World in Chains- The Complete Series

by Ryan W. Mueller

  At last, they found the armory, where extra sets of Imperial Guard armor hung there for the taking. Ander and Captain Davis each grabbed a set and put it on. For the first time, Ander wished Imperial Guards also wore helmets. That would have made it much easier to sneak out. Still, it shouldn't be that hard. Who would expect someone to do what they were doing?

  Wearing their new uniforms, they made their way back out of the cellar. Even at this hour, there might be Imperial Guards in the common room, so Ander and the captain returned the direction from which they'd come. They found no one in the corridor or the tower.

  Soon they emerged from the trapdoor. The one Imperial Guard who was patrolling was at least fifty feet away. He was looking at them. They both gave nods of recognition, and the man returned the greeting. There was no way he'd suspect them, not from that distance.

  To Ander's amazement, they reached the street beside the garrison without incident. Now they just had to wait until morning. New prisoner deliveries always happened in the morning. Ander had asked around while they were doing their surveillance.

  They returned to the inn, wearing their Imperial Guard uniforms. Imperial Guards did occasionally visit the inn to have a drink when they were off-duty, and there were so many Imperial Guards in the city that it was unlikely they'd recognize Ander and the captain as imposters. Ander hoped he wasn't being too optimistic.

  The next morning arrived without incident.

  "I think we should change our plans," Dave said as they sat in the inn, dressed in their normal clothing. He had trimmed his beard. "I should be one of the Imperial Guards. You should go into the Prison City. You have your magic. That should help."

  "Are you sure?" Ander asked.

  "Yes, I've given it a lot of thought."

  "All right, it does make more sense," Ander said. "Thank you."

  Dave and Captain Davis used some rope to bind the hands of Mara and Ander, then led them through the streets. People gave them a wide berth. As usual, no one wanted to get in the way of official Imperial Guard business.

  Soon they reached the gate leading to the Prison City. Two guards flanked the gate, watching with curious expressions.

  "We've got a couple of prisoners for the City," Dave said.

  "We'll get the gate open for you."

  Ander tried to keep the disbelief off his face. He hadn't expected it to be this easy. The Imperial Guards cranked the gate open a little, then gestured for them to enter. Dave and Captain Davis ducked inside, shoving Ander and Mara roughly.

  Once they were safely inside, Dave and Captain Davis slashed their bonds and then retreated through the gate. The gate slammed closed behind them. Ander felt as if a heavy weight had settled over him.

  "Where do you think Nadia might be?" Mara asked.

  "I have no idea."

  They wandered through the Prison City, keeping their weapons ready. Unlike most prisoners, they'd kept their weapons, hiding them within their clothing. Ander even had his staff, which he'd concealed beneath a thick robe. Good thing the Imperial Guards hadn't asked any questions. In truth, Ander felt something was wrong here. It shouldn't have been that easy.

  A group of rough-looking men started toward them. "New blood," said one of them, glee in his eyes.

  Ander faced him. "Don't trouble us, or you'll regret it."

  "You're in no position to make threats."

  Ander pointed his staff at the man. "Back down. Now."

  "Am I supposed to be afraid of a long stick of wood?"

  Ander decided he'd had enough. He launched a burst of fire at the ground in front of the man. The man recoiled, eyes wide, as the flames moved within inches of him.

  "Let's leave 'em alone," he said to his comrades, and they all backed away.

  After a few moments, Mara said, "Good thing you're here with me." She had a dagger, but nothing else.

  "Let's get moving," Ander said. "I don't want them coming back in greater numbers." He led the way through the Prison City, feeling lost. Right now, he had to focus on finding Nadia. After that, he could figure out how they were going to escape.

  * * * * *

  Nadia returned to the potion maker a day later, but she wondered why she'd even bothered. Without Alten's help, she couldn't escape the Prison City. Markus would die, and there was nothing she could do about it. That thought left her hollow.

  She'd sacrificed so much and achieved nothing.

  When the potion maker handed her the potion, he frowned at her. "I can tell that something is troubling you. What's the problem?"

