The Nora returned hours later just in time to see the leader grabbing Avad forcefully and dragging him violently to someplace down the stairs. Cautiously, she descended in the direction they had gone and activated her focus, seeing Avad in a room with another man, the leader of the place. The entrance to the fortified cell was guarded by a kestrel. Perfect. Upon arrival, she greeted him and stayed 'patrolling' by his side. A good excuse, reinforcing the prison's surveillance, and if that sentinel happened to leave his post... A shout startled her.
"Damn you!" came from inside the room where the king was imprisoned. "You have no other choice! Do you understand?" The general's voice sounded clear, energetic, and filled with anger. Avad's voice, on the other hand, was nothing but murmurs that couldn't be deciphered from the outside. "Do you think you're clever, huh? Well, know that your formality and your maneuvers won't save you!"
"AAAH!" Avad's loud cry startled Aloy once again. She began to grow impatient. Within seconds, there was a sharp thud followed by a groan, and then the door opened, startling the two waiting outside. The leader appeared, slamming the door behind him.
"You." he ordered, pointing with a blood-stained sword at the kestrel standing next to the hunter, tossing a set of keys also splattered with blood to her. "Chain him to the wall and then bring those to me. And you," he added, turning towards the impostor, "watch that no one enters or leaves that cell. Understood?" Both of them nodded nervously. "You can go in and torture him, but don't kill him, or you'll be next." he warned. Her 'companion' did as his superior commanded, and then followed him. Seconds later, when the two were gone, Aloy entered the room, anxious about the state in which she would find the Sun-King. Once inside, she found Avad chained as they had ordered. His wretched appearance spoke for itself. He had a vacant look, with his head reclined backward, although at least this time, his face was not covered, revealing his pitiful condition. Blood dripped from his nose, forming a trail that entered his mouth, diluting in his saliva and mixing with the blood also oozing from his split lip.
"W-what...? Do you s-still want to… negotiate?" he asked, trying to appear strong and defiant, but his voice was weak and faltering. He was half-leaning against the wall with his arms raised by the chains. His whole body was marked by various blows, and his right arm had a cut that also drenched his arm and dripped blood.
Some of his right-hand fingers looked devastating. They were in an odd position, with a color ranging between red and purple, accompanied by noticeable swelling. They were likely broken. Furthermore, his bloodied knuckles had raised skin, exposing the flesh. Then, Aloy lowered her gaze to see that his shoes were missing. In their place were bare feet covered in dust, dirt, wounds, and scratches, still entangled in the rope. His pants were full of holes, especially around the knees, revealing wounded skin. The t-shirt appeared similar, stained with the blood that had fallen on it, as well as the surroundings. She found his crown discarded in a corner, also showing signs of mistreatment.
"Avad, it's me, Aloy." she said with a gentle voice, approaching slowly to avoid startling him as she removed the disguise that hid her identity, revealing her red hair.
"What?" he asked, squinting as if making a great effort to focus. "Are you... really... you? Nah... Stop playing with me," he said resentfully. It was evident that he struggled to articulate words.
"It's really me." she replied, gently cradling his exhausted face with both hands, sensing that he was bathed in sweat, with a higher than normal temperature. It was quite likely he had a fever from being exposed to the sun for too long. He instantly recognized the warm and soft touch of her skin.
"By the Sun... Aloy...! What are you doing here? H-how did you find me?" he asked, scared.
"I followed the clues in the palace, and your trail led me here." she said, still holding his face, trying to calm him. But instead of relief, he seemed even more restless. Disturbed, he said, "No, no, please, leave... if t-they see you here..." he stammered, filled with anguish.
"I'm going to free you." she replied, wiping the blood from his nose with her hand and grabbing her spear. "I'll break the chains."
"No... I can't... they'll catch you because of me... I... ah... I don't think I-I can take two steps... P-please leave," he pleaded.
"What have they done to you?" she asked, worried.
"I fear more... what's coming…" he replied, avoiding explaining how they had mistreated him "But... in the palace, when they... attacked me, they made m-me drink something that... ah... now because of that, my vision is blurry... I hear quite poorly, and... ah... everything is spinning... I can't even think clearly... in my… my head, there's only confusion, noise, and now the thought that... if they catch y-you with me, they'll capture you, and it will be… catastrophic."
"Oh no... Can't you move?"
"Barely... please, go..." he pleaded fearfully. His usual elegant presence and diplomacy had disappeared, and it seemed like he would lose control at any moment.
"Do you know what they want to do with you? Maybe that will help me come up with a plan."
