Hallek

The secret door was an enormous ape's head. The palm forest had almost reclaimed it with roots and vines but they could still make out the ape's gaping maw and the circular stone door tucked away inside. He wondered how long ago it had been built. The prison itself was a relic of Lost Pangea but he'd never seen ape heads in any of the ancient carvings, aside from the ones that depicted Pangean warriors fighting the almost-men. Then again he wasn't any kind of expert, and even experts said they didn't know much about life in the long lost civilization. However old it was, and whoever had built it, the entrance had not sat entirely unused. Piles of bones lay to either side of it, and the interior of the ape's huge maw was coated in bloodstains.

“Did the troodons do this?” Verris asked, looking around at the caked gore.

“The damage to these bones isn't right,” Dyryl said. “No, I'd say the almost men did this. It's mostly their bones, and they've been known to sacrifice each other to their gods.”

“Because of course there are bones,” Krazek said. “Of course where we need to go is covered in bones. It isn't bad enough we're breaking into the most secure prison in the empire, no, there's got to be blood all over the doorway and the ground is covered in bones.”

“I'm more worried about this door,” Hallek said. He'd been looking over the big stone circle for a while now. It was solid stone and feet thick, with rune carved strips of bone in an X pattern reinforcing it somehow. The runes look strange, foreign. Or possibly just ancient. “I don't think I'm strong enough to break through. Has anyone seen the troodons today?”

“They left after leading us to the door,” Verris said. “We've both got strength enhancements right? Maybe both of us can tear the thing open.”

“Stop!” Krazzek shouted. “Stop it, just...stop. Seriously what the hell is wrong with you people? We are sneaking in. One of the very first rules of sneaking in is that you don't bust the door to pieces and rip it open. That would be breaking in. It's a completely different skill set. And not the best one for sneaking into a prison. Get out of the way and let me work.” Krazzek slipped a leather envelope out of his pocket and pulled out a set of long, thin tools. The runes on them were so fine and light they were almost invisible. “What? I'm a thief. If we're going through that door we're doing it my way. Between my skill and these infusions there's no lock that's stopping me. Magical or mechanical. Now get out of my light.”

As Krazzek went to work on the door the others stood outside the stone head, staring off into the forest. Hallek was busy making plans. Step one, save Norak and Verris's girlfriend. Step two, well...then they'd have more people. A better shot at rescuing Shylldra. When she called for it, of course. No matter how much he wanted to rush in, kick the city over and pull her out of the wreckage. It was stupid, and whatever she was working on he trusted her, but the human and the dinosaur inside of him both hated the idea of leaving her there surrounded by enemies.

“Got it,” Krazzek said. Hallek followed him inside and they closed the door behind them. Hallek expected to be cast into total darkness. Instead, they were bathed in an eerie red light. “Well that's just horrible. Give me a minute while I lock up this door again.”

Hallek got away from the door to let Krazzek work and took in the room they were standing in. The red glow was coming from the dinonichus skeletons in the walls. The bones looked like they'd been pushed into the stone when it was molten and left there to set. There were hundreds of them, covered with infusion runes and connected by bands of rune carved bone that zigged around them in odd patterns, disappearing into the walls or up into the ceiling.

“What is all this?” Verris asked. “Hey scarred girl, you're the one who knows about infusions and things right?”

“Well first of all I have a name,” Dyryl said dryly. “And second of all I don't know. This is way beyond anything I could tell you about.”

“I saw Drys use his infusions once,” Hallek said. The night he'd met Shylldra, an eternity ago. “He projected a dinonichus head from the rings on his hands to tear someone's throat out. It glowed the same kind of red. Maybe this is the reason Balrok prison is so inescapable.”

“And now we're in it!” Krazzek reminded them. “How wonderful! Come on, let's get this over with. If we're all going to die maybe we can at least make it quick. I think I see a ladder over there.”

The ladder led them up to a hallway of gleaming black stone lined with wooden doors. The doors were strengthened with infusions and barred with bone. The doors were numbered, but they had no way of telling who was in which cell short of peering in through the windows. And the got sick of that fairly quickly. The prisoners sat wearing simple gray shifts. And that was all they did. Sit, staring blankly at the wall. In one cell a skinny woman, in another a hulking man. In a third someone so enormously fat and bald they couldn't even tell. On and on, cell after cell.

Just....sitting.

“Are they drugged?” Hallek asked. “It's like they don't even know we're here.”

“Fylati's in one of these cells,” Verris snarled.

“No wonder no one ever escapes,” Dyryl said. “I wonder how they're doing it?”

“Let's not forget that most of them deserve to be in here,” Hallek said. “And let's find our people. All three of them unless you want to argue with a bunch of angry troodons.”

“Right,” Dyryl said, crouching down on the floor and pulling the glass vials out of her pouch. She pricked her finger, dripped from one of the vials on the floor, and used her bleeding finger to paint a rune. There was a swirl of light and a ghostly troodon appeared, standing in the hallway. She'd done it at least once a day since they'd started chasing after Norak, but this time it looked—different. Weaker. Less substantial.

