Cassana PoV [https://i.imgur.com/0wZrWzK.jpeg]
“Guess it’s just us again, huh?” Uttered Lira. She rested her back on the cold stone slab that served as their bed.
The prison they were thrown into was just large enough to hold Cassana, Lira and three other female prisoners. It was dark and damp, with a smell that appeared to be seeping through the walls. Opposite theirs, across the corridor, was another prison cell where Ashvell and Rei were kept.
Cassana sat down beside Lira, raising both her feet up over the slab, frustratingly resting her elbows over her knees while letting out an exhausted sigh. She asked a guard how long they would be held in their cells, but he didn’t give them an answer.
A few hours later Cassana’s hangover finally lulled. Yet, the throbbing pain lodged underneath her skull remained. The image of Robb and Minos disappearing right before her eyes was still fresh. Most of all, the visage of the shadowy figure that took them was etched in her memory. Good. She thought.
The redhead took the downtime inside their cell as an opportunity to think. She remembered a discussion from her Occult class back when she was still at The Tower. They touched upon the topic of the shade people, mysterious individuals with no physical form residing in places with an absence of light.
Cassana wasn’t interested in the study of occult, but being a required subject in class, she listened to the lectures, nonetheless. She remembered her classmates having vivid debates about the origin of such beings. Several theories were thrown around, some claimed that these creatures were the manifestation of the fravashis, malevolent beings from the outer realm.
Another theory was that they were our ancestors returning from the afterlife. Or our loved ones who weren’t allowed to pass through the beyond. Her favorite, however, was the theory that they were created by evil sorcerers, some sort of familiar or spectral companion.
Of course, there was one theory from the skeptics: that they weren’t real. That they were merely figments of the human imagination. Like when a person is half asleep and starts seeing things that aren’t there. This theory had some bearing, as with most reports of sightings of shade-folk, the witness was usually coming out of sleep.
Cassana, however, could not afford to be a skeptic, as she had seen one up close. Not just her, but her companions as well.
“Minos and Robb…” she sighed.
“I’ve been alive for so long, I thought I’ve already seen everything. But that thing, I have never seen that before in my life.”
“Shade people. That’s what our professor called them, back in the Academy.”
“You mean that thing from children’s stories? They’re real?”
“Apparently, and we just saw one.”
Lira stared at Cassana, as if waiting for her to say that she was kidding.
“The wizards are divided about their existence,” the young wizard started explaining. “Some believe they’re real, others, not so. Even those that do believe, have different explanations on what they could be.”
“And what do you believe?” asked Lira.
“They could be a conjuration. Like an entity created as a familiar for wizards. Something that would do their bidding without question.”
“In short, it’s being controlled by a person?” Lira clarified.
“The same way a guy controls his dog, or you control Scout…” Cassana’s eyes widened as she realized of the perfect analogy to make the huntress understand what she was trying to say. When they were caught, Lira thought he could smuggle Scout under her clothes, sneak him in and eventually, have him help them escape. Unfortunately, the guards frisked them and was removed of their items on their way in. The poor ferret was probably in a cage somewhere along with their other stuff.
“I don’t control Scout,” noted the drow defensively.
“Exactly my point,” the redhead nodded. She climbed down from the slab and started pacing the prison floor. “A familiar is connected to its master via magic, like a string of magical energy.
“The pylons!” Lira exclaimed. She jumped down and faced Cassana, both sharing a look of hope in their faces.
“If we can access the pylons around the docks, we can trace who was controlling that shadow around the time we were there," said Cassana.
“So how do we get access to the pylons?”
“The Small Tower. The Tower of the Legate.”
The drow huntress nodded, “sounds like a plan.”
“But first, we need to get out of here. And soon, I don’t know how long that data gets stored in the pylons.”
“On it.” Lira walked up to the bars of their cage and tried to take a peek outside.
An armored guard was standing at the end of the hall. Lira whistled to get his attention and the guard turned around.
“Who’s in charge here? I want to talk to your Commander,” shouted the huntress.
“Shut up!” Answered the guard.
“Look buddy, I know you’re just following orders. And I also know that whatever violations we are being charged with, we have a right to plead our cases,” decades of Lira’s gentrification were finally paying off.
