Adrina sat staring out the window without really seeing. She had assumed the messenger would be back in four to five hours with news of Folken. It had been over six hours and still there had been no one sent to tell her what was going on. She was exhausted, she had cried for hours on end while imagining all the horrible things that could've happened to her beloved husband, and she wanted to sleep. She knew she couldn't until he was home safe. She sighed and wiped her eyes absently as the tears began to fall again.
A soft wrap on her bedroom door pulled her from her stupor. She jumped up from the window box and ran to it. She yanked open the door to reveal her young servant Jenly. The girl jumped back with surprise at the force with which Adrina had torn open the door.
"What is the news?" Adrina demanded, "Is King Folken alright?"
"M'lady," Jenly spoke softly, "Sir Chenley wishes to speak with you in your parlor."
Adrina's heart fell down to her stomach and she fought hard to hold back the tears. "Show him in."
Jenly nodded and hurried to the parlor door. Adrina shut her bedroom door behind her and walked over to her favorite chair. She sat down heavily and watched as Jenly opened the door and two men entered.
"Sir Chenley and Kama the messenger," Jenly announced and then left.
"M'lady," Sir Chenley started. He was cut off by Adrina's quiet words.
"Please forgive me, Sir Chenley," she began, "But it is late and I have been waiting for word of my husband for hours. I am sick with worry and fatigue so please just tell me what's going on."
"As you wish, my Queen," Sir Chenley nodded, "I sent Kama to Rindus. He returned not but five minutes ago. Tell the Queen what you've found."
The younger man swallowed hard. "My Queen, Rindus was attacked."
"Attacked?" Adrina's eyes went wide.
"Yes, M'lady," the messenger confirmed, "The inhabitants of the city had fled, which is why my journey took so long. I searched for hours before I found someone to tell me what happened."
"And what did happen?" Adrina urged impatiently.
The messenger looked at the knight pleadingly. The knight nodded and continued the tale. "The village was attacked by an unknown enemy. They said the guymelefs that attacked were like nothing they had ever seen. They said the two descended from the sky with a roar like a dragon and settled in the town. They demanded the King of Fanelia be turned over immediately."
"No," Adrina murmured and the tears pushed up.
"The people of Rindus refused and the guymelefs began to destroy the city," Chenley continued, "They said that Lord Folken turned himself over so the enemy would stop it's attack on the village."
"Dammit!" Adrina shouted, "and nobody knows who the enemy were?"
"No M'lady." The two men stared uncertainly at the Queen, surprised by her outburst.
"They said the guymelefs gleamed like polished metal," the messenger informed, "one silver, one gold, if that's of any help."
"Thank you Kama," the Queen praised, "the guymelefs sound very unique. Sir Chenley, send out word. If anyone has any idea where these guymelefs may be or where they came from, I want to know."
"Yes, Your Majesty," Sir Chenley bowed, "may we be excused?"
"Of course."
The men bowed again and left the parlor. The sun was just beginning to cast the first rays through her parlor window and she turned away from the beautiful scene. She wished the day had dawned dark and rainy to fit her mood. She had no desire to see such a breathtaking sight without Folken by her side.
The Queen exited her parlor and walked into the hallway. She hadn't changed her dress since dinner and she supposed she looked awful after a sleepless night of crying but that was the farthest thing from her mind. Right now all she was concerned with was finding Folken, getting him back safely and making whoever had dared take her husband away from her pay dearly.
Adrina turned a corner and almost collided with Merle and Zane.
"Adrina, what's going on?" Merle asked.
"They took him," Adrina replied, her face as hard as steel.
"Who?" Zane inquired.
"Nobody knows," Adrina told them, "they attacked the village in Rindus and Folken traded himself for the well-being of the village. They had two unique guymelefs, one silver, one gold and when I find them I'm going to rip them apart."
Merle and Zane stared warily at Adrina's dark plum eyes. "Adrina, are you gonna be alright?" Merle questioned.
