"Kargul! Where the hell are you!? Slacking off again?" the voice was hoarse; it echoed all the way through the prison chamber.
"Stay close" said Vigil while his eyes snapped towards the sound. "And don't do anything stupid".
The girl raised an eyebrow with a mischievous smile, she said "Me? Do something stupid? Never. Well… maybe just a little."
Vigil ignored her usual theatrics and dashed towards the door when the same voice came again, louder this time though.
"Kargul! Answer me, you lazy bastard!"
Vigil turned his back towards the girl and gestured to her to stay put. The steps were getting closer and closer towards the entrance of the chamber. Vigil moved towards the left corner of the chamber, there both the shadows and the angle would make him harder to notice.
The door opened when another voice echoed through the silent chamber
"Yeah, but if the boss finds out we didn't check, we're dead meat".
Vigil looked back towards the girl; she was hiding on the closest cell towards the entrance. He signalled two with his fingers.
The guards slowly stepped forward, they didn't utter a single word, perhaps they were founding this situation to be extremally strange, but Vigil didn't allow them much time to think.
As soon as the light of the torch touched his shoulder he moved. Vigil lunged against the guard closest to him, and with deadly precision, he stabbed the orc directly in the chest. The guard barely had time to react before Vigil's blade found its objective.
The second guard was startled by the sudden attack but he reacted quickly. His hand almost immediately went towards the axe hanging on his belt, but before he could fully draw the weapon, a sudden whistling sound slashed through the air. A flying needle, leaving blue magical parts in its path landed directly on the orc's hands, pinning it into the hilt of his axe.
Ice started to form around his wound, but Vigil didn't give him a chance to utter another sound, he closed the distance and swiftly slashed the guard's neck when another needle flew, almost grazing his hair. It landed directly on the orc's head.
Vigil heard the voice again, congratulating him for slaying the orc, just like it had happened a while ago with the other guard, his mind was overflowing once more with questions when the fresh smell of blood filled is nostrils pulled him, so much so that he failed to notice the girl talking to him.
She approached vigil, placing her hand on his back. "Did they hurt you somewhere? I can't escape this place alone you know? If you want to die do it later" Her voice was playful but her expression was slightly worried.
"No, I'm just thinking about our next move" He didn't want to reveal his true nature to her, at least for a while longer.
Vigil looked at the girl and with a playful smile he said "Looks like your full of surprises too. Needles and magic". His eyes were studying her. He wasn't the type to underestimate others but the girl proved she was capable of at least defending herself.
'Just who is this girl and what's her story' Vigil thought.
"What can I say? I always had a knack for hitting the mark when it counts" The girl answered while getting closer to the bodies.
"Yeah right, the last one almost hit the back of my head"
The girl winked at Vigil but remained silent. She hovered her hands above the orcs and uttered a few words that he wasn't able to understand. What happened next made Vigil's eyes wide in disbelief.
After what looked like a prayer, a small wave of blue energy started to leak from the bodies and going directly towards the girl. The energy was slowly enveloping her, slowly and smoothly like the waves of a calm sea. The cracks that were on her right cheek where slowly closing, like it was healing and after a short while, they were gone like they never existed.
The blue energy around her dissipated a few seconds after. She looked towards Vigil who had been staring at her for a good while. "You're not going to ask me anything? What a gentleman you are" She let out a small chuckle.
"We have other pressing concerns to deal with" answered Vigil, though his curious expression remained.
With that, Vigil slowly opened the door, that took them to a small corridor. He had been there before only that his arms and legs were tied. His muscles tensed with fury when he remembered the humiliation he was put through.
'They will all pay for what they've done. The elder too, and after that I'll be on my way home' Vigil thought.
They peeked into the corner that led into the clay room where Vigil had been interrogated before. It was silent inside and there were no guards either. "Do you know anything about this place?" he asked? His voice was low almost a whisper.
"I woke up here unconsciously, just like you." Her voice this time was cold, devoid of any warmth and her colourful blue eyes where dark as if they were lost in thought.
Vigil looked towards his familiar, who was flying above their heads. "Scout the place and find how many there are" he commanded.
The bat's eyes shinned brightly, like he was waiting for his own moment "Yes master!" it said, his voice enthusiastic.
"That's a cute pet you have, what's his name?" the girl asked.
A few short seconds passed, both Vigil and the bat were looking at each other. The bat looked towards the girl, scratching his head, it answered "I don't have one yet".
"Vigil you're a horrible master", said the girl, her eyebrows furrowed deeply with frustration.
"We don't have time for this right now" said Vigil while feeling the pressure coming from the girl's eyes. He opened the door slightly, allowing a small narrow space for the bat to fit in.
"Be careful and go" his voice was low and tense.
Following his masters' orders, the bat flew through the gap and the door closed shortly after. The bat flew high in the sky, using the night as his friend, it would be a lot harder to notice him, He conveyed what he saw to his master telepathically.
They were placed in a small old fortress; the stone walls were marked with scars from the cold harsh weather. Guards patrolled the walls; they were looking towards the vast terrain of snow for any signs of movement. At the main gate, a group of horses slept in the cold, their reigns attached to the walls. In the courtyard orcs gathered noisily, drinking and laughing as they celebrated something. Vigil's hands clutched tight as he recognized from the bat's descriptions the leader. He was seated at the centre, raising a large cup to his lips with a satisfied laugh.
"Say, your eyes are looking really scary right now," said the girl, though her playful demeanour remained.
"These filthy bastards are celebrating" his voice full of rage. "After what they did… they dare to feast like kings" Small drops of blood flew from his hands as he clutched his hands even harder.
"Don't worry, today will be their last night celebrating" she said while touching Vigil's back, trying to comfort him.
He opened the door again, allowing his companion inside. It flew towards its master, landing on his shoulder.
"What are we going to do now?" he asked while moving his wings like he was ready for action.
The girl placed her hand above the bat's head, caressing it, "Your name is going to be Lun, from moon phases".
The bat looked like it was blushing, he looked towards his own master as if looking for approval. "Fine that can be his name, now can we focus on important stuff right now?"
"Your master is no fun Lun!" said the girl, throwing a sly smirk towards Vigil.
Ignoring her theatrics again, Vigil looked outside briefly and then towards his companions.
"Listen, I'm going to cause a distraction, while you deal with the guards above the walls" his voice was determined.
"How do you know I'm not going to use you as bait and escape from here?".
"Your eyes tell a different story". Replied Vigil as he pushed the door open. The cold air brought the smell of beer and the distant sounds of orcish laugh.