Xev opened his eyes. Everything was blurry. He felt extremely heavy and sluggish. He tried to move his legs but they would not obey so he tried his fingers with more success. After a few minutes he could move his arms and he struggled to sit up. Things began to clear and he noticed he was sitting on a wooden table in a square stone room with one solid steal door in front of him. Light from an outside torch shined through a small barred window set in the door.
His heart began to beat furiously as he remembered what happened just before he passed out. He had a cold sweat and he had a strange sense of vertigo. He tried to calm himself like Valon had told him. He closed his eyes and suddenly felt a presence around him though not his own. Footsteps came from outside his door and the presence became stronger threating to drown him. They stopped outside his cell and the door swung open revealing the mage dressed in a robe that seemed to be emitting a black writhing mist. His hood was down showing his round pale head. He had a long nose and strong brow. He walked over and sat in a stool next to Xev.
"When was he last fed?" he said to the guards standing in the doorway.
"But three hours ago, sir." said one of them.
"Good. Good. He will be ready then." He turned with a menacing twisted smile. "Xev. We have been waiting for some time now. Two days is it? My…king wishes to speak with you…but that won't be for a while. You see, we would like some information about your friend Valon. Since he has some…unique abilities…it will be difficult for us to extract the knowledge from him. Understand?" he paused and leaned closer to Xev, "I also have unique abilities of my own as I'm sure you have seen, although my…profession…entails some extreme ways of gaining accurate results." He stood up and crossed his arms, the seams of his arms disappearing in the darkness of his cloak.
Xev wasn't sure what kind of information that they wanted about Valon. He had spent the better part of two days with him. All he knew was that he worked closely with King Alrin and that he was a member of the High Mages.
"Who are you? I'm not saying anything!" stated Xev.
"Very brave of you Xev, but you are only making this harder for yourself. You will tell us what we need and if you prove useless then we will let you…free." said the dark mage. "As for who I am… I'm much older than I seem. I spent some…time…in another realm only spoke of in stories…" his cloak grew darker, "in this place I learned a great deal about the natural forces of a different world. Forces that are very…powerful. My king had sent me there to observe this strange land and to report back to him on what I had…accomplished. You see, he was looking for something, something very important to his work. We believe Valon knows of this…object."
Xev felt an overwhelming strength engulf him and the presence that continued to drown him seemed to merge with his being. He felt he could run for an eternity without fatigue.
"Now, tell me, have you seen Valon with an object that he never leaves out of his sight? Has he been hiding something that he keeps secret from you? You must have noticed this." pressured the dark mage.
Xev did feel as though Valon had been distant from them while traveling. He always stayed well in front of the group as they walked and kept to his self unless they needed to rest. But Xev never noticed him carrying anything in his bags that seemed out of place.
"Xev! You must listen to me! It is Valon there is no time for questions do you feel this energy? I will channel it through this link. Use it to break free of your shackles and subdue the mage. Do it quickly!" Valon's voice echoed in the distance of his mind.
Xev now knew that presence he felt was not the mage in front of him but Valon. He seemed strange as though he had someone else with him who was very powerful. The energy inside him increased and he knew what he had to do without thinking. Time seemed to slow down around him and he could not explain the sensation although godlike was close.
His eyes began to glow a bright silvery colour and he cast a spell that emanated from his body and sent a shockwave of energy that shown as bright as the sun but with a silvery hew. The wave of light disintegrated the bindings around his legs, the table and then hit the mages wards blinding him. The mage cast a shadowy shield that blocked the wave but the spell that Xev had cast continued to channel proving difficult for the mage to defend from. Xev's blinding aura burned down his wards and shields as though they were nothing.
Xev got up off the floor and walked towards the mage then suddenly the mage vanished within a tiny void hovering in midair then it collapsed in on itself releasing a blast of pure darkness where the light from Xev's spell could not penetrate.
The void then dissipated into nothingness. Xev turned to the cell door which had been blown open, the hinges melted to the frame. He continued down the dark hallway hoping to find where they were holding Zanir and Valon. His energy had lowered significantly after the event that occurred in his cell and he wasn't sure if he could tap into the energy that Valon somehow channeled to him. He wasn't sure what happened to the mage he attacked. There was no sign of any guards in the hallways and he passed many cells.
He peered into the windows set in the doors, "Zanir! Valon! Can you hear me?"
In the hallway was an eerie silence and Xev stopped moving for a moment. He listened for any sign of his brother's and friend's whereabouts. Nothing. His heart began to quicken and he thought to himself that there might be a way to find them using his mind such as Valon had done although he had no training in the matter. He did know how to calm himself and maybe if he reached for the energy that still emanated within him he could sense other energies in the dungeon and beyond.
As Xev took a few deep breaths and closed his eyes he tried to tap into the energy roiling in his mind and body. Just as before he touched a drowning presence that overwhelmed him and threatened to take control and he hesitated and withdrew fearing he would pass through and be torn apart by the vast amount of raw power. He tried again this time slowly inching towards the pool of energy and before he delved into it he felt something else very faint and he tried to focus on that. The presence felt familiar and he knew then it was Valon.
"Valon? Can you hear me?" questioned Xev but there was no answer.
His presence felt incredibly strong yet distant. Xev continued to focus on Valon's signature and began to walk down the dark hallway. He noticed the signature became more apparent as he neared the end of the hallway. Through is ears he heard thundering footsteps as soldiers were scrambling to enter the dungeon above him. Then Xev saw an outline of a door as he approached the end of the hall. He felt around with his hands and pulled on the latch to open the cell door but it didn't budge.
