B4 – Chapter 14: Jail break

Morning came swiftly, and Tristan made sure to be up before the sun got too high overhead. Using his combination of Wing Glide and Dragon Leap, he was able to traverse the mountainous landscape with ease, and the regal, skyline-dominating destination he was going towards loomed over the horizon. Felicity had used Alter Form on him as soon as they landed, just in case someone came by them – though that was unlikely given how high and out of the way they were from the road. Pausing on a ledge of a cliff, he took in the picturesque sight before him while his essence regenerated.

A whole cluster of mountains had been seemingly cut off at the top. In the place of the rocky promontories were high castle walls, that were made of the same stone as the surrounding mountains, shaped into large blocks. Turreted towers ran the length of the walls, and in the center was an even taller peak, which had huge bridges held up by titanic, metal chains connecting it to the outer wall. And, the chains disappeared deeper down, implying that there were more structures lower down in between the mountains chosen for the massive fortification.

That highest tower pierced the skies and vanished into the heavens. Even Tristan’s amazing Elvish sight was unable to see the top, and he wondered if it was some trick or illusion to demonstrate power, as he had heard of nothing so ridiculous in construction in his life.

Felicity was tapping her paws on the ground, looking at the distant fortress of the Parslile Demon House. “It is so big! I bet there are a ton of neat things to steal in there!”

“I wouldn’t risk sending you in,” Tristan said as he scratched her head, seated on the ground beside her. “They are essence-weavers, and for all we know, they have people with crucibles who are on standby with some type of sensing spells to find or detect intruders. Just give me a little to use Locate, and we’ll find Eloise.”

She sighed and shifted to her Elfanoid form, snuggling up next to him as he wrapped an arm around her shoulder. The sun began to rise in front of them, outlining the castle in a radiant glow, which also revealed the true height of the central tower, as Tristan’s suspicions about it being illusory were confirmed. The rays of the sun pierced through the heights, and whilst still a huge construction, it did not vanish into the skies. “It’s pretty,” Felicity said.

Tristan nodded in agreement. The whole scene was like something out of a storybook his mother would read him when he was a child. The fantastical castle built upon the mountains, filled with dragons and a princess to save. He smiled a bit, knowing that he was going to be rescuing a woman from the castle, and that in some ways, he was already a storybook hero. “I wonder if they’ll write stories about me,” Tristan pondered aloud.

“Who will?” Felicity asked.

“Whoever writes stories,” Tristan replied as he squeezed her ever-so-gently. “The mighty Tristan Winterbloom, last lord of the Fey Realm-”

“Don’t forget your “dragon of the sea” title,” Felicity added.

Tristan chuckled, “Right, I can’t forget that. And yet, so many of my deeds are going to be lost to time because of the aliases I’ve used for safety.”

Felicity put a hand on his hand and squeezed tightly. “You’re going to be a historic figure one day,” she said wistfully. “Definitely in the Fey Realm, maybe in other Realms. But who cares about being a hero from history when you’re alive and still making history?”

Tristan chuckled, “Yeah, that’s true. I just can’t wait until I can do everything as who I am. Once these assassins are dealt with…and I can be me. Not Marius Lestrange, or Markus Anorox, or the half-breed Joseph.”

Felicity smiled and ran her thumb along the edge of Tristan’s gauntlet, “I like you as you. And your half-breed Bhant form isn’t bad.”

Tristan squeezed her hand gently, “I have enough essence, I’m going to Locate Eloise and her gear.” Closing his eyes, he took a few deep breaths as he spun his crucible and poured the power into the amulet holding the Locate spell. Once more, Logos’ eye opened in front of him in a black space.

“Ah, You are here once more,” Logos said, the eye widening slightly.

“I need to know the location of Eloise Serre, my Citadel of Essence advisor,” Tristan said.

Logos’ eye narrowed, and the world around Tristan began to be painted in with broad strokes until he was looking into a large dungeon cell, somewhere deep underground, with massive chains that looked like they would keep someone far larger constrained. Eloise was chained to a staple in the floor, with plenty of room to move around the large space. But, she was laying on a tuft of rotten straw covered with a simple cloak.

Tristan averted his gaze from her, as she was stripped down to her skivvies and barely modest. “I’ve seen enough. Show me the way to her,” Tristan said.

“You also sought her gear, I believe?” Logos asked.

“How’d you know- nevermind, you probably know everything I’m thinking while we’re talking.”

“Astute observation,” Logos said with delight. “I will show you now. And you owe me the essence. Spin your crucible further, push the essence into the amulet upon your return to your body.” The world once more fell to black, and Tristan saw the painted environment of some type of armory, or guard outpost, that was completely empty of people. But plenty of gear was stashed there; chests upon racks upon stands holding armor and weapons sized for Demons and even larger creatures. His eyes settled on one of the chests.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“Thanks, Logos. I’ll send you the essence once I’m out of here!” Tristan said with a slight wave goodbye.

Logos’ eye closed, and Tristan found himself back in his body – standing up – and hands pointing in the same direction. At the citadel, but towards its center, about halfway down the mountain. He instinctively knew his right hand was pointing at Eloise, and his left was pointing at her gear. Spinning his crucible once more, he fed the essence into the artificed spell to pay Logos the essence for the information.

Felicity had stood up as well, “So?”

Tristan spoke, “Right hand is her, left hand is her gear.” He lowered his hands and took a breath, gauging his remaining essence. “Let me fill up to full, and then I’ll use Greater Invisibility, and fly over there. Once we hit the rock wall, you can transmute a passage for us. We’ll go right to her cell and break her out, get her gear…and then look around and see what we can find.”