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The Gate Pass Irregulars: A War of the Burning Sky Campaign
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<blockquote data-quote="Cafu" data-source="post: 6047354" data-attributes="member: 6692807"><p>We were taken to the dungeons. I was alive; beaten, bloody, stripped but alive. I also had a pair of cuffs; they were quite odd. They left my arms completely free but forcibly closed my hands into fists and allowed only a very limited movement of my fingers. There was also a gag in my mouth which made it very difficult to speak. I was not going to be doing any spell casting while either of those was in place. I had been given a bundle of disgusting grey rags, which I had arranged about myself as best as I could. Despite all of this, while I was alive, there was hope. </p><p></p><p>Everyone else was still unconscious, burning merrily. </p><p></p><p>The dungeon was pretty much as I had imagined dungeons to be. First of all, it stank of effluence. The smell was overwhelming. The walls were stone, dark and old. No windows and one door, although the large space was sub-divided into various barred cells. There was a little straw on the floor but it was old and matted with substances I did not care to speculate about. Just to add to the atmosphere, screams pervaded through the walls at regular intervals. Somewhere, someone was inflicting a great deal of pain on someone else. Some of the shrieks sounded female.</p><p></p><p>We were put in the same cell; I saw that there were several shallowly dug pits in the floor; those were our latrines and they were also the source of the overwhelming stench. Glancing around, I saw that we were in the largest cell, the furthest one away from the door. </p><p></p><p>My glance also gave me the opportunity to see into the other cells; in one of them I could see our erstwhile friend who had approached us out of the palace, offering to help us escape through the North Gate; he seemed to be babbling incoherently now, totally oblivious to anything around him; well, so much for his escape plan. </p><p></p><p>In another neighbouring cell, there was another individual; this one had been here for a little time and would normally have been a dignified, elder person; the dungeon had changed that. He had long grey hair and a long beard; like me, he was dressed only in shapeless rags and there was little dignity left.</p><p></p><p>The other cells were empty.</p><p></p><p>This individual looked at me and then at my friends. His eyes seemed a bit cloudy and he didn’t seem quite with it. </p><p></p><p>“Ah, new guests of Steppengaard’s hospitality. Welcome my friends; are you the latest assassins? I am Jinis and once upon a time, I had a position at Court.”</p><p></p><p>His voice was meandering and he sounded as if his mind was wondering.</p><p></p><p>Jinis? Ah, this was Gallo’s proxy. In my mangled speech, I said: </p><p></p><p>“We have a letter for you”. This took several attempts of course, due to that damnable gag. “Sorry, had a letter for you.”</p><p></p><p>His gaze sharpened: “A letter? From whom?” Even his speech improved. </p><p></p><p>“A young man by the name of Jinir.” </p><p></p><p>“Thank the Gods, he is alive. Where is he?”</p><p></p><p>“In Seaquen.”</p><p></p><p>He sighed and went to a wall on the far side of the cell. There, he leaned his forehead against the stone. I thought I heard a soft sob. After a few moments, he returned: </p><p></p><p>“My friend, you have given me the best news I have ever received in this hellish place. I am in your debt and at your disposal. I have studied the guards and their habits; they feed us twice a day and I have managed to steal a pair of knives and a fork; they are pitiful but they could be used as weapons or even primitive lockpicks. Should you need my services for escape or anything else, all you need to do is ask.”</p><p></p><p>The man was sharp. Any sign of a wondering mind had completely gone and instead, there was a keen observer and a man who was desperate to get out of here. That could be extremely useful. </p><p></p><p>At this point, the door opened and several guards came in. They ordered us to stand against the far wall. Then several more came in, quite a few of them wearing bandages. These had saps and bottles wrapped in cloth; they proceeded to beat everyone mercilessly. I was powerless to intervene but I marked their faces in my head. Finally, two of them took Victor out of the cell. I tried to shout but two of them pointed a sword into my gut and Jinis held me back. </p><p></p><p>I went to a corner and sat down. I looked at everyone else still burning and Jinis wisely left me alone. He could see I was in no state for a conversation. I thought back to all that had happened and to keep sane, I visualized my journal. All my possessions had been taken of course, but I deliberately built it in my mind as an exercise to distract myself and then thought about how and what I would write about this latest twist in our fortunes. </p><p></p><p>I don’t know how long it took; then the door opened and Victor was thrown back into the cell. </p><p></p><p>I lost track of the time; hours or days could have passed. The guards came and left us bowls with some slop and a bucket of dirty water. They also did several things to my friends which are best left unmentioned but the faces of those particular guards are etched in my memory. Their time would come.</p><p></p><p>No one else came and finally Victor’s flame extinguished itself and he stirred and groaned. He was bloody, beaten, several of his nails had been ripped out his fingers and three of his front teeth had been knocked out. His nose had been broken, judging by the huge purple bruise running down its length. He also had angry burn marks on his ribs. Lastly, there was a huge scar on his left knee. It had been recently healed, but something horrible had happened there. </p><p></p><p>Jinis looked at him shook his head. </p><p></p><p>“If he survives this then he is as strong as an oak.”</p><p></p><p>“Not an oak,” I said absently, “but as strong and supple as a willow.” I was thinking of the Living Blade of Innenotdar and the mystical bond it had with Victor. The First Tree of that Forest had been a willow.</p><p></p><p>He stared at me uncomprehendingly. </p><p></p><p>Victor was shortly followed to consciousness by Drudge, then Longhelim and then all the others, one by one. I ran around, trying to make them all as comfortable as possible, passing the rags to give them at least a little dignity and giving everyone sips of water. </p><p></p><p>As soon as everyone was capable of moving, we huddled around Victor and began to talk quietly.</p><p></p><p>Longhelim looked at Victor carefully and then the rest of us. He grunted: </p><p></p><p>“Gods, what a mess! Did anyone stay conscious? Does anyone know what happened after the fight; and why are we still alive?”