Chapter 3: Escape from the Castle
Robin awoke hours later, his face and purple silk pillows soaked from the tears he had cried. As he sat up, the dirty blond prince looked around his bedroom and realized that night had fallen over Albion. He swung his legs out of the bed in preparation to draw the curtains over his windows then stopped. Nighttime seemed ideal for the young prince's grief. He walked to the nearest window and stared out over the garden. The statues of his father and mother seemed to glow ethereally as though the moon had chosen to highlight them. His father or mother were the only ones who could stop Logan's tyranny, but Robin's mother had died in childbirth and his father had disappeared years ago. There was no way to intervene in the power that Logan wielded over the land of Albion. The thought of his own helplessness made Robin sob.
There was a rap at the door of his bedroom. "I'm not hungry! Go away!" Robin growled.
"I'm not here to bring you a meal," Sir Walter said, opening the bedroom door, "but Jasper thought it best that you should have some vittles." The old soldier opened the door wider, revealing the diminuitive butler close on his heels.
"I said, I'm not hungry." Robin turned away from Walter and Jasper, folding his arms over his chest defiantly.
"Your Highness, this isn't just about you. What Logan did today in the throne room, it shows that he's unstable and unpredictable. Things are only going to get worse," Sir Walter warned.
"How much worse? My father is gone; my mother is dead; and I had to make the choice to execute the woman I love as a traitor."
Jasper nervously wringed his hands together. "Your Highness, King Logan has a number of even worse measures in the works. Your brother will raise the taxes, build even more factories, and even drain the swamp in Mourningwood to grow even more cash crops."
"Your brother has plans to make the lives of the people of Albion even harder and more difficult than they already are," Sir Walter added. "We need to put a stop to his reign of tyranny, but it would require nothing less than a Hero."
"My father is gone, Sir Walter. There are no more Heroes left in Albion," Robin sighed.
Jasper and Sir Walter crossed the room to join Robin at the window. Sir Walter laid a comforting hand on Robin's back. "I believe that I'm looking at a Hero right now."
Robin's mouth dropped open. "Who, me?"
Sir Walter nodded. "I've been training you for months to see what you were made of. You've continually grown in strength and skill with ranged weapons in a way that only your father would have improved. You have Hero in your blood. And you're a natural leader; remember how you handled that uprising in the kitchen."
"I was just saying what came naturally."
"And that's even more important in a leader." Sir Walter patted Robin's back. "Come now, boy. It's time to see what you're truly made of and if my suspicions have been correct."
"But Logan forbade me from leaving my room. I can't go anywhere. The guards would report me," Robin objected.
"Oh, I wouldn't worry about that," Sir Walter chuckled. He unhooked a tin drinking cup from his waist and pulled out an empty bottle of whiskey from his jacket. Jasper trembled nervously at the sight of the bottle and cup. "Jasper and I here provided libations to the guards along your corridor. Jasper made sure to add sedatives to their cups, so we'll have ample time."
"Ample time for what?" Robin inquired.
"For our escape. Come on boy." Walter and Jasper led the way to the main doors of Robin's bedchamber and the young prince followed them. As the three men passed along the purple carpeted hallway, they passed members of Logan's Elite Guard slumped against the walls, slumbering from their drink and the sedative Jasper had provided.
"Wait, our escape? What about my clothes? What about gold?"
"I agree with His Royal Highness," Jasper added. "We need to pack several items before we depart for this escape. The prince has several pieces of luggage that would be most accommodating."
"I'm carrying a thousand gold coins on my person right now," Sir Walter huffed as they scampered along the hall, "but we haven't the time for any clothes or suitcases. We have to travel lightly."
"At least let me get some more gold from the treasury," Robin objected. "One thousand gold will not last us a day."
Sir Walter pushed open the doors leading directly to the castle garden. "One thousand gold will be enough to grease the palms that we need to grease. The rest will be up to us to make. You may have to live a little less extravagantly for a time, Your Highness."
The three men crossed the enormous garden. "There's something unsettling about this garden at night," Jasper commented.
"No time for fear, old friend. We've got to find out if my instincts are correct, and the Prince is truly a Hero before we escape the Castle," Walter responded. As they entered the shadow of the Catacombs, Robin shuddered. He hadn't been inside the Catacombs since the formal interrment of his father's body-even though there was no body to bury. Robin folded his arms across his chest to protect himself from the sudden cold feeling embracing his body and looked around the garden. He heard Sir Walter unlock the Catacombs and followed Walter and Jasper inside, still glancing backwards.
The catacombs were dark, dank, and cool with a long, broad staircase guiding the three men into the main chamber. Robin vaguely remembered that there were supposed to be candles along the stairs but none were lit. The walls felt like they were closing in around him. Cold, clammy, and dripping with moisture, the walls of the hallway leading to the dimly lit main chamber. Robin shuddered against the cold, as his elegant clothes provided little to no protection.
