Behind the blond assassin were two more men who looked equally as dangerous. Renat recognized them immediately as the men who tried to kill Mairwen. An anger at their actions fueled a fire in his eyes, but he realized quickly that he could not act just now.
A fight in the dungeon would draw unwanted attention. Anyway, the knife at his throat limited him options. He had a better idea.
"There you are!" he said with annoyance. "We have been looking for you. Why did you not stay by your cell and wait for us?" he turned his head ever so slightly to those behind him. "I found the other assassins. Now we can finally leave."
"You were looking for us?" the second assassin asked. His intentionally bald head and hazel eyes made his age unreadable.
"They are assassins?" the third man asked almost simultaneously. His dark, wispy hair looped around his many earrings.
Nurlan was quick to jump on the plot. He slouched slightly and sneered in a way that made him nearly unrecognizable. "You think you were the only assassins hired?" he slurred.
"Who hired you?" The dark haired assassin asked as he kept his knife raised in challenge. He did not like how the others had swords or how their hands seemed to be itching to draw them.
"He did, of course!" Renat emphasized the 'he' as if it were obvious. "I can prove it." The boy hastily dipped into his satchel to retrieve a small bag, but it was quickly grabbed from his hands by the bald man before the scientist could thrust it at the assassins.
"What's this?" the man with the shiny head asked as he sniffed at the powder.
"It is the same stuff that was used on the jailer and the guards," the scientist said like his plans had not just been ruined. "It puts you to sleep."
"I saw Cafer use it," the blond murderer confirmed. "He knocked out the jailer before he ever knew that sneaky gnome was there. We were supposed to wait for you to come and get us, but you took so long we decided to try our own luck." He snatched the a small bag form the bald man and tucked it into his belt. "Thank you. This will come in handy as we get out of here." He patted the precious sack.
"Lead us out of this maze," the man with the earrings ordered. He took Renat and gripped him around the shoulders with the knife at his throat. "Forgive me if I don't trust any of you..." he looked at the four still in the cell, "but I did not live this long by just taking someone's word for something. I will be at the back of this group with this lad. If anyone tries anything, I will make sure he dies painfully."
Nulan shrugged casually. "He is the palace rat. That's why he has the mask. Doesn't want to be recognized. It's no skin off my nose if you kill him, except he knows the way out. As long as he tells me where to go, I will lead the way. None of you would dare stab me in the back knowing we are on the same side."
The group moved into the hall between the prison cells. Nurlan led with Bukuri, Faris and Alvar behind him. The three strong males had a tacit agreement to keep Bukuri from the assassins at all cost.
Renat could probably handle himself if it came down to it, but the frail elf would not have a chance. They needed to hide her weakness or the assassins would surely exploit her. Somehow she had managed a hardened face as they looked at her, but no one knew how long her strength would last. She leaned slightly on Faris as they hurried down the corridor.
"What did Cafer hire you for?" Nurlan whispered casually over one shoulder.
"Same as you, I suppose," the blond assassin shrugged. "Gotta clean up Xander's mess."
"You mean those who escaped during the siege?" Renat's voice nearly cracked.
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"Yeah, them. Cafer is none to comfortable with how it was handled. We are supposed to track them down and take out the ring leaders." The bald man added while drawing a line across his neck.
"Then we are supposed disappear into thin air until we are needed again. The prince would rather us be dead, but we have our uses," the man with the curly hair dug his knife slightly into Renat's neck.
"Turn left," Renat choked as he pretended to guide Nurlan from behind.
"How long have you known Cafer? I've known him for years and years," Alvar bragged.
"Is it a contest?" the blond killer scoffed. "I have known him since before the prince was even born. Used to do odd jobs for him when Empress Zephyra didn't want to get her hand dirty. Thought Cafer was dead till that pirate contacted me. Claimed Cafer had highly recommended my services. I should've known better, but I never pass up a job…" Hearing footsteps, he went silent.
The group had made it nearly to the exit of the dungeon when a guard came quickly around the corner. He seemed like he was heading somewhere, not just patrolling. Nurlan guessed that he was the real guide who was supposed to take the assassins away quietly.
"There you are…wait what are you—" the guard could not finish his sentence before Nurlan hit him across the jaw.
The gnome's jaw being much harder than average made the bones in the general's fist crack under the pressure. The gnome was dazed but still conscious.
"Duck!" Faris warned before landing a crushing blow to the guard with his massive hand. After watching the gnome crumple to the ground, Nurlan looked wide-eyed at the centaur. "That's nothing." Faris shrugged. "I once tore a hole in the side of a wall with my bare hands."