</p><p></p><p>I replied: “I stayed conscious; I couldn’t do anything in the magical silence so I just stayed out of everyone’s way. This is what I remember: After everyone was knocked unconscious, we were taken………”</p><p></p><p>I related everything that had happened to us, including Victor being taken away and tortured…..” but as for why they haven’t killed us, I don’t know. I must say that I have no idea as to why they would keep us alive; or where Balan is. I lost track of him as we were being taken into the dungeons.”</p><p></p><p>At this point, Victor spoke; he is said this in his usual succinct manner although his voice was quiet and strained. </p><p></p><p>“I can shed some light on that.” </p><p></p><p>What he said after that chilled the blood: </p><p></p><p>“They brought me back to consciousness early. I was in a torture chamber. I saw Balan’s body being dumped into a pit. He is very dead. I was tortured. My knee is mangled. I won’t be doing much moving for the moment. The Inquisitor was doing it. He was asking questions about the assassinations. Then he stopped and just enjoyed the torture. I didn’t give him any answers though I passed out several times.”</p><p></p><p>Victor was pale and obviously in great pain but he wasn’t showing it with the exception of the beads of perspiration on his forehead; we did not feel the heat; we did feel pain. As usual, his report was short, factual and to the point. It did confirm Ragesian involvement and informed us of Balan’s death. We propped him up against the wall and tried to make his position as comfortable as possible. He was cradling his hand. The tips of his fingers, where the fingernails had been ripped out, looked raw. We also wrapped some wet rags around the burns. That was the best we could for him at the moment. </p><p></p><p>Longhelim unconsciously seemed to reach for his pipe and then grimaced as his hands brushed the rags</p><p></p><p>“As I said, this is a total mess; like you said, Faden, we should be dead, but we are not so let’s take advantage of this; first things first: who are our new friends?”</p><p></p><p>The question was directed at me. </p><p></p><p>“Our first friend, furthest away from us is the individual who tried to convince us to go to the North Gate; he is acting like a gibbering idiot now. Obviously, he was caught; whether this was while he was trying to convince us to follow him or later, I don’t know, but it’s pretty irrelevant at this point. </p><p></p><p>Our other friend, in the cell next to us is no other than Jinis, Lord Gallo’s proxy. He was very grateful to hear that his son is alive and in Seaquen; after I told him that, he has become our new best friend and is more than happy to help us in any escape attempt. He has also managed to secret a couple of knives and a fork in his cell. He thinks that they could be used either as some sort of weapons or maybe even something to try to open the locks.”</p><p></p><p>John grunted at this: “I’d have to look at them, but anything is better than nothing.”</p><p></p><p>Longhelim then looked around. “So, Faden, tell us how the guards work. How often do they check on us? What do they do? How many of them are there? Was there anyone else in these cells before we arrived?”</p><p></p><p>I thought hard and then replied: “No one else here except those you see already; the guards check us every hour or so; there are generally four of them including one of the priests; the abuse I described previously was prevalent at the beginning of our imprisonment but seems to have stopped now; generally, they look to see if the gags and cuffs are in place and that is it from what I can gather.”</p><p></p><p>Longhelim looked thoughtful and then said: “Faden, let me have a look at these cuffs.” After I did so, he also showed them to Victor and they both nodded at each other. </p><p></p><p>“It can be done between the two of us but we’ll have to be careful with his wrists and fingers. If we break them, it will nullify any advantage we may gain.”</p><p></p><p>I didn’t know what they were talking about. </p><p></p><p>Then Longhelim whispered to John: “Can you do it with these knives Jinis has?”</p><p></p><p>John just nodded, confidently and that grin appeared again: “As I said, I’d have to see them but I’m pretty sure I can; and you’ll have to get rid of these as well.”</p><p></p><p>He waved his cuffs at Longhelim. The other person wearing these and the gag in the group was Felix; in other words, the known spell casters.</p><p></p><p>Then the paladin asked: “Faden, how long before the guards come for their new inspection?”</p><p></p><p>“Not too long; they were here quite a long time ago. They are due quite soon.” </p><p></p><p>“Thank you. Now, please introduce us to our new friend.”</p><p></p><p>Jinis had been standing quietly while we had been whispering. Then, as Longhelim and the others approached, he straightened and said: </p><p></p><p>“First of all, thank you for bringing me news about my son Jinir; for that I am eternally grateful.”</p><p></p><p>“You’re welcome. Now, how did you end up here? You are Gallo’s proxy aren’t you? Does that position not give you any protection in court at all?”</p><p></p><p>“No,” Jinis replied, “I was accused of orchestrating the murder of the King’s family and I had no recourse or defence. They have been keeping me here ever since; basically it went like this: accusation, arrest, dungeon; that’s it.”</p><p></p><p>I frowned: “So, no come back? No ability to refute the charges? No investigation or attempt to find out if you have an alibi or anything like that?”</p><p></p><p>“No,” was the reply. “From what I understand, the accusation comes via Nina Glibglamer, either on her own or in collusion with the Ragesians.”</p><p></p><p>From what Victor had told us about the presence of the Inquisitor down here and also bearing in mind what else was happening with the non-aggression treaty as well as presence of the Ragesian army poised to pour through Alydi’s Gap, I had a fairly good idea as to which of those options was the most likely. </p><p></p><p>“What a mess of a country,” a mutter from John.</p><p></p><p>Jinis continued: “I hope you have a plan for escape. We must get to Lord Gallo; once there, we need to sway the other nobles to our cause and get the King away from that….that woman. He really isn’t himself you know!”</p><p></p><p>I didn’t have the heart to tell him that it was very likely too late for both the King and the Lord Gallo. I was fairly certain that John already guessed this but with such an efficient Ragesian assassination team roaming around Dassen, their next obvious target would be Gallo; that would almost guarantee a civil war and more importantly, deny Gallo’s Fend crucial leadership at a critical moment. The moves were brutally logical; and it was already several days after the assassinations of the King’s family so the team was most likely almost there if not actually in place. </p><p></p><p>It was also very likely that if Steppengaard began to show signs of breaking away from Glibglamer’s influence, then……contingencies, to put it gently, would have been put in place. </p><p></p><p>However, we had other priorities at this time; like getting out of here. </p><p></p><p>Longhelim introduced the rest of us to Jinis and I was chagrined that I had forgotten to do so; I had been distracted but even so….