A guard stood at each side of the line of escapees and one stood directly behind them. Emperor Mentir was alone in his throne room this time. With glowing pride, he looked down on his captives from the silver and white throne that he sat upon. He waited for the prisoner he despised the most to stop coughing and gasping so that he could be understood when he spoke to them. He noticed how Jorge deliberately stared straight into his eyes and he couldn't find it in himself to look back. Jorge noticed this and smirked.
"You four are like blisters on my feet," Emperor Mentir finally said. He jabbed a finger at Gerardo. "You being the biggest one. All of you now have my full attention, which isn't a good thing, in case you couldn't figure that out. But you can still avoid punishment by simply answering the questions I've been asking you for the past month. That being said, do any of you
That same morning, Rein awoke to a beam of light shooting through the keyhole, just like she had the day before. No one entered the storage room yesterday, and judging from the stillness on the other side of the door it seemed as though no one would come in today either. Rein took a moment to allow her mind to focus and then verified the emptiness in the office beyond the door. Then she stood up and continued to practice flying with the ball and chain locked to her ankles.Rein had come to the conclusion that Jed and Mazyr planned to starve her to death. Luckily for her, she had discovered a small leak in the roof that allowed for water to trickle down the wall and form a small puddle on the ground. There wasn't much as it hadn't rained in the last two days, but the collection of morning dew and melted frost allowed her to suppress her hunger and remain hydrated.
There was a short moment where Mazyr and Jed gaped at Rein who could only gape back. She should've known that the commotion she made would practically call them to her."Jed!" Mazyr cried."It's free!" Jed exclaimed."Get a jar!" Mazyr ordered.Mazyr closed the door behind him without taking his eyes off Rein while Jed rummaged around for a jar. It was now confirmed that there was no window in the office, so Rein had no idea where she was going to go from here. She shot up into the air with her arms wrapped around the weight to buy herself some time to think."How is it carrying that thing?" Jed asked."I
After Rein had concluded her story, there was silence as the miracle worker processed everything she had said."So, this Gerardo of Liko, whom nobody appreciates in the slightest, is supposed to be saving the future but at this current moment he's in prison," the miracle worker said in a sardonic tone. "That's the gist of everything you've told me.""Yes," Rein answered hesitantly. She hadn't realized how ridiculous it all sounded until the miracle worker reworded her situation the way he did."Has he freed Jorge?""I – I'm not sure.""I see. So in order to be sure that everything is going as it's meant to, you need to head in there yourself. So essential
Four despondent weeks in Hell passed for the three soldiers locked in Emperor Mentir's dungeon and they had not found the opportunity to attempt another escape. Gerardo had been dragged back and forth from the Interrogation Room every day, nearly saturated in his own blood and today was worse. When he was returned to the prison, he coughed and choked in the arms of the two servants dragging him until his knees gave out completely. The servants let him collapse to the floor and waited until he was finished. Gerardo continued to cough up blood as he clutched his stomach in ruthless agony and groaned, doing everything he could to push through the torment. Once he had finished hacking, a guard seized the collar of his shirt and flung him inside the cell with Travis and Jole.His collision with the floor triggered another fit. Gerardo lay on his back gnashing his teeth and he coughed s
The dark figure stared at Rein with burning yellow eyes and didn't move. Rein remained motionless as well, afraid that any movement might provoke it to attack. The stand-off gave her enough time to surmise in this odd lighting that she stood face to face with a large rat, but she was still unable to decipher its motive. It was difficult to know what to do without knowing what her opponent wanted. Nevertheless, she had to act before it finally decided to attack her and Pryce."Can you speak?" she asked.The rat didn't relax its position but answered her in a low, intimidating voice. "I can.""I don't wish to fight," Rein said. "I am not a threat; you have my word."
It had been almost a month since Jorge escaped prison on his own, and devising a flawless plan with Calder to rescue everyone else was proving next to impossible. One afternoon, Calder grazed in whatever grass he could find through the thick snow, and Jorge returned from the lake carrying his lunch in an oversized leaf."What did you find?" Calder asked."Wouldn't you know it?" said Jorge. "The last of the fireberries."He chuckled and popped one in his mouth."Fascinating," Calder replied, quickly losing interest. "So you are absolutely against sneaking into the palace with the cat disguise you've been using to check up on your comrades?"
Emperor Mentir shot around and looked at the coin bag resting a foot away from the mouse hole. Before the emperor had a chance to react, Pryce jumped back into the drawer and climbed into the one below while Rein darted out of the mouse hole and snatched the coin bag. When she made it back inside, Lusitania took the bag from her and ran off in the direction of rat and mice civilization. Rein didn't follow. Lusitania noticed and stopped."Why do you just stand there?" he asked. "Come along quickly!""I must be sure Pryce makes it back safely!" Rein replied."Pryce is lost, Rein!""I'm not leaving here without him, Lusitania!"
The last light of the Northern sun shone in the sky when Jorge finally returned from his walk and reluctantly met up again with Calder."So what have you decided?" Calder asked."We'll go through with your plan. I'll ask to speak with the emperor.""Have you devised something to add to that plan at all?" Calder asked.Suddenly they both recognized the sound of frantic footsteps running towards them from the direction of the palace. They quickly bolted behind a tree and Jorge searched for some sort of weapon to arm himself. Unfortunately, with everything covered in snow and having been escorted out of the prison without a weapon, he was defenseless aside from his bare fists. Nevertheless, he was determined to make it