-Rants and Raves-
I'm sorry but because of the new rule at Fanfiction.net about writing stuff outside of the story (like in a rants and raves section %(^-^)%). This will be the last Rant and Rave I'll be writing. Fare the well, my friends! It is finally here, a new chapter. Enjoy! %(^-^)%
Symp.
-End Rants and Raves-
(I wish but) I don't own Capcom, Breath of Fire or its characters. But the characters, and world in this story for the most part are my own creation.
Chapter Ten: And a Child Shall Lead Them, Part One
Imperial moved cautiously around the ominous castle, avoiding the roving guards as she searched for a way in. As she came around one of the castle towers, stairs carved into the rock came to view as well as a small harbor a ways off. She moved closer where some type of movement caught her sharp eyes.
Two castle servants and four guards with a pushcart each among them were walking singled file unto the wooden pier. Each has a cart filled with what seemed to be a large pile of discarded clothing. Each in turn went up to the water edge lifting their cart, dropping the cargo into the murky water. Once again proceeding in a single file the six forced their carts back along the pier into an unseen alcove under the castle. Imperial made her move and sprinted silently down the stairs.
As they continued on, Imperial silently followed along until the group stopped in front of an area spotted with stalagmites. Reaching what seemed to be a dead end, one of the soldiers leaned against a particular stalagmite, opening a false wall. The servants and guards went in, never the wiser of someone spying on their actions. When the wall shut in place, Imperial placed a smooth pebble near the wall trigger to avoid suspicion.
Satisfied with what she discovered, she made her way back to the open. Imperial used a weak light spell on her chrysm orb for a quick moment, dimming it before any roving guards could see the beacon. She hoped Silver was able to see the signal from the thick underbrush he hid under more than twenty yards away.
Imperial's eyes focused upon a short figure slowly making way towards her. Retreating a little, she peeked around the rocky enclosure to make sure whoever was coming down the stairs was who she originally invited to join her. Moonlight filtered within ever-moving swollen white clouds reflecting the glossy gray hair of her companion.
"I found a way in." She explained softly to Silver once he finally reached her. "We save my friend first, then we look to find your girlfriend. After that me and Orion will get the hell out of this place before we cause anymore trouble..." Silver's ears perked up as he swiftly placed his hand over Imperial's mouth. Raising his finger to his lips, he motioned for her to quiet down, as the sound of clinking metal grew closer to their position. Picking up on the increasing noise, Imperial pointed in the direction of the recess she saw the other castle workers enter. Not waiting to see what approached the two promptly entered the cave.
As they came to the false wall portal, Silver grasped at Imperial's arm. With an overconfident air in his voice he noted. "If what you did back there is how you're going to sneak around the castle, you're going to need all the help you can get. Good thing I'm going with you." He replied.
Imperial grumble at Silver's "modest" statement, was all the people of this town so damn conceited? Silver used his sensitive nose to examine around making sure no one was nearby. He stopped midway turning to Imperial.
"We have to be careful, the castle guards have orders to kill anyone suspicious on sight." He spoke softly as they drew close to the trick lever. Imperial pushed upon the stalagmite, opening the false wall. Before entering Silver once again lightly sniffed the air. Recoiling slowly he remarked, "There's death near about."
Imperial carefully peeked inside, trying to make out what was in the long smooth chamber. The stench of mildew and decay made her gag as they continued on until they reached a large Spartan place. From the dimmed torchlight that sparked from silted holders above her head, she made out what looked to be the silhouettes of statues upon slabs carved out of the black rock.
"Do you think this is the catacombs of the castle?" She turned to Silver holding her nose tightly. Silver raised his shoulders in puzzlement pulling a handkerchief out of his tattered coat to cover his sensitive nose.
Cautiously, they made their way across the large room. For a moment, Imperial paused to take a closer look at one of the statues she walked by. Bending down to look at the smooth pasty white stone of a middle-aged man she voiced, "I wonder if these are the vault of the former kings and his serv..."
The "statue's" blind white eyes flicked open. Imperial gave a loud gasp startling back, bumping into Silver. It wasn't a statue at all but the rotten body of a man! The cadaver's misshapen hand reached out for her, his wrist straining against the iron chains that bound him to the cold granite slab. Silver jumped back from the carcass, bumping into another block awaking this time a young female goat from her 'sleep'.
