A Forest of Secrets

Chapter 34

Wyn, Laurentius and Jo cooped up in her room in the attic all morning, trying to concoct a plan to free Alaric from that mysterious fate. Laurentius was adamant in his silence. It was not his secret to tell, he insisted just as stubbornly as Jo insisted on asking. She finally decided not to press any further, it was hopeless and distracting from the task at hand. She wondered how his secret was connected to becoming an Onturian Knight, it had to be-- so how didn't he see it coming? And why didn't he trust her with it? He'd better have a very powerful reason. She needed to stop thinking about it and focus on freeing him, that was the only way she'd get any answers.

"Alaric is trapped in the Onturian Knight Enclave, close to the Cathedral of Mist, by the shore," Laurentius kneeled on the floor. He had traced a map of the area surrounding the Onturian Knight Enclave in a large piece of meat wrapping, doodling on top of it as he explained. He'd been roaming the city in animal shapes ever since they got there. He had also been inside the enclave to help with the initiation rituals. Thank the creators.

Jo paced around the mage, playing with Alaric's ring. Wyn sat on Jo's bed, her face serious, staring intently at Laurentius.

"Is there a safe way in? Or will we have to make our own?" Wyn asked. She was biting the inside of her cheeks. Jo smirked— the girl was probably thinking of blowing the place up. Sadly, blowing things up wasn't always the answer.

"The Onturian Knight Enclave is surrounded by tall walls, both magical and otherwise," he traced a circle around the drawing. "The Cathedral of mist, right next to it, is impenetrable— at least the important side of it, conveniently close to the Onturian Knight Enclave. That area is closed off to the pilgrims, Only High Priestess Laverna and the Keeper of Blood have access to it, so sneaking in from there is completely out of the question," he rubbed his chin, grinning. "We need to forget about sneaking in hidden in the shadows: it's not going to happen. It'll be tricky, but we're creative, aren't we? " the mage was grinning widely now, his eyes glistened with mad enthusiasm: he was enjoying it. Give it to Laurentius to feel excited about getting past a bunch of the most dangerous men in the world, trained to deal with powerful mages. His love for knowledge and intellectual challenges went too far sometimes.

"Do you know anything about the magical wards? Do they go underwater? How do they discriminate?" Wyn asked almost without breathing. She didn't look as enthusiastic as Laurentius, but Jo could tell by the sternness in her face her little brain was working like crazy. Jo felt useless and stupid. Her fighting skills —good, by normal people standards, painfully bad if tested in a fight with those trained knights— were of no use in a situation like that. She didn't know enough about magic to be able to help Wyn craft something or to help Laurentius find a spell to help them get inside. She let out a low grunt.

"The wards seal everything, even the sewers. Don't ask me how I know this," the mage wrinkled his nose. "The only way any outsider can get in is by entering through the front gate," he marked the entrance with a circle. "When I went in, they sliced my forearm open with a dagger, a very pleasant way to be greeted," he snorted. "It's a good thing the outside barrier in the sewers is designed to keep people out, not in. In theory, getting out that way should be easy enough, provided we don't get caught." Funny how he stressed the word people. As if something else would try to get out.

"But how do they stop people from getting out?" Jo said, twisting her lips. A barrier that kept people out in a prison didn't make much sense.

"They have other means to make sure their prisoners don't get out: the sewers aren't exactly filled with cuddly bunnies, let's leave it at that," his left eye twitched. It would be the cave at the Faradian forest all over again, she looked forward to it.