by Jamie Davis
After nodding her head forward and rocking it back with all the force she could muster, Cari slammed the back of her head into the Duke’s face as he was leaning forward to brush his lips across the nape of her neck.
“Ow!” screamed the Duke. “Dammit, you wench. You’ll pay for that.”
Cari couldn’t help but smile as she heard the nasal quality that had been added to the Duke’s voice. She turned to survey the damage she’d done.
The Duke’s nose was almost certainly broken by Cari’s reverse head-butt. Blood streamed from both nostrils, dripping off his chin onto the expensive shirt and vest below it. He had a hand cupped to his face to try to stem the flow but didn’t seem to have much success.
“You know, Your Grace, I think I’ll decide when and with whom I’ll have any children. But I can promise you one thing. It won’t be a disgusting old fart like you.”
“GUARDS!” yelled the Duke as he pulled a silk handkerchief from his pocket and pressed it to his mangled nose.
Two of the guards who’d marched her into the office burst in, their hands on their sword hilts. They seemed shocked by the bloody face of their master and the smirking young woman standing next to him.
“Take her down to the darkest, nastiest cell I have. I need to consider just how I will deal with her insolence. And fetch me a healing mage. I have a formal ball to attend this evening and I can’t go with my face looking like this.”
“Something tells me that even a mage wouldn’t be able to make your looks any better. They can’t work miracles.” Cari laughed as one of the guards grabbed her by the elbow and yanked her out of the room.
She heard the Duke’s rage-filled shouts at his retainers while she was led away. It probably wasn’t a good idea to antagonize him that way, but Cari didn’t care. In her mind, he had it coming. She was just the instrument of some long-delayed justice.
Cari kept smiling all the way down to the depths of the dungeon beneath the Duke’s palace. She’d find a way out of this place; she just had to wait for the right opportunity. There was still more justice to dispense, after all, and she had decided she was just the person to serve it.
Chapter 14
Cari discovered being in a windowless cell for an extended period of time caused one to lose all track of time. The only thing she had to gauge the hours was when the guards brought her a bowl of food or water. The meals consisted of some sort of thick porridge with chunks of greasy meat mixed in it and a mug of lukewarm water. The food left a lot to be desired and the water wasn’t much better. Cari hoped the anti-infection implants she’d received at home still worked.
She couldn’t decide if the three meals given to her meant she’d been there for one day, two days, or maybe even three. The bowls were small and didn’t fill her up very much, so gauging based on her level of hunger was a no-go as well.
In the end, she realized it didn’t really matter how much time had passed; she needed all the time she could get to formulate a plan before they decided what to do with her. Cari ran idea after idea through her head, considering first one thing and then another in an effort to escape before the Duke decided what to do with her.
The plan she kept circling back to involved her ability to “power up” during a fight. She’d only ever used the skill once, and she did not have her sword or any other weapons. Cari had received some training in open-hand martial arts, but she wasn’t entirely sure if that skill would transfer to Fantasma. She was practiced in two-weapon combat in the real world, but the skill hadn’t shown up until she had used her first skill point on it. She wasn’t positive what would have happened if she had fought that guard before gaining the skill.
Unfortunately, she had used her most recent skill point already, and she was still eighteen hundred experience points away from her next level up. Cari would have to make up her plan as she went along — a skill her mother said she shared with her father.
Cari knew she was a good mix between her parent’s strengths. She had her dad’s ability to be spontaneous in a crisis and still come out ahead while she could also apply her mother’s innate skill with all things mechanical. There had to be a way to use both to get herself out of here.
Given the quality of the food and her general well-being, Cari knew she had to act sooner rather than later. She would weaken over time the longer she stayed in the cell and eventually lose her ability to fight back and defend herself. Cari made the decision. The next time the guard came with the food, she had to be ready.
Quest accepted: Escape the Duke’s palace.
It wasn’t long after she’d made up her mind when the tap at the door announced the delivery of her meal. The gruff voice of one of the guards outside followed the tap as he slid the locking bar back from the wall outside.
“Back to the wall, girl. Food’s here.”
Cari braced herself against the wall. She’d ripped open the front and back of her top skirt and removed all of her petticoats. This freed up the movement of her legs, but left her vulnerable to the cold of the dungeon cell. This crazy plan had to work.
The door cracked open, and Cari squinted against the bright lamplight streaming in from the hallway. The first guard shuffled in a few steps and bent to set the bowl on the floor.
Pressing her foot back against the wall, Cari propelled herself forward like a rocket so she landed on top of the guard’s back as he bent over. When she landed, she looped the chain of her shackled hands over the man’s head and leaned backward, pulling with all her strength.
The guard’s companion in the hall tried to shout a warning, but he was too late. “Hey, watch out!” He followed it with, “I'm coming, Bernie. Hold on.”
That was just what Cari wanted to hear. If the guard in the hall pulled the door shut and went for help, the whole plan fell apart. Instead of doing the smart thing, the second guard came to his friend’s aid.