"By the god's! Elisa Minetrain?" Silver whispered in horror and disbelief as the female carcass grabbed for his coat. "She went missing years ago..."
The corpses unseeing eyes drew into slits as they continued to fight their restraints to get to the two before giving up and resuming their statue like posture. Gaining her frayed senses, Imperial cast a minor light spell on her staff to softly brighten the surrounding area. The light fell upon dozens of white eyes flickering and blinking open, reaching out for them. Silver spotted another door a little ways off the right of the room. The two made a break for it, not stopping as the bodies stretch to get a hold of them as they raced by. They crashed through the door, which led to a large spiral staircase.
"We need to find our friends and get the hell out of here, pronto!" She replied breathing heavily with her hands on her knees.
"I know that girl in there! What...What were those things? We have to find Puren, now!" Silver's speech trailed off as he began talking to himself. "This is a marvelous sign from the gods..."
Imperial wings turned a dark red as frown lines grew around her lips, "A whole floor filled with living corpses is not what I call a 'marvelous' sign! I want to know what the hell is going on here! Just what exactly are we dealing with?" She asked in quietly fury as she cautiously walked up the circling stairs. Silver closely tagged along behind her, recounting a brief history of how his town came to be so weird.
__________________________A Few Moments Later_______________________
"Your king must have been off his gourd to make a dumb rule like that. I'm not surprised that the people of this town is spilt down the middle." She replied sarcastically as Silver finished the story. "So who do you serve under?" Imperial probed more.
"If I had a choice neither of the phonies, but my loyalties lie with Aflan. He's predictable." Silver gave her a weak smile.
Imperial gave Silver a stiff nod of acknowledgement as they made their way up the stairs. As they reached the top a hallway filled with lit torches, open passages and doors of all shapes and colors, lay before them. Imperial let her light spell dissipate as she and Silver studied the gateways.
Silver sniffed the air and glanced around in disbelief "This is the main hall. This place should have the most guards stationed here but I don't sense anyone around."
Trying not to lose any momentum Imperial twirled around with her hands stretched out "Which way should we pick?" she asked.
Silver almost immediately pointed to a hallway in front of them. "There. I can smell Puren's perfume coming from over there." Another staircase awaited them, leading upstairs to a grand hallway with rows of old armor, royal cloth and ancient grand oil painted portraits lining the walls. Before them rested a great door inlayed with precious jewels and gold leaf in delicate decorations. Two guards were sitting on the floor playing a fast hand Pica-lek, a dice and card game.
Ducking into the shadows of one of the man pillars lining the hall, Imperial knew they would have to get rid of the two watchmen before they could advance. "That pompous jackass better not be in there with my girl!" the dog-man gave a low growl as he peered around the column he and Imperial hid behind.
Imperial sifted through her hip pouch until she pulled out a four long flat stones. "I have a idea on how to get them away from the door. Get ready to move." She instructed as she threw one of the stones towards the stairwell. The sharp crack it made against the wall instantly gained the guards notice. They immediately disregarded their game and came to attention.
"Who goes there? Identify yourself." The more portly of the two sentries bellowed out to the seemingly empty hallway. A few seconds later Imperial threw another rock causing the guards to go into tactical mode. "I'll go and check it out. Stay here." The portly sentinel quickly ran towards the sound and down the stairs, bypassing the two hidden in the shadows as they tiptoed quietly around the pillar. Imperial threw the next stone causing the younger knight to pace in front of the king's door.
"Sir Ornick? Is that you? Sir Ornick? Sir Orinick, are you okay?" he called out his voice quavering with panic. Imperial threw the last of the stones, hoping the inexperienced sentinel would take the bait. The young guard followed through on Imperial's hunch as he made his way down the stairs bit by bit to where his superior officer searched.
Silver whispered to Imperial "Wow, I would have never though you could have pulled that off, good job." Imperial gave him a nasty glare ahs she placed her hand upon the heavy wood door, slowly pushing it open.