</p><p></p><p>Then Longhelim said: “I believe Faden said you had a trio of implements that may be of use to us later? If so, we plan to try to do something about our current state and your current state by default for that matter, after the next guard inspection. May we borrow your implements please?”</p><p></p><p>It was quite amazing. He was talking as if he was still in the palace and the effect was obvious on Jinis. The man positively grew in front of us and replied: </p><p></p><p>“It would be my pleasure to aid you in this exercise as much as possible although I suggest that I keep them until the next guard inspection as they are more likely to search you rather than me; I have been searched so many times already.”</p><p></p><p>The paladin nodded: “Of course; very good idea.”</p><p></p><p>Longhelim, Drudge and Victor than went to the back of the cell and looked at the wall. They held a brief conversation and Drudge nodded eagerly. Then suddenly, there was a rattling of keys at the far end of the cell block and everyone leapt to the back of their cell as the door opened and a group of three soldiers and a priest walked in. They gave us a cursory glance although they did not seem surprised that we were awake. The priest in fact nodded as if satisfied. As before, we were subjected to an inspection to see that the cuffs and gags were in place; then the guards looked around for a few moments and then withdrew, making comments about the stink and vague threats about what would happen to us. </p><p></p><p>As soon as they left, Victor and Longhelim moved to John and looked at his cuffs. Then they talked quietly and gripped it carefully; using all their strength, they exerted pressure. They pain must have been excruciating for Victor but he bore it stoically. It took some time, but finally John exclaimed: </p><p></p><p>“There! A crack in the metal! See, just there!”</p><p></p><p>Encouraged, Victor and Longhelim continued with their attempt to free John’s hand until finally with one great gasp from the both of them, it cracked and fell. Immediately, they began to work on the other; John was also able to help with the removal of this one, so it took less time and a little while later, John’s hands were free. </p><p></p><p>Immediately, he went to Jinis and asked him for the two knives and a fork; as soon as he was given them, he came over to me and began to work on my cuffs; Longhelim and Victor began exerting pressure on the cuffs binding Felix’s hands; Drudge took one of the knives and began to scrape at the wall in one corner of the cell. </p><p></p><p>It took a while; the fork was blunt and the locks were small. John’s face contorted in concentration as he tried to open the locks using these makeshift tools. The two warriors were grunting and gasping next to Felix until there was another soft crack and the first of Felix’s cuffs fell to the ground. Only a moment later, John managed to get the first one of mine unlocked; that left two and these were removed faster as John became more familiar with the lock and Felix was able to help with the removal of his. </p><p></p><p>Then we had to spend more time spent removing the gags; they were just as troublesome as the cuffs but in a different way. Since they were inserted in one’s mouth, one had to be even more careful in breaking them; mouths were very sensitive and delicate parts of the body. </p><p></p><p>Finally, those were removed as well. </p><p></p><p>Both Felix and John began to prepare to heal everyone immediately. Victor was the first priority and I heard a gasp from him as Felix healed his wounds; the open burns disappeared from his torso; the bruises also disappeared and nails magically grew back on his fingers. They teeth were still missing but Felix said that given a little time, he would be able to do something about those as well; and about the knee as well. In the meantime, Victor would still limp. More importantly, the warrior said he was no longer in so much pain, which must have come as a great relief to him. Simultaneously, everyone else was also being healed although in their case, it was mostly bruising. </p><p></p><p>At that point, Drudge grunted and triumphantly brought us his prize: a brick; actually, a very hefty, heavy brick that would make a very good weapon. </p><p></p><p>As soon as everyone was healed, we set about obtaining more bricks. We needed two more: for the warriors and Drudge. Again, this took a little time and we were getting a little close to the next inspection so we quickly formulated a plan. </p><p></p><p>Longhelim said: “I don’t know why they kept us alive or even together but we have to take advantage of this. I suspect that we will be separated sooner or later so we have to take our chance as quickly as possible.</p><p></p><p>No time for subtlety. We don’t have either the capability or the equipment for it. Faden, your cuffs and gag still look whole as they were picked by John. So, you stay in plain view; from distance, it should not be obvious that they have been tampered with. Felix and John, curl in the corners of the cell, making sure your mouths and hands are out of sight. Victor and I will stand next to the cell door and jump them as they get close. </p><p></p><p>John, you can get this door open, right?”</p><p></p><p>John just looked at him with raised eyebrows and then knelt next to the lock with the fork. It took him a very short time before the door was opened. Then, for good measure, he went and opened Jinis’s door. </p><p></p><p>“Good,” said Longhelim. “Can anyone else do anything?”</p><p></p><p>I replied: “I have a couple of spells I can do but not very many without my components.”</p><p></p><p>“Same here,” said Felix, “although I can do the spell of magical silence so that will stop the alarm from being raised.”</p><p></p><p>“Good. Now, everyone ready? Let’s get this right. As I said, we’ll only get one chance!”