It didn't take Darien long to find Argon's forces in Alicia. He found their major forces occupying the Ayer family Castle. "I should go about this sneakily. It'll be hard to get information if I go for a frontal assault."

"Wind Breaker." As he climbed the Castle wall, Darien used a spell that cut off the sound around him. When he reached the top of the wall, Darien poked his head out and looked around. There were several guards at different positions around the wall. Most of the guards were talking to each other and weren't really paying attention to the things around them. Darien used that to his advantage and waited for the right moment to ambush a patrol passing the ridged side of the castle's parapet.

Like a predator stocking his prey, Darien waited. A patrol passed by the ridge after he waited for a few minutes. Darien pounced. A flaming whip shot from the shadows and wrapped around the patrolmen's waist. He was pulled from the wall and into the shadows where Darien lay waiting for him. Darien grabbed the guard's neck with his right hand covered in flames and said, "Hey, you. I have a question." "I-I-Intruder!" The fiery whip constricting the guard began to tighten as Darien asked his questions, "Look, I have a problem with patience. You're either going to answer my questions, or I'm going to roast you alive before finding someone else to question. Nod if you understand." The soldier quickly nodded his head. "Do you know where the knight who aided the Princess' escape is being held?" "Wh-what knight?" "The one who blocked Argon's pursuing forces." "I don't know what you are... Arghhhh!" The guard's skin started to burn under the intensifying heat. "Last chance." "I really don't know! Please believe me! Darien sighed. The man was in tears as the flames were eating away at his clothes. "Goodbye then." "Wait, no! Arghhhhhh!" The man was quickly engulfed in flames, unable to react in protest. A flicker of light went through Darien's eyes but quickly vanished. His gaze hardened as he looked for another guard to question.

It didn't take long for Darien to find another patrolman as he repeated his questioning. "I heard there were a lot of knights and mages captured! They are all being held in the Castle's dungeon! I'm not sure if he's being held there, but the dungeon is where all the prisoners I know of are being held! Please that's all I know!" "Where is the dungeon?" The guard swallowed the saliva pooling in his mouth as he said, "Somewhere underneath the castle! I'm not sure exactly where! I've never been there." "How helpful." Darien smacked the soldier in the head knocking him out.

His quiet infiltration ended abruptly when a passing patrolman spotted Darien from the distance. "Who goes there? Stop right there!" In the distance, an on-duty soldier caught wind of the Red Tower Master. "I guess my times up. Time for a new approach."

Darien leaped off of the Castle wall. Flames erupted underneath his feet and from his back as he headed directly for the Castle. "Oh spirit of fire, oh spirit of the earth, grant me your power! From the blood-soaked earth, and the ashes of hell, I beckon forth a raging serpent, Molten Serpent!" A Serpent of molten earth rose from the earth. The heat coming from the serpent was so red hot and tangible that it could be felt and noticed from a distance. Darien pointed his hand at the Castle, and his spell charged forth. Soon mages and soldiers noticed the rampaging molten serpent and gathered around to try and stop it.

"Stop the serpent at all costs!" Spells raged as mages cast a myriad of spells to hinder the serpent's movements. Darien hid while waiting for a big fish to arrive and bite his bait. "It's too strong! We have to delay its advance!" In less than three minutes, a capable mage had arrived. He took control of the troops surrounding the serpent. The man had long brown hair and a fancy grey robe that fluttered in the wind. A larger-than-life appearance; was accompanied by a boisterous voice, "I call upon the Old Ones. Earth toppled over skies! Falling Earth!"

A massive grey stone appeared above Darien's Molten Serpent spell. Its massive frame fell directly on the serpent and pinned it to the ground.

Long hair screamed, "Quickly! destroy the serpent! Don't give it a chance to get back up!" Darien found his fish. Flames exploded under his feet giving him a sudden burst of speed. He had arrived directly in front of Commander Long Hair. Clad in flaming armor with the piercing eyes of a dragon, Darien declared, "Tell me where the Dungeon is." The commander shuddered before casting a spell, "E-Earth Spear!"

Darien punched the spear before a whip of flames wrapped around the man in response. "Long Hair, you're going to tell me where the dungeon is, or you're going lose a limb for each second you delay. 1." One of the man's fingers flew up in the air before burning to ashes.

"Arghh! No!"

"2." The man's right hand flew up in the air.

The flames traveled to the man's lower waste.

"3."

"W-Wait!! The Du-dungeon is.." Darien grabbed him by the neck and started running. "Show me where. You have thirty seconds to lead me there, or I'll continue where we left off."

The mage quickly said, "Ov-over to the left. Enter the Castle and go all the way to the far left side!" A gust of wind and flames surrounded Darien as he ran into the castle. His molten serpent melted the stone that was weighing it down before continuing its rampage. "The monsters free!" "Stop it!" "Save Commander Liam!"

