Chapter 27

Tarja’s route from the king’s chamber led Rhys and I down several flights of stairs and through so many hallways. Of course, we had to stop every now and then when guards would come by, but we’d always hear them coming and Tarja would hide us, either behind a tapestry or in an armoire, which worked until a very specific moment.

A single guard was coming, so Tarja had us hide behind a tapestry. She gave her same spiel to the guard about leaving me in a room to rest, and he seemed to accept it, until he said something that made my blood run cold.

“So why is that tapestry moving a little?”

I froze, and I could feel Rhys do the same.

“Well, it must be just the wind.” said Tarja. She sounded pretty calm, but even I could detect the hint of fear in her voice. The guard said nothing, then there was the clanking heading straight in our direction. Felice and I slowly reached down for our sword, ready to pull it out and put the guard down if we had to.

Then the guard grunted, there were several clangs, a whooshing sound, a big thump, and Tarja said, out of breath, “You can come out now.”

Rhys and I pushed the tapestry away and were shocked when we saw the guard on the ground, unconscious or dead, and Tarja with her hands on her knees trying to catch her breath.

“Mama, are you okay?” Rhys asked.

“Haven’t had to use combat magic in a while,” said Tarja, “This knocked the wind out of me. Does not matter anymore, we have to keep going!”

Tarja took a step, then doubled over in pain. Rhys caught her before she could hit the floor, and I rushed over to help as well.

“Don’t worry about me,” Tarja said, “You two need to get out of this castle, before you get caught!”

“Screw that!” I said as I hooked my arm into her, “Rhys, get her other side!”

“Gotcha.” said Rhys, and she did so, allowing the two of us to pull Tarja to her feet and half-carry her down the hallway.

“That guard’s gonna attract a lot of attention,” I said, “Not to mention that bitch Sallaena’s gonna wake up sooner or later, and she’s not gonna be happy. The sooner we’re out of sight, the better. Just guide us where to go, Tarja.”

“Okay.” said Tarja. Her strength was coming back slowly, but Rhys and I helped her along as she told us which turns to take and staircases to go down when we needed to. Eventually, we were going down a single corridor that led to a large, metal door.

“This is it,” said Tarja as she pushed away from us, her strength having apparently returned, “This is the door to the dungeon. Hold on…”

She rifled through her pockets while I pulled my sword and held it in front of me as I faced away from her, just in case any stragglers decided to come by and see what was going on. Fortunately, no one showed up as Tarja opened the door.

“Here we go!” said Tarja, “Everyone in!”

Rhys and I followed the elf through the door, allowing her to close it behind us and lock it from our end. I noticed an immediate change in scenery from well-cleaned stones and plush carpets to metal floors and walls, all stained with rust. At least, the stains looked like rust.

Rhys and I followed Tarja down the hall until we were in a big corridor with cells on both sides. As we went passed them, I couldn’t help but look in as we passed each cell. No one was in any of them, but there were some pretty suspicious stains on all of them.

“Don’t pay them any mind, moor-acu.” said Felice.

“Come on.” said Tarja as she took my hand while I took Rhys’s, “We have to get to the exit.”

“We’re following you.” said Rhys. I nodded in agreement. As Tarja led us through the dungeon, I couldn’t help but notice how many cells there were, and the staircases here and there made me wonder how many more cells, or the people in them, were out of my sight. Even Rhys seemed terrified of a cell that we ran pass, the only cell on that wall, which on it’s own was a pretty creepy sight.

“Here.” said Tarja as she stopped at what appeared to be a simple, blank wall, “This is where the door is. The switch is somewhere around here.”

Tarja started feeling the wall, tapping around the sides of the wall until a small area of wall she touched depressed, like it was a button, and the entire section of the wall opened up, revealing a secret passageway.

“This could be used by the Emperor when he wants to make prisoners… disappear.” said Tarja, “I’ve seen it happen too many times to count. But now that’s all over, isn’t it?”

I didn’t ask her what she meant. Instead, I followed her and Rhys into the passage. The passageway was small and slightly cramped; the only way forward was by having Tarja in front, then Rhys, then I, with no other space to move.

“Riley, hit the button to your left.” said Tarja. When I looked, I could see the red button. When I pushed the button, the door behind us closed, and we started moving through the passage, despite the tight fit.

“How do the guards fit in here with those bulky suits of armor?” I asked.

“The guards don’t go through here,” said Tarja, “Usually just the executioners and the one or two prisoners that made enough of a fuss to get the Emperor’s attention.”

“Oh.” I said. Tarja had already said she’d seen it happen before, so I thought better than to question her. We moved quickly and silently through the twists and turns, even down some steps at one point that made me think we were going underground, beneath the castle. Eventually, we started going upwards, and Tarja had the three of us stop.

“We’re here,” she said, “The exit.” she hit the wall to her right, a button I assumed, and a door above us opened to reveal daylight, morning apparently. Tarja jumped out, then she helped Rhys climb out, and they both helped me climb out.

“Finally, daylight.” I said, “Now what?”

“Now you take this.” said Tarja as she handed me a scrolled up piece of paper, “This map can take you to a mage, her name is Avarice Grimm. She can help you get back home.”

