Eventually, on the evening of the second day, Xander finally broke and screamed out, “Enough! I’ll tell you what you want to know. I’ll tell you where the gem is.”
Everyone stood back and waited while Xander caught his breath. Anger came to his face as he spit a bloody tooth onto the floor. “I’ll tell you where the damn g-gem is. Been nothing but trouble.”
The silence that followed was broken when the dungeon door creaked open and then shut again, followed by the sound of boots on stone as a human soldier descended the steps. The soldier walked over to Gram, whispered something in his ear, and handed him a note on a small piece of parchment. Gram read the note carefully, and Evisar saw his eyebrows raise part way in surprise.
When he was finished, Gram turned to the guard and said, “I understand completely. Will you please bring them in?” The guard bowed his head in respect and ran back up the stairs. The steel door to the dungeon opened; no less than ten human soldiers came thundering down the steps and stood at full attention in front of Falon’s cell.
Evisar could not see Falon, since he was two cells directly to the left, but Evisar heard him stand up and say, “What is going on here?”
Gram turned his attention away from Xander and spoke directly to Falon. “Falon of the Armenien Royal Guard, it pains me to say this, but the Guildmaster has sent word that you are to be sent south and west toward your home.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean that you are being released from the Guild’s custody.”
“Why would you do this?”
“It certainly is not my idea, but it is not my place to question the Guildmaster. I imagine this news must make you very happy. If you will follow these guards, they will see that you are taken back to the surface and set free.”
Without waiting for a response, Gram snapped his fingers and four of the guards immediately stepped toward the cell. Evisar heard the guards open the cell. A short time later Falon walked into the common area with his hands and feet in shackles. Falon was dressed in a white surcoat that covered his chest. The white cloth had the black silhouette of an evergreen tree in front of the rising sun that stood as the symbol of Armena. The most striking feature of the Royal Guardsman was the large scar on his right cheek that crossed the side of his face. Falon had told Evisar years ago that he had gotten the scar when he was attacked by a band of orcs on his first tour as a Border Ranger.
As Falon passed by Evisar’s cell the two exchanged a look of uncertainty. Falon winked his right eye as some sort of message, but all the gesture did was draw Evisar’s attention to the large scar just below the eye. Evisar watched with apprehension as the guards led Falon out of the dungeon and shut the door.
Gram folded the note twice in his hand and hid it inside his robe. The wizard shook his head once and turned back to Xander, who hung in chains on the wall. Xander still looked shaken, but the distraction with Falon had given him some time to recover.
Gram said, “I believe you were about to tell me the location of the gem?”
Xander lifted his head and looked at Gram. “I’ll only tell you if you promise to let my friends and me go free.”
Gram thought about that for a moment and shook his head dramatically from side to side. “That offer was good two days ago, but you have irritated me in that time, and I am not feeling nearly as charitable as I did before I lost two nights of sleep. A little more torture and I wager you will tell me what I want to know without any terms at all.”
Xander did not budge. “My offer is good right now; take it or leave it.”
Gram shook his head and finally gave up. “Fine. Lead me to the gem and I promise you and your friends can go free.”
Xander still seemed reluctant to give up the gem, but eventually he forced himself to speak. “It’s been in the woods right under your nose the entire time, you damned fool.”
“Where exactly?”
Xander looked at Gram with defeat in his eyes. “Go straight out from your gate to the very edge of Darkwood Forest. You will find it beneath the only white elm tree for miles around.”
Gram said two words under his breath and a spell resolved. “I have just cast a truth spell on you. If you are lying to me then I will know it. Tell me again where the gem is.”
“The gem is on the edge of Darkwood Forest, out beyond your walls, underneath the only white elm tree for miles around.”
