On cue, the first members of the group of freed prisoners exited the dungeon. More followed, filling the clearing. Murmurs of thanks and joy filled the air.

Praise be to Lir!

Blessed be Danu, she sent someone to save us!

The Master of Monsters did it, we’re free!

“The night sky!” Sienna marveled. “How I’ve missed it so!”

“Aye, me too,” Donal added. “We’re free!”

“Not quite yet,” Caleb cautioned. “We’re going to need a little more luck in getting off this island.”

Finally, Shaw emerged from the caverns at the rear of the group. The griffin let out a happy caw as he too looked up to the heavens. He unfurled his wings fully, relishing the night air.

“Thou hast my gratitude,” Shaw said to Caleb. The griffin made a little bow to him. “Whatever foe thou wishes me to vanquish next, I shall do so with joy.”

“I’m sure we’re going to have plenty of foes for you to vanquish,” Caleb replied. “But for now, we need to–”

His voice trailed off, making the others stare.

A vast swirl of light lit up Caleb’s vision. The fresh coolness of the night air faded away, to be replaced with a hot, spicy aroma. He’d smelled it once before when he’d defeated Malum Kane. He felt the breathtaking tingle of euphoria, the electric jolt of mainlining oxygen filling his body.

The swirl of light cascaded down in a wave, washing away to reveal a series of lines that scrolled across his Quest Screen.

Adventurer’s-Level Quest: Attempt to escape Deephold Keep: COMPLETE. You have brought the paladin and the remaining prisoners out of the prison boundaries. Bonus experience granted: 200% Adventurer’s-Level Quest: Attempt to free the paladin and escape Deephold Keep. COMPLETE. Adventurer’s-Level Quest: Attempt to free all the prisoners and escape Deephold Keep. COMPLETE. Adventurer’s-Level Quest: Attempt to exit Deephold Keep without the guards setting off the alarm: COMPLETE New Adventurer’s-Level Quest: Attempt to sneak through Deephold Port to the docks. Quest difficulty increased 100% due to the size of the group involved. New Adventurer’s-Level Quest: Attempt to steal a ship from Deephold Port. Veteran Adventurer’s-Level Quest:

Attempt to escape Irongrasp Island aboard a sailing ship: IN PROGRESS.

WARNING! Completion of quest shall trigger an additional Veteran Adventurer’s-Level Quest: Attempt to escape a squadron of the Myrkur’s Naval Arm, the Sea Vipers.

Lir and Danu’s Helpful Hints:

Congratulations! You are progressing nicely as an adventurer. Keep up the good work and try not to die while you’re at it. The Myrkur value immediate obedience and submission to authority over critical thinking. This may allow you to avoid confrontation and violence. You should know by now what confrontation and violence usually result in, and what we recommend you avoid.

A series of numbers scrolled past from bottom to top, flashing as if he’d won the big prize at a slot machine. One line remained in his vision a moment longer.

Congratulations, Soul Traveler. You have reached Level Seven!

Finally, as the sensations subsided, he began to hear voices from all around him.

“Is he all right?” he heard Sienna say.

“What’s happening to him?” Donal asked.

Caleb couldn’t answer yet. His eyes remained fixed on three additional entries that popped up. As with several of the earlier lines on his Character Sheet, two of them ended with numbers that glowed a soft gold.

Individual-Specific Specialty ‘XP Edge’ enhanced by 10%

Craft with Iron: One additional spell available for individuals ranked up through Level Seven:

New Spell: Sense Metallic Weapon’s Qualities (6)

Weathermancy: One additional spell available for individuals ranked up through Level Seven:

New Spell: Dancing Lights (12)

Well, that’s just great, Caleb thought. The iron-specific spell isn’t going to help us right now. I haven’t the slightest clue what ‘Dancing Lights’ might be. And I still don’t know what XP Edge does!

Yet more voices intruded on his consciousness. They were universally raised in concern. Tavia stamped one hoof against the stony ground with a solid clack, cutting through the noise. All eyes went to her and Shaw.

“Everything’s fine,” Tavia assured everyone. “Just keep calm.”

“But what’s wrong with him?” Sienna demanded, her voice full of worry. “He looks like he’s frozen in place!”

“Thou art mistaken,” Shaw quickly replied, as he came to stand at Tavia’s side. “He is but deep in thought.”

“How can you be sure?” Donal asked.

“How – how can I be sure?” Tavia sputtered for a moment, before charging ahead. “Because…you heard what he said earlier. So long as Shaw and I are under Caleb’s direction, we shall not harm you! And…well, we haven’t harmed any of you yet, have we?”

Donal considered. “Aye, you have a good point there, Miss Morningstar.”

The murmurs from around him indicated general agreement.

“All right, I’m back,” Caleb finally said. At his words, the tension melted out of the people crowded around him. “I just needed a moment to think things through. We’re in luck, sort of.”

No one spoke up, but the question on their lips was obvious enough. Sort of?

