Arthur was sitting on a tree stump in front of the inn’s gate, the number of possessed which surrounded them grew with every passing hour. Els stood over by the gate inspecting the possessed, the sea of pale faces barely moved as she looked over them.

"They're not all that bright, we may be able to lure them away from the gate," she said.

"Even if we did, they would just chase us down and those things won't get tired," said Arthur.

They had been thinking of ideas to get out of here for an hour to no avail. Els only managed to get in through the back gate which was now blocked by more possessed. When he suggested that coming in here without a plan to escape was surely a jest, she only glared at him and went red with embarrassment. Arthur did have one idea that he had not shared with Els, it was not a good plan and if executed poorly could kill both. Els had shown that she did not only dress like a rouge from a fairy tale, but she acted like one as well. Arthur was surprised she hadn't thought of this method as well. The longer they waited here the more likely Pyp would end up dead or worse, so it was time to use the last resort.

"Els, there is one way we can get out of here," said Arthur getting up from his tree stump.

"What is it" asked Els.

"This is a large inn they’re bound to have a large supply of spirits" he said moving off into the building.

"What would we do with spirits?" asked Els as they walked down into the inn's cellar. Arthur picked a small barrel off the shelf and read the inscription in the wood "Low Mount Brandy".

"Watch," he poured a small amount of brandy into a metal dish and pulled a tinderbox out of his pack, he showered the plate with sparks and the brandy wafted up in flames.

"We can pour brandy onto the crowd of possessed outside the front gate, more brandy can be poured into the rain channels on the road to create a wall of fire to stop the other possessed from following us" explained Arthur as he started pulling more barrels out from the shelf.

Els looked at the burning brandy and said, "We can't do this".

Arthur glanced over at her mildly surprised. "Why not."

"The fire will burn half the city down!"

"Maybe that's for the best." Maybe she wasn't as much of a rogue as she seemed.

"I can't burn down the city I have lived in all my life Arthur, we will think of something else." Els turned to leave the cellar.

"I'm sorry but I don't have time to think of other solutions," he walked past her carrying two barrels of brandy.

"The city you knew is dead Els, most of the people you knew are either dead as well or thousands of leagues away."

"I know that!" she snapped "but there has to b-".

Arthur cut her off. "There may be, but I have someone I need to rescue, so you can stay down here while I work." Arthur left her there to think while he moved the brandy to the tree stump. He needed a way to climb up onto the fence so he could pour brandy down on the possessed. The largest chair in the Inn only reached halfway up the fence; Arthur was in the middle of dragging a table out to the gate when Els came out of the cellar. She stared around at the city before moving to help Arthur carry the table.

The chair and table allowed Arthur to stand far above the masses of possessed, Els handed him the first barrel reluctantly. Arthur could in her eyes she was still conflicted, they darted around the fence in desperation, looking for any alternative they could use to escape. He said nothing, Arthur wasn't good at comforting people; he never knew what to say or how to act. Focus Arthur! He pulled the tap off the barrel and showered the possessed below with brandy. The possessed barely flinched when the volatile liquor sunk into their clothes. Arthur poured two more barrels into the crowd before stepping off the makeshift ladder.

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They needed to act fast once the brandy had been poured into the rain channels or else it would run down into a drain. He gave Els a barrel and steered her to one channel while he took the other. Locking eyes with Els, Arthur nodded, and the brandy flowed. With the tinderbox in hand, Arthur furiously showered sparks onto a pile of torches they had made with the brandy. He threw the torches into the crowd. A wave of blue fire raced through the crowd of possessed. Meeting the river of brandy it ignited into a small wall of flames. Only then did the possessed react, they lumbered around drunkenly crashing into each other, screaming in wordless agony.

"Get behind me!" Arthur shouted at Els. Longsword in hand Arthur kicked the gate open. Without hesitation, he charged forward elbowing a few burning possessed out of his path. They were assaulted by the sickly-sweet stench of burning brandy and bubbling flesh as Arthur hastily cut his way free of the dispersing crowd. The wall of fire seemed to keep the other possessed at bay, whatever fell power corrupted them could not overcome the primal fear of fire. A burning figure grabbed Els from behind him, Arthur turned to assist her, but she kicked off the attacker. Arthur grabbed her by the arm and pushed her ahead of him out of the crowd. The wall of flame began to dip as the brandy burned.