At last, the guard walked towards their cell and repeated his words while holding his truncheon against Lira’s face. “I said shut up.”
“What’s going on here?” A female voice called out from outside the prison hall. The guard turned to face where it came from. A woman, wearing similar uniform to what the guard was wearing, stepped through the hall and the guard gave her a salute.
“Just trying to quiet down the prisoner, ma’am,” answered the guard.
“Are you the one in charge here?” Lira addressed the woman.
“You could say that.” The uniformed woman dismissed the guard and faced Lira and Cassana from outside the bars of her prison cell.
The redhead batted her eyes. There was something about her that looked uncannily familiar. She was shorter than the drow, and almost the same height as hers. She had a gentle face, with sharp blue eyes, a fair complexion, and dark blonde hair neatly tied up in a bun. If she weren’t wearing a uniform, she wouldn't even think that she was in the military. Aside from her pretty face, she mostly had an unassuming look, and a demeanor that betrayed a puissant personality.
“We want to plead our case,” Cassana considered asking her if they've met before, but Lira blurted out her demand.
“What are they charged with?” The female officer shouted across the hall, to which the guard outside replied:
“Curfew violation.”
The officer shrugged her shoulders. “It’s a minor charge. And if it’s your first offense, you’ll be out by tomorrow.”
“Is there a way for us to be released now?” Cassana butted in, disregarding her first impression of the officer.
“None.”
“Can we get a barrister then?” the wizard continued. Cassana may have been raised as a peasant, but three years of study in the City of Ad-Nilem had also refined her understanding of the law. She glanced at the officer’s shoulders to look at the epaulet she was wearing, and the redhead was certain she held a significant rank in the City Watch.
“Look, don’t make this too complicated,” she explained to the two prisoners, “It’s a minor offense, so you get a day in jail. Simple. Just think of it as a short holiday. You’ll be out of here tomorrow, not that there’s anywhere for you to go anyway since the city is still in lockdown.”
“If you may… Lieutenant…?” asked Lira.
“Lieutenant Denise von Schreiber.”
“Lieutenant von Schreiber, do you know a man named Hrothgar?”
“What?” Lira’s question startled the lieutenant and Cassana even noticed her instinctively reached for the handle of her estoc.
“He works for the City Watch. Steffan van Hrothgar, is there a way we can talk to him?”
“Why?”
“Let’s just say that we’re old friends. He knows me. And since I’m already here, anyway, might as well talk to him.”
“Yeah, right…” The doubt was certain from the officer’s voice.
“Just tell him Lira of the Wolfswood is looking for him. He’ll know who I am.”
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“Who was that? The person you asked about?” Cassana asked Lira soon after they settled down in their cell.
“He’s an old friend, from when I used to live here,” answered the huntress. “I came of age in the streets of Soliton. I used to know every corner, every alleyway, knew the people who roamed them, guards who patrolled them…
“A lot has changed since I left, but I’m hoping I can still maybe pull some strings…” Lira glanced at the redhead who was herself lost in her own thoughts. "You, what are you thinking about?"
"Lieutenant what’s-her-name, she looked familiar. I think I've seen her before..." Cassana answered.
"Where?"
"I'm not sure... Maybe in Ad-Nilem? She looked high-born, that's the only place where I would meet a noblewoman like her..."
"I remember Minos mentioned that you used to run an inn...?"
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"Right!" Cassana snapped, raising her index finger, "she was probably a guest. Anyway, you’ve done quite a lot already..." the redhead continued, changing the subject. "With the Guild connection, securing us a ship. I should thank you.”
“Yet we’re in much deeper trouble than we were.”
“None of which is your fault.”
Cassana took one last lap around the cell before sitting down again. “What do you think are the chances that we can find them alive?”
Lira leaned on the wall across from the young wizard, she opened her mouth as if she were about to say something, before taking a pause. “I’ve known that kid since he was eleven. He’s stubborn… too stubborn, in fact, to the point that I trust that he would do anything to not die.
“He is probably being held somewhere, for some reason. Similar to our situation, but he’s already thinking of ways to escape.” Lira explained.
