“And mine as well,” said her husband.”
“The feeling is mutual,” replied Ing.
Ing and Alma regrouped once the stars started to permeate the sky above. While Alma had been away she had been looking for a man that she was to meet in the city. He had given her a letter which she looked over promptly.
Dear Alma Lifetree,
I have written to Erste and now I must give my regards to you, sweet child of mine. I have received word from your uncle that he has parted ways with Ing to track the Illusionists that were surrounding the area around his cave. I am not sure if he has yet been successful in this venture. In any case, I trust you found the boy and took him to Horwin straightaway. The blacksmith will be glad to see him. Now that you are in Shamsake you must watch him closely because I fear the LaBelles have taken up your trail.
Ing must speak to the Lord and Lady of the city while he is there and they will give him counsel. In the meantime, keep an eye out for Hector and his companions. They may be close by even as you are reading this. Trouble will come out of their pursuit, but I cannot yet take up arms against his father, Hector II.
Once you have left the city, you must send Ing to Erste to complete his training. This may take several weeks before he is ready. Afterwards send him on to Dharma with all due speed and I will see that I test his abilities with a sword and see if Erste has taught him properly. You need not come to Dharma if you have other business to take care of, just see that you direct him to the right location.
Sincerely,
Bartock Faith
They made their way to a place where they could sleep for the night. Once inside, they were prepared to rest.
BOOM!
“What was that?” Ing asked. A second later, the door they had just entered through blew off its hinges. Behind it was Brutus; Hector was to his left.
“Fancy seeing you here,” said Hector. “Come here to win over the Lady of the Lake with the treasure of Shamsake, have you? Brutus, grab the boy’s sword. He will not make fools of us again.”
Brutus shambled over and grabbed Ing’s sword before he could reach it. Ing ran towards him, but was knocked to the ground by his gigantic fist; he lay on the floor, breathless.
“Grab the girl, Hamilton,” Hector said.
Alma went off running and, within moments, had crashed through a window at the far end of the room.
“I see she’s a fast one,” said Hamilton.
“What’s all the ruckus?” A stern looking group of guards were in the hallway, obviously having their attention drawn to the room from the disturbance.
“This man tried to engage us in combat,” said Hector wryly. “No worries though, we’re all right.” He smiled devilishly at Ing.
“That’s ridiculous,” Ing responded as he finally caught his breath.
“Take his sword,” the captain said, refusing to listen to Ing’s plea. “Lock him up in the dungeon.”
Ing witnessed one of the guards take his only weapon, and he worried he’d never see it again. “Not my sword,” he moaned. Two guards lifted him to his feet and wrestled him off.
Chapter 8: Captive
Ing slowly opened his eyes, blinking them several times. He was in a dungeon somewhere beneath Shamsake, or so far as he could tell; surely he was not taken outside of the city’s walls. It was dimly lit and he couldn’t see much. He tried moving around, and was relieved to find that he wasn’t chained up. This made him feel he had a chance at escape. He couldn’t help but wonder what had become of his sword. He knew he had to get it back.
Taking a few moments to survey his surroundings, he quickly discovered that he was in a room no more than three times the size of his bedroom in Ganwin. The floor was created from stone, and on the opposite side from where he lay was a staircase with about ten stairs that led up to a door.
I suppose I have to wait here until someone comes to check on me. Hopefully the wait will not be overly long. I must regroup with Alma and quickly. Those guards are fools for trusting Hector over me, but I suppose he does have a sweet tongue. Maybe when I see him again I'll have a talk with the Lord and Lady and have him sent to the dungeons. I wonder how he would like that.
After not very long, the door flew open and a guard walked in. “Your food,” he grunted. The man's name was Durzon Furzis and he was one of the many guards who kept watch over the prisons of Shamsake.
Maybe if I am kind to him, I can convince this man to let me leave. He must realize I'm no criminal. Hector is the one responsible for this foul deed. I will pay my debt to him. “I thank you for the food. My throat is sorely dry and I would appreciate it if I could have some water as well. I fear I may faint. My name is Ing Roan from the town of Ganwin in the south.”
“Durzon Furzis,” the man grunted and Ing guessed it was his name. “We don't have any water here. You would do well to be thankful for what you do have. Now eat.” This routine went on like this for several days and Ing began to grow restless. He would ask how long he had been here, if he could get a drink of water, and eventually he demanded that he be allowed to speak to the Lord and Lady of the city. At that Durzon
