Why could he not think of any way to escape. Probably because these places were not meant to be escaped. You were meant to remain right where you are until the nice guards come to take you to your freedom, eternal imprisonment, or death. Elyar was not sure which of the last two he was looking forward to least.
A guard had come in a little while ago with a bowl of disgusting gruel. Elyar forced it down, but he nearly hurled it back up once or twice. There still was nothing to brake the lock with. Even the spoon they had given him was made of mashed straw. It had not even lasted the amount of time it took to eat his meal.
Now that he was alone again, he slowly closed his eyes. His arm had stopped hurting, but his back still throbbed a little. He would need the stitches removed before it was all over. Having his eyes closed helped his mind wander. He flew over hills and valleys, through dark forests, and on top of mountains. Eventually a thought came to him. What about weaving. Can I wild weave?
He thought about it for a bit. Koraxians were not supposed to be able to wild weave. But here he was. In prison for that very thing. He had blessed items through calligromancy. And up to this point he had thought he had always been weaving through calligromancy. But it would not hurt trying to weave the way the fae do.
concentrating, Elyar slowly opened his mind to the weave. It normally did not take this long, but he was still tired and a little exhausted. For some reason he was not sleeping well in prison. As his mind touched the thread he lingered longer than he had ever before. This time he studied it. It was a multi colored strand of threads shinning as they raced from somewhere to someplace else. Elyar could not see a beginning nor was there an end. It was a never ending, long strand of etherial wires.
He placed his hand over the thread. It was hot to the touch, but not painfully so. His hand remained firmly against it, though he could not tell how he felt the weave. There was physical pressure, even though he was not sure what the weave was. He wondered what would happen if he dug his fingers into where his hand was resting. Without thinking to long, he began grabbing some of the fibers. Energy like he had never felt coursed through his body. Heat raced from fingers to toes. His eyes shot open and now he could see both the weave in his hand and the cell around him.
Let’s try something fun. He thought while walking toward the lock. As he stood in front of the door, hand resting at his side still holding a part of the weave, he tried recollecting the ancient word he needed. It took a minute, but he finally remembered. Man, I really should have paid more attention during my lessons.
He shook his head in self-frustration before turning his attention back to the lock. A breath in. A breath out. “Opna.” He whispered the word willing the weave to obey his command. The weave in his hand grows hot. Then a blast of light like lightning, weaves itself from the thread to the lock. A quiet, “click,” sound comes from the door. Elyar gives the door a soft push. It silently drifts open.
“Huh. That was easier than I thought.” Elyar mumbles to himself. Then he looks around making sure no one is there. Relief washes over him now that he knows he is still alone. Now comes the hard part. Well, harder part. Elyar closes the door quietly, then tries to relock the door. It was another second before he remembered the correct word. Once re-locked he looked at the window. Light was still shinning through. Once it was dark he would be able to make his move.
The next few hours were agony. He knew he could escape. He had actually been free. The door had been open. Freedom was in his reach. But he needed to be smart with it. There would only be one chance to do this. If he failed…he did not want to think about that.
To pass the time he decided to take a quick nap. Better to be over rested, than under. He lay there for a while without feeling tired. Finally, after counting way to many e-sheep, he finally fell asleep.
A clanking sound woke Elyar up from a deep sleep. Groggy, and not fully aware of his surroundings, Elyar sat up from the cot. He flexed his hurt hand, which barely gave him any trouble. His back hurt a little, but that was probably from the cushy hay on top of a wooden frame. A little was from his stitches.
More metal sounds. But this time it sounded like metal scraping upon stone. What is going on? Whoever is making that noise is disturbing my rest! He glanced at the window. Crap! How long has it be dark! I need to get a move on!
Elyar stood up, stretched a little, and readied himself. Another loud clash resounded through the small dungeon. Elyar knew exactly what that sound was. His head jerked up looking for the sword sounds he knew he had just heard. Rushing to the door, Elyar peaked through the bars as much as he could. Which was not much, but it was something. Off toward the entrance he saw movement. It almost looked like someone was being lowered to the ground.
There was silence. Elyar still stood by the door wondering what was going on. He glanced down at the lock thinking about when he should unlock it. He was about to reach toward the weave when a face suddenly appeared before him.
“Good evenin mi, Lord.” Jerome stood only inches away from his face. Beaming with his pattoned grin. Relief washed over Elyar. They hadn’t left me here!
Ruzur appeared next time him holding a bloody knife. “Good eve Fae Slayer. Doest thou knoweth the time?”
Flabberghasted, Elyar blurts out, “how could I know what time it is?!”
Laughing with the largest grin Elyar had ever seen on Ruzur he retorts, “it’s rescuing time!”
Did he just make a Jerome joke? “Did you just make a Jerome joke?!” Elyar shouted as quietly as possible. It was not quiet.
“Aye, That I did. It felt like an appropriate moment. If we are to become briggans for thee, might as well take on the persona of one.”
Elyar could not disagree with that. Jerome waved for him to step back. He moved quickly to the back of the cell. he was not sure what was about to happen, but he wanted to be as far away as possible. From out of a pocket hidden under his cloak Jerome produced a key. Elyar smiled. I had no idea what he was going to do. But a key was not something I would have thought.
