Lifting the banner out of the way, Nela saw what they were looking for. At least, she hoped it was.

  Reaching up one arm to pull the keyring off the hook, she grunted as she had to stretch herself, standing on the tips of her feet. Nela wondered if there were any of the knights here who also had problems with getting things like this down from high places. It wasn't like she asked to be short.

  Managing to get it free, Nela brought it down for a closer look. It didn't do much good. She was no locksmith, and had no idea which of these keys matched that locked door. All they knew was that there were stairs that led down on the other side of the door. That had to be where the gaol was.

  "I think I found them!" she called out to Ronny, who was searching around on the opposite side of the room. It was an assembly room for the knights, with wooden chairs lined up in rows. Several banners of the Aetheric Knights, like the one the keyring had been hidden behind, hung on the walls on both sides.

  "Good," Ronny called back, trotting over to look at it. "That could be the keys. We found them, Lady Kelshir."

  Anthyla didn't answer. She was standing near a table at the front of the room, staring down at something she was holding.

  "Something wrong?" Nela asked, heading in her direction. They really couldn't afford to get distracted over every little thing, not when the others were fighting to distract the knights. They'd taken too long as it was, with them having gone over nearly every room on the ground floor just to find these stupid keys.

  "They called on the reserves for reinforcements." Anthyla's face was pale.

  "Let me see." Ronny came over and took the paper, reading over it. "It does have the royal seal, but...this is for next year. It's not that different from the orders I was given."

  "Call up as many men as possible and send them to the battle, right?" Nela said, "Well, they won't get much of anyone, not with Edeline out there taking care of them. Besides, if they can't stand up to Edeline, they'd get completely crushed by the gigants."

  "Quite possibly," Ronny said slowly, "Although that might pose another problem...but we can deal with that later."

  "Excuse me?" The look on Anthyla's face was clear she wasn't going to take having anything else kept from her.

  "It'll only make sense once you get the explanation from my sister," Ronny answered evenly. Right, Edeline being the daughter of that Pelagoin princess again. What that had to do with Edeline being a powerful magic wielder who could take out groups of men with a single spell, Nela wasn't sure. But she could admit Ronny probably knew something she didn't.

  But as Ronny had said, they could worry about it another time. "Let's get to that door," Nela urged, "Don't want to keep them waiting."

  "Do you mean the prisoners, or Edeline?" Ronny asked, clearly trying to lighten the mood.

  "The sphinx," Nela replied without hesitation. It was only partially a joke - Ugotlas did not seem like the patient type.

  "I won't argue with that," Ronny said with a nod, "So now we-"

  "Scum!" a voice called out from the room's main entrance. It was a younger man, clearly another member of the knights. His sword was held high at an awkward angle, something even Nela could tell.

  Clumsily, the man charged forward, towards Ronny. Easily sidestepping the charge, Ronny drew his own blade again. "I'll give you once chance to back down now," he warned the knight.

  "We never retreat!" the man shouted, and charged again. Just as before, Ronny sidestepped, but this time brought his sword around in a sideways slash. The man crumpled and fell, not even having come close to striking Ronny.

  "And you'll never learn," Ronny said, looking back at the man's body.

  "That makes five, right?" Nela knew her question came off as more flippant than she wanted. They had run into a few knights in here already, none any real threat to them. But every one they dealt with here was one less that the others had to deal with outside.

  "I haven't been keeping count," Ronny told her.

  "Whatever, then." Nela supposed it wasn't that important to track how many men the knights had. As long as they weakened them and freed the prisoners here, they'd sleep well tonight.

  Leaving the assembly room, the three went back left and around the hallway to where the door say. A heavy wooden door with a half-circle barred window near the top. Nela wasn't sure what the point of that was, being indoors and all. It wasn't like they expected the prisoners to come up to the door and try to get someone to let them out, was it? That sounded like nonsense to her.

  Whatever the reason for it, it had let Ronny peer through, so they had a good idea where it led. Although given what had been under Lord Hallowscroft's house, there really was no telling. For all they knew, they were about to stumble on another stone statue of some old thaumaturge. If that happened, Nela knew she'd just about fall over laughing.

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  "Let me see..." Ronny muttered as he tried the different keys. Finally, there was a click, and the door swung inward on its own with a creaking sound.

  Before either Ronny or Nela moved, Anthyla pushed past them. "Claris!" she shouted as she ran down the stairs. Nela couldn't recall having ever seen her move that fast before. Shit, if there were more guards down there...

  Ronny had the same thought, because he sprinted down the stairs after Anthyla. Nela followed, although she tried to be more careful. How they managed to move so fast while going down a set of stairs in this dim light...Nela had no idea how anyone could do that without tumbling over. Her ladyship was either surefooted or shortsighted.

  Possibly both.

  Reaching the bottom, she could see Ronny standing next to Anthyla. Ahead, down a narrow passage, were sets of barred cells along either side. A few low-burning candles set in holders along the walls between the cells were the only source of light down here.

  Even so, Nela could see as well as the others that the closest cells were empty.

  "No...how?" Anthyla was in stunned disbelief.