Inside a dazzling bedroom sat before them in all of its glory. Grand paintings of wars fought long ago adorned the walls while a luxurious violet Nue-skin rug lay close to a blazing fire in the marble fireplace. Huge pane windows displayed the night sky with all of its stars, giving the room an eerie dream effect.
On the other side of the space, a mixture of fruits and vegetables laid upon an exquisitely carved Yggdrasil table. Golden plates and utensils that lay upon the table reflected the dancing fire, causing the saucers to glow brightly. A huge canopy bed sat against a wall, its satin curtains were tied with a golden bow, which trailed down to the floor. Royal purple bed sheets sat upon the bed were adorned with all types of jewels sewn on it.
Silver's jaw dropped from the beauty before him as he entered the room. Imperial also admired its elegance yet something else caught her attention, something that stood out of place. An odd shaped glass case sat upon a worn sandstone column near the huge bed.
Inside of the glass case a piece of yellowed parchment lay.
"I guess they brought Puren here for questioning." Silver whispered to Imperial as his eyes fixed on the golden plates on the table. Imperial crept closer to the column. The crystal case sparkled brilliantly as she went over to it. As she reached to touch it a small jolt buzzed throughout her body. Imperial waved Silver over to look at the container.
"What do you think it is?" she whispered as the dog-man studied it. Taking a closer, he shrugged his shoulders.
"Looks like a piece of paper in a glass case to me." He replied simply. Imperial scrutinized the dog man for a bit.
"Whatever it is, it has to be important or it wouldn't have stationed guards here, especially when the prince isn't nearby." She reasoned with the dog-man pointing at the door they just entered a few moments ago. Silver just shrugged his shoulders again, "Well, it's not your friend and its certainly not Puren. Let's get out of here before those guards come back." he added turning to go back to the door.
"Wait, I think I can make out what it says." She whispered to Silver. He returned to her side as she tried to see the words on the paper from in the radiant case.
"You can you read that chicken-scratch?" he asked her glancing down confused by the arcane symbols. Imperial gave him an impatient sigh then turned back to the paper again. The symbols seemed to lift off the paper and flow through her mind like a river. The characters became like a spoken song, she closed her eyes to hear the word more clearly.
Gather ye living.
They will depart as thy dead.
Reap the bitterest of elixirs and the tomes of stone, sustaining upon the departed.
Call upon those chosen of Twilight's blood.
The sprit of never ending life, dream the dreams of those obsolete spirits.
Her ceaseless blood continues to flow.
The chosen will can upon her, the true bearer life where there is not.
*"Gi e' hieal' figetid naoueg huen tiau wu zoxnic! Gi e' hieal' figetid naoueg huen tiau wu zoxnic!"
Imperial shook her head in confusion. Whatever this paper was it didn't make much sense. She read the document a few times more, repeating the words to herself. Afterwards she signed to Silver to come on. He grabbed a handful of grapes before sniffing near the door him.
"Coast is clear. They haven't returned yet."
Making their way back to the hallway they were unsuccessfully in trying to find a way around the castle. Ether the passages they took led to places where people were moving freely about with little cover or the passage would be lead back to the hallway.
"It's one big maze in this place!" Imperial cursed as they came through another door leading back to the hallway they just came from. She sighed heavily, leaning against a wall. "We have to come up with another plan..."
Silver's ears perked up as he heard the sound of voices coming toward where he and Imperial stood. Imperial stopped talking as she noticed Silver's ears twitch and soon picked up on the same voices heading their way. They looked at each other as the same thought ran thought their head.
"Hide!" they whispered in unison to each other.
They both sprinted about trying all the doors that were in the hallway, as the familiar voices of the two guards grew louder. Imperial noticed a solitary long red curtain on one side of the hallway. Wondering what it hid, she pulled it back to reveal a small rotting metal gate. Pulling on the heavy iron handle, the door squeaked in complaint of being opened. Imperial rushed and grabbed Silver's arm and pulled him through. As she closed the gate, the curtain fell back in place, hiding them just in time as the guards walked past and faded. She walked a little ways off to find another passageway in the distance. Soft light of candles dimly lit their way.
Imperial and Silver progressed through the dank, mildewed passageway watching for any signs of movement. Soon they came upon a crossroad. Without warning, Silver suddenly leaned flat against a wall pulling Imperial back with him. Two female servants walked by from the opposite hallway laughing and talking not noticing the two as they passed by. Both let out a sigh when they heard another door open and close.
