Chapter 21: In the dungeons

All of them were thrown in the dungeons, waiting for the chief of the bandits till he finished his pleasure with his own women. There were other prisoners but they looked more of commoners then respectable people. They had dirt all over them and were skinny, as if they had years of starvation. Oh no one could imagine how the dungeons were to the fellow knights. However, as Stephan previously saw them in the game, he already knew of them. He even spent a lot of time playing that part in destroying the bandits since he hated the idea of slavery itself.

A massive murky cave in a bleak marsh marked the entrance to the dungeon. It was away from the main bandits' fortress that looked so tall from outside and so terrifying. To keep the Ustriestan away, they had all kinds of artifacts stolen from merchants and travelling mages they succeeded in hunting. They also had some mages in their reach but they weren't strong enough like the priests to keep the fog away.

The eight of them were pushed forward the entrance and put behind the bars, in a filthy and narrow room that couldn't even hold them together. It was covered in dirt, rat droppings and remains. They were stripped from their armours and left with their linen shirts and pants with boots, except for Stephan who didn't have anything to be stripped off; they even left him the chains.

They led them into twisted trails that were hard to remember. There were several cages holding skeletal remains that looked belonging to humans. Stephan moved to the bars and noticed some prisoners who were shouting for a cat, attracting it with different kind of noises coming from their mouths. There was black cat and the apprentice knew that wasn't a normal one. It was meant more like a twist in the game where the character player had to fight it as a boss to get out of the dungeons.

"To think I would be back here but so real… Does she have prophetic abilities?" he whispered to himself.

The prisoners had meat in their hands they kept from the meals that came once a week. Another one waggled a bone. The cat just licked its paw in complete ignorance. If it was a dog maybe it could work but it was a cat and cats were known for their selfish natures. Stephan glanced back at the rest who glared daggers at him.

"What?" he shouted. "Did I so anything wrong? This was supposed to happen. However, I can be your ticket-way out."

This made Jack's rage out in the open and he dashed towards Stephan and bound him against the wall, with a tight hand strangling him. "Calm down! As I said, even if you tried doing something, they had us all trapped. Mages with wide ranges, archers ready to shoot, fighters ready to slice us… Don't be stupid, Sir Jack. You know very well that negotiations would always get a chance to overplay."

"So you think you can overplay the chief of bandits… You, a minor apprentice mage who doesn't have even a small sceptre to cast a spell. I bet you can't even cast spells that advantageous."

"That's karma bud! You chained me and I have to think of myself first. I didn't have a sceptre yet you bullied me; I didn't even have a weapon."

"It isn't wise to do this. You don't want me to kill you now and here."

"Well, you could always kill me but doing it will take out your only chance to come out as it happens," he brought his voice down. "I know of the ways of this dungeon."

Jack let him go. Stephan coughed bringing his hand to his throat, rubbing it wishing the sensation of strangling would go away. He thought he nearly died. His eyes moved to the prisoners who were struggling to pull the cat and he sighed.

"You know you just have to give up on that. If it was a dog then I would encourage but everyone knows cats are selfish creatures. Furthermore, it's female and females are harder to deal with."

All the prisoners turned their heads towards Stephan. The cat did the same. As it was a boss in the dungeons keeping the prisoners inside and killed them if they came out, it walked to Stephan's cell and hissed at him. It even jumped at his face and attempted to scratch it but the boy jumped back hiding behind Mike.

"Not my face, cat! You know how scars are more for a bandit than me, a future great mage."

The cat turned back, the keys jingling on its ears. The prisoners fought harder to make it come closer but the cat moved easily to its initial position.

"We ain't resigned to our fate. We will not sell our organs," one of the prisoners shouted and they resumed their calling for the cat that enjoyed the attention but didn't give it back.

"Do you think they have a brain?" Stephan asked Mike."

"I just can't believe you were ready to toss us aside," he replied.

"But you chained me, mate."

Stephan moved back to the bars. He peered through them again. "Hello, mate," he started again. "Do you know of a certain someone called Maddock Prowell? I heard the bandits are searching for someone like him. You know I personally don't know him but we were asked about it."

The prisoners felt frightened for a second. "Maddock Prowell? I heard stories… He's been preying on the human kingdom to take it as his won but the new king found out about his scheme and exiled him. To think he is in the Plaguelands… He is a hunter for us bandits."

"There are a lot of stories about the man and I've already heard these lines. How did you find out about him when you are buried behind those bars?"

"You will be thrilled to know that the guards come down for the drinks sometimes. They do talk a lot."