“You’ll need these before you head out.” Jinlin handed Yunga a sword and Zunci a rifle. Also handing the same to Shug and Brentha.
They all thanked him, as they headed out. They both had a map that had directions where they needed to go.
They all headed the same way, kind of deep into the forest behind the mansion. When they reached a fork in the trail, they went their separate ways, Yunga and Zunci heading to the right and Shug and Brentha heading to the left.
Yunga is looking down at the map as Zunci trails right behind her, making sure she brought enough rounds of ammunition.
“How far was it again?” Zunci asked as she loaded up the magazine and cocked the rifle.
“It’ll be like a thirty minute hike from where we are currently.” Yunga said. “At the pace we’re going, maybe even thirty five.”
“Man, you think we’ll make it in time?”
“Jinlin told us we have a day and a half, and I’m pretty sure we’ll get in that prison real easily. Nothing a few guards can do that’ll stop us.”
“It really depends on how many guards there are.”
“Trust me, no one expects someone to break INTO a prison, it’s usually the other way around. They fortify the inside instead of the exterior. There’s still gonna be the fence that surrounds it with the barbed wire on it, the usual when it comes to military penitentiaries. I’ve been in a few to know exactly how it is.”
“You’ve been in prison before?”
“Of course, all the way back at Drinter’s castle wasn’t the first time that’s happened. I’ve stolen from many markets and got arrested, but that was when I was only like, eighteen or nineteen. I didn’t have much experience then as I do now.”
“I’ve never broken the law before, you know, all of this crazy shit that’s been happening.”
They reach a peak in the hill that overlooks a huge plain view of grassy fields that have little farm houses scattered all over the place. The chimney’s produce smoke from fireplaces. Crops out there sitting still as the sun shines upon them. Over far yonder, the prison looms over all of the land, being recognized by its iconic four stone watchtowers that look comically like a medieval castle. It looks kind of small, but that’s only because Yunga and Zunci are still so far away from it.
“God damn.” Zunci said. “I think it’ll be more than thirty minutes to even get there.”
“Climb on my back.” Yunga said from out of nowhere.
“What? Why?”
“I’ll use my power to get there even faster.” She bent over. “Come on, time is of the essence, as they say.”
“Are you sure this’ll work?”
“I’m sure of it. There would be only one downside.”
“What’s that?”
“My power relies on my stamina, it usually wears on me if I use it too much in a row. It drains my physical strength everytime I use it. So we can cut the time, but I’ll be really exhausted and out of breath. I’ll need to rest for a good while.”
“Is it even worth the time cut? If you need a long rest we should just walk there normally if anything, if you don’t even know the exact amount of time you need to build back up your stamina we shouldn’t risk it. Hell, we may even waste more time.”
“I’ll take that risk, Hillanter’s life is on the line. Now let’s not waste any more time, hop on.”
“Ok then.” She hopped forward and leaped onto her back.
Carrying an extra one hundred or more pounds, Yunga charged forward at an insanely fast speed, leaving huge trails of dust behind and kicking up dirt as with each step she took, she quickly leveraged herself off the ground. Making excellent time as in two minutes she was now passing the farms.
One guy who was walking along the trail looked behind him at the blur that was barreling towards him. Yunga passed him by and his straw farmer hat flew off as the shockwave from her blew him to the ground. Crops in the field flowed backwards as the huge gust of wind knocked them around.
“Woohoo!” Zunci cheered on, having a great time like she was riding a rollercoaster. “You’re amazing.”
Yunga didn’t speak and only concentrated on what was ahead of her.
Approaching the prison she started to slow down until she made a complete stop, like a few yards away from it. Zunci climbed down her back and safely onto the ground, making a little plopping noise and the little crunches of pebbles on the dirt trail. Yunga collapsed to the ground, desperately trying to catch her breath.
“You ok? “Zunci kneeled down to face her.
“Yeah, I just need a minute or more.” She responded in little gasps. “How much did we save on time?”
“I don’t know, it felt like a blur. I’d say we’d save twenty minutes or so doing that, way more than I expected.”
“That’s good.” She exhaled.
“How long do you think you need?”
“Ten minutes at the least, but it could be shorter.”
“We’ll wait, I need you at your best for this mission.”