“Right, that creature could have killed us, when the guards arrived, but it didn’t.” Cassana added, “So it was there to capture… Minos?”
“You think it was him its after, and not the boy?”
“Why? What would it want with Robb?”
“You tell me, he was with you.”
“Exactly, there’s no reason for anybody to kidnap Robb. Minos, on the other hand; you said it yourself, his family’s rich…”
“So, what, a kidnap-for-ransom scheme?”
“You tell me, he’s with you.” Cassana tossed back Lira’s question with complete condescension. “I know that he’s keeping a lot of things close to his chest, and he can’t complete a sentence without lying. It makes me wonder, what else could he be hiding from us other than his name? By us, I meant us, not including you.”
Lira stepped to the side and faced away from Cassana. “You really are too smart for your own good.”
Cassana shrugged and smiled, she was not the type to try to be modest. “Tell me this though, is he valuable enough to be kept alive by those who abducted them?”
“If they know who he really is, then yes. They will keep him alive.”
“Good. Cause then I know that he will keep Robb alive.”
Cassana counted the hours by watching the beam of sunshine from a small hole above their prison cell wall. The ray of light slowly crawled across the floor like a snail finding its way back to the pond. It disappeared soon as it reached the wall, and the redhead could tell it was already high noon.
Maybe it was the stress of the morning, or the half-a-dozen things that went wrong since they arrived in this city the day before, but something else was nagging at Cassana. Like something important had slipped her mind. She then heard Ashvell’s voice shouting for her from across the prison, and it all came back.
She stood up and rushed to the iron bars that kept them inside. Across the corridor, to the other prison cell, she could see Rei lying down on the cold concrete floor.
“It’s Rei!” shouted Ashvell. One prison guard heard his voice and glanced over to them.
“Hey! Someone, guard!” Cassana pleaded.
“Shut up!” the guard approached, slamming his truncheon over the iron bars. “Can’t you see we’re having our lunch here? Just give us a moment of peace.”
“My friend, on the other side, he needs help, he’s sick,” Cassana said.
“Not my problem,” answered the guard.
“I have a poultice, it’s in our bags. He just needs to drink it.”
The guard looked over to the other cell to observe what was happening to the foreigner.
When they were all brought in earlier, the guards wanted to remove Rei’s hood and mask, but Cassana convinced them otherwise by telling them he had a contagious disease. Which wasn’t entirely a lie.
Cassana had been closely monitoring Rei’s condition for the past few days. He was typically cognizant during nighttime and would only start to feel weak once the sun rose. His fever would peak around noon, where she would give him a poultice to lower his temperature and stabilize his heart rate.
Another guard chimed in to see what was happening. Rei was shaking on his back, squirming right and left in pain, while Ashvell held him in place to keep him from rolling over. The guard looked to the first guard and ordered him to take heed.
The first guard disappeared for a moment, then returned carrying three bags, “Which one of these is your bag?” He asked them.
Cassana pointed to hers, “On that pocket, reach over there, you should see a bottle.”
“This one?” The guard followed and fished out a bottle with yellow liquid inside.
“Yes, that’s it. Ashvell,” the wizard called for his friend from the other cell, “give that to Rei. Just two spoonsful.”
The prisoners had just been handed their lunch ration, so Ashvell grabbed his spoon and reached for the poultice from the guard. Cassana watched as the young man carefully followed her instructions.
The guard stood outside in the hallway, confused. “Maybe we should move him to the infirmary...”
“If you do that, you should also bring me along,” Cassana said.
“Why?”
“Because I’m the only one who can tend to him.”
“We have our own doctors and nurses,” added the guard.
“They won’t help. They can’t help.”
“Let me ask my higher-ups.” The guard stepped back and returned to his post.
Cassana observed Rei from across the corridor and saw the poultice taking effect. The foreigner drifted back to sleep and the prison halls were quiet again.
Not long after, Lieutenant von Schreiber returned and beckoned the two women. Escorted by three more guards, they put Cassana and Lira in iron cuffs, and lead them out of their cells through the stairs heading up to their headquarters. They marched up five more flights, before stopping in a hallway outside an office entrance.