  Nadia broke down in tears. "I can't get out of this place now. The Imperial Guard commander is dead. Now the man I love will die despite all my efforts."

  "Don't give up," said the potion maker.

  Nadia fought against the tears. "How am I supposed to have any hope? There's nothing I can do. Unless you know some secret way out of here, I'm trapped here for the rest of my life."

  The weight of those words struck Nadia like a blow to the chest. If she had to live here for the rest of her life, it wouldn't be a long life. Either someone would kill her or the place would drive her insane and she would kill herself.

  The potion maker had begun pacing, and his gaze was distant, as if he were thinking about something deeply troubling.

  "Can you give me a moment?" he asked, taking a seat on a nearby bench. He closed his eyes. Nadia had no idea what he was doing. He sat there a long time, and Nadia grew more nervous with every second. How was this strange act supposed to help her?

  "Excuse me," she said, "but what exactly are you trying to do?"

  He opened his eyes. "I just read the Webs of Fate."

  "But only sorcerers can read the Webs of Fate."

  He smiled. "Then I guess you know what I am. It should have been obvious from the beginning. Making a potion is a type of magic. Only a sorcerer can do that. If somebody else combined the same ingredients, it would accomplish nothing. My magic gives the potion that extra spark it needs to work as it should."

  "I don't understand," Nadia said. "If you're a sorcerer, why haven't you escaped this place?"

  "I've never had any reason to. I like it here. I like helping people like you, people who don't belong here." His gaze became distant again. "Once, I tried to kill Warrick. I came here from outside the Empire about a hundred and fifty years ago. When I failed to kill him, he sent me here to be a prisoner. Perhaps he saw some future use for me."

  He stroked his short beard. "I believe my time has come. When I read the Webs of Fate just now, I saw us meeting up with someone else who will give me the ability to get you out of here. You see, wind magic can be used to lift somebody into the air, but mine isn't quite strong enough to get you onto the wall. With the help of this other person, I can do it."

  "Who is this other person?" Nadia asked.

  "I'm not entirely sure, but I think it's someone you know."

  "That doesn't make any sense. Who would I know that might show up here?"

  "I have no idea."

  When Nadia left the potion maker's home, he came with her. He still hadn't given her his name, but she didn't feel like asking for it. He was a strange man, and men like that often had their secrets.

  Garet stood outside the house, watching for danger. "You have the potion?"

  "I do," Nadia said. "And I also have a way out of here." She recounted what the potion maker had told her.

  Garet's eyes were wide, but he didn't question the tale. "All right, how're we supposed to find this mysterious help?"

  "We'll have to search," said the potion maker, joining their small party.

  They began walking the streets of the Prison City. Nadia kept an eye out for familiar faces, but she had no idea whom to expect. Every face that watched her looked like a prisoner she'd never seen before. As they searched, she was bothered again by the idea that Warrick might be manipulating everything. He'd put Alten here to help her. He'd sent Garet here so they could reunite. Had he also foreseen the potion maker's
usefulness more than a hundred and fifty years ago?

  It was difficult to fathom just how powerful Warrick was. Nadia realized now that there was only one way to fight him. She had to go to Luminia, as those symbols in the Fire Mountains had told her. But first she had to escape this place.

  They searched for what felt like hours. The potion maker insisted that the Webs were correct, but he also couldn't see them with enough specificity to know exactly where they'd find the person who could help them. Nadia had grown to hate the Webs of Fate.

  Just when she thought they should give up for the night, she heard a voice off to her right.

  "Nadia? Is that you?"

  She turned and couldn't believe her eyes. "Ander?"

  He'd grown a short beard, but there was no doubt it was him. Of all the people from her life that she might have encountered here, he was at the bottom of the list. The last she knew, he was headed east to Mountainside.

  "What are you doing here, Ander?" she asked.

  "I'm here to help you. Cyrus sent me here." He stepped closer to her. "I'm so glad you're still alive. You don't know how worried I've been about you."

