Nox was just staring at the contents of the bag that Brokkr handed him, he expected some kind of weapon or maybe a file or something but he was on the wrong train of thought. The dwarven blacksmith had made lockpicks, roughly looking things but made with care, at least with the scrap metal the dwarf had available.
“I pocketed some every time they brought me things to repair, broken armor or weapons that I could easily break down to make these, it’s not much lad, but they should work, I made a lot of them and proper wrench so you can put some tension on the lock.”
Nox nodded, listening to the Brokkr before he frowned and looked up. “Wait a second, if you have these, why didn’t you escape already?”
The dwarf looked away, mumbling something into his thick beard and tried to avoid the question. “I don’t understand you like this, why are you still here?”
“Because I can’t get my arms through these damn bars!” he lifted his thick forearms, ropes of muscles moving under the skin. “I’m a smith not a sneak! But you’re a skinny lad so you need to pick the lock.”
He couldn’t help and chuckled a bit at the dwarfs reaction, he simply nodded and grabbed the wrench and a lockpick from the bag and shuffled towards the door, his arms fit through the bars if only barely. His slender fingers moving up the bars until he found the lock only to remember something, he didn’t even know how to pick a damn lock! “So, Brokkr…I don’t really know how to pick a lock. So what should I do?”
Nox heard a sigh and some mumbling behind him, before the dwarf shuffled towards him and looked up to the lock. “It’s simple lad, you put the wrench inside and put tension on the lock, insert it at the bottom and push. Not too hard mind you or it could break the wrench…after that you insert the lockpick and feel with it for the pin, if you find it you just need to push the pin up while still holding tension, if it slots into place the lock should open. I saw their keys many times. I shouldn't be more than one.”
The young man nodded and followed the steps the dwarf mentioned, putting tension on the lock with the wrench, inserting the lockpick and feeling for the pin. Thinking he found it only to push up and break the lockpick in two. Both of them sitting there in silence for a moment.
Brookr huffed, “Well…not what I wished for but give it another try lad.”
After five failed attempts where Brookr got visibly more nervous the lock finally opened on the sixth. Both of them gave a sigh of relief as the door opened with a creak. The dwarf was already climbing outside while Nox stopped for a moment as he got another pop-up in his face.
Unlocked - [ Lockpicking I ] : Locks are 5% easier to pick
Huh, so I learn skills just for doing something?, he thought and climbed out of the cage, Brookr was already looking around, making sure nobody heard them. He waved to the young adventurer, beckoning to follow his lead. Nox squats down, he was unusually calm even in this situation, surrounded by enemies with only one exit but he trusted the dwarf, at least a bit. He slowly made his way over to Brookr, the blacksmith standing on the corner of a tent, peaking around it.
When Nox reached him he noticed the men sitting around the fire, some of them still talking but most were already sleeping, he heard them snoring when straining his ears. Brookr pulled on his sleeve, pointing towards the other side of the camp, Nox could see the gate illuminated by torches on either side. The dwarf whispered, “We need to reach that gate if we’re lucky the guards left their post some time ago to drink with the others but if not…well lad I hope you can handle a weapon because we can’t sneak around them.” He moved away from the tent and slowly crept towards the palisade, Nox following him still crouched, planting one foot in front of the other. Every time he made his sound his whole body tensed up. The moment they reached the wall he let out a sigh of relief, already feeling his calves burning from sneaking around.
Brookr shook his head, the young man was clumsy with everything but he still hoped they could escape. The dwarf followed the wall for a while before stopping abruptly, the young man bumped into him and if he wasn't a dwarf it would surely have knocked him to the ground. He huffed and pointed towards a simple looking smithy, an anvil, two tables and some rusty tools. “Alright lad, you need to go there and grab the hammer resting against the anvil and a weapon for yourself.”
