I surveyed the main chamber again, but saw no one. Marching off to my right, though, were more heavy cages, identical to my own. I slipped the pick into a crude pocket on my trousers and crawled toward the source of the noise.

“Hello,” I called out in a harsh whisper. “Is anyone there?”

A blurry shape materialized from the shadows two cages over.

A man, garbed in the same plain clothes I was in, was leaning against the bars, his arms folded, a faint grin lifting the corners of his lips. A human with the wiry build of a street brawler, short blond hair, and a strong jaw riddled with stubble. “It’s harder than it looks,” said the man. “Lock picking, I mean. People think they can just shove a spit of metal into a lock and pop”—he snapped slim fingers—“she opens right up.” He shook his head.

“It takes skill. Finesse. You have to understand how the tumblers work. You have to feel the spring mechanism. Have to intuit the pin placement.” He paused, examining his fingernails. “If you’re interested, I could walk you through the process, show you how to get that door open.”

“Yeah,” I replied. “And what would you want for that?”

“What would I want?” he asked, his face a portrait of shock. “What I want is to get out. You’re a Dokkalfar, so I assume you see all that butchery on the table. I certainly don’t want to end up like that.”

I glanced at the table again, at the congealed blood and strewn body parts. “What are they doing here?” I asked, tearing my eyes away from the display.

“Not entirely sure,” the man replied, shrugging one shoulder. “It’s not good, whatever it is. There’s some kind of dark priest running the show, an acolyte of Serth-Rog­—at least that’s what I’ve been able to glean through half-heard whispers. Not exactly a friendly, talkative sort, that fellow. All I know is he’s experimenting on people.

“Trying to change them somehow. Sometimes, the change takes and he lets them go, other times …” He trailed off, then waved a hand toward the table. “I’ll tell you this, though. I don’t want to undergo his experimenting. So, I could show you how to open that lock, in exchange for my freedom, or you could just toss me the shiv, I’ll pop the lock on my cage, then come over and bust you out. Sound fair?”

“If I give you the pick,” I said, “what’s to stop you from just breaking free and leaving me here to rot?”

He sighed and rolled his eyes. “Obviously, there’s nothing to stop me—except for the fact that we’re both in an awful situation. I could do that, but at my core I’m a lover, not a fighter. Well, not a fair fighter, anyway, and it seems like we’d have a better chance escaping together than I would alone. I always say, why make an enemy when you can fashion a tool instead. Besides, worst-case scenario, I help you out, you distract the guards, and I slip away in the shadows and leave you for dead. You being free is a win all around for me.”

I pulled the pick from my pocket and regarded it. As much as I didn’t trust the shifty man in the cell, I didn’t particularly feel like taking another run at the whole lock picking thing, even with instruction. I nodded, resolved, stuck my hand through the cell bars, and tossed him the pick. He snatched it from the air with practiced ease and immediately set to work on his cell door. He proved to have an awfully deft hand since the lock came away a second later—the guy made it look downright easy.

He pushed his door open, took a tentative look around to make sure no one was coming, then beelined for my cell, setting to work without a word. My lock came away even faster than his had.

I looked around my cell one last time, making sure there weren’t any beginner items I was supposed to take. Nothing. “Thanks,” I said, pushing my way to freedom. “I’m Jack, by the way. Grim Jack.”

“Cutter,” he said with a nod. “Now, how about we save the bonding thing for after we find a way out, eh? You can tell me your whole stupid life story over a pint of ale, friend, but until we make it to an inn, let’s keep our minds focused on escape.”

Cutter took the lead, dropping into a slight crouch and stealing across the rectangular chamber, giving the table at the center a wide berth. I followed behind, mimicking the man’s posture and working to keep as quiet as possible. It was hard to do, though, what with my heart pounding like a drum.

There was a tunnel at the far side, a twisting thing that ran straight for a few feet before abruptly snaking right and out of view. Cutter halted at the tunnel entryway, putting up a hand, a gesture that told me to stop. To wait. He dropped to a knee and ran his finger over the floor, gaze flickering back and forth.

