Escape From Kraznir

Chapter One- Castle Krill

I woke to deafening silence and with a shock remembered where I was. I peered around in the darkness, allowing my eyes to adjust, and could just see the grimy walls of the dungeon. I found comfort in the silhouettes of my companions surrounding me. Little John the Dwarf was asleep against the hefty trunk, almost invisible. I reached out to him through telepathy and he woke with a start. We hastily disturbed Touchfire the wizard, Ambas the shape shifter and Calypso the warrior and hurried out into the empty room beyond.

Soon we’d reached the other side of the chamber and as I scanned the area I urged everyone to be as quiet as possible. I had the guard in my sights and was making the most of the fact that he couldn’t se us.

“What should I do?” Calypso whispered into my ear “I could knock him out…"

“No” I answered hastily. Just at that moment the guard, who had been half asleep until now, suddenly stretched and yawned.

I hesitated, every muscle in my body tense and ready to bolt, my eyes straining against the dim flickering light. The guard relaxed and leaned back against the doorframe, resuming the deep breathing that portrayed snoring.

Close.

I sent Calypso forward with strict instructions not to kill him. She stepped as lightly as falling snow. As I watched, she silently crept towards the solitary guard. I saw the black silk cloth slither from inside one of her long laced gloves and observed as she fluttered it in front of the guards chapped open lips. Then she pulled tight and a small squeak escaped the sentry’s mouth as his eyes snapped open in panic and rolled back in a desperate attempt to get a glimpse of his attacker as he felt Calypso’s soft fingers bind his wrists and legs. Then Ambas followed at a signal and lifted the heavily armoured guard into a corner, hauling him to face the damp stone wall. I snuck out into the musty corridor and peered around the door frame that was straight in my path. The room was filled with food.

‘So this is why Kraznir is starving… Their king keeps all the countries food to himself, at his convenience’

Then a movement caught my eye. There in the far entrance, a hooded figure stood dark and menacing. It spun around and from beneath the black, foreboding folds of its cloak, I could see bright emerald green eyes, piercing the darkness. Before I could even think about what to do, it shot into the air and swooped towards me. A terrible thought flashed through my mind, ‘Could this be the end of our journey? Before it's even half way over?’

Suddenly the figure fell from above me into a heap at my feet. Slowly I gazed down at the limp pile below me and saw one feathered arrow protruding from it’s back. As I unwillingly studied in further detail I noticed a scarlet pool flowing from the wound and the creature’s pale face torn and crumpled in pain. I glanced up from its sorry state to see Calypso standing before the other entrance, a slight smile pulling up the sides of her lips. I acknowledged her with a weak smile of relief, a cold shudder running through my body.

I gathered my senses and continued towards the piles of food. There was dried fruit, vegetables and many other essential foods and breads.

“Remember, choose what you need. We have to carry anything we take” I whispered. We set off to gather provisions and soon had two good bags of food. I allowed one small bottle of weak wine and we agreed that Ambas would carry the bundle wherever we went as he was the strongest. Soon we were outside the food store and tiptoeing towards the next room. Touchfire used his invisibility and stepped around the opening, I could sense him flinch and worry clouded his thoughts. I reached out to his mind and quickly felt a connection.

‘What is it?’

He motioned for me to come and look. I decided that hovering over would be quieter and flew over. What I saw then filled me with dread.

Inside hundreds of soldiers and guards were sleeping deeply, snoring like thunder rolling from giant storm clouds. In the background I could see a tall guard in black armour in front of another doorway. Beyond him I could see the glint of fabulous swords and polished weapons. I swiftly withdrew from the opening and touched the minds of my companions. I quickly thought of the best course of action and consulted the others. They all agreed with my choice.

Only a few moments later I was calculating how best to lift Touchfire over the sleepers. Eventually I placed my hands under his arms and with him making us both invisible, conjured up all my strength and took off.

I trailed Touchfire above the guards but just as we were about to descend, Touchfire slipped and grunted. That was enough to disturb the dark armoured guard.

“Halt! Who goes th-” in the nick of time Touchfire transformed the unsuspecting watchman in to stone. I left him to stand and keep an eye on him and hurried into the weapon store.

Of all the artillery I had seen in my life, what I saw before me was by far the finest. There were elm wood swords and red leather whips, sling shots, polished rifles and crates of ammunition to fit. I selected the sharpest of daggers and swords and collected a handful of the most magnificent arrows along with a bamboo bow of a deep emerald green. In th corner I discovered a razor sharp pocket knife on a silver chain that I hung around my neck. I inched back to Touchfire and we struggled back with the extra weight straining heavily on my arms. Just as we touched down, a commotion started up behind us as the stone-spell wore off. Now we had hundreds of guards and howling dogs hot on our trail.

We had to get out, I knew that much. Even when you are the Super Genius in the group, an unexpected event can still catch you unawares and shock you. Everyone who could turn invisible had and Ambas had shape shifted into a swallow. Judging by the fact that the chest had disappeared, I guessed that someone had taken it somewhere safe. It was just me and Calypso. We ran for our lives, but the hounds ran too. Never tiring. Soon I was exhausted and relief washed over me when I found a small gap in a brick wall.

Clearly one of King Krill’s prisoners had taken out bricks  in order to escape, but they had failed. There was a dark stain leading to the door on the concrete floor and chips in the wall. An obvious warning not to try their trick. They had killed him.

I peeped out, knowing despite the warning how important it was to escape. Outside there was a winding path. I gave directions about its whereabouts through telepathy and slid out.

I knew it would be only a matter of time before the dogs caught our scent and dragged the guards to the gap. So as soon as everyone was through I bricked up the hole with scattered stones. It was only temporary, but if you only glanced at it, it did the trick.

We sped along the footpath, trying not to look into the gaping emptiness of the huge drop cascading from both sides, and soon reached the mid-point.

“Where’s  Little John?” I asked. The fear that crept through me was soon doubled by the looks on the faces of my companions.

“He fought bravely” Touchfire replied, staring forlornly at the dusty earth “But the guards were too quick and as he fell behind…” he stopped there. There was no need to continue. The looks on the others faces said it all. I understood how hard it must be to discuss the topic

“his courage will always remain in our memories, even if he is not here with us”

            Together, we set up camp and cooked a stew in the silence of respect and mourning.