The captured trio found themselves promptly thrown into a cell by Flora. Rheba was already standing up while the door slammed shut and locked tightly. The keys were tossed onto a nearby table, a spot that was close enough to see but hopelessly out of reach. She helped Odell sit up and reached out a hand to Hal; the green-haired Netzian pushed her hand away and sat up on his own.
Flora chuckled as she looked at the three in the cell. Icarus and Savvy held the captive Needaimus tightly as they stood behind their calico Bentulousian ally.
“We should inform Grimes of what happened right away,” Savvy said in a low tone.
“He already knows we brought three prisoners here; it won’t hurt to try and get some answers first,” Flora said as she pulled over a chair and sat into it. The metal chair was simple and square. It had three bars that went up the back of it, which complemented the bars in the cell. Although the room was a simple grey square with metal bars, it appeared as if someone with interior decorator sense had selected the furniture to complement it.
Flora sat on the chair backward and leaned on the top of its back as she faced the cell. Due to her giant Bentulousian posture, she had trouble fitting, and the position looked more awkward than menacing.
“So, what brings you to this town?” she asked.
None of the captured trio answered. They stared at her with refusal clear in their eyes. Flora sighed.
“Go ahead and take those Needaimus away; this will be awhile,” she instructed the other two companions. Savvy and Icarus pocketed the cell keys and left without another word. Once the door had closed behind them, Flora spoke again. “It’s not every day a group all wielding Needaimus wanders into a small nowhere village. Is something going on outside? We’ve been here for a year or so now, and current events are hard to come by.”
None of the trio gave any sort of answer.
Flora sighed.
“Well, maybe when we capture one of your friends, we can get some answers from them. That is unless they don’t starve in the mines. They are quite unpleasant to navigate if you don’t have a guide,” she as she stood up from the chair.
Flora walked to the door and stopped only briefly to offer a small wave before ducking under and leaving.
It wasn’t until the door closed when any of the trio spoke. Odell was first to say something.
“What are we going to do,” he hissed in a worried tone to the other two. Hal simply gave a nonchalant shrug and stared at the grey wall outside the cell.
“We have two options, we wait, or we try to escape,” Rheba answered.
“Wait for what?” Odell said in a slightly louder tone.
“Either a rescue or the army to arrive. If our companions are tactical, they will get support before attempting to face these foes.”
Odell ran through the three that had escaped in his mind.
“I hope Harlan can talk some sense into the other two,” he said after his thoughts concluded.
“Those that are fools will live and die as such,” Hal said with a sneer as he stood up and wrapped a hand around one of the bars.
“I’m sure they would never consider doing anything too reckless… given the situation,” Rheba said.
Hal shook the bar he held. It made a slight creaking sound but no visible movement.
“What are you doing there, Hal?” Odell asked.
“A cell made to house Aqueenians cannot hope to contain those that are not,” Hal replied.
“Come again?” Odell asked.
Rheba reached over and grabbed a bar as well. With a slight twist, she felt the bar give way to her strength and large hand. It bent so that it bowed to the side but did not snap or make a hole of any suitable size.
“What good does that do? It barely moved,” Odell said.
Rheba examined the whole array of bars that made up their prison. They formed an equally spaced uniform grey grid with the spacing barely allowing her arm to pass through. The grid of bars was a single wall surrounded by stone walls on all other sides.
The Bentulousian warrior figured she could bend a bar slightly but not move enough to escape from an opened hole. In particular, her large stature meant a potential escape route would have to be much larger than needed for Odell or Hal alone.
She put her fingers to her brown furred chin and began to think to herself.
Odell looked around at the cell again. Escape seemed like a hopeless fantasy and rescue an impossible dream.
***
Flora, Savvy, and Icarus all stood in front of two large doors. They were the largest set in the whole building and were tall enough for Flora to enter without ducking. Each door was the shape of a quarter circle and combined made a semicircle with a split down the middle
On the split between the doors, Flora had placed her hand. She readied to push the door open, but Icarus had stopped her.
"I'm telling you; we should wait to give our report at least until we have captured the other three. As it stands now, we would only look bad," he pleaded.
Flora sighed.
"It is fine; he will not get angry," she explained. Before Icarus could reply, Flora pushed the two doors open. They swung wide, letting out a loud creak before they finally came to a stop.
The room was a long but narrow space. It had been mostly cleared out, but marks on the floor showed where tables, chairs, and other objects had once sat. At the room's end sat a large and ornate metal throne, which had been formed out of the mine's rarest metals. It was a sterling silver color with blood-red cushions formed into the seat, back, and armrests.
