Chapter 15
The dining room was heavy with the scent of stale bread and bitter tears. Ghis' mom sat hunched at the table, her shoulders shaking as she clutched a worn kerchief. Her voice cracked as she recounted the grim tale of his father, each word landing with a sharp sting.
"Kyne always believed in the Duke," she said, her hands trembling. "He swore an oath to protect him. But now..." Her breath hitched as she stared down at the table. "Now he's changed. The Duke… he's not the same man."
"Why was he imprisoned?" Ghis asked.
His mother managed to gain some composure before she spoke again. She told us how Kyne, Ghis' father, had been guarding the Duke as he walked across the city. A child playing on the street accidentally walked before the Duke, enraging him. The Duke ordered Kyne to seize the child and imprison him.
"Kyne was already having doubts about the Duke after he imposed all those new laws and taxes. But he had still been reluctant to quit. He said he owed the Duke too much. But I guess being forced to throw a child into the dungeons was too far, even for him."
Kyne helped the child escape but was imprisoned for defying the Duke's direct orders.
"His friends in the army came at night to tell me. It's been a week since then, and I…I…" she said before breaking into heavy sobbing again.
I shifted uncomfortably in my chair, my fingers tracing the edge of the wooden table. Ghis sat next to his mother, hand on her shoulder. Laine, for once, kept his mouth shut though his foot tapped nervously against the floor.
"He's alive," she continued her voice a mix of desperation and dread. "At least, that's what his friends told me. But for how long? The dungeons are overcrowded, and… and now I hear that they're building an execution platform in the square."
Her words lingered, heavy and inescapable. Ghis' jaw tightened, but he said nothing. His mother's sobs filled the silence.
"I'll get him out," Ghis said.
His mother shook her head violently. "No! You can't! It's too dangerous. I'm sorry I told you to rescue him earlier. Just forget about it. I don't want to lose you too."
Ghis forced a smile, though it was as hollow as a broken drum. "Of course, Mother. You're right. Rest now. You've done enough."
I could tell by his expression that he didn't mean it. He was heading to that dungeon to save his father no matter what.
After a while, he gently guided his mother upstairs, leaving me and Laine alone at the table. The silence was thick, broken only by the faint tapping of Laine's feet.
Laine leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms. He seemed to be in deep thought.
By the time Ghis returned, his face was a mask of determination. He sat down, folding his hands on the table. Before he could speak, I did.
"So, when are we going?"
He blinked, caught off guard. "Sam, no. This isn't your fight. You don't have to—"
"It is now," I interrupted. "You're my friend. I'm not letting you do this alone."
Ghis opened his mouth to argue, but Laine cut in with a dramatic sigh. "Fine, fine. Count me in too. Someone's got to keep you two from dying. Besides," he added with a mischievous grin, "there might be some valuables worth liberating while we're at it."
I rolled my eyes. "We're not looting the place, Laine."
Ghis ignored him, his gaze fixed on me. "This isn't just sneaking into a merchant's warehouse, Sam. This is the Duke's castle. If we get caught…"
"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," I tried to dismiss his worries. "Now, what's the plan?"
What followed was an hour of brainstorming, most of it fruitless. My suggestion to use the favor Eris owed me for saving Jessica was shot down. The Duke's mages could easily see through illusion spells, and without my disguise, neither Eris nor Jessica would recognize me. I suggested that Ghis go by himself to find her, but he said he would not be able to get past the castle entrance by himself.
Ghis proposed contacting his father's old comrades, but we quickly realized we couldn't trust anyone in the Duke's regime.
Involving the Order of the Veil was also out of the question. We didn't need more crazies involved. For similar reasons, I rejected Ghis' idea of calling his old cultist buddies to help.
Throughout our entire discussion Laine had kept quiet and had been looking up at the ceiling in contemplation.
Finally, he leaned forward with a wide grin. "Wait. I've got it. A brilliant plan."
I raised an eyebrow. "You? A brilliant plan? This I've got to hear."
The next morning, I stood before the inner-city gates, feeling utterly ridiculous in my borrowed leather armor. The spear in my hand, taken from Kyne's storage, was heavy and unfamiliar. Beside me, Ghis adjusted his baker's hat for what felt like the hundredth time. Laine, dressed as a merchant, checked the straps of his rucksack, which was stuffed with bread and pastries.
"This is a stupid plan," I muttered.
"Better than anything you came up with," Laine shot back, smirking.
Before I could retort, a pair of guards approached. One of them pointed to the spear. "You'll need to leave that here. Can't have armed strangers walking around the inner city."