  "I thought as much," Ronny said. Despite not looking in her direction, something told Nela that he knew she was there. "There was no guarantee that the city guard wasn't involved. Besides, this gaol is probably too small to hold every Order member in Kelshir."

  That was also a good point. You could put three people in each cell and it still wouldn't even hold a full hexty. They had to have been sent somewhere else, and Nela could see how the city gaol was the most likely possibility.

  "Who is that?" It was a raspy voice, calling out from one of the cells down the hall. "You're nor one of the knights."

  Without hesistation, Anthyla started in the direction of the voice, with the two of them following. There at the end of the passage, a portly man sat in one of the cells, wearing a tattered robe.

  "Are...are you unharmed?" Anthyla stammered, "Where are the others?"

  "Lady Kelshir?" the man asked, peering up at her. "I am surprised you found your way here."

  "I had help," she stated simply, gesturing to indicate Ronny and Nela.

  "Your Primacy," Ronny said with a slight nod.

  Wait, was this that Episkopiate they'd been talking about? The leader of the Aetheric Order? Nela wasn't sure how she was supposed to respond. Then again, running into someone like this in a prison cell wasn't normal either.

  "I am grateful then. Although if you are looking for the other members of the Order...the knights marched them off separately. I could not tell you where they were taken."

  "We can at least get you out of here." Ronny had pulled out the keyring again. He frowned as he started to try the keys one after another.

  "A rescue, then? You'd better move quickly, if you don't want the knights to discover you here." The Episkopiate looked worried. "It's impressive they didn't catch you already."

  There were so many things Nela could say, wanted to say, in response to that. She held her tongue though. He'd learn just what Edeline could do soon enough, once they got back outside.

  Finding the right key at last, Ronny pulled the barred gate open. "Do you need aid in getting out of here, Your Primacy?" he asked the Episkopiate. That was a title she ought to use. Don't forget it, Nela told herself.

  "I could use help in getting up. This cell is not kind to an old man like me." Nela didn't think he looked all that old, but maybe she had it wrong. Not like she could get a good look at his face in this light. For that matter, she ought to look the Episkopiate over once they were out in the sun's light. See if he had any injuries or other problems she could heal.

  Ronny extended a hand, and pulled the Episkopiate to his feet. The man took an unsteady step forward. Nela figured this was where she needed to step in. "I've got you," she said, turning as she draped the man's arm over her shoulder. "You alright with taking the lead?" Nela then asked Ronny.

  "Of course," Ronny answered, drawing his sword again.

  "My thanks," the Episkopiate told Nela, "It seems I get to live a bit longer."

  "What do you mean?" Anthyla's voice was shrill.

  "You did not know? I would have guessed you hearing the announcement was what drove you to attempt this in the first place." The Episkopiate paused, studying Lady Kelshir for a reaction. "I was to be hanged tomorrow eve."

  "Guess we have good timing," Nela commented, then realized maybe that was a little too flippant.

  The Episkopiate wasn't upset. "Indeed you do."

  "I didn't know," Anthyla admitted, "I went to warn the elves...and some of the knights attacked there too."

  "They truly are out of control then," the Episkopiate said as they started to climb the stairs. "They will be called to account someday."

  "It will come sooner than you think," Ronny said over his shoulder.

  "Perhaps, but we must not be rash. The Aetheric Knights do have a lot of support." Nela, seeing that the man wasn't looking her way, rolled her eyes in frustration. The old priest was about to be in for a surprise.

  The rest of their trip back up and through the building was silent. Reaching the front doors, Ronny pushed them open to reveal the compound. Nela winced at the sunlight. Why was it always so bright out whenever they had to go underground?

  Using her free hand to wipe at her eyes, Nela looked ahead to see Edeline and Hamond standing there, surrounded by the bodies of the fallen knights. That was...a lot of dead knights. More than she'd thought they'd have to deal it.

  "What in Aether's name..." the Episkopiate whispered, eyes widening at the sight.

  "I told you the day of reckoning for the knights would come sooner than you think," Ronny said.

  "May I assume that you did not find the priests of the order here?" Edeline asked as she walked over.

  "Just the Episkopiate. The others must be elsewhere." Ronny shook his head. "I don't want to have to break into a second prison in as many days."

  "At least we will not have to worry about the thaumaturge," Edeline noted.

  "He called himself Lord Gortyssa," Hamond added, joining them. "I don't know of a town with that name, so I can't tell if it's true or not. Not after who we encountered in Verdan."

  "Lord Gortyssa? A thaumaturge?" The Episkopiate looked so lost. "What are you...that cannot be."

  "I take it we'll need to explain some things to him too," Hamond remarked, looking around. "This is not the ideal place for it though."

  "Agreed," Ronny said, "We should make for the temple. Ugotlas!" The last word was shouted. Of course the sphinx was hiding around again, pretending to not be there. Nela wondered if they should have just left without trying to let Ugotlas know.

  Well, whether or not he knew, they were leaving regardless. Good riddance to the knights, Nela thought, taking one last look back as they headed out of the compound. Their small group - and the elves too - would be much safer without them around.