"I'm fine," Adrina assured, "but I swear to you right now that I will tear apart this entire planet to find him if I have to."
"Well, before you go burning and destroying," Merle told her, "You'd better have something to eat."
"I'm not hungry," Adrina insisted and started back down the hallway.
"But you barely ate last night!" Merle called and ran after her sister with Zane. "Besides, if you're gonna made these people pay for what they've done, you've gotta keep your strength up."
Adrina stopped and looked down at the girl. "You're right."
Merle smiled with relief and the three of them went to the dining room. The servants all avoided their Queen's eyes and it was obvious they had been told what happened. They ate their breakfast and Adrina tried to figure out exactly what she was going to do. Without knowing where Folken was, she couldn't launch any kind of rescue effort or even go after him herself. She did know that she couldn't lose him again and would do anything in her power to make sure that he returned safely to her.
Adrina had just finished her breakfast when a servant hurried into the dining room. He bowed beside her and waited for her to address him.
"What is it?" Adrina asked, trying to sound calm but failing.
"A message, M'lady." The servant handed her a folded piece of paper closed with a seal she didn't recognize. She broke the seal and unfolded the letter, scanning the message quickly. Her eyes narrowed and darkened as she read the last line.
"Adrina?" Merle spoke.
Her sister looked up. "It's a ransom letter."
"What?!" Merle and Zane exclaimed in unison.
"What does it say?" Merle prodded.
Adrina looked back down at the paper and began to read.
"'Dearest Adrina, let us say that we are very happy for you and Folken, being the rulers of Fanelia and all. Unfortunately, we need Lord Folken for our own purposes. Rest assured that Lord Folken is safe now, but will not stay that way if our demands aren't met. All we ask is that you send Prince Van to us in return for King Folken, a rather reasonable request, we think. If the Prince is sent, Folken will be released. And please don't send an army to attack us because that would certainly result in the death of the King. We eagerly await your reply. Sincerely, the Zaibach Sorcerers.'"
"The Zaibach sorcerers?" Merle repeated. Since the death of Dornkirk, the sorcerers had taken control of Zaibach and ruled with such fear that the people were afraid to leave their homes.
Adrina crumbled the paper and threw it across the room, then jumped up from the table. She rushed out of the dining room and down the halls to Sir Chenley's room. She pounded on the door impatiently. She heard movement in the room and the door opened to reveal a sour faced Sir Chenley.
"What is i...M'lady!" He bowed quickly.
"Zaibach has him!" she announced, "The sorcerers have kidnapped Lord Folken!"
"How did you discover that?" Sir Chenley inquired.
"They sent me a ransom note," Adrina informed.
"Well at least they are willing to trade," the knight sighed, "no price is too high in return for the King. What is it they ask for?"
"They want Prince Van," Adrina replied.
The knight stared in shock. "But why?"
"I don't know," Adrina confessed, "but we can't turn Van over to them."
"Then we have no choice but to attack Zaibach," Sir Chenley reasoned.
"No!" Adrina ordered, "they said they will kill him if we mount any kind of attack."
"That makes this situation much more difficult to handle," the knight commented.
"This is how we're going to handle it," Adrina told him, "You are going to send word to Van and tell him what's going on. I am going to my chambers to contemplate how I'm going to deal with this."
"Yes, M'lady."
Adrina left the knight standing in his doorway and headed back to her room. She shut and locked the bedroom door and took off her dress. She retrieved clean riding clothes from the wardrobe, another pair of tight brown pants and a form fitting green shirt, and put them on quickly. She pulled on her riding boots and braided her long hair. She then went to the chest at the foot of the huge bed and opened it. She pulled out a bundle of black cloth and sat it on the bed. She unwrapped the bundle and pulled out her sword, the sword Folken had given her in Zaibach. The scabbard was still in near mint condition and she lifted it from the bed. She unsheathed the sword and held it in an attack stance. She swung it around a few times, then sheathed it again and hooked the scabbard around her waist.
