CHAPTER 2: MINEGYVER

It was late at night, although Mine couldn't tell the actual time. She remained in her chair, plagued with insomnia. Her exhaustion encouraged her to succumb to sleep, but her fear of the next day made her wish to resist with all her might. Nothing good lied ahead.

Some time had passed since she last saw Sanfred or Rod. The two bounty hunters left to the other part of the cellar, which apparently was larger than it had originally appeared. By now, they were probably quite intoxicated, rendering them less dangerous than they'd been before.

Which was what Mine was waiting for.

One last check of her surroundings, and then Mine began to get to work. She had her wrists and ankles bound, but she was still free to move about. All she needed was to find a sharp object to use for cutting the ropes off, and then she could go right out the cellar door. Earlier in the evening, she'd inspected her surroundings, and hadn't found anything to use for cutting the ropes. Therefore, she had two options: Either explore farther in the cellar for more supplies or go out the door and search outside.

Naturally, she was more interested in the latter. Getting out of here as soon as possible was important. Of course, it upset her knowing that her Imperial Arms was still confiscated by her captors. Leaving that behind would be painful… but she had to consider her situation. As things stood now, her friends were unaware of her fate and location, and she was vulnerable without them. Priorities were important, and she needed to consider that. Getting away was what mattered now.

With a gentle hop forward, Mine got to her feet. She carefully jumped in a rhythmic fashion toward the door, and then she twisted around so her fingers got a grip on the handle. However, at that point, she realized the door was no easy task. It was impossible to slide it open without the use of two hands, and it required a feat of strength to move it as well. While she was tied up, Mine couldn't conjure up the necessary power to open the door. "Goddammit," she muttered, shaking her head upon realizing her situation.

After a minute of trying, she decided to spin back around to face the door again, giving herself more time to consider things. She could maybe throw herself with the door, accomplishing the initial budge to open it just enough to get over the hard part. It would likely result in her falling to the floor after, so she'd have to quickly return to her feet afterward. Opening the door made considerable noise, so there was a chance it could awaken her captors. If that was the case, she needed to be ready to run right away.

"Shit," she swore again, realizing that she was in no position for running while tied up.

Finally, she had to return to the first option. With a nervous gulp, she softly hopped across the room, headed for the passageway where the two bounty hunters had gone through earlier. They were nowhere to be seen now, likely passed out from drinking wine and ale. Hopefully, at least.

Mine leaned against the wall, peeking into the next room before entering. There was a large chamber there, with lots of barrels for ale. This entire cellar had been in use previously for this reason, although Mine wondered why it had ended up in the hands of these two bounty hunters. Then again, they may have impounded it just for this job of theirs.

At last, something useful came into sight. Mine hopped over to the corkscrew resting visibly on a barrel in the corner of the room. It wasn't as sharp as a blade, but it was something. Once she had it in her hands, she spun around and began maneuvering the tool so that the sharp tip was pointed at the ropes binding her wrists. She found a sort of massaging motion that created friction upon the ropes, while she spun the corkscrew back and forth in the process. It wasn't having much success, and Mine suspected it would take a long time. But she still had to try.

After a few minutes, she decided to take the tool back to her room, in case she caught attention from the bounty hunters. At least, she would be quiet while she put the corkscrew to use. Not to mention, once she returned to her chair, she figured out a more effective method of chipping away at the rope. Perhaps this would work after all.

In what was probably an hour, Mine was still unable to cut the ropes. "Fuck," she said with a low growl. Her wrists were already exhausted, and the ropes remained in place. The corkscrew was unable to achieve a meaningful cut. However, she did notice that the ropes had been loosened somewhat from the process. Thinking back to the other room, that one barrel was on the ground, and filled with ale. It gave her an idea.

Moments later, she managed to hop back to that room, where that barrel was in the same place. With her back turned, she punctured the cork with the tool, then started twisting the handle. Sure enough, she began to remove the cork, although she had to run through it three times to finally get the cork off. The hole in the barrel wasn't particularly large, but Mine's hands were small enough to get a few fingers in. She felt the lukewarm ale inside and splashed some of the beverage up, so that it got her hands wet. Not as effective as something like oil, but she was willing to bet it would still do the trick.

Next, she found a thick nail sticking out of the shelf. She pressed the ropes against the nail, until she got a good hold of it. From there, she slowly started to slide her wrists, and the loosened ropes were suddenly becoming less burdensome. Then they went from tight to loose… and then they were removed. "Yes!" she whispered loudly, finally freeing her right wrist. She removed the ropes easily with her freed hand and then massaged her wrists, relieved to have them released once again.

There wasn't time to dwell on that. She glanced around quickly in case her actions had awoken the bounty hunters. Once she was sure things were fine, she carefully sat down and went to work on her ankles. The ropes were tight, but with her hands free, she was able to remove her boots, which gave her ankles space. That was enough for her to get both her legs free.

And now, she was completely unbound.

Once she put her boots back on, Mine went for the cellar door, ready to go running. However, she paused at the door, unable to resist glancing back. Her special weapon remained in the possession of her captors… and she didn't want to just abandon it. Her comrades had to go through difficult feats to acquire these ancient weapons. All she had to do was find her Ancient Arms, and then she could use it… to kill both Sanfred and Rod.

Then Mine took another moment… to think about everything. Even though she wanted to retrieve her weapon, she already knew she wasn't going to be able to do so without encountering her captors. It was difficult for her to accept it, but she felt weakened. Somehow, these two bounty hunters had been clever enough to get the jump on her. That meant they were no ordinary foes. If she risked facing them again, she could end up wasting her lucky break. Ultimately, she chose not to take that risk.

With her decision made, Mine went for the door. She slid it open as quietly as possible, although that was quite difficult. It was heavy, and the only way to get it to slide open even a few inches was to give it a hearty shove. Mine was a talented sniper, but she was not much of a heavy lifter. Still, she did ultimately get the door open… and then she was on the move.

The woods were dark, considering it was the middle of the night. Mine held her shoulders for a few moments, coping with the newly introduced cold before she got moving. There was no telling exactly where she was, but her previous mission had taken her to the woods just east of the hideout. This was probably not that far off from there, although she never recalled seeing the cellar here before.

A cool breeze swept past her, and Mine came to a halt. In that moment, she could have sworn she heard a voice. Despite wanting to avoid doing so, she turned and glanced back at the cellar, wondering if she was being followed. Fortunately, it remained undisturbed ever since she made her exit.

When her captors awoke, they would come after her. Therefore, it would be best for her to take a path they wouldn't suspect. Ahead, there was a sort of main trail, so she steered north of that. The trees were thick there, but she could avoid being spotted, and she could avoid leaving footprints. It was a long path back to her hideout and most likely it would take more than a day to make it. That meant the bounty hunters would search for her, and they had good odds to catch up to her. Each decision she made from this point on was going to be crucial.