Chapter 6 - Chapter 5: Escape

Nina awoke the dingy smell of some underground chamber. “Ugh…where am I?” Her surroundings were not familiar to her. It looked like a prison cell. The cold stone walls were craked. Dirt completely covered the floor. The torches on the wall were the only source of light, making the shadows dance on the walls. The bed she was on was rather soft, however. She heard voices and walked over the bars trapping her. They sounded awful familiar. “Selinia, Cadoc, is that you?”



“Nina! Your awake!” Selinia answered.



“What happened?” Nina asked.



“It seems we were all knocked out and brought here…wherever here is.” Cadoc said. “You okay Nina?”



“Yea, I am fine.” She then remembered the attack she took earlier and realized her arms were completely healed. “Is Riko with you?”



“Yes, I am here too.”



“So, Brother, how do we get out?” Selinia wondered



“Well, I haven't seen any gaurds or anything, so they must be pretty confident we won't be able to escape. I don't know how we will be able to break these bars though. The keys are hanging up on the wall opposite us. If only I had my lance with me I could probably get them, but all our weapons have been taken away.”



“I can pick the lock.” Riko suddenly said.



Selinia looked at him with surprise. “What? How can you do that? Only Thieves can pick locks. You said you were a Swordmaster!”



“I said I am training to become a Swordmaster. It is true that Thieves are skilled at picking locks, but anybody can learn how to pick locks like these.” Riko answered as he pulled a lockpick from a pocket that nobody knew was there.



“So you are a thief! Nobody else carries around lockpicks!”



“I travel around. You never know when you will be thrown into some kind of dungeon like this.”



“So how do I know that you haven't stolen anything from us?!?”



“If I had stolen something from you, don't you think I would have left a long time ago? I wouldn't cause trouble while I am outnumbered and could easily be defeated in a battle.”



“Selinia, he has a point. And right now he is the one saving us. I'm sure he has his reasons.” Cadoc said.



Selinia sighed. “Fine. But I'm still suspicious.”



“I don't expect to have your trust. After we get out, I'll leave if you would like.” Riko said as he picked the lock and let Cadoc and Selinia out.



“Thank you.” Cadoc said. Riko then grabbed the keys and unlocked Nina.



“Thanks, Riko.” The tomes Nina had taken from her enemies were with the other weapons, so she took them and gave everybody else theirs as well. “Now how are we going to sneak out? I'm sure there are gaurds around upstairs.”



Riko spoke up. “Everybody, stay behind me. I'll find out if anybody is patroling the area.” He walked over to a stairway that led to a big wooden door.



“How are we going to get out unnoticed? The door is old and if we try to open it I'm sure it will squeak.” Cadoc said.



“Don't worry about that.” Riko responded as he walked up the steps. He then thrust his sword through the door, making a small hole that he peered into. “There are only three gaurds out there. They don't do a very good job of making sure their prisoners don't escape.” He opened the door and the guards whirled around at the sound.



“Hey, how did they escape?!?” One of them said.



“I don't know but if we let them out, the Boss'll kill us!”



“Let's get em'!”



Two of the gaurds began to cast Luna while another one ran at them with an axe. Riko quickly dodged the axe and counterattacked with his sword. Nina cast Flux at the axeman to finish the job. Riko was hit with one of the spells, and Cadoc hit by the other. Selinia rushed at one of the Shamans with her lance, who didn't have time to move before she came at him. The other Shaman dodged Cadoc's blow, only to step into Riko's.



“Let's go, quickly! Somebody must've heard that.” Cadoc said.



“Too late!” Nina exclaimed. More gaurds had just appeared from a door leading to another room.



“There are too many for us to take on by ourselves! We have to run!” Selinia rushed for the way out and the others followed. They ran out into the moonlight, only to find more enemies. “Oh no. This really isn't our day”



“Look, there is a forest nearby, maybe we can lose them in there.” Cadoc told everyone. They darted past the gaurds, who immediately gave chase. The group didn't run very far before they came across a large river that cut across their path.



“Now what? We can't jump across, it's too wide.” Nina said.



“Then we will have to swim.” Cadoc said and jumped in, followed by Riko.



“You want us to swim across a freezing cold river? You are insane!” Selinia glanced back at the gaurds only feet away and changed her mind. “Looks like we don't have a choice! Let's go Nina!”



When Nina got in the river, it felt like her whole body froze. The water was ice-cold. She didn't think she could move, but forced herself to swim to the other side. The gaurds obviously thought it foolish to follow them, because they had stopped at the river's edge. She had almost reached the other side when her foot caught something. She tried to pull free but whatever she was stuck to didn't losen up. “ Somebody help! I'm stuck! My foot is stuck!”



The others had already gotten to the other side and were out of the water. When they heard Nina they all turned around and Cadoc dived back in. He went underwater to free Nina. He couldn't see because it was so dark, and was struggling to get her out. He finally broke her foot free, and helped her to shore.



“Thanks Cadoc.”



“No problem. At least we got away from them for now.” Cadoc pointed across the shore. “It's late, we should find a place to rest.”



“B-b-but we are in the m-m-m-m-middle of nowhere.” Selina said, shivering.



“Well we can't go anywhere. We don't know where we are and it's the middle of the night, we will get lost. Our best bet is to make a fire and stay in one place until morning.” Cadoc said.



The got a large fire started a little deeper in the trees, hoping the gaurds wouldn't see it.



“We have n-n-n-no blankets or anything. I'm freezing.” Selinia stuttered. “The only clothes we have are d-dripping wet, and all we have to keep warm is a fire. I think I'm gonna freeze to death. We were b-b-better off staying locked up. At least it was warm.”



“Well we can't go back now. We will just have to hold on until morning. Hopefully there is a town nearby that can help us.



“I wonder what mom and dad are doing right now. What if we don't get to see them again? We don't even know where we are, and we are being chased. We might never get home again!” Selinia broke into tears. “I wanna go home! This is worse than anything we have ever trained for!”



Cadoc tried to comfort his sister. She cried on his shoulder. “Don't worry Selinia. We will make it home. Remember what I told you. No matter what the situiation, you have to stay brave. Sure, things are a bit tough right now, but as long as you don't give up, everything will be fine. Please, Selinia, don't worry. I'll make sure we get out if this. Keep your head up. You are going to be a great Falco Knight one day, remember?”



“Yeah…I can't give up now. If I want to ever become a commander of Ilia's Pegasus Knights, then I can at least make it through this. Thanks, brother. It's no wonder why you are one of the best in Bern.”



“Now let's try to get some sleep. Staying up all night won't help us. You okay Nina?” Cadoc asked.



“Yes, I'm fine. Just cold.”



“Well, goodnight everybody.” Selinia said



“Goodnight.” Everybody answered.



Nina looked up at the moon, wondering about everything that had happened since she left her house. It was all so strange. Something was going on, but why doesn't anybody else seem to think so? Well, sitting here thinking about it wasn't going to help. Maybe tomorrow will bring answers, and hopefully better luck.

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