The King with Six Friends

Feathers and Knives

Kindle leaned back to see the top of the wall. It should be decently easy to scale. "'Bout how many diplomatic laws do you think we're breaking right now?" he asked Eryx.

"It's probably best not to think about it," Eryx replied, rubbing his arms to warm himself.

Kindle and Eryx watched the guard walk around his post. Hot torches in wrought-iron sconces snapped in the bitter wind above the rampart. When the guard turned to walk down the other direction, Eryx turned into a snake and wound up the column. Kindle climbed up the wall as a flickering fireball.

The guard glanced over his shoulder but saw nothing; he could have sworn he'd heard something. He returned to his walk shaking his head.

Kindle stepped out of the torch's flames and Eryx slithered out of the shadow. They sped down the narrow stairs, nearly slipping on the ice sheets that coated the steps. They ducked behind an arch to scout out the courtyard.

"There's the armory," Eryx whispered through chattering teeth. The biting cold still penetrated his skin despite the coat he wore. It wasn't safe for Eryx to keep turning into a serpent in this weather. Snakes undergo hibernation when exposed to cold. Eryx, being a snake morph, was feeling the detrimental effects at the worst time.

The armory had several soldiers stationed inside, warmed by a covered fire. An iron door with a passage leading underground was positioned next to it. Creeping over, Kindle tried the handle but found it locked. Breaking it down would make too much noise and alert the soldiers.

Kindle noticed a small drain near the dungeon's door. He pulled it open as quietly as he could. Rancid, odorous smells wafted up from the void. He recoiled and covered his mouth to keep from retching.

"Found the dungeon," Kindle said sadly.

"A guard's coming out," Eryx stage-whispered. The door to the armory creaked open and a soldier with a halberd stepped out into the wind.

Eryx morphed into a snake and slithered down the narrow drain. Kindle held his breath and hesitantly lowered himself down, shutting the grate behind him.

The pipe was slick with residue and mud as it tightened claustrophobically in random places. The further Kindle climbed down, the colder it grew. He heard squeaking and glanced down to see a rat climbing up his leg. Kindle yelped, accidentally igniting, and roasted the unfortunate rodent to a crisp.

Finally, Kindle dropped down into the dungeon's cavern dripping in odorous substances. Eryx, as a human, looked Kindle up and down and put a hand to his nose to ward off the smell.

Kindle held his arms out from his sticky clothes. "This is my nightmare." A blast of fire burned away the residue.

The dungeon's cells were divided by columns of jagged stone. Some cells were occupied by skeletal prisoners, and others were empty. Zar was not in any of them.

"Alright. I'll go this way and you can check that end." Eryx nodded and walked down the tunnel to the left. Kindle cautiously made his way through the cell block on the right.

The prisoners stirred from their restless sleep and gawked at the newcomer. After a long time of walking, the tunnel ended at a fork. One way was completely empty, the other had a solid wood door at the end. He chose the latter. If there was any place to keep a person like Zar, this would be it.

The door was secured with a hefty padlock. Kindle lit his hands and melted the lock's arch. After a few minutes of burning it away, the padlock clanged to the ground in a red-hot puddle of metal.

Kindle pushed open the door into a void of blackness. He illuminated the room with a handful of fire. Pitch had been slathered onto the walls and low ceiling to absorb all light. Iron spikes jutted out of the walls to prevent anyone from leaning against them. This was a torture chamber. A small covered birdcage stood at the center of the cell.