“I had never seen an elf like her before. I was curious. I wanted to know who she was, what kind of race she was from. I just wanted to know things.”
He chuckled. “Trash like you, pursuing knowledge? Don’t make me laugh.”
My fists clenched automatically. Calm down. I eased my fingers. Not here. Not now. Change the topic to something else. Anything.
“If you’re convicting me,” I said as I looked at him, “then what are you going to do about the Henway twins?”
He frowned. “What do you mean?”
“Those twins threw me into the Nura River when they knew I couldn’t swim a foot in water. Isn’t that an attempt at murder?”
He raised an eyebrow. “What that is is a pathetic attempt at a lie.”
“What?” I stared at him.
“I have seen those two boys,” Joseph said. “I have spoken to their parents a few times. Those twins are good boys—worthy of being Knights!”
Oh, brilliant, I thought. This is just going to get me even more riled up.
Metal bars shut closed a few yards to my right, and a voice mumbled. Two Knights walked by my cell, and each one was catching the arm of a prisoner as they dragged him away. The man wore no shirt, and just a pair of ragged grey pants. He looked at me as he was dragged across my cell, and tears streamed down his cheeks, across the cuts on his skin.
I averted my eyes, and looked at Joseph. “Where is the elf?”
He slapped me, and I stumbled to the ground. “I ask the questions around here, Ryder.” He glared at me. “Your precious elf is having her own fun, don’t worry.”
I held my cheek, and felt my skin tingle from the hit.
“Now, do you have anything else to say?” Joseph asked. “Anything actually useful?”
I stayed silent.
“This is more than a warning, boy. If you don’t help us, we don’t help you. And you know what that means.” His finger traced a line across his neck.
I stared at him, but my lips didn’t move an inch.
He chuckled. “Resilient.” He stepped out the cell and slammed it shut. “I like that in an opponent. Makes it more fun to deal with them.”
The guard waiting outside locked my cell. Joseph stared at me through the bars. “You’ve got two choices, Ryder. You either talk, or” —a wide smile curled onto his face— “your head comes off.” He stepped away, and his voice echoed through the walls. “You decide.”
***
I think I’m screwed.
I clenched the metal bars. My fingers couldn’t even go all the way around them. Breaking through something like this wouldn’t be easy. Actually, it’d be impossible.
Could I find a way out of here, though?
Probably could. I just had to plan things out, and hope I wasn’t scheduled for a beheading before anyone of them came to fruition.
This situation, though, was a little different from a normal escape. I needed to save someone else on the way, too—the elf.
I don’t even know where she is right now, I thought. Or if she’s alive.
She was probably still alive.
Hopefully.
I looked at the bars. How strong would my strength stat have to be to let me break through these? I wondered. Probably a lot, lot more than what it’s at right now.
A guard sat beside my cell, and was leaning against the wall with his eyes closed. Let’s go survey this place for a bit, I thought. “Sir Knight,” I said.
The man sat still.
“Sir?”
He turned one eye to me. “What?” His voice was flat.
“I really need to use the restroom,” I said. “Could you please let me out?”
His eyebrows furrowed. “Sure. Why don’t I give you the keys to the cell and a straight path out of the palace while I’m at it?”
Ugh, he’s annoying. But I pushed on. “I really need to go, sir.”
“I don’t care.” He turned back.
Are you sure? I grinned. “Aren’t you the one who cleans up the cells here?”
He groaned. “Damn it.” He stepped up to my cell door and fiddled with his keys.
Yes! I resisted the urge to punch the air. One step closer.
The man opened the door, and grabbed my arm. His other hand held a spear, and he pointed it right at me. “No funny business,” he muttered.
I held my hands up. “No, sir.”
He nodded. “End of the corridor.” His spear pricked the skin on my back and I walked forward. Other cells sat on my right, but I didn’t look within them. I stared at the wall on the left side instead. Come on, I thought, looking down that side. Is there not a single window here?
I couldn’t find out anything about this place if I didn’t have a window to look through, in which case all of this was pointless.
So far, I could tell that the walls were extremely thick, and that there were no weapons stored here that I could use. If I broke out, I’d have to find something on my own.
“Walk faster!” The guard pricked me once again.
I hastened my steps. A rock emerged in the corner of my vision. It was the size of my palm and had a sharp point on one end. That might be useful.
I glanced at the cells to my right. The one closest to the rock was empty. Perfect.
We stepped up to it. I pointed to the bars. “What the hell?!”
The guard instantly turned, and his spear pointed at the cell. My left foot slid under the rock and I flicked it up into the air. I grabbed the item and pushed it into my pocket.
“Boy.” The man’s teeth clenched. “This is an empty cell.”
“Oh.” I stared into the darkness. “It must have been a shadow, then.”
The Knight glared at me. He caught me by the collar and pulled me back. “That’s it.” He tugged my around. “Get back to your cell.”
“But I—”
“Get back to your cell!”
I put my head down. “Yes, sir.”
We strode back, and the Knight pushed me back into my cell. He threw a rag at my face. “Clean up your own messes.” He locked the door, and walked away.
