Damp. It smelled damp and it was quite dark down here. It was surprising to see that the Ingrams had a dungeon down here. They didn’t seem like the type to keep prisoners down here. No one could have thought that there would be cells underneath the castle.

“This has been the absolute worst trip ever. I can’t believe this nightmare is still going on…” Noel sighed. “Are you sure a couple thousand geos won’t change your mind? My father can supply it right away if you let just me go.”

“Are you serious? This again? When are you going to learn that money can’t get you out of every situation, idiot?” Keianna rolled her eyes at the boy’s futile efforts.

“Hmm… maybe we should consider it?” The guard glanced at his partner.

“He does belong to a wealthy family... “

“Now you’re getting it… if you let me go then I can not only forget this incident ever happened, but I can promise you you’ll live better lives. It’s a smart business decision.” Noel smirked.

“On second thought… none of that stuff matters. We just find it cute how easily you’re willing to sell out your friends.”

The guards chuckled before separating the group and locking them in separate cells. Claire and Keianna were placed in one cell while Callista, Estelle, and Noel were placed in another. Once they were certain the prisoners were locked in they departed.

Bram and Kianna were able to view Callista and the other captives while Keianna and Claire were placed on the same side as them.

“Is everyone ok…? You’re not hurt are you?” Bram asked, worried for his family and his guests.

“Ok? No! Once I start to feel a little bit better I get thrown into a small, musty-smelling dungeon! How will we eat? There are no beds! Are we supposed to sleep on the dirty floor!? H-help! Someone help me! PLEASE!” Noel started to rattle the bars of the cell as he went ballistic and started to hyperventilate.

“C-calm down… please, Noel. Everything will be fine. I-I promise you.” Callista placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Things haven’t been fine ever since we stepped foot in this shady place! I should have never agreed to this mission! I’m such an idiot! Why would I ever agree to put my life on the line for a bunch of commoners!? ME!”

“And so Noel shows us just how much of an ass he is. Can’t say I’m surprised.” Keianna shook her head as she leaned back against the wall.

“Noel, calm down! Getting worked up isn’t going to get us out of here. We have to keep a level head.” Claire muttered.

“Level head…?! There’s nothing we can do… not even magic can save us.” Noel sighed as he walked over to the corner to take a seat.

“Have a little faith, I only agreed to be captured until Lamont’s treatment was done. I feel like Zain would want him down here along with us and when that happens we’ll launch our counterattack.”

“What are you talking about? I don’t possibly see a way out of this.”

“So, you do have a plan? Well, don’t be tight-lipped, indulge us.” Keianna mentioned.

“My magic allows me to communicate through people’s minds and to get them to do what I wish through strong conditioning. That’ll be our ticket out of here. We all just have to strike the moment we’re freed.”

“And if we combine our forces then Zain will likely give up his pursuit of being King.” Estelle added.

“I’m sorry to have put you all through this… I should have seen something like this coming, but I was too delusional. I believed that we were a strong family. I’ve allowed Zain to hurt so many of us… his actions will have consequences and you all will be compensated for this, I promise.”

“You don’t have anything to apologize for, Bram. I know Jace and the others are on their way as well. Together we’ll defeat your son and return things to the way they should be. Just watch.” Claire sounded determined that her plan would work, but no one knew what Zain had up his sleeve.

…

Within the throne room, the King was seen sitting on his throne as he released a pleasant sigh. Everything was going according to plan. It was almost too easy even with the addition of humans. If he knew things would have gone this smoothly he would have done this last week.

“King Zain, your brother’s injuries, for the most part, have been dealt with. What should we do with him?”

“Send him to the dungeon with the others. Once that’s taken care of we’ll discuss how we’ll invade the human’s territory.”

“Understood, King.” The Basilisk bowed before heading off.

“Although fragile the humans have quite a strong defense built in to guard their homeland. It’ll take quite a bit of planning and positioning to get them to bow to my will. They’re almost as stubborn as me.”

…

Meanwhile, outside Isaac and Jace were nearing the castle after having to leave Yadon frozen in stone. It was a hard choice to make, but they could always come for him. Right now they had to stop Zain’s nefarious plan before he took things too far.