Adrina grabbed a knapsack out of a nearby drawer and stuffed the cloak into it. It was a three-day ride to the capital of Zaibach and she suspected the night would be chilly. Se closed the pack and slung it over her shoulder. She unlocked her bedroom door and went through the parlor to the hallway. She poked her head out quickly to make sure no one was around and then ran down the hall to the kitchen. She slipped in and shut the door behind her. All the kitchen staff went wide-eyed and dropped to their knees.
"M'lady!" the head cook exclaimed, "what brings you here?"
"I need you to do something for me," Adrina told the elderly woman.
"Anything, my Queen," the cook agreed.
"I need you to pack a week's worth of food into this." Adrina took off the knapsack and pulled out her cloak, then handed the bag to the cook.
"A week's worth?" the woman questioned as she took the pack.
Adrina nodded. "I want things that won't spoil like dried meat and I want a canteen of water. I don't want anyone to know I was here, is that understood?"
"Yes M'lady." The kitchen servants began gathering food and wrapping it in cloth. Once it had all been wrapped, the head cook packed it all carefully into the knapsack then handed it to Adrina.
"Thank you," Adrina said and stuck her cloak on top of the food, "remember, I was never here."
"Yes my Queen."
Adrina closed the pack and left through the servant's entrance. From the kitchen, she quickly made her way to the stables. The stable master looked surprised to see her and bowed.
"M'lady, it is good to see you," the stable master commented, "looks as if you're going for a ride. Would you like me to have your horse prepared?"
"Yes, thank you," Adrina smiled, "and could you please hurry? I'm in a terrible rush."
"Of course, M'lady." The stable master disappeared into the stables and left Adrina standing outside. She looked around nervously, hoping no one had seen her. She thought she had snuck out successfully when someone touched her arm. She jumped and spun around. Merle and Zane stood in front of her.
"We've been looking all over for you," Merle informed, "What are you dong out here? Are you going for a ride?"
"I...uh..." Adrina tried to hide her pack behind her, but moving it only succeeded in drawing attention to it.
"Why do you have that pack?" Merle asked. Suddenly, a look of realization came over her and she began to shake her head fiercely, "No Adrina! You can't go to Zaibach by yourself! You'll be killed!"
"Ssssh!" Adrina hissed, "keep it down! Listen; there is nothing else I can do! We can't meet their demands and I won't let Folken die."
"There's got to be another way!" Merle insisted.
"I've thought this through," Adrina assured, "I'll be fine, don't worry."
"What if they capture you?" Merle inquired.
"They won't, "Adrina comforted, "but tell you what. If I'm not back in a week, send the army out after me. You have to give me that much time though. If Zaibach learns that the Fanelian army is marching towards them and I haven't freed Folken yet, they'll kill him."
Merle nodded. "Be careful."
"I will."
At that moment, the stable master returned with her horse. She mounted it quickly. "Merle, you and Zane take care of the country until we get back. And remember; don't send the army for seven days. If somehow Sir Chenley finds out and wants to come after me, do everything you can to stop him."
"You can count on us," Zane said.
"Good luck," Merle called. Adrina smiled and nudged her horse into motion. The animal took off like a shot down the path that led over the mountains and down into Zaibach. Adrina's horse was the fastest in Fanelia and she thought that if she pushed, she would be in Zaibach by nightfall on the second day.
The horse followed the trail up into the mountains at full canter. The trail hadn't been used much recently and in places plants had begun to grow in the middle of it. This didn't slow Adrina down and she made it to the top of the mountain just as the sun started setting. Without stopping, she urged her horse to start the downhill trek. The moons cast little light on the trail and she was forced to stop a quarter of the way down.
She unsaddled the horse and spread the blankets on the ground for her to sleep on. She ate a little of the food packed for her and drank some water. She wrapped her cloak around her and fell asleep on the cold, rocky ground.