"Another close call." She whispered to the dog man. He gave him a friendly pat on her back. "Not really, I heard them coming. It's okay, your senses are not as keen as mine." She gave him an annoyed glance at the narcissistic simplicity of his explanation.
"Let's go see where they came from." Silver offered as he peered around the corner. She nodded in agreement and went along. They came to iron gate; laughter, cursing and loud snoring could be heard from the inside. One of the guards was asleep leaning with his chair against the wall. The metal suit he wore badly fitted him, making him look as if he was lost inside of the exterior. The only way the two knew someone was inside was due to the snores reverberating from within it. An empty bottle of 'Wisdom Fruit' wine lay by his feet. A group of guards sat in front of the cell playing cards on an unsteady table. By the way they were talking and fighting, they were probably drunk also.
Imperial peeked inside to see a room full of empty cells all except one where Orion and a fox-lady were held. "Orion!" Imperial voiced as she eyed the woren chained to the wall. Next to him was a fox-woman nursing his injuries. A worried expression covered her face as she tried to comfort the poor hostage.
Dry blood had clotted his peach-orange fur into matted knots. His face was swollen, covered with black and blue bruises and cuts all over. It seemed to Imperial he was having difficulty breathing. Imperial knew that if she didn't get him out of here and heal him soon that death would claim her friend. Silver tried to stretch over Imperial's bent body to get a glimpse of the scene. "Hey!" Silver voiced quietly. "Puren! Thank goodness she's safe."
No soon did he finished the sentence did a pair of hands roughly pushed the two inside of the room, drawing the attention of the guards and Puren. They drew their weapons and pointed them at the unlikely rescuers. Silver glanced over to Imperial with a worried expression on his face.
"I think the jail brake will have to be put on hold for the moment." He whispered to her as Prince Aflan stood in the doorway with his guards.
Translations: *Gi e' hieal' figetid naoueg huen tiau wu zoxnic." means Rise o holy one before me, sprit of life eternal.
I'm sorry but because of the new rule at Fanfiction.net about writing stuff outside of the story (like in a rants and raves section %(^-^)%). This will be the last Rant and Rave I'll be writing. Fare the well, my friends! It is finally here, a new chapter. Enjoy! %(^-^)%
Symp.
-End Rants and Raves-
(I wish but) I don't own Capcom, Breath of Fire or its characters. But the characters, and world in this story for the most part are my own creation.
Chapter Ten: And a Child Shall Lead Them, Part One
Imperial moved cautiously around the ominous castle, avoiding the roving guards as she searched for a way in. As she came around one of the castle towers, stairs carved into the rock came to view as well as a small harbor a ways off. She moved closer where some type of movement caught her sharp eyes.
Two castle servants and four guards with a pushcart each among them were walking singled file unto the wooden pier. Each has a cart filled with what seemed to be a large pile of discarded clothing. Each in turn went up to the water edge lifting their cart, dropping the cargo into the murky water. Once again proceeding in a single file the six forced their carts back along the pier into an unseen alcove under the castle. Imperial made her move and sprinted silently down the stairs.
As they continued on, Imperial silently followed along until the group stopped in front of an area spotted with stalagmites. Reaching what seemed to be a dead end, one of the soldiers leaned against a particular stalagmite, opening a false wall. The servants and guards went in, never the wiser of someone spying on their actions. When the wall shut in place, Imperial placed a smooth pebble near the wall trigger to avoid suspicion.
Satisfied with what she discovered, she made her way back to the open. Imperial used a weak light spell on her chrysm orb for a quick moment, dimming it before any roving guards could see the beacon. She hoped Silver was able to see the signal from the thick underbrush he hid under more than twenty yards away.
Imperial's eyes focused upon a short figure slowly making way towards her. Retreating a little, she peeked around the rocky enclosure to make sure whoever was coming down the stairs was who she originally invited to join her. Moonlight filtered within ever-moving swollen white clouds reflecting the glossy gray hair of her companion.