</p><p></p><p>As soon as we saw the door opening at the far end of the corridor, we assumed our positions. The guard that came was another set of three soldiers but this time, the priest with them was a female dwarf. </p><p></p><p>The plan worked as discussed. They came forward, unsuspecting and when they reached a short distance away from our cell, Longhelim leapt forward and opened the cell. Victor then stepped forward and clouted one of the soldiers around the head with is brick. It made a sickening crunch, despite the helmet; Victor was very strong. </p><p></p><p>The soldiers were stupefied. It took them time to react and before they were able to do so, Victor had already limped aside, letting Longhelim step forward and clout the same soldier. I realised that if we could create gap, we would be able to surround them so I cast one of the few spells available to me; a shower of force missiles sped out my hands and hit the same soldier. He staggered and almost fell. It was obvious he was badly hurt. </p><p></p><p>Drudge tried to move around the crowded combat in a series of flips and summersaults but I think he was still suffering the after effects of his beatings because he kept being driven back, unable to get past. Felix had cast his spell of silence behind the combat so clashing of swords and the shouting of soldiers went eerily quiet; but then everything went completely silent as the same spell was cast at us. </p><p></p><p>The other soldiers finally recovered from their surprise and drawing flails, began to lay about them with a will. The priestess turned around and began running away. </p><p></p><p>Longhelim hit the wounded soldier, who finally fell and John took advantage of this to run after the priestess. I watched from the back; in the magical silence, there was little I could do except get in the way. </p><p></p><p>Victor and Longhelim moved expertly to position themselves to block the two soldiers and strike them with their bricks. They managed to hit the second soldier again and again until he dropped and the third one, now outnumbered, stepped back, allowing Victor to pick up a flail. Both the paladin and the warrior were bleeding from flail wounds but they stuck to their task with a desperate rage until the last soldier was finally struck down, leaving a path to the guardroom. </p><p></p><p>Drudge had already sped past, joining John in the outer room, trying to prevent the priestess from escaping. There was no sound through the magical silence, so it was impossible to tell just what was happening but as soon as the final soldier fell, Longhelim ran forward, leaving a limping Victor to follow. </p><p></p><p>During the combat I had noticed just how badly Victor was still affected by his injury. He may have been very strong but he moved oh so slowly. I remembered him sparring gracefully with Longhelim previous to this debacle and the contrast was distressing. I hoped Felix would be able to do something about that as soon as he could.</p><p></p><p>Both Felix and I moved out of the cell and the magical silence. We ran into the guardroom. As I remembered, there was a table, a bed and two doors. The priestess was cornered against one of the doors, flail in hand. I was unsure as to why she was still here but it was obvious that she was unable to open the door. She was initially faced by Drudge, John and Longhelim but this quickly changed when Victor finally arrived and was able to join the fight. Just before he did, the warrior limped over to Drudge and tossed him the flail from the last warrior. The ranger grinned and gave him a thumbs up. </p><p></p><p>John got out of the way. He had been hit several times and was bleeding. The priestess was grimacing; she had just finished casting a spell; I could see wounds on her body stop bleeding and closing but then both Longhelim and Victor struck which caused her to stagger. She struck out at Drudge and hit him but for every blow she meted out, she was struck several times in return and this was a ratio that could not go on; and it didn’t as she fell over after only a little time, cursing us to her last breath. </p><p></p><p>We scavenged what little weapons and armour we could from the soldiers and the priestess and then had a quick discussion. Jinis had joined us and told us that that the door next to the priestess led through the dungeons and no doubt more guards; he was also fairly certain that the other door here led to the torture chamber. Victor also reminded us that there was a pit there into which Balan’s body had been thrown there. It could lead somewhere or maybe not but it was better to investigate that instead of trying to fight our way through the dungeons. </p><p></p><p>On the priestess’s body, we also found a ring of keys; something about this bothered me a little but I couldn’t quite pin it down. Before I could think on it further, John opened the door to the torture chamber but instead revealed a narrow corridor with three doors on the wall to our left. After making sure that everyone was ready, he checked the first door, to find that it was locked. Using his makeshift tools, he was able to open it and reveal a store room containing various chests and barrels; the first thing he saw was a cage which contained his snake familiar. He almost stepped forward but then he caught himself and cast a small cantrip; then he relayed that there were several magical auras within the chests. Then, carefully, he stepped in and examined the chests; using the keys this time, he opened them revealing our equipment; all of it with the ominous exception of my journal and Victor’s reports. I blanched; I didn’t like that at all but then I remembered that Lee Sidoneth had learned a great deal about us already so it was very likely that Ragesian intelligence were well aware of us and our achievements, such as they were. Everything else we had done was common knowledge around Seaquen and the refugee camps were crawling with agents from all nations so again, there was no point in worrying about secrets. </p><p></p><p>We spent a little time finding and putting on our equipment; this included any magical aids we had as well as Balan’s equipment including his accordion and his shortsword. I looked at them sadly. I hadn’t known him well but he certainly did not deserve the end he had met.</p><p></p><p>Thus bolstered, John opened the second door to reveal another store room with this one having far more mundane goods, such as dried rations, blankets and the like. A quick search did not reveal anything of interest. </p><p></p><p>The final door revealed the aforementioned torture chamber. A large table facing us dominated the room. It had restraints on each corner and a wheeled arrangement made it double up as a rack. There was also shelf with a variety of small pain inducing instruments. There was also a large grate which was obviously covering a pit. The table also had a notebook on it. </p><p></p><p>John entered first, with great caution but nothing happened as he looked around the room so he motioned the rest of us inside. He had looked at the notebook but he handed it to me and said: </p><p></p><p>“I can’t read this; see if you can make anything out of it.”</p><p></p><p>As a matter of fact I could. It was written in orc. It was inscribed to someone called Torrix from one Guthwulf and the inscription read: “The Road of Education is painful - Enjoy it!”</p><p></p><p>The rest of the notebook recorded the information gleaned from the torture of Balan about the defences of Seaquen, which were basically none as they had all been destroyed in the storm, and also information about the powerful people in the town. Some of the facts were patently untrue but there was also a great deal of useful information about the important locals. </p><p></p><p>Unfortunately, there was no sign of our notebooks or journals. </p><p></p><p>Then John looked down the grate and muttered: “I don’t like this. Longhelim, could you use your ability down this pit.”