Kalar´s Continent

The corridor was not excessively long and after a few minutes of walking, they saw it opening up into a slightly larger hall. Carefully they sneaked towards the corner and took a peek at what lay ahead.

A burly man was leisurely sitting in front of a worn-down table, rocking back and forth on his chair with his feet put onto the tabletop in a relaxed fashion. On the other side of the hall was a similar archway, probably the exit he guarded.

The guard was playing with a small stack of silver coins and on a shelf behind him rested a single blue-grey cube.

'Goliath!' Teo almost cried out but managed to restrain himself from giving them away.

He signaled Jack to follow him back towards the corridor and whispered to him:

"We need to take out that guard!"

Jack looked confused. "Why? wouldn't it be easier to just sneak towards the other side?"

"How confident are you in your sneaking ability then? We would literally pass by in front of his eyes..." Teo said, trying to sound convincing.

"Also... they took something important from me," he added truthfully after hesitating for a bit.

"Alright, what's the plan then?" Jack inquired, not asking for further details.

"We will distract him and take him out in one fell swoop from behind while he doesn't expect it!" said Teo with great confidence.

"Well, that's not even a real plan. How do you want to distract him anyway?" Jack retorted with furrowed brows.

Teo smiled mischievously and said, "Leave that to me, just be ready when it's time."

They returned to the sheltered corner from where they could observe the hall safely and waited for the right moment to strike.

Naturally, they did not just wait for a miracle to happen. Teo had already begun to imprint a message on a thin strand of Mana and sent it over to Goliath who was resting motionless in the distance.

'Hey, Goliath! You hear me?' he asked.

'Thank Anathor, it was time you got me out of here!' Goliath replied almost instantly, sounding very relieved.

'We first need to take out that guard, can you lend us a hand?' Teo transmitted with a chuckle.

'I'm almost out of Mana. I fear even a basic shield is beyond me before we meet up.' Now he just sounded depressed. He felt like his immediate rescue had been postponed for a week due to his own incompetence.

'Don't worry, you just have to distract him and we will take care of the rest. Try making a sound or something,' Teo tried to reassure him.

'Alright. I'll try. I hope you're ready,' replied Goliath after being silent for a few seconds.

Teo looked at Jack and gave him a quick nod, silently notifying him of the approaching chance —they were ready.

***

Ragnar was leisurely sitting in front of a desk, rocking back and forth on his chair, his feet comfortably lodged on the tabletop.

This job had turned out better than expected.

The pay was very good considering the small amount of work he did, he could even keep the loot from the additional brat he had brought in, which was a further plus; especially for his finances.

The only problem was... that it was fricking boring here. There was nothing to do at all. He had already counted his profits six times and eventually got bored of even his most favorite pass time.

He had spent so much time picking his nose tonight, it probably hadn't been this clean in years!

When he was silently dozing off, his eyes still half-open, but his mind already hazy, he saw something unusual.

A cold, blue light was illuminating the uneven cobblestones on the walls and the ceiling, even overshadowing the few torches that hang around the hall.

'Am I already dreaming or was the last cup of grog too much after all?!' he asked himself in a dazed state, staring at the glowing light around him.

As he sobered up from his short daze, he quickly looked around for the source of the weird phenomenon. And he found it, in the shape of a small rock cube laying behind him.

"Screw ma grandma, what is that?" he exclaimed in surprise.

He had thought that it was just a useless rock. A bit polished, yes, but probably just the weird toy of a rich brat. It wasn't even that pretty.

Now however it was glowing like a small, blue sun! There was definitely Magic in play here and even the most ordinary Artifact sold for a small fortune.

He slowly walked towards it and greedily reached out his hand. He only had eyes for this cube of pure gold now.

*Bamm!*

When he was just a few centimeters from touching it he suddenly felt a stinging pain in the back of his head and his vision turned black. He could not reach it after all.

***

"Keep your dirty hands off my friend!" shouted Teo angrily.

"He did not really get that close to me, you know?" said Jack confused.

"Ahh, yes. Of course," Teo said hurriedly in a low voice, embarrassed by the fact that he had almost revealed his biggest secret.

"Alright, let's go. We need to get out of here." Teo quickly changed the topic and stuffed the things on the table and the shelves into his pockets.

Finally, he had been reunited with Goliath, had gotten most of his stuff back and even had a rusty sword to protect himself with. They had come a long way from helplessly being stuffed into a dirty cell.

After they left the hall through the only exit in high spirits, they could already smell the fresh air from outside, it could not be far anymore.

They passed by several smaller rooms and passages but no one else bothered them.

The building complex they were walking in was old, badly constructed and in steep contrast to the common architecture of the region. It was a rare sight in a town like Sigella, which was famous for its impressive and modern townscape.

After passing one last corner they could finally see the exit in the shape of a large gateway, which was just waiting for them to pass through. They pushed open the large wooden gate and they were free at last.

"I told you I would get us out of here safely. It was almost a bit too easy, hahaha-!" Teo voiced his thoughts jovially but was interrupted by Jack at the last moment.

"Watch out!" he cried and pushed Teo to the side, almost causing him to fall to the ground.

"Hey, what's gotten into you all of a sudden?" Teo threw back annoyed, but when he waited for an answer, there was none.

He straightened his posture again and turned around to face his friend, just in time to see him fall to the ground, a long, black arrow plunged into his c.h.e.s.t.

"JAAAAAAAAACK!!!" Teo screamed, despair taking over his mind.