"I found a way in." She explained softly to Silver once he finally reached her. "We save my friend first, then we look to find your girlfriend. After that me and Orion will get the hell out of this place before we cause anymore trouble..." Silver's ears perked up as he swiftly placed his hand over Imperial's mouth. Raising his finger to his lips, he motioned for her to quiet down, as the sound of clinking metal grew closer to their position. Picking up on the increasing noise, Imperial pointed in the direction of the recess she saw the other castle workers enter. Not waiting to see what approached the two promptly entered the cave.
As they came to the false wall portal, Silver grasped at Imperial's arm. With an overconfident air in his voice he noted. "If what you did back there is how you're going to sneak around the castle, you're going to need all the help you can get. Good thing I'm going with you." He replied.
Imperial grumble at Silver's "modest" statement, was all the people of this town so damn conceited? Silver used his sensitive nose to examine around making sure no one was nearby. He stopped midway turning to Imperial.
"We have to be careful, the castle guards have orders to kill anyone suspicious on sight." He spoke softly as they drew close to the trick lever. Imperial pushed upon the stalagmite, opening the false wall. Before entering Silver once again lightly sniffed the air. Recoiling slowly he remarked, "There's death near about."
Imperial carefully peeked inside, trying to make out what was in the long smooth chamber. The stench of mildew and decay made her gag as they continued on until they reached a large Spartan place. From the dimmed torchlight that sparked from silted holders above her head, she made out what looked to be the silhouettes of statues upon slabs carved out of the black rock.
"Do you think this is the catacombs of the castle?" She turned to Silver holding her nose tightly. Silver raised his shoulders in puzzlement pulling a handkerchief out of his tattered coat to cover his sensitive nose.
Cautiously, they made their way across the large room. For a moment, Imperial paused to take a closer look at one of the statues she walked by. Bending down to look at the smooth pasty white stone of a middle-aged man she voiced, "I wonder if these are the vault of the former kings and his serv..."
The "statue's" blind white eyes flicked open. Imperial gave a loud gasp startling back, bumping into Silver. It wasn't a statue at all but the rotten body of a man! The cadaver's misshapen hand reached out for her, his wrist straining against the iron chains that bound him to the cold granite slab. Silver jumped back from the carcass, bumping into another block awaking this time a young female goat from her 'sleep'.
"By the god's! Elisa Minetrain?" Silver whispered in horror and disbelief as the female carcass grabbed for his coat. "She went missing years ago..."
The corpses unseeing eyes drew into slits as they continued to fight their restraints to get to the two before giving up and resuming their statue like posture. Gaining her frayed senses, Imperial cast a minor light spell on her staff to softly brighten the surrounding area. The light fell upon dozens of white eyes flickering and blinking open, reaching out for them. Silver spotted another door a little ways off the right of the room. The two made a break for it, not stopping as the bodies stretch to get a hold of them as they raced by. They crashed through the door, which led to a large spiral staircase.
"We need to find our friends and get the hell out of here, pronto!" She replied breathing heavily with her hands on her knees.
"I know that girl in there! What...What were those things? We have to find Puren, now!" Silver's speech trailed off as he began talking to himself. "This is a marvelous sign from the gods..."
Imperial wings turned a dark red as frown lines grew around her lips, "A whole floor filled with living corpses is not what I call a 'marvelous' sign! I want to know what the hell is going on here! Just what exactly are we dealing with?" She asked in quietly fury as she cautiously walked up the circling stairs. Silver closely tagged along behind her, recounting a brief history of how his town came to be so weird.
__________________________A Few Moments Later_______________________
"Your king must have been off his gourd to make a dumb rule like that. I'm not surprised that the people of this town is spilt down the middle." She replied sarcastically as Silver finished the story. "So who do you serve under?" Imperial probed more.
"If I had a choice neither of the phonies, but my loyalties lie with Aflan. He's predictable." Silver gave her a weak smile.
Imperial gave Silver a stiff nod of acknowledgement as they made their way up the stairs. As they reached the top a hallway filled with lit torches, open passages and doors of all shapes and colors, lay before them. Imperial let her light spell dissipate as she and Silver studied the gateways.
Silver sniffed the air and glanced around in disbelief "This is the main hall. This place should have the most guards stationed here but I don't sense anyone around."
