#alianor

The guards wrestled Jussipo into the dingy cell, the previously dazed boy fighting back with a vigour they hadn't anticipated. They held his struggling form in a vice like grip, refusing to let go. "No!" he cried out. "Stop! I haven't done anything wrong!"

"You looked drunk and suspicious, that's enough of a reason for us," snapped the first guard, shoving Jussipo to the grime smothered floor of the cell, the rough stone grazing his hands as he tried to cushion the fall.

"You never know what a suspicious looking person such as yourself could be after," the second added gruffly.

"Well, I’m clearly not drunk, and I'm just looking for my friends," Jussipo claimed with an air of indignation. "Perhaps you've heard of them? Foldo? Piak? Arman? No! Wait, come back!" But they had already locked the cell door, cool, dirty metal that he clung to as he watched them leave. He huffed in frustration.

The room was cold, the flickering candlelight providing stretching shadows that seemed to crawl and coil around the room, enticing evil to venture into the hearts of those that resided within. It was obvious that little care was ever given to those unfortunate enough to find themselves in the prison of Glenbourne. Jagged stone walls still stained with blood, damp, mouldy hay clumped together in rotting heaps. A deep rooted feeling of dread and neglect seemed to seep into Jussipo’s bones. The darkness he could feel churning inside him brought forth foul memories of previous occupants. If he had any means of escape, he would be taking them in an instant.

And then a voice seemed to speak from the very shadows themselves. “They’re all up in Dagonaut,” the voice began, a woman’s voice, a strange mixture of warmth and a sinister feel lacing her words. “They’ve all been knighted, from what I hear.”

As Jussipo’s eyes adjusted to the dark, he could see the woman leaning in the corner of the only cell adjacent to his own, arms folded over her chest in an almost nonchalant manner, as though finding herself in prison was a common occurrence. She pushed herself off of the wall, walking into the faint glow of the candlelight. The woman stopped at their shared wall, casually resting her chin on one of the horizontal bars, sliding her arms over as well.

She couldn’t have been any older than 18, Jussipo estimated, and stood a couple of inches shorter than him. Brown locks cropped close to her head brushed against the metal of the bars whilst dark, inquisitive eyes studied him. A jagged scar traced her left cheek, ending just below her eye, adding to the sense of foreboding she brought forward.

“Have you seen them? Talked to them?” he asked hastily, shaking off the ominous feel that surrounded her.

She gave a short laugh. “Oh, no. I’ve never met them personally. In case you haven’t noticed,” she pointed out, gesturing to the ragged, dirty clothes she wore: a grey tunic threatening to tear and a leather jacket, ripped and missing all of its buttons. The threadbare outfit was held together by a belt to which a small knife was attached; it appeared to be the only weapon on her. “I’m worth less than the dirt on their boots. Posh pricks like them wouldn’t be caught dead talking to me.” She gave a slight scoff at the idea of nobility. “But it’s remarkable what you hear when you ask the right drunkard the right questions, or eavesdrop on the right conversation.” The woman paused for a moment as she regarded him more carefully. “You, though, I believe I know who you are. You’re him, aren’t you? Jussipo: the novice, the bard, the dead one.”

Jussipo looked at himself in confusion. He didn’t die, right? Sure, he remembered clawing his way out of his own grave but that must’ve been an accident, he had passed out and woken up buried. They just thought he was dead. His friends could only be a few days ahead of him at most. “That’s me, but I’m fairly certain I’m alive, thank you.”

“Ah, yes. That is where my statement would seem flawed, but there are rumours, whispers really, that the darkness your friends destroyed, the darkness that consumed Prince Viridian, is back and it’s stronger than ever. They say you can see him from the corner of your eyes, that shadows that seem to move unnaturally, that’s him. And I’m betting that it’s that darkness that’s brought you back from the dead.” Jussipo gave her an increasingly perplexed look, one tinged with fear. He couldn’t be back, they had defeated him, that’s what Tiuri said. “You really have no idea what I’m talking about, do you? You died two months ago.”

Jussipo looked at her in disbelief, backing away. Two months? Two whole months? It couldn’t be, that was impossible. Could they have forgotten about him? “Who are you? How do you know all of this?”

“Of course, where are my manners?” She took a step back, giving a mocking bow. “My name is Samena. I deal in secrets, gossip, information and, occasionally, thievery, and I will happily accompany someone so lost as yourself on your journey to Dagonaut.”

“Why would you help me? Surely there’s something in it for you,” Jussipo asked cautiously. Did he want help from someone who had just confessed to being a criminal.

“I’m headed up to Dagonaut anyway, but it’s a dangerous journey and I’ll need some form of protection, something I believe you can provide.” She looked pointedly at the sword hanging from his belt.

He gave the girl he now knew as Samena a skeptical look. “No catch?”

“No catch,” she confirmed. Jussipo continued to regard her with suspicion. “I’m also the only one who can break you out of here.” Samena unsheathed the knife from her belt, the blade looking strangely well crafted given her scuffed and ripped clothes. Jussipo took a step back as she pulled out the knife. “Relax, I just need it to pick the lock.”

Samena slotted the tip of the knife into