</p><p></p><p>The paladin stepped forward and concentrated; he declared: “I cannot feel any evil down there.”</p><p></p><p>Suddenly, what had been bothering me about the keys, the priestess and the main guardroom crystalised but at that point John sent his invisible friend with a light through the bars down the pit, to reveal a depth of about thirty feet and then possibly a tunnel leading away. It didn’t look very appetizing. </p><p></p><p>I was going to speak about my thoughts when Victor and Longhelim lifted the grate. As they did so, a hidden door opened in the corner of the torture chamber and a creature lurched out. </p><p></p><p>It was quite horrific and disgusting; obviously undead, it looked like a corpse, with writhing viscera in its ribcage and a long, purple tongue lashing out of its mouth. It even had a claw at the end of that appendage. </p><p></p><p>It rushed at us.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Cafu, post: 6047354, member: 6692807"] We were taken to the dungeons. I was alive; beaten, bloody, stripped but alive. I also had a pair of cuffs; they were quite odd. They left my arms completely free but forcibly closed my hands into fists and allowed only a very limited movement of my fingers. There was also a gag in my mouth which made it very difficult to speak. I was not going to be doing any spell casting while either of those was in place. I had been given a bundle of disgusting grey rags, which I had arranged about myself as best as I could. Despite all of this, while I was alive, there was hope. Everyone else was still unconscious, burning merrily. The dungeon was pretty much as I had imagined dungeons to be. First of all, it stank of effluence. The smell was overwhelming. The walls were stone, dark and old. No windows and one door, although the large space was sub-divided into various barred cells. There was a little straw on the floor but it was old and matted with substances I did not care to speculate about. Just to add to the atmosphere, screams pervaded through the walls at regular intervals. Somewhere, someone was inflicting a great deal of pain on someone else. Some of the shrieks sounded female. We were put in the same cell; I saw that there were several shallowly dug pits in the floor; those were our latrines and they were also the source of the overwhelming stench. Glancing around, I saw that we were in the largest cell, the furthest one away from the door. My glance also gave me the opportunity to see into the other cells; in one of them I could see our erstwhile friend who had approached us out of the palace, offering to help us escape through the North Gate; he seemed to be babbling incoherently now, totally oblivious to anything around him; well, so much for his escape plan. In another neighbouring cell, there was another individual; this one had been here for a little time and would normally have been a dignified, elder person; the dungeon had changed that. He had long grey hair and a long beard; like me, he was dressed only in shapeless rags and there was little dignity left. The other cells were empty. This individual looked at me and then at my friends. His eyes seemed a bit cloudy and he didn’t seem quite with it. “Ah, new guests of Steppengaard’s hospitality. Welcome my friends; are you the latest assassins? I am Jinis and once upon a time, I had a position at Court.” His voice was meandering and he sounded as if his mind was wondering. Jinis? Ah, this was Gallo’s proxy. In my mangled speech, I said: “We have a letter for you”. This took several attempts of course, due to that damnable gag. “Sorry, had a letter for you.” His gaze sharpened: “A letter? From whom?” Even his speech improved. “A young man by the name of Jinir.” “Thank the Gods, he is alive. Where is he?” “In Seaquen.” He sighed and went to a wall on the far side of the cell. There, he leaned his forehead against the stone. I thought I heard a soft sob. After a few moments, he returned: “My friend, you have given me the best news I have ever received in this hellish place. I am in your debt and at your disposal. I have studied the guards and their habits; they feed us twice a day and I have managed to steal a pair of knives and a fork; they are pitiful but they could be used as weapons or even primitive lockpicks. Should you need my services for escape or anything else, all you need to do is ask.” The man was sharp. Any sign of a wondering mind had completely gone and instead, there was a keen observer and a man who was desperate to get out of here. That could be extremely useful. At this point, the door opened and several guards came in. They ordered us to stand against the far wall. Then several more came in, quite a few of them wearing bandages. These had saps and bottles wrapped in cloth; they proceeded to beat everyone mercilessly. I was powerless to intervene but I marked their faces in my head. Finally, two of them took Victor out of the cell. I tried to shout but two of them pointed a sword into my gut and Jinis held me back. I went to a corner and sat down. I looked at everyone else still burning and Jinis wisely left me alone. He could see I was in no state for a conversation. I thought back to all that had happened and to keep sane, I visualized my journal. All my possessions had been taken of course, but I deliberately built it in my mind as an exercise to distract myself and then thought about how and what I would write about this latest twist in our fortunes. I don’t know how long it took; then the door opened and Victor was thrown back into the cell. I lost track of the time; hours or days could have passed. The guards came and left us bowls with some slop and a bucket of dirty water. They also did several things to my friends which are best left unmentioned but the faces of those particular guards are etched in my memory. Their time would come. No one else came and finally Victor’s flame extinguished itself and he stirred and groaned. He was bloody, beaten, several of his nails had been ripped out his fingers and three of his front teeth had been knocked out. His nose had been broken, judging by the huge purple bruise running down its length. He also had angry burn marks on his ribs. Lastly, there was a huge scar on his left knee. It had been recently healed, but something horrible had happened there. Jinis looked at him shook his head. “If he survives this then he is as strong as an oak.” “Not an oak,” I said absently, “but as strong and supple as a willow.” I was thinking of the Living Blade of Innenotdar and the mystical bond it had with Victor. The First Tree of that Forest had been a willow. He stared at me uncomprehendingly. Victor was shortly followed to consciousness by Drudge, then Longhelim and then all the others, one by one. I ran around, trying to make them all as comfortable as possible, passing the rags to give them at least a little dignity and giving everyone sips of water. As soon as everyone was capable of moving, we huddled around Victor and began to talk quietly. Longhelim looked at Victor carefully and then the rest of us. He