[Eden]
“…Join you?” I was dumbfounded by the unexpected turn of events. How could I not be? I was in a prison cell, and yet the prince of the kingdom was giving vague requests of joining him?
Looking at his face, I knew that he was planning something. Something larger, something grander, just like he did back in the caves.
“Seems like some explanation is in need. I’ll cut to the chase—Allen intends to incriminate you for what happened down there.”
“The second prince? But why?”
“For a simple reason, actually—to save face. He wants to hide the fact that the losses suffered by the Raid Association were not in the account of the Royalty.”
I should’ve guessed. Putting the blame on a nobody like me would be the go-to solution for people like them.
“So, you’re here to help me? How does that work out for you?” There was no merit in him assisting me out, so naturally I’d be curious.
“That’s why I want you to join me. Join my raid team, to be specific.” His eyes glared straight back at mine. He was unquestionably serious about this. “As a member of my raid team, I’ll naturally protect you from Allen. It’s additional leverage for your case as well.”
I took a few seconds to think. My best bet would be that he wanted my powers. The ability to utilize a… runestone. I clearly demonstrated a fighting prowess greater than anyone could ever imagine, but that was me going completely out of control. Additionally, why would he think I’d consider joining a raid team in the first place? I offered my assistance back in the abyss gate only due to my guilt, but now that I had saved some raiders in return, the guilt was no longer a driving factor. In fact, joining a raid team would mean that I’d have to fight, risk my life and… I won’t have much time to spend back with my family.
But staying in prison forever wouldn’t be the ideal situation, either. I wouldn’t be able to meet my family if I just stayed.
“What about my family—”
“I’ll make sure that they’re taken care of, financially.” He cut me off, as if he knew what I was thinking. “Your Mother won’t have to rely on donations for the livelihood of the orphanage ever again.”
Livelihood. Mother. Orphanage. The mention of these three words reminded me of the entire reason I signed up for the scavenger role in the first place. The hardships that my siblings endured. I was here to alleviate all of those. Now, I was presented with an opportunity to achieve my desired goal, and the offer seemed more admirable than ever.
This fox sure knows how to reel in his prey. He knew my demands, my weaknesses and played his cards accordingly to perfection.
“Give me some time to think about it.”
The sly prince raised three of his fingers. “Three days. Make up your mind by then.”
With that, the prince began to walk away. In his place, two guards dressed in knightly armors entered the dungeon corridor and walked towards my cell, each step producing a clanking noise that is only amplified by the absolute silence of the prison dungeon. As they appeared in front of my cell, one of the two seemingly identical guards took out what looked like a set of keys and used one of them to unlock the barred door that had prevented me from exiting the cell.
“We’re taking you to your newly assigned cell. Don’t resist.” The guard who had just unlocked the door spoke up. As he opened the barred door, a heavy creak reverberated audibly. Granted that it was the only sound in the whole area, it stung my eardrums mildly.
The two guards entered my cell, tied my hands up, and escorted me out of the cell. The guard tasked with handling the keys stayed slightly behind to lock the door once more as the other kept following behind me closely, pushing me if I slowed my pace down ever so slightly.
As the three of us exited the dungeon through the wooden door, we were greeted by copious flights of stairs spiraling upwards, such an inconceivable amount that I couldn’t see the high end of the stairs. The stairways themselves were barely lit with a few torches every few hundred steps. Just like the floor, the stairs themselves were made of an irregular stony surface that indicated a long history since the construction of this place. At the center of the stairway was a column of empty space, allowing me to look all the way up, but at the same time instilling fear of falling to my death once I reached the top.
As we ascended the seemingly unending stairway, I had some time to think in silence. A lot had happened within the first few minutes I woke up, and quite frankly, I wasn’t prepared for them all.
First and foremost, the voice in my head. Part of me wanted to think that it was real, but hearing voices in your head wasn’t necessarily the best indication of retaining sanity. I’d think that the best course of action would be to make contact with Prince Alex once again. He seemed to have some form of knowledge about the runestone.
Which brought me to the next thing in mind, the invitation to the raiding team. I definitely wasn’t ready to be fighting monsters. Hell, I wasn’t even sure I could fare well against a single crawler had I not been under the manic influence from the rune. How would I slay more formidable monsters the likes of kraggens and lycerns?
On the contrary, I still had a huge urge to accept his offer. For an orphanage in the middle of nowhere to be financially supported by the prince of the kingdom himself was a feat unheard of throughout the kingdom, especially given the financial condition of the kingdom. The hostile interactions between Magnolia and Gaillardia had been taking their toll on the economy of the kingdom. Perhaps taking up on his offer would really be for the better.
