The Phantom Man

XXVI - The Bad Smell of Luck

In the dungeon, the cries of death were heard. The prisoners knew that it was a matter of time until the time of their execution, above all, the seer, who was extremely debilitated.

Deeply worried, Janda commented:

"I thought that Klaus wanted our death. What he really wished was to be the only warlock alive in this world. My poisons never fail."

"It means that we, as magical beings, are on risk as well, unless we manage to escape this place," Juan concluded.

Days went by and it was as if Klaus had forgotten about them. Juan, in a flash of wit, had an idea. He said to Janda:

"I need you to help us escape this place."

"But how? It's impossible... Even more now that we're shackled, and Klaus' Doppelgänger watches the whole castle."

"Listen to my plan. It'll work."

She paid attention to everything Juan said and agreed that the idea was good. On the next day, she prepared a pot of magic potion. She gave it to Juan, who put a spell on it, turning the potion into something dark and sticky. Then, with a sleight of hand, he made the elixir appear in each one's hands, and they drank it in one gulp.

Janda also prepared a balm with a terribly fetid smell and threw it in a corner of the dungeon, shattering the glass and infecting the air. She sprinkled some drops on themselves. A few minutes later, the three prisoners had their bodies covered with pustules of Black Death, and ceased breathing.

Klaus went down to the dungeon, attracted by the bad smell that had spread all over the castle. Along with him, the replicant ghost found the bad smelling bodies lifeless, taken by the disease. As soon as Klaus saw that, he immediately ordered the Doppelgänger to take them to Florence's cemetery. Covering his nose with his fingers, Klaus said:

"Black Death finished their lives off. How they stink! Since you are a spirit, you don't run the risk of being infected by this cursed disease. Even though I am immortal now, I don't want to get infected under any circumstance. I want you to take them out of here immediately. Burn all their belongings. What a shame! I still had plans for the mage. As to Janda and Peter, I was going to let them rot in this dungeon."

And so it was done. They were taken to the morgue, and the grave-diggers put them with other bodies that had succumbed to the same disease. They would all be burned up together. A large bonfire would turn them into ashes on the next day.

At night, when there were only the hollow corpses, the three prisoners woke up.

"Janda, are you awake?" Juan asked.

"Yes, I'm fine as fine as possible. I mean, considering all these stinking bodies killed by the plague. But don't you worry! I've cast a spell on the potion that we drank that will prevent us from falling ill even if we are in contact with the disease."

"I hope it works," Juan said, apprehensive.

"I feel weak, but I'm alive," Peter told them with a trembling voice.

"Let's get out of here immediately," Juan shouted.

They stood up, feeling the smell of that terrible odor exhaled by the rotting corpses mixed with the fetid aroma of the potion that Janda had sprinkled on their bodies. They walked down a hall inside the morgue. Then, they opened the door to freedom. The only night guard was asleep, so he didn't see them getting out.

"At long last we're free!" Janda celebrated.

"Stinking, but free," Juan smiled, fanning his nose with his hand.

"We should go to the house of my niece that lives in this town. She'll provide us with food, water, clean clothes and the bath that we need," Peter said.

They headed to the house of the seer's niece, whose name was Francesca. She and her husband took them in with hospitality, and provided them all the necessary care. After that, they could rest in clean conditions, wearing good clothes and well fed. Peter decided that he would spend some days with his niece until he was completely recovered. He ate like he never did before, due to all the time that he was deprived of food. Janda decided she would leave next morning, and Juan knew that he had to look for Philip. The boy had already reached the appropriate age to learn magic. In the morning, they said goodbye to each other.

"We have spent many years together in that jail, and I consider you both my friends. If you ever need me, you know where I can be found. I'll be on the mountains of Bohemia, near the Dark Forest."

"I have also enjoyed meeting you, even though we were under unfortunate circumstances. But what really matters is that we're alive. In case you need some potion or help, I'll be in Madrid. Once you arrive there, you just must look for the Cerinez family's warehouse. We can have some tea. Goodbye, my friends. I'll miss you."

At last, Peter, the seer, said his goodbye. Although he still felt weak, he was beginning to recover his strengths due to the good treatment he was receiving from his relatives.

"I can see a good future for you, Janda. Soon you'll have your own trade of herbs in Madrid, and you shall prosper. Take good care of your health, and don't forget to get yourself a new identity. It is advisable to live in anonymity from now on."

She smiled at her friend's prophecy.

"As to you, Juan, many things have changed. Your mountain wolf friend is gone from this world and left no descendants. But the offspring of the birds that used to follow you are already waiting for you. There's someone that will really need your help, and he lives in a distant kingdom. You'll be like a father to him, and you'll benefit from it greatly. But hard times are coming. Soon you'll have to make a very important decision one on which your life will depend upon."

"Thank you, Peter, my friend. Feed yourself well and take care." Juan hugged his friends, his head full of thoughts. "As to keeping ourselves in anonymity, I have a couple of tricks that will make my existence remain unnoticed."

Finally, the journey was beginning to meet its destiny.

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