Chapter 4 The Escape
I scavenged some scraps of cloth and used them to wrap my hands and feet, knowing full well that it wasn't an ideal treatment. However, in this perilous situation, it was the best I could do. I also took a larger piece of cloth to wrap around my chest, ensuring that all vital parts were adequately covered.
Unfortunately, there was little I could do about the stomach wound. The wound would only heal with time and I lacked bandages for proper treatment.
While captive, there was not a lot of importance on clothes, but now that we would move outside, there was no shame to try to cover at least my breasts and crotch.
It would probably even make things easier for us.
As I looked around, it became clear that I wasn't alone in this sentiment. Seth and Bennet were doing their best to avoid looking not just my way, but also towards Redhead and Lisa.
They clearly did not want to look at us while naked. At least they had some decency. Put them a lot higher on the list than the entirety of the clan.
Seeing what I did, Lisa and Redhead imitated me and quickly had their bodies covered in the same cloth as me. Seth and Bennet also followed suit shortly after.
It was understandable that the two didn’t want to be the only ones who walked around stark naked.
With all of us having some degree of coverage, the atmosphere became significantly less awkward.
I had no idea why the clan stripped its prisoners. Maybe because the clothing was in the way during the torture. At the end of the day, such things didn’t matter and were not worth wasting any time thinking about.
Seth had picked up the sword they pulled out of my stomach. It was probably a good idea to have a weapon in the unlikely case we run into guards or barbarians.
I still frowned at the sword that impaled me being wielded by another human, but it wasn’t like I could handle the sword any better, so it was probably the best for him to have it.
Plus, Seth was the most powerful member of our little crew, boasting the highest level.
The other three humans had been given a nail each, while Bennet wielded two like short swords. It was hard to see these nails as weapons, but I guess they were better than nothing.
So now I was the only one in our group without a weapon, but honestly, it didn't bother me too much. My hands were still pretty messed up. I knew I wouldn't be much help in a fight even if I did have a weapon, so it was probably best to leave the fighting to the others. And I wasn’t even taking my measly level into account here.
Once we were all ready, we gathered in front of the double doors that marked both the entrance to the throne room and our way out. Even though the doors were closed, I knew they weren't locked. The real issue was their weight. These things were heavy, and pushing them open was going to be a real challenge - especially for someone like me, who was in pretty rough shape.
Bennet and Seth stepped towards the door after checking all of us were ready.
Together, they exerted pressure against the door and it gradually began to creak open. They stopped pushing when the opening between the doors was wide enough for a single person to slip through.
Quickly, Lisa, Redhead and I slipped through the gap. Seth and Bennet were close behind us, and once we were all safely inside, they quickly closed the doors behind us.
After leaving the throne room, we found ourselves in a lengthy hallway and at the end of it, the exit was located. Between the exit and as was an intersection with smaller corridors branching off to the left and right.
The hallway was pretty dark, with just a few torches scattered around for light. Despite that, I could clearly perceive the forest beyond the cave and hear the distant cheers and howls, a sign that the duel had yet to conclude. And I wasn’t the only one.
"There's the exit!” Lisa's voice was barely above a whisper.
“We can’t go that way,” I informed them, my voice hushed but firm.
The rest of the group looked perplexed by my statement, but Redhead's expression was one of barely-contained anger.
She glared at me as she spoke, her voice low and intense, "Why? That is obviously the exit!”
“Yes, Genius, I know that, but in case you have some issues with your ears, you hear all these cheers in the distance? Surprise, it’s a crowd of barbarians and they are right there, beyond the exit.” I still tried to keep my voice as low as possible as I pointed forward.
Seriously, she should just let me do my thing, but I guess it was reasonable that she didn’t trust me completely. Still annoyed me.
That before us was the biggest entrance to the cave, that most of the clan used to enter and leave through.
It was the easiest way out, but the problem was the ongoing duel there.
It was the duel arena Malik created for instances were things couldn’t be handled with words — which basically meant all the time —and needed to be decided through a duel.
Logically, the arena was close to the cave, so that they wouldn’t have to walk long to get there.
That meant that if we chose to take that route, we would run into the entire clan. Of course, we could try and hope none of the onlookers were discovering us, but I had no intention of taking any avoidable risks.
“Carla, we will do as she says. She has the same goal as us and I doubt she wants to be caught either,” Bennet spoke in an authoritative voice. I just nodded my head to agree with him.
Now it was my time to take the lead and assume the roll of a guide. I would help them, they would help me. One hand washed the other.
“Follow me,” I whispered.