  "Then you know my quest failed?"

  "I do know," he said. "That's another reason I'm here. Cyrus sent me this way. The others with me have a scroll that contains the essence of the Silver Wisp. If we use that scroll against Warrick, we can send him to the Shadowed Land. It isn't as good as killing him, but it will save the Empire."

  "I wish I could come with you, but I have other concerns. I've grown to love Markus, and he needs my help. That's why I came here. This man here—" she pointed to the potion maker "—is the only man who could brew a potion to heal Markus."

  "Where's Markus?" Ander asked.

  "He's outside the Empire. I'll have to return to him."

  "I understand," Ander said.

  Nadia glanced around. "Where are Aric and the others who came with you?"

  "We lost quite a few in the swamp. Aric had to leave the Empire because it was the only way he could heal from a monster attack. He had to go to Luminia."

  "Maybe I'll find him there," Nadia said. "Once I heal Markus, I intend to go to Luminia."

  "Well, I wish you luck."

  This entire conversation felt awkward. Nadia couldn't believe that she'd once shared a passionate kiss with Ander. They were clearly still friends, but there was a distance between them now that she'd never felt before.

  Nadia glanced at the woman with Ander. "I feel like I recognize you from somewhere."

  "My name is Mara. I was with the Hunters when we rescued you on the Plain of Storms. Dave is also here in Taylorville, but not here in the Prison City."

  Nadia smiled at Ander. "I gather you've had your own adventure."

  "More adventure than I ever wanted. Graig and Talia are dead."

  Nadia felt tears building. She hadn't known Graig and Talia well, but they'd always been kind to her, and they'd served the Order faithfully.

  "What about Berig?" she asked. "Is he still alive?"

  "As far as I know. He left with Aric."

  "Enough talk." Garet scanned his surroundings. "We need to get outta here."

  "I know the best place," said the potion maker. "Follow me." He led them through the streets of the Prison City, and soon they reached the wall. They walked alongside the wall for maybe half a mile, until they reached a place where it looked shorter.

  "What are we supposed to do here?" Ander asked.

  "I'm going to create a whirlwind," said the potion maker. "My whirlwinds aren't quite tall enough to reach to the top of the wall, but if you use your staff, you can add some energy to that whirlwind. It just might be enough to get us up there."

  Ander shook his head. "This sounds insane."

  "I know," Nadia said, "but it's the only plan we have."

  The potion maker asked all of them to stand together. He closed his eyes, adopting a look of deep concentration. A few moments later, Nadia felt the wind stirring around them. It grew stronger and stronger, swirling in a tight pattern. Soon it became so strong that it lifted them all off the ground. Nadia felt sick as the ground receded below them.

  "Ander, you need to use your staff," said the potion maker. "Don't think about casting wind into the ground. Just focus on adding your wind to what's already here."

  Ander held his staff. It looked like he was using it, but Nadia didn't notice any change in the whirlwind at first. As it was, they needed to rise another five feet before they could reach the wall. Would Ander have enough power?

  The wind swirled more fiercely. Nadia watched in amazement. She couldn't believe such things were possible, and that made her even more eager to go to Luminia.

  At last, the whirlwind reached high enough that they could make it to the wall. The potion maker directed it toward the wall. To Nadia's surprise, it deposited them gently on the stone surface. Then the whirlwind died.

  "I can't believe it," said the potion maker. "It actually worked."

  "You didn't think it would?" Nadia asked.

  "Well, I wasn't entirely sure."

  Ander gave him a sharp look. "Now you think to tell us."

  "I'd get off this wall soon if I were you," said the potion maker. "Imperial Guards don't patrol over here all that often, but you shouldn't take any chances."

  "What about you?" Nadia asked.

  "The Prison City is my home now. I don't intend to leave."

  Without another word, the potion maker summoned another whirlwind. He leapt from the wall, dropping about ten feet before the whirlwind supported him. He gradually let it die and returned to the ground.

  "I wish you luck," he said.

  Luck, Nadia thought. We'll need a lot of that.

