Cassandra's Great Adventure

Light in the Dark

I woke up in a cavern, presumably one of the ones within the mountain pass. My head was still pounding and it hurt to open my eyes, but I had to push through. It was almost pitch black, but from around a corner, there was a single orange glow that dimly illuminated the cavern. I heard voices from the direction of the light. I wanted to listen to what they were saying. I wanted to find out who they were. I wanted answers, but first I needed to find out where I was. I needed to find out what kind of situation I was facing here.

My senses were being overloaded with everything around me. I guess being knocked out doesn't give your brain a chance to adapt to a new climate. There was a strange smell that filled the air, like blood mixed with damp moss. I could feel the itchy rope that clasped my hands and bound me to the wall. From the looks of it, they were tightly knotted, but not impossible to get out of. I could still taste the dust in my mouth from the rock slide, which meant I hadn't been here long.

I squinted, trying to make out any shapes in the area surrounding me, but there seemed to be nothing but my body against the wall. As for the faint light, it turned out to be a fire, only given away by the echoing crackle of its embers every few seconds. I still heard voices coming from its direction, and now that I had more of a bearing on what was around me, it was time to pay attention to them.

"Madame will be proud of us today, boys. That lady in there will be a great asset to us," A deep voice exclaimed.

"Finally, a real chance to move up the ranks of the guild!" Another added back.

And then a third, "Three cheers for the Thieves Guild!"

The men shouted and cheered, seemingly celebrating some sort of victory. What the hell was the Thieves Guild and why was capturing me a victory?

"Settle down lads," said the deep voice again, "Just wait until we can bring the lady back to base in the morning. Once Madame has her, then we can celebrate."

I tried to keep my cool as I continued to eavesdrop on their conversation, but my heart felt like it was going to beat out of my chest. What did these guys want with me? Who was this Madame they kept referring to? I wanted nothing more than to escape these ropes, find my horse, and get as far away from here as possible. But if something were to go awry, there was no way I could take on all those guys alone. Not when I felt this weak.

"And what of the man, captain?" One of the men asked.

The man?

"Oh, she doesn't have to know about the man. We're gonna kill him..."

Just then, a soft breeze blew through the cavern. As it passed, I heard a faint shiver come out from next to me. My eyes widened in shock. I turned my head to see only darkness, but as the fire wavered from the wind, the light shifted and revealed a body next to me. The man, I thought to myself.

"...tonight." The deep voiced man finished his sentence.

I suddenly felt a surge of adrenaline. I didn't know who this man was or what he did. But, if he ended up here the same way I had, then he didn't deserve to die. I wasn't alone, and I was going to break us both out of here. I began to tamper with the ropes at my wrists as the plan was forming in my head.

~~~

Once I was free from the ropes, I began to crawl towards the man. As I got closer, his image became clearer in the wavering light. He looked just as beaten down as I felt, with his face covered in dirt and his body limp. I laid my hand on his arm, gently shaking him awake. He opened his eyes and his body jolted in fear. I quickly covered his mouth with my other hand before he could make a sound.

"Shhh, I'm going to get us out of here," I whispered to him as he sighed a breath of relief. I moved my hand from his face and continued. "I'm going to untie these ropes, and when I do, I'm going to need your help to find a way out of here."

He shook his head, "I was awake when they brought me in here, the entrance is past those guys and their fire. There's no way to get out of here without them seeing us."

Damn it, I thought as I continued to work the knots in his rope. "Well then, there's more of a chance that we can take them on together than alone. Can you handle yourself in battle?"

He gave a weak chuckle, "When I'm not starved and on the brink of death, sure, I'm an expert in battle."

With a final pull, the ropes came undone, and I laid my hand on the man's chest. "Well then, let's see what you've got when you are starved and on the brink of death."

He slowly nodded his head back at me, meaning my message was clear. We were getting out of here, whatever it takes. I scanned the area for anything I could use to fight with, but there was nothing except for the ropes bound to the wall.

I helped the man get to his feet, and together we crept towards the light of the fire. We planted ourselves behind a jutted stone wall, trying to keep the element of surprise. I peeked my head around the corner and saw the thieves mingling among themselves. They stood around unarmed, which meant that we were evenly matched.

There were four of them in total: A scrawny one that looked not much older than Varian, a tall one that had a full beard covering his face, a third one that was a lot rounder than the others, and finally a burly man that had an eye patch across his right eye. That last one looked the most intimidating of them all, and I could only assume he was the deep-voiced "captain" I heard earlier.

I didn't want to waste any time. I signaled to the man that we were going in, and I charged at the thieves. I was light on my feet, keen to make as little sound as possible before I slammed my elbows into the taller man's back, knocking him to the ground. While they all stared at me in shock, my new friend took advantage of the distraction and took down the scrawny one. He didn't really stand a chance against the surprising might of the other prisoner, and I almost felt sorry for the boy. Two down, two to go.

The big guy made eye contact with me as he cracked his knuckles. Normally, I'd be confident enough to take a guy like him head-on, but with my head still throbbing from the rock slide earlier, I didn't want to risk worsening my condition. He ran at me full speed, swinging his mighty fists right at my head. I evaded the punches, dipping and dodging as he threw them. As one of his arms swung towards me, I ducked underneath it and swept my leg out, making contact with his leg and knocking him to the ground.

I ran past him and found the captain and the other prisoner in an all-out brawl.

"On second thought, I'm not going to kill you. You deserve to be hung back at the base for the trouble you've caused," the captain threatened.

"Oh yeah? I'd like to see you try!" The man shouted back as he swung his arm at the captain. With a quick hand, the captain caught the punch before it made contact. He held the man's arm tightly as he lifted him off his feet, slamming him to the ground. The man coughed, blood sputtering out of his mouth as he laid defeated on the cavern floor.

I quickly searched for a way to help him. There had to be something useful on this side of the cave. And then I saw it. Near the fire, there was a makeshift kitchen that the thieves must've set up for themselves. There were four fish that they were most likely going to cook over the fire. There was an abundance of utensils, metal bowls, and then of course, a frying pan.

The captain watched the man lay there, unmoving and beaten. He smirked, "This is what happens to people who mess with the Thieves Guild." He raised his leg, ready to stomp with all his power and give one final blow to the man. With one swing, I smashed the frying pan right into the side of his skull. It made a cracking sound so sharp that it echoed throughout the whole cave.

"And that's what happens to people who mess with me," I declared as I watched the captain topple to the floor. I rushed over to the other prisoner, who didn't seem to have much left in him. "Come on, let's get you out of here."

He looked up at me amazed as I helped him to his feet and we walked out of the cavern together. He laughed, "Frying pans, who knew?"