After Elurra's declaration, she and Aleah set to work readying for a journey. Aleah had one pack, and they commandeered another from a dusty storage room. Elurra had her rucksack from Amora, which still held some leftover supplies, but most of her things had been left with the donkey. Aside from some dried meat, she had a small pan, two soup bowls, Ramer’s spell book, a canteen for water, rope, a blanket, and a few other kitchen and survival items she had deemed useful around Ramer’s house. Terrin’s mother’s dress was dusty from her trip to the dungeon and her long trek through the forest, so she took it off and bathed, then changed into a simple gown from Aleah’s closet. Cleaning herself was marvelous, especially after so long without a bath. She could feel the layers of grime peeling off of her skin.
Afterward, Aleah helped her pull her hair back in a tight, long braid so it wouldn’t get knotted while traveling. Aleah left to garner the food they would need for the journey, leaving Elurra to think about the rest of the details for their jailbreak. Her eyes settled on the dusty dress again. She brushed it off as best she could and admired the stitching. Amorian sewing was different from the stitching in Lur Alava, and she liked the foreign design. Without giving it much thought, she tucked it into her bag.
I might need it later, she reasoned, although she really didn’t want to part with it because it felt like her last connection to Terrin.
She paced the room again and came to a stop in front of the dresser’s looking glass. Most servants didn’t have mirrors, but her parents had practically raised Aleah as her older sister, so she had received a few benefits the other servants had not. She gazed at her reflection critically. Her eyes were puffy from crying. Her hair was too noticeable. She looked as pale as parchment in the glassy reflection, especially against the brown dress. She looked like the ghost of her mother. She turned away when Aleah entered the room carrying a basket of dried fruit.
“There’s some dried meat in the hall,” she informed Elurra as she set down her load and returned for the second. Elurra was amazed.
“How did you manage to get so much?”
“I came up with a story about a scouting party that was going to travel near the border of Amora. They asked if I needed help, and I told them Colfer, the imaginary leader of the party, didn’t want to bother anyone else so close to dinnertime. Frankly, they all looked relieved,” she said, hefting the second basket.
“Nitiri is asleep, passed out cold on her bed. This is the perfect opportunity to escape,” Aleah said as she started to stuff their packs with food. “Although there’s something we are going to need if we don’t want to freeze to death on the way.”
“What are we missing?”
“Money. I have enough for a few days, but who knows what we will need along the way?”
Elurra frowned. “We could take some of my jewelry and sell it, but that would raise a lot of suspicion.”
“Is there any way to get into the royal treasury?”
“I could try. I might have a way to get inside,” Elurra said carefully as she mulled the situation over. “How many does Nitiri have guarding the treasury?”
“I believe she has four of her new guards, but she may have some sort of magic protecting it as well.”
“I think I can handle them. You finish packing. I should not be too long.”
°◌°○●○°♣°○●○°◌°
Elurra peeked around the corner to find the four guards at the end of the hallway leaning against their weapons, bored. She narrowed her eyes suspiciously, noticing all the rough men were positioned at least ten feet away from the door. She slipped back down the hallway and gently cracked open Ramer’s spell book. She was already forming a plan, but she needed to know about the invisible wall she suspected was between the guards and the door.
After a few minutes of page flipping, she came across a section titled, “Fields of Invisible Force.” Her eyes widened at the list of different types of invisible walls. There were thick walls, slightly visible walls, walls that cut through solids, walls that only blocked organic material, walls that created an illusion or picture to hide something behind it, circular walls, walls that would fit to a person’s shape, walls that would shock anything that touched it, and still others. Each one had a different spell to create it or disengage it. After staring at the list for a few moments, she narrowed it down to either a plain invisible wall spanning across the hallway or one that would shock anyone who touched it. Judging by how far the guards were standing from the door, she assumed the latter, but had to be sure. She took a deep breath and stepped into the guards’ line of view.
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“Ŵarņ šleŧ ijine!” she said and raised her palm.