The lieutenant opened the door and went inside, motioning for the two to follow her, then the remaining three guards. The room was a large office, decorated with frescoes and tapestries on every wall. At the center of the carpeted floor sat a large wooden desk inlaid with ornate designs and emblazoned with the Soliton City Watch coat of arms.
Four sets of luxurious chairs lined up along the left-hand side of the room, each of them adorned with carvings and upholstered in expensive fabrics. Behind the table, a large map of the port city and its surrounding territories was prominently displayed right below a portrait. And on the left-hand side, stood a glass display containing various regalia and artifacts: swords, shields, and an enormous collection of medallions.
Thick velvet curtains cover the closed windows, yet the room was as bright as a sunny afternoon. It took a moment for Cassana to recognize the hanging lamps along the four corners of the room, all powered by magic. The hypocrisy in this room... she thought to herself, remembering the city's irrational regulations against magic.
Behind the desk sat a handsome man with a thick set of blonde hair, elegantly brushed on one side. He had a trimmed beard and a handlebar mustache looking out of place over his immaculate, flawless, wrinkle-free face. His pale complexion and smooth skin looked incongruous underneath his military uniform and his authoritative demeanor.
Lieutenant von Schreiber saluted the man, and so did the other guards. Lira immediately took a step forward to take a better look at him, but one guard stopped her.
“So, it is really you, Lira of the Wolfswood.” The man spoke with a deep voice. His dark-blue eyes were piercing through the drow huntress.
“Steffan?” Lira’s face glowed in delight. If not for her shackled wrists, she would have jumped up and reached out for the man.
“I thought drows never age,” remarked the man, “Look at you, all grown up.”
“Look at you, you are unbelievably spry and young for a human...” Lira paused to allow herself to study the man before him from head to toe, “And you’re…” Lira’s eyes roamed around the room and then back at the man, “in charge of this place?”
“So…” the lieutenant interrupted them with a cough, “Captain Hrothgar, you do know her?”
“Indeed, indeed, she is an old friend. We grew up in the streets together, until we went our separate ways. I, of course, joined the City Watch, while her…” Captain Hrothgar stepped out of his desk and moved closer to Lira. At more than six feet tall, he towered over everyone else in the room.
The captain placed his index finger over his lips as he took his turn to study Lira.
“From what I heard; you were climbing the ranks of the Bounty Hunters Guild. Capturing and killing scoundrels and outlaws left and right. And then, there were also rumors that you quit the guild and disappeared without a trace. Any of that true?” Cassana could not tell if Captain Hrothgar was questioning Lira or stating a fact. He spoke with a revered tone that could turn even the most ridiculous lie sound like absolute certitude.
Lira stepped back with a cocky smile, refusing to be intimidated. “Honestly, I cannot remember anymore. That was decades ago…
“But I do remember the last time I saw you. You were running up and down the districts, escorting gong-farmers as they collected latrines from every house. Now, you’re telling me that you’re the Captain of the City Watch? If these people find out what kind of man you were before you donned that uniform, do you think they would still respect you?” Lira finished.
“Well, I remember that I had always thought metal cuffs would look good on you. And now you are here, in my metal cuffs. So now I am thinking, did the predator finally become the prey?”
The young wizard watched the two take a stand-off, gripping with suspense. She started thinking of what to do next in case the tension suddenly escalated. She glanced at the curtained window, wondering if she can survive from a jump this high. Suddenly, Captain Hrothgar’s boisterous laughter broke her deep pondering.
Cassana and Lieutenant von Schreiber, as well as the rest of the guards exchanged confusing glances at each other. At that point, Lira had started to laugh as well, and she and the captain took one step closer together. He gave her a friendly tap on the shoulder before reaching for the iron chains in between her two wrists.
“So, what did you do this time?” Don’t tell me you’ve regressed to picking pockets?”
“Violating the curfew,” the lieutenant answered before Lira could open her mouth.
“And…” asked the captain, expecting more.
“They were caught armed to the teeth. Her and her accomplices.”
“And…?”
“Two of them escaped using magic.”
“Huh… and?”
“They had a wild animal with them.”
“I see, what else?”