Moving was still quite hard, so I kept close to the wall, supporting myself. Although, the combination of the lingering discomfort and my overall lack of physical exertion was placing a considerable amount of strain on my body.
While the duel blocked the easiest escape route for us, it also caused the hallway to be completely empty, and with no one , who could possibly discover and snitch on us, we made fast progress.
At the intersection, we turned left. Our goal was the quarters, where most of the clan spent their time if they weren’t hunting or gathering in the throne room. Normally, taking this route would be insanity at its finest, but today, no one would be in there.
To begin with, if the there was a gathering in the throne room, every member had to be present and I seriously doubted any of them decided to not watch their leader kill someone else.
And if there were some barbarians in the quarters, then the the sword and nails would prove themselves useful. Other than Malik, Rick and the other elders, the rest of the clan was high in level, but coincidentally, Seth’s 80 levels were higher than any goon could possibly be.
We followed the path to the left until we arrived at a point where the hallway split in two. Looking at each for a second, I chose the right one.
After a while of making our way down the right corridor, we eventually arrived at a sprawling room filled with dozens, if not hundreds, of beds arranged seemingly at random. The place was a complete mess, with clothes, food, and all sorts of other items scattered about in a disorganized fashion.
Phew, having chosen the wrong one would have been terrible.
“What the heck is this place?” Seth asked while pinching his nose.
“The quarters,” I answered as I barely avoided stepping on a blood-stained shirt in.
“And we are here, because?” Redhead growled.
Redhead was starting to get on my nerves, but I knew I had to put up with her as long as I was still relying on the others. Seth and Bennet, on the other hand, were much more valuable assets.
Lisa wasn’t really useful in any way, but at least she was nice and didn’t question every choice I made. Which was, considering the circumstances, probably not even a smart thing.
“The normal quarters are unimportant. We are going to Malik’s room, which lies at the end of this one. There is another way out in there, one where we won’t be noticed for quite some time,” I turned my head with a smirk.
Malik was twisted, that was a well established fact. I had been in his room a few times. The place was a perfect reflection of the bundle of craziness that was this man’s mind. And even though he was supposed to quite old for a human, he still liked showing off.
After a while, we finally arrived at the other end of the quarters and found ourselves facing a single door. It was heavily reinforced, made entirely of metal with an iron frame.
“That’s a big door…” Seth mumbled as he looking at it.
Bennet walked up to the door and attempted to both push and pull it, but it remained firmly shut, not budging even an inch.
“A big, locked, door,” he shrugged his shoulders.
“If it’s locked, then how do we get in?” Redhead asked, looking at me for some reason.
I looked at them, puzzled. Bennet had opened the door of the cell without much trouble and while this door was definitely heavier and stronger, I kinda assumed he would do it again.
Bennet raised both his hands.
“Don’t give me that look. The last lock was just old and rusty. There is no way I can get this door open. Maybe if I had some decent tools,” he stated.
“Same for me,” Seth added.
I felt my heart sink. Had I been wrong? What now? The normal exit was not an option, but there was no other way.
Would this break out fail, like every other before?
Lost in thought, I did not notice the sound of the door being unlocked, nor it opening. Only when I was yanked to the sight and pushed down to the ground by one of the humans did I escape my thoughts, slapping the hand away.
I wanted to say something— and scream, since that really hurt —, but I just looked at Redhead, who held a finger in front of her mouth, telling me to be quiet as we hid in the shadow of the door.
While I wanted to say something, I kept my mouth shut.
The door opened slowly as Redhead, Bennet and I hid on right, in the shadow of some crates, while Seth and Lisa hid on the other side of the door, behind some barrels.
“That was… ,” a male voice said.
“The chief’s messed up,” another voice cut in.
“Don’t say that out loud! What if he hears ya?” The other voice admonished.
Two men left the room, obviously members of the clan. Both were unaware of our presence. They still had their backs to us, but it was only a question of time until we were discovered.
[Human - Lvl. 35]
[Human - Lvl. 32]
I identified them and was relieved, since their level was low. Still much higher than mine and I was once again happy that I was not alone.
“Dumbass, did ya forget that he’s fightin’ that Igo clan bastard?”
“‘Course not, idiot. But ya know the chief. He is not-“
Bennet and Seth looked at each other and nodded.
They acted quickly, seizing the two barbarians from behind in a chokehold before the barbarian could even finish speaking. Despite their struggles, the element of surprise and the significant level difference worked in their favor, and both were rendered unconscious in no time.
We had luck that the two were only level 30 and didn’t put up a fight.
