Unspeakable Secrets The Alchemist Series (A Dark Medieval Progression Fantasy)

Chapter 20 Escape

Thankfully, the raucous laughter helped to drown out any small noise they made.

Connor led them through, and around yet another corner swiftly and silently to the heavy, iron door that barred their way through the dungeon's entrance.

Connor crouched down, his picks in hand, and waited.

"What's the holdup?" asked Dael.

Connor glared at the man and put a finger to his lips.

He'd waited hours before attempting his escape. With any luck, Goran was fast asleep in his quarters by now. That should give him some plausible deniability.

That still left the guards in the next room, and the long stairwell leading up before he could escape.

Not a chance in the twelve hells was he going to let Dael run free. Goran would be in enough danger as it was.

Once he cleared the room, he could do something about Dael. First, he had to get past the guards inside... without killing them.

He picked the lock as quietly as possible. It opened with a soft click, and he knocked on the heavy iron door.

Footsteps approached, and a shadow appeared under the door.

Hopefully, the men would forgive him for this...

He turned the handle and slammed his weight into it. The door swung open and smashed into the guard on the other side, knocking him to the ground.

Connor charged past the first guard, straight at the only other guard in the room.

The guard swung his heavy club. Connor dodged, kicked the back of the guard's knee, and wrapped his arm around the man's neck, locking him in a chokehold that his mail armor did nothing to prevent.

The guard struggled, and the two fell backward. Connor constricted the man as tightly as he dared.

Dael looked at them, and then rushed away and up the stairs.

"Slimy bastard," Connor said.

The guards should catch him at the top, but now they'd know he was coming too!

The guard went limp in Connor's arms. He released the chokehold and checked the guard's breathing.

Yeah... he should be fine.

The other guard lay still on the ground with a bloody nose, and Connor checked the man's pulse.

Neither of them would feel too fantastic, but they should recover soon. Now he had to move.

Two guards came around a corner inside the dungeon and saw Connor kneeling over the bleeding guard.

"Hey! What are you doing? Stop!" they yelled as they ran toward Connor.

Their shouts attracted others, and soon the entire dungeon echoed with hurried footsteps.

Connor slammed the iron door and locked it with his picks. He left the picks in the lock, twisted at an awkward angle.

The iron door rattled, something scraped inside the lock, and the picks bent even more.

"What're you doing? Open the door!" shouted one of the guards.

"I can't! He's done something to the lock! The key won't fit!" shouted another.

Connor turned to Goran's desk and yanked the drawer hard. It didn't even budge.

Damn it! He didn't have time for this! He kicked the drawer, and the wood splintered. He kicked it again, and a chunk broke away.

He reached inside and pulled out his bottomless bag. The rest of the drawer held nothing but papers.