Two men in yellow tunics stood posted in a dark alley, watching and waiting.
"When's the bitch gon leave?" One of the men cursed, stepping towards the edge of the alley. He stood right where the shadow of the manor wall ended, just an inch away from the light the moon cast on an empty street.
"Who knows." The other guard shrugged. He was deeper inside the alley, and leaned against the manor wall with his back. "I have half a mind to break through the front door and drag the wench out by her hair." He said as he cleaned his fingernails with a blade.
Unbeknownst to him, two gloved hands emerged through the shadow cast on the wall behind him, one with a dagger and one empty. In the blink of an eye, the empty one covered his mouth as the knife dug through his throat. He was pulled into the void, disappearing from this world.
"Heh." The other guard chuckled, unaware. "I wouldn't mind taking a test drive before throwing her to the Duke." He joked, waiting for a response, but none came.
"Grimwel?" He turned, and his brow furrowed as he realized that the alley was empty, then suddenly the world spun. It was all upside down, and before he knew it, he was looking at the dirt.
There was a dull thud and his eyes widened in horror as he saw his body hit the ground, headless. Then the light faded.
Drogov stood over the body, then knelt as he touched its shadow. "Seki." He uttered, then the body and head slowly descended into the void, leaving no trace.
"How much more?" Drogov asked.
"Three."
"Three… all inside."
The whispers came, and Drogov looked up at the manor that peeked over the wall.
"Seki." He uttered, and sunk into the void himself.
A few minutes later, he left the manor through the front door, wiping the blood from a knife onto his leather overcoat as he did so. He had cleared a path for Carmella, now it was time for him to move.
He hopped the wall, returning to the alley prior, before scaling the structure beside it. He was on the roofs again, and moved across them like a phantom gliding above high society until he was finally face to face with the gap once more.
Again, the rain was a light drizzle, softly tapping the hood of his cloak as he stared out.
The castle was bright, too bright for what he needed to do. So, he waited, waited until the moon inched closer to its peak and watched as the lights went out one by one.
The castle was now a dimly lit fortress of stone, a fortress that meant nothing to his powers.
"Seki."
Just like that, he was in. He stood atop the roof that had aided his escape the night before, holding the green gem within his hand. It glowed a dull but steady glow. What he was looking for was still within the area.
He hopped down, crouching as he landed on the pavement below to diffuse the force.
The door was closed like last time, a lantern on either side burned with an orange glow that caused Drogov to cast a long shadow behind him. Suddenly the darkness swayed, and with a quick puff, the lanterns were extinguished.
Drogov stood, and moved towards the door. It opened with a slight squeal as he pushed it and stepped inside. He let it go, and its own weight caused it to close behind him.
It was dark inside. Just the way he needed it to be.
He looked left, then right, before deciding to go left. According to the map, this was the was to the dungeon. He listened for his shadows as he continued forward, but nothing. It seemed that this section of the castle was poorly guarded.
The hallway was long, and the stairs seemed to go on forever, eventually spiraling downwards. Finally, after about five minutes of walking, the space opened up and he stepped into a long room of cells and iron bars.
There was a guard there, but he sat asleep on a stool, leaning against one of the cells.
Drogov slit his throat, then dumped him into the void before continuing with gem in hand. The glow got stronger as he crossed the room. He noticed that most of the cells were empty, a few had skeletons, and a few more had the living equivalent. People so skinny that he could see the structures beneath.
Most were asleep, but even the ones that weren't paid him no mind. They rocked back and forth, huddled in corners, whispering prayers that would never break ground.
Drogov walked past them, not even casting them a second glance as he focused on the stone in his hand. It glowed with a resplendent light. He was near. He had only walked for a couple steps when the gem flared, the green glow pulsated. This was it.
He looked at the cell to his right. Empty. Then he turned left, and there she was. Lady Annora.
She sat on a sparse pile of hay that was spread across the floor as a bed of some sort. Her blue eyes stared into the ground with a dull look and a waterfall of blonde hair fell from the crown of her head down to the small of her back. Her skin was smooth and supple, and her mouth was small with tender lips, now chapped from a lack of water.
Drogov's eyes lit up. A fain't purple glow emanated from beneath his hood and his figure blurred. For a split second, he had become a silhouette. His form was entirely pitch black and left a trail of darkness as he moved forward. Amazingly, he stepped through the bars as if they weren't there before returning to normal. He was inside her cell, and got a better look at his target.