Entering the main chamber, the three men found two intricately carved crypts, one for the late Queen Eleanor and one for the missing King Sparrow. Robin was in awe at the detail that had gone into the burial chamber. The stone walls were adorned with intricately ccarved scenes from King Sparrow's life as Hero: as a young man discovering the Guild Seal; vanquishing Dash in Rookridge; his victory over the Crucible; his escape from the Spire; being crowned King,; and marrying Queen Eleanor. The images looked down upon the stone crypts of the King and Queen. Flickering candles lined the walls and illuminated the main funeral chamber.
As they entered the main chamber, Walter and Jasper approached the crypts. But Robin felt reluctant to approach closer to his own parents' crypts for reasons that he could not readily explain. Sir Walter turned back to find the young Prince still standing beside the stairs into the main chamber. "Come on boy, we need you up here. Quit lollygagging!" he barked.
"What do I have to do?" Robin inquired.
Sir Walter squatted down on his hands and knees. "We need to find the trigger that reveals a Guild Seal. Jasper, Robin, come help me."
"What's a Guild Seal?" Robin asked.
"A Guild Seal is...well, it's a magical thing that your father used to use for his Hero stuff. I don't know how that works exactly, but he told me that he would conceal it in this sanctuary for 'when the time came.' I would assume that time is now."
Jasper began his search around the late Queen's tomb. "What exactly would it look like?"
"It would look like...well, I'm not sure entirely. But when you see it, just make sure to use it for whatever your father wants it used for."
Robin shrugged at Sr Walter's vague instructions and looked around the chamber. His eyes were drawn consistently to a stone statue of a hooded woman looming over the tombs at their head. The woman's hands were clasped to her chest unlike any other carving. There was something about the earnestness of the female figure's face, something about the way that her hands were held to her chest, as though there were an amazing secret there. Robin walked forward, in a trance-like state, to take hold of the statue's hands and gave them a tug. The hands lowered and revealed a large gold disc, overlaid with lapis lazuli and set with sapphires in crescent shapes on the disc.
He picked up the disc. It was warm to his touch. "Is this what you were looking for, Walter?"
Sir Walter turned and stared at the disc. "Well, that looks like it might be it. But the way your father explained it, something is supposed to…"
The Guild Seal grew warmer and then hot in Robin's hands. A blinding light emanated from the Seal but Robin couldn't release it. He screamed in pain as the light filled the room and surrounded him completely.
Mistpeak Valley
Night had fallen over the land of Albion. It was an ominous night in the Mistpeak Valley as the sky was filled with the reflection of the half dozen fires burning in the Dweller village and from the Swift Brigade's camp. A line of torch fires ascended up a narrow dirt road at the southern end of the valley, and a line of torch fires ascended into the mountains at the northern end of the valley. Despite the slow pace at which both retreats moved, there was a loud, raucous celebration taking place still in the valley floor. Lively music played and peals of festive laughter filled the cool night air. Inside the mercenaries' camp, the innumerable bandits celebrated their double sided victory with plentiful drink, whores who had abandoned the army's camp, and incredible music.
Despite the victory, there was only one person in the Bandit camp who did not celebrate.
He occupied the largest, most lavish tent in the Bandit camp. It was a tent cobbled together from the remnants of Major Swift's tent and Sabine's tent in an effort to demonstrate his supremacy and due to his size. While the other bandits celebrated, their leader remained in his tent and studied a map of Albion. His giant, girthy frame leaned over a narrow wooden table, which groaned under the weight of his hands. The man stood nearly seven feet tall with muscles rippling throughout his frame. His broad shoulders and expansive chest stretched the limits of his leather vest, to which a red eagle clung to desperate threads, and his bright red hair was cut into a stout mohawk. Scars decorated the man's face like medals would have adorned a general's. His left eye, although cloudy with scar tissue, seemed to give him eagle eye sharpness in his right eye.
This was Captain Lark Saker, leader of the bandits of Mistpeak Valley.
Saker (as he preferred to be called by his enemies and Captain, as he preferred to be called by his men) growled as he studied the map of Albion and removed the thick cigar on which he smoked. Someone was approaching his tent. Donning steel gauntlets, Saker rarely used any other weapons.
The silk tent opening parted. "Captain," said a voice that Saker recognized, "why aren't you with the rest of us? There's a celebration going on. It's all because of you. Come and join us!"
Saker stood upright and turned on the man who had spoken. "Jimmy, I'm not celebrating right now because there's still a lot of work to be done. Do you know where we are right now, Jimmy?"
"Uh, we're in Mistpeak, Captain."
"Mistpeak Valley controls the land trade routes between Rookridge, Brightwood, and Bowerstone going to Brightwall. This is an area with a lot of money flowing through it. We stand to make that money flow into our hands, do you know that, Jimmy?" Saker removed the cigar from his mouth and tapped it to release some of the ashes.
"Right, Captain, but uh, do you really think King Logan is just going to let us take control of the whole valley?" Saker put his cigar back in his mouth and narrowed his eyes at Jimmy. "No disrespect, Captain, but how are we going to keep control of the valley? The Swift Brigade won't be the last of the men King Logan sends."