The next morning, Adrina awoke with the sun. She whistled loudly for her horse, who came trotting up chewing some grass and saddled him quickly. She stuffed the cloak back into the pack, mounted her horse and started off on the second day of her adventure. The miles seemed to fly by as she got deeper and deeper into Zaibach territory. The terrain was now just a barren wasteland with barely a tree or bush, but she knew that the capital city couldn't be far.
Night fell and still she continued on. She crested a hill and saw below her the city lights of the capital of Zaibach. This was only her third time in the evil place and she hoped it would be her last. She nudged her horse and they flew down the hill towards the city.
At the outskirts of the city, Adrina dismounted and draped herself with her cloak. It was made in Zaibach and she figured it would draw less attention than her Fanelian riding clothes. Once the cloak was secured, she turned to her horse.
"I'll be back," she promised, "at least by tomorrow night. Wait out here for me."
The horse whinnied and trotted off as Adrina plunged into the streets of the city. The entire place was lit up like daytime but there were very few people on the streets. Of the few people she did see, almost all of them were soldiers. She hurried towards the center of the city, where the capital building was, and tried not to draw attention to herself. She knew that the sorcerers would have Folken somewhere in the capital building and she found herself wishing she had taken more time to explore when she had been here the first time.
About two hours after she had entered the city, she reached the outside of the capital building. Now that she was there, she had no idea how she was going to get inside. The entrance was shut and probably locked or at least watched. If she tried to enter, she would almost certainly be caught.
A sound on the path behind her startled her out of her thoughts. She quickly dove behind a statue just off the path and watched as three sorcerers approached. For a second she thought they had followed her and knew she was there, but the three just walked by, giving no indication that they were aware of her presence. As they walked, they chatted about something.
"Zeus is almost complete."
"Two more days and it ought to be fully functional."
"But we can't test it with just one Draconian, can we?"
"No, to fully test the Zeus' power we will need more."
"The one we have is just a start."
Adrina bit her lip to keep her anger down. They were going to use Folken as some sort of test subject for Zeus, whatever that was.
The cloaked figures reached the entrance to the building and the door opened. Seeing her chance, Adrina gathered her cloak around her and snuck through the shadows to the door just as the last sorcerer went through. She took a deep breath and squeezed through just as the door closed behind her.
A soft wrap on her bedroom door pulled her from her stupor. She jumped up from the window box and ran to it. She yanked open the door to reveal her young servant Jenly. The girl jumped back with surprise at the force with which Adrina had torn open the door.
"What is the news?" Adrina demanded, "Is King Folken alright?"
"M'lady," Jenly spoke softly, "Sir Chenley wishes to speak with you in your parlor."
Adrina's heart fell down to her stomach and she fought hard to hold back the tears. "Show him in."
Jenly nodded and hurried to the parlor door. Adrina shut her bedroom door behind her and walked over to her favorite chair. She sat down heavily and watched as Jenly opened the door and two men entered.
"Sir Chenley and Kama the messenger," Jenly announced and then left.
"M'lady," Sir Chenley started. He was cut off by Adrina's quiet words.
"Please forgive me, Sir Chenley," she began, "But it is late and I have been waiting for word of my husband for hours. I am sick with worry and fatigue so please just tell me what's going on."
"As you wish, my Queen," Sir Chenley nodded, "I sent Kama to Rindus. He returned not but five minutes ago. Tell the Queen what you've found."
The younger man swallowed hard. "My Queen, Rindus was attacked."
"Attacked?" Adrina's eyes went wide.
"Yes, M'lady," the messenger confirmed, "The inhabitants of the city had fled, which is why my journey took so long. I searched for hours before I found someone to tell me what happened."
"And what did happen?" Adrina urged impatiently.
The messenger looked at the knight pleadingly. The knight nodded and continued the tale. "The village was attacked by an unknown enemy. They said the guymelefs that attacked were like nothing they had ever seen. They said the two descended from the sky with a roar like a dragon and settled in the town. They demanded the King of Fanelia be turned over immediately."
"No," Adrina murmured and the tears pushed up.