He frowned.
She was indeed beautiful, but something wasn't right. She was too young. The so-called Lady Annora wasn't even a lady at all, she was a young girl, probably not even a week over twelve.
He suddenly remembered Conrad's words. Last we heard, she was thrown into the dungeon for refusing to bed the Duke… His jaw clenched. This Duke Wellis was a sick man!
Focus on the crystal. He reminded himself. Focus on the crystal!
"Where is it?" He spoke, and Lady Annora looked up at him in a daze.
"The crystal. Where is it?" He asked again, but she only looked up at him with empty eyes.
His jaw clenched once more, and his eyes quivered at the sight. Then he noticed it.
He had seen it through the opening of her top, and thought it to be a pendant at first, then he realized it wasn't. There was a blue crystal, around the size of a woman's palm embedded in Lady Annora's chest. The skin puckered around the stone.
His eyes widened as he took note, and he lifted the green crystal in his hand, moving it towards the stone. It gleamed, brighter than it ever had before, then went dark.
It was confirmed. This was the Tear of Syrenia.
How did this happen? He thought as he returned the green gem to his overcoat. He had never seen an artifact fuse with organic matter.
He looked down at the girl. Things had changed.
"I'm getting you out of here." He offered her his hand.
She blinked. Tears formed at the crease of her eyes as the emptiness faded, and she grabbed his hand, no questions asked.
Drogov felt his breath get caught in his throat as he saw this. She thought she was free now, but he knew that she would probably end up just like him.
He looked away from her, and grabbed his short sword by the hilt. A slight purple glow came from under his hood, and with a slash, the bars of the cell fell the ground.
The two stepped over the severed steel, him holding her hand to guide her gently. This was now an escort mission.
He thought of slipping into the void, but with so many shadows around him, there would be too many shards of reality to sort through. If it was just him, it would be one thing, but with another living being, his timer was drastically shortened. He would be better off if he could get her outside.
With a plan in mind, he made off, leading her through the dungeon. Suddenly, a hand grabbed him.
"Take me with you." A prisoner begged as he held him through the cell.
Drogov looked at the man, his eyes wild and desperate. Drogov also noticed the surrounding prisoners start to stir, walking closer to the bars. This was a problem.
"Please! Take me with-
The man had started to yell, but before he could raise his voice too much, a dagger cut through his windpipe. Within moments, he was dead.
Annora flinched, and Drogov regarded the rest of the prisoners with a glare as cold as the winter months. The riot that was brewing quickly dissipated and the two walked forward at a quickened pace. He was here for her, and her only.
Soon enough, the two arrived at the corridor leading out of the dungeon. They had only taken but a few steps when walls and floor began to close in on them.
"Seki." Drogov panciked and the two fell into their shadow as the hallways closed with a bang.
They were in the void now, and Drogov desperately scanned for a viable escape as Annora held her breath with closed eyes.
Graaark!
Suddenly, the void trembled, and a loud shriek shook the space.
It didn't matter anymore, Drogov just picked one. It was an image of a stone courtyard with a fountain in its center. Wide, open, and easy to maneuver through if there were enemies around. Drogov reached for it and there was a flash of light that covered the realm.
Now, they were in the courtyard, floating up through the shadow of the fountain.
"So that's why I couldn't catch you the first time." A voice rang out, and Drogov looked up.
It was him! A tall, dark mountain of a man who stood across from them with his fingers interlaced as he watched.
"Shadows… How interesting." He mused.
Drogov wasted no time. His hand moved faster than eyes could track and two streaks of silver flew out from his overcoat, heading straight for the man.
Thum!
Dingding
However, before they could reach, a wall of earth rose out of the ground between him and the living mountain. The daggers bounced off and once the danger was gone, the wall sunk back into the ground, leaving no evidence of it ever being there in the first place.
"My name is Vancu." He introduced, unphased by the previous attack. "I assume you're a knight of some sort, here to rescue your Lord's young lady. It pains me to say this, but she must stay with the Duke."
Drogov remained quiet, pulling his short sword from its hilt and guiding Annora behind him with his free hand.
"I see." Vancu stated grimly. "Then go in peace." He said, and right after, the ground shot forward as a spike of earth pierce towards Drogov.
