My Adventure in Mikellar

Chapter LXIII | On my way to my execution

"Adolf is lineson?" I pondered to myself. I stride towards the thin strand of moonlight that shone at the far left of the stone cell, to get a better look at it, "What if...What if he has hidden a message in this?" I wondered as I gawked at the parchment roll, wishing it would start speaking like a human and tell its secrets, "But why would he do such a thing? Is he tricking us?"

I need to find Galena!

Suddenly, the sound of a door launching open at the end of the dark corridor echoed, persisted by heavy footsteps lumbering towards my cell, echoed around the entire dungeon, making me hastily stuff the parchment roll and the pendant into my pocket.

"Well, t'sunrise sister's awake, finally?" A tall buff-looking guy with red hair and Viking like-beard walked in, he had stone grey eyes and his face was covered in scars and stitches. He was wearing the knight outfit, and he spoke in thick western accent.

"Who...Who are you?" I stuttered, bewildered.

Should I run?

No, that's dumb, what if I get caught?'

"I'm just here to take ya to yer execution" the man spoke as he took out a bronze key from his pocket and start unlocking the dungeon.

The gemstones! I can use them!

I slid my hands into my pocket, to grab onto the yellow stone, "Execution?" I said, continuing the small talk, though my mind was mostly occupied with planning a way out of this cold prison.

YES!

I finally got my hands on the gritty surface of the stone, "Where are my friends?" I questioned, the guy was still struggling to unlock the bars.

"Oh, they're waitin' for ya outside,"

CLANG!

The metal bars flung open, but before the guy could take a step inside, I roared like an animal and burst out of the door as he shouted curses at me. My arm started to burn, and air zipped across my cheeks, I was mere metres away from the door but, it clicked open and someone was standing there looking at me with a still expression but all I cared about was escaping, I zoomed past them but,...

THUD!

The person tripped me with their leg. Who could have guessed that defeating flash would have been that easy?

I groaned as I sat up, my hands pressing against my forehead as stars revolved around my eyes and through the blur, I could see the familiar poison green eyes of no one other than Great Greg himself! He was looking at me with disgust spread across his face, the guard hastily made a beeline towards me with fright bouncing in his eyes, "Sorrey, sorrey, sir" he muttered as he fumingly picked me up and put handcuffs on my wrist.

"If you disappoint me one more time, you may have already guessed what fates your family will face" He threatened, "Take good care of her while you are ordered to, she is one of the most precious gems out there now, Alas! Not for too long", he turned and continued walking.

"Then let's hope, I don't turn out to be something even more powerful than a diamond, something you didn't expect", I snickered.

He stopped and let out a short chuckle, "We'll see, young dusk, we'll see", he continued walking through the smelly dark corridors along the dungeons.

The guard shoved me on my shoulder to look forward, I shot him a dirty look and continued walking, as another guard, this one stout-thin and blond with chestnut eyes and loads and loads of freckles on his face volunteered to help the guard to take me to-wait-MY EXECUTION?

"When you said execution-did you mean...like...beheading, hanging and all?" I stuttered, anxiously.

"No, we won't be doin' those, those old ways" began the red-bearded guy, who held my right arm.

"Very old, indeed", snorted the freckle guy who held my other arm.

"We'll be doin' the...Err...Whatz it, Steve?"

He thought for a moment, "The Electric chair"

"Yeah, they use it backalong, in..err..When Steve?"

He once again thought, "The Eleventh-no-The Ninth Century"

"Blimey! Is it that old?"

"Yes, Dalton, I have told you about it the fourteenth time today"

"Well, y'must be very honour'ble to receive such old methods of execution, They could've just burnt you with carbane, but they didn't"

"That feels really respectable to know indeed," I droned as we took another turn and went down a flight of stone stairs lit by one pair of old bulbs at the start and the end.

They continued their bickering like old ladies. The red-beard guy, whose name was Dalton, was the one who talked the most and Steve was the quiet-smart one but both were equally annoying. We entered another dark hallway, I noticed that strangely all the dungeons were empty.

"Why are they all empty?" I asked the dudes.

"Well, Greg doesn't believe that having prisoners is useful, he just says it's a useless inconvenience" the freckle guy answered.

"Then, what does he do with them?"

"Make'em work at factories or train the kinda trustable ones for soldiering, like us" the red-bearded guy answered, "Yertiz!".

We stopped in front of a silver metal door, the freckle guy turned the silver lever down which was mounted on the wall next to the door. A loud clinking sound as if thousands of metal chains turning was made behind the door before it slid open, there was a small room, like a normal elevator, we stepped inside and there was an old vintage telephone where the buttons of the floors should be, the red beard guy picked up the phone and murmured "The exit hall" and as soon as the guy put the phone back, the room dropped like an amusement park ride as I cursed and screamed like a banshee.

The elevator finally reached the ground with a thud and the door slid open, I looked out into another gloomy corridor, though this one didn't have the dungeons and was just a long liminal passage and was less dark with more flickering lights.

"Sorry, the dungeon elevator hasn't been used for many years," the freckled guy said breathlessly as we faltered out of the room, our eyes as big as balloons and the hairs on the back of our necks still standing as straight as candles from the terror.

We walked through the empty passageway, the walls were uncemented and the ground was made of cold stone just like any other walls and floor in wherever we were, there was a wooden door at the end of the passage and the only door after the cursed elevator's door and we were undoubtedly walking towards it. My heartbeat slowly started to shift in my head as I got nearer and nearer to the door as if my heart was trying to tell me that whatever waited for me behind it, isn't going to be good.