The convoy departed Atlas Base at exactly six in the morning.
Two M939 trucks rolled through the eastern gate under a pale sky, their diesel engines rumbling across the compound while guards raised the barriers ahead of them. The first truck carried Marcus, Tomas, Rolf, twelve infantrymen, and the equipment selected for the investigation. The second followed with engineers, medical personnel, additional supplies, and enough lighting equipment to work underground if the evidence forced them in that direction.
Marcus sat near the front of the first vehicle with Lord Cedric's map spread across his lap.
The three disappearance sites had been marked again in dark ink. The abandoned wagon lay closest to Atlas Base, approximately four hours away by road. The old mill stood another twenty kilometers south, while the stone bridge sat near the edge of Cedric's lands. Marcus intended to examine them in that order unless the evidence suggested otherwise.