“What are you doing?” I asked, my curiosity getting the better of me.

“Traps,” he muttered absentmindedly. “This seems like a good place to set a containment ward, but I’m not seeing anything.” He stood and moved over to the wall, pressing himself against the stone. “I don’t suppose you’re the sneaky sort, are you?” he asked, glancing over his shoulder at me.

“If it means getting out of here in one piece, I’m absolutely the sneaky sort,” I replied.

“Good, good,” he said with a bob of his head. “Crouch a little.” He bent his legs in demonstration. “And when you walk, move heel to toe, heel to toe—none of that tiptoeing nonsense. You want to evenly distribute your weight over your whole foot. Takes a little getting used to, but do it enough and it’ll become second nature. Now, keep to the shadows, stay quiet, and walk Just. Like. Me.” He turned and set off, ghosting forward on silent feet. As he moved the shadows almost seemed to reach out to him, to embrace him, blurring the sharp lines of his body, rendering him fuzzy, indistinct.

I followed, practicing the odd walk as I slipped along behind him. A prompt appeared a second later:

Skill: Stealth

Stealth allows you to creep through the shadows, making you harder to detect by hostile forces. Successful attacks from stealth mode activate a backstab multiplier for additional damage.

Skill Type/Level: Active / Level 1

Cost: 10 Stamina

Effect: Stealth 7% chance to hide from enemies.

Nice. Even if I didn’t end up playing as a Rogue class, Stealth was always a useful skill to have, especially at lower levels. That backstab multiplier could level the playing field for a relatively weak starting character.

Cutter and I continued down the winding hallway, moving from one pool of inky shadow to another, avoiding the light from the flickering torches mounted at sporadic intervals. After a hundred yards or so the tunnel connected to a rough circular cavern with a pool of stagnant black water loitering at its middle. There were no torches here, but a soft crimson glow emanated from thousands of rough crystals lining the vaulted ceiling above.

The chamber looked to be some sort of central hub. Two sizeable hallways, each constructed of smooth sandstone bricks, connected here.

Cutter tentatively crept out toward the water, but stopped as the sound of heavy footfalls drifted into the room—coming from the sandstone tunnel dead ahead.

***

Hey everyone, so V.G.O.: Cataclysm is finally available on Amazon for $3.99 (USD)! Whoot, whoot. Because I’ve enrolled it in Kindle Unlimited (KU)—which makes it “free” for all subscribers—I’ve had to take down the vast majority of the content from Royal Road (due to Amazon’s competition clause). With that said, I’m still posting chapters for book 2 here on Royal Road, and will be until I publish that book sometime in the early/mid-February 2017, so please continue to follow Jack's epic adventures. You can buy V.G.O.: Cataclysm here, https://www.royalroad.com/amazon/B01MU0DYXW, and please consider leaving a short, honest review on Amazon or Goodreads (or both).

Reviews are the lifeblood of indie book-sellers like me. Those reviews are so helpful, in fact, that I’m happy to give away free books to get them. If you’re willing to leave an honest review on Amazon or Goodreads (or both), I will give you your next book on the house. Reviews don’t need to be long or difficult—it’s not a book report—just leave a sentence or two on either Amazon or Goodreads, telling folks what you enjoyed about the story. After leaving your review, PM the link along with the title of the book you’d like to receive (you can check out a full list on my website www.JamesAHunter.Wordpress.com).

Now—before you all stone me to death and tank my rating here on RoyalRoad—I understand that a lot of the people on this site don’t have access to KU or Amazon in general; I also understand the economy is bad and money is tight … so, even though the book is available for sale, I’ll still happily provide you with a free copy if you need one. It would be great if you’d buy my stuff and support me—since I pay my bills by writing—but if you can’t, shoot me a PM, give a brief explanation of your situation (ex: “I live in ____________ where Amazon isn’t a thing.”) along with an email address I can reach you at, and, in turn, I’ll send you a copy. Easy-peasy. As always, thanks for reading!