He laughed to himself about the unpredictability of his friends. Jerome swiftly puts the key into the lock. It turns. He tries to pull it open. The lock stays as it was. The key did not work.
“Are you sure that is the right key?” Elyar asked.
“NO! I am not sure, Elyar. I grabbed it from the guard. Why would he have the wrong key.” Jerome looked a little frustrated. Elyar did not blame him. They had just broken the law, attacked guards of Val, trying to break out a criminal. They were all screwed if they could not get him out.
“Let me try.” Ruzur took the key from Jerome. He put the key back in and tried turning. Wiggling the key he tried again. Nothing happened either time. “It doeth not work.”
Sighing, Elyar moved back toward the door. “Let me try.” Both men looked at each other before Ruzur handed Elyar the key. Closing his eyes Elyar inserted the key. While turning the key Elyar opened himself up to the weave. Just like before he grabbed a strand of thread and whispered, “opna.” A faint click came from the lock. Elyar pushed the door open and walked out. Ruzur and Jerome stared at him.
“What did you do? There is no way you opened that with just the key.” Jerome protested.
Ruzur accused Elyar, “thee must have used weaving.” Shrugging, Elyar softly closed the door behind him and relocked the door.
“What should we do with the key?” Elyar asked looking at the thing in his hand.
“Toss it for all I care.” Jerome joked.
Elyar questioningly looked at Ruzur. “Sounds good to me. Thee don’t need it now.”
Elyar was not opposed to the idea either. Turning back around he tossed the key back into his old cell before spinning around and heading toward the door. The other two fell into step slightly behind Elyar. Once at the door he half turned, “What is the plan? Do we have any horses waiting for us or anything?”
Quickly nodding, Ruzur answered, “aye, we procured three good e-steeds. They are waiting at the Fallen Doe’s stables for us.”
“Only one more obsticle to cross then: the courtyard.”
Jerome raised his eyebrows with a smile. Elyar knew he liked moments like this. Lived off of them really. Laughing to himself he steadied his nerves before motioning for Jerome to take the lead. Since he revealed in these kinds of adventures he could go first.
Jerome slowly opened the door. His head pocked out as he looked left and right. Sticking his head back in he whispered, “it looks clear to me.” They all gave the go ahead and Jerome fully opened the door and exited. Ruzur and Elyar followed right behind.
The courtyard was dark. Only a few digitorches cast their lights across the courtyard. Their soft yellow glow would have been pretty on any other night. The only other light came from the moon. Luckily for them there were a lot of clouds to block the moon. It cast a soft white light around thinner clouds. It was a good night for sneaking.
They kept to the shadows nearest the buildings. The fortress cast a large shadow they could easily hide within. Using its embracing shadow, the three skirted the fortress until they were standing on the east side of the fortress. Before them stood the gaping hole left by the battle. Mostly from Elyar’s blast to be specific. A few guards patrolled the area making sure no one caused any more problems.
Elyar watched the pattern the guards were making. He could not find one. Not because it was too complicated, but because they weren’t moving. Most of them were standing by a fire keeping warm and chatting. Their backs were all turned toward them. Elyar assumed they were not waiting for something to come out of the fortress, but watching for something coming in.
Timing the guards conversation with the passing of the moon the three darted across the yard. The last time Elyar did this there was no one to watch for. Not this time. Now he had to watch for the guards, aim for the gap, and not trip on any loose gravel. His first few feet went fine. Jerome was to his left and Ruzur was in front. He kept glancing over to the guards, but they were not paying attention. He was halfway free when disaster struck.
Elyar glanced at the guards when his foot landed on a loose stone big enough to trip him. His right knee dropped to the stone while pain shot up. An uncontrollable yelp escaped his throat before he clapped his hand over his own mouth. Trying to hide Elyar dropped to his belly while the pain finished coursing through his knee.
His heart was racing as he lay there. He could hear it pounding in his ears and he hoped no one else could hear it. There was not anything hiding him from the guards except luck and darkness. One guard must have heard his yelp because he started turning toward them.
Two quiet thumps landed next to him as Jerome and Ruzur fell to the ground beside him. They all remained silent as the guard looked over the courtyard.
“What was that sound?” One of the guards grumbled.
“How am I supposed to know? go check it out!” another one retorted pointing toward them.
Oh man. We are in trouble.
The man began approaching them. His face was dark as he walked into the night’s darkness. The moon was still behind clouds and there were no digitorches near them. They were in complete darkness, but that did not mean they would not be found.
Something softly rustles next to Elyar. Shifting so he could see what it was, Elyar saw Ruzur lift himself into a kneeling prone position. A slight glint of steel in his hand.
The man was nearly upon them. Elyar could hear his footsteps crunching on loose stone. He stopped a few feet away from them. His body framed by the fire behind him.
“Penlin, I don’t think there is anything there! Get ye back here before you hurt yourself!”
Penlin was half turned when he suddenly stopped. Elyar still could not see his face. He was not sure if he was looking at them or passed them. He held his breath. Ruzur stayed crouched beside him. He was not sure what Jerome was doing. There had been no rustling where he had been laying so Elyar assumed he was still prone.
