The Familiars of the Lost Witch (ONC 2024)

16. Asha

"Asha, you can see the best in the dark", the boy stated the obvious, "you should go inside and look for the guard, the keys and where exactly Cybele and the other witches are." It was uncommen for him to start a conversation much less giving out orders, but it didn't bother Asha in this situation. She just nodded in response. It was only logical for her to sneak inside and she would have done so without him saying that.

They waited for Kyrell. He informed them that he could only locate one other prisoner, two windows next to Cybele's. The other witch was mumbling to herself and didn't seem to have noticed him.

After telling him their plan, they surrounded the building, stopping before the front door. The boy tried to open it and to their surprise it wasn't locked. It seemed like nobody expected someone to break in or the witches to break out of their cells.

He opened the door just wide enough for Asha to sneak through. It was very dark inside, but her eyes reflected the faint light of a candle that someone had placed on a table. Except for that and a chair the room seemed to be completely empty.

On every side of the room there were doors, possibly leading to where the witches were held. Just as she wanted to leave and tell the others that nobody was in here, she heard a faint sound. Snoring.

Asha turned around to see a figure sleeping in the farthest corner on some sheets. That must be the guard. As long as they didn't wake him up, they were save, but how were they supposed to free Cybele and the others without waking him?

She tapped against the door, the signal for the boy to open it, and sneaked back out into the night. Inside she had felt full of unease and couldn't breath freely, now that she was back outside, she took a deep breath.

Just as she told them what she had seen inside, an idea formed in her mind. With the ingredients they had taken along, the boy could make a sleeping potion the guard wouldn't wake from for a few hours. Cybele could help him too, giving him instructions. They had to act quickly though, the potion would need some time to work properly.

Asha explained her plan to the boy. He didn't seem to be self-confident, but he was determined to try his best. Kyrell seemed to be sad that he couldn't help them, but she asked him to look out for anyone and warn them if someone approached them. That was unlikely considering the time of night, but he looked really happy to do something.

Under Cybele's window the boy emptied the bag and Asha helped him to identify the herbs. Cybele whispered clear instructions and the boy did what she told him with utmost concentration.

The time seemed to fly away, how much longer did they have until sunrise? They had to free them before the village woke up and someone would notice them. They had only one chance to rescue all of them.

---

"Now you have to grind it to a powder. The guard has to smell it for it to work", Cybele instructed him.

It wasn't as easy at it sounded, but he could grind it with the fire stones he had taken along. After finishing that he and Asha sneaked inside the building, careful not to make a single sound. If the guard woke up before they could sprinkle the powder on him and he would see them, their chances would worsen. Either the boy had to act very quickly to take the guard out or flee.

Fortunately the man didn't wake up, only letting out a deep snore. The boy sprinkled the powder on his face and for a second it seemed like the guard would sneeze, but then he just kept snoring and they let out the breath they had been holding.

Asha saw the keys glittering in the candlelight and pointed the boy to them. He took the keys, walking to the door Cybele had to be behind. It opened with a soft click and as Cybele appeared, Asha rubbed herself happily purring at her legs.