Gram nodded his head and said, “I hope for your sake that you are not playing me, or one of your friends will die.” Gram nodded at Gaston. Both men turned on their heels and walked briskly up the stairs, leaving Xander bleeding and chained to the wall. Gram opened the steel door leading out of the dungeon and, almost as an afterthought, turned to the guards and said, “Leave Xander where he is and watch the others.” Gram shut the door and continued out into the courtyard.
Evisar shook his head in frustration and said, “I’m sorry for everything, Xander. It’s my fault the gem is going to fall back into their hands. You held out longer than anyone else could have.”
Xander looked up at Evisar and said, “Kentar will be in dire straits after they get the gem back.” As Xander finished speaking, he gave Evisar a quick wink the guards did not see. Evisar was so busy wallowing in his self-pity that he nearly missed it. But what was Xander trying to say? Had he defeated the truth spell somehow? He was so secretive that Evisar half believed he was capable of controlling his thoughts to the extent he could make himself believe a lie was the truth.
Evisar watched Xander with faked disinterest and boredom to ward off suspicion from the guards. As the guards began to disperse back to their alcoves at either end of the dungeon, Xander looked up at his own right hand. Evisar watched as he opened it briefly, showing a key he must have pilfered off one of the guards during his torture. Just as quickly as Evisar saw the key, Xander closed his hand and it was gone.
Evisar looked around the dungeon and could hardly stay in his skin, let alone keep the bored demeanor on his face. Xander hadn't broken during the torture and given away the location of the gem. He had waited two days for the right opportunity to steal a key from one of the guards. Now was their chance to escape! Gram would not dare trust his underlings with something as critical as finding the gem, and he would likely take Gaston and some of the Krone with him in his search party. That meant the leadership and many of the elite soldiers would be out in the forest chasing Xander’s phantom story about the gem. If the companions weren’t gone by the time Gram returned one or all of them would die a painful death. Evisar maneuvered around the cell and whispered to Valihorn what was happening.
After more than a turn of the moon of adventuring together, the companions were able to communicate without the need for words. Valihorn locked eyes with Xander, and Xander opened his hand enough to allow Valihorn to cast a spell of silence on the key. Xander took careful aim and threw the key at their cell, knowing he only had one chance. Evisar watched the key hit the bars without a sound and fall straight to the ground. Evisar had been worried about the protective spell Gram had cast on Valihorn, but apparently it required careful wording, and Valihorn had only promised not to use his magic against the people in the fortress. Evisar noted with a smile that a key was most definitely not a person as he moved quickly but calmly to the bars and bent down to pick it up.
Chapter 61: Escape
For the third day in a row, Nero sat in a comfortable chair lazing the day away. Gram and Gaston had come upstairs not long before to tell him that Xander had finally given them the location of the gem. Nero had offered to go with the search party, but Gram had insisted he stay out of sight in the Noble’s Keep. Then Gram and Gaston had disappeared down the stairs and out of the Keep, arguing as they went about whether Gram was going to keep some deal he had just made with Xander and his friends.
Nero chuckled to himself and lay back down to go to sleep, but after a while he realized that sleep wasn’t going to come. He opened his eyes, rose lazily from the chair, and moved abs
ent-mindedly toward the table of food the servants laid out that morning. Through the window he saw Gram and Gaston ride out the front gate with ten mounted Krone. He was about to sit down to some cheese and wild nuts, when he saw the image of a key striking the iron bars of a cell. He froze in mid-stride, trying to interpret what he had just seen. He felt a sudden rush of anticipation and anxiety from the dungeon below.
After a few moments, Nero figured out what was happening and cursed under his breath. “Damn those elves.”
Nero didn’t have time to think, only to react. He rushed out of the apartment on the top floor, ran down the stairs, and made for the front door of the Noble’s Keep. He threw open the doors and managed to hit one of the two human guards in his haste. The two guards looked mostly shocked and a little annoyed at the mysterious elf.