I pulled the rock out of my pocket and then looked at the cloth in my hand. Perfect. I was going to ask him for a cloth later anyway, but this made my job easier.
I sat myself down on my bed with my back to the wall. My finger traced a line down the wall to my right. Doesn’t seem too hard. Should be just enough to craft a rough pick. I folded the cloth once and held it up against that surface, then grabbed the rock and swung it at the cloth. It hit the wall with a muffled thud.
I quickly dropped the objects and stared at the cell door. No one emerged. I turned to the man shrouded in the blanket—my cellmate—but he didn’t do anything either. I looked down at the rock, and then at the wall. There wasn’t a dent in either of them. Damn it, I thought. Maybe I need to hit harder.
I held the cloth up once more and thudded into it, even harder this time. I heard a crack, but not from the wall. The rock crumbled in my hand and split into four separate pieces. Dust and debris crumbled onto my bed. My chest tightened. Well, there goes that plan.
I could have made myself a lock-pick out of the stone if only I’d managed to break some off the wall. I turned around, and looked out the cell door. The reality of what was going hit me now. I have to get out of here.
Footsteps came from my right as a Knight walked past the door. I looked at his arms, and my eyes widened.
The prisoner who had been taken away was long gone.
And his blood streaked pants were all that had come back.
***
“Dinner!”
Two plates slid under the bars, stopping towards the back wall. I glanced at them. Stale bread. How surprising.
The Knights yelled out, “Dinner!” a few times more, and the sounds of sliding metal echoed through the corridor.
I grabbed a loaf from one of the plates and leaned back against the wall. I nibbled on it first, and then took bigger bites. My eyes shifted
to the other man in my cell, who was still bundled up in a blanket.
Maybe he’s dead.
I finished off my loaf of bread and stretched my arms and legs out. My stomach grumbled again, and I clutched it. Ugh. Not enough.
“You can take mine.” A voice spoke.
I blinked, and turned to the blanketed man. “Was that you?”
He shifted, but the blanket didn’t move off him. “You can take it,” he repeated.
“Uh. Thanks.” I picked up the extra loaf and gobbled it up as well. Not going to refuse extra food.
I lay back on my stone bed and looked up at the ceiling. That stupid rock, I thought. I need something stronger. The walls here were much harder than I’d expected, and much harder than they looked, too. That rock had seemed sharp enough to chip a bit of the stone walls trapping me here, but it had broken down instead.
A single footstep echoed. What was that? I turned to my side.
Glowing purple eyes shot toward me, with fangs of white glistening beneath it.
My body moved instantly. I thrust my hand up to the darkness below the fangs. My fingers caught a neck, and the movement of the eyes jerked to a stop. I lifted my leg up and kneed the creature in the stomach. It gasped and fell back to the ground.
“What the hell was that?” I hissed.
“I-I’m sorry.” It stammered.
My cellmate? I looked at the man.
He had grime smudging his body, but I could pick out his pale—almost radiant—skin, contrasted against his withered black shirt and faded beige pants. Short silver hair fell onto his forehead, and he brushed it aside, revealing mysterious eyes of amethyst-purple—and they weren’t glowing anymore. A small fang protruded from the left side of his upper row of teeth, but there were no others.
Wait a minute. My eyes widened. “You,” I whispered. “The vampire.”
He threw his hands up. “I’m sorry!” His voice was squeaky. “I won’t do anything. I’m sorry!”
I focused on his features, and my Analyze skill activated.
DING!
Race
Vampire
Level
6
Wow, that’s weaker than I am, I thought. And I’m already super weak as is.
The vampire still had his hands up in the air, and averted his eyes from me.
“I won’t do anything to you.” I dismissed my screen. “It isn’t entirely your fault either. Today’s a moonless night, isn’t it?”
He stared at me. “H-how do you….”
I grinned. “I know it gets harder to control your urges to feed when the new moon comes around.”
He blinked.
“I didn’t expect you to be a vampire, though.” I chuckled. I might be able to use him to escape. The thought made me smirk inside. I reached a hand out. “I’m Levi. What is your name?”
“Stan.” He spoke softly. His gaze darted between me and the floor. "Y-you're not scared of me?"
I smiled. "Let's just say you’re not the first vampire I’ve met.”
His eyes sparkled. “There are other vampires in the city?”
“Oh,” I said. “Not in the city, no. Plus, the ones I met are all probably dead by now.”
A tap sounded from our cell door, and I jerked my eyes to it. A figure stood there, shrouded in a hooded cloak of white.
I frowned. “Who are you?”
A finger touched one of the metal bars and traced a line down it. “How would you like to get out of here?”
***
CHAPTER EIGHT
Joseph was annoyed.
First Elya, now Sage Auron. Suddenly, it was like every one of the higher-ups in the city wanted to talk to him. Elya he understood, but why Auron? He'd never even met the Sage before, and yet he was the one who had set up this meeting.
Joseph walked down the long hallways. The walls were a greyish-blue, and lit torch sconces were stuck to them at every hundred-foot intervals. A large double door stood at the end of the pathway, the corners decorated with gold. Two guards stood at either side of the entrance.
“I’m here to see the Sage,” Joseph said as he approached.