“Check the room!” Bennet ordered hastily. Redhead complied and checked the room for more enemies, but luckily, she confirmed with a shake of her head that there were no more enemies.
Hearing this, Seth’s and Bennet’s shoulders fell as they exhaled in relief.
Lisa sat on the ground, hugging her knees in fear. I furrowed my eyebrows at the sight, but kept my thoughts to myself. Despite being a higher level than the two of them, she seemed terrified. Did she not see that she was technically stronger than the two?
Even if she wasn’t a fighter, her reaction was kinda disappointing. Not something I would expect from someone 44 levels higher than me.
Redhead came back and gave Lisa a hug, patting her head and whispering something that seemed to soothe her. As annoying and rude as Redhead could be, apparently I was the only one she treated that way. Wonderful.
While these two were busy, I walked over to Seth and Bennet, when my eyes went to the two unconscious men lying a bit behind them. They were clan members and they carried weapons. Both had a sword at their hips, while one of them also had a knife.
If it had come to a fight, we might have drawn some unwanted attention, although I seriously doubted that the members outside would hear us in here.
Still, why hadn’t they killed them? Why leave them alive?
As I got closer I saw that Bennet and Seth had already taken the swords, but they seemed to have overseen the knife.
Dangerous. What if the guy woke up and decided to attack one of us with that thing?
“What do we do with them?” I overheard Seth ask Bennet.
I walked past them. Someone secure the knife first, what if one of them wakes up and attacks again?
“The swords are going to be useful. These two aren’t going to wake up for a while and even if they do, we will be long gone before they can warn anyone.”
The knife was small and rusted, but its edge looked very sharp. Undoubtedly, a weapon forged to kill and torment. I removed the knife from the barbarians belt.
That could have been dangerous. One threat taken care of. I looked at the knife in my hands, then at the barbarians.
Even barehanded, they could be a danger to me…
But not to worry, I would make sure that nothing would happen.
I crouched beside the two unconscious humans and slowly, I inserted the knife into the first one’s chest, the bare flesh putting up little resistance, piercing his heart. The man died instantly, quick and painless. Even with the difference in level, it was an easy kill.
Blood gushed out of the wound as I pulled out the knife again, only to stab it into the chest of the other barbarian. He too breathed his last moment in silence and ignorance.
Chapter 4 The Escape
I scavenged some scraps of cloth and used them to wrap my hands and feet, knowing full well that it wasn't an ideal treatment. However, in this perilous situation, it was the best I could do. I also took a larger piece of cloth to wrap around my chest, ensuring that all vital parts were adequately covered.
Unfortunately, there was little I could do about the stomach wound. The wound would only heal with time and I lacked bandages for proper treatment.
While captive, there was not a lot of importance on clothes, but now that we would move outside, there was no shame to try to cover at least my breasts and crotch.
It would probably even make things easier for us.
As I looked around, it became clear that I wasn't alone in this sentiment. Seth and Bennet were doing their best to avoid looking not just my way, but also towards Redhead and Lisa.
They clearly did not want to look at us while naked. At least they had some decency. Put them a lot higher on the list than the entirety of the clan.
Seeing what I did, Lisa and Redhead imitated me and quickly had their bodies covered in the same cloth as me. Seth and Bennet also followed suit shortly after.
It was understandable that the two didn’t want to be the only ones who walked around stark naked.
With all of us having some degree of coverage, the atmosphere became significantly less awkward.
I had no idea why the clan stripped its prisoners. Maybe because the clothing was in the way during the torture. At the end of the day, such things didn’t matter and were not worth wasting any time thinking about.
Seth had picked up the sword they pulled out of my stomach. It was probably a good idea to have a weapon in the unlikely case we run into guards or barbarians.
I still frowned at the sword that impaled me being wielded by another human, but it wasn’t like I could handle the sword any better, so it was probably the best for him to have it.
Plus, Seth was the most powerful member of our little crew, boasting the highest level.
The other three humans had been given a nail each, while Bennet wielded two like short swords. It was hard to see these nails as weapons, but I guess they were better than nothing.
So now I was the only one in our group without a weapon, but honestly, it didn't bother me too much. My hands were still pretty messed up. I knew I wouldn't be much help in a fight even if I did have a weapon, so it was probably best to leave the fighting to the others. And I wasn’t even taking my measly level into account here.
Once we were all ready, we gathered in front of the double doors that marked both the entrance to the throne room and our way out. Even though the doors were closed, I knew they weren't locked. The real issue was their weight. These things were heavy, and pushing them open was going to be a real challenge - especially for someone like me, who was in pretty rough shape.