She wasn’t sure how the sleeping spell worked, but the book was very specific about pointing at the target. A dart materialized out of her palm and swerved through the air to hit the guard in front of her. He went down, and his friends yelped in surprise. She repeated the command twice more, hitting two more with precision. The last guard stepped back in shock, but a dart didn’t bring him down. He bumped into the invisible wall, and a glow rippled across the surface as arcs of blue lightning cocooned him. There was abrupt silence after the brief exchange.
“Now I know which type of wall it is," Elurra murmured to herself. “Ŗevlik sh'rat vehül,"[i]
A strange humming filled the air, and blue patches of light appeared before shrinking and vanishing. For a moment, she stood still, then tentatively stepped over the sprawled bodies and walked through the space the wall had been in a moment before. She expected lightning to jump out at her, but nothing happened.
“Now to get inside.”
She examined the lock critically, then grabbed her spell book and flipped through, looking for anything helpful. She stopped on energy bursts.
If I learn how to use these effectively, I could probably do anything.
She looked over all the strange categories and suddenly realized why so many people were afraid of magic. Of course, there was a limit to its use. She had been knocked unconscious by her transportation spell earlier.
“Cuʼn twaŏ fi,"[ii] she said as she pressed her palm against the door’s keyhole.
The blast of energy jolted her backward. She smashed into the floor, her limbs feeling like lead. Her vision darkened around the edges, and she felt the urge to sleep. She knew she was losing consciousness.
Get up, Elurra. Someone will find you if you stay here.
With tremendous effort, she slowly pulled herself into a sitting position. She realized blasting the lock was not a well-thought-out plan, as there was a large smoking hole in the door. Beforehand, there was a possibility of Nitiri thinking the guards accidentally ran into the electric wall, but there was no longer any doubt as to what really occurred. She shakily stumbled to the door frame and dragged herself into the treasury.
Crates of labeled jewels, gold, and currency sat on organized shelves, contrary to Elurra’s expectations for a haphazard dragon’s hoard. There were boxes with the name of every kingdom in the room. She stumbled on a box marked “Lur Alava” and fell to her knees in front of it. It took all her strength to open the lid, and she knew the contents would be much heavier.
I also must carry the spell book, she remembered, groaning inwardly.
She rested her head on the heavy lid and took slow, deep breaths. Her heart ached, and she longed for Terrin. She could imagine the lecture he would give her about how she was an idiot for overextending herself, and how she was suicidal for trying such a stunt and leaving herself vulnerable for capture. But after the lecture, he would carry her and plunder away and save her like he always did.
You cannot use him as an excuse to be impulsive anymore. Get up and face the consequences of your actions, Elurra.
Grimly, she lifted her head and grabbed a sack of silver coins. She didn’t know much about money, but she hoped it was enough to get them to Amora. She bit her lip and shut the lid as she struggled to stand. To say the bag was heavy was an understatement. It felt like carrying a body in her weakened state. She glanced at the box marked “Amora,” but lugging another sack was unthinkable, so she hoped strangers would accept Lur Alavian money if they stuck to the trade routes.
She dragged the sack into the hallway while pondering what to do about the blasted door. Once it was found, security would lock down the castle, and they would never escape. She realized she needed to create the wall again and make it depict the illusion she desired. She backed away until she could take in the full scene, unconscious guards and all.
“Ŗevlik hoŵn con nobi,"[iii] she commanded.
She knew exhaustion was coming, but it knocked her to her knees all the same. When her vision cleared and her head stopped spinning, she took in her handiwork. The scene looked exactly as she had found it, except the guards were knocked out on the floor.
I hope they all lose their memory.
She somehow managed to make it back to Aleah’s room, although how was a complete mystery. She woke up some time later to find Aleah shaking her.
“What did you do to yourself, princess?” Her voice was laced with worry.
“I was retrieving some money.”
Elurra smiled weakly. She wanted to go back to sleep, but she knew time was of the essence. She groaned as she sat up and pointed to the sack in the corner. Aleah didn’t look amused.
“Well, I am not sure I want to know what you did to get all of that.”
“It was an interesting adventure that may have left some unconscious guards behind. It is time we free Kai and start traveling before someone notices the bodies or they wake up. We need every second we can get if we are going to make it to the border in time. All we need now is the keys to Kai’s cell.”
“I’m sure we can twist Damond’s arm and convince him to help,” Aleah said.