grunted: “Gods, what a mess! Did anyone stay conscious? Does anyone know what happened after the fight; and why are we still alive?” I replied: “I stayed conscious; I couldn’t do anything in the magical silence so I just stayed out of everyone’s way. This is what I remember: After everyone was knocked unconscious, we were taken………” I related everything that had happened to us, including Victor being taken away and tortured…..” but as for why they haven’t killed us, I don’t know. I must say that I have no idea as to why they would keep us alive; or where Balan is. I lost track of him as we were being taken into the dungeons.” At this point, Victor spoke; he is said this in his usual succinct manner although his voice was quiet and strained. “I can shed some light on that.” What he said after that chilled the blood: “They brought me back to consciousness early. I was in a torture chamber. I saw Balan’s body being dumped into a pit. He is very dead. I was tortured. My knee is mangled. I won’t be doing much moving for the moment. The Inquisitor was doing it. He was asking questions about the assassinations. Then he stopped and just enjoyed the torture. I didn’t give him any answers though I passed out several times.” Victor was pale and obviously in great pain but he wasn’t showing it with the exception of the beads of perspiration on his forehead; we did not feel the heat; we did feel pain. As usual, his report was short, factual and to the point. It did confirm Ragesian involvement and informed us of Balan’s death. We propped him up against the wall and tried to make his position as comfortable as possible. He was cradling his hand. The tips of his fingers, where the fingernails had been ripped out, looked raw. We also wrapped some wet rags around the burns. That was the best we could for him at the moment. Longhelim unconsciously seemed to reach for his pipe and then grimaced as his hands brushed the rags “As I said, this is a total mess; like you said, Faden, we should be dead, but we are not so let’s take advantage of this; first things first: who are our new friends?” The question was directed at me. “Our first friend, furthest away from us is the individual who tried to convince us to go to the North Gate; he is acting like a gibbering idiot now. Obviously, he was caught; whether this was while he was trying to convince us to follow him or later, I don’t know, but it’s pretty irrelevant at this point. Our other friend, in the cell next to us is no other than Jinis, Lord Gallo’s proxy. He was very grateful to hear that his son is alive and in Seaquen; after I told him that, he has become our new best friend and is more than happy to help us in any escape attempt. He has also managed to secret a couple of knives and a fork in his cell. He thinks that they could be used either as some sort of weapons or maybe even something to try to open the locks.” John grunted at this: “I’d have to look at them, but anything is better than nothing.” Longhelim then looked around. “So, Faden, tell us how the guards work. How often do they check on us? What do they do? How many of them are there? Was there anyone else in these cells before we arrived?” I thought hard and then replied: “No one else here except those you see already; the guards check us every hour or so; there are generally four of them including one of the priests; the abuse I described previously was prevalent at the beginning of our imprisonment but seems to have stopped now; generally, they look to see if the gags and cuffs are in place and that is it from what I can gather.” Longhelim looked thoughtful and then said: “Faden, let me have a look at these cuffs.” After I did so, he also showed them to Victor and they both nodded at each other. “It can be done between the two of us but we’ll have to be careful with his wrists and fingers. If we break them, it will nullify any advantage we may gain.” I didn’t know what they were talking about. Then Longhelim whispered to John: “Can you do it with these knives Jinis has?” John just nodded, confidently and that grin appeared again: “As I said, I’d have to see them but I’m pretty sure I can; and you’ll have to get rid of these as well.” He waved his cuffs at Longhelim. The other person wearing these and the gag in the group was Felix; in other words, the known spell casters. Then the paladin asked: “Faden, how long before the guards come for their new inspection?” “Not too long; they were here quite a long time ago. They are due quite soon.” “Thank you. Now, please introduce us to our new friend.” Jinis had been standing quietly while we had been whispering. Then, as Longhelim and the others approached, he straightened and said: “First of all, thank you for bringing me news about my son Jinir; for that I am eternally grateful.” “You’re welcome. Now, how did you end up here? You are Gallo’s proxy aren’t you? Does that position not give you any protection in court at all?” “No,” Jinis replied, “I was accused of orchestrating the murder of the King’s family and I had no recourse or defence. They have been keeping me here ever since; basically it went like this: accusation, arrest, dungeon; that’s it.” I frowned: “So, no come back? No ability to refute the charges? No investigation or attempt to find out if you have an alibi or anything like that?” “No,” was the reply. “From what I understand, the accusation comes via Nina Glibglamer, either on her own or in collusion with the Ragesians.” From what Victor had told us about the presence of the Inquisitor down here and also bearing in mind what else was happening with the non-aggression treaty as well as presence of the Ragesian army poised to pour through Alydi’s Gap, I had a fairly good idea as to which of those options was the most likely. “What a mess of a country,” a mutter from John. Jinis continued: “I hope you have a plan for escape. We must get to Lord Gallo; once there, we need to sway the other nobles to our cause and get the King away from that….that woman. He really isn’t himself you know!” I didn’t have the heart to tell him that it was very likely too late for both the King and the Lord Gallo. I was fairly certain that John already guessed this but with such an efficient Ragesian assassination team roaming around Dassen, their next obvious target would be Gallo; that would almost guarantee a civil war and more importantly, deny Gallo’s Fend crucial leadership at a critical moment. The moves were brutally logical; and it was already several days after the assassinations of the King’s family so the team was most likely almost there if not actually in place. It was also very likely that if Steppengaard began to show signs of breaking away from Glibglamer’s influence, then……contingencies, to put it gently, would have been put in place. However, we had other priorities at this time; like getting out of here. Longhelim introduced the rest of us to Jinis and I was chagrined that I had forgotten to do so; I had been distracted but even so…. Then Longhelim said: “I believe Faden said you had a trio of