Nero turned toward the humans and spoke in a commanding voice that would broach no disobedience. “You two, come with me now.” The guards did not know who Nero was, but they knew command when they saw it, and they knew he had Gram’s confidence. They started walking tentatively behind Nero as he walked quickly across the courtyard. As he walked, Nero was desperately trying to figure out what to do. He didn't want to reveal himself to the companions in the dungeon, but it would be far worse if they were allowed to escape. He needed troops as fast as possible and someone to lead them. Just before he reached the door leading into the Krone quarters and down to the dungeon, he turned to the two guards and said, “I need the two of you to go to the barracks and bring anyone who’s in there to the dungeon entrance, and I need you to do it right now. The elves in the dungeon are escaping, and we need to stop them.”
One of the guards finally seemed to recover and said, “Now hold on there, elf. We don’t know who you are, and you ain’t gunna order us around.”
“Listen to me, dolts. We don’t have time for games. You’ve seen me talking with Gram, who will certainly have you killed if the elves in the dungeon escape.” Nero dug into his purse and threw a platinum piece at each of the guards and said, “That should help answer your questions. Now go to the barracks and bring everyone you see to the dungeon entrance right now. I’ll meet you there directly with someone to command your men.” The guards still didn’t look convinced, but it was clear the money went a long way toward easing their objections. After another moment, the pair turned and ran toward the barracks.
The troops would come, but Nero still needed a leader for them. He grimaced at who he had to turn to in his time of need, but he didn't have the luxury of contemplating the repercussions. Nero walked into the dungeon building that housed the Krone and went quickly, but quietly, up the stairs to his right. He crested the staircase, went to the first door on the left, and opened it without preamble. He was surprised to find Arun asleep on the top of her bed, utterly naked. She was lying on her stomach with her lean waist, firm legs, and cascading hair demanding the utmost attention. Nero moved to the side of the bed and in spite of who he was looking at, and the immediacy of the situation, couldn’t help but be aroused at what he saw. In the dark, Arun’s dark skin and white hair could belong to any elf.
Nero rattled his head to snap out of it, grabbed Arun by the arm, and shook her hard. “Arun, wake up.”
Arun opened her eyes lustfully at first, perhaps expecting a visit from Gram, but her eyes quickly turned to hatred when she saw the stranger before her. In the blink of an eye she produced a dagger from under her pillow and swung it at Nero’s face. Her momentum brought her out of bed and up on her feet. Nero reacted by instinctively catching Arun’s dagger hand by the wrist and twisting her arm hard behind her back. His left hand took the dagger as his right hand held the twisted arm behind her back, forcing Arun to stand with her naked back to him. Before the Krone priestess knew what happened, Nero had her own knife at her throat with his left hand and held her close to him with his right hand locked around her waist.
Nero spoke softly and deliberately. “We don’t have time for this, Arun. My name is Nero; I am one of the Thirteen. I have been holing up secretly in the Noble’s Keep for the past three days. The elves in the dungeon are escaping, and I need you to take charge of the troops I have called to the dungeon door. Now get dressed quickly.” With that, Nero kept the dagger and pushed Arun away.
To Arun's credit, she quickly understood the situation and moved to get dressed without care for modesty. “Where are Gram and Gaston? Why aren’t they dealing with this?”
“They are out in the forest looking for the gem.”
“Then why aren’t you dealing with this, if you are so certain the elves are escaping?”
“Because it is imperative that they don’t see my face.”
Arun finished dressing and took her dagger from Nero with a look that said, We'll settle this later. She moved to the door and down the staircase where they met the sixteen guards who had collected outside the dungeon door. Nero stayed in the back as Arun moved to the front and spoke to the gathered soldiers. “I believe the prisoners in the dungeon are escaping. Get them back to their cell if you can, and kill them if you must, but they are not to escape this dungeon.” With the orders given, Arun took one look back at Nero and said, “Open the door.”