“How do you figure?” I asked.

“She’s a powerful spellcaster,” said Tarja, “More powerful than anyone I’ve ever seen. She’s the only one with enough magic to create a portal than can send you home, to your universe. All you’d have to do is say my name. We’re… old friends.”

She hesitated, and the look in her eye made it clear to me what she actually meant by ‘friends.’

“Let’s go!” I said, “Those guards definitely know something’s up by this point, so the farther away we are from the castle, the better at this point.”

“Agreed.” said Rhys, “Let’s go, there’s a path.” She motioned to a dirt path that broke through the woods, definitely leading to greener pastures. Rhys and I took off, but I stopped when I realized that Tarja wasn’t following us.

“Tarja, what the hell are you doing?” I said as Rhys and I ran back to her, “Come on, let’s go!”

“I can’t,” said Tarja, “This is it for me, girls. I can’t take you any further.”

“What do you mean?” Rhys asked, almost frantic at that point, not that I blamed her.

“Watch.” said Tarja. The elf walked past us, and reached her hand past a tree, where it stopped, as though she were pressing against an invisible wall. She gently pushed, but her hand wouldn’t go any further.

“The King put a curse on me during the Run, for reasons I couldn’t fathom,” said Tarja, “I cannot leave the castle grounds.”

“No… NO!” I said, trying to force back tears. I had only known Tarja for a short amount of time, but I didn’t want to leave her behind. I was still trying not to cry when Tarja grabbed my shoulders, and made me look at her.

“Riley, you’ve given me hope I haven’t felt in a long time,” said Tarja, “I don’t know how you managed to survive the Requiem Run, but you did, against all odds, and that means you can give this country actual change. You’re the change we need, Riley. You’re the hero we’ve been looking for all this time.”

“Tarja… I’m no hero…” I said, but she cut me off.

“No Riley,” said Tarja, “You are. To the Runners, to me, to Rhys, you are a hero. You need to find a way to make things better here.”

“Mama, we’re not leaving you behind!” said Rhys. Tarja turned to her, grabbed her shoulders, and hugged her close.

“Rhys, I’ve done my best to protect you in this castle,” said Tarja, “You’ve become a daughter to me, and make no mistake, you are my daughter.”

Rhys snorted back a sob.

“But you need to be there for Riley. She truly is the last hope we have. I need you to be strong for me, just as you always have been, and I need you to be strong for her. I know you can do this. Get to Sungulf, and get Avarice to get you home. All you have to do is use my name.”

“This friend of yours will just believe me?” I asked.

“I… I hope she does.” said Tarja. Tears were openly streaming down her face, “Rhys, take this.”

The elf handed Rhys her short sword and sheath.

“It’s unsafe to go about these lands without a weapon,” said Tarja, “Keep each other company, never let anyone get in your way. I don’t want to lose either of you. Be safe, my daughter.”

I grabbed Tarja and hugged her tight. It took her a moment, but Tarja put her arms around me as well, and Rhys joined in to hug all of us. When we separated, Tarja looked like she was going to say something else, but we all froze as we heard screaming and running in our direction, as well as the familiar clunking of the guards armor. Tarja glanced over her shoulder, then she glanced right back to us.

“Go!” she said, “Don’t look back!”

I wanted to say something more, but Rhys placed her hand on my shoulder and said, quietly, “Riley, we need to go now.”

“I… okay.” I said, “We’ll come back for you, Tarja. Count on it.”

Tarja nodded and turned back, ducking into a bush as Rhys and I took off through the trees. Rhys could clearly move faster than I could, but she was slowing herself down so I could keep up with her. I couldn’t see Rhys’s face, but I could guess how she was feeling about the whole thing. Eventually, the clunking and yelling sounds were gone, and the two of us found ourselves on a dirt path through the woods.

“Looks like we got away.” I said, “But where do we go from here?”

“Check the map.” said Rhys, as I did so, pulling the map out of my bag and unfolding it as Rhys looked over my shoulder.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

“I… I’ll be fine,” said Rhys, “Mama’s a tough cookie, she’ll be able to survive on her own. We need to focus on getting away from the castle grounds. Hopefully, they don’t realize we’ve left the castle grounds.”

I knew that if they discovered Tarja, it wouldn’t take them long to figure it out, but I wasn’t going to say that out loud and worry Rhys. Instead, I focused on the map.

“Looks like there’s a small village outside this town,” I said, “Craven Mill. Think we’d be safe there?”

“I used to go there with Mama. We’ll be safe for one night, probably.” said Rhys, “It’ll take a while for the guards to search the whole castle, that can give us time to rest, get our bearings, and move on before they figure it all out.”

“Sounds good to me, I could use some sleep. OH!” I said suddenly, causing Rhys to flinch a little, but I was more focused on going through my knapsack. Eventually, I managed to fish out my cell phone, and, much to my shock, it turned on with a full battery. Naturally, no signal, not that it had been something I was hoping for in the first place.

“What is that?” Rhys asked, and I could feel Felice over my shoulder, also watching my phone with great interest. I couldn’t help but smile as we walked down the dirt and stone path. Despite everything we’d gone through, I could still feel hope as I prepared to show my friends the wonders of Earth technology.