SOLUS

The pain is better, I thought to myself. It’s no longer that excruciating pain that made me to black out.

I thought back to what had happened before I had lost consciousness. I had slaughtered those despicable soldiers and chased a straggler to an occupied cell. I had killed him when suddenly Aequa, the elusive goddess of light had spoken to me and asked me to open the cell door. I had found the key in the soldier's belt pouch and opened the door. I had walked in and looked at the occupants. They looked like more animal people similar to the ones that had been killed in the cell across from me, more beastkin I suppose. I tried to speak but had passed out before I had a chance to do so.

I opened my eyes to see the ceiling of the dungeon I very much wanted to escape from. I tried to sit up, but pain wracked my body. I pushed through it and sat up. I rubbed my eyes and looked to see a bunch of beastkin looking at me. Some seemed cautious, some curious and others looked ready to strike me down. I leant against the wall I was next to and sat there, not saying a word. None of us broke the silence. Eventually, a girl with ears on the top of her head stood and spoke to me. “Do you understand me?” She asked. I nodded choosing to remain silent. She nodded back and began to speak. “I am Lena of Foxkin. I would like to thank you for opening the door to our cell. We treated your wounds as best we could in the circumstances.”

Foxkin huh. Her ears sort of looked like a foxes and I spotted a bushy tail behind her. Treated my wounds? I guess it felt better than it had previously. She waited for me to speak but I refrained from doing so. She continued with a slight nod. “Since I have told you mine, could you tell us your name?” She asked. A simple question, but I hesitated. My name. How long had it been since someone had used it? Weeks? Months? She waited patiently for me to answer. I thought about remaining silent but she had told me her name first so I guess it was fair. “My name is… Solus.”

The animal people looked confused and Lena paused for a moment but pressed on “Are you planning to leave this town?” I nodded and she looked relieved. “We lost most of our fighters when they took them away, they said they had been killed. Do you know if this is true?” She asked. I hesitated, then nodded slowly. Many of the group looked crestfallen, but at least they knew the truth. I wasn’t sure where this was going but maybe they knew the way out of here. It had been so long since I had first been locked up in this place, and they had always put a bag over my head when they took me out of my cell, so I had no idea how to escape.

“Since we are lacking fighters, will you come with us?” Lena asked. I paused before answering. “I will fight with you until we are out of this town.” Lena nodded as if she expected an answer along those lines. With that, she began talking to the others and preparing for what was to come.

LENA OF FOXKIN

With all of my comrades ready to go, I motioned for Solus to come with us. I led the way with Solus a few steps behind me, following the two of us were the rest of the beastkin. We rounded a corner where I was met with a horrific sight. Bodies were strewn across the corridor, the walls and floor were dyed crimson. Splatters of blood reached high up the walls and even onto the ceiling. Many of the dead soldiers had been ripped apart. I looked at Solus who simply glanced at the carnage and continued to move forwards. Two members of the escaping party threw up onto the bloodstained floor and others looked not far off from the same. We swept through the deceased and continued to move towards the exit.

We passed a cell when Solus stopped. I paused and looked back at him. His expression was unreadable. He gazed into a cell who’s door looked like it had been ripped off the hinges. The cell was bare with the exception of broken iron manacles and chains littering the floor. Upon closer examination, it looked as if the floor was painted red.

Knowing that all cells were likely to have been identical, the floor must have not started that colour. I glanced at Solus who continued to stare at the empty cell. I couldn’t begin to imagine the torment he must have endured in this prison and I vowed to try and get him to come with us. I doubted he would get very far on his own with him being hunted as a criminal. For now we had to keep going. I lightly touched his shoulder and he jumped away hissing at me. His hand resting on the hilt on a sword sheathed by his waist, he looked at me with cold eyes and looked ready to kill.

Where did he get that sword? I thought to myself. Never mind. Speaking softly I told him “We need to keep moving.” He nodded before glancing one last time at the place he had been kept in previously. We met no soldiers on the way up from the dungeons. Only two guards were stationed in the building above it and Jay dispatched them with little resistance. No alarms had been sounded so it looked like it would be easy to slip out of the town if we could avoid the guards on patrol.

We had nearly made it to the gates when a bell started to clang loudly from the direction of the dungeons. An alarm, they’ve realised. Our group began to move more quickly and we reached the gate. There were ten guards standing in front of a large wooden gate which was closed and locked with a large metal bar across it. “You will not pass, you filthy animals” A guard shouted at us. Our group stopped before the guards, but Solus kept running. “Solus” I called out but he didn’t stop. He unsheathed his sword and threw it. His target was surprised and wasn;t able to raise his shield quick enough, so the sword plunged into his chest and he went down.

Solus screamed as he began to smoulder. Steam and smoke rose off of him and claws began to protract out of his fingers. The guards looked mortified but formed up into a three rank and file formation. It didn’t matter. Solus swiped with his claws and the first three guards fell with the first one he struck being split in two. The rest fell within seconds. I watched in stunned silence and I glanced at the others to see they were in a similar situation, some even looked horrified. Solus picked up a sword and sheathed it. He turned to look at us. “What are you standing around for?” He turned away and tore the metal girder barring the gate closed and it flew into a building nearby. What incredible strength. Our group ran forwards and pulled the gate open. We saw the land surrounding Boren and a treeline not too far from the walls that we could run to. Nearly there.

“SOLUS!”

I turned back to see Solus had stopped moving. He stood unmoving as he turned his head to gaze back towards the main street. I saw a man in blue robes approaching with a contingent of soldiers. There had to have been at least one hundred men.

“You…” Solus growled.