The Mage's Path (The Age of Legend Book 1)

by Lionel Vicknair

  "First things first,” said Selena. "You will need one of the Thieves Guild cloaks and mask to hide your face. Also, each cloak has the inside lined with pockets to hold more items than you should ever need for a job." She threw them both a cloak and they put it on. She then grabbed some more items. "This is the poison that Garen mentioned earlier. Just coat a blade with it or anything that can pierce the skin. Be careful though, if that poison gets inside your bloodstream you will be paralyzed within seconds." She handed each a vial that they carefully put inside their cloaks. "Do you two know how to use a sword or bow?" They looked at her cluelessly. "Ok, we will stick with daggers then. They aren’t very effective in a fight, but they are easy to use. And you will need to have something for protection." She continued handing them all sorts of items to put in their cloak from smoke bombs to the rope they needed.

  "You look really happy for someone who might not be alive tomorrow," Rizzo said to Vosh as he was stuffing his cloak, looking like he was ready to burst from excitement. He knew this moment was what Vosh had spent his entire life preparing for.

  “Now’s our chance, Rizzo,” said Vosh. At first, it seemed he was petrified of the idea of breaking into the Sartram prison. But now he was sounded eager. “Our lives are about to change forever.” His positive attitude made it seem like everything would be ok. The energy was bringing up the morale of the team, making everyone a lot less nervous.

  “He’s right, you know,” said Selena. “The guild offers a lot of power, but obviously it has some risks too.” She turned and walked towards them, two hoods in her hand. “You two still aren’t official yet, so you can’t know the guild’s location.”

  Rizzo understood, but hopefully, this would be the last time. Reluctantly they put the hoods on, and she led them out of the Guildhall and down a few streets. Once they were a good distance away she uncovered them. It was dark, but clearly, they were still in the Slums.

  “I will meet you both at the prison. There’s something I must take care of first. Find somewhere to hide and wait for me to lure the guards away.” They nodded their heads and she walked back the direction they came from. Not wanting to waste any more time, the two headed to the prison.

  Chapter eight

  Rizzo was crouched with Vosh on top of a building across the street from the prison, waiting for Selena to show up and draw the guards away from the door. They had been there for some time now, and he was starting to wonder if something might have happened to her.

  The prison was covered by a blanket of darkness from the night sky. Slivers of light flickered on the walls from torches held by the four guards in front of the entrance. Rizzo tried to spot the towers off in the distance and barely made them out.

  A loud crash from a door slamming open jolted them, followed by a woman’s piercing scream from the street below. They crept to the edge and saw Selena running out a building off to the right, away from the prison and in a panic. She was wearing a dress ripped down the front, exposing the top of her chest.

  The guards noticed her and instantly shuffled, looking around at each other as if debating to go see if she needed help. Before they could react, another figure ran out of the house and chased her further down the street. She tried to run, but the figure caught up to her quickly and tackled her to the ground. Vosh got up to run and help, but Rizzo grabbed his arm to stop him.

  "I've seen her run before,” said Rizzo, having witnessed how fast she was. “If she wanted to get away, she could. This must have been her plan all along." One guard finally decided to leave his post and go help, and shortly after the rest followed. "This is our chance, let's go."

  They jumped off the roof and sprinted to the door, now covered in darkness since the only light was from the torches that the guards ran off with. When they got there, the door was locked. Vosh frantically pulled out a lockpick set and went to work. Luckily, he had plenty of practice from the first few weeks of his training and unlocked it in seconds.

  The boys scrambled inside and closed the door, their hearts racing as they looked around. Fortunately, the hallway on the other side was empty. The door leading into the guard’s quarters was directly in front of them, and to the left and right were the hallways that led around the prison and to the towers.

  They quietly opened the door and peeked inside. The coast was clear. From what Rizzo saw of the map, the entire building was a cluster of square hallways with doors leading to the guards’ rooms scattered everywhere. Close to the center of the building was the staircase that led down into the prison cells.