Finally, and the currently most relevant question I had in mind, what the fuck is wrong with these stairs? Who in their right mind would build a prison a hundred meters deep underground?
“Hey, sorry to break the silence, but what’s with these stairs?” I said I broke the silence, but there never really was any silence with all the clanking sounds from the boots of the guards.
“...It’s an old prison. To keep especially dangerous individuals in check.” The guard leading the stairs in front of me gave a short reply.
Especially dangerous? What part of me is highly dangerous— Half a second later and I got an answer to my own question.
“You’ve been transferred to a cell more… fitting for your current circumstances.”, added the guard at my rear.
It didn’t seem that the guards were wary of me at all. If anything, it seemed that they were more confused as to why I was down there in the first place. Did they not know what I had done in the abyss gate?
In any case, I was still imprisoned. I wonder when I can see my family again… Mother Rosa must be worried about me. Emily, too… hopefully the kids are all fine.
At last, we reached the end of the stairways, yet our little journey had yet to end. Behind another wooden door laid a corridor, completely filled with darkness as if it was leading to the void itself. The guard responsible for leading the way took the torch beside the door and entered the passageway as the remaining two of us followed tightly behind. The tunnel passage wasn’t exactly as time-consuming as the previous staircase, but it was still quite the long walk. I guessed that was how far they wanted the exclusive prison to be separated from the common one.
Finally, another wooden door revealed itself at the end of the passageway, and through it was the general prison that seemed more lively. It was still a corridor, with holding cells on both sides of the passage. The room was not as dark with the help of the few torches that were placed between each cell.
As the three of us made our way through the rows and rows of cells, I could easily notice that the captives were dressed as either bandits or thieves, and naturally I’d think that was the reason they were imprisoned. Some of them seemed a lot more menacing than the others with their stern face and facial scars.
“Right here. This will be your cell until your due court date.” Once again, the guard with the keys opened the cell and lightly shoved me in there. So much for the hospitality, eh?
As the two guards locked me up and left, I couldn’t help but listen in on their mutterings regarding the mysterious kid they just locked up. “What’s the big deal with him? He’s just a little kid, no? Why’d the head warden place him down there?”
“Who knows? Maybe we’ll get an official announcement if he’s important enough.” The other replied, with a small snicker. That was as far as I could eavesdrop on their clearly oh-so-important conversation. And here I was thinking I could get precious intel.
“Hey, kid.” I looked across to see the owner of the voice. It was a man, old enough that I was confident he was in his late thirties, maybe forties. His face didn’t seem particularly intimidating like the others were, but rather one filled with kindness and pity.
“What did ya get in for?” It seemed like he was interested in me. Well, who wouldn’t be? It wasn’t everyday that a young person like me got in prison. Naturally, most people would be curious.
“...It’s complicated.” I’d rather not disclose anything, especially since I hadn’t even organized my own thoughts.
“You didn’t do anything bad in particular, did you? I can see it from your moping face ever since you got here.”
“Quit poking around, Varka. Little guy came from the deep. Surely he’s dangerous.” A man from the cell next to him cut in on our conversation. He seemed roughly the same age as the man across from me, but he had a much more intimidating look on his face, largely due to the huge vertical scar that ran along his eye.
“Shut your ass up, Quentin. Want me to rough your other eye up?” The man across from me, Varka, teased the cellmate next to him. So this man caused the scar?
“Once I get out of this hellhole, I’d gladly take both your eyes out, Varka!” Quentin retaliated with some unhidden grudge, but that only sparked some laughter from Varka. “I’d like to see you try.”
Finishing up his banter with his ‘rival’, Varka continued his conversation with me. “Oh, where are my manners? As you heard from the man next to my cell, my name is Varka. Pleasant to meet you, despite the unwelcoming area. May I have your name?”
“...It’s Eden.” I was hesitant to answer. Why did I give out private information to this man?
“Well then, Eden. Make yourself at home for now, even if it’s probably far off from what you’re used to. I won’t pry into your being here, but just remember that I’m right across from you if you need any help.” Varka gave me a warm smile to top off his unexpected hospitality. Is this man really a criminal?
“...Sure. Thanks.”
“Heh, back to your usual knightly ways, eh, Varka?” Quentin seemed to be trying to provoke Varka, but he didn’t get any response back.
I looked back into my cell. A bucket was placed on the inner left corner, probably for bathroom purposes. On the inner right corner was a folded cloth, thick enough to provide some cushioning but not thick enough to act as a proper bed. I unfolded it and sprawled it across the floor, laid on it and tried to get some thinking done.
Three days, huh… I’ll have to decide within three days…
Comments (0)
See all