"Flame serpent!" Another serpent born of flames wrapped itself around Darien's body and struck at the soldiers and mages who tried to hinder him. They were flung to the left and right as he rushed into the Castle. Darien made his way to the far left side of the Castle and found a stairway leading down. "It's right here!" The mage pointed with his remaining hand. "Please don't kill me! I swear the prisoners are being held here!" "If you're lying to me you'll die." "I prom.." Darien knocked the mage out before entering the dungeon.

Guards came charging at Darien in an attempt to stop him. "Halt!" He flicked his wrist as the serpent quickly took care of any guards who got in his way.

Wisps of flames left Darien's armor as they stuck to and melted the locks of the prison doors. He resumed walking as he freed the prisoners while looking for one knight in particular. He quickly found a few faces he recognized, as mages and knights from Elion were bound in chains. Darien frowned as he noticed their bodies were scarred from lashings and torture. "Red Tower Master!"

Once freed, the knights and mages slowly walked toward Darien, struggling to remain standing. Looking them up and down, Darien asked, "Can you cast spells?" A stocky knight replied, "Yes, we can! We just need to gather our bearings! Give us a few min, and we'll be able to fight our way out of here, Tower Master!" Darien nodded and asked, "Where's Caspian?" A knight with a stubbly beard and gray hair said, "Sir Caspian, was carried deep into the dungeon. I'm guessing he was placed near the very end." The knight sighed before continuing, "I believe he was treated worse than any other prisoner." Darien's eyes flickered with worry. He looked around at the men of Elion gathering around him and said, "Please stand together and guard the entrance! I'm getting you all out of here!" "Yes, Red Tower Master!"

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Darien walked quickly toward the furthest point in the dungeon freeing more prisoners as he moved. When he reached the end, he finally found Caspian. He gasped, "Dear Lord."

Caspian's body was covered in bruises, chards of glass, needles, and scars. His fingernails were removed, and his eyes had long needles sticking out of them. His tongue had a massive bone pinned down to his lip in such a way that his blood didn't pool in his mouth and drown him, but instead dripped to the floor.

It was an incredibly gruesome site. Darien slowly made his way over to Caspian, who began shaking when he heard someone enter his cell. "It's ok, Caspian. It's me, Darien!" He held him up as he burned his chains. "I've come to rescue you! You're safe now! You'll be as good as new in no time." Caspian cried in joy, "Grauugh Grughhh!" "Calm down. Let me fix you up."

Darien pulled out all of the shards of glass and needles covering Caspian's body. "Don't move, Caspian. I'm going to get the needles out of your eyes." Carefully and slowly, he pulled out the needles from Caspian's eyes, and mouth.

He screamed in pain, "Grahhhh!" Blinking a few times the pain became even worse. Darien quickly pulled out a small bottle from the pouch on his waist and applied it. "Don't scratch! It's an elixir! You'll feel so much pain and itchiness you'll want to gouge out your own eyes. Persevere, and you'll be as good as new!"

Darien covered Caspian's eyes with a cloth before pouring the elixir on some of his other wounds. "Now, take a small sip from the bottle." Caspian knew the value of the medicine given to him. Slowly and cautiously he took a few small sips of the elixir. Burning pain soon engulfed his throat and body, but Caspian persevered.

Darien lifted him onto his back and carried Caspian on his shoulders. "Do not move around and do not do anything. You'll just be in the way in your current state." Caspian nodded his head weakly. "Y-Y cough Yes."

The Salamander's eyes narrowed. His anger, rage, and emotions started to settle in. "It's time for me to cause an incident." Darien hurried and quickly reached the entrance of the dungeon. There were soldiers and mages in a battle with the escaped prisoners. "Red Tower Master! We've held them off the best we can! There's too many for us in our current condition!" With confident and sure steps, Darien raised his right hand, "Flame arrows!"

A storm of arrows formed in a moment as the opposing soldiers and mages were struck by his frenzied display of magic. "Let's go!" Walking to the very front of the dungeon, Darien made his move.

While the battle at the Ayer Castle was happening a certain water mage was escaping the country with a Princess on her back. "Huff Huff, why am I always carrying you around? Huff Huff, I'm a mage! Huff, not a knight!" The Princess could only squirm in reply.

Soon after Darien started wreaking havoc, Ann left the Faircone Castle. She had made quick progress and had traveled outside of the Faircone noble family territory in a few hours. There was only one problem. An enemy scout saw them. Ann and the Princess; were currently being pursued by an elite team of mages. For a mage trained in infiltration, Ann had been very unlucky. "I need to get off the ground; they have an earth tracker huff. I call upon the spirit of water. Grant me your nimble protection and your vicious bite! Water Serpent!" A blue water serpent appeared and wrapped itself around Ann's body. It lifted Ann and the Princess into the air before shooting up into the trees of the forest.