  They scrambled inside and closed the door. The plan was to go through the prison using the same patrol routes that the guards used. Whether they were in front or behind the patrols on their route, they shouldn’t run into them if they kept at a normal pace.

  Rizzo and Vosh navigated their way through the maze of hallways, praying that one guard didn’t decide to wake up in the middle of the night to take a leak. They praised their good fortune as they kept walking without incident. What was only a few minutes felt like an hour of walking, but eventually they found the staircase. They crept quietly to the bottom and peeked past the edges.

  The prison was built just like the layout above, except this was only one giant square hallway rather than a cluster of them. The prison cells were packed tightly together, lining both the inner and outer walls.

  Seeing no sign of movement, the two boys crept out of the staircase, Vosh taking the lead. They snuck around, searching for the cell they wanted. Most were empty, but some had people sleeping in them. After searching a dozen or so, they found the one with Matt in it. He was asleep with his ack turned towards the cell door, but they saw that he was wearing one of the Thieves Guild cloaks.

  “This is the cell,” whispered Rizzo. “I can see someone in it, but he’s not moving. Can you pick the lock quietly?”

  Vosh nodded and pulled out his kit. Rizzo nervously kept looking back and forth while Vosh worked. The door clicked lightly as it opened, and they slithered inside, walking over to the man sleeping on the ground. Vosh gently shook him, startling the man. He almost started screaming as he turned over, but Vosh quickly covered the man’s mouth with only a silent whimper escaping past his hand.

  “We are here to get you out,” whispered Vosh. The man’s eyes widened as it darted between the two. Matt calmed down and Vosh slowly removed his hand. He winced as he got a good look at Matt’s face, covered in bruises most likely from being tortured.

  “Thank you,” said Matt with tears in his eyes. “I can’t believe someone came for me.”

  “There will be time for thanks later,” said Rizzo, peeking out into the hallway. “We need to go.” The man struggled to get up, but once he was on his feet, his strength seemed to return a little. “Follow me.”

  He headed out into the hallway and towards the staircase, rounding the corner and quickly stopping as he saw light coming from the top of the stairs. He turned around and ushered the group to retreat, then peeked around the corner. Seconds later, a pair of guards came down into the hallway. Each going down one side, stopping at each cell and searching them.

  Rizzo panicked. Somehow, they must have been discovered. But how? He desperately tried to think. He looked back at Vosh and Matt, and a wave of calm came over him. It felt like someone else was taking control.

  “If we stay here we are going to get caught,” said Rizzo. “We have to try and make a run for it when the guard starts searching a cell.” They nodded, and he peeked around the corner of the hallway, waiting patiently until the cell closest to them was being searched.

  Once the guard went inside, he signaled for the group to follow as he ran quietly past. He froze as the guard on the other side walked out of a cell, but he never looked in their direction. The group let out a breath of relief and continued to the stairs.

  Once he made it to the top, he creeped over the edge to make sure the coast was clear. He then proceeded to lead them through the prison, which amazingly had no other
guards searching for them. Rizzo was beginning to wonder what was going on. They didn’t stop until they made it to the bottom of one of the tower staircases.

  “There’s a guard at the top of these stairs,” said Rizzo to Matt as he pulled out the dagger. “We have no idea how to use a blade, so we need you to take care of him.”

  “I may be a thief but I’m not a murderer,” said Matt, mistaking his intent.

  “I don’t want you to kill him,” said Rizzo as he then pulled out the vial of poison and coated the blade. “Just a cut will be enough to put him to sleep.” Matt nodded and reached to grab the blade, wincing in pain from stretching his sore muscles.

  “Maybe I should do it,” said Vosh, seeing how weak Matt was.

  “Do you even know how to use that thing, kid?” asked Matt. Rizzo didn’t object, knowing that Vosh had no idea how to fight.

  Matt silently walked up the spiral staircase towards the top with Rizzo and Vosh following behind. It was quite a long way up, and once at the top Matt signaled back to them to wait. He then began to sneak up behind the guard, dagger in hand.

