“You’ll wear a hole in the floor before long,” Fritz remarked when Erich was finished telling him.
“I don’t suppose you’ve had some convenient vision that might give us the answers we need?”
“Unfortunately, no. This seems to be our only option.”
Erich growled and ran his hand through his hair in frustration. There would be no second chances. Entering the dungeon and extracting two prisoners left little room for error. And the thought of that was paralyzing him.
Erich growled again, and then there was a knock on their door. Both Erich and Fritz froze, staring at their door.
Erich reached for his dagger before inching toward the door and signaling for Fritz to stand back. The elf didn’t need to be told twice and stepped behind him. Erich eased open the door and was surprised to find both Liane’s maid and her guard, Ludwig, standing outside his door. He lowered his weapon slightly.
She was pale, and dark circles stood out beneath her eyes. And Ludwig looked no better.
“Thank the stars, it’s you,” she said.
“How did you find me?”
“It wasn’t easy. May we come in?” she asked. “I promise we won’t bite.”
But judging from the glower on Ludwig’s face, that sentiment wasn’t mutual.
Erich looked back at Fritz, who nodded slightly, and Erich stepped aside to let them into the room. They entered and stood in an awkward standoff. Fritz offered them wine, which they both declined.
“What brings you here?” Fritz asked.
“Liane wants you to help her escape,” Luzie explained.
This was the stroke of luck they needed. Insiders close to Liane could make their plans much easier to pull off.
“Can you help us from the inside of the temple?”
Luzie’s face fell. “I can’t. I was dismissed. Ludwig can, though.”
“Are you truly willing to work together?”
“I don’t like it, but protecting Liane is more important.”
They stared at one another for a few moments, in a prolonged standoff, and then Erich nodded.
“How do we get them in and close to Liane?” Ludwig asked. “The Avatheos is trying to keep her away from everyone.”
“I may have a plan for that. Though there are risks involved,” Erich said.
“I’m listening,” Ludwig replied.
And for the second time, Erich explained what Leonhard had told him and showed them the card with the address on it.
Ludwig looked at it thoughtfully for a few moments. “That explains where the tunnel leads.”
“Care to elaborate?”
“There’s a tunnel guarded beneath the temple. I only got a glimpse of it when I was touring the Midnight Guard’s domain beneath the temple. I saw empty carts near there, but I’m not sure what was being delivered.”
“Well, it’s nearly time. Why don’t we go find out together?”
They headed out into the city, one by one, so as to not draw suspicion, with plans to meet up at the address on the card. Erich made his way through the tangled rows of streets that made up the holy city, looking over his shoulder every few blocks. He made half a dozen turns, and he was certain Ludwig led him past the same street at different intervals several times, as if he were making sure they weren’t being followed before he’d take them to their destination.
Eventually, they ended up in the butcher’s district. The smell of blood and rot made his stomach roil. The streets were stained red-brown, and the walls were speckled black by flies, which burst into flight the moment you walked by, then settled back down again. The address Leonhard gave him led him to an unassuming butcher shop. A man in a bloody apron came to the door, looked him up and down, and then nodded.
