Thomas moves through the city at night while wearing a black cloak. He sticks to the shadows despite the street lamps lighting the main roads. He stops near some soldiers he overhears talking about the incoming army.

"Yeah, they're sending everyone upfront. Trying to evacuate the civilians out through the tunnels in the back." The soldier on the right says.

"They can't starve us." Another one comments. "No army can surround an entire mountain. Plus, the shields surrounding this city are impenetrable."

"I wish I could guard the citizens in the hidden bunker." Another soldier says. "Being on the front lines is not my style."

"Why did you become a soldier if you don't want to see any action?"

"Obviously, it's for the money. Besides, it's easy work. No one has been stupid enough to attack us."

'These are the men who are protecting the city? I don't have high hopes.' Thomas says as he moves along. 'There isn't much time, I have to find him before the army arrives.'

Thomas splashes the puddles of water on the stone street with every step he takes. He hides in the shadows whenever he hears a soldier or civilian wandering close. 'They're counting on me.'

Thomas reaches the city prison. One would expect it to be surrounded by a magical forcefield. However, it doesn't need to keep people out, only in. He is able to stroll to the thick stone walls of the prison. Looking up at the metal bars for each cell, he searches for the right one.

"Mel, are you awake?" Thomas whispers after getting as close to the cell as possible. "Goddamnit." He whispers to himself as he picks up a stone off the ground and chucks it in between the metal bars of the cell window.

The rock hits the floor with a sharp tone, bouncing twice. There's some shuffling in the cell, a man with a long beard peeks through the window. "Why are you here?" Mel asks. "Don't you have a family you'd rather be talking to?" He whispers

"I need to ask you something," Thomas says. "I have three young siblings in my care that have the potential to overturn this war. The problem is they need to activate their potential to use magic."

"If they haven't activated their magical powers yet. How do you know how strong they are?" Mel asks while stroking his white beard with curiosity.

"One has already. But the other two haven't been able to." Thomas stares at Mel who is lost in thought.

"Hold on," Mel says. "I'll be right back."

Thomas tries to tell him to wait, but the man has already retreated back into his cell. Thomas looks around for any signs of trouble, once he sees everything is clear, he stares back at the window waiting patiently for Mels' return. After a few minutes, Thomas sees a light off in the distance. 'A soldier.'

"Mel?" Thomas whispers. "I need to go, now."

"Almost done," Mel says with the rustling of papers. Thomas starts to panic more and more the closer the light gets. There's nowhere for him to hide if he gets too close. He needs to leave, now. Thomas knows he can't leave without waiting for Mel, so he hatches a plan at the last second.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

Thomas lays on the ground and uses cloaking magic to blend in with the mud. 'He can't catch me if he can't see me.' Thomas thinks to himself as the soldier approaches his location. The soldier walks right underneath Mel's cell window. Thomas can feel his heartbeat as the soldier walks right over him, stepping on his head, and forcing his face into the mud. The soldier almost trips and looks down to see the stone that almost sent him stumbling into the mud. He lets out a curse word and continues onward.

Thomas lifts his head and takes in a deep breath of air. 'I thought I was going to suffocate.' He thinks to himself as he tries wiping off the mud from his face. "Mel, are you done yet?"

Mel reaches his hand through the bars and releases and lets go of a piece of paper. Thomas catches it and quickly glances it over. The first thing he sees is that it's written in code. Most likely so that if he gets caught, his captors won't be able to decode the message. Mel whispers through the bars one last time. "You already know the magic decoding sequence." Then he dips back into his cell before any of the prison guards realize he's speaking to someone on the outside.

Thomas makes a quick escape after covering up the tracks that lead to Mel's window. Thomas retraces his steps with quick haste. With his heart racing, and his adrenaline pumping through his veins, he becomes careless as he runs back at a full sprint. He doesn't care if any of the guards notice him, they don't have the speed to keep up with him. \

As his footsteps make contact with the puddles of water once again, making a splash, some of the guards notice the noise and try chasing after him. As Thomas outruns them, he starts to laugh. He has what he came here to do, and now they can't stop him. There was nothing for him to be worried about in the first place.