The first guard had stood upright at this point with Cari hanging on his back, slowly choking the life out of him. The sound of the man’s choking noises made Cari’s stomach churn, but she managed to push it aside for now. Hearing the second guard announce his approach, she twisted around so her back rested on the back of the first guard with her hands in an X over her head. It hurt like hell as the metal cuffs dug into her wrists, but the pain helped push away the nausea in her gut as she killed yet again. She knew she had no choice. It was “kill or be killed.” Despite that, her protesting stomach didn’t seem to get the message.
The second guard pulled a wooden truncheon from his belt and raised it over his head to strike at Cari. She waited until the last minute then snapped both legs up in a double kick aimed at the man’s chin. His head rocked back with a sickening crunch she felt as much as heard.
500 experience points awarded.
As the second guard slid to the floor, Cari leaned forward, putting more tension on the chain working to finish off the first guard. He’d weakened at this point, falling to his knees while he struggled with his fingers tugging at the chain stretched tight around his neck.
Cari considered ways she could simply knock the remaining guard out to avoid killing another man, but then she felt a burning pain in her side.
Health damage: Health -4
The guard had managed to pull his belt knife and flailed with the blade behind him with one arm, trying to score a blind strike. The hit he’d managed to score sliced a gash in her side just below her armpit. Luckily, the bone corset stays acted as a sort of armor, lessening the severity of the blow. It still hurt, though.
Cari let out a growl, the plans to try to spare the man’s life leaving her in an instant. She yanked forward, pulling hard on the chains attached to the shackles on her wrists. The flailing arm holding the knife slowed and then fell to the guard’s side, the blade eventually sliding out of his hand to clatter on the stone floor of the cell.
500 experience points awarded.
She held this position, horrified once again at what she’d done. A part of her mind kept
repeating that she had had no choice. It had been either him or her. She finely managed to overcome the shock as the pain in her straining arms and wrists emerged through the thoughts streaming through her mind. Cari leaned back and let her body relax, and the guard toppled to the side, taking her along for the ride. She grunted as her shoulder was nearly pulled from its socket.
Health damage: Health -4
Taking care not to injure herself further, Cari twisted around until she could get enough slack in the chain to slip it off over the man’s head.
It felt good to relax her arms, and she worked at her sore shoulder to try to see if she’d done any permanent damage. It felt like it was just a pulled muscle, so she’d have to be careful with any maneuvers involving that arm for a while.
A quick search of the guards turned up a set of keys that opened the outer corridor door and her shackles. Once she removed the metal cuffs, Cari exhaled a sigh of relief. She rubbed at the red welts on her skin for a few seconds even though she knew there was little time.
The guard she had kicked into the wall was tall and skinny, and after a brief pause, Cari stripped the pants from him along with his belt and removed the rest of her skirts along with the uncomfortable corset. After pulling the pants on and belting them at the waist, she was able to tuck the extra length into the boots she’d worn under the dress.
She slipped the belt knife from the first guard into the waist of her pants and pulled on guard number two’s shirt. She wouldn’t fool anyone who got a really good look at her, but Cari hoped the outfit would allow her to pass through at least part of the palace unnoticed.
After closing the cell door and locking it to hide the dead guards, Cari tiptoed up the long hallway of cells to the door leading out of the dungeon. She knew, once she unlocked this door, it would connect to the palace’s wine cellars by way of a small guard room.
Listening at the door, she heard no voices. Cari turned the heavy key in the lock, wincing as it let out what sounded to her like a very loud grinding noise. There was no response if anyone nearby heard anything.
Cracking the door open a bit, she peered into the room. It was empty. Those two must have been the only guards on duty. The room held only a table, four chairs, and a wooden cabinet against one wall.
She checked the cabinet and had to stifle a cheer. Her clothes were stacked on one of the shelves along with her sword and dagger in their scabbards.
She didn’t have enough time to change, so she opted to slip her sword belt over her head, settling it across her chest. She stuffed the rest of her clothes into a satchel she’d found hanging on a peg.
Cari figured she was as ready as she was going to get. It was time to make a run for the exit and hope she could find a way free before the alarm sounded. She had considered a slow, sneaky approach to get out but decided a faster method of escape was preferable. Once the alarm was raised, there was little chance she’d get away on her own. She couldn’t take the risk the missing guards were found before she got away.
After slipping out the far door and into the wine cellar, Cari moved from rack to rack — all filled with wine bottles. She had almost made it to the stairs when she heard a voice echo down from above. She darted to the shadows under the staircase to hide.
“I’ll be right back. The Duke wants to talk with the girl. He wants to see if she’s ready to tell us where the Prince was taken.”
Booted feet descended the stairs. As they reached the bottom, Cari recognized the head guard she’d first met at the gates the night she was captured. He stopped as soon as he saw the open door to the guard room at the far side of the wine cellar. She let out a muffled curse; she’d forgotten to close it.