"The people of Rindus refused and the guymelefs began to destroy the city," Chenley continued, "They said that Lord Folken turned himself over so the enemy would stop it's attack on the village."
"Dammit!" Adrina shouted, "and nobody knows who the enemy were?"
"No M'lady." The two men stared uncertainly at the Queen, surprised by her outburst.
"They said the guymelefs gleamed like polished metal," the messenger informed, "one silver, one gold, if that's of any help."
"Thank you Kama," the Queen praised, "the guymelefs sound very unique. Sir Chenley, send out word. If anyone has any idea where these guymelefs may be or where they came from, I want to know."
"Yes, Your Majesty," Sir Chenley bowed, "may we be excused?"
"Of course."
The men bowed again and left the parlor. The sun was just beginning to cast the first rays through her parlor window and she turned away from the beautiful scene. She wished the day had dawned dark and rainy to fit her mood. She had no desire to see such a breathtaking sight without Folken by her side.
The Queen exited her parlor and walked into the hallway. She hadn't changed her dress since dinner and she supposed she looked awful after a sleepless night of crying but that was the farthest thing from her mind. Right now all she was concerned with was finding Folken, getting him back safely and making whoever had dared take her husband away from her pay dearly.
Adrina turned a corner and almost collided with Merle and Zane.
"Adrina, what's going on?" Merle asked.
"They took him," Adrina replied, her face as hard as steel.
"Who?" Zane inquired.
"Nobody knows," Adrina told them, "they attacked the village in Rindus and Folken traded himself for the well-being of the village. They had two unique guymelefs, one silver, one gold and when I find them I'm going to rip them apart."
Merle and Zane stared warily at Adrina's dark plum eyes. "Adrina, are you gonna be alright?" Merle questioned.
"I'm fine," Adrina assured, "but I swear to you right now that I will tear apart this entire planet to find him if I have to."
"Well, before you go burning and destroying," Merle told her, "You'd better have something to eat."
"I'm not hungry," Adrina insisted and started back down the hallway.
"But you barely ate last night!" Merle called and ran after her sister with Zane. "Besides, if you're gonna made these people pay for what they've done, you've gotta keep your strength up."
Adrina stopped and looked down at the girl. "You're right."
Merle smiled with relief and the three of them went to the dining room. The servants all avoided their Queen's eyes and it was obvious they had been told what happened. They ate their breakfast and Adrina tried to figure out exactly what she was going to do. Without knowing where Folken was, she couldn't launch any kind of rescue effort or even go after him herself. She did know that she couldn't lose him again and would do anything in her power to make sure that he returned safely to her.
Adrina had just finished her breakfast when a servant hurried into the dining room. He bowed beside her and waited for her to address him.
"What is it?" Adrina asked, trying to sound calm but failing.
"A message, M'lady." The servant handed her a folded piece of paper closed with a seal she didn't recognize. She broke the seal and unfolded the letter, scanning the message quickly. Her eyes narrowed and darkened as she read the last line.
"Adrina?" Merle spoke.
Her sister looked up. "It's a ransom letter."
"What?!" Merle and Zane exclaimed in unison.
"What does it say?" Merle prodded.
Adrina looked back down at the paper and began to read.
"'Dearest Adrina, let us say that we are very happy for you and Folken, being the rulers of Fanelia and all. Unfortunately, we need Lord Folken for our own purposes. Rest assured that Lord Folken is safe now, but will not stay that way if our demands aren't met. All we ask is that you send Prince Van to us in return for King Folken, a rather reasonable request, we think. If the Prince is sent, Folken will be released. And please don't send an army to attack us because that would certainly result in the death of the King. We eagerly await your reply. Sincerely, the Zaibach Sorcerers.'"
"The Zaibach sorcerers?" Merle repeated. Since the death of Dornkirk, the sorcerers had taken control of Zaibach and ruled with such fear that the people were afraid to leave their homes.