Trying not to lose any momentum Imperial twirled around with her hands stretched out "Which way should we pick?" she asked.
Silver almost immediately pointed to a hallway in front of them. "There. I can smell Puren's perfume coming from over there." Another staircase awaited them, leading upstairs to a grand hallway with rows of old armor, royal cloth and ancient grand oil painted portraits lining the walls. Before them rested a great door inlayed with precious jewels and gold leaf in delicate decorations. Two guards were sitting on the floor playing a fast hand Pica-lek, a dice and card game.
Ducking into the shadows of one of the man pillars lining the hall, Imperial knew they would have to get rid of the two watchmen before they could advance. "That pompous jackass better not be in there with my girl!" the dog-man gave a low growl as he peered around the column he and Imperial hid behind.
Imperial sifted through her hip pouch until she pulled out a four long flat stones. "I have a idea on how to get them away from the door. Get ready to move." She instructed as she threw one of the stones towards the stairwell. The sharp crack it made against the wall instantly gained the guards notice. They immediately disregarded their game and came to attention.
"Who goes there? Identify yourself." The more portly of the two sentries bellowed out to the seemingly empty hallway. A few seconds later Imperial threw another rock causing the guards to go into tactical mode. "I'll go and check it out. Stay here." The portly sentinel quickly ran towards the sound and down the stairs, bypassing the two hidden in the shadows as they tiptoed quietly around the pillar. Imperial threw the next stone causing the younger knight to pace in front of the king's door.
"Sir Ornick? Is that you? Sir Ornick? Sir Orinick, are you okay?" he called out his voice quavering with panic. Imperial threw the last of the stones, hoping the inexperienced sentinel would take the bait. The young guard followed through on Imperial's hunch as he made his way down the stairs bit by bit to where his superior officer searched.
Silver whispered to Imperial "Wow, I would have never though you could have pulled that off, good job." Imperial gave him a nasty glare ahs she placed her hand upon the heavy wood door, slowly pushing it open.
Inside a dazzling bedroom sat before them in all of its glory. Grand paintings of wars fought long ago adorned the walls while a luxurious violet Nue-skin rug lay close to a blazing fire in the marble fireplace. Huge pane windows displayed the night sky with all of its stars, giving the room an eerie dream effect.
On the other side of the space, a mixture of fruits and vegetables laid upon an exquisitely carved Yggdrasil table. Golden plates and utensils that lay upon the table reflected the dancing fire, causing the saucers to glow brightly. A huge canopy bed sat against a wall, its satin curtains were tied with a golden bow, which trailed down to the floor. Royal purple bed sheets sat upon the bed were adorned with all types of jewels sewn on it.
Silver's jaw dropped from the beauty before him as he entered the room. Imperial also admired its elegance yet something else caught her attention, something that stood out of place. An odd shaped glass case sat upon a worn sandstone column near the huge bed.
Inside of the glass case a piece of yellowed parchment lay.
"I guess they brought Puren here for questioning." Silver whispered to Imperial as his eyes fixed on the golden plates on the table. Imperial crept closer to the column. The crystal case sparkled brilliantly as she went over to it. As she reached to touch it a small jolt buzzed throughout her body. Imperial waved Silver over to look at the container.
"What do you think it is?" she whispered as the dog-man studied it. Taking a closer, he shrugged his shoulders.
"Looks like a piece of paper in a glass case to me." He replied simply. Imperial scrutinized the dog man for a bit.
"Whatever it is, it has to be important or it wouldn't have stationed guards here, especially when the prince isn't nearby." She reasoned with the dog-man pointing at the door they just entered a few moments ago. Silver just shrugged his shoulders again, "Well, it's not your friend and its certainly not Puren. Let's get out of here before those guards come back." he added turning to go back to the door.
"Wait, I think I can make out what it says." She whispered to Silver. He returned to her side as she tried to see the words on the paper from in the radiant case.
"You can you read that chicken-scratch?" he asked her glancing down confused by the arcane symbols. Imperial gave him an impatient sigh then turned back to the paper again. The symbols seemed to lift off the paper and flow through her mind like a river. The characters became like a spoken song, she closed her eyes to hear the word more clearly.
Gather ye living.