Ding!
Sparks flew as Drogov sidestepped, and parried the sharpened column of Earth, then dashed forward. He left Annora behind, knowing Vancu had no intention of harming her.
Whoosh!
Within a second, he had arrived, stepping into Vancu's space with his right foot as his sword came up from his left.
Ding!
It was blocked. A pillar of earth had appeared before Vancu and the impact of stone and steel sent Drogov a step back. However, as his right foot touched the ground and his sword hand flew backwards overhead, he pushed off of the ball of his foot and tilted forward with his torso.
A faint purple glow came from under his hood, and the muscles of his right arm tensed as the sword came down.
Shing!
Vancu leapt backwards as his eyes widened, watching the sword cleave through the pillar.
Drogov stepped forward, trying to take advantage of the now free space as his sword swept up from below, following his previous momentum. Suddenly, he took a knee and tilted his head to the left.
A stone spike shot forward, stabbing through the space his head would have been if not for that maneuver. Drogov wasn't finished though, and immediately rolled to the side before uttering the word.
"Seki."
He sank into the void.
Vancu's face hardened, his eyes darting across every corner as he tried to anticipate the next attack.
Drogov watched from the void. He needed to change the game a little. He looked around, deciding on a strategy before picking a shard.
The void shook, and there was a flash of light before the space shifted. He emerged, leaping from the shadow on the wall of a tower that was connected to low hanging roof that faced the court yard.
He began his attack the moment he appeared, reaching into his coat for a dagger while in mid-air. However, as his arm swung out, his feet landed on the roof tiles and immediately, Vancu turned his head, their eyes locking.
Thum!
A spiked pillar of stone shot out from the roof and jutted towards Drogov. He twisted his body to the side but-
Shhh-rkk
He couldn't avoid it entirely.
The stone cut across his left shoulder and a burning pain spread through the area as he lost balance, falling off the roof.
"Seki!" He yelled as he neared the ground, and he disappeared into the void once more.
What was that? He thought as he stared at Vancu through the shards. Did he just… A thought came to mind.
He had to test it.
He jumped out of the void again, emerging from another tower, but this time quite a bit higher. He also didn't toss a dagger at Vancu, instead, he tossed it at the ground.
It hit, with a thunk, and Vancu looked over before the sound could even reverberate properly.
I knew it. Drogov thought.
"It seems you discovered it!" Vancu yelled out, turning in the direction the dagger was thrown from, but by then it was already too late. Drogov had disappeared into the void again.
He's tracking me through the vibrations in the stones. He thought, searching through the void for a shard that could give him the upper hand.
He could hear the shrieks in the distance. He had shadow jumped too many times. The more he did it, the closer those things came. He needed to leave enough space between them so he and Annora could have one good jump.
All I need is one good throw before hitting the ground. He thought, and finally, he had found it. The perfect place to jump from.
Space shifted and light covered the void as he emerged from the shadow of a tower, about two stories up, and as he made for a dagger, he froze at what he saw.
There was now a flat stone platform supported by four pillars, one at each corner, covering the area where Vancu had stood.
"Shit." Drogov cursed. Vancu was determined to keep this fight at ground level.
"No!" At that moment, there was a yell. "Let me go!" Annora screamed as soldiers in chainmail armor and yellow tunics began to surround her.
"You're beaten, warrior." Vancu's voice echoed out, as Drogov landed before him. "Surrender."
Under the shelter, Vancu sat on a chair he had formed from stone. He stared at Drogov, who tightened his grip on his sword.
Vancu's eyes hardened. "Choose your next move very carefully." He warned. "I do not enjoy shedding blood."
Drogov chuckled as the rain beat down on his back. Neither did he, but what was he to do? Let this mission fail? Give up on his retirement?
Let a mere child fall into the hands of the Duke? Knowing what he would do to her?
Normally, he would try not to care, but no, this was different. Too important to not care about. Too close to hime.
He gritted his teeth, a purple glow slowly emanated from his hood, and Vancu readied for combat. However, at that moment, Annora screamed.
"I'm not going!" She yelled, and the gem in her chest seemed to reacted. A blinding blue glow spread across the courtyard and thunder struck as the rain seemed to intensify at a mind boggling pace.
It was no longer just a light drizzle. Something had changed, and Annora had changed it.