“What's wrong with it?” Krazzek asked.

“I don't know,” Dyryl said, a little breathlessly. “That took more out of me than usual, too. Normally making one of these barely costs any essence at all. There's something wrong with this place.”

“I think we should split up,” Hallek said. “You and Krazzek go find Norak, I'll take Verris and we'll get the assassin.”

“And why not get Fylati first?” Verris demanded.

“Because we don't have a way to find Fylati fast. But Dyryl's got her projections to find Norak. And for the assassin I think...I think the sword remembers what her blood tastes like in the air.”

Illeth

The walls were wrong, they felt like the thought of leaches.

It wasn't a thought that made much sense but at least it was a thought at all. Something about the walls her took her thoughts, weakened her. But not as much as they hoped. She could still feel her troodons. Her pack was close. She wondered if they'd finally tried to get inside the prison. She'd felt them circle the place, scouting it out they way they would a den they planned on raiding. Part of her had hoped they would break through and save her. Part of her had hoped they would stay away, and find themselves a new alpha.

That wasn't how Troodon's thought though. Until she was beaten by another troodon, or she died, she was alpha of the pack. It went beyond simple instinct though. Troodons weren't really like humans, even if they were closer than any other dinosaur, but through their bond she could feel something not completely unlike loyalty. Not entirely unlike love. She wondered if the thought would make her cry, if it wasn't for the walls.

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The walls didn't take away everything. It would be easier if they did. What they did was scrape away the surface until there was nothing left but thoughts churning sluggishly at the bottom of the brain. Her mind didn't feel incapable of focusing, but the thought of it alone was so wearying she couldn't muster the energy to bother. Something similar happened when she tried to move. She could get up, make it to the waste hole, eat her food, but something as extreme as attacking one of the guards who brought the food or running away was out of the question. Just considering it made her tired.

“It's her.”

Was it worth it to glance up at the door? It wasn't time for food yet and moving was such a bother. Then again, she was kind of curious who'd spoken. Her eyes turned sluggishly towards the window in the doorway and saw literally the very last face in the universe she would have expected to see.

“You were...” her voice sounded strange in her ears. There hadn't been a reason to bother speaking for over a month now. “You cut me.”

“The name is Hallek,” the man in the window said. “Your pack wanted us to come get you.”

“Ask her if she knows where any other prisoners are.” A new voice, one she did not recognize.

“We'll get there, we'll get there! First we've got to figure out how to get this open.”

“The guards have keys,” Illeth said. She was starting to get...excited. Hopeful. She could feel the walls trying to drain it all away, but it was there.

“We haven't seen any guards yet,” the man who cut her said. Hallek. She could see the logic. He was strong, strong enough to defeat her, so strong enough to save her. So the Troodons had gone to him. But why had he agreed to come?

“They don't often walk the halls,” Illeth said. “They're mostly at the entrances. How did you get in?”

“Secret passage,” Hallek said. A secret passage in the capital she didn't know about? She'd have to get them to tell her later. “I wish we'd brought Krazzek with us, he might have been able to pick this...”

“Oh get out of the way,” the unknown voice snapped.

“Verris wait, I don't think that's a good--”

And then the door exploded.

Lord Warden Drys

At first he felt just a little tug at his mind.

The Lord Warden of Balrok Prison was a young and very beautiful man, not entirely unlike the emperor. That was a lot of why he'd backed Lekarik in the first place. They were young, beautiful, and powerful. They understood each other the way the old and ugly and weak simply couldn't. Besides, being so powerful so young had made Drys supremely bored. He enjoyed himself a lot more with a charismatic young emperor who knew how to have fun than a bunch of stodgy old men. Unfortunately, the power and prestige of his posting also came with work.

Arena Master H'Viss was a lot of work.

The grandiose clown lounged in a chair across from Drys's desk in his usual bells and red and yellow motley. The Lord Warden's office was the top room of the pyramid, and you could tell from the sloping walls and pointed ceiling. It was a large office all the same, about half as big as the ring in the arena. The walls were covered not with reliefs but stone carving and strips of bone arranged in abstract designs that looked perfectly innocent if you didn't know what they did.

“And I need a real headliner,” H'Viss said. “Someone, you know. People can get into again. They all expect to see Akko the Abomination win by now.”

“H'Viss,” Dryss sighed. “I can't conjure up a prisoner who would make a good gladiator. You can have whoever you want from the cells for a Spectacle, of course, but if you want someone who can really fight...well most of my prisoners like that either already fight for you or they died fighting for you. As was just and in proportion to their crimes, of course.”

“Yes yes,” H'Viss said. “But I'm not getting any good ones coming in voluntarily lately either. If we don't get some fresh blood in here—still inside fighters, I mean, not splattered all over the arena—then the games are going to go completely to the hells in the next five years.”

“Providing you with fighters is not the main concern of this prison. I am tasked by the emperor too...” Dryss winced. Then again, flinching as if he'd been stung by a fly.

“What's wrong?” H'viss asked.

“Someone's in my prison,” Dryss snarled. “And they're breaking things. Show yourself out please, will you H'viss? I've got a situation to take care of.”

