Note to self, if you want to keep a family heirloom don't put it in a vault that your idiotic great grand something son can steal the key and most definitely don't put it in a glass case with disco lights shining around it. It was like the blade was begging to get stolen, no traps or alarm system. Jakob just walked towards the blade case opened it and took the blade case sheathing it with the leather case provided.

This made Ivo truly doubt the security system of the ironpeak, either the people who tried invading the castle in the past were stupid or the only ones who could actually defend the castle were already dead. Ivo opted for both.

“Can we go now?” Ivo asked as Jakob grabbed a little armour and nodded.

They walked out the vault when they heard a voice that shouted STOP!! . They both stopped in their tracks, Ivo's eyes tracked to the owner of the voice, it was the dark hair slender boy that walked with Jakob all the time. His rapier was sheathed and raised

Great now the most dangerous person in the castle found them Ivo thought, the boy turned to Ivo giving him the meanest look he could offer before turning to Jakob.

“My lord, what is the meaning of this?” He asked, his sword still raised.

“Rolan stand down” Jakob called out, but the boy didn't bulge but turned to Ivo “did he force you to do this?” The boy asked.

“No one forced me to do anything” Jakob replied.

“Is he forcing you to say that as well? Is it witchcraft?” He asked.

Ivo didn't have all night, they will be surrounded soon, and the kid clearly needed therapy. He stepped forward, but the kid turned his sword to him.

“Listen kiddo, we don't have time for your love quarrels. We have an entire world to save” he called out, but Rolan still didn't bulge.

“We will have to fight our way through it” Jakob said, unsheathing his blade, Ivo knew Jakob was nuts, but he was right. Rolan had no plans of letting them pass, especially now that Jakob had unsheathed his sword, ivo wished he had taken his crossbow with him as he grabbed the shield from the armor standing in the corner beside them.

“Really a shield?”

“Trust me, I'm better with it than a sword,” ivo replied as Jakob charged at Rolan, he hit Jakob's blade and pushed him to the side, slamming his blade like a whip at his back.

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Oh. maybe he had a no killing pol—

Ivo dodged as Rolan almost impaled him face first, he blocked his next strike with his shield. He had to disarm him. He was better fighting barehanded, so he needed the advantage.

As Rolan stroke, Ivo managed to dodged sideways to grab his hand which held the blade, but Rolan simply let go of his hand kicking it to his other hand.

“Come on” Ivo said he blocked with his shield, but the blade passed through the wood almost impaling him, Rolan’s blade was stuck at least he thought.

“Ivo” Jakob screamed, “He has giant blood.”

“What?” Ivo replied as he felt his feet leave the ground, Rolan had lifted him up with the hilt of his blade, both shield and all.

He quickly unbelted the shield around his hand as Rolan threw it before slicing at him, Jakob blocked the strike as they both turned and made a run for it down the hall.

They could hear Rolan cries, like a child who has lost his candy.

He really does need therapy, Ivo thought.

Their exits have been cut off as they made several turns.

“We have to go through the waste pipes” Jakob suggested.

“What ew? No, I'd rather surrender”Ivo replied.

“Come on, I know one big enough for us to squeeze through, and it hasn't been used in forever”.

“It is still a hard pass” Ivo replied.

The guards were closing in and Jakob folded his hands, “well I will just tell them that you kidnapped me and made me do everything that has happened so far” he said, tapping his foot on the ground.

Ivo groaned, he didn't really have a choice.

“The waste pipe leads to an underwater gate that leads to the swallowing river, the gate isn't locked.”

“How are you so sure it is not locked?”

“Because I opened it, it was supposed to be my escape routine.”

“Seriously? A shitty escape if you ask me” Ivo told him

The water pipe was at the back of the kitchen, it was built behind the brick wall and from the look of it, it had been there for long as old as the castle itself.

The wall crumbled easily as they broke through with hammers before climbing over, the pipe itself was big enough for one person to squeeze through. Ivo had a small frame but even still it was going to be a slow climb down, he knew nothing about the air pressure or if the oxygen will drop, he turned to give Jakob a look saying this was a bad idea.

Jakob unbuckled his sword tied the remaining rope to it and then the other end around Ivo's waist, he did the same with Ivo's bag before he threw it in the pipe.

“After you” Jakob called out as Ivo stared at him and slowly pushed through holding the wall as much as he could, Jakob followed through.

“In here” a voice from outside screamed as they broke through the kitchen door, “they are going for the underwater gate, stop them” the voice commanded.

Ivo was wrong about his calculations as Jakob missed an important detail, the pipe grew wider as they went down, so they could hold themselves against the wall and had to make their descent even slower.

Ivo couldn't see what was under, his snowcrawlers trait was his sight. Snowcrawlers are like wolves, they moved at night and had good night vision but if he could see anything it simply meant that there was no source of light whatsoever and that wasn't good.

He didn't know whether it was solid ground or water that was below them, and he would rather not find out in a hurry until Jakob slipped.