"Run!" shouted Els as he stood staring into the flames.

Arthur was rooted to the ground as he saw a figure in the flames. The black smoke that leaked out of the burning bodies flowed together and formed the figure of a short boy.

"Arthur!" Els shouted.

He pulled away from the flames and ran.

They sprinted away from the inn, and Arthur held back to stay level with Els. After five minutes of sprinting, they stopped to catch their breath.

"Why did you stop" asked Els in between laboured breaths.

"There was a figure in the smoke," said Arthur.

"What smoke? All I saw was fire".

"It was the witch," said Arthur.

"Witch?" she looked confused for a moment, "The same witch you mistook me for?".

"Yes, she's in the city," said Arthur.

"If you believe that you must be half mad, witches don't exist, Arthur, they're just stories."

Arthur's shoulder ached. He sheathed his sword, "I know what I saw." He looked back to the Inn. "We need to get moving."

They moved off in silence, Els led the way not daring to look back. Arthur knew she was hoping the fire would die out at the inn, but the wind blew strong. Arthur thought about Pyp as they ran, he found himself distressed at his absence. Since he had taken the job at the High Prince's estate, he had rarely been away from Pyp and his annoying questions. Pyp certainly made for better company than Els, her confident swagger seemed forced and hollow now that she was sulking like a child. Arthur didn't blame himself for her foul mood, she sought him out for help and if she had any confidence in her abilities, she would have raided the Baron’s keep herself.

"How long until we reach the Dungeons," asked Arthur.

"We have to go somewhere else first. I have to collect my things".

"Will it take long?"

"No."

Els led him to a large house; it was the house of an aristocrat. The front gate was gilded and decorated with solid gold statues of doves. The front door was deep mahogany carved with intricate patterns.

Els pushed the door open and led Arthur inside "Is this your house from before the city fell?" asked Arthur taking in the opulence of his surroundings.

"Yes." She moved off upstairs.

When Arthur tried to follow, she stopped him. “Stay downstairs, a woman should be allowed some privacy in her own home".

As she marched away Arthur looked around the house, the grand staircase dominated the house with large dining rooms off to either side. The rooms were well furnished with plush carpets and large oil paintings covering the walls. The largest Painting in the house was a family portrait, the father was sitting in a padded chair and two daughters kneeling at his feet while his son stood behind him garbed in gleaming silver plate with a crimson red cape. His wife sat in a chair next to him clutching his arm with heavily decorated fingers. The daughters were both dressed in colourful dresses which ran down to their ankles, one of the daughters must have been Els. Arthur could not tell which one bore more resemblance to the dirty dishevelled woman who led him here.

Why is she still here? thought Arthur. The elite wouldn't have stayed in the city during the fall of Finepoint so why was an aristocrat staying in this dangerous place? and why did she need to get to the Baron’s Keep? Why? Why? Why!

He didn't need the answers to those questions and based on Els’ mood he didn't think she would give him any.

Els appeared at the bottom of the stairs. "Sneaking around my house are you."

"Just admiring the artwork."

"Admiring my family you mean," Els came and stood beside Arthur and looked up at the painting.

"I loved this painting," she said in a sad voice. "That's me there," she pointed to one of the girls. Arthur still didn't see any resemblance.

"You've changed a bit since then."

"Everyone grows up eventually. Come on let's get moving," she said quickly leaving the house.

"What did you get from upstairs." He'd noticed that she had changed clothes and washed up.

"Just some tools, let's get going", she opened the door and motioned for Arthur to leave. When they got out of the house Arthur noticed a large cloud of smoke coming in their direction, the fire had chased after them and with it came burning possessed.

"How can they still move!" Shouted Els as she threw open the gate.

"The witch" was Arthur's reply. They would need to start running again.