"Why is someone like you in here?" Jade said, her green eyes absorbing Leo's appearance. Then she knelt, looking him in the eyes. "Dwendols know their place in the city, so you must've done something bad, didn't you?"
Her green eyes gleamed with interest, warm enough to make him question it. There was friendliness on the surface, but something hidden underneath, waiting.
"I, I killâ" Leo began, before biting his tongue.
What was he doing? Was it smart to tell her why he was in here? She didn't even know who he was, and he might get killed if they knew what he did.
But there was no other way around it. He knew who they were. Even if it wasn't personally, he'd seen enough to guess what type of people they were. If not Jade, then maybe Roland would be the one. One way or the other, the truth was going to come out eventually.
"What was that?" Jade asked as she stood up. "By the way, you might be staining my boot."
"Sorry, but I-I killed someoneâbecause they were attacking my sister," he said, feeling the shame with each word. The blood caked on his hand was a stiff reminder of what he'd done.
Jade grinned, licking her lips. There was a look in her eyes, like she had just found what she wanted.
"I see, well, that's always a valid reason, isn't it?" Jade said, leaning forward.
Silence hung between them, a curtain waiting to be split open. It was his turn now, she wanted an answer.
Was this a trap? She wanted him to justify his actions by agreeing with her statement, but it wasn't like she agreed with it either. Sweat pooled between his armpits as time ticked. What should he say? What did she want to hear? What was the right answer?
His fingers slipped against the leather of her boots. Leo didn't know what to say. Did the answer he gave before explain his reasoning? If it didn't, then maybe he had to make it clearer.
"Yeah, it is. I love my sister, I don't want to lose her," Leo answered, looking at Jade's boots. His heart rammed against his chest. He didn't even want to see her reaction. Because whatever look she had on her face could shatter the hope held inside. He needed to hold onto it, like how he was holding onto her boot.
She didn't say anything for a few breaths.
"That's cute. How do you know our names?" Jade broke the silence. Air filled his lungs again as his chest relaxed
Leo pulled himself closer to the bars. That seemed like a good response. There was no anger or disappointment in her voice, so his hope was still alive. Now, all he had to do was answer this question correctly as well.
"You were at my village recently," he began, looking Jade in the eyes, almost like he was a puppy. He didnât want to imagine what he looked like right nowâprobably pathetic, clinging, and wide-eyed. But he couldnât stop.
Her lips pursed before she nodded. Her eyes scanned Leo's face again, dissecting his features and matching them in her memory. Roland stood beside her, arms crossed.
"Oh, well, that makes some sort of sense," she said, scratching her head. "Still not sure how you remembered us. But you do look like someoneâthat pretty Dwendol girl who used magic. Your face looks like hers."
"Jade, we don't have all night," Roland muttered, his hard brown eyes sliding between Leo and Jade.
Jade rolled her eyes.
"C'mon, Roland, we found what we're looking for," she said, taking out a pair of keys. Leo's eyes lit up, snapping open. Was this it? Was he free?
"How is this Dwendol what we're looking for?" Roland sighed. Jade grinned, twirling the keys with a jingle.
"You said you wanted someone trustworthy. So why not take this Dwendol?" she explained, her eyes locking onto Leo's. "Even if he ran, there's nowhere to go, and I doubt such a pure, kind heart would try to kill us. Right?"
"Yeah, I wouldn't try anything like that! Please, let me go with you two!" Leo blurted without a second thought. "Roland, thank you for saving my sister! You're a hero!"
Roland's head turned in Leo's direction, but something was different. His hard brown eyes looked softer, conflictedâalmost vulnerable.
"Did you hear that, Roland? He called you a hero!" Jade laughed, leaning back. Despite her laughter, Roland stepped forward, dismissing it entirely. His face was unreadable.
"What's your name?" Roland asked.
Leo paused as he looked at Roland, noticing the scars on his face and the unreadable look in his eyes. Something Leo said must've triggered him. He didn't know if it was in a good or bad way. But it was pretty scary. He'd always seen Roland as a gentle giant type of guy, but now, he couldn't tell if Roland was about to scold him or say something kind
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"Leo," Leo answered, swallowing the pit in his throat. "Leo Somberthorn."
"Roland, come on, you said we don't have all night," Jade sighed, tapping her foot. "You're dragging it at this point. Let's take him and leave."
Roland ignored her. "Leo, we're looking for someone to help us with a jobâspecifically, a little sewer cleaning. We can spare the details for now."
Leo nodded instantly. It didn't matter what the reason was, he wanted to get out of here. Anything was better than this place.
"Yes, I'd love to do it! I'll do anything!" Leo shouted, drawing out the shouts of other prisoners.
"Alright, alright. Don't be so loud, this isn't supposed to be something you gloat about," Roland explained. "You're not the only one who wants out. No need to make yourself a target. Now get up."
Leo stood up, nodding frantically as excitement flooded his veins. Hope bloomed into something realârelief. His eyes stung, throat tight with tears he didnât know heâd been holding. He thought it was over. His life, his freedomâgone. But somehow, against all odds, time hadnât run out yet.
But here he was. Waiting for the bars to open.
You never know what might happen.
That's right. His mom's words, the words he held onto, came trueâa seed she'd planted in his heart.
The jingling of keys and clicking of locks snapped him back to reality. With a metallic screech, the bars swung open. A breeze washed over him.