Krazzek

“Norak!” Dyryl shouted, banging on the cell door. “Norak!”

“He can't hear us,” Krazzek said. “Come on, get out of the way, I'll unlock the cell. I think I can pick these locks.”

Dyryl nodded, stepping back across the hall so Krazzek could get to work. He knelt down at the door and took out his lock picking tools. As a lock it was incredibly simple, but the actual mechanism was complicated by armor plating, traps, and dummies. Someone had been far more worried about somebody breaking in—like for example, Krazzek—than the occupant of the cell getting out. Which made a certain amount of sense with the hypnotic effect the cells seemed to have on people.

Still, Krazzek hadn't been hired by Jajess for being a bad thief. It wasn't long before the lock clicked open.

“Got it!” Krazzek said. The door swung open inwards. Norak didn't seem to notice. “Hey, Norak! You okay?” there was no response from the hulking warrior. “Come on, let's get get you out of here.”

Strange noises happened from right behind him. A kind of choke, and then a series of bangs. Krazzek did not like strange noises happening right behind him. He jumped into the cell and turned to face the threat. It was a mistake. As soon as he entered the cell it was like all the strength in his body had leaked out. He could almost feel it flowing out of his muscles. Is this what it's like in here all the time? No wonder they're all zombies. But he had bigger problems than that. Dyryl was not shouting. She was not shouting because a hand large enough to wrap around her throat had done just that, cutting off her air. The hand was sticking out of the cell door window across the hall. The banging had been Dyryl pounding against the door, trying to get away.

“Over here,” the hand's owner snarled through the door. “Me next.”

“How can you still move?” Krazzek asked wearily.

“Cells don't work on me like they used to,” the man said. “Been in here a while. Now we're gonna have a little talk about the number two. Like how I only gotta move two fingers to snap her neck. And how I got two problems. One, I'm bored. Two, I'm stuck in the worst jail in the world. One way or another I am about to fix one of those problems.”

“Sure fine,” Krazzek said. “Whatever.” he noticed the glare in Dyryl's eyes. “Oh don't look at me like that, what's one extra prisoner? Come on Norak, let's go.”

Besides he couldn't stay in that cell anymore. The weariness went down to his bones, leaching from him, draining him. He put Norak's arm around his neck and dragged the warrior out into the hall. Almost immediately the world felt lighter, and he had no trouble propping Norak so he sat against the wall.

“Hurry it up!” the man snarled. “I'll kill her, I swear I will!”

“Relax,” Krazzek said. “Just putting my friend here down so I've got my hands free. I'll get the door.”

It was easier said than done, because when he went to start on the lock Dyryl tried to smack the lockpicking tools out of his hands. He pulled them away and met her glare.

“Look I get it you're a big proud warrior,” Krazzek said. “But can you reach your daggers from where he's got you gripped? And can you hurt him and get loose without hurting yourself?”

Dyryl still glared. But she let him pick the lock. The door swung inwards again, and the man inside dropped Dyryl. She rubbed her neck and ran to check out Norak, who seemed to be coming around.

“Dyryl?” the huge barbarian said.

“Right here,” Dyryl said. “Can you stand?”

“Of course I can,” Norak said. “It even starts to feel like I should now. What happened to me?”

Krazzek felt a little uncomfortable and out of place. He wasn't family after all. He'd almost forgotten the other interloper when the shadow fell over them. He'd thought of Norak as huge but this man was massive. He had the caramel skin of a native born Angelarian but his hair was cut close to his head. His muscles didn't just ripple, they waved. Great oceanic thunderstorms of muscle all over his enormous frame, broken up by a network of ugly gray scars that made him look like some huge animal had torn him to shreds.

No, several huge animals. And twice as many men with weapons, all biting into his skin, and all uselessly. Because he'd killed them all. He was famous for it.

“Akko the Abomination!?” Krazzek choked.

“Always nice to meet a fan,” Akko said. Then he punched Krazzek in the face. Krazzek dropped like a stone, conscious but reeling. How could someone so big be that fast? Akko was already across the room, slamming his foot into Norak's face. Dyryl drew her daggers, but Akko just backhanded her across the face and sent her flying. “Man, it's been a LONG time since I did that without a crowd! Now...who are these assholes?”

And then Hallek was just there. Like he'd blinked into existence with his fist in Akko's gut. The enormous gladiator's eyes went wide, spittle flew from his mouth, and he fell to the floor making ugly little choking sounds.

“Who was that?” Hallek asked.

“Akko the Abomination,” Krazzek said, getting to his feet.

“Sweet gods, really?” Hallek looked down. “Wow, it really is.”

“And that's the troodon's mistress?” Dyryl asked. “Which I just realized sounds like the title of some horrible, bestiality laden romance novel?”

Krazzek had kind of been avoiding the subject of the dark skinned woman with the pale scaly arms and legs. He was kind of hoping she was a hallucination.

“Her name's Illeth,” Hallek said. “Formerly the Emperor's Claw and now not a very big fan of his. Let's find Verris's girlfriend and get the hells out of here.”