"More or less... they want to break me, force me to... return to my father's regime, and... I wouldn't do that even if it cost me... my life. But if they catch you... ah... it's one of the only things they could use to... blackmail me..." she was left not knowing what to say. Was that a declaration? Or was he just too confused and scared? Either way, it wasn't the time to find out "Please, Aloy... go..."
"I don't want to leave you here, but there are... too many of them. But they probably won't hesitate to kill you if they catch us escaping." she admitted, still holding his exhausted face, gently caressing his cheeks with her thumbs, wiping the blood from his nose. "I... I don't know what to do without raising the alarm."
"If I don't yield... they'll take me to the Sun Ring..." his voice sounded full of dread, and his breathing became increasingly agitated.
"And outside the walls, they're more vulnerable!" she completed the king's sentence enthusiastically "I'll do everything I can, trust me, I won't give up... I'm going to talk to Talanah, she came with me."
"Please..." he pleaded, with blood once again dripping from one of his nostrils, "Above all, avoid getting captured... even if it means leaving me here..."
"We'll see about that. I'm not leaving you." she replied, wiping away a tear that was running down his cheek. Then, she turned and lit her focus to see if anyone was there. Nothing for now. "I don't have food, but take this, drink some water, I'll add a bit of medicinal herb infusion that will help reduce your pain and make you feel better," she offered, handing him a drink from the provisions she had. He drank it eagerly, choking, and when he finished, he sighed, blinking very slowly.
"T-thank you... I needed that..."
"Do you feel better?" she asked, wiping his cracked lips with her thumb.
"Y-yes... but before you go... could you put something cold on... my head? Ah... the pain is killing me…"
"Of course." she replied, wetting a bandage with water. "Everything will be fine, okay?" She tried to encourage him as she applied the cold cloth to his forehead. "We'll give them what they deserve." Then, she handed him a vial filled with a red liquid. "Here, drink this; it will help you endure the pain, along with what I gave you earlier."
"Thank you." he whispered. At that moment, Aloy noticed that someone was approaching. "I must return to 'my post.'" she warned, assessing her one last time. "But we'll see each other soon." Waving goodbye as she concealed her identity again, she added, "Don't lose hope. Whatever happens, Avad, hold on, don't give up. You can do it. Rest assured that I won't let them finish you off, especially not in such a cruel manner."
As she headed back to her post, masking her hair and donning her sentinel mask once more, she couldn't help but feel a glimmer of hope. What lay ahead was far from good, but at least now, she had a chance of leaving this place alive. The approaching person was the other sentinel, who returned to his place beside Aloy. She wasn't sure how to steer the conversation toward the topic of the imprisoned Sun King without raising suspicion.
"Tomorrow is the big day," he said.
"Yes, I can hardly wait." she replied in her altered, masculine voice. "Although they moved me here to increase security, I haven't been able to get the full picture of what we're planning."
"Haven't you? But everyone's been talking about it for days! Everyone's thrilled about returning to power... Afterward, the captain will make one last offer to that traitor to return everything to the way it used to be. If he refuses, we'll proceed without him and attack Meridian, taking the city at any cost." The sentinel spoke with a chilling indifference, willing to sacrifice countless lives to seize power. "But first, we'll get rid of him so he stops causing trouble. They say it will be an unprecedented spectacle in the Sun Ring, at sunset. It'll be a day to remember. Besides, the successor to Helis will be publicly announced after that savage woman finished him off..."
"Yes, she certainly ruined everything." Aloy said with a touch of irony, smiling inwardly "And how! We can all witness it, right? I wouldn't dream of missing it."
"Yes, we'll leave tomorrow at noon to have everything ready and stage the show just before sunset." he explained. This was perfect; it gave Talanah and her time to devise a plan. Minutes later, their superior descended the stairs toward Avad's cell. This idea didn't reassure Aloy at all, but at least the fact that they wanted to put on a grand spectacle meant they wouldn't kill him before that moment, unless they got caught, of course.
The man entered the room and slammed the door shut, creating quite a commotion. Seconds later, the sound of a slap was followed by menacing shouts from the man and Avad's complaints. Aloy discreetly turned and activated her focus to see their silhouettes, trying to grasp what was happening. The man had Avad by the shoulders and was shaking him violently while issuing threats.
"Do you see this?" he exclaimed, drawing his sword and pressing the blade against Avad's neck. Aloy felt her pulse quicken, and her muscles tensed. "I wouldn't hesitate to run you through with it if it weren't for tomorrow!" He shouted inches from Avad's face, still with the blade at his throat, gripping him by the chest of his shirt. Then, he clenched the fingers of his right hand, causing Avad to emit a muffled cry of pain.
Aloy couldn't bear to watch any longer, so she decided to find a credible excuse and slip away, not only from her post but from the building altogether, so she could go see Talanah and prepare a plan.