“All right we might only have one shot at this. We’ll have to get past his guards and then defeat Zain.” Jace instructed.

“Right… still, it seems impossible with how many guards that are around here. Remember what they did to Noel?”

“We’ll just have to be careful that they don’t surprise us. To minimize casualties let me fight upfront while you support me from behind, all right?”

Casualties…? Deaths… no one is allowed to die here. I’ll do everything I can to protect them!

“Understood, Captain.”

The two of them rushed along the heavy sands leaving tracks behind as they rushed towards the castle. They had to handle things with great urgency as they had no idea what was taking place here. Seeing these humans the two guards who were guarding the entrance gasped in shock.

“Humans…? We’ll detain them for now and let the King decide what to do with them.”

They summoned their weapons, one wielding a blade and the other holding a spear. The two humans were rushing towards the castle at great speed to which the guard matched their speed as they yelled.

Jace took the lead like he informed Issac he would, closing the distance between the two as he avoided a lunge from the spear. The finely polished weapon soar passed the Captain’s body as he moved to the side.

The Basilisk was shocked that a human could move so fast, but he was soon brought back to reality by a strong right hook that sent him crashing onto the ground.

The second Basilisk brought down the heavy blade to try and cut deep into the captain, but he caught it with his bare hands, keeping it from ripping into his flesh.

“I got your back!” Isaac yelled as he summoned a single playing card which he threw, the card zipping through the air and cutting the snake’s left eye which caused a few drops of blood to drip onto the pavement.

“My eye!” The guard yelled. That slight moment of hesitation was all Jace needed to continue the offensive, he forced the blade out of his hand before passing behind the guard, grabbing a hold of his head as the snake’s consciousness slowly began to slip.

Once the guard was out, Jace tossed him to the ground without a care. Before they could move on the previous guard was trying his best to stand. “Stop right there!”

Hearing this, Jace clenched his fist before delivering another straight punch towards the grounded guard, this time knocking him out for sure. “Guess I didn’t hit you hard enough.”

“Come on, let’s go.” Isaac reminded Jace as the two-headed inside of the castle.

Inside there weren't any guards, but still, the two trod carefully, trying to hurry while keeping their movements down. Right now they were running around like lost dogs as they tried to figure out where Zain was.

“Should we head upstairs and get the others?”

“No. Judging from how quiet it is here I can only assume the worst. We’ll have to find someone and interrogate them for information. The whereabouts of Zain and our friends.”

Jace and Isaac explored the kitchen and then the dining room where they soon were greeted by two soldiers who were making rounds when they saw the two humans they chuckled.

“Looks like we have some unwanted guests. Hungry? Then come taste our swords!”

“Stay back!” Isaac warned as he hurled a few cards in their direction, but they managed to guard against it with their blades. Even if magic was reinforcing the sharpness of his cards they weren’t strong enough to cut through metal.

But as they focused on blocking Isaac’s attack, Jace ran up to deliver a strong and stern kick sending one of them crashing against a wall with a loud thud. The other guard soon delivered a thrust towards the Captain who barely managed to avoid it, feeling the blade rip through his clothing and some of his flesh to create a small cut that oozed a trickle of blood.

Jace then countered with a strong rising uppercut to force the Basilisk’s head back while lifting him into the air before he crashed onto the ground. Jace then proceeded to provide a strong stomp against the back of the guard’s armor.

“You’re strong for a human… damn it this almost doesn’t seem real..!”

“Hey… I’ll let you live if you answer some questions of mine. Tell me where is Zain Ingram? Where are our friends?”

“... Hssst… you think I’ll tell you such precious information like that?”

“Please. We need to know where they are. Tell us and your life will be spared. Don’t you want to live to see another day?” Isaac pleaded with him.

The Basilisk took a moment before finally spilling the beans. “They’re down in the dungeon… while Zain is located in the throne room. Now, what do you intend to do?”

“... First, we’ll put an end to Zain then we’ll rescue the others.”

“Jace… no, I don’t want to make them wait any longer. Leave Zain to me. Please, go rescue the others.”

“You think you’re up to fighting him alone? Knowing what he can do?” Jace questioned.

“I have to for Yadon!” Isaac clenches his fist.