implements that may be of use to us later? If so, we plan to try to do something about our current state and your current state by default for that matter, after the next guard inspection. May we borrow your implements please?” It was quite amazing. He was talking as if he was still in the palace and the effect was obvious on Jinis. The man positively grew in front of us and replied: “It would be my pleasure to aid you in this exercise as much as possible although I suggest that I keep them until the next guard inspection as they are more likely to search you rather than me; I have been searched so many times already.” The paladin nodded: “Of course; very good idea.” Longhelim, Drudge and Victor than went to the back of the cell and looked at the wall. They held a brief conversation and Drudge nodded eagerly. Then suddenly, there was a rattling of keys at the far end of the cell block and everyone leapt to the back of their cell as the door opened and a group of three soldiers and a priest walked in. They gave us a cursory glance although they did not seem surprised that we were awake. The priest in fact nodded as if satisfied. As before, we were subjected to an inspection to see that the cuffs and gags were in place; then the guards looked around for a few moments and then withdrew, making comments about the stink and vague threats about what would happen to us. As soon as they left, Victor and Longhelim moved to John and looked at his cuffs. Then they talked quietly and gripped it carefully; using all their strength, they exerted pressure. They pain must have been excruciating for Victor but he bore it stoically. It took some time, but finally John exclaimed: “There! A crack in the metal! See, just there!” Encouraged, Victor and Longhelim continued with their attempt to free John’s hand until finally with one great gasp from the both of them, it cracked and fell. Immediately, they began to work on the other; John was also able to help with the removal of this one, so it took less time and a little while later, John’s hands were free. Immediately, he went to Jinis and asked him for the two knives and a fork; as soon as he was given them, he came over to me and began to work on my cuffs; Longhelim and Victor began exerting pressure on the cuffs binding Felix’s hands; Drudge took one of the knives and began to scrape at the wall in one corner of the cell. It took a while; the fork was blunt and the locks were small. John’s face contorted in concentration as he tried to open the locks using these makeshift tools. The two warriors were grunting and gasping next to Felix until there was another soft crack and the first of Felix’s cuffs fell to the ground. Only a moment later, John managed to get the first one of mine unlocked; that left two and these were removed faster as John became more familiar with the lock and Felix was able to help with the removal of his. Then we had to spend more time spent removing the gags; they were just as troublesome as the cuffs but in a different way. Since they were inserted in one’s mouth, one had to be even more careful in breaking them; mouths were very sensitive and delicate parts of the body. Finally, those were removed as well. Both Felix and John began to prepare to heal everyone immediately. Victor was the first priority and I heard a gasp from him as Felix healed his wounds; the open burns disappeared from his torso; the bruises also disappeared and nails magically grew back on his fingers. They teeth were still missing but Felix said that given a little time, he would be able to do something about those as well; and about the knee as well. In the meantime, Victor would still limp. More importantly, the warrior said he was no longer in so much pain, which must have come as a great relief to him. Simultaneously, everyone else was also being healed although in their case, it was mostly bruising. At that point, Drudge grunted and triumphantly brought us his prize: a brick; actually, a very hefty, heavy brick that would make a very good weapon. As soon as everyone was healed, we set about obtaining more bricks. We needed two more: for the warriors and Drudge. Again, this took a little time and we were getting a little close to the next inspection so we quickly formulated a plan. Longhelim said: “I don’t know why they kept us alive or even together but we have to take advantage of this. I suspect that we will be separated sooner or later so we have to take our chance as quickly as possible. No time for subtlety. We don’t have either the capability or the equipment for it. Faden, your cuffs and gag still look whole as they were picked by John. So, you stay in plain view; from distance, it should not be obvious that they have been tampered with. Felix and John, curl in the corners of the cell, making sure your mouths and hands are out of sight. Victor and I will stand next to the cell door and jump them as they get close. John, you can get this door open, right?” John just looked at him with raised eyebrows and then knelt next to the lock with the fork. It took him a very short time before the door was opened. Then, for good measure, he went and opened Jinis’s door. “Good,” said Longhelim. “Can anyone else do anything?” I replied: “I have a couple of spells I can do but not very many without my components.” “Same here,” said Felix, “although I can do the spell of magical silence so that will stop the alarm from being raised.” “Good. Now, everyone ready? Let’s get this right. As I said, we’ll only get one chance!” As soon as we saw the door opening at the far end of the corridor, we assumed our positions. The guard that came was another set of three soldiers but this time, the priest with them was a female dwarf. The plan worked as discussed. They came forward, unsuspecting and when they reached a short distance away from our cell, Longhelim leapt forward and opened the cell. Victor then stepped forward and clouted one of the soldiers around the head with is brick. It made a sickening crunch, despite the helmet; Victor was very strong. The soldiers were stupefied. It took them time to react and before they were able to do so, Victor had already limped aside, letting Longhelim step forward and clout the same soldier. I realised that if we could create gap, we would be able to surround them so I cast one of the few spells available to me; a shower of force missiles sped out my hands and hit the same soldier. He staggered and almost fell. It was obvious he was badly hurt. Drudge tried to move around the crowded combat in a series of flips and summersaults but I think he was still suffering the after effects of his beatings because he kept being driven back, unable to get past. Felix had cast his spell of silence behind the combat so clashing of swords and the shouting of soldiers went eerily quiet; but then everything went completely silent as the same spell was cast at us. The other soldiers finally recovered from their surprise and drawing flails, began to lay about them with a will. The priestess turned around and