They traveled through the hallways of the prison.
On occasion a few prisoners would say something, pleading for them to be let out. Asking if the harpy was still out there or if another fighter was out on the field.
The stranger merely warned them not to.
Back through the dark, bending hallways and past the prison. The sound of the distant arena was slowly fading, the darkness making it near impossible to see. Only the torch light, which the knight held, kept them from running into walls. It was just dark and musty and their own stench filled the air.
"You couldn't have got us before the fights?" Argo whispered to her.
"We couldn't get any closer without being spotted." Her voice echoed.
Wilson sat up, exhaustion over taking him.
He had killed Jacques.
Wilson held his breath, Emmy lifting him with an arm around his shoulder.
She grimaced at the blood, yet smiled slightly at him.
He had killed someone.
He felt sick.
Rushing water echoed around the bend, Wilson stepping closer to a pool of water. It poured in, through a hole in the ceiling pooling around the far side of the room. He stepped into it by accident, the water cold.
The kind knight gestured to a pool of water, "Wash your faces and hands. Try and get as much of the blood out as possible. I have cloaks and face paint for you to wear."
Wilson didn't ask questions.
If wearing a cloak in one hundred degree weather would keep him alive, he was willing to do it. It was almost refreshing to finally be able to get the layer of grime off his skin and clothes. Or at least what was left of them.
"Thank you-"
"Mia."
Mia was shorter yet bulkier than Argo. Her arms were toned and her true face was hidden under a mask of face paint. He couldn't be sure if she knew magic or not as her hair was tied back. The thick coils flowing over her ears and neck.
Mia stood beside Argo, the halfling shaking the water out of his hair before applying his own makeup. It was white, tracing around his skull.
Wilson laughed, catching Argo off guard. It looked like the makeup he had on during the Moon Ceremony.
Argo didn't share the same laugh that he did.
Mia had a similar design on her thin face, her's done in black paint along her tanned skin.
"Come on, they'll be looking for you soon." She held the paintbrush up.
Emmy rested on a stone, eyes shut as she allowed the rebel to apply the makeup, "Can't we rest for a bit."
"We rest once we are safe," Mia huffed, "If someone catches us in these tunnels, you can at least look the part of citizen."
They traveled and traveled, bending corners and hurrying past empty rooms. Wilson occasionally stopped, swearing he had heard a ghoulish voice cry out from inside an empty cell. He didn't dare investigate.
Mia pointed them in odd directions, a boulder resting against a wooden post. She shoved it out of place, just barely enough for them to sneak by. The rock above them crunched under the lack of support.
Wilson tensed, afraid it would cave in.
It didn't.
"Hurry." Mia beckoned them past the stone.
The continued down the pathway.
The drops of water fell from the ceiling, Wilson occasionally falling behind the ground. What if the river caved in? They'd all be dead.
Or someone came in through the other end of the tunnel.
He turned back the way they had come.
Only darkness surrounded them. The arena's noise completely vanished.
"Come on, we don't have time for this." Argo snarled, taking Wilson by the shoulder.
Mia stopped, their footsteps' echoes hovering around them.
Suddenly Mia stopped. She placed a finger to her lips, holding up her torch to the ceiling. Wilson wouldn't have noticed it. A wooden hatch hovering just over their heads. He looked at Argo, the halfling looking almost proud of the placement.
She knocked three times, once and a pause then twice more.
Light filled the tunnel, the hatch opening up as dusted rained from the ceiling.
"Emmy first, we need to get the wound patched up," Wilson spoke up, letting Emmy pass by him. When she had left his side, he stumbled, a bit light headed.
Mia shrugged, "Whatever you say-" She lifted Emmy onto the platform, climbing up herself. Argo stepped back, allowing Wilson to follow.
He didn't hesitate, climbing into the room without question.
The room was massive, several barrels of water and food scattered his eyesight. Injured bystanders watched from the opposite side of the room. They parted, allowing Mia and Emmy to get by. Mia rested Emmy against a wall, the rebel tending to her injury.
Wilson sunk down at the sight of the other soldiers. They caught his eyes, whispering among themselves.
"Are you sure we're in the right-?" He let out a startled scream, Argo tossed the rest of him onto the platform. The halfling leaping upward and climbing onto the sandy ground.
Argo flopped onto his back, "Safe at last." He breathed out.
Wilson stood up, a few people from the crowd lifting him to his feet.
He noticed a few of them had injuries as well, missing eyes, stitched up wounds, a missing hand or leg on a few. A few lifted Argo up as well; the halfling cracking a joke with one of them.
The stranger laughed back, yet their laugh had a nervousness to it.
"Welcome to the one safe space in the Badlands." Argo laughed, backing away from the tunnel entrance and shutting it closed. They shoved a chest back over the hatch.
Wilson nodded, "Of course, you're all assassins-"
"Rebels," Mia sighed, almost offended. "We are mostly rebels here."
"Mia, no one saw you come here did they?" A stranger spoke up, her voice stranded.
Mia shot back, "No one at all." She turned back to Emmy, wrapping a wet cloth around the pilot's arm, "You are in a small cavern just off the boundaries of the castle town." She explained, "The only way in is known by a select few, you'll be fine."
Wilson sat down, resting his head against the wall.
He was going to be okay. They all were.
YOU ARE READING
The Magic Of An Alter Ego.
Fantasy|Book 1 of 2| Wilson had his hopes high for his future. Emphesis on had. He'd already made the grades in his local college, studied as much magic as he could despite being unable to truely use it to his advantage, and had his sights on one day join...
