Sorcerer… Cyborg???

Chapter 46: Simon(2)

The distorted noise of a portal opening rang out through the corridor.

"You hear something?" The gruff voiced guard asked the other.

"Probably just a rat." The other replied.

Kothar channeled mana to cast the next portal, this one would be more difficult to open, as he would have to send his spatial mana all the way to the other side of the guarded door.

He extended a leg and kicked the statue he had hidden next to over, it fell with a resounding clatter, echoing down the empty tunnels beneath the palace.

"That's no rat!" The first guard yelled and ran towards where Kothar was hidden, followed by the other.

Hearing the boots pounding toward him, Kothar now took the chance to open the second portal, behind the door. Now that the guards were away from the door, he could open it without them hearing.

Kothar stepped through the portal, emerging behind the solid dungeon door, and quickly closed the portals behind him.

By now, the two guards had arrived at the alcove where Kothar had been hiding, and began to investigate the rubble of the statue and in and around the alcove.

Kothar now found himself in the dank, damp dungeons of the Palace. In contrast to the shining splendor and beautiful gardens of the palace above, the dungeons were dark, dilapidated and stank worse than the sewer tunnels Kothar had travelled through.

The dungeons were shaped like an open pit, with the cells being carved out of the walls of the pit, with a spiralling walkway that descended down the walls.

Kothar crept along the walkway, almost every cell was occupied, with prisoners either cowering in the corner, hunched over on their narrow straw mattresses or wailing at the top of their lungs.

Kothar had seen much cruelty in his previous life, even encountering an alien race that devoted their entire lives to eliciting pain and suffering in other beings, but this had to be one of the most foul prisons he had seen that had been made by humans for other humans.

Guards were posted at intervals, along the walkways, patrolling back and forth along their own sections of the walkway, rattling the bars of the cells, or yelling at the prisoners.

Kothar evaded them by portalling down to other sections of the walkway, keeping an eye out for Simon.

Kothar emerged from a portal near the bottom of the pit, looking around the nearby cells for a trace of his uncle, feeling a rush of air, he leapt to the side, rolling along the ground.

A massive hand, covered in a network of knotted scars, with long yellow nails, clawed at the air in front of the cell he had portalled to.

"Come here boy, let me get a look at you." A gravelly voice growled out, the arm turning towards where Kothar had rolled, beckoning with a claw-like finger.

"This can go two ways boy, you come closer, or I call out to the guards." Noticing Kothar hadn't moved, the voice continued.

Kothar gingerly approached the cell, slowly inching forward.

Slam. Another arm joined the first, as the thing in the cell launched itself forward and attempted to grab Kothar, barely missing him, tearing away a strip of cloth from the hem of his cloak.

"I'm not coming any closer, what do you want?" Kothar stared at the thing in the cell, it was a man, but barely. The man was covered in a scars, some of them thick and raised, while others were fine lines across his body, barely visible against his snow white skin.

"Just to talk." The man growled out, shaking his massive head. His mane of hair shone in the few places it was not caked with filth.

"I'm Berge, nice to meet you." Berg growled at Kothar, smiling at him to reveal a set of pointed teeth, unlike the rest of him, his teeth were spotless, and shone in the darkness of the dungeons.

"Rufus." Kothar answered curtly, ignoring the outstretched hand that Berge offered him.

"Now Rufus. Why don't you do me a favor and let me out of here?" Berge spoke slowly, as if savoring his words.

"After you've tried to attack me twice, I don't think so." Kothar began to edge away from Berge; there was something about him that made Kothar feel distinctly uncomfortable.

"Come on, I promise I won't harm you, it's just that my hunger overcame me." Berge gave Kothar another wide grin, gnashing his teeth at him.

"Just think about it, I might be of help in whatever mischief you have planned down here." Berge winked at Kothar, waving him away with one of his huge hands.

[He has got to be one of the strangest people we've seen.] SIlane piped up, as Kothar opened another portal to take him to the bottom of the pit.

[Did you notice he had no mana signature at all? I thought the cell was empty when I portalled in front of it.] Kothar asked Silane.

[Yes, I'm afraid we've become too reliant on that, it might do for us to try create some more sensors.] Silane flashed some prospective designs across Kothar vision.

[Agreed.] Kothar stepped through the completed portal, finding himself ankle deep in freezing cold water.

There were no guards down here, none of them willing to spend their shifts in the cold water.

Kothar waded in a large circle, peering into each of the cells, unlike the rest of the dungeon, most of these were empty, but Kothar knew that Simon had to be in one of these cells, having checked all the cells above.

There! Kothar saw a shock of blonde curls, and the all to familiar, delicate features that Simon shared with his mother.

Simon was sitting on a narrow plank that served as his mattress, wrapped in a threadbare blanket, his eyes closed, taking deep slow breaths.

"Uncle!" Kothar hissed, calling out as loudly as he dared.

Simon didn't move, he remained stock still, his breathing unchanged.

"Uncle!" Kothar called out again.

Simon finally opened his eyes and looked out past the bars of his cell, his eyes widened with surprise and he jumped up and strode towards the bars.

"Kothar! I thought my mind was playing tricks on me when I heard your voice. Is that really you?" Simon shook slightly, completely taken aback at his nephew finding him in the very depths of the dungeons below Ranuth palace.

"It sure is, let's get you out of there." Kothar opened a pair of portals, one inside the cell and one outside.

"Step through carefully, Uncle." Kothar whispered, reaching a hand through the portals to help him through.

Simon took Kothar's hand with a surprisingly strong grip, and stepped out to freedom. He straightened up and stood tall, raising his arms high above his head. Simon stretched out, free from the cramped cell.

"Well, nephew, how on earth are we getting out of here?" Simon grinned at Kothar, and raised an eyebrow at him.

As Kothar explained his plan to Simon, a series of expressions crossed his face, initially he looked confused, then he began to slowly nod, a look of understanding crossing his face, finally he almost laughed, stopping himself before he alerted the guards.

"That's marvelous Kothar, let's do that." Simon tied the tattered blanket around himself like a cloak, and followed Kothar up the walkway.