"That's what I'm planning, Jimmy. We're going to put a chokehold on Brightwall and the Dwellers. Come look at this." Jimmy walked to Saker's side and joined him in looking over the map. "Right here, King Logan has the Mistpeak Monorail running between here and Millfields. Do you know what's in Millfields, Jimmy?" Jimmy shrugged his shoulders. "Nobles, aristocrats, direct access to Bowerstone: If King Logan even threatens us again, we'll invade Millfields. We'll knock on the King's front door. He won't know what hit him."
Somewhere
Robin felt groggy and confused as the light waned. In fact, he felt more than confused. He felt everything. He felt his heart beating in his chest, the thin hairs on his arms against the linen of his elegant shirt, and even every strand of his dirty blond hair moving in the slight breeze. As his eyes cleared, Robin looked around. He stood in the midst of a space that he could only describe as ethereal before what appeared to be Bowerstone Castle. Robin attempted to move forward but in a flash of light, a woman in a red and gold shroud appeared before him. Robin jumped back just a little.
"You have done well to reach this place, young prince. But it is only the first step on your journey," the woman said.
"Who are you? Where am I?" Robin asked.
The woman folded her hands together in front of her. "I am Theresa of the Spire. This place you see before you, I have created from your memories. You may call it the Road to Rule. It is a measurement of who you will become."
"What do you mean?"
"The land of Albion cries out for a Hero. Your brother, the King, has proven himself to be a tyrant. It is your destiny to become the great Hero that Albion needs at this time. But to become the Hero it needs, you will need to see the world outside the Castle."
"But I'm not a Hero. I know you think so and I know Walter thinks so, but…"
"You are a Hero," Theresa said, cutting him off. "You were born of Heroic lineage. You possess within in your the Heroic gifts of Will, Strength, and Skill. And you alone can use all three." Theresa casually waved her right hand and Robin's right hand was enclosed in a leather gauntlet with an eerie magical glow. "You have never used Will, because unlike your brother, you do not possess the ability to channel Will freely. I have provided you with a magical gauntlet through which you can channel Will as you learn new spells." Theresa waved her right hand again, and a sheet of parchment appeared in Robin's left hand. "There is your first spell. Now, go and return through the portal to begin your journey as a Hero."
Theresa vanished in another flash of light, and revealed a swirling portal of dazzling gray and white light. Robin studied the gauntlet around his hand. The brown leather clung to his skin like another layer and seemed to share the same heat as his own body. He felt his pulse inside the gauntlet's leather layers. A small stone set in the palm glowed warmly with a swirl of colors. Robin had seen Logan generate magic almost his entire life, but never had his brother worn a gauntlet like the one on his hand. His brother had to be a much more powerful Will User. The very thought of encountering Logan in battle made the teenage prince nervous. Closing his eyes, Robin hoped that that he would not encounter his brother on the other side of the portal. He walked through.
In another flash of blinding white light, Robin returned to the catacombs. He stumbled slightly as his eyes adjusted to the dimmer light. "Well," Sir Walter chuckled, "looks like it worked. Good thing too."
"Why is that?" Jasper asked.
"Well, according to Sparrow, the only way out of the catacombs would be for a Hero to unlock the way."
Robin felt a mite of bitterness at his father's name. As the younger of Sparrow's two sons, he had always been compared to Logan, and now he was being compared to his father. "You might have mentioned that, Walter. What if it didn't work?"
"Well it did," Walter responded dismissively. "Now, see that symbol on the floor there?" Robin looked down and observed a carving like the Guild Seal in his left hand, set into the floor between his mother's and father's crypts. Walter stepped forward to stand on it and Jasper followed. "You'll need to use your Will to transport us from this crypt. Come on, boy, before we're found."
"The King will be able to follow us, Walter. Or did you even consider that?" Jasper rebuked the old soldier.
"Logan doesn't have a Guild Seal, and Robin does. That's part of the Hero magic."
Robin felt as uncertain as Jasper about Walter's statement, but they had no choice. There was no telling how long Walter's sleeping potion would affect the Castle guards. "I've never done this before, Walter."
"Just use your Will so that Hero magic gets us out of here. Stand here, boy." Robin cautiously stepped forward. "Okay, now, think about all that power inside you. Feel it moving through your hands? It's like lightning, it's fire, it's ice. It's the power to change everything around you." Robin felt something building inside his hands but it didn't feel like power to change the world. It felt like heat. Sweat built on his forehead from the heat rising inside his body. "Now, let it go!"
Robin concentrated on pushing the force from his hands. An inferno surged from his hands, both the one wearing the gauntlet and the one not wearing the gauntlet, and surrounded the three men. Terrified, Robin tried to stop the explosive force but the rolling flames did not harm his companions. Instead, all three of them were wrapped in a warm white light and the catacombs vanished in a blink.