Adrina crumbled the paper and threw it across the room, then jumped up from the table. She rushed out of the dining room and down the halls to Sir Chenley's room. She pounded on the door impatiently. She heard movement in the room and the door opened to reveal a sour faced Sir Chenley.
"What is i...M'lady!" He bowed quickly.
"Zaibach has him!" she announced, "The sorcerers have kidnapped Lord Folken!"
"How did you discover that?" Sir Chenley inquired.
"They sent me a ransom note," Adrina informed.
"Well at least they are willing to trade," the knight sighed, "no price is too high in return for the King. What is it they ask for?"
"They want Prince Van," Adrina replied.
The knight stared in shock. "But why?"
"I don't know," Adrina confessed, "but we can't turn Van over to them."
"Then we have no choice but to attack Zaibach," Sir Chenley reasoned.
"No!" Adrina ordered, "they said they will kill him if we mount any kind of attack."
"That makes this situation much more difficult to handle," the knight commented.
"This is how we're going to handle it," Adrina told him, "You are going to send word to Van and tell him what's going on. I am going to my chambers to contemplate how I'm going to deal with this."
"Yes, M'lady."
Adrina left the knight standing in his doorway and headed back to her room. She shut and locked the bedroom door and took off her dress. She retrieved clean riding clothes from the wardrobe, another pair of tight brown pants and a form fitting green shirt, and put them on quickly. She pulled on her riding boots and braided her long hair. She then went to the chest at the foot of the huge bed and opened it. She pulled out a bundle of black cloth and sat it on the bed. She unwrapped the bundle and pulled out her sword, the sword Folken had given her in Zaibach. The scabbard was still in near mint condition and she lifted it from the bed. She unsheathed the sword and held it in an attack stance. She swung it around a few times, then sheathed it again and hooked the scabbard around her waist.
Adrina grabbed a knapsack out of a nearby drawer and stuffed the cloak into it. It was a three-day ride to the capital of Zaibach and she suspected the night would be chilly. Se closed the pack and slung it over her shoulder. She unlocked her bedroom door and went through the parlor to the hallway. She poked her head out quickly to make sure no one was around and then ran down the hall to the kitchen. She slipped in and shut the door behind her. All the kitchen staff went wide-eyed and dropped to their knees.
"M'lady!" the head cook exclaimed, "what brings you here?"
"I need you to do something for me," Adrina told the elderly woman.
"Anything, my Queen," the cook agreed.
"I need you to pack a week's worth of food into this." Adrina took off the knapsack and pulled out her cloak, then handed the bag to the cook.
"A week's worth?" the woman questioned as she took the pack.
Adrina nodded. "I want things that won't spoil like dried meat and I want a canteen of water. I don't want anyone to know I was here, is that understood?"
"Yes M'lady." The kitchen servants began gathering food and wrapping it in cloth. Once it had all been wrapped, the head cook packed it all carefully into the knapsack then handed it to Adrina.
"Thank you," Adrina said and stuck her cloak on top of the food, "remember, I was never here."
"Yes my Queen."
Adrina closed the pack and left through the servant's entrance. From the kitchen, she quickly made her way to the stables. The stable master looked surprised to see her and bowed.
"M'lady, it is good to see you," the stable master commented, "looks as if you're going for a ride. Would you like me to have your horse prepared?"
"Yes, thank you," Adrina smiled, "and could you please hurry? I'm in a terrible rush."
"Of course, M'lady." The stable master disappeared into the stables and left Adrina standing outside. She looked around nervously, hoping no one had seen her. She thought she had snuck out successfully when someone touched her arm. She jumped and spun around. Merle and Zane stood in front of her.
"We've been looking all over for you," Merle informed, "What are you dong out here? Are you going for a ride?"
"I...uh..." Adrina tried to hide her pack behind her, but moving it only succeeded in drawing attention to it.
"Why do you have that pack?" Merle asked. Suddenly, a look of realization came over her and she began to shake her head fiercely, "No Adrina! You can't go to Zaibach by yourself! You'll be killed!"
