Hidden in Plain Sight

Chapter 22: Rescue

Aaron's POV

I did not trust Joel, not one bit. He did not know of what his actions had caused the guild. Everyone looked at each other for weeks, wondering who would be another traitor. Cecil had managed to recover in a few days time, which calmed my nerves on worrying about him.

I do not think he believed me to trust him, and I do not think he did as he lead the way toward where his "brother" was being held. It could be a trap, that is why I decided to tag along.

I was quiet the whole time, as he explained a plan that would be able to get us in there without being noticed. He knew that there were a couple of lives on the line, and honestly, I was surprised with how his plan was. He was not even going to participate.

Since he did not know exactly inside where his brother was being held, he explained a way to get in without being seen: climbing up and into the window that was open to keep the place at least somewhat comfortable for the White Cloaks, for the prisoners however, they were most likely hidden underground.

He knew that Alex and I had an advantage of hiding with our black outfits, however we both decided to leave the cloaks off in case they would drag and make us be seen. This would leave my daggers behind, however I was still skilled enough with other weapons to not worry as much. I exchanged glances with Alex as we approached the tall building. I saw the open window, along with a guard that looked out of it.

"Some people go by to get fresh air before heading back in, I would not kill him though, they all have a specific place they need to be at a certain time. If they are not there, then something will definitely go wrong," Joel warned.

We both nodded and waited for the man to move. He luckily did and we took off toward the building before pressing our backs against the brick. I then grabbed Alex's hand and threw her up to grab onto cracks that were large enough to grab onto before I jumped up and joined her as she kept climbing.

We easily made it to the top of the tower and headed in the window. We hid ourselves from sight, staying toward the shadows as people would walk by without noticing we were there. I signaled forward and we moved at a hurried pace before jumping up into the beams as we heard men talking to one another.

"Yeah, you should have seen the look on that boy's face when we said that he would be free soon. It was a pathedic face of hope," one said.

"Ha! When I mentioned his brother he seemed to jump in joy, so did the other kids. It was as if they all thought he was their savior."

"How many mens' siblings do we have in there?" another asked.

"I know most of the men in that one guild has siblings here. That is what they get for having brothers and sisters."

I then started to believe Joel, it appeared as if he was telling the truth. We followed the maze of passageways, and headed down whenever we could. We finally made it down into the dungeon. I could not believe my eyes that so many children were there. They all were dressed in rags, and I felt a sadness in the air. I exchanged a glance with Alex, who gave me a saddened took, before we headed inside. All the children were sleeping, so we made sure not to make too much noise. With how excited they would be, it would send an alarm throughout the whole building.

My mind wondered at different strategies that could be taken. I was not coming up with many. We needed to somehow get all of these children out without being seen. We both knew we could not leave them there.

I looked around the area, then I noticed there was a slight drift in the area. I perked up slightly at the breeze. I walked over and toward it where a crack was. I pulled out an arrow and stabbed the hole to make the brick come out.