Warm blood dripped down my wrists. My calf muscles had given out halfway through the night, unable to stand the constant exertion. The rough iron shackles were all that supported my weight. Sleep was naturally impossible. No matter how tired I was, the constant pain kept me awake. Worst of all, I needed to pee for the past few hours.

Still, I had it better than everyone else. I could use my flames to heal my wrists and muscles, giving me some relief. Meanwhile, Charly seemed to be having the hardest time. He was the least physically fit out of all of us, and his muscles had given out even earlier than mine. He pleaded for the guards to let him down multiple times, but no matter what he said, the guards would not move.

All we could do is hang there until the sun came up.

I spent the night seeing the world through Sylvie’s eyes. I learned a great deal of useless information about the people that captured us. Very little of what the soldiers talked about was of any use, but it was a good distraction from my current circumstances.

I learned that the soldiers were all from a small country north of here named Avari. They have been harassing the kingdom of Dacia for weeks disguised as soldiers from Novus. The soldiers seemed delighted with their assignment, and constantly boasted how much damage they had caused to the surrounding countryside.

The most useful information I learned was the location of a few nearby villages, as well as a map Sylvie snagged from the captain’s tent when he was not there. If we managed to get free that information could save us countless trouble. The soldiers also talked about a war starting north of here that caught my attention, but they did not know any detailed information.

As the first rays of dawn chased away the darkness of night, Orias returned to our tent. I watched him carefully through Sylvie until he disappeared into the tent. Unlike us, he looked refreshed and had a good night’s sleep. With a freshly shaven face and well combed hair, he might have looked handsome if not for the baggy, oversized clothes.

“Looks like you all had a good night.” Orias said. I was still blindfolded and could not see him, but I knew he was smiling. I heard my father curse under his breath, and one of the soldiers snicker.

“Sorry, but I cannot risk an escape attempt. Exhausted and worn out like this, even if you try something, you will not get far.” Orias continued. “Once you arrive at our base, I will provide more adequate accommodations. Play nice and within a week you will be on your way back home.”

“And if we don’t?” My father growled.

“Then, I am sure Istvan will be happy to take out his frustrations on you. We may have been friends once, but that was the past. We are nothing more than enemies now.”

“What happened to you Orias? How can you ally yourself with the Avari?” I heard my mother ask.

“You think I had much choice?” Orias replied, the tone of his voice dropped. “As a traitor, my options were limited. The Avari took me in, gave me my command back. They gave me a life. Something the Novus Kingdom would never allow.”

“But…”

“No! no more questions.” Orias roared. “Men, get them down from there, and ready them for transport. We leave in fifteen.”

I felt relief in my wrists for the first time as the spike was removed and I could lower my arms. I wanted to remove the blindfold as well, but a soldier cuffed me on the back of the head the moment I tried.

Still blindfolded, I followed the soldier’s directions as he led me out of the tent. The only good thing was that he let me use the latrine before leading me to a line of horses and soldiers. The shackles on my feet only allowed me to take small, shuffling steps as I walked. The guard tried to hurry me more than once, but there was little I could do about the metal chains restricting my movement.

As soldiers mounted their horses, I was loaded into a small metal cage on wheels. I had a brief moment of joy, thinking I might be able to lay down and get some rest during the trip, before my hopes were dashed by the soldier. The shackles were once again raised above my head before they were locked into place. The only improvement was that the cage was small enough that I could still sit down despite the shackles locked to the roof.

My family joined me in the small cage a few moments later. The cage quickly became cramped with five people in it. There was the click of a lock as their shackles were also locked into place.

Through Sylvie I could see the procession of stallions. Fifty soldiers on horseback surrounded our cage. All of them were holding crossbows, loaded and ready to fire.

I did see one piece of good news though. Orias ordered that our family’s wagon was also coming with us. The stallions Mordere and Mitis were both pulling it as a soldier held their reigns.

I tried connecting with Nox. Though the energy still disappeared immediately, I was able to relay a little information to him. He was still gorging himself endlessly on the soldier’s rations. Hopefully the little glutton would listen to me and hop on the wagon. I did not want to leave him behind.

A few minutes later, horses neighed, and our cage rumbled forwards.

“What is the plan Dad?” Charly whispered, careful not to be heard by the soldier sitting on top the cage, guiding the horses.