Yunga looked up at the sun and squinted, thinking about how Shug and Brentha were doing.
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Shug was leading the way as they trekked on more into the wilderness, passing over a bridge that overhanged a flowing river, filled with fish swimming by and presumably heading to the ocean. They both take a long turn left that leads directly to the cave.
He looked up in surprise then back down at the map. “He wasn’t lying, the cave really isn’t that far.”
The cave entrance was embedded into a mineshaft, a rail leading out of it and a minecart sitting abandoned on the track. Cobwebs hung on the edges of the wooden posts that supported the cavern entrance up. A worn out lantern dangled from the ceiling of it.
The place looked like it hasn’t been used for a really long time. It even has some pickaxes laying down in a duffle bag, directly in front of the minecart. A miner's helmet had the lightbulb shattered, while some rope was spread out in a snake formation near it.
“Wow.” Bentha said in amazement. “An abandoned mineshaft, my father used to work in one of these.”
“Looks super unsafe, but we have no other option. Ready?” He looked over at her.
“Of course.” She said with confidence.
They march forward into the depths of the cavern, lighting the lamp that was left up on the ceiling with a leftover match Shug had in his pocket. Lighting up the way they cautiously followed the tracks that lead down a narrow twisty path. The dim lighting was their only source of even seeing ahead of them, only about six feet.
“How far does this thing even go down?” Brentha questioned.
“That’s what I’m saying, you’d think this place will be wider than narrow.” Shug commentated.
“Maybe it kinda caved in.”
“I guess that’s a possibility, I don’t really know much about caves.”
“We shouldn’t be here for long. He said it’ll be deep in the cave, we should be good if this is all this place is-” Brentha lost her footing as the track suddenly dipped down that it was like a chasm. Her body leaned forward and she was about to fall. Shug reacted quickly and grabbed her hand and pulled her close to him, saving her.
“Be careful there.” He said.
“Thank you.” She said back. “I should watch where I’m going.” She backed away from him.
“Yeah, can’t blame you though. I almost didn’t see it myself.”
He leveraged the lantern and could only see that the track followed along with the dip, but it looked like it was hovering off the ground. He was confused and dangerously moved closer to get a better look, one of his legs sticking to the ground as he continued to lean. The light casted onto it and sure enough his first observation was right. The rail obviously was levitating off the ground with no supports under it. He didn’t know what to think of it, but first he made sure that he was back to safety.
“I don’t think it’s really safe for us to go down there.” He concluded. “It seems very steep and I don’t even know what it leads to.”
“But this is the only cave on this island that has the mushroom we need. We have to get through this somehow.” She said,
“I think I may know a way.” He said and turned around.
“Shug!” She cried out. “Where are you going?”
“Come!” He started running and she followed close behind him. All the way back outside he hastily approached the minecart that was sitting idly.
“We’re getting into that thing? That’s too dangerous!” She exclaimed.
“I was thinking it’s either this or balancing on the rail that goes down. I noticed that the track floated off the ground, maybe it leads to a bridge of some kind. But slowly walking across the rails would take too long, but taking this cart back down would make things go much faster.”
“We don’t even know it’s safe.”
“I’d rather take the risk then do nothing as our friend dies. I wish I never brought that crystal to the group, we would be gone by now.”
Brentha looked down. “I understand.”
“Now get in, this will be our only shot.”
Following his command she hopped in and he got behind the cart and started pushing it. The headlight of the cart flashed on by some miracle, making them see much more ahead of them than the lantern provided.
Picking up enough speed, as it was moving he quickly jumped in and let the momentum carry them. Twisting down the path they made it back to where they originally were. Both of them held on to one another as they anticipated the sheer drop that was coming up.
The cart came barreling down the dip that soon went back up and straight forward again. Shug looked down and saw that the track was still floating.
It has to be some sort of magic.
He thought to himself out loud.
Then the straight path slowly transformed into a downwards slope and they were picking up more and more speed by the second, the wind flowing through both of their hairs, making them flail around.
Ahead of them was only darkness, both of them were completely blind to what was coming up ahead. A slight flash of light came from the end of this seemingly endless tunnel. Taking a sharp right that flew them around inside the confines of the cart, there was a light blue hue that attracted their attention. The outline of the exit was glowing bright blue.
