silent, pensive Douglas and the map-absorbed Aldo.
With food in their bellies, their spirits steadied.
Aldo finally tapped a spot on the map. "Here—an abandoned sulfur mine near the Calabrian Fault. The terrain is tricky, and the natural stench of sulfur masks all scent. It's one of our most reliable fallback points. If they escaped from the main stronghold, this is where they'd go first."
"Then that's where we're headed," Douglas decided without hesitation.
They left the meticulously cleaned cave, following hidden trails marked on Isabella's map. The Apennine mountain paths were steep and treacherous, but the three pressed on at a brisk pace.
By midday, they reached the abandoned sulfur mine. A faint tang of sulfur hung in the air, and the rocks gleamed with streaks of yellow and white.
Douglas signaled for them to stop. He crept forward alone, scanning for ambush or signs of pursuit. Only when he was sure the coast was clear did he beckon Lupin and Aldo to join him.
At the base of an unremarkable rock wall, Aldo pushed aside a tangle of brush, revealing a narrow, pitch-black entrance—barely wide enough for one person.
"This is it," Aldo whispered, excitement trembling in his voice.
They filed inside. The tunnel sloped downward, the sulfur stench thickening, but beneath it lingered a subtle hint of… life.
After about ten meters, the passage opened into a small underground chamber.
In its center, a pile of charred embers still radiated a faint warmth.
In the corners, gnawed bones and fruit pits lay scattered.
"They were here!"
Aldo's lone eye shone with joy. "Look at these marks—they were here just days ago! They made it!"
Douglas knelt to examine the ashes and food remains, then nodded. "Yes. They left in a hurry, but not in panic. No signs of a fight."
Aldo added, voice trembling with hope, "The defensive spells and alarm runes have all been reset—our tribe's handiwork! If enemies had followed, they wouldn't have bothered to restore those."
It was the best news they'd had yet. At least some of the Ashclaw had made it here and, it seemed, moved on safely.
"They probably went to the next fallback point," Lupin reasoned.
Aldo nodded vigorously, jabbing another spot on the map. "Yes! The ancient cave at the edge of the Black Forest. It's even more hidden, and closer to where we can contact friendly mountain tribes!"
They didn't linger. Without wasting a moment, they set out for the second backup site.
It was a massive cave at the forest's edge, its mouth cleverly hidden by vines and boulders.
But as they approached, something felt wrong.
The ground near the entrance was churned and messy. Several saplings had been snapped in half, and dark, dried blood stained the earth.
Douglas paused at a rock used as a sentry post, his gaze sharp as a hawk's.
He stooped and picked up a broken arrow shaft. The wood was rough, but the arrowhead was expertly chipped obsidian, glinting with a cold, dark sheen.
More telling still, a thin layer of dried black residue clung to the tip.
Douglas pinched a bit of powder and sniffed. "Concentrated garlic extract and silver dust," he murmured, brow furrowing. "Crude, but effective—meant for vampires or certain dark creatures."
Lupin joined him, finding fragments of small animal skeletons nearby, the bones scored by sharp claws and fangs—no ordinary predator.
"They must've run into a skirmish here," Lupin observed.
Douglas swept his gaze around. "But the signs point to a small-scale fight. More like clearing out the local wildlife than a real clash with the Church or any vampire force."
Aldo nodded, grave. "This region's full of magical creatures—some harmless, some vicious. If Chief Marco wanted to settle here, they'd need to carve out a safe space first."
Cautiously, they entered the cave. Inside, they found more traces of habitation—makeshift bedding, dead fires, clay jars for food storage. But the place was empty.
"Looks like they didn't stay long," Lupin said quietly.
A shadow crossed Aldo's face. Two fallback points, both deserted. There were signs of life, but no guarantee of safety—no clue where his people had gone.
"Don't lose hope, Mr. Aldo," Douglas said, squeezing his shoulder. "Isabella's map has one more marked spot, not far from here—a core sanctuary. If that's empty too, we'll think of something else."
By now, the sun was slanting through the trees, casting dappled patterns on the ground.
They climbed over a ridge—and there it was: a landscape of utter desolation. An abandoned mining district sprawled before them, rusted rails and toppled mine carts scattered among the rocks. Black, gaping mine entrances yawned like the jaws of ancient beasts, promising darkness—and, perhaps, hope.
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