They traveled quickly through the trees, but Ann's instincts screamed that both of them were still in danger. When Ann's mana dropped below half of her capacity she stopped and took a breath. "Princess, we're going to travel a little bit slower now so I can recover my mana." She didn't see any mages or knights in pursuit and decided to rest. "Once we get across the border, we'll be much safer. They will probably still chase us for a bit even after we cross the border, but once we get to Renee, their pursuit will be meaningless." "Grughhh!" "Oh. I'm sorry you can't talk because your mouth is covered."

Ann carefully made a blade made of ice, and slowly cut the clay-like rock wrapped around the Princess' face. Gasping for breath the Princess shouted, "Let me go!" Ann quickly covered her mouth with her hand, "Shit! I'm an idiot! Princess Emily! You have to be quiet. If Argon's mages catch us we'll both be dead!" Princess Emily calmed down and nodded her head. "Take me back." "I can't take you back, Princess. If I do Ayes will be thrown into even more chaos, and you'll probably end up dead." Princess Emily broke down in tears and pleaded, "Please, please take me back home." "Sigh, I can't do that my mission is to keep you alive."

Goosebumps broke out on Ann's neck as her senses picked something up. The Princess shouted, "Duck!" Ann held onto the Princess as she leaped off the tree. A stone spear struck where they were standing ripping through the tree like butter. She shouted again, "They are coming from over there!" The Princess pointed East of their position which didn't track from where the spear had come from. Ann said, "How? Nevermind." Ann started running as she chanted, "I call upon the spirit of water. Grant me your nimble protection and your vicious bite! W-Water Serpent!" "Shhhhheeeewww!" Sharp and cutting blades of wind landed on their position on the ground, but Ann had already moved. "L-Left this time!" Ann was an adaptive mage she no longer questioned the Princess and instead led the serpent to the right. "Bang!" Trees to the left of them exploded. "Water Jet!" Ann's mana was rapidly depleting as she increased her speed. Soon spells were sent in their direction, but one mage was able to keep up his pursuit.

"Fucking wind mages!" He was visible now as he was only ten meters behind them. "Ice arrow!" Ann's hastily made ice arrow flew toward the wind mage's direction. "Air Flow Current!" Her arrow was easily deflected, hitting a nearby tree. "Fog of Old!" Water vapor in the air around the Princess and Ann quickly grew hazy as fog came to life in the forest. The water serpent spell was released as Ann told the Princess, "Don't speak. Tap my shoulder or back depending on the direction the wind mage is in." Her back was tapped in reply. Ann moved quickly and quietly through the forest as she made a fog rise in the direction she traveled. Tap, tap, tap, the Princess furiously tapped on Ann's right shoulder. Leaping over twigs and leaves, Ann desperately ran ahead. Wind blades sliced at trees in every direction. "Fuck! Where the hell are you!" The wind mage started making a vortex of air to try and blow the fog away, but Ann's spell was special. It made all of the water vapor around them interact with the fog, making it impossible to disperse the fog.

Ann ran with the Princess on her back as though her life depended on it. Her physical stamina and her mana were on the verge of running dry, but she knew that Elion's border was quickly approaching. As her mana hit rock bottom and was no longer able to cast the fog spell Ann fell head first with the Princess on her back. "Cough cough!" "Huff, shit! Huff, Huff! So close!" Less than one hundred meters to the north was Elion's border. "Huff, I'm sorry, Darien! Huff, Huff" "There here! There are four of them!"

As the fog dispersed and faded several men came into view. "We waited for you to run out of mana. All we had to do was surround the outer rim of the fog, and eventually, we'd find you." The arrogant-looking wind mage smirked. "I'll probably get a promotion after bringing your head, but maybe we can have a little fun first?" The mages laughed as they slowly walked toward Ann and the Princess. All Ann could do was pull out a dagger and scream, "I can take at least one of you down with me! Whoever wants to die with me can come forward!" A rugged earth mage who looked like a brigand replied, "Ha! You're out of mana how the hell are you going to do anything? Shut up and lay down like a dog. If you behave well we might even bring you back with us alive."

Ba-ba-bump, Ba-bump, Ba-ba-bump. Her heart was furiously beating as the men got closer. Ann looked down to see the Princess looking past the men into the distance. She thought the Princess had simply given up. "Rarghhhhhh!" Ann screamed and charged at the nearest enemy the earth mage." "Stone Throw." A rock the size of a human head hit Ann square in the belly knocking the air out of her. "Ughh!" Ba-ba-bump! The brigand reached his hand down to grab Ann's hair.

Booooom! The earth shook as a carriage-sized stone hand burst out of the ground. "I call upon the spirit.." The earth mage reacted quickly and tried to chant a spell in reply, but the stone hand simply grabbed him up and proceeded to throw him at a high speed through multiple trees. The other mages quickly reacted by casting multiple spells at the hand. Behind the mages, a man appeared a heavy breeze followed him in his wake. Grabbing the sword from his scabbard he made three quick slashes at the men before stopping.

Enemy mages fell down to the ground one by one as he placed his sword back in his scabbard. Before either Ann or Princess Emily could respond the man smiled and said, "I'm Jamie. Nice to meet you."