Chapter 62: Nero’s Shadow
Evisar picked up the key, looked to see that the guards were still out of sight, and immediately got to work. Valihorn’s silence spell was still active on the key, and it allowed Evisar to work with impunity on the lock. He was a dexterous warrior who could handle a sword in any situation, but putting a key into a lock when he couldn’t see what he was doing and when his hands barely fit through the bars was not an easy task. At one point he dropped the key and watched with horror as it hit the stone floor. Luckily, the gods were with them as the key bounced toward the cell rather than away from it. Evisar bent down, recovered the key, and after several more tries finally managed to find the keyhole. He turned the key in the lock and was satisfied to feel the click of the mechanism as the door came loose.
Evisar and Valihorn quickly flung open the door and moved to where Xander was chained against the wall, but the key didn’t open his binders. Evisar threw away the key and whispered in frustration, “One of the other guards must have it.”
Valihorn nodded and moved silently over to Tristan’s dead body to take the long sword out of his scabbard and the dagger off his belt. He handed the long sword to Evisar, who felt all the better to have steel in his hands again. Valihorn kept the dagger for himself.
Evisar whispered, “You wait here while I attack the two guards in the alcove up the stairs and see if they have the key. If they don’t, then we’ll check with the two guards on the opposite side.”
Valihorn nodded his head. Evisar looked down at the broken body of his brother, vowing that they were getting out of here no matter the cost. He moved silently up the stairs and stopped within a few feet of the alcove in order to prepare. He had to bring down the two guards quickly and quietly, otherwise they would surely raise the alarm.
He checked his grip on Tristan’s sword and was about to charge into the alcove when he heard the steel dungeon door twenty steps farther up the stairs unlock from the outside. Evisar looked up to see the dungeon door swing wide open to reveal a whole squad of soldiers with crossbows drawn. Evisar cursed their bad luck as he rushed into the alcove. The human guards were just getting up from their desks to see what was going on as Evisar turned the corner and dispatched both of them with savage cuts across the chest. He grabbed the keys off the wall and sprinted out of the alcove and down the stairs.
The twang of multiple crossbows rang out through the air as Evisar ran across the guards’ view and down the steps. Most of the bolts missed cleanly, but one struck his left shoulder and nearly threw him to the ground. He reached the bottom of the stairs and stopped just long enough to grab Valihorn’s arm and yank him toward the other end of the dungeon.
“We must have set off an alarm. There’s a squad of guards coming down the stairs right now. Our only
option is to open the door on the other side of the dungeon.”
As Evisar and Valihorn ran deeper into the dungeon, Xander said, “Run. I’ll hold them off.” Since he was chained to the wall, Evisar couldn’t tell if he was serious or just making a bad joke.
Evisar rounded the corner on the other end of the dungeon and found the two guards on their feet with swords drawn. Evisar charged them with a vengeance and killed them both quickly. Valihorn came up behind him and said, “What about Xander? We can’t leave him here.”
“There’s nothing we can do for him now. You can’t cast any spells against them, and I can’t take a dozen crossbowmen by myself. Take the keys and see if you can open the door while I try and hold them off.” He tossed Valihorn the keys and turned around to face the onslaught of soldiers he knew would be coming. He didn’t have to wait long.
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Nero watched from behind as the elf warrior streaked out of the alcove and ran down the stairs. He watched with some satisfaction as one of the guards’ crossbow bolts hit home. Arun ordered the men to stay in their ranks as they moved quickly down the stone steps. As the squad of soldiers reached the bottom of the stairs, four of the guards simply froze in place, and he heard the roar of an animal. The ordered ranks of the squad fell apart. Some of the squad ran in fear back up the stairs, while some of them moved forward to attack. Nero shook his head in irritation and wondered if he was going to have to go down there and take charge after all.
Moments later Arun’s voice rose above the clatter of boots and steel as she yelled out a prayer and pointed her arm down the dungeon hall. The roaring animal went silent.
Arun yelled again. “Form up ranks, cowards. Reload your crossbows and move forward as one on my order.”
Do the Gods Despise Us? Page 20