“Hey! What the…!” Penlin screamed before Ruzur dove driving his dagger through the man’s throat. A quiet gurgling sound emitted from Penlin’s now lifeless body as Ruzur set him down. But the deed was done. The other two guards had drawn their swords. With torches pulled from the fire they were quickly approaching them.
Elyar jumped up from the ground. He reached to pull out a sword before remembering he had none. Then he tried summoning Úrskurður again. He knew it would be a long shot, but he had to try something. Reaching into the weave he whispered the word he hoped would work this time. “Koma.”
Nothing happened. No sword appeared in his hand. He did not even feel any pull from the weave. Great. We are now in a fight and I have no weapon.
Jerome rushed passed him softly yelling, “we need to leave! Now!”
Elyar starts running beside him. “Agreed, but did anyone grab me a weapon?”
Grunting in frustration, Ruzur responds, “I knew we forgot something. Sorry Elyar. thou wilt have to fight behind us.”
Elyar did not like the sound of that. But what could he do? They were all running toward the gap in the wall. The guards were chassing them shouting. Elyar was not sure if they were catching ground or not. He was too busy trying not to trip or fall behind the other two.
Suddenly, a horn blasts from the wall to their left. There were more guards?! If the whole town knows of our escape we are in trouble.
Another blast sounds alerting the whole town. There were not a lot of guards stationed throughout the village, but Elyar knew they could not handle a lot more. Shouts started sounding from deeper within the village. Elyar, Ruzur, and Jerome broke through the wall before anyone could catch up with them. Elyar was hopeful that if they could keep this pace up they might be able to make it.
They raced down the empty street. Dark buildings rushed passed them. Closed shutters rattled a little as the next horn resounded across Val. More shouts alerted Elyar that other guards were getting close. The horns must have alerted guards in the training field.
They shot down a back alley. It was mostly empty beside a few wooden crates. Using the dark night, empty streets, and back alleys they quickly fled Val. As they were dashing down one alley a door opened and a man stepped out. It looked like he was about to relieve himself when they pushed passed him shocking the man.
“Eh, wha ye tink ye doing?!” The man slurredly shouted. There was no time to apologize. They left the alley and turned left running down a main road. There were lights up ahead. Their flicker made Elyar think they were torches, most likely held by guards looking for them.
They were getting to the Fallen Doe. Freedom was close. But could they make it? They turned down one last alley. It would lead to another main road. From there, they would be at their destination. Before they were half way down a guard holding a torch appeared at the mouth of their alley.
They were to close to stop. Ruzur leaped off the ground, jumped off one wall before slamming his dagger into the chest of the guard. His yelled died with him. Ruzur lowered him down to the ground trying to keep the sound down. But a few more guards appeared behind him. Then Elyar heard shouts from the way they had come. He spun around and saw three more guards trying to cut them off.
Ruzur and Jerome began fighting the two men in front leaving the three men to him. Welp, this is going to be bad.
Elyar glanced around trying to find a weapon of some kind. The best he found was a broom sitting on the ledge of a door. he grabbed it, raising it to defend himself.
The first strike swung at his torso. He blocked it with his new weapon. The stick stopped the blade. But broke in two in the process. Now he was holding a broken broom while being attacked by three guards. Well one guard with two reserves. Not great either way.
He heard a loud grunt behind him. Not knowing if it was friend or foe Elyar quickly glanced behind him. Jerome was clutching his left clavicle while a little blood trickled down. Not a serious wound, but still looked painful.
A sound warned him that an attack was coming toward him. He was able to quickly dodge the attack before it landed. But his body was already tired. His wounds were not fully healed, and he had not been sleeping well. He knew he would get tired pretty soon. Tired and useless. Than not tired at all. Because he would be dead.
He knew what he needed to do. But he did not want to do it. Sighing knowing he had no choice Elyar reached into the weave and thrust his arm deep into the thread. While he felt the power course through him he yelled, “yta!” He had only used this word in his studies as a child. But he knew what it should do.
As the heat crossed his body and out his outstretched arm a blast of energy pushed the three guards back a few feet. It was not a strong push, but enough to give him some breathing room. He spun around and saw his friends in a rough situation. They were both great warriors, but the guards were better prepared. They had small round shields that gave them some protection while neither of the other two had more than a dagger.
He had to wait a second before he saw an opening. Jumping between the guards and his friends, Elyar raised both arms and screamed ,”yta!” This time he put more power behind his words. The guards launched backwards as a massive invisible force struck them. Their heads slammed into the ground knocking both out. A large pull of energy hit him as the weave took what it was owed. But that did not stop them from starting their final leg of the journey.
They bolted out of the alley and down the last main road. Even in the darkness, Elyar could see the sign for the Fallen Doe. Luckily this part of the village had seen little damage from the battle. Beside the inn was its stable. There, as long as nothing had gone wrong, were three horses waiting for them.
Sprinting down the lane, legs and lungs burning, the three suddenly came to a stop. There in the middle of the road stood a lone figure.