Chapter 275

We have been caught. Calm yourself—do not react!

Everything inside Max yearned to go wild. His weapon was poised, ready to lash out against the wall in a desperate attempt to free himself from this prison.

Max’s heart began to race, and feelings he hadn’t had since this entire adventure started began to bloom once more.

This is not the wagon! You are not the same boy! Now breathe. Slowly. In and out. We shall get through this. I will help you.

Keeping his eyes closed, he began to breathe as his skill told him to. Each breath settled himself just a little more.

Good. Now slowly walk around the room. Do not touch the wall, but just hold your hands out near the stone. Let us see what our captor has imprisoned us in.

Why not strike the wall? What if I can destroy it?

Think… calm down and think. Inside you is a mind. Use it! Someone who is strong enough to move faster than you could react and to push you through a portal is obviously powerful enough to have built a room designed to hold people.

Right now they may not be certain how strong you are. Until we show our true potential, we will keep certain cards hidden.

His mind was racing with thoughts of Tanila and others. It took every ounce of willpower to not lash out at the wall. His mind had begged him to at the start, but his skill was right.

Slowly, he moved toward the wall ten yards away. His steps made no sound as he moved across the worked stone.

Holding out a hand, Max stopped a few inches away.

That is close enough. Now walk slowly around the room. Keep the same distance.

I’m assuming we are being watched or studied somehow? I don’t sense any openings in the stone. It all feels the same.

Which is why you are going to do what I ask. Allow me to use some of my power and knowledge.

Each step felt like agony as Max moved toward the corner. The box felt like it was going to shrink at any moment. Every other step, he took another deep breath, fixing his mind on waiting and seeing what might happen.

After what seemed like an eternity, Max was back at the spot he had started from.

Do one more pass, hold your hand lower, near your knees.

If you say so…

Have you come up with some way to suddenly be free, or does my request seem worthless at the moment?

Forgive me… I’m a little overwhelmed… And thank you for helping.

A sense of acknowledgment came, and Max made a second loop, keeping his hand where he had been instructed.

Once more, with your arm lifted high.

Sighing, Max completed the third circuit and then stepped back.

So what did you find?

There is a barrier of magic around the stone. It won’t hurt you to touch it, but I would avoid it just in case. Also I’m not certain we could penetrate it, even with our combined power. My biggest fear lies in the unknown. Something weird is in the aura. It tickles my memory, but I cannot recall why. For now I would suggest returning to the center, sitting down and waiting.

For what?

Eventually your captor will return. Perhaps not in person but in some way or shape. When the right moment comes, we will work on our escape. Until then we bide our time.

Would retrieving a lightstone and reading be allowed?

Most likely that would help the passing of time. You could even pull out a chair, bring a little food. Trust me, whoever has captured you isn’t far away. A lot of power and resources went into this moment. For now, rest. I need to rest as well. The shield around us helps me some, not requiring as much power.

Max stored his weapon and shield and then pulled a chair out and set it down in the middle of the room. A small table came next and then a lightstone.

As the warm glow began to fill the area, the reality of his cell hit.

Cold gray stones, each cut twelve inches in length, were set upon each other with the tiniest lines between each one.

Taking a book from storage out, he sat down, opened it, and began to read.

***

One book down.

Setting the finished book on the table, another book appeared in his hand. Jerky came next, and a flask of water. He didn’t need to drink or eat as much since his stats had grown, but part of it was to help pass the time and provide a semblance of normality.

The presence is there. Unlike the first four hours with nothing, now I sense the same thing I often felt outside the tower and even at the colosseum.

Just read. If you desire sleep, let me know, and I will keep watch while you rest. For now we wait. Trust me when I say that he will break first. If we play the game as we are right now, whoever is watching, their desire for us to grovel, plead, or beg will break first.

***

Wake up. They are near. Do not react.

His eyes flew open, and Max pulled out the lightstone, setting it on the table.

Across the room ahead of him, a single stone was removed. A pair of silver eyes stared at him, blinking twice as the light went out.

Whoever was watching him, no words came. They just stood there, staring at Max.

Is this now a new contest?

It would appear so. Pull out your book, read. Even if you can’t focus on the words, count each word, see how long it takes, and then turn the page. Do not acknowledge them.

It has been three days now. If you weren’t here, I wouldn’t be able to deal with this. There is no doubt in my mind that I would have gone crazy and attacked that wall with everything I had.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

So talking with yourself, even if it is me isn’t crazy?

Max laughed out loud, his voice echoing in the room. Smiling, he counted the words and considered what his skill had told him to do.

I think I got this… between you and me I can easily last longer.

***

He’s back… it appears he is interested in what I am doing.

I doubt any of his previous guests started creating potions inside their cell. Yet you sit here, smashing up herbs. Creating the fire with a lighting device was a nice way to hide your power.