I handed it over without protest. It wasn't like I knew how to use it anyway.
"What's in the bag?" the other guard asked, eyeing Laine suspiciously.
"Pastries," Laine replied smoothly. "Freshly baked, for the noble lords and ladies. My associate here," he gestured to Ghis, "is a master baker. We're hoping to open a shop, but we need an investor. I plan to have a few meetings with some influential people and see if they'll offer up the capital."
The guards glanced at each other and nodded. "All right. But you'll need an escort, " one of them signaled to a young soldier, who jogged over to join us when we crossed the gate.
Laine firmly held the soldier's hand. "Good Sir, Would you kindly guide us to the estate of Baron Delonte?"
I saw the glint of a coin passing from Laine's hand to the soldier, who smoothly put it away in his own pouch.
"Follow me," the soldier said, leading us through the gates.
I leaned closer to Laine as we walked and hissed, "Why are we going to Baron Delonte's estate? The dungeon's in the Duke's castle."
Laine gave me a condescending look. "Rule one of infiltration: don't reveal your true objective right away. If we asked to go directly to the Duke's castle, our escort would be suspicious. Trust me, I know what I'm doing."
I had my doubts, but Laine managed to impress me.
Baron Delonte was charmed by Laine's fabricated tales of success and Ghis' bread and pastries. He laughed heartily at Laine's story about how he once traded from an apple to a whole orchard.
The Baron happily penned a recommendation letter that would grant an audience with a Count. From there, we received another letter to meet a Marquis, a cousin of the Duke.
The Marquis wrote to us inviting us to meet the Duke himself, but not before giving us an ominous warning: "Be careful with your manners in front of Duke Baramund. He does not take kindly to insults, real or perceived."
When we reached the Duke's estate, the sun was setting. We showed our letter to the guards at the gate and were promptly allowed entry to the Duchal Gardens. The air was cool, and the garden paths were dimly lit by lanterns. Our escort led the way, his footsteps echoing softly against the cobblestones. Ghis walked beside me, his posture stiff. "It's going well, isn't it?"
I nodded. "Honestly, I'm surprised Laine hasn't screwed up yet."
At that instant, Laine pointed at the bushes. "What's that?"
As the guard turned to look, Laine took out a frying pan and smacked him on the head. He yelped in pain, turning just in time for me to punch him unconscious.
I stared at Laine, incredulous. "What the hell was that?"
"And is that my mother's frying pan?" Ghis asked.
Laine shrugged. "Phase one is over. We're inside. We don't need him anymore. And yes, Ghis, it is. Don't worry. I'll buy her a new one with the money I steal today."
I pinched the bridge of my nose. "Fine. What's our next step?"
Laine grinned sheepishly. "No idea. Didn't think we'd get this far."
I turned to Ghis, who sighed. "We'll improvise. Let's just keep moving. Now that we're inside, we should be able to get to the dungeon if we just act like we belong here."
We hid the unconscious guard in the bushes and pressed on, but not before Laine returned the coin he had bribed him. The castle loomed ahead, its tall spires casting long shadows in the moonlight.
The inside of the castle was both grand and oppressive. High, vaulted ceilings loomed overhead, adorned with intricate carvings of mythical creatures. The air was thick with the scent of incense, and golden chandeliers cast flickering light across the polished marble floors. Despite the opulence, we encountered only a few servants as we navigated the maze of corridors. Laine would occasionally stop them and ask for directions.
The most bizarre thing we encountered was a man clad in a strange, flowing cloak and a veil. The veil was embroidered with a symbol that caught my attention. The design was unsettlingly familiar. As we passed him, the man exchanged a slight bow with Laine, who nodded courteously. I stopped and looked back as the man disappeared around a corner. It occurred to me that I had seen the symbol before in the letter from the Council of the Eye.
"That symbol," I muttered under my breath. "It's the Council of the Eye. What's he doing here?"
I turned to see Laine slipping a silver candlestick into his increasingly heavy rucksack. When I glared at him, he shrugged. "What? It's not like they'll miss it."
The rest of our journey through the castle was punctuated by Laine's light-fingered antics. Occasionally, he would swipe a gilded goblet, a jeweled trinket, or even a tiny tapestry and stuff it into his bag. By the time we neared the dungeons, his rucksack was bulging, and I was half-convinced the thief would topple over from the weight.
Our path took us perilously close to a grand hallway, where the sound of familiar voices made us freeze. I peeked around a corner and immediately ducked back. Jessica and Eris were walking towards us, deep in conversation.