My dad sighed. “I don’t have one. We still have our bracers and can probably take out a few soldiers, but unless we can get free of theses shackles and cage it is pointless. Even if we get free, I am not sure we can beat Orias and fifty well-armed soldiers.”

Charly sounded dejected as he spoke. “Then… There is nothing we can do?”

“For now, it is better if we play along.” My father replied. “Getting ransomed back to the Novus Kingdom will put us behind schedule and a bit poorer, but a reckless escape attempt could end with one or more of us dead.”

“And what if he decides not to ransom us back to the Novus Kingdom?”

“Then we fight to our last breath.” My father said with a firm resolution in his voice.

“We should prepare for both possibilities.” My mom spoke. “First we need a way out of these shackles if a fight does happen. I am useless like this.”

“I might be able to get Sylvie to steal the keys, but I am not sure. Orias keeps them on his belt at all times, even when he is sleeping.” I said, remembering Sylvie’s reconnaissance from last night.

“What about Nox?” My father asked. “Has he recovered? Can you send him on a rampage?”

“No.” I replied quietly. “He cannot fight anytime soon. He did make it onto our wagon though.”

“Useless cat.” My dad mumbled.

“How fine is your ice control?” I asked my dad. “Could you make a copy of a key with that.”

“Maybe…” My father replied hesitantly. “I have never tried something like that before, but it should be possible so long as the ice does not break.”

“We should wait till we get to their base.” My mother declared. “No matter what Orias chooses, we will have some time there. There are too many eyes watching us right now. If your bracer lights up and they take it, we will lose our only advantage.”

“Point taken. In the meantime, I will try and think of a way to make my ice into a key.”

For the rest of the day, we were stuck in that cage. The heat of the sun beat down relentlessly. No food or water was given to us. Our muscles cramped from being unable to move or even stand. Orias did not want to risk unlocking us for even a moment. There was never a single opportunity to make an escape.

I could not even sleep, and not just because of the uncomfortable position. Orias had commanded soldiers to harass us every few minutes. The blunt ends of spears left small bruises as they poked through the bars at random intervals.

Despite the infuriating soldiers, my dad kept his eyes closed most of the day, studying how he could use his bracers to replicate a key or somehow break the lock. He had a few ideas, but without actually trying it, he was not sure how well they would work.

We tried telling stories or singing to pass the time, but the soldiers reacted violently any time we were too loud. Unable to do anything else, and anxious about our circumstances, we sat in silence.

It was nearly nightfall when we finally arrived at our destination. A large stone stronghold teeming with soldiers. The stronghold was built into the mountains with tall walls made of the same brown-grey stone that surrounded it. As we approached, I could see a mountain road on the other side of the stronghold. The only way to get there was through the fortifications.

Other than the horde of soldiers patrolling every inch of the stronghold, travelers and merchants lined up outside. All of them were waiting to pass through to the other side.

As we moved closer to the stronghold, I examined the travelers closely. Every time one of them approached the gatehouse, they had to produce a piece of paper and a small number of coins before the soldier let them pass. I immediately gave a few commands to Sylvie. Civilians like these could be the key to our escape.

When we finally arrived at the gatehouse, I saw Orias present an official looking medallion. The soldier on duty saluted and we were waved through.

“We might be in trouble.” My father said quietly as we passed the massive stone fortifications. “This is the border fortress of Bastya. This is one of the most heavily guarded places in Avari. Four separate countries all share a border near here including Novus. We tried to take the stronghold once, many years ago, but failed miserably.” My father paused as he looked at the flag hanging above the fortress. The image of a stallion standing proudly against a bright red backdrop. “The stronghold is commanded by general Izmos, nicknamed The Mountain. He has never lost a defensive battle, and is well known for his highly disciplined soldiers.”

Our cage rumbled as it was pulled onto a stone road leading away from the civilians and towards the center of the stronghold. In less than a minute, we passed hundreds of soldiers. Every single one of them was standing perfectly still with their eyes focused on the road. I did not spot even one soldier shift uncomfortably or move in any way. They were like perfect statues lining the road.

A knot was stuck in my dry throat as I observed them carefully. Even in the Thirteen Divisions, soldiers like this were rare. If every soldier in the stronghold was this well trained, our escape would be impossible.