It had been four days since the Dungeon had been discovered. Three days had passed since Aloy had first stepped inside the prison after getting through the experience. Minus an hour and that was how long most of the prison guards had known about the discovery and the next few steps that would undoubtedly need to be taken. Another two days remained until the first search inside would be made.
In the prison itself, they housed five hundred and eighty-two inmates, most being between the ages of twenty and thirty-five. The main group of the inmates were entirely male but there was a smaller percentage of females as well. The type of crime each had committed was one step away from minor, just enough to have infuriated the wrong person or city. It varied from larger amounts of petty theft or maybe even a form of assault that didn’t end up killing anybody. Nothing that would cause the death penalty to ever have a chance on incurring but neither something where a slip on the wrist would be enough.
That also meant that few insides were either powerful or strong in any larger manner. But inside had been farmers, beggars, perhaps even the kids of some far gone merchant. A few were above level five in a combat-related class, and Aloy had even been told of a rare couple that had reached level ten [Brawler], but not a single one could defeat any of the guards in single combat. There was perhaps the spirit to do such a thing but there was no real possibility when it came to their power.
And in a very short amount of time, the guards would take the strongest out on an adventure where they would serve as cannon-fodder. Another group of ten formers [Builders] along with one [Architect] would be taken to the outside of the dungeon to start the building of a smaller and very temporary base of operations. With the fact that deaths had already occurred within, it was only a matter of time before a few go-lucky farmers would try their chance at it, no matter how unlikely their survival was. It was just another percentage to watch out for. They would normally kill themselves trying to fight the petty wolves around but a Dungeon was too lucrative for many. Aloy knew that more than anything.
She had taken the task of following a group of idiots to fix a relic she imagined she could have fixed herself. Their only purpose had been to stop anything from killing her if they could get overrun. How much had been paid to warrant such a brutal form of protection? Five silvers in total to be shared equally among all in the group. Not that they had known of their true purposes. Neither had Aloy, fairly enough. She had expected it to be yet another case of somebody illegally dumping their wares around the area like a few bandits had done so many times these past years. Many had been caught and sent to the more fortified prisons because of it.
Not like the one, she stood on wasn’t fortified either. Being just above the entrance gate on the outer wall, it was clear from how many steps she could atop of it that nothing short of a level fifty mage would collapse it. Perhaps one of the very expensive canons but there was no chance at it getting close without first being spotted. Even then, the strong bricks would likely hold up to a few hits, just as they had done in the past. The prison used to be a castle, after all, though it had gotten its fair share of changes. Smaller rooms had gotten their walls collapsed to account for cell-blocks, the supposed inner garden had been refurbished to grant prisoners sunlight during the day, and the space between the inner and outer walls had been made into a small but very efficient field to give some of the former farmer's space to work.
While there never was enough food on those to feed any substantial amount of prisoners, their yearly budget had a few extra pieces of gold saved because of it. Not that Aloy would ever be able to verify that, her role never allowing her to get that good a look at the finance reports sent out. The one time she had been tasked with delivering the parcel, there had barely been a few moments where she could glimpse upon the numbers. A hard truth to swallow but surely one she had to.
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Now she just stood as a stand-in for one of the guards below, ready to shoot anybody trying to get into the prison. It was perhaps an idiotic placement seeing as they could merely close the gates and stop just about anybody from even trying. Yet… standards had to be upheld and what was more imposing than a pair of burly men in very dirty armour standing to each side of an entrance while a woman sat on the roof with a bow in hand? There couldn’t be much since the leaders insisted on her doing just that half the time.
At least she could see quite far from her position. It wasn’t just [Far-Sight] giving her that ability but the height she was on which helped immensely. Being above the twenty-five meters allowed her to see above the initial small hills and right over to the forest from which she had left not too long ago. That tree-line had been quite something to manage through the years, a few of the more magical creatures in the forest always trying to expand it. In a matter of a single night, a new dozen trees would be added at random points. One always had to keep a keen eye lest the creatures would slowly gain ground without realizing. And when they started to accelerate the process due to a lack of resistance… the royal guards would have to be called in. That wasn’t the greatest finale to anything which was why such a keen eye was best.
Aloy just had to sweep her eyes across that tree-line while making sure nothing had popped up without their express consent. If any new tree at all was spotted, a small group of prisoners and guards would go out and cut down a hundred just to be sure. If a group of new trees were spotted, a burning of the forest would commence though it was always contained to a few hundred. And, worst of all, if a prisoner was seen to be running into the tree-line without having been previously spotted before that, Aloy was to shout down and get the guards to ring the alarm bell so they could start a hunt to find the poor soul that decided to think itself free.
Yet… what would happen if a prisoner was running towards them, right out of the treeline? Aloy hadn’t needed to think about it due to the sheer absurdity of it. Who exactly would want to come back after a large amount of work required to escape? But, here she was, seeing a very dirty person running towards them at full speed. Their shirt had been removed somewhere along the way with their upper body coated in mud. A very common tactic among those who ran but not one that had ever truly proved effective. Nevertheless, Aloy felt the need to notify those below of the occurrence.
“Returning prisoner has been spotted!” Aloy shouted down, mildly unsure of what she was meant to call the sight. There was a designated sentence for fleeing prisoners but what exactly was the inverse meant to be? And, even if there had been one, to begin with, what were the chances that the idiots sent to guard the heavily fortified entrance knew it.
“Do you mean fleeing prisoners?” was shouted right back. The voice made Aloy think it could have been Jack but she wasn’t exactly sure. It was hard to see their faces when their helmets were in the way.
“No, I mean-” Aloy began to shout but paused as the facial features became more prominent. It had been hidden by the dirt and mud but as the prisoner got nearer, the [Hunter] began to realize it wasn’t a prisoner at all. “Forget the last sighting. A person of interest has been spotted and must be caught at all costs!”
She drew an arrow as she began to prepare for the shot of a lifetime. If the Druid she had known from before decided to change direction, she was more than ready to arm for his knee. That one had to be caught at all costs or she would likely be fired once her superiors figured out just who it was.
In the passing minute, Aloy began to realise she might not have needed to worry about the [Druid] running away from the prison. Instead of altering his path the closer he got, the man seemed determined to head straight towards the castle's entrance. Even when under a hundred meters away, he didn’t stop barreling towards it.
“Let him pass through!” Aloy shouted down, making the guards open up the small wall made of their bodies. They had been prepared to stop the man from running through but no way would be allowed. The moment she saw him run through the entrance was the moment she jumped down from her position to get to him. Some questions needed answers this minute.