Grinning, Max stirred the liquid in the small pot he had burning. The stone underneath was prized because no fumes were given off as it heated the liquid to whatever temperature he desired. No tricky flare-ups.

As he worked, watching and adding other ingredients as needed, Max could sense the one watching him shift and their face bunch up, the silver eyes glaring at him.

Slowly, as he prepared to add the green liquid to the potion bottles he had sitting out, a voice radiated around the room.

“You are very different than I expected. Tell me Max Hoste, why do you not seem to care that I have imprisoned you?”

Should I lie?

No… he won’t buy that. If he knows who you are, there is no point denying it. For now, play along. Try to get him to talk more. If he does, we win; if he doesn’t, we win. Just keep your answers short.

“Not much else to do, might as well be productive.”

Silence was the response, and with steady hands, Max filled the bottles, six of them resting on his small wooden table.

[ Healing Potion Created x 6 ]

[ 6 Experience Gained ]

Sighing, he picked them up, putting them into a box that appeared in his hand and stored them all.

Looking bored, he began to put away all of his supplies, then deactivated the heating stone and stored it.

Bringing his chair back out, Max sat on it and closed his eyes.

“Goodnight.”

The person behind the missing block was trembling. The outline of their head wasn’t steady, like normal, but rather it moved just enough to reflect a body that wasn’t still.

Nostrils flared, and Max kept his face blank, letting himself breathe slowly.

Do you want to keep watch? If I fall asleep, it might lull them into a sense of something where a mistake is made.

Laughter echoed inside his head.

It would appear you are learning fast. One should fear being captured by you if you can master it this quickly.

***

“Why don’t you tell me how you feel? I know you are dying inside there.”

Glancing up over the top of the pages of his book, Max frowned.

Those gray eyes lit up for a moment, in anticipation at what he might say.

“I’m okay. Got a library I can finally read through.”

Next to him on the floor were over thirty books, all stacked neatly. Some days, he read one book; some days, he read two. The fact was he had well over three hundred books stored inside. Not all of them were going to be great reads, but every day, the person behind the wall appeared.

A low growl came, and Max looked back down at the book.

They are breaking. That is twice in three days. Each time, something else is revealed.

When do I ask the next question? We’re over two weeks into this.

Do not forget that our lives are on the line. We may only get one chance at escape. If we are not absolutely certain it is our only chance, or if we can succeed, we should not take it.

Rereading the page again, Max knew his skill was right. The clock never stopped ticking, and he had to ignore the knowledge that somewhere Tanila was probably worried sick.

Even worse the idea that the Faction might suffer from his disappearance.

Surely fights wouldn’t break out because I’m gone…

You cannot worry about them. Unless you return, nothing matters. Escape first, then deal with whatever may have taken place.

Once more, the companionship pulled Max back from the whirlpool that always seemed ready to draw him under.

We want to bet on how long till they appear again?

No more than a week. Trust me when I say, something about this one is off. I believe he is actually afraid of you. A rare thing for one in his business.

Max glanced up from the book for a moment and saw those same silver eyes locked upon him. He smirked, turning his attention back to the book about food in the elven capital, feeling the person behind the wall almost vibrating with how much they shook.

***

“ANSWER ME! DO YOU NOT FEAR DEATH?!”

Opening his eyes, Max yawned, smacked his mouth a few times, and shrugged.

“No.”

After a few seconds he closed his eyes again, sensing a shift in the room.

Be ready. Our chance may come. I will tell you if I think it is there, but if you truly believe there is a moment, know I will give everything I can to it.

Max cracked an eyelid as he turned his head. The stone was changing from solid blocks to stone bars. It was as if someone had cut away four inches in columns. Each bar was four inches wide and ran vertically.

Behind them was another room with a few doors. Yet Max wasn’t focused on what he sensed. Instead it was the man who stood before him.

He was thin, his face had a scar from the jaw to his ear, and those silver eyes bored into Max. The sneer on the man’s face seemed wrong. Like he was angry and upset with Max for doing something.

Taunt him.

“Well that’s a face only a mother could love.”

“Who do you think you are?! Do you not realize I could leave you here?! You could die in here, and no one would find your body!”

Make him feel weak. Play into his fears.

“It’s true, but I can last years, maybe even more. Judging from this room, you need this place. Which means you need me dead, yet you can’t seem to grow the balls to try to make that happen, even while I sleep.”

Both of his fists clenched over and over, a crackling noise coming from his joints as he stood there in his simple black outfit.

Looks like you were right… it wasn’t even another week.

His skill began to laugh, and Max smiled, before he took a deep breath and sighed.

“Do me a favor. Either do something worthwhile, let me go, or go away. I’d rather read and relax than listen to you.”

Before he could react, Max sensed a portal underneath and above him.

It’s begun.

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