began running away. Longhelim hit the wounded soldier, who finally fell and John took advantage of this to run after the priestess. I watched from the back; in the magical silence, there was little I could do except get in the way. Victor and Longhelim moved expertly to position themselves to block the two soldiers and strike them with their bricks. They managed to hit the second soldier again and again until he dropped and the third one, now outnumbered, stepped back, allowing Victor to pick up a flail. Both the paladin and the warrior were bleeding from flail wounds but they stuck to their task with a desperate rage until the last soldier was finally struck down, leaving a path to the guardroom. Drudge had already sped past, joining John in the outer room, trying to prevent the priestess from escaping. There was no sound through the magical silence, so it was impossible to tell just what was happening but as soon as the final soldier fell, Longhelim ran forward, leaving a limping Victor to follow. During the combat I had noticed just how badly Victor was still affected by his injury. He may have been very strong but he moved oh so slowly. I remembered him sparring gracefully with Longhelim previous to this debacle and the contrast was distressing. I hoped Felix would be able to do something about that as soon as he could. Both Felix and I moved out of the cell and the magical silence. We ran into the guardroom. As I remembered, there was a table, a bed and two doors. The priestess was cornered against one of the doors, flail in hand. I was unsure as to why she was still here but it was obvious that she was unable to open the door. She was initially faced by Drudge, John and Longhelim but this quickly changed when Victor finally arrived and was able to join the fight. Just before he did, the warrior limped over to Drudge and tossed him the flail from the last warrior. The ranger grinned and gave him a thumbs up. John got out of the way. He had been hit several times and was bleeding. The priestess was grimacing; she had just finished casting a spell; I could see wounds on her body stop bleeding and closing but then both Longhelim and Victor struck which caused her to stagger. She struck out at Drudge and hit him but for every blow she meted out, she was struck several times in return and this was a ratio that could not go on; and it didn’t as she fell over after only a little time, cursing us to her last breath. We scavenged what little weapons and armour we could from the soldiers and the priestess and then had a quick discussion. Jinis had joined us and told us that that the door next to the priestess led through the dungeons and no doubt more guards; he was also fairly certain that the other door here led to the torture chamber. Victor also reminded us that there was a pit there into which Balan’s body had been thrown there. It could lead somewhere or maybe not but it was better to investigate that instead of trying to fight our way through the dungeons. On the priestess’s body, we also found a ring of keys; something about this bothered me a little but I couldn’t quite pin it down. Before I could think on it further, John opened the door to the torture chamber but instead revealed a narrow corridor with three doors on the wall to our left. After making sure that everyone was ready, he checked the first door, to find that it was locked. Using his makeshift tools, he was able to open it and reveal a store room containing various chests and barrels; the first thing he saw was a cage which contained his snake familiar. He almost stepped forward but then he caught himself and cast a small cantrip; then he relayed that there were several magical auras within the chests. Then, carefully, he stepped in and examined the chests; using the keys this time, he opened them revealing our equipment; all of it with the ominous exception of my journal and Victor’s reports. I blanched; I didn’t like that at all but then I remembered that Lee Sidoneth had learned a great deal about us already so it was very likely that Ragesian intelligence were well aware of us and our achievements, such as they were. Everything else we had done was common knowledge around Seaquen and the refugee camps were crawling with agents from all nations so again, there was no point in worrying about secrets. We spent a little time finding and putting on our equipment; this included any magical aids we had as well as Balan’s equipment including his accordion and his shortsword. I looked at them sadly. I hadn’t known him well but he certainly did not deserve the end he had met. Thus bolstered, John opened the second door to reveal another store room with this one having far more mundane goods, such as dried rations, blankets and the like. A quick search did not reveal anything of interest. The final door revealed the aforementioned torture chamber. A large table facing us dominated the room. It had restraints on each corner and a wheeled arrangement made it double up as a rack. There was also shelf with a variety of small pain inducing instruments. There was also a large grate which was obviously covering a pit. The table also had a notebook on it. John entered first, with great caution but nothing happened as he looked around the room so he motioned the rest of us inside. He had looked at the notebook but he handed it to me and said: “I can’t read this; see if you can make anything out of it.” As a matter of fact I could. It was written in orc. It was inscribed to someone called Torrix from one Guthwulf and the inscription read: “The Road of Education is painful - Enjoy it!” The rest of the notebook recorded the information gleaned from the torture of Balan about the defences of Seaquen, which were basically none as they had all been destroyed in the storm, and also information about the powerful people in the town. Some of the facts were patently untrue but there was also a great deal of useful information about the important locals. Unfortunately, there was no sign of our notebooks or journals. Then John looked down the grate and muttered: “I don’t like this. Longhelim, could you use your ability down this pit.” The paladin stepped forward and concentrated; he declared: “I cannot feel any evil down there.” Suddenly, what had been bothering me about the keys, the priestess and the main guardroom crystalised but at that point John sent his invisible friend with a light through the bars down the pit, to reveal a depth of about thirty feet and then possibly a tunnel leading away. It didn’t look very appetizing. I was going to speak about my thoughts when Victor and Longhelim lifted the grate. As they did so, a hidden door opened in the corner of the torture chamber and a creature lurched out. It was quite horrific and disgusting; obviously undead, it looked like a corpse, with writhing viscera in its ribcage and a long, purple tongue lashing out of its mouth. It even had a claw at the end of that appendage. It rushed at us. [/QUOTE]
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