“That was the best thing you could think of?” Marlin questioned in a vexed voice as Ezra slowly picked himself off the floor.“I did what you advised,” Ezra replied, catching his breath and rubbing his bloodied lips on his sleeves.“I do not remember telling you to make things so obvious. Now the guards will be expecting those ruffians to act up,” Marlin replied. “You should have handled things more tactfully.”“I am not in the mood to handle things tactfully. I just want to get out of here. And nothing would make me happier than to watch those prisoners kill those two guards.”Hearing Ezra’s explanation, Marlin realized that Ezra had acted in such a rash manner only to create a tense atmosphere which would possibly lead to a violent altercation between his captors and the prisoners.Although it was a blunt and risky approach, there was a good chance of it working in Ezra’s favor since the actual dungeon guards had been killed and the adventurers weren’t used to keeping an eye on such
Frankko did not waste any time and quickly unhooked the keys from the adventurer’s belt. He then quietly opened his cell door. Once outside, he grabbed the bombs hanging from the guy’s waist and searched his pockets for potions. “You really can’t keep your grubby fingers to yourself, can you?” Maya asked. “Now please be a good boy and open my door too.”Frankko stood up and walked up to Maya’s cell, but before unlocking the door, he asked, “I am not doing this to free that Lord. I just wanna escape from this hell hole. Are you with me?”Maya sighed and shook her head. “And here I was thinking you had taken an interest in that boy. I am afraid I won’t be going anywhere without my dainty darling. Lord Ezra is coming with us.”Frankko flashed a sly smile at her and turned the key in the lock. “Congratulations, you passed the test.”“I know how much you love coin,” Maya replied. “Besides, after we escape, we are going to need the money to disappear from the wanted lists and start afresh.
Maya pulled away from the door, her mind clouded with doubt. Although she was eager to get her hands on the reward Ezra had promised, she wasn’t too keen on risking her life for it.Frankko too seemed to reconsider his options after hearing Giles’ words of caution. He turned to his companions and asked, “Is it too late to back down?”“We killed two of the adventurers sent to guard us. I believe it is way too late to turn around and walk away,” Giles replied as bluntly as possible.Maya clicked her tongue and shook her head, touching her forehead with her fingers. “I should have just stayed in my cell. Lord Wilhelm might have kept me as a mistress for himself or his son.”“And here I thought you wanted to become independent and open an orphanage for girls,” Giles said, giving her a cursory glance. “Perhaps you really do belong here with the rest of us.”Frankko put his hands on his waist and backed away from the door. “If Lord Wilhelm really had the Romanovs murdered, it means he has p
The three prisoners hid behind the walls and pulled Ezra out of the doorway. The adventurers planted silencing wards on the ground, and the mercenaries aimed their blunderbuss rifles at the door leading to the isolation room.“Come out with your hands above your head, and don’t try anything smart,” the oldest among the veteran adventurers called out, unfurling a scroll. “Field of protection!”The scroll released a protection spell that created a lingering healing zone around the adventurers and mercenaries. As long as they stayed within this zone, they were going to recover from minor injuries, and all their wounds would heal instantly.“That does not sound good,” Frankko whispered, eyeing Giles. “They even brought a mage with them. I don’t think we can fight them all off at the same time.”“You don’t need to worry about them,” Ezra replied. “My shackles are off now. It is time to teach them a lesson.”Although Ezra had surrendered all his firearms before being thrown into the dungeon
On Preston’s orders, the two assassins dragged Ezra down two flights of stone stairs and brought him to the lowest floor in the dungeon. It had been built over two centuries ago, and the last prisoner who had been shackled here had died abandoned and alone.This floor had never been used to keep any prisoners after the Great Elven War ended. The nobles in positions of power deemed it far too cruel and inhumane to keep someone in that oppressing darkness, even if that prisoner had committed terrible crimes.Ezra was the first one in a hundred years to be taken to the old holding cell where dozens of poor souls had been tortured during the Great Wars. The room was shabby and dark, and the cobbled floor was stained with blood. There were no windows here, and the only source of light was a small chink in the ceiling which illuminated a small portion of the room with a hazy glow.The two assassins spread Ezra’s arms and legs tied his hands to the cuffs attached to the wall behind him, and
Ezra was concerned about his own situation, but he was more worried about Aurelia’s fate. The last he had heard, Lord Wilhelm had sent assassins after her, and there was no way for him to know if she was still alive.“I just want to know you are okay, sister,” Ezra mumbled in the darkness, his voice stifled with grief and his face dripping with sweat. As Ezra was thinking about Aurelia, he remembered the enchanted mirror she had given him. Since she had its twin with her, all Ezra needed to do to contact her was shatter the mirror or stain its surface with dirt or paint. That would let her know he was trying to reach her.Ezra was about to access his inventory and use the mirror when he realized it might not be the best idea to reach out to her in this situation. If she knew Ezra was being held inside a dungeon and Lord Sebastian had been murdered, nothing would stop her from returning to Aranor.“No…I won’t let you put your life on the line, sis.” Ezra shook his head, sweeping his th
Lord Wilhelm’s cunning plan was going to nab him two birds with one stone. Lady Tanya was already bound for Aranor along with her father, Count Gressil, and once they were within the town’s walls, Ramel and Jasenki’s men were going to take them hostage.So far, Lord Wilhelm had advised his companions to keep Ezra alive because they needed him to lure their prey. But now that Lady Tanya was within their grasp, they could dispose of him at their earliest convenience.Ezra was simply too dangerous to be kept alive, and since he was essentially an orphan who did not have a drop of noble blood in his body, no one would bat an eyelid when he was executed.All the other nobles and merchants supporting Lord Wilhelm also wished to exterminate the Romanov Bloodline, save Ramel, who had already joined forces with the cultists and been anointed as Zepheroth’s chosen Initiate.At one point, Ezra was hoping he would be able to steal the keys from one of his captors or bribe one of the guards there,
The town of Aranor looked bleak and dreary as the sun’s dim rays beamed through the oppressive gray clouds. The merchants and adventurers stood there impatiently, waiting to watch the execution.Jasenki joined his hands behind his back and raised his head to look up straight at the crowd.“Valaria used to be a beacon of hope for the humans, and Aranor was its beating heart. This was our homeland…a land where we were free to practice our customs and preserve our traditions…a land where humans could live in peace with their heads held high. But all that changed after the Great Assimilation.”The Great Assimilation that Jasenki was referring to was the gradual mixing of the non-humans with the humans after the Great Elven War ended. It was a historic transformation that marked a transition from the Golden Age of human conquest to an era of peace and compromise.While most commoners gradually adjusted to this change and accepted most of their non-human neighbors, there were still those who