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Nox frowned but didn’t hesitate, he just wanted out of this camp and finally start his adventure. Sneaking around in a slave camp wasn’t really his plan. He approached the table and found some weapons, a longsword with a chipped blade, some shortswords that looked more like rusty pieces of metal than real weapons but what caught his attention in the end was a dagger, it looked sharp and new, at least compared to the rest. He grabbed the leather wrapped hilt and smiled. Crouching over to the anvil he grabbed the handle of the hammer and pulled. But it didn’t budge, a frown growing on his face he put the dagger down and grabbed the handle with both hands, pulling with all his might. It slowly moved towards him, while he tried to make his way back to Brookr.
Reaching the wall he dropped the handle and breathed heavily, even while he regained some of his strength he saw the dwarf easily lift the hammer with one hand, a smile barely visible on his face. Nox just shook his head, now was not the time to think about the stupid hammer. He sneaked back and grabbed the dagger, clutching it in his hand while they both approached the gate. It didn’t take them long to reach the gate, the camp was too small for that. Brookr put his hand on the Nox chest, telling him to stop moving while pointing towards the gate.
They were lucky, at least there was only one guard next to the gate, the man leaning heavily on his spear while snoring softly. It seems even without alcohol that bandits were a lousy bunch. Brookr looked up to him, his lips pressed into a thin line. “Alright lad, we need to take him out, there is no other way around it. I can’t use my hammer because, well he would just scream and wake everybody up so you need to…slit his throat.” the dwarf looked at the young man, a hint of sadness in his eyes before it quickly vanished. “I ask much of you, I can see you never killed someone but if you don’t want to end up in a mine or on a field you need to take this chance or go back to the cage.”
Nox's eyes opened wide while the dwarf talked, he knew this was just a game. But with everything feeling so real he felt something in his gut, fear about messing up, disgust that he even thought about killing a human being (even if it was only in a game) His breathing became more erratic, he looked around hoping for any other way but a hand grabbed his shoulder, pulling him back into focus. “You can do it lad, move behind him…press your hand over his mouth while pulling his head back and well…slit his throat. I make sure the corpse doesn’t fall to the ground and make a sound. I’m right behind you so go already.”
The dwarf shoved him forward, not hard but at least Nox slowly sneaked behind the man, this part was easy. The bandit was sleeping, his whole body resting on the spear. It was a wonder he didn’t fall to the ground with his shaky stance. Slowly Nox stood up, the dagger resting in his sweaty hand, it nearly slipped from his grip. He saw Brookr in front of the man, his hammer resting on the ground next to him while holding his hands up to catch the body. He gave the boy an encouraging nod and waited.
Nox licked over his dry lips, why…why does this game need to be so realistic?, he thought, his shaking hand wrapped around the man’s neck. His hand only inches away from the guard’s mouth. He closed his eyes for a moment so his breathing could calm down. Still nervous but committed he put his hand over the man’s mouth, his slender fingers digging into his skin while he roughly pulled the head back. The dagger gleaming in the torch light as he pressed it against the soft neck, dragging a line from the left to the right.
He felt empty in the moment, as soon as he grabbed the man he woke up, but even if he knew something was wrong the man was still confused from just waking up. He didn’t even struggle that much as his head was pulled back and the dagger cut open his throat, the blood was gushing from the wound as the blade cut his blood vessels and the light from his eyes slowly vanished.
Brookr moved forward, grabbing the man while his body tilted back towards Nox. His small hands dug into the tunic and pulled the corpse towards him, gently letting the body rest against his small but sturdy frame as he dragged it away from the gate and the traitorous torch light. He saw the boy standing there, his blade and hand covered in blood. His skin turned even paler, a ghost standing in front of the gate. Brookr left him, now was not the time. He moved to the gate and easily pushed the wooden beam up that locked the gate. He grabbed Nox's arm and pulled him out of the camp, moving through the forest at a brisk pace. Not even stopping when the boy stumbled over the roots of the trees or stones that hid in the tall grass. They managed to escape but now they needed to keep their freedom, there was a time for talking but now…was a time for action.