“Yes,” said one middle-aged man. “But who are you? Why is a dark elf with you? They cannot be trusted.”
“We are the Ellorian Champions, and this is Prince Dravo of Kiarven. He is helping us. We don’t really have time to explain more. I need you to trust us.”
The man pursed his lips. “You I can trust. Him I cannot.”
“Fair enough. You speak for all?”
After a moment, he nodded. “I do.”
Steady footsteps behind him made Matt turn to see Eric arriving.
“What’s that?” Matt asked.
Eric tossed a thick rope in his hand to the floor. “The rope to the bell. He was about to ring it. I cut off enough to keep anyone from reaching it soon. I checked the other rooms on the way here. We’re clear.”
“There are more rooms back here,” advised Dravo, moving toward them, Eric following. They came back a minute later, indicating that the only dark elf left was the prince. By then, the keys had been found, and the jails opened, the hostages all awakened. Some were just children, but none so small they would have to be carried. Anna crouched down to talk to them as Eric addressed the adults, telling them the basic plan. Anna did a cursory examination of anyone, healing a few of minor issues like dehydration, sores on their feet, and anything else that might inhibit the escape. It seemed they were ready to go.
Matt turned to the rogue. “Eri, um, Andier, why don’t you tie up the two I burned?”
“Right.”
“Catch up. We’ll wait at the exit to the prison.”
Within minutes, the group had gathered by Ryan, who looked relieved. He said that no one had come by. Matt and the other wizard, the one from Aker, cast another spell to muffle sounds, and the group left the prison with Eric in the lead. The fog had grown thicker, but the rogue led them right to the awaiting guard, who reported that two more dark elves had walked by minutes ago. Dravo took the lead, because this time they were staying on the streets and not walking behind buildings. They moved with good efficiency and stealth and reached the castle’s corner sooner than Matt expected. They went over the crumbling wall back to the path, the wizard belatedly realizing they should have spread the fog here, too. So far, this was going fairly well. But no sooner had he thought it than the prison bell began tolling.
Prince Dravo turned to them and whispered, “Run! Quietly, but run!”
They did as he told them, moving to the path, Eric in the lead, his head turned toward the castle walls. Even if someone saw them there, they likely couldn’t be stopped from reaching the portal now. Matt had seen no doors from the castle over here. He stayed at the rear with Ryan, gesturing for others to hurry. They heard shouts inside the castle now, feet charging on the other side of the wall, the bell still ringing. But the group reached the fork back over the gorge and went up the stairs, the healthy helping the women and children. Matt had the impression this was the most exercise they’d had in a long time. Their eyes shone with fear and desperation, but he felt calm as he crossed the bridge with the knight and looked back, everyone else continuing without them.
“I think we made it,” he said, feeling excited by the adventure.
“Yeah, but now getting to the king is going to be a bitch.”
“Can’t argue with that. Go on without me. I need to do something.”
“No, staying here to guard you at the least.”
“Okay. Thanks.” He pulled out the vial from earlier.
“What are you doing?”
“More fog. We need to get back across this bridge in a minute.”
“I think we do it now, to be honest. We can do that out of sight at least and the others can catch up.”
Matt nodded and glanced back to see Ryan gesturing to Eric where they were going and seeing Eric give a thumbs up. He and the knight went back into the shade of trees and Matt cast the spell from there, trying to speed up the fog’s spread by gesturing more often and not sure if that helped any. He made sure it flowed in the other direction that they hadn’t been yet—the one Dravo said led to a rear entrance in the castle. The royals who had long ago wanted to use the portal went that way, as did important guests. But any commoners had to go toward the city just like he and the others had just done. Presumably, no one would think to look back here at all.
They waited in silence, correctly assuming the rest of the group would join them once the fog was thick enough, and they did. Now the only ones left were the Ellorians, Prince Dravo, and the other two wizards. At the least, the rescue had been a success, the hostages through the portal and being taken care of in Thiat. But now they had to avert disaster. If they failed, getting King Sondin restored as the quest demanded would take longer.
“What now?” Eric whispered to the dark elf.
“The plan has not changed. We move to where my man waits for me. He may be delayed, however.”
Matt frowned at the truth of it. While Dravo had been exiled long ago and many of his men dispersed so they could not operate together in any way, there were still those loyal to him. Some worked in the castle in various positions, and one such dark elf had helped him and his sister leave. They had climbed down a temporary rope ladder near the rear corner tower. Now he and the others would wait for that person to lower it again. He just wouldn’t be expecting so many people to climb up. They headed that direction and, to even Dravo’s surprise, the ladder was already lowered. He appeared to consider that a moment before ascending alone, pausing near