"Quick, hide!" I hissed, dragging Ghis and Laine behind a cluster of potted plants. We crouched in awkward silence, struggling to hide all three of us and Laine's giant rucksack.
"…about the Box," Jessica was saying, her tone hushed. "Are you sure it will work?"
Eris sighed. "It has to. If it doesn't, I… I don't know what else we can do to bring Father back to his senses."
My mind raced. The Box? That thing Jessica had been holding while riding the horse? And what was this about bringing the Duke back to his senses?
I exchanged a glance with Ghis, whose confused expression mirrored my own.
The voices began moving away, but we stayed hidden until we were sure the coast was clear. When we finally emerged, Laine muttered, "That was close."
I nodded and said, "We need to hurry."
I could smell a mystery brewing and wanted no part of it.
After some time, we finally reached the part of the castle which housed the dungeons.
An air of dread clung to the walls like moss. The faint echoes of chains clinking and the occasional pained groan told me we were close to the entrance.
We turned a corner and nearly walked into a pair of guards. They were stationed at the main dungeon entrance, both armed and alert. Laine was the first to react, stepping forward with a wide grin.
"Gentlemen! We're terribly lost. Could you point us to the kitchens? My baker here has some… urgent business with the castle chef." He patted Ghis on the back, who followed Laine's lead and gave a toothy grin.
The guards exchanged skeptical looks. One of them stepped closer, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword.
"This is the dungeon, not the dining hall. Who are you?" he asked, towering over Laine. "And why are you holding a frying pan?"
Laine's grin faltered for a fraction of a second before he plastered it back on. "Ah, silly me! I must have misread the map. We'll just—"
Before he could finish, I stepped forward and took the frying pan from Laine's hand. I swung, and it landed with a heavy crunch on the guard's head. His companion barely had time to react before Ghis knocked him out with a baguette.
"What the hell did you make that out of?" I asked Ghis as the guards crumpled to the ground.
Ghis tapped the bread lightly and said, "Put a metal rod in this one."
We dragged the unconscious guards into a nearby cell and took their keys. Ghis and I took the guards' armor and swords while Laine rifled through their belongings.
"Not much to loot down here," he complained, holding a tarnished coin. "I expected better from castle guards."
"Focus," Ghis snapped. "We need to find my father."
He slapped one of the guards awake and asked him where he could find his father. He slapped him across the face with his baguette when he got what he wanted, knocking him out again.
The main hall of the dungeon was lined with cells, most of them occupied. Prisoners shuffled to the bars, their gaunt faces filled with equal parts hope and suspicion. Some whispered pleas for freedom, while others stayed silent, their eyes hollow.
We continued down the corridor, leaving the other prisoners whispering in our wake. The lower cells were even darker and colder than the ones above. They were lit only by the flickering lights of torches hanging on the walls.
Ghis stopped in front of one of the lower cells. Inside were two men, one young and one nearing retirement age. Both were slumped against the walls and had their wrists shackled to the stone. The old man's face was gaunt, his hair streaked with gray, but his eyes still burned with defiance as we approached.
"Father," Ghis whispered, gripping the bars.
Kyne's eyes widened in recognition. "Ghis? What are you doing here?"
"We're getting you out," Ghis said, his voice firm.
Kyne's gaze shifted to Laine and me, his expression wary. "Who are they?"
"Friends," Ghis said. "They're here to help."
Kyne hesitated, then nodded. "All right. But we can't leave him behind." He gestured to the young man.
I stepped closer, peering into the dim light. He looked familiar, but I couldn't place him in the dim light of the torches.
"That's… Erwin," Kyne said.
I frowned. "Who?"
"The Duke's second son," Ghis said.
I realized why he looked so familiar. He looked just like Eris, the oldest son.
Kyne nodded. "He's been here for weeks. The Duke… he's not in his right mind. He thinks his own son is plotting against him."
Ghis glanced at me, then back at his father. "Fine. We'll take him too."
We unlocked the cell and freed both men. Kyne groaned as he stood, his movements slow and stiff. Erwin was quieter, his gaze distant, but he nodded in gratitude as we removed his shackles.
"Let's move," Ghis said, his voice low. "We don't have much time."
We made our way back through the dungeon, and our progress was slower now that we had Kyne and Erwin in tow. The alarm hadn't been raised yet, but it was only a matter of time.
As we reached the entrance, the sound of hurried footsteps echoed down the hall. Ghis cursed under his breath.
"Guards," I said, gripping my borrowed sword tightly.
I could tell by the noise that there were a lot of them, and that they were approaching fast. They were shouting about attackers in the castle.
"We've been discovered," Laine said.