"Ssssh!" Adrina hissed, "keep it down! Listen; there is nothing else I can do! We can't meet their demands and I won't let Folken die."
"There's got to be another way!" Merle insisted.
"I've thought this through," Adrina assured, "I'll be fine, don't worry."
"What if they capture you?" Merle inquired.
"They won't, "Adrina comforted, "but tell you what. If I'm not back in a week, send the army out after me. You have to give me that much time though. If Zaibach learns that the Fanelian army is marching towards them and I haven't freed Folken yet, they'll kill him."
Merle nodded. "Be careful."
"I will."
At that moment, the stable master returned with her horse. She mounted it quickly. "Merle, you and Zane take care of the country until we get back. And remember; don't send the army for seven days. If somehow Sir Chenley finds out and wants to come after me, do everything you can to stop him."
"You can count on us," Zane said.
"Good luck," Merle called. Adrina smiled and nudged her horse into motion. The animal took off like a shot down the path that led over the mountains and down into Zaibach. Adrina's horse was the fastest in Fanelia and she thought that if she pushed, she would be in Zaibach by nightfall on the second day.
The horse followed the trail up into the mountains at full canter. The trail hadn't been used much recently and in places plants had begun to grow in the middle of it. This didn't slow Adrina down and she made it to the top of the mountain just as the sun started setting. Without stopping, she urged her horse to start the downhill trek. The moons cast little light on the trail and she was forced to stop a quarter of the way down.
She unsaddled the horse and spread the blankets on the ground for her to sleep on. She ate a little of the food packed for her and drank some water. She wrapped her cloak around her and fell asleep on the cold, rocky ground.
The next morning, Adrina awoke with the sun. She whistled loudly for her horse, who came trotting up chewing some grass and saddled him quickly. She stuffed the cloak back into the pack, mounted her horse and started off on the second day of her adventure. The miles seemed to fly by as she got deeper and deeper into Zaibach territory. The terrain was now just a barren wasteland with barely a tree or bush, but she knew that the capital city couldn't be far.
Night fell and still she continued on. She crested a hill and saw below her the city lights of the capital of Zaibach. This was only her third time in the evil place and she hoped it would be her last. She nudged her horse and they flew down the hill towards the city.
At the outskirts of the city, Adrina dismounted and draped herself with her cloak. It was made in Zaibach and she figured it would draw less attention than her Fanelian riding clothes. Once the cloak was secured, she turned to her horse.
"I'll be back," she promised, "at least by tomorrow night. Wait out here for me."
The horse whinnied and trotted off as Adrina plunged into the streets of the city. The entire place was lit up like daytime but there were very few people on the streets. Of the few people she did see, almost all of them were soldiers. She hurried towards the center of the city, where the capital building was, and tried not to draw attention to herself. She knew that the sorcerers would have Folken somewhere in the capital building and she found herself wishing she had taken more time to explore when she had been here the first time.
About two hours after she had entered the city, she reached the outside of the capital building. Now that she was there, she had no idea how she was going to get inside. The entrance was shut and probably locked or at least watched. If she tried to enter, she would almost certainly be caught.
A sound on the path behind her startled her out of her thoughts. She quickly dove behind a statue just off the path and watched as three sorcerers approached. For a second she thought they had followed her and knew she was there, but the three just walked by, giving no indication that they were aware of her presence. As they walked, they chatted about something.
"Zeus is almost complete."
"Two more days and it ought to be fully functional."
"But we can't test it with just one Draconian, can we?"
"No, to fully test the Zeus' power we will need more."
"The one we have is just a start."
Adrina bit her lip to keep her anger down. They were going to use Folken as some sort of test subject for Zeus, whatever that was.
The cloaked figures reached the entrance to the building and the door opened. Seeing her chance, Adrina gathered her cloak around her and snuck through the shadows to the door just as the last sorcerer went through. She took a deep breath and squeezed through just as the door closed behind her.