Bennet and Seth stepped towards the door after checking all of us were ready.
Together, they exerted pressure against the door and it gradually began to creak open. They stopped pushing when the opening between the doors was wide enough for a single person to slip through.
Quickly, Lisa, Redhead and I slipped through the gap. Seth and Bennet were close behind us, and once we were all safely inside, they quickly closed the doors behind us.
After leaving the throne room, we found ourselves in a lengthy hallway and at the end of it, the exit was located. Between the exit and as was an intersection with smaller corridors branching off to the left and right.
The hallway was pretty dark, with just a few torches scattered around for light. Despite that, I could clearly perceive the forest beyond the cave and hear the distant cheers and howls, a sign that the duel had yet to conclude. And I wasn’t the only one.
"There's the exit!” Lisa's voice was barely above a whisper.
“We can’t go that way,” I informed them, my voice hushed but firm.
The rest of the group looked perplexed by my statement, but Redhead's expression was one of barely-contained anger.
She glared at me as she spoke, her voice low and intense, "Why? That is obviously the exit!”
“Yes, Genius, I know that, but in case you have some issues with your ears, you hear all these cheers in the distance? Surprise, it’s a crowd of barbarians and they are right there, beyond the exit.” I still tried to keep my voice as low as possible as I pointed forward.
Seriously, she should just let me do my thing, but I guess it was reasonable that she didn’t trust me completely. Still annoyed me.
That before us was the biggest entrance to the cave, that most of the clan used to enter and leave through.
It was the easiest way out, but the problem was the ongoing duel there.
It was the duel arena Malik created for instances were things couldn’t be handled with words — which basically meant all the time —and needed to be decided through a duel.
Logically, the arena was close to the cave, so that they wouldn’t have to walk long to get there.
That meant that if we chose to take that route, we would run into the entire clan. Of course, we could try and hope none of the onlookers were discovering us, but I had no intention of taking any avoidable risks.
“Carla, we will do as she says. She has the same goal as us and I doubt she wants to be caught either,” Bennet spoke in an authoritative voice. I just nodded my head to agree with him.
Now it was my time to take the lead and assume the roll of a guide. I would help them, they would help me. One hand washed the other.
“Follow me,” I whispered.
Moving was still quite hard, so I kept close to the wall, supporting myself. Although, the combination of the lingering discomfort and my overall lack of physical exertion was placing a considerable amount of strain on my body.
While the duel blocked the easiest escape route for us, it also caused the hallway to be completely empty, and with no one , who could possibly discover and snitch on us, we made fast progress.
At the intersection, we turned left. Our goal was the quarters, where most of the clan spent their time if they weren’t hunting or gathering in the throne room. Normally, taking this route would be insanity at its finest, but today, no one would be in there.
To begin with, if the there was a gathering in the throne room, every member had to be present and I seriously doubted any of them decided to not watch their leader kill someone else.
And if there were some barbarians in the quarters, then the the sword and nails would prove themselves useful. Other than Malik, Rick and the other elders, the rest of the clan was high in level, but coincidentally, Seth’s 80 levels were higher than any goon could possibly be.
We followed the path to the left until we arrived at a point where the hallway split in two. Looking at each for a second, I chose the right one.
After a while of making our way down the right corridor, we eventually arrived at a sprawling room filled with dozens, if not hundreds, of beds arranged seemingly at random. The place was a complete mess, with clothes, food, and all sorts of other items scattered about in a disorganized fashion.
Phew, having chosen the wrong one would have been terrible.
“What the heck is this place?” Seth asked while pinching his nose.
“The quarters,” I answered as I barely avoided stepping on a blood-stained shirt in.
“And we are here, because?” Redhead growled.
Redhead was starting to get on my nerves, but I knew I had to put up with her as long as I was still relying on the others. Seth and Bennet, on the other hand, were much more valuable assets.
Lisa wasn’t really useful in any way, but at least she was nice and didn’t question every choice I made. Which was, considering the circumstances, probably not even a smart thing.
“The normal quarters are unimportant. We are going to Malik’s room, which lies at the end of this one. There is another way out in there, one where we won’t be noticed for quite some time,” I turned my head with a smirk.
Malik was twisted, that was a well established fact. I had been in his room a few times. The place was a perfect reflection of the bundle of craziness that was this man’s mind. And even though he was supposed to quite old for a human, he still liked showing off.
After a while, we finally arrived at the other end of the quarters and found ourselves facing a single door. It was heavily reinforced, made entirely of metal with an iron frame.