“Bernie? Rand? Are you in here?”
She had to act quickly before he realized something was wrong and called for help.
The guard had already put his hand on his sword’s hilt when he got no response. Cari barely dared to breathe. She didn’t want to do anything that might give away her position. The man moved away from the stairs towards the open door.
“Bernie and Rand, if you two are asleep again, the Duke is going to fire you for sure.”
He walked past the final wine rack and Cari made her move. She ran as quietly as she could towards the guard’s back, grabbing one of the bottles as she darted past.
Just as she was about to swing at the guard’s head, her foot scraped the stone, alerting the guard to her attack. He ducked, causing Cari to miss by just a few inches. The bottle shattered as it struck the rack next to where the guard’s head had been.
The man cursed as he backpedaled, drawing his sword and leveling it at Cari. “Did you kill Bernie and Rand?”
Cari forced herself to stay emotionless as she drew her sword. “I did what I had to do,” she responded through gritted teeth as she tamped the increasingly familiar nausea.
As soon as Cari drew her sword, the “power-up” bar appeared in the corner of her vision. It was already partially filled. It seemed that some progress had carried over from her fight with the first two guards.
Her opponent made a few quick strikes, testing her defenses. The guard’s saber was much heavier than her own modified rapier. That required her to adopt a more defensive posture than she would have liked, especially given the time-sensitive nature of this fight. She had to end this quickly before anyone came to investigate the clash of steel on steel downstairs.
She drew her dagger in her off-hand even though that shoulder still ached.
The guard struck again, and Cari managed to execute a perfect riposte counter attack, scoring a deep slash across the guard’s chest. The power bar filled a little more. She guessed that one more strike would fill it completely.
Voices sounded from up above and Cari knew mere seconds counted now. She used one of the feint-and-lunge combination attacks Timron had used against her in their sparring match.
Luckily, the guard fell for it just as she had, and she felt her blade grate along the bone to slip through the man’s ribs into his heart.
500 experience points awarded.
Skill learned — Feint.
The power bar flashed a full deep green on one side of her visual field, followed by a text message.
Power-up active — Burst of speed now enabled.
Two men descended the steps and took in the scene, drawing their swords. Cari didn’t have time to deal with them. She had to get out of this cellar before more help arrived.
Activating the burst of speed ability, Cari ran at the two men coming down the steps.
Once again, the whole room slowed except for her. The ticking sound started, and this time, the countdown timer started at twenty-five. This skill must improve by five seconds a level. Cari made good use of the extra seconds, remembering the exhaustion that had struck the last time.
Cari slashed left with her sword at one opponent while stabbing right with her dagger at the other. She connected with each blade, the first cutting open the leading man’s throat to the bone.
The blood fountained out in a slow-motion spurt worthy of her favorite vintage Tarantino film. The sight of it sickened a part of her deep inside, but the stress of the fight kept it out of the way.
500 experience points awarded.
Level Up!
Her dagger strike sunk home in the second man’s chest with similar results. Neither had a chance to react with more than a groan before they crumpled dead to the floor of the wine cellar.
500 experience points awarded.
Cari didn’t stop to watch them fall in slow motion as if suspended in gelatin above the cellar floor. She raced up the steps and into the broad hallway with the black-and-white checkered floor. Unable to get her bearings, Cari made a guess and turned right to run down the marble-lined hallway.
She caught sight of a familiar door ahead of her. It was the entrance leading to the courtyard, and it almost made her cheer. She held in her elation and continued running at full speed. The clock on her power-up display had only
ten seconds left. She had to make it count.
It was dark outside when she flung the door open and dashed into the central courtyard. Someone had left a saddled horse tied to a post by the stable nearby. Without missing a beat, Cari used the last of her speed burst to vault into the saddle and kick the horse in the flanks with her heels while she pulled the loosely tied reins free of the post.
The horse whinnied but bolted ahead towards the open gate and the street beyond. The clock ran out, and Cari heard shouts of alarm behind her. She gasped for breath as the aftermath of the speed boost gripped her. She lay against the horse’s neck and let it carry her forward while she fought off the exhaustion that followed the use of her burst of speed skill.
Cari smiled at the message displayed as she rode away.
Quest completed: Escape the Duke’s palace.
2,000 experience points awarded.
Chapter 15
By the time the fleeing horse took her out of sight of the Duke of Charon’s palace, the effects of the cool-down had worn off and her strength had begun to return. She loved the rush of the burst of speed ability, but the cool-down period afterward reminded her there was a downside to everything.
She glanced back while she rode down the avenue. She couldn’t see any signs of pursuit, but she was certain the Duke’s men would be out in force looking for her soon. She had to be off the city streets as soon as possible. A lone woman on horseback racing through the streets in the dark would draw attention. People would remember her passing.
Cari decided the best option was to ditch the horse and proceed on foot. She waited to dismount until she was well away from the Palace District of the city and into an area of smaller, more closely packed buildings.