“Pretty much it, Captain.”
“Is that it? Have you grown soft, my old friend.”
“If by soft, you mean I no longer murder people indiscriminately, then yes," said Lira.
Cassana turned to stare at the huntress. She could tell that the three guards also tensed up by her last sentence. She wanted to think that she only meant that as a joke; but not until a week ago, she was practically a stranger to her so she could never be sure.
Captain Hrothgar burst out laughing once again as he stood between his lieutenant and Lira. “Please, please, it was a jest. There will be no indiscriminate murdering in my city, not while I am in charge. Come, remove her from her shackles.” He ordered the guards.
“But Captain—” von Schreiber objected.
“Do it.”
The lieutenant motioned for the guard to undo Lira’s restraints.
“And who is this?” Hrothgar finally noticed Cassana and took a well-intentioned look at her from head to toe. “Your daughter?”
“No!” Lira and Cassana answered in unison.
“But she’s with me, so…” Lira motioned for the redhead’s cuffs as well, and the guard removed it too.
“Grab a seat, you two, and join me at my table. You can give us the room now, lieutenant.”
“Are you sure about this, Captain?”
“Leave.” Hrothgar’s thunderous voice echoed across the room. Cassana watched as the three guards trembled on their knees before following their lieutenant outside the office.
Lira and Cassana grabbed two chairs towards Hrothgar’s desk and sat opposite him as the huntress introduced the redhead and the captain to each other.
“So, is she what, your protege?”
“Maybe?” Lira shrugged, as if the prospect were close to reality.
“We’re traveling companions,” Cassana finally answered.
“Very well.” The captain sat comfortably on his chair, “I will let you know; I don’t take kindly to people invoking my name as a get-out-of-jail card, I have a reputation to maintain. But if you come to my city to visit and check on me, I can give you a pass.”
Lira rolled her eyes, “Seeing you again is the last thing in my mind. However, we were desperate and needed a way out. Given the years that have gone by, I assumed you would still be in the City Watch holding some kind of position. I figured you would be able to help us with our predicament. Never would I have thought you would be in such a prominent position.”
“I see. So why am I not hearing thank you’s?”
Lira shrugged. Cassana leaned in forward and rested her elbow on the table, “Yes, captain, you have our thanks.”
“If you do not mind me asking, why did you violate the curfew inside my city? You and your ward here.”
“Is it your city now?” asked Lira.
Captain Hrothgar took a quick glance behind him where a portrait of a nobleman hung by. “Since the burgrave declared martial law yesterday, yes.” He leaned back on his chair with a hint of pride. “I am in command of the only militarized institution in this city-state, the City Watch.”
Lira shrugged, “You don’t look particularly busy for a man in charge.”
“I do not abide to micromanaging. An effective leader knows how to delegate tasks.”
“Locking down a city… a city that engages mainly through open trade. Is that a sign of effective leadership?”
"That was not my decision, but the burgrave’s. Martial law was declared so that I can come in and help with certain problems…”
Lira glanced over at Cassana, “So you really are in charge?”
“I was the one asking questions here…” Hrothgar maneuvered.
Lira nodded. “So, you want us to tell you everything?”
“I set you free, right? I think I am entitled to something in return.”
“We were just passing by. We were planning to commission a ship that would bring us to Ad-Nilem,” explained Lira, deliberately ommiting several details.
“And then the lockdown happened, and now we’re stranded here,” Cassana concluded. She wanted to remind the two reuniting friends that she was still in the room with them.
“You want to get out of the city? I am sorry, even with my authority, I cannot allow that to happen,” explained the captain.
“Don’t worry, we’re not asking for that,” said Lira.
“At least not for now,” interjected Cassana.
Captain Hrothgar raised an eyebrow.
“You see, two of our companions were…” the redhead continued but Lira gave her a subtle look.
“Down below.” Lira finished her sentence. “If you could also let them out, we would really appreciate that.”
“Done,” the captain answered. “Is that all?”
“That’s all,” Lira assured.
“Very well. And now that I’ve addressed your concerns, feel free to leave my office. And please do not get caught outside during curfew hours again. Or the next time you ask for me, I would not be as forgiving."