“That’s a big door…” Seth mumbled as he looking at it.
Bennet walked up to the door and attempted to both push and pull it, but it remained firmly shut, not budging even an inch.
“A big, locked, door,” he shrugged his shoulders.
“If it’s locked, then how do we get in?” Redhead asked, looking at me for some reason.
I looked at them, puzzled. Bennet had opened the door of the cell without much trouble and while this door was definitely heavier and stronger, I kinda assumed he would do it again.
Bennet raised both his hands.
“Don’t give me that look. The last lock was just old and rusty. There is no way I can get this door open. Maybe if I had some decent tools,” he stated.
“Same for me,” Seth added.
I felt my heart sink. Had I been wrong? What now? The normal exit was not an option, but there was no other way.
Would this break out fail, like every other before?
Lost in thought, I did not notice the sound of the door being unlocked, nor it opening. Only when I was yanked to the sight and pushed down to the ground by one of the humans did I escape my thoughts, slapping the hand away.
I wanted to say something— and scream, since that really hurt —, but I just looked at Redhead, who held a finger in front of her mouth, telling me to be quiet as we hid in the shadow of the door.
While I wanted to say something, I kept my mouth shut.
The door opened slowly as Redhead, Bennet and I hid on right, in the shadow of some crates, while Seth and Lisa hid on the other side of the door, behind some barrels.
“That was… ,” a male voice said.
“The chief’s messed up,” another voice cut in.
“Don’t say that out loud! What if he hears ya?” The other voice admonished.
Two men left the room, obviously members of the clan. Both were unaware of our presence. They still had their backs to us, but it was only a question of time until we were discovered.
[Human - Lvl. 35]
[Human - Lvl. 32]
I identified them and was relieved, since their level was low. Still much higher than mine and I was once again happy that I was not alone.
“Dumbass, did ya forget that he’s fightin’ that Igo clan bastard?”
“‘Course not, idiot. But ya know the chief. He is not-“
Bennet and Seth looked at each other and nodded.
They acted quickly, seizing the two barbarians from behind in a chokehold before the barbarian could even finish speaking. Despite their struggles, the element of surprise and the significant level difference worked in their favor, and both were rendered unconscious in no time.
We had luck that the two were only level 30 and didn’t put up a fight.
“Check the room!” Bennet ordered hastily. Redhead complied and checked the room for more enemies, but luckily, she confirmed with a shake of her head that there were no more enemies.
Hearing this, Seth’s and Bennet’s shoulders fell as they exhaled in relief.
Lisa sat on the ground, hugging her knees in fear. I furrowed my eyebrows at the sight, but kept my thoughts to myself. Despite being a higher level than the two of them, she seemed terrified. Did she not see that she was technically stronger than the two?
Even if she wasn’t a fighter, her reaction was kinda disappointing. Not something I would expect from someone 44 levels higher than me.
Redhead came back and gave Lisa a hug, patting her head and whispering something that seemed to soothe her. As annoying and rude as Redhead could be, apparently I was the only one she treated that way. Wonderful.
While these two were busy, I walked over to Seth and Bennet, when my eyes went to the two unconscious men lying a bit behind them. They were clan members and they carried weapons. Both had a sword at their hips, while one of them also had a knife.
If it had come to a fight, we might have drawn some unwanted attention, although I seriously doubted that the members outside would hear us in here.
Still, why hadn’t they killed them? Why leave them alive?
As I got closer I saw that Bennet and Seth had already taken the swords, but they seemed to have overseen the knife.
Dangerous. What if the guy woke up and decided to attack one of us with that thing?
“What do we do with them?” I overheard Seth ask Bennet.
I walked past them. Someone secure the knife first, what if one of them wakes up and attacks again?
“The swords are going to be useful. These two aren’t going to wake up for a while and even if they do, we will be long gone before they can warn anyone.”
The knife was small and rusted, but its edge looked very sharp. Undoubtedly, a weapon forged to kill and torment. I removed the knife from the barbarians belt.
That could have been dangerous. One threat taken care of. I looked at the knife in my hands, then at the barbarians.
Even barehanded, they could be a danger to me…
But not to worry, I would make sure that nothing would happen.
I crouched beside the two unconscious humans and slowly, I inserted the knife into the first one’s chest, the bare flesh putting up little resistance, piercing his heart. The man died instantly, quick and painless. Even with the difference in level, it was an easy kill.
Blood gushed out of the wound as I pulled out the knife again, only to stab it into the chest of the other barbarian. He too breathed his last moment in silence and ignorance.