The guards looked at him, and one of them smirked. They pushed the door open anyway and let him walk in.
“Treat your superiors with more respect,” Joseph muttered, and the guards shut the doors.
His eyes rose to the sight before him. An elderly man sat behind a desk of redwood. His hands were wrinkled with age, and he held a feather-tip pen between his fingers. Long, white hair flowed down to his shoulders, and a trim mustache and beard framed his face. His deep brown eyes looked down at the sheet of empty paper on his desk.
“Come sit down, Joseph.” He didn’t look up from his task.
Joseph took a seat on the chair opposite to him, and stared at the man. What exactly had he called him here for? Sage Auron was a special advisor to King Iko. A man of that stature surely couldn’t have much to do with someone like him, could he?
“I heard you have apprehended a young man who harbored a Drow Elf in-house.”
Joseph nodded. “Yes, sir, I did. Nasty brat.”
Sage Auron opened a drawer on his side and dropped something onto the desk—a half-torn scroll and a pile of shreds. "You say you obtained these things from the boy?"
Joseph realized what this was about. "Yes, sir,” he said. “They were in the boy’s room, under his bed.”
“Wonderful,” Auron smiled. "Ask the boy where he got them. I must know."
Were the scrolls that important? Joseph frowned. "It's no use, sir. He won't talk. I went by his cell just a few hours ago."
Auron chuckled. “I heard a very interesting tale from a close friend to the king—a certain Robert Garson. Apparently, his daughter was attacked in the alley just a day ago and she claims the Levi boy was the one who did it. I have asked Garson to hold on filing charges against him.”
Joseph blinked. “But, sir, if the Levi boy assaulted a noble, then we must convict him!”
“Think bigger, Joseph.” Auron cracked his knuckles. “This boy not only harbored a creature of darkness, but attacked a noble, and a noblewoman, at that. He is now in a corner with no way out. He will give me the information I desire.”
Joseph scratched his chin. “He doesn’t seem the type to surrender, sir.”
“Everyone surrenders. It just takes some longer than others. Do what you need to do to make him talk.”
“But, sir. Elya wouldn’t like—”
“I will take care of Elya,” Sage Auron said. “The Knight Captain will understand the situation once I explain it. If you do this for me, Joseph, I will assure you a promotion."
The Knight’s eyes sparkled. A promotion. He could stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Elya, then. People might start respecting him if he had Sage Auron’s backing, as well.
“I see I have your interest.” The Sage twirled the feather between his fingers.
“I will do it,” Joseph said.
“Splendid,” Auron smiled. “I eagerly await your results.”
The Knight nodded and walked out of the room. He whistled a tune as he walked down the hallway. If he did this, Sage Auron would endorse him, he would get to be in Elya’s position, and he’d get to thrash that Ryder kid as well.
It was a win-win-win.
Joseph grinned. "This is going to be fun."
***
I stared at the figure before me.
It was obvious from the pitch of the voice that this was a woman. But that was all I knew about her at the moment—her gender.
“Who are you?” I asked again. My eyes darted behind her, scanning the walls.
“The guards are all gone,” she said. “Asleep.”
My eyes widened. She put them all to sleep? I blinked. I focused on her form, and my Analyze skill activated.
DING!
Race
Human
Level
36
“So.” I looked at her. “You want to get us out?�
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She nodded. “It is a simple offer.”
I raised an eyebrow. “What’s in it for you? What do you want from all this?”
“A favor.”
“What favor?”
“You will know in time.”
I don’t like this. I frowned. Secrets were never a good thing. Trusting people who were completely open to you was a bad idea as is. I wouldn’t have an ounce of trust for a person who had their own secrets.
“We can help each other out,” she said.
“And how do I know that?”
She stood still. “What?”
“How do I know you’re going to help me out?” My tone changed. “How do I know you’re not with the enemy?”
She sighed. “You've been sentenced to death," she said. "I'm sure you'll find out soon enough. You don't have more than a day left in this prison. I doubt you can escape in such a short while. Are you sure you still want to push away the only help you have?"
I sat silently, and looked at the woman. What do I do? Can I trust her? My chest tightened. I can’t. I can’t be too trusting. Not again.
“The guards will wake up soon,” the woman said. “I will be here tomorrow night. Do what you wish.”
I blinked. “Hey, wait a—”
A whoosh sounded before me, and the lady was gone.
***
Who the heck was she?
I’d observed that lady for at least five minutes, and in that time, all I had figured out was that she was human, and that she was Level 36. That doesn’t help me out. I clenched my fists.
“A-are we getting out of here?” Stan looked at me.
“Maybe,” I said. “I don’t know.”
“Oh.” The vampire covered himself in his blanket once again.
I frowned. “What do you keep covering yourself for? Are you cold?”
“I….” His voice was soft. “I’m scared of the dark.”
I blinked, and then kept silent. I might have misjudged this guy’s usefulness. From what I’d seen, he was far too weak to help me out in any way. Could probably be a good distraction, though. But even then, he seemed like he’d get killed five seconds after he stepped out of this place. It was best I didn’t depend on him for anything.
Ascend: A World of Ga'em LitRPG (The Chaos Emperor Book 1) Page 8