Closing his eyes he took a breath and immersed himself into the energy then once it overtook him he opened his glowing silver eyes. He pressed his hands on the door and summoned a powerful force that left his hands and extended into the door where it burst the hinges and shattered the thick iron into small fragments that fell harmlessly to the floor. Immediately afterwards he nearly fell to the ground and his vision faded. He leaned against the door frame and saw the figure of Valon in the faint light strapped to a table his once elegant robes all tattered and blood smeared.
Walking over he undid the straps around his legs, waist and arms. Valon seemed to be in a deep sleep as he was motionless but still breathing shallowly.
"Valon. Wake up. We have to get out of here and find Zanir. Valon!" Xev noticed multiple cuts along his arms and legs they looked precise in nature no doubt due to torture.
Xev began to heal them over with the vast amount of energy at his disposal. After a minute of healing he began to feel very weak and light headed which he did not understand. He had so much energy when he used the power but why is he so tired afterwards?
Valon began to move slightly and opened his eyes. "Xev? Is the mage gone? …they poisoned me…I cannot use magic until it wears off. You have to carry me…do not use the power too frequently…it takes your own strength every time you use it." Valon said faintly.
"Yes he is and I have noticed the effect it has on my strength. Here I'll help you up. We still need to find Zanir." Said Xev as he lifted Valon's light frame off of the table.
Noise came from outside in the hall where the soldiers began running down the spiral stairs. They would have to fight their way past them.
"Xev! Valon! I'm in here!" yelled Zanir and banging erupted on a door next to the cell they were in.
"We must escape from this city it isn't safe here. I'm afraid we were too late to save them from Vraeza's reach." warned Valon as he grabbed his sword and bags before they left the cell and into the hall Xev giving him support.
They both stopped before the cell Zanir was in.
"Zanir! We'll get you out of there as soon as we can just hold on." Xev explained. He turned to Valon and said, "I'm afraid that it will take too much of my energy to break through this iron door. Do you know of a way to unlock it with as little energy as possible?"
"Instead of destroying the entire door as you did with my cell. You can just break the locking mechanism or the hinges. I advise the locking mechanism now hurry."
Xev summoned the energy and placed his hand on the doors locking mechanism which had a key slot and blew out the lock which fell out of the door landing on the floor with a hard clang. He pushed it open and Zanir rushed out with his gear.
"Thank you, brother. Took your damned time." said Zanir.
"Hold on," said Xev, "We should hide in your cell and wait for the soldiers to check each cell. Then when they push open the door we ambush them and rush past the others. Get back in quickly!"
The trio moved into the dark cell and closed the door lightly behind them. Zanir and Valon drew their swords to prepare for the attack. Xev left his back in his cell it would have been of no use anyways since the room was completely scorched and melted.
Clanging of iron boots sounded in the hallway and they heard cell doors being slammed open. Yelling came from their captain, "Show your selves! You're surrounded. Give up while you still can and the king may go lightly on you."
Xev's heart began to quicken and he felt like he was going to be sick. Steps came closer to their cell as the soldiers ran by to check the cell they thought the dark mage and Xev were supposed to be in.
"Captain! Look at the room sir! What happened in here?" shock and horror in the soldier's voice.
"Go! Spread out and open each cell. They're down here somewhere. Now find them!" the captains deep voice sounded and the soldiers continued checking all the cells.
So far Xev's plan had gone perfectly. He had hoped that the soldiers would split up down the hall leaving the stairway open for them to run by after they take care of the men who happened to open the cell they were in.
Pairs of boots stopped at their cell.
"Look. The lock has been dislodged. Over here!" one of them called to the others down the hall.
"Curse him, we have to move now!" Xev said. "On three. One, two, go!"
Valon swung the door inward and Zanir rushed out with a vicious battle cry a blue shield around him and barreled into the three soldiers that had their shields up knocking two of them to the floor. Zanir then blocked a slash by the third soldier's short sword and countered with a slash to the throat. He fell to the floor with blood spurting from his open neck. The other two struggled to get up in their heavy armor and Zanir knocked one unconscious with the hilt of his sword. The other soldier got to his knee and almost took Zanir's right leg off with a low horizontal slash but he smashed the sword out of his hand and stabbed him through the armpit under his breast plate. The remaining soldiers were nearly upon him.
Xev and Valon had already begun up the spiral stairway and Zanir picked up a shield and ran off after them. At the top of the stair case the three of them were faced with two soldiers on either side of the exit at the far end of a large open room with tables and tapestries along the walls. Both of the soldiers were hesitant on what to do. One dropped his spear and shield and ran off through the exit thinking the group of soldiers that were sent in were all dead. The remaining soldier stood his ground and slowly approached them his shield held high and spear at the ready.
"Our business in not with you." said Valon as they closed the gap between them, "Let us pass and we will spare your life."
The remaining soldiers came scrambling up the stair case behind them the captain yelling, "Stop them!"
With new hope the lone soldier charged them. Zanir stepped forward and sliced the soldiers spear in two and slammed his shield into the soldier's face knocking him off his feet and landing on his back. The soldier quickly scrambled back towards the wall where he remained sitting and the three ran passed and out into Arinstall.
The captain ran up to the soldier sitting against the wall, blood running from his nose, "You pathetic dog!" and ran the soldier through the chest with his sword. "Follow them!" he yelled to the group of soldiers as they ran out of the dungeon.