  Chapter 45: The Cure

  Nadia and the others crept along the wall, keeping low behind the stone railings so the Imperial Guards wouldn't see them. She caught movement in the distance, but the Imperial Guard was far enough away that he wouldn't see them. Still, Garet held his hand up a few times, to halt their progress. Nadia would trust in the seasoned adventurer's instincts.

  At last, they found a ladder leading down into Taylorville. Once they reached the bottom, they clung to the safety of alleys, putting a few streets between them and the Prison City.

  Soon they returned to the main streets of Taylorville, where people went about their business, paying the party no attention. Ander led them to an inn at the southeastern corner of the city, where Dave and Captain Davis waited for them. Nadia felt as if a great weight had left her chest. She was safe and had the potion sealed in a container in her pocket. All she had to do was make it back to Stewart's Mill, and she knew how to do that.

  While they ate, they all shared what had happened. Nadia couldn't believe some of the things Ander had gone through. She was amazed that he could hold it together after losing so many people, but she did see the strain in him. That strain of leadership was familiar to her.

  Once they finished the meal, Nadia said, "We shouldn't delay. If we go to the ruins of Sandersburg, we should meet Deron. He will lead us to the teleportation chamber. I can teleport to Stewart's Mill. The rest of you can go to Warrick's palace."

  "I hope you cure Markus," Ander said. But what he didn't say was almost as important. Despite his feelings toward her, he'd clearly accepted that she loved Markus. That kind of admission took more bravery than one might think.

  Nadia forced a smile. "And I hope you send Warrick to the Shadowed Land."

  Please succeed where I didn't, she added silently.

  They traveled southwest toward the ruins, a day's journey, and arrived shortly after nightfall. At the edge of the ruins, Nadia felt the slight resistance of an invisible barrier. She looked for Deron but didn't see him.

  Just when she began to panic, his translucent form appeared in front of them. "Nadia, you're back. Did you succeed?"

  She held up the potion. "I have it right here."

  "Do you vouch for these people with you?" he asked.
"That is, can I allow them to see the secrets of the Old World below the ruins?"

  "They only want to teleport," she said. "They don't care about the secrets."

  Garet smiled as if he were interested in the secrets, but it lasted only a moment.

  "I trust you, Nadia, so I will trust them as well." Deron turned his gaze to the rest of the party. "You should all hold hands. I'll use one of my powers as a ghost to take you below."

  They all clasped hands, and then Deron touched Nadia. The world briefly faded to darkness, but then they reappeared in the chamber beneath the ruins. Ahead of them was the teleportation chamber.

  "I'd appreciate it if you didn't dawdle," Deron said.

  Ander nodded. "We have no intention of dawdling."

  He stepped onto the platform. Dave, Mara, Garet and Captain Davis joined him. Once they situated themselves, Ander looked down at Nadia. "I hope we'll see each other again."

  But she'd seen the defeat in his eyes, heard it in his voice. He didn't think he was going to survive his encounter with Warrick. Nadia knew how that felt. It didn't seem that long ago that she'd been sure of her own death at Warrick's hands.

  "I hope so too," she said, but the words felt hollow.

  Ander raised his right hand into the air. "Warrick's palace."

  The five of them dissolved into nothing. Her stomach gave a strange twinge. It seemed cruel. She'd been reunited with Ander, but only for a short time. As much as she loved Markus, seeing Ander again had stirred those old feelings she'd had toward him.

  "Now it's your turn," Deron said.

  For a moment, Nadia didn't want to step onto the platform. What if she'd taken too long? What if Markus was dead and she'd gone through all this for nothing? She had no idea what she'd return to, but she had to do it. Maybe, this time, she'd leave the Empire behind for good.

  "Thank you for all your help," Nadia said. She raised her right hand into the air. "Stewart's Mill, outside the hospital."

  Nadia didn't like her second teleportation any better than the first. She felt as if she couldn't breathe, as if the world had disappeared around her, but she didn't panic, knowing it would end one way or another.