The shape was jagged, and the back looked like several blades were sticking off it. A close inspection would reveal that the shape was intended, and every jagged edge on one side of the throne was symmetrical with an edge on the other.
On the throne sat a lone Netzian man. He had a face that looked like it may have been chiseled out of stone. Long black hair ran down from his head, and a short beard hid his chin. Two black circles sat on his forehead. They were bony in texture, and he filed them every day to keep them flush to his skin.
His eyes were a crimson red, and they were filled with a look of aged tiredness and scorn. Slight wrinkles around his eyes were hidden behind the hair that covered much of his face's sides. He wore black clothes that only slightly draped over one shoulder and left much of his chest exposed. It may have looked like a roman toga to someone familiar with earth.
The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
A crimson Needaimus lined the Netzian's arm, and much like the other two, appeared to have roots growing across the skin. Unlike his companions, this man's growth covered more skin, and his exposed chest was only visible in a small line between the toga and the Needaimus.
He wore a frown before the door was opened but made a friendly smile when the trio of his companions came into sight.
"What brings you three here today?" he asked in a gentle tone.
Flora was the first to walk forward. Her tall stride allowed her to cross the room quickly, and she knelt next to the throne. The calico warrior leaned in and nuzzled the side of the Netzians face with her own before speaking.
"Grimes, my love, we have come to follow up on those visitors you told us about," she explained as the other two got close and kneeled as well.
"Oh, the visitors, you say?" the Netzian named Grimes replied with slight curiosity.
Before Flora could reply, Icarus broke down in tears.
"I'm sorry, boss, we let three of them escape into the mines!" he shouted as he fell from one knee down to two, bringing his long, scaled face close to the floor. He banged two fists on the ground as his head hung close to the ground.
Savvy reached over and rested the hand without her glove on Icarus' back.
"Stay calm," she said in a tone a sister might.
"How can I! I let three escape, and we didn't get any information out of the three we caught!" he shouted through tears.
"Stay calm, and look at our leader when you address him. Those others will surely perish," Savvy said in a calm voice.
Icarus was slowly and gently raised off the ground by something naked to the eye. He found himself being moved back to an upright position. All the while, he did his best to stop his tears.
Grimes made a friendly smile.
"Oh, Icarus, I'm sorry if I ever made you feel worthless," Grimes said in a sincere tone. "It means more to hear your drive for success."
Icarus nodded and wiped the remaining tears from his eyes.
"That's my love," Flora said with a smile as she wrapped her arms around one of the leaders and pulled herself in closely.
"Now, tell me, what of the others you captured?" Grimes asked.
"Of course, they were not receptive to interrogation. We may need to use more extreme measures," Flora said without loosening her grip around the leader's arm.
"It should also be mentioned that all six were Needaimus users," Savvy added.
"All six!" Grimes couldn't hide his surprise but contained it with a calm demeanor.
"Dast, we have managed to capture three and identified two. The remaining mortal was a Netzian and only goes by the number assigned. I should mention that the group consisted of two Netzians, an Aqueenian, a Hobusian, a Zenotote, and a Bentulousian. Furthermore, I believe the vehakul they arrived in to be of Aqueenian in origin, though it must be a new model as I have not seen it before," Savvy rapidly explained.
Grimes rubbed his beard with his free hand and sighed. He extended his ability out as he sought to find the missing trio.
"The other three have already made contact with a group of miners; I suspect they will visit us shortly. As for the other three, I think it may be best to meet them myself," Grimes said in a friendly tone.
"Sir, with all due respect, should we not engage the other three if you have found them?" Savvy asked.
Grimes laughed.
"They can't do anything but struggle. Send a small search party as a front, but let them be for now. I suspect things will get entertaining shortly."
He shook the arm Flora was wrapped around gently. She frowned but let go and stood up. The Netzian leader stood up from the throne and began to walk forward. Savvy and Icarus quickly bowed as he walked between them. Then, they stood up, and all three followed the leader outside the throne room.
***
The captured trio sat in the cell, with their back to one of the three walls. They looked at the center of the cell as if something of interest sat there in plain view.
"Greesoop," Odell said, and his yellow eyes darted back and forth between the other two. Neither Rheba nor Hal replied; instead, they showed a dissatisfied look. Odell had previously tried to start a word game so that the time would pass quickly, and they had flatly refused. "Opera," Odell sadly muttered as he continued to play the game with himself. "Raid... Iduoosmu..." Odell continued.
"You aren't supposed to keep switching languages," Rheba said with a sigh as she stood up from the wall and began to pace back and forth in the cell. Her tall legs made the pacing only take one step to cross the space.
