Sri stared daggers at Cian from across the dark, dank cell. Idiot… the boy was a complete idiot. Not even a useful one. She had told him—warned him—and what did he do with that information? Tossed it down the drain.

  “This is your fault,” she said, seething. “Just so we are clear.”

  Cian’s head shot up. “My fault?” he said. “How? We’re only here because of you!”

  Sri ground her teeth, warding off the violence she wished to inflict. “I was simply telling you that these [Scenarios] are where we can get the best loot.” She stood and stretched a bit, letting frustration wash off her like a cool rain.

  “What are you doing?” he asked. “We’re stuck here until someone lets us out.”

  “Maybe you are,” Sri said, turning and glancing around.

  [System]

  [Survey] Check…

  You get the feeling that there is a secret exit.

  “Great,” she said. “Time to work.”

  Cian, with his massive orc form, leaned against the bars of the cell. “Work? What are you talking about?”

  “You’ll see,” she replied, smiling coyly.

  She searched the tiny, cramped cell. Searched through wooden boxes. Searched the cold, damp floor. Searched until, eventually, she happened upon a loose feeling stone in the wall. Maneuvering it ever so, she heard a click as a small portion of the wooded-over ceiling fell away, revealing a small barred hatch… and a lock that bound it closed.

  “Lift me up,” Sri demanded.

  “How did you?”

  “Are you going to ask questions, or are we going to escape?”

  Cian grumbled to himself, but did as she asked, lifting her to the roof. He seemed to struggle with her weight… the man really had the worst stats she had ever seen. Her anger subsided. She thought back to meeting him in the real world. How frail he had seemed. He needed levels and items as fast as possible or he risked dying in this world repeatedly. She—She did not wish to see it happen. Not here, nor in the real world. She had already felt the pain of losing someone to the Sickness. She had to protect the one person she could… herself.

  No time to worry about that now as she stared at the lock. It appeared simple in nature, and she rummaged through her pockets, searching for the tools of her trade. Deftly, she pulled out two small metal pieces, one a small rod, and the other was flat and grooved. She put both pieces of metal into the lock.

  [System]

  [Lockpick] Check…

  You get the feeling that the lock is common and old.

  Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

  With a quick turn, Sri heard a small pop, and the lock snapped open, falling into the cell with a clang, and a crash of broken wood.

  “Shh,” Cian said, putting a finger to his lips.

  “Then why didn’t you catch it?” Sri asked.

  They waited until the sounds of footsteps announced an approaching guard, but it never came.

  “Lift me up just a bit more,” she said.

  Breathing heavily and sweating profusely, Cian struggled, but managed to launch her high enough where she could grab the sides of the hatch and flip herself up above the rafters.

  “I can’t fit in that tight a space,” Cian said, keeping his voice low. “Hurry and pick the lock to the main cell.”

  Sri was just about to jump down when she had an idea. Perhaps it would be safer for all… if he remained here, for now.

  “I’ll come back for you,” she said.

  “What?” Cian replied incredulously, but too late as she crawled through the rafters, flipping down at the stairs that led up, opening the door and disappearing, leaving her companion back in the cell and dark.

  ***

  As Cian watched Sri disappear upstairs, lightly closing the door behind her, he narrowed his eyes and murmured into the dark, “… Bitch.”

  “Cold,” he heard a voice whisper from the dark.

  He nearly jumped out of his skin. He couldn’t tell where the voice had echoed from, but he leaned close against the bars, asking, “Is there anyone else here?”

  “Me,” someone replied. “I am.”

  Excited, he asked, “Who are you? When did you get here? Why didn’t you say anything until now?”

  There was a deafening silence.

  Cian leaned as hard as he could against the bars. “Are you there?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then why did you say anything?”

  There was another bout of silence.

  Cian sighed. “Did you—Did you want to get out of here?”

  “Yes.”

  “Great!” he said. “Do you know a way?”

  “Your friend,” they replied.

  “I mean a way for us to escape?”

  Silence… but quickly punctuated by the sound of sliding metal. Looking down, he could barely make out a rusted silver hoop and… a key.

  “The key… How did you get this?”

  “Stole it.”

  “Then why haven’t you escaped?”

  “Afraid.”

  “Of what?”

  “... The dark.”

  “Then if I take care of the dark, you’ll help me?”

  “… Yes.”

  Cian reached down and barely managed to grip the keys. He pulled them up, fastened them into the lock outside the cell, and turned. The door creaked and slowly slid open. He pushed it and stepped outside into the cramped and dingy cellblock. He walked down the narrow hall, looking into each cell. There were no others until he reached the last. There, in the corner, sat a massive figure wreathed in the dark.

  “Is it you?” he asked.

  They met his eyes for a brief moment before turning away to look at the floor. “Yes.” they said simply.

  Cian put the key into the lock and turned, opening the cell. The figure moved and stood, and it quickly became apparent that they were far taller than he was. This… person, certainly not human, but much wider and more muscular, with brown fur covering their body, was illuminated by the faintest amount of light that filtered in through cut stone. They had… horns. Two horns. A long, and a long wide face, and as they stepped towards him, their giant two-handed battle axe scraped against the floor with a terrifying screech. No… this was certainly not a human.

  It was a minotaur.