Rapidly approaching the end, they zoomed out of the darkness and the bright sapphire shaded color absorbed their vision and made them squint their eyes. Once they fully adjusted and saw what was around them, they were mesmerized. A huge array of crystals that varied in size gave off this calm and peaceful vibe that overwhelmed the two of them.
The cavern that opened up was really huge, expanding over for what it seems like miles. Crystals more than the eye can comprehend, it’s almost amazing that no one else seems to have gone this far, though on the outside it looked like it was previously an active mineshaft.
“Holy.” Was all Shug could muster at the beauty that lay before him.
“The prettiest thing I’ve ever seen.” Brentha added on, her gaze focused at the captivating glow. She started laughing, with Shug shortly following along.
Shug thought it was weird, laughing and having fun considering the situation they were in, but it was hard not to. Whenever Brentha cracked a smile, he needed to let one loose as well, it’s almost like it was some contagious disease. It’s like when you see someone yawn, your body instinctively does it as well.
They focused all of their attention on the crystals that none of them realize that the cart is still building up speed. Also up ahead, an unexpected gap in the track was edging closer, like the rail fell apart and crumbled leading them to their unforeseen demise.
It’s too late as Shug finally looks ahead of them and notices. He screams which startled Brentha and also screams as she catches on.
Their cart derails and falls down onto some rocks that were planted in the layers of crystals, both of them jittering as their bodies follow the motions of the cart. They both stay in as it bounces off the stone and another one before it fully breaks as it lands on the crystals.
Breaking apart, leaving both of them flying into the air. The two scream together as they are helpless, only praying to the gods for them to intervene. Either if it was their prayers were answered or it was a huge stroke of luck, but they were able to luckily land on a huge stone slab that overlooked the edge of a cliff that basically led to a spike trap of crystals.
Shug hit the ground first, putting his arms in front of his head to make sure it wasn’t severely impacted or injured. His body gets hurled and just stops before the dropoff.
Brentha wasn’t so lucky, as her instincts were too late as she hit her head on the ground, knocking her out. Her limp body comes flying his way. He reacted just in time to dodge her, but was able to grab ahold of her clothes, dangling her body off the edge. Out of breath but a huge rush of adrenaline kicked into his body, giving him the strength to pull her up on the platform. He laid down on his back to catch his breath and sighed in relief.
“We did it, we survived!” He celebrated, not knowing Brentha’s condition. He went over and shook her. “Brentha?” He got on his knees, tapped her and shook her again. “Brentha.” He started to panic and breathe heavily. “Brentha!” He called out once more and shook her again for the last time. “Oh shit, fuck fuck fuck!”
A loud scratching and crunching sound came from behind him, frightening him to force his head to turn and find the source of it. It was like someone was digging into the stone slab, like it was using a pickaxe. The sound got closer and closer until it reached the peak and a huge animal claw came into view and slammed down on the surface, leaving Shug horrified.
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Yunga got up off the ground and dusted her clothes off. “Let’s go.” She said,
“Already ahead of you.” Zunci responded, already taking the lead.
Taking a march forwards it wasn’t long before they were only a few yards away from the front gate of the penitentiary. They both sneakily crouch in some shrubbery near the place, slowly circling it to get a good understanding of it, scanning for any openings. Yunga was looking for a place that they could easily sneak past, but just like Jinlin said, there’s no way of getting in. That’s when she came up with a plan.
“Psst!” She whispered over to Zunci. “Come here.”
Zunci crouched over to her and they were now side by side. “What is it? Did you find an opening?”
“Kind of, it’ll be a risk.”
“I’m up for it.”
“Get on my back again.”
Zunci looked confused but soon enough complied. “I trust you.”
She looked up at the guard in the watchtower, his eyes surveying the courtyard. She had recognized his pattern and planned to use it against him. The lookout turned a blind eye and that’s when she initiated her plan.
Jumping high into the air, high enough to get over the wall. Then zooming over it and onto the ground below, conveniently landing behind some stacked up crates. Hiding behind it the guard looked around, hearing the suspicious swooshing noise that she generated. Not seeing it and chalking it up to his imagination, he turned away.
“Where to now?” Zunci whispered to Yunga.
