Mino had lost count of the days he had spent in darkness, bound by a seal that somehow worked on him. No matter how much he enhanced his arms and tried to force himself out, the flows that swirled away from him and underneath the door wouldn’t budge. How were they still in place?

The only company he had was the occasional rat finding its way to his cellar or the guard throwing in his daily portion of stew. Sometimes sounds from the outside, mostly arguing, found their way to him, but besides that he was completely and utterly alone.

At times he wondered what had happened to Bashaa and the others. Had they been captured as well? Were they being held elsewhere? Or had they managed to make their way back to Eresath and continued the fight?

His stomach growled. It had been longer than normal since the last bowl of stew had been delivered. Had they decided to simply let him die? Was he not worth even spending one stew a day on? He had resisted all their attempts at getting answers, no form of torture had made him talk. He felt a stab of pride at the thought of that.

“Seems like they finally decided I’m not worth the effort anymore,” he sighed to himself. So this was it, he would die here.

The sudden creaking of rusty hinges reached his ears and he sat up with a start, his muscles aching at the first bit of movement they had experienced in days. The loud thudding of boots on stone grew closer when a voice suddenly cried out.

“Mino!”

Bashaa’s voice, Mino realized with a mixture of shock and relief. Had they fought their way in to rescue him? How had they made it in here undetected?

“Mino!”

“I’m…!” His voice cracked, his dry throat straining to produce the sound. “I’m here!” he called out again.

He heard several locks of other doors opening before the one of his cellar swung open and Bashaa appeared. “There you are,” he said with a grin. “Not your habit to play hide and seek, is it now?”

Mino gave a dry laugh. “Not your habit to take so long to find someone.”

Bashaa replied with a scoff and searched his way around the seal enveloping Mino. Following the flows back outside the cellar, he plucked something from the ground and held it up. A small purple rock that seemed to strengthen the flows as they made their way through it.

“Taen…” Mino murmured. “So that’s how they kept the seal from dying out. Can you get rid of it? My muscles are aching to move again.”

Bashaa turned the rock around in his hand. “We’ll need a sealer for this. Master Aëron, we found him! We need your help!”

Despite himself, Mino gasped. Ralph Aëron was here? A few seconds later, the Son’Sha appeared in the doorway and took the piece of taen from Bashaa’s hands. His eyes focused on the rock, flows appeared around it and then disappeared again together with the other flows that had held Mino. With a jolt, his muscles tightened and relaxed in quick succession and he found himself lying on the ground unable to move.

Bashaa rushed over to help, but Mino halted him. “I’m fine, I’m fine. Just need to regain the feeling in my muscles again.” Focusing, he enhanced every single part of his body with the same exercise he had done on his first day of training. Soon enough, he was able to stand up again and gladly accepted the sack of water Master Aëron handed him.

“What happened?” he asked once his thirst was quenched. “How did you manage to get in here?”

A sigh escaped Master Aëron’s lips. “Ethel, the Warbringer, just straight up and left, taking his entire fleet and army with him. Since yesterday, the last of his troops have completely left Eresath.”

“He… He left? Just like that?”

Master Aëron gave a nod, his expression a worried one. “For now, it’s nothing but good news. But I fear whatever it is that has pulled him away might hold some serious consequences for us as well.” He was silent for a moment before taking on a more pleased expression. “Worries for another day! Come, you need a decent meal and a good night’s sleep I reckon. We’ll talk later.”

Step by step, careful not to strain a muscle, Mino made his way up the stairs and had to shield his eyes once they left the small building he had been held in. The sun shone brightly over what had once been the enemy’s encampment. It lay empty now, only cast-away remnants like broken pots, rotten poles and ripped tent sails still sprayed about. They had truly left.

To where, he wondered absently.