  Rizzo couldn’t help but poke his head out and watch. The guard was standing a few feet away, looking over the edge, watching something that was happening down below. Rizzo thanked his good luck that the man was distracted.

  In a flash, Matt wrapped a hand over the guard’s mouth and sliced the blade across his arm. He then dropped quickly slid the blade behind his belt and wrapped his other arm around to restrain the guard. The poison didn’t work immediately, and Matt struggled to hold him until it took effect.

  Matt was too weak, and the guard broke an arm free and grabbed a dagger from his waist. He plunged it backward, burying itself in his ribs. It all happened so quickly.

  Rizzo burst out from the staircase and ran over, just as the poison took effect and the two slumped over onto the ground. Matt used one arm to roll the guard off him, the other on his wound, covered in blood and wrapped around the dagger still embedded in his stomach. Rizzo ran over to him and grabbed on to the dagger to pull it out.

  “No, don’t,” said Matt. “If you pull that out, I’ll bleed to death.” Rizzo let go of the hilt, his hand now covered in blood as well. “Not that it matters, I’m already dead.” Neither of them knew what to say, shock and panic controlling them.

  “No!” said Vosh angrily. “We have to take you back alive.”

  “Thanks, but it’s over… Trust me, I’ve seen wounds like this before,” said Matt faintly. “Do me a favor though, tell Garen the Dragon’s Eye is at the Lancaster house.” Rizzo heard the words in the back of his mind, but his main thoughts were how to keep Matt alive. But even if the wound wasn’t fatal, there’s no way they could carry him down a rope.

  “We can’t just leave you here,” said Vosh.

  “You have to,” said Matt. “But first, do me a favor and give me some of that poison so I don’t have to suffer.” Rizzo reached into his cloak numbly and pulled out his vial of the poison, then handed it to Matt. “And thanks for the rescue attempt, I never thought anyone would do something that stupid for me.” He didn’t waste any time and emptied the vial into his open cut. Rizzo watched as his eyes closed, unable to look away. Moments later his chest stopped moving, and he knew.

  There was a faint noise coming from down the stairs that was starting to get louder. Seconds later it became clear someone was yelling a warning. Rizzo snapped to attention and ran to look over the ledge where he saw the guards at the entrance run inside.

  He knew they were in trouble and had little time before they were caught. Thinking quickly, he grabbed the rope from his cloak and tied one end to the guard’s ankle and threw the rest out of the tower. He looked and saw Vosh still staring at Matt.

  “Snap out of it,” said Rizzo, running over to him and shaking him. He blinked a few times, then looked at Rizzo. “Get down the rope!” Vosh hesitated a second before the words sank in. Then as if just now hearing the yells, he ran and grabbed onto the rope and jumped out of the tower. The guard slid across the floor from Vosh’s weight pulling on the rope, but he stopped as he hit the wall. Within seconds the rope was clear, and Rizzo followed behind.

  Before Rizzo was even halfway down, the front door to the prison burst open and a large group of guards ran out. There were more than he could count, some only halfway dressed, but all armed. He jumped the rest of the way off the rope, trying to roll when he hit the ground to mitigate the fall. Luckily, they were too far away for the light from the torches to reveal them. Vosh quickly ran over to help him up and they took off together down the street, away from the guards.

  They ran through the city but didn’t make it far before Selena jumped off one of the buildings and landed in front of them. She was changed back into her Thieves Guild cloak and had her mask pulled up.

  “Where’s Matt?” asked Selena, sounding worried. Vosh could only stare at her.

  “One of the guards killed him,” said Rizzo sadly. “But I think I have the information Garen and Vince wanted. Before he died, he said to tell Garen the Dragon’s Eye was sold to the Lancaster family.” Her eyes opened wide at the mention of the gem, obviously, it was a big deal.