"You seem like a valuable person to have on a team," the blond assassin said as he examined Faris. "If you ever want to find a new band, I wouldn't mind having you on my team."
Faris hid his digust. "I will mark down your offer..." He gave a small squeeze to Bukuri's arm, which he had gone back to supporting.
They moved out of the prison, around the bend in the hall, and up the stairs to ground level. Renat stopped them. "If we act like we are supposed to be there, no one will give us a thought as we move through the halls. Servants and pirates roam the palace freely."
Nurlan nodded. "Release the boy. Holding him captive will only draw attention." He made a step to secure the scientist, but the assassin only tightened his grip.
"I still do not trust you, and I think this boy means more to you than you are suggesting. I will keep him close at hand. If anyone asks, I am taking him to Cafer because he was caught stealing." Rather than let go, the man dug his knife slightly into the Renat's skin, making him wince. It was as if the man enjoyed his pain. Well, he probably did.
Nurlan tensed. A large part of him wanted to just take out the assassins and be done with it. However, it would not be that simple, especially now that they were entering the part of the palace where there were many people and gnomes. To begin a fight now would mean being recaptured. The general gritted his teeth and continued.
About the time they reached the main hall, their escape was discovered. One of the fairy servants had been bringing Lukoss a warm meal when she found him unconscious. She immediately sounded the alarm. Like a disturbed anthill, everyone began to search for the missing prisoners.
Rather than release Renat, the assassin moved the knife into the boy's back and kept them moving. The group pretended to be looking also for the fugitives as they exited the palace and found themselves trapped. The original plan would be to exit the front gate as servants. Renat would have been able to ferry them through with forged a paper from Cafer giving them orders to go into the city. Brinn had done a masterful work with the forgery. The elf had many less-than-legal talents.
Now, the gate was sealed and no one was getting out. The group skirted along the wall away from the crowd of soldiers, avoiding eye contact as they went.
"What we will we do now?" Faris asked.
"Is there not a kitchen exit?" Nurlan coaxed Renat, trying to make it look like his idea.
"I am sure that is sealed off too now, but we could try the kitchen garbage chute. Perhaps they have not thought to block that yet." Renat suggested. This had been an option that was discussed at great length, but was rejected because Faris's horse body was far too large. Now he might just fit, though it would be very tight.
With stealth and a good amount of luck, the group pushed forward to the part of the palace where the kitchen was located. While guards had surrounded the small kitchen exit, which was only made for delivering food, they had not thought to block the chute.
The small metal door was raised off the ground with a ladder leading to it. As it could only be opened from inside the wall, most people ignored it. Additionally, rotten or old food was lifted up the ladder to hatch and dumped through it to slide down to a compost pile outside. It was one of the most fragrant areas of the palace grounds. Therefore it was generally avoided, and the area was empty just now.
Seeing his chance, the blond assassin rushed and put his foot on the first rung.
"Not so fast," Nurlan hissed. "Let the lady go first." He pulled his sword.
"No one escapes before me…" he snarled. "In fact, I don't really like thinking about you escaping at all. You two are dead weight," he said to his former band, "and the rest of you all are competition." The man was halfway up the ladder and he chunked the sleeping powder at the group, even the two that were with him. When nothing happened, the blond man frowned. "Why did it not work?"
"Magic," Renat answered.
"What's the meaning of this, Hemel?" the dark haired man called.
"No honor among thieves," Hemel answered drawing his knife as he backed up the ladder. "I like my chances without all of you much better."
Feeling the knife at his back move slightly as his captor was distracted, Renat moved quickly away from the assassin, giving Faris the chance to strike. He used his fist to hit the man and knock him unconscious.
Nurlan surged forward to seize the ladder and climb, while Alvar engaged the bald bandit. Whether or not they had wanted a fight, now they had one.
Hemel reached the hatch and opened the latch, momentarily stowing his knife in his belt to throw open the door. Nurlan grabbed Hemel's foot and twisted his heel until a cracking sound caused the assassin to cry out in pain. This drew the attention of the guards nearby.
Hemel used his injured foot to kick at the general's face and knock him to the ground. "Guards!" Hemel called, "the escaped prisoners are over here!" Gripping at the passage, the blond man pushed aside the ladder and allowed it to clatter to the ground. Slipping through the hole to freedom, Hemel left the rest of the group to be enveloped by a ring of guards.