'I made it back.' He says to himself after only being a mile away from the secret entrance to the hideout. 'They can't catch me now.' As Thomas rounds a corner, a soldier is there waiting for him. Thomas tries to stop, but it's too late. The soldier hits the back of Thomas's leg with the dull side of his sword. Thomas drops to the ground in pain. His legs not wanting to move the way he wants it to.

The rest of the guards catch up to him. They surround him with their swords drawn. "There's nowhere to run anymore. Thomas takes a sigh and tries to calm himself. 'They don't have anything they can charge me with.' He thinks. 'They don't know who I am.'

One of the soldiers walks right up to him and uses a strange wand-like device, waving it over him. Thomas feels his magical aura fading away. His appearance changes his magic depletes. "You thought you could disguise yourself, Thomas?" A soldier who's wearing gold-trimmed armor asks. "Things have changed since last time we've met."

"Yeah, you're a bigger asshole than before." Thomas spits at him. "King of the douches."

The soldiers drag Thomas from the street and into a jail cell located in the basement of the castle. "Terrorism is punishable by death." The gold-trimmed soldier laughs as he walks away.

Thomas immediately searches for a way out. However, after several minutes, two soldiers walk up to his cell and stand outside to prevent his escape. "Really?" Thomas asks. "Is all this necessary?"

The soldiers remain silent. Thomas sits down on the makeshift cot to brainstorm ideas. After five minutes had passed, Thomas lays back in frustration as he looks around for other options. He checks his coat pocket to find the soldiers had taken the note Mel gave to him.

He snorts and walks to the cell door to speak with the guards. "How much do I have to bribe you with to get outa here?"

"Ten gold." The soldier on the right says without hesitation. The other soldier gives the one on the right a dirty look before looking back and saying nothing.

"How bout you, big guy? Got anything you want to buy?" The soldier isn't fazed by his promise of money or his charming accent. "Fine." Thomas says as he looks around again.

Thomas beams with glee after coming up with a solution. He secretly takes off a pillow casing and shoves it into the toilet to clog it up. He takes a deep breath. 'Now the embarrassing step two.'

Thomas takes his pants off and takes a shit in the toilet, making sure to be as obnoxious as he possibly could. 'Step three.' He pulls his pants back up and flushes the toilet. Water overflows onto the floor.

"FUCK." Thomas shouts. "I don't have a plunger."

"Goddamnit." A soldier sighs, telling the other guard to get a plunger. "I'll stay here to make sure the prisoner doesn't escape."

When the other guard leaves, the remaining one opens the door and enters. "You still offering gold?" He asks. Thomas smiles and nods his head. "Alright, I'll pretend you knocked me out." Your belongings are in a chest near the entrance, unlocked."

Thomas gives him an approving nod before sprinting down the hall. He's not going to question how that worked, but he guesses that soldiers are paid as much as they are worth.

Running down the hallway, he almost trips over his own feet with the thrill of being free once more. Once he reaches the exit, he finds his belongings, checking for the note twice before fleeing the castle.

He runs past a few soldiers on his way out. The darkness hides Thomas as he runs past, and their efforts of running him down are short-lived.

He runs out of the castle, down the road where puddles splash against him thrice. Running alongside the castle, running past it to reach their secret hideout. Several minutes later, he reaches the entrance and sprints down the tunnel to the gate where a guard stands.

The guard recognizes Thomas and waives him down. Thomas comes to a stop and takes a moment to catch his breath. "Sorry about that, I got a little carried away."

After the guard lets him through, Thomas makes his way to his room, where he sits down and collapses from exhaustion. After passing out and waking up, he remembers the note Mel gave to him. He takes the note out of his pocket and reads it. "I almost forgot that it was in a coded message."