"There are no rules when you're playing alone," Odell said with a smile.
"Now is not the time for games," Rheba replied while slowly shaking her head. Hal nodded in agreement but didn't bother to add to her comment.
The Bentulousian warrior stopped her pacing and stared out to the door. Her tall ears on her head flicked.
Odell was about to say something else, but she held out a hand to indicate that he should be quiet. A moment later, the group of four clad in black clothing entered the prison room.
"Oh, a Bentulousian warrior. You must have heard us coming!" A Netzian none of the others had seen before addressed Rheba as he walked to the center of the room. "Nice to meet you all; I'm Grimes, and I guess you'd say I'm the leader of this ragtag group." The leader spun the metal chair to the center of the room and sat in it to face the cell. For the three captured, it had looked like the chair moved on its own.
"Though ragtag might be a little misleading. We are a group that splintered off of Array; are you familiar with them? We left when things got to be a little too much," Grimes said with a laugh, "Anyway, we have about 30 members out and about in this little town."
None of the trio said anything to Grimes. He chuckled and sighed.
"Well, tough group. I suppose I would be the same if I were imprisoned.... Now let's see, a Bentulousian warrior, though low ranked. A Netzian soldier, also low ranked, and...." Grimes stopped and squinted as he looked at Odell's clothes," Hobusian royalty? Savvy, what were the others wearing?"
"Dast, I've already sent it to you for viewing."
The others could not see, but Grimes pulled up several pictures into his field of vision through his Needaimus. They were rough images taken by Flora's and Icarus' Needaimus in the earlier spat. He squinted and rubbed his beard.
"Their company is interesting as well," he mused, "Sadly, I don't think we will get anything out of these three. Station a guard outside this door. Their remaining members appear to be Aqueenian royalty, a Zenotote officer, ... and a Netzian in Aqueenian clothes.... When the Netzian is captured, have him brought straight to me. Once we have them all, I'd say some hard labor in the mines will be the best."
Grimes stood up and carefully slid the chair back into its place without laying a single finger on it. He twisted his neck as if to loosen it, and it cracked a couple of times.
"Well, it was nice meeting you three. I look forward to seeing your fruitful work!" Grimes happily addressed the three in the cell before turning to leave. The others of his group followed after him, and the door was closed with a loud bang.
Odell frowned and looked down at his clothes. None of the group had any time to think about clothing before they had left on the journey and still wore the same manner of garb they had at the conference.
"Perhaps we should have worn something less conspicuous for this mission?" he said to himself.
Rheba rubbed her chin.
"That may be true, but normally an average Netzian would not be able to tell the difference between civilian and military clothing for Bentulousians, and he could tell it for all of us."
"Is that bad?" Odell asked.
"The spirits of our allies may soon be crushed under the weight of this oppressive force," Hal said with a sigh and shake of his head.
"I suspect they intend to break our spirits as well with whatever hard labor they have in mind. It sounds like, first, they want to capture the others. Does that mean we're bait?" Rheba said as she began to drum her fingers across her long chin.
They were silent for a moment as each trio member entered individual thought.
Odell was the first to break the silence. He did it not with words but instead got close to the bars and bent it. It did not move as well as it had for Rheba, but the bar still gave way to him. The creak caught the attention of the other two.
"I thought we decided that was of no use. What are you trying?" Rheba asked.
"I came up with an idea, but it seemed like a bad one. However, if hard labor is the only option, it might be worth a try!" Odell said as he worked.
The grey Hobusian prince bent the bar back in the opposite direction he had before. Then he continued to move it back and forth until a popping sound was finally made. The whole process took a while, but Odell had caused the bar to split. He bent the two halves away from the cell resulting in a relatively larger hole.
He made a short hum to himself as he looked at Hal and Rheba. Some beads of sweat on his face indicated the process had been rather labor-intensive.
"If we move the bars back and forth enough times, they should give way. We will probably have to do each bar individually... and I don't know how long it will take to make a hole Rheba or I could escape from," Odell explained.
Rheba's eyes lit up.
"Perhaps we do not need enough of a hole for us to escape from; rather, we can have Hal escape and return to us with our Needaimus!" Of the three, the green-haired Netzian had the smallest shoulder width.
They turned to Hal with eager expressions. The Netzian closed his large yellow eyes and shook his head vigorously.
"Escape is but a mere fantasy. Our toil shall be in vain," he said.
"It will be fine; you just have to sneak around for a little bit!" Odell said. Rheba nodded in agreement.
"Don't worry, Hal, we will be able to support you as soon as you get back to us," she added.
The two set out to begin breaking the bars in the corner of the cell with no concern to the wishes of Hal.