She pointed at a little archway that connected into the place. Quietly stepping forward, tiptoeing as they crouched along the walls. The guards oblivious to what is happening don’t look down to check the courtyard. They slowly made their way to the door and opened it and made their way inside. Even though the exterior had the appearance of a castle, the interior says otherwise. Dirty walls and floors, the whole place was littered with stains. Some of the paint that scraped off the wall left a huge brown streak on some of them.
Yunga and Zunci had nowhere to go and were left standing out in the open. There were only two ways they could go. Left or right down a hallway, it’ll be a gamble on which way is the correct one. Two male voices could be overheard approaching them. It came from all the way down to the right. Zunci clutched onto her rifle that was strapped to her back. Yunga placed a hand on her shoulder and signaled her to get out of sight. Quickly rushing over behind the corner of the hallway, the guard’s conversation could be fully understood now.
“You locked the door?” One of them asked the other.
“Of course, It’s not my first day on the job.” The other responded.
“Good, don’t want to get fired over that blunder again.”
“Who was that dipshit anyways?”
“Some random fuckhead named Pulpis, stupid ass.”
“Heh, also a dumb fucking name.”
They started getting closer and closer. Yunga and Zunci started drawing towards them, waiting behind the corner to ambush them.
One of the guards started to dangle a pair of keys around with his finger. “That witch is crazy.”
“Which one, there’s like over ten.”
“The one who tried casting that hex on us. Dumb bitch didn’t even know that there’s a spellfield around this place.” He laughed. “Never seen something like it.”
Their feet stepped foot around the corner and that’s when she launched her attack. Immediately covering the guard’s mouth and placing the sword around his neck, putting him in a chokehold. Zunci hit the other guard in the head with the rifle, knocking him out as he hit the floor. The guard was trying to call out for help but it was futile, his cries were muffled by the palm of Yunga’s hand.
“Tell us where you keep all of the prisoner’s belongings and we’ll let you go.” She said directly. She also pulled the sword closer to his neck. “Now!”
She let her palm slip from his mouth. “Down the hall and to the left.” He said as he was getting choked by the blade.
“Good, now is it locked?”
“Yes.”
“Give me the key.”
He slowly lifted his finger up and she yanked the key from it.
“Thanks.” She looked up at Zunci and she followed by smacking the guy in the head and knocking him out. “Let’s get this over with.” She said and started running, not even caring if another person heard her. Zunci tagged along with her and they reached the door he was talking about.
Unlocking it swiftly and flinging the door open, they scrounge around the packed room. Many crates that had so many sorts of variety of stuff, from weapons to books and even some clothing. The fact that there was only one lamp that was planted on a desk, providing them with the most miniscule of light, wasn’t helping the process of finding the knife any easier.
They basically tear through crates one after another, desperately trying to find it. Nonstop scanning each item and making sure they didn’t miss it or something. Even looking in the pockets of pants and jackets they pulled out. After every individual box was checked, after every item they examined with their keen eyes. The knife was nowhere to be found. Panic started to coarse through both of them, as the realization that this may be more difficult than they thought.
“It’s not here.” Yunga said from under her breath. “Why the fuck is it not here!”
“Calm down.” Zunci tried to mediate the situation. “Maybe it’s still here, just somewhere else? I really hope it is.”
“You know how long that’ll take us?”
“I know that already but we searched this room top to bottom, what else do you want us to do?”
Yunga sat on that comment for long enough to think of something. “We need to talk to that witch specifically and ask her.”
“Really? How do we even know which one to look for? That guy said earlier that there’s at least ten of them.”
“Yeah, but we’re limited on our options, we just need to confront her. There’s a spellfield around this whole place, she can’t even cast magic so this’ll be simple.”
“I don’t know, convincing a witch to give up the location of an item that important sounds nearly impossible. You may not have talked to a witch before but they are not kind people at all, the complete opposite in fact.”
“It’s worth a shot.”
“You got that right.”
A loud knocking on the door startled the both of them, making Zunci draw her rifle out and Yunga to whip out her sword.
“Tilly?” A male voice was heard muffled through the door. “Are you in there? Can you open the door? Boss says we have a meeting in about five minutes. Why’d you lock it anyways?”
“Shit what do we do?” Zunci whispered to her.
“One thing and one thing only, attack."183Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkre21CJzhA