"Lucky you, Leo," Jade grinned.
He was lucky. He really was. There was no denying it.
Relief swelled in his body as he fought back tears. The weight on his shoulders magically disappeared at the sight before himâno more bars or chains.
Freedom.
"Hey, don't forget your necklace," Jade said, reminding him of the deal he made with Snile.
Leo jolted awake, head swiveling as he looked around the room. If there was one person he didn't want to piss off, it was Snile. It was already scary being on his good side, he couldn't imagine being on the bad side of that soul-reading snake.
Where was the necklace? His eyes darted across the floor for a blue lizard tail. He turned around, but it wasn't there either. A void began forming in his chest.
No. This couldn't be happening.
Just then, a glimmer of blue appeared in the corner of his eye. Leo nearly threw himself off his feet turning to face it. There it wasâthe necklace.
He knelt, swiping it off the ground. The warmth of the tail pressed into his wrist as he held onto the dark string that held it together. Leo sighed and looked up.
Right into an eyeball.
Leo flinched, butt scraping the floor as his heart caught in his throat. He blinked, shaking his head before looking back at the slitted eyeball.
Snile had nearly killed him before he could even taste some sort of freedom, but Snile wasn't entirely bad. Sure, he was quite odd, but he was willing to give Leo some information. Of course, Leo wished he could've asked more, but one question answered is better than none. He was thankful because there could've been someone worse, or no one at all.
He gave Snile's eyeball a nod before standing up. The tail dangled against his forearm, a warm reminder of the prisoner he'd met.
"Thanks, Jade, I completely forgot," Leo said, trying to jog towards them.
But his legs reminded him of how weak he was. They struggled to carry his weight, almost folding beneath him with each step. Leo wanted to stop, but he couldn't because his torso was already leaning forward. So he had to stumble forward.
"Woah there, you look like a baby deer!" Jade laughed, stepping forward and reaching out. Leo's chest pressed against her hand, stabilizing his body.
"You look like a skeleton," Roland said, putting a hand on Leo's shoulder. Roland's left hand searched in a bag on his side, then it pulled out a small pink vial. He handed it to Leo.
His arms struggled to lift, like they were jelly. It was like he'd just woken up from a deep nap. His strength was sapped, and no matter how hard he tried, his arms dropped.
"Sorry, I don't know what's wrong with me," Leo said, grimacing as he tried to lift his arm again.
"It's alright. That's what happens when you're exhausted," Roland reassured, popping the cork of the pink vial. "I'll do it for you."
Despite Roland's offer, Leo still tried lifting his arm, biting his lower lip in determination. Then his arm drooped back down.
"Alright, thanks," Leo muttered, a defeated sigh leaving his chest. He was fine just a minute ago, but apparently he wasn't now. He tilted his head back, opening his mouth. Roland quickly spilled the contents into Leo's mouth.
"Don't thank me, it's nothing," Roland said as he tucked the empty vial away. "What you just drank was a Health Potion. It should be kicking in right about now."
Right on cue, a rush of warmth spread through his chest and limbs, like a bonfire. His muscles filled with relief, each ache and cut disappearing, the fog in his mind dissipating. It was like he'd just finished warming up before a workout. His blood flowed freely again, as if none of the pain had ever happened.
Leo lifted his arms and tested their mobility, doing the same for his legs. There wasn't any tension or pain, and they actually responded to what he wanted to do.
Finally, he had control over something, even if it was just his body. It felt good.
"It's time to get out of here," Roland said, turning towards the exit. "The job is tomorrow, we'll explain it to you later."
Jade turned on her heel as well, and Leo followed along. His heart raced. It was surreal. He was out of this prison, and he was chosen to do something? Luck must've been on his side, because he got his body back and was on the same team as Jade and Roland.
"Sewer cleaning, isn't that usually where those nasty rats are?" Jade asked, fidgeting with the keys in her hand.
Roland didn't look at her. "Yeah, it is. But supposedly, there's something else down there, that's why I took it."
Sewers and rats. It didn't seem hard at all, especially with what Leo had seen of these two. An orcboar couldn't take them down, so there was no way some rats would be able to. But that's exactly why it was dangerous. Those two wouldn't have taken what he assumed was a newbie mission for no reason. So what did they need him for?
Well, whatever it was for, he wasn't going to mess it up.
"Do we know what it is?" Jade continued, tucking the keys in her pocket.
Roland shook his head. "No, but no one from the Adventurer's Guild wanted it."
"Not even the high rankers?"
"No, but knowing what they're like, they likely didn't even read a word on the page. So it came to us."
"Prideful bastards," Jade grumbled.
No one spoke for a few moments. The shouts of the inmates, accompanied by the crunching of sand, filled the gap.
"I can understand why. No one wants to go in the sewers, it stinks," Roland said, twisting the exit doorknob. "But we get to keep whatever's down there and the completion reward."
Then, with another step, the sharp, cool breeze of midnight washed over them.
Jade stepped out first, but Roland waited for Leo to go. Leo's feet froze. Why was Roland so kind to a Dwendol like him?
"You wouldn't want them yanking you back in, would you?" Roland's lips twitched as he fought back a smile. "If this'll keep your pride intact, Iâll go first." Then Roland stepped out without looking at him.
Leo pressed his hand against the door and stepped into the night, leaving the prisonâand a part of who he wasâbehind.