  “Be careful who you tell that to,” said Selena as a warning. “People will kill you for that information, or to keep it quiet.” He nodded his head he understood, if it scared her then he knew he should be frightened as well. “We will worry about that later though, now we need to get back to the guild. And next time, use the roofs to escape. Why do you think the training room is built like that?” She wasted no more time, turning and climbing onto the nearest building. They each followed her up, then disappeared into the night.

  Once they were on top of the buildings, the city looked different. He could see far, even all the way to the torches at the Slums gate. To the north, he could see the walls of the Noble’s District and some of the towering villas they lived in. His viewing was cut short as he saw Selena run across the roof and jump to the next building, heading toward the Slums. They ran to keep up, now very thankful for the training they received as it took a lot of stamina to jump across buildings.

  She led them all the way to the roof of a building connected to the Slums wall, then walked over to where they met and bent down to open a trap door. When they got closer, Rizzo looked down to see it led to a small tunnel, like the one he had in the alley.

  They followed her and came out on the other side, where she led them deeper into the Slums. They still moved on top of the buildings but more cautiously now, knowing that wherever they landed could collapse at any moment.

  After a few minutes of running, she jumped to the ground and they followed. She walked to one of the smaller buildings on the street and opened the door. Rizzo knew in the back of his mind he was being shown the entrance to the Thieves Guild, but the events of the night had taken away his ability to react.

  Once inside, he found the building was just a shell, serving only to house the beginning of the staircase that snaked through the guildhall. They followed her down and into the same room they had met in to create the plan to free Matt. The large table spread out before them with all the chairs around it empty.

  “Have a seat and wait here,” said Selena. They walked numbly to the table and sat down. She looked at them, worried, and then turned around to leave.

  She came back a few minutes later, Garen and Vince trailing behind. Both of their eyes went immediately to Rizzo’s hands. He followed their gaze down and saw the blood, then everything that had happened hit him all at once. His heart raced as the events played back in his mind, and he couldn’t stop thinking about how Matt looked when he was dying. Rizzo’s head became light and his vision blurred. He swayed, then fell to the ground, unconscious.

  “Finally, you’re awake,” said Selena as Rizzo woke up hours later. He was back in his bed at the guild, confused as to how he got there. He removed the blanket and then quickly covered himself back up after realizing he was in his underclothes. “Don�
��t get all shy now. You were covered in blood from last night, so I threw out your old clothes and got you cleaned up,” Rizzo’s face flushed with embarrassment, something happening often when she was present. The memories of last night returned, making him feel sick. He remained conscious, but his stomach turned from the thought of all the blood.

  “What gave us away last night?” asked Rizzo, wanting to know why the guards searched the cells.

  “When the guards returned to their post, they saw that the door was unlocked,” said Selena.

  His heart sank, blaming himself for not seeing something so simple. He was already beating himself up for not realizing Matt would have been tortured and possibly injured.

  “It’s my fault that he’s dead,” said Rizzo sullenly. “I should’ve planned better.” Rizzo sank back down in his bed, wanting to die from the guilt. He had thought he was ready, but now he knew otherwise.

  “Don’t be stupid,” said Selena. “We all knew the risk.” It didn’t matter to him, Garen’s words kept ringing in his head that planning was what he was meant for.

  “So, what happens now?” asked Rizzo, defeated.

  “Well, that’s up to you,” said Selena with a hint of a smile.

  “What do you mean?” asked Rizzo.

  “Seeing as you are a full guild member now, you can do whatever you want,” said Selena. “So, stop acting like it’s the end of the world.”

  “What? How?” asked Rizzo, confused.

  “After you passed out, Vosh told the guild-masters everything,” said Selena. “You two did something no other guild member would even attempt and lived. People can’t stop talking about it.”

  “That sounds like Vosh,” replied Rizzo, picturing him embellishing stories of his daring escape from Sartram prison. The thought cheered him up, and he decided to finally crawl out of bed, standing up and stretching. “I can’t believe I’m finally a member. Well, what are the chances you would show me around a bit now that I’m free?”