They will depart as thy dead.
Reap the bitterest of elixirs and the tomes of stone, sustaining upon the departed.
Call upon those chosen of Twilight's blood.
The sprit of never ending life, dream the dreams of those obsolete spirits.
Her ceaseless blood continues to flow.
The chosen will can upon her, the true bearer life where there is not.
*"Gi e' hieal' figetid naoueg huen tiau wu zoxnic! Gi e' hieal' figetid naoueg huen tiau wu zoxnic!"
Imperial shook her head in confusion. Whatever this paper was it didn't make much sense. She read the document a few times more, repeating the words to herself. Afterwards she signed to Silver to come on. He grabbed a handful of grapes before sniffing near the door him.
"Coast is clear. They haven't returned yet."
Making their way back to the hallway they were unsuccessfully in trying to find a way around the castle. Ether the passages they took led to places where people were moving freely about with little cover or the passage would be lead back to the hallway.
"It's one big maze in this place!" Imperial cursed as they came through another door leading back to the hallway they just came from. She sighed heavily, leaning against a wall. "We have to come up with another plan..."
Silver's ears perked up as he heard the sound of voices coming toward where he and Imperial stood. Imperial stopped talking as she noticed Silver's ears twitch and soon picked up on the same voices heading their way. They looked at each other as the same thought ran thought their head.
"Hide!" they whispered in unison to each other.
They both sprinted about trying all the doors that were in the hallway, as the familiar voices of the two guards grew louder. Imperial noticed a solitary long red curtain on one side of the hallway. Wondering what it hid, she pulled it back to reveal a small rotting metal gate. Pulling on the heavy iron handle, the door squeaked in complaint of being opened. Imperial rushed and grabbed Silver's arm and pulled him through. As she closed the gate, the curtain fell back in place, hiding them just in time as the guards walked past and faded. She walked a little ways off to find another passageway in the distance. Soft light of candles dimly lit their way.
Imperial and Silver progressed through the dank, mildewed passageway watching for any signs of movement. Soon they came upon a crossroad. Without warning, Silver suddenly leaned flat against a wall pulling Imperial back with him. Two female servants walked by from the opposite hallway laughing and talking not noticing the two as they passed by. Both let out a sigh when they heard another door open and close.
"Another close call." She whispered to the dog man. He gave him a friendly pat on her back. "Not really, I heard them coming. It's okay, your senses are not as keen as mine." She gave him an annoyed glance at the narcissistic simplicity of his explanation.
"Let's go see where they came from." Silver offered as he peered around the corner. She nodded in agreement and went along. They came to iron gate; laughter, cursing and loud snoring could be heard from the inside. One of the guards was asleep leaning with his chair against the wall. The metal suit he wore badly fitted him, making him look as if he was lost inside of the exterior. The only way the two knew someone was inside was due to the snores reverberating from within it. An empty bottle of 'Wisdom Fruit' wine lay by his feet. A group of guards sat in front of the cell playing cards on an unsteady table. By the way they were talking and fighting, they were probably drunk also.
Imperial peeked inside to see a room full of empty cells all except one where Orion and a fox-lady were held. "Orion!" Imperial voiced as she eyed the woren chained to the wall. Next to him was a fox-woman nursing his injuries. A worried expression covered her face as she tried to comfort the poor hostage.
Dry blood had clotted his peach-orange fur into matted knots. His face was swollen, covered with black and blue bruises and cuts all over. It seemed to Imperial he was having difficulty breathing. Imperial knew that if she didn't get him out of here and heal him soon that death would claim her friend. Silver tried to stretch over Imperial's bent body to get a glimpse of the scene. "Hey!" Silver voiced quietly. "Puren! Thank goodness she's safe."
No soon did he finished the sentence did a pair of hands roughly pushed the two inside of the room, drawing the attention of the guards and Puren. They drew their weapons and pointed them at the unlikely rescuers. Silver glanced over to Imperial with a worried expression on his face.
"I think the jail brake will have to be put on hold for the moment." He whispered to her as Prince Aflan stood in the doorway with his guards.
Translations: *Gi e' hieal' figetid naoueg huen tiau wu zoxnic." means Rise o holy one before me, sprit of life eternal.