Vox Machina Book One: Nobodies to Heroes

Chapter 11: A Temporarily Setback

Percy pressed his ear to the wall, feeling the stonework. "The thing about an old keep like this... its quite easy to miss small details," he said, knocking on the hollowpoint in the wall.

Then quiet knock, he opens the door, and the party peeks in, seeing it was a hidden tunnel. They step through, filing one after the other, but Kyria just sat on Keyleth's shoulder. "Could do with some light, Pickle," Vax calls out.

But she just sighs with frustration, "You okay, Pikey?" Grog asks, looking over his shoulder. "Yeah, I-I fine," she answers, then looks over hers. "Keyleth, uh, can you or Kyria give us a little sunlight?" she asks.

Keyleth just blinks, "Me? I-I don't know. I've never tried, but Kyria's..." she states, looking at her shoulder, seeing the little squirrel just gloomy. "Out of commission at the moment," she answers.

Jason frowns, "Geez, wonder why." he said aloud, Percy just frowns. "I get..." Keyleth held her hands close and tries to conjure a sunbeam. "But it just flickers for a moment. "Oh, just...come on." she tries again, and the same result.

She just sighs, dropping her hands. "Ugh. I can't do it. Sorry, guys." she tells them as the light was shining ahead of them. "Forget it. We're here." Percy said as he stops, gripping the chain.

The door opens to the opening just outside the keep, "And so are we." Jarett said as he and his guards just stood right outside the back door.

"Oh, whoops."

"Son of a..."

"Oh, seriously?"

"Ah, fuck a duck."

~8~8~8~

Keyleth and Percy were shoved into a room, "Clearly you and your group can't be trusted, so we're separating you, like children." Jarett said and slams the door shut.

Jason was shoved into the room with Pike and Grog, he huffs and walks to a side and sat on a crate, but Grog just struggles as five guards couldn't get him to budge. "Grog, it's okay," Pike calls out. He stops, looks at the guard, and slams the door shut.

Opening the drawers and the guards scoop out all the utensils, "Aw, you can't take the cutlery! What if we get hungry?" Scanlan calls out as the guard steps back to the door. "Eat a fuckin' sandwich!" a guard answers, "Here, take this... thing with you." another said, tossing the small squirrel in.

Vax steps forward and catches it in his hand, "Careful!" he shouts, the guard just huffs and slams the door shut. The squirrel huff, crawling up Vax's arm to his shoulder, gripping his hair, and squeaks out in anger, shaking her little fist.

"Hey, I don't take orders from you, asshole." Scanlan shouts as the squirrel huffs then jump off Vax's shoulder, shifting back into Kyria as she talks off, her hands flexing as she tries to keep her rage in check.

The twins just look down at the gnome. "Fine. I'll make a sandwich. But not because he told me to." he mutters and walks off. The twins lock eyes then Vax nudges his head to the side then he and Vex just step away.

Kyria pulls herself up, sits on a counter, and buries her face in her hands. The twins stood alone. Vex just sighs to herself. "I shouldn't have listened to Percy. He's out of his mind," she mutters.

"Ah, he certainly complicated things." Vax agrees as he leans back against the table. Vax leans against the table as well. "There's a way to make our situation simpler. And you and I have escaped from worse," she tells him.