A Hero With/Out Time

Chapter 26: Their Empire. (Part 1)

Chapter 26: Their Empire.

The Magician's Guild was secured. The Imperium had forbid any of the Empire's soldiers to enter the Guild grounds and the decision had come to bite them. With the Archmage free, the defence mechanisms of the Guild activated. Numerous golems quickly worked to expel the intruders and those strong enough to stand against them were dealt with by Earnest. The rank and file magicians who had been kept in the great hall used the chance to revolt and overthrew their guards thanks to the traps Caius had laid down when they passed through. It was a swift defeat and not one of the Imperium escaped. Even their communications were shut down and before the Empire could even react the Guild had been closed off to them as were their other bases across the continent. The tides turned to a siege as the Empire and Imperium forces outside tried to bombard the gates, each blast however only wasting their energy.

"Now what?" Marley asked pointing outside the window. "We're stuck here."

"I'm sure Ardent has a backdoor, right?" I turned to him hopefully.

"With the shields up, no," he shook his head.

I knocked my head against the wall. Several hours had passed since this new stalemate had begun. It was only a matter of time before they got fed up with waiting for us and sent Lara out. If Lara attacked the Guild even with its mighty walls and barriers, she could break them. Ronalt was still being held captive and once they ran out of patience the first person who'd die by Lara's hand would be him.

"Should I send out the denizens?" Caius asked. "The sun is almost set."

"No," I responded quickly. "We'll need that trump card against Lara."

"We could try the disguises again," Marley suggested. "We have plenty spare."

Taylor laughed spitefully, "Maybe Rain and I could get out but the rest of you would be seen within seconds."

"It was just a suggestion," Marley huffed back at her. "I don't see you coming up with a better plan."

I ignored the two and looked to Earnest, "Any ideas?"

He tapped his sword, "Just the usual. With the Magician's Guild supporting us we could reach the Palace."

"Lara would meet us halfway and I'd rather we don't get civilians involved." The Empire's leaders were plotting against us but it didn't mean its people needed to suffer.

The door to our room opened and the Archmage entered. Her golden hair flowed neatly behind her, now cleaned up she looked even more glamorous. Taylor caught my staring and pinched my back. I wasn't looking at her with any dodgy intentions, if anything Taylor would so I pinched her in retaliation.

"Excuse me," the Archmage waved for attention. "I believe I have a way to send you outside undetected."

"Master?" Ardent looked at her perplexed. "The shields are still up."

"It's not magic Ardent. Your friend the thief who stole from us would be more familiar with it. She's the one who made me aware of it after all."

Taylor clapped her hands together, "Oh, you still have that tunnel? I thought it was destroyed."

"It seemed convenient so I simply hid it instead," she smiled. "The tunnel leads towards the slums and bypasses the barrier. Use it as you may. As for what we discussed before, we will look into the artefact that is controlling the Hero. However do not hold your hopes high, it was a mystery before your friend stole it."