The report reached Commander Arthur before sunrise.
By the time the messenger entered the command hall of the Order of the Sky Sword, Arthur had already been awake for several hours. He had been waiting for news from Valenridge ever since Roland had informed him that the Dawnblades had somehow infiltrated the prison.
What he heard was far worse than he had expected.
"The prisoners were rescued," the knight reported, kneeling before him. "The attackers were all masked. We couldn't identify any of them."
Arthur's expression darkened.
"And the vampires?"
The knight hesitated.
"Roland confirmed that they appeared shortly after the attackers escaped."
Arthur's eyes narrowed.
"How many?"
"We don't know the exact number. There were hundreds of bats surrounding the prison, and several of them transformed into Vampires. Some of our junior knights and squires were bitten."
Arthur slowly leaned back in his chair.
"How many survived?"
