Brian Pratt - Warrior priest of Dmon-Li

A muffled cry escapes Jiron as the healer pulls out the bolt. They glance over to him as he begins sewing the wound closed. Fifer is there giving the healer a hand.

“But we have proof,” insists James. “One of his agents is being held by Miller at an inn.”

“One man’s word still wouldn’t be enough,” he says. “If the enemy should launch an assault now, it’s all we could do to simply withstand it. I cannot afford to have a rift in the council, as that would surely happen if this is brought to light.”

“But he could be your biggest danger!” James exclaims.

“I know,” he says. “But as long as the illusion is held, his men will fight in the city’s defense should it become necessary. I don’t think he’d turn on us outright unless he thought it would be to his benefit or if he had no choice. As surely would happen if we pressed this matter.” Pausing for a moment, he then adds, “If he turns too soon, then everyone on the council will turn against him. He can’t afford that right now so I believe he will attempt to sustain the illusion of his patriotism as long as possible.”

“I see,” replies James. “What do you plan to do?”

“Keep an eye on him,” he explains. “Because of your outburst back there, he now knows I know. That will make it harder to discover his plans, but not impossible.”

“Don’t you have the alliance for support?” asks Jiron, joining the conversation. He’s a little pale but the wound is stitched closed.

“Some remain,” he replies. “I’ve sent riders after the others that have left, but how soon they’ll return is anyone’s guess.”

“There’s an agent from the Empire here in the city,” James tells him. “A one eyed man named Korgan. He was instrumental in opening the gates of the City of Light the night it fell.”

Nodding, he says, “My agents have reported seeing the man in the company of Councilman Rillian on several occasions. But they didn’t know who he was. If we can find him, then we could possible lay charges before the council.”

“How are you going to do that?” Jiron asks.

“Not me, you,” he replies.

“Us?” asks James incredulously. “How are we to do that from in here?”

“You’re not,” he states. “You’re leaving here right now.”

“But you told Councilman Rillian that you were going to lock us up,” Jiron says. “You’re not going to go back on your word are you?”

“I said I’d lock you up,” he replies with a smile. “And I’ve done that. I never agreed to how long I would keep you here.”

The healer comes to Lord Pytherian and says, “The wound is clean but will take a while to heal.”

“Thank you,” he says, taking the torch away from him. “On your way out, can you ask Henri to come in?”

“Yes, milord,” the healer replies. Giving Lord Pytherian a slight bow, he begins walking toward the stairs. Shortly after the healer leaves the room, a guard enters and comes over to them.

“Yes, milord?” Henri asks.

“I want you to assist them to get out of the castle and into the city without them being seen,” he tells him. “And make sure we return their weapons, they may need them.”

Giving him a bow, Henri turns to the prisoners and says, “Follow me.”

“How are we to get in touch with you?” James asks.

“Henri here will be at the north gate,” he says. “He’ll get you in to see me.”

“Okay,” says James as they move to follow Henri from the room. He glances back to Lord Pytherian when they get to the stairs and sees him standing there by the cell, the light from the torch creating a circle of light about him. Then he turns to follow Henri from the room.

The other guards who had escorted them here are waiting at the top of the stairs. They return their weapons to them, Jiron is mighty happy to have his knives back. “Is there anything else you need before we leave?” Henri asks.

“Actually,” begins James, “a mirror would be most helpful.”

“A mirror?” Henri asks. “What do you need with that?”

“Just do,” replies James. “Can you get me one?”

“Shouldn’t be a problem,” he says. He nods to another of the guards who begins running down the hallway. “He’ll get one.”

“Thanks,” says James.

The guard returns a few minutes later with a small, hand held mirror. Henri takes it from him and as he hands it over to James. “Will this do?”

It’s three inches by four and fits snugly in his hand. “Yes,” he says, nodding, “this will do perfectly.”

“Then follow me,” Henri says as he begins moving down the hallway.

“How are we to get out of the castle without anyone seeing?” James asks. “Everyone out there saw us being marched in.”

“Leave that to me,” he says. He leads them through the castle’s back ways, keeping away from commonly used areas. Whenever they see someone approaching, he has them quickly move in a different direction to avoid being seen.

Finally, Henri comes to a door and opens it. He waves them in and follows once they’re within the room. The last guard in closes the door behind them. One of the guards had brought in a lit candle from the hallway and the light shows the room to be a storage room. Boxes and crates line the walls.

Henri goes over to a tall stack and says, “Here, give me a hand.”

James and two of the guards move to help him as he pushes the stack to the side. Behind the stack is a narrow doorway. Henri reaches into his tunic and pulls out a key. Placing it into the keyhole, he turns it and they hear a click as the door swings open an inch. Replacing the key inside his tunic, he says, “Follow this and it will lead to the outer edge of the castle. The corridor will end abruptly and there you’ll need to find a loose stone, three feet above the floor on the right side. Press it, and another doorway will open allowing you to leave the castle. You’ll have but a few moments to pass through before the door slides shut once again. There is no way to open it from the outside.”

“Thank you,” James says as they move to enter the secret passage.

“Just get Korgan before he can implement his plan,” Henri replies, “whatever that plan may be. I’ll be waiting at the north gate.”

“We’ll see you there,” James says and then enters the passage. Once they’re all in, the door is again shut and locked. They can hear the stack of boxes being slid back in front of the doorway.

The orb springs to life and James leads them down the narrow passage. When they reach the end, he finds the loose stone and presses upon it. Before them, the end of the passage slides to the side and they see faint light coming in through the opening.

“We better hurry before it closes,” James says.

Moving to the exit, he has to push his way through the bushes before the exit, the others following closely. Behind them they begin to hear the doorway close once more until it finally shuts tight.

Peering out from the bushes, they discover they’ve come out on the northeast side of the castle. James takes a quick look around and when he’s sure no one is near, steps out with the others following.

“Which way?” asks Jiron.

“One gate is as good as the other,” replies James. “I would guess the north gate seeing as how that’s where Henri is planning to meet us. Most likely, the other guards stationed there are loyal.”

“Possible,” Jiron says.

Moving with a purpose, they make for the north gate. They do their best to avoid others who are out and about on the streets. When at last the gate is in sight, Jiron sees the same two men on guard there as had been there when he’d snuck through earlier.

“No guts, no glory,” James says as he walks purposefully toward the gate.