“It looks like an entire squadron of the Sea Vipers are in port,” he went on. “They’re all carousing in town. So we’re going to steal one of their ships. But we’ve got to get down this mountainside, through part of Deephold Port, and onto the docks.”

“Oh, that’s all we have to do?” Sienna’s eyes went wide with disbelief as she held up one of the pistols they’d taken off the guards. “I don’t think we have anywhere near what we need to fight our way through all of that.”

“We’re not fighting unless we have to,” Caleb said firmly.

He looked down for a moment, thinking on what Lir and Danu had told him about the Myrkur. His memories of what had taken place at The Quiet Sailor. Malum Kane’s evil grin as the man drew his pistol and shot him down.

It came to Caleb in a flash.

“Here’s what we’re going to do. Is there anyone here who needs help walking?”

Two hands timidly went up. The pregnant woman, and one of the few elderly men.

“All right, I need volunteers to help them down the slope, as well as through town.” A few more hands went up, to his relief. “Good. You’re all staying in the center, along with the children. Everyone else, you crowd around them, keep them safe. Those of you with weapons, you stay up front. But keep your blade or pistol hidden until I say so. Is that understood?”

He got a quiet chorus of yezzirs at that.

“Fine. Who’s got one of the Guardsmen’s uniforms on?” Donal and two other men stepped forward. “Okay, wait just a minute. Tavia, Shaw, I need to speak with you a moment.”

He looked around. At the edge of the clearing, next to where the path led down the side of the mountain, sat a single-room guard shack. Caleb walked over with unicorn and griffin in tow as the group of villagers began assembling themselves as he’d asked.

“Thanks for covering for me back there,” he said to his two companions. “I needed that.”

“What happened to you?” Tavia demanded. “You froze up in mid-sentence and began staring into space.”

“Whatever condition afflicts thee, it did not look painful,” Shaw chuckled. “Quite the contrary, thy face looked overjoyed.”

“It…look, when we have time, I’ll explain what happened,” Caleb said, feeling a little flustered. “It’s not a ‘condition’, not exactly. I guess you could think of it like a gift of sorts. It’s the reason I knew Grimshaw’s name without asking him. But I don’t think I’m going to freeze up again, not for a long time, anyway.”

“One hopes not,” Tavia agreed. “It will be a hard fight to get clear from this place, unless your plan can help us avoid that.”

“You and me both. Give me a second.”

Caleb opened the shack’s door and peered inside. The interior was practically bare, save for a couple rudimentary chairs and the reek of recently smoked pipeweed. He ignored that and looked around. A set of four leather whips hung from nails on the backside of the door.

Just what they’d have on hand to discipline prisoners who got out of line, he thought, as he grabbed them. It’s not much, but it’ll have to do.

“Shaw,” he said, as he came back outside. “How are your wings? Can you still fly?”

“‘Tis a fair question,” Shaw unfurled his wings once more and gave a few experimental beats. Caleb had to shield his eyes from the dust kicked up. “I think they will serve thy purpose.”

“Good. Get aloft and follow us. You’re going to be our weapon of last resort. If you see us in trouble, that’s the foe or foes you need to help us vanquish.”

“Thou hast nothing to fear, then,” the griffin declared.

“This place has three moons,” Tavia reminded him. “Be aware of the light they cast. Don’t let yourself be seen before you strike.”

Shaw let out a chuff. “Thou wouldst teach me mine own arts.”

The griffin turned and launched himself into the air where the path fell steeply away. With a pair of owl-soft beats of his wings, Shaw skimmed low over the treetops and then vanished into the darkness over the ocean. Caleb felt himself let out a breath as the griffin disappeared.

“Tavia,” he said, “I don’t think we can pull off the mule trick again, not without the dark. You can enchant objects, so can you do something to make your horn less noticeable?”

“How is it that you know my skills in–” Tavia began, before shaking her head. The beads in her mane rattled as she did so. “Never mind, you said that you’d explain later, and I find that I must put my trust in you again. Yes, I can hide my horn, and even make myself more inconspicuous for a short period of time. I assume you want me to pretend that I’m some dray horse?”

“I’d prefer to pretend that you’re a nobleman’s prize mare,” Caleb said gallantly, figuring to make a play to the unicorn’s ego. “But I can’t match your luster right now. So…please?”

She let out a snort. “Fine.”

They headed back to join the villagers. Tavia went to one side of the mass of people, raised her head, and with the slight tinkling of a bell, her horn vanished. Donal and the two other men wearing stolen Myrkur uniforms looked startled as he pressed a whip into each of their hands.

“I’ll tell you when to use these,” he explained. “Don’t hurt anyone if you can. But if you’re not convincing, then we’re all lost.”

Donal swallowed hard. “Yezzir, we understand.”

Caleb raised his voice slightly as he turned to address the rest of the group.

“All right, everyone. We’re getting out of here, no matter what. There’s just one more thing all of you need to do when we reach the town.”

Everyone went quiet at that. Every eye remained expectantly upon Caleb.

“If you want off Irongrasp," he said, "you’re going to have to sing.”