Jory stood naked in the middle of the dining room. The large rectangular table was set aside leaving more room for the old man to realizes his sick fetishes. Despite old age, he was in good shape. He slowly walked to the table, picked a small bell then rang it. He was calling for his guards. There was no time to lose.

I dashed at the old man then threw a punch, as hard as I could. I felt my knuckles crush his jaw but the old smith’s head didn’t even budge. He just looked at me, smiling and revealing his perfectly white teeth.

“What the hell d’you think you’re doing?” he asked as he threw a punch back at me.

His knuckles hit my stomach. I felt air leaving my stomach but I didn’t have enough time to take the sudden development in. He kicked me in the knee, bringing me to the floor then landed another punch. This time he hit my face, the face he hated looking at. Then another punch landed on my left, missing, eye.

I quickly found myself lying on the ground. The old man standing above me, his manhood dangling, dangerously close the ground.

“I’ve paid a hefty sum to get you pretty boy,” he said as he pummeled me with his hard fists. It’s no joke being hit by a smith. I underestimated that old perverted man. He was strong, and a good fighter at that. The whole world turned misty around me. I felt like losing consciousness. It felt like the right thing to do, but something soft, and extremely disgusting, brushed against my lips.

I grabbed the thing with both hands, clinging on it as if my life depended on it. The dining room filled with howls and loud shrieks. I tugged as hard as I could while the old man kept punching me, trying to get me to stop. I tugged even harder. It was the only thing keeping me going, remembering the hate and humiliation. Even when my body threatened to stop moving, my resolve to get out of this place kept me going.

Jory suddenly stopped moving. I felt a warm liquid shower my entire body then a heavy object fell on me. I opened my swollen eye with great difficulty. Jory was lying on top of me, unmoving. I struggled to move him aside then blinked. The slightest movement in my eye caused intense pain and a stream of tears.

Agatha, the Herbologist, was standing above us. Her binds were undone and she was carrying a silver, bloodied dagger. She was panting. Her previously lush and smooth hair was now disheveled. She had a black eye and blood trickled down the corner of her mouth. She was half naked, but she was smiling.

“What are you doing lying down there?” she asked. “The guards will be with us soon.”

“How did you?” I asked. I couldn’t even formulate a complete sentence. My body aches and my bones refused to move.

“She helped me escape while the two of you struggled,” she said, pointing at Zoey.

I stood up, albeit with great difficulty. Our brawl was messy, and I took in more punches that I anticipated. I took the knife from Agatha then cut the old smith’s gigantic manhood then shoved it inside his ass. I had some help from the Herbologist who seemed as disgusted by the smith as I was. We left him there, lying in his own blood, with his own dick dangling from his arse.

We heard bangs at the smith’s main door. Guards had rushed in there after they heard his screams and wails.

“Your fight must’ve attracted their attention,” Zoey shouted, hysterical. “What do we do now?”

“We stick to the plan,” I told her. “Where is she?” I asked afterwards, looking all around.

“She’ll be here soon,” Agatha answered.

“What? You know who I’m talking about?”

“Do you think she’d rely on you alone? She got in touch with me yesterday, after this old fuck imprisoned me!” She kicked the smith’s corpse as hard as she could.

“Miss me?” we heard the chilling voice above us. The guard’s shouts and bangs at the door had stopped. “I have a surprise guest for us!”

Eli came storming inside the room, skinny but slightly red in the face.

“I’ve taken care of them,” he announced. “Why did you barricade the doors? If it weren’t for her, I’d be a dead man.”

“Sorry,” I replied. “I didn’t think you’d come. You were late and we had to avoid guards rushing in while I took care of this old fart.”

“Are we leaving?” Agatha interrupted. “Leave the small talk for later!”

We dashed toward the old man’s study. Once inside the room, we were greeted by an unsightly scene. There were human heads aligned in jars. They all looked serene and sleeping. We also saw different animal heads, mounted on the walls. One of them was a blue drake, a ferocious beast that terrorized the lands of Vitia some twenty years ago.

“There it is!” the ghost told me, pointing at a pile of bones, neatly stacked on top of a velvet cushion.

“What is that?!” Zoey shouted. “This place always gives me the creeps.”

“It’s my vertebra,” the ghost answered. “Take it with you, or I won’t be able to leave this place.”

While I rummaged around the room for a bag, Zoey pulled a book from the old man’s library. The wooden bookcase shifted then slid to the side, revealing a hidden passage.

“What do we do once we’re out?” Agatha asked.

“I’m heading for Milogac,” I said. “So is she,” I pointed at the bag of bones underneath my armpit.

“That’s very far from here,” Agatha and Eli said at the same time.

“It’s better than staying in their area of influence,” the ghost interfered. “You’ll be caught before you can dream of a better life!”

“She’s right,” I said. “I’ve been chased by the Church and Auruun for many moons. They’d never give up. Our only hope is to get into Akari territory.”

Eli, Agatha and Zoey exchanged worried looks. They didn’t have enough time to decide as we heard a loud crash behind us. The doors had been breached. Eli had barricaded the doors again as soon as the ghost let him in. The guards would be upon us in no time.

“Go inside!” the ghost ordered. “I’ll close this secret entrance behind you. But beware! This is as much as I can do for you. I’ve pushed this ethereal form too far already. Go and don’t look back.”

We all got inside the hidden passageway. It was narrow. Two people could walk side by side their shoulders scraping against each other. As soon as we were all in, the ghost closed the door, and the study got back to normal. We heard guards shouting behind us. The satisfaction I felt at killing the old man exhilarated me.

“We should walk slowly and silently,” I whispered to the others. “At least until we’re at a safe distance from earshot. Then we run, as fast as we can.”

They all obeyed, and we walked through a slippery floor. The tunnel was round, as if dug using some sophisticated machine. Eli walked in front, followed by Zoey then Agatha. I was last, holding the rear guard. I hoped the guards wouldn’t know or notice the secret entrance. I prayed the secret was buried with its owner, but I doubted it.

We had to leave the place as soon as possible. But making noise would’ve brought the guards’ attention to us. We’d be sitting ducks in case they found out about us. They wouldn’t even need to aim. The tunnel went on a straight line. They’d only need to shoot. We walked for an eternity until the guards’ voices died out. Once we deemed it safe enough to run we dashed for the exit.

“How long until we reach the marketplace?” I whispered to Zoey.

“Not long now,” she answered. “We used to sneak in by night and come back by dawn. We’ll be in the city in no time.”

“Guards will ring the alarm,” Eli said. “They’ll soon close the city gates. Security will be tough to go through.”

“I have a cousin in the city,” Zoey said. “Maybe we can hide there until it dies out.”

“That would be stupid,” Agatha intervened. “They’ll soon find us. We must keep moving.”

“But how will we avoid them then?” Zoey asked, frustrated.

“I know a way,” I told them. “I was captured in the city sewers. I was hiding there for days, there are very few patrols in that area.”

“Those Bloaters will have us for breakfast!” Zoey protested. Bloaters were hideous monsters that lived underneath the city.

“We can fight,” Eli answered.

“They’re sensitive to smell,” I interrupted. “We need to cover ourselves with excrements, they won’t turn our way.”

“Excellent idea,” Agatha replied. “Let’s all escape this shitty place, looking and smelling like shit.”

“Got any better ideas?” I didn’t like her tone. Besides, I didn’t like the woman. I had a feeling I’ve seen her somewhere before. But my memory was hazy. The trauma I’ve lived before my capture made me forgetful.

“Not really,” Agatha answered. “But I can get rid of that hideous smell once we’re out of danger.”

“We’re here,” Eli said. We could see the end of the tunnel. There was a barred door in front of us. “Locked!” the skinny man said, or rather shouted in frustration.

“Step aside!” Agatha pushed her way to the front, put her hands on the lock then mumbled something. The door was unlocked as if by magic.

“How did you do that?” Eli asked.

“We’ll speak of this later,” she answered then got out.

We followed the Herbologist and found ourselves in an old building, a warehouse by the looks of it. Large crates were stacked against each other in a disorderly fashion. Before we could take another step though, we heard some voices in the distance.

“Comb the place. We can’t allow them to go far. The Bloody Hound will have our hide.”

Shit! They were already onto us.

Agatha beckoned us closer. “We need to walk slowly and keep huddled together. Do you know where we can access the sewers?” she asked Zoey.

The sister nodded. “How will we slip past them?”

“Just stay near me. I’ll make us nearly invisible. But it won’t muffle the sound of our footsteps. Any sudden movement and the spell will be broken. It’ll be difficult, so stay close or we’ll be caught. I’d rather die than go back to that cursed place. Utar will pay for this!”

We all grouped around the woman who was muttering something I couldn’t understand. As soon as she was done, she ordered us to move. We held each other by the hand, walking as slowly and silently as we could. Guards were flipping crates and barrels over, searching every nook and cranny of the place. When we reached the warehouse main door, we found it closed, to our greatest dismay.

Eli whispered something to Agatha, who nodded grimly. Agatha led us behind a tall row of wooden crates then ordered us to stay put. We stood there, holding our breath and expecting the worst.

The skinny man broke free from our group and we saw him run to the side of the door. He held a small wooden barrel then hurled it at the main door. The barrel emitted a loud noise as it crashed against the door then Eli ran back to us, as fast and silently as he could. We heard many footsteps running to the main door then it was pushed open. At least a dozen guards stood in front of the warehouse. Agatha cursed profusely.

“Where are they?” one of the guards screamed. His voice echoed through the large empty building.

“Who did that?” another guard asked. The ones inside the building came running to the door to find their comrades looking at the air, bewildered.

“Did you do that?” one of them asked.

“No, we were searching the place. It’s too big for such a small party. They might be anywhere!” the one answering sounded frustrated.

“Two of us will guard the door, the rest of us will help search. We can’t stay here forever.”

We saw them scatter, leaving only two guards at the door. Zoey turned to us and said it was her turn to help the group. She broke off and crept behind the guards. We didn’t know what she had in mind but we were desperate for help. All I knew was how to kill others. Killing the guards would only leave a trail. I hoped Zoey knew what she was doing.

She reached the first one and poked the back of his neck with her fingers. She immediately ran for the second and did the same then beckoned us to move forward. She was standing in the open. The guards didn’t seem to mind her presence.

“What did you do?” I asked when we reached the entrance.

“Put them to sleep, I’m a doctor of sorts.”

“We should keep going,” Agatha urged us. Her face contorted into an ugly grimace. She looked tired. “It’s hard to keep this spell going. Where’s the sewer entrance?”

“Around the corner of that street,” Zoey pointed forward. We had about two blocks to walk before we reached our next objective.

“There they are!” We heard a voice say from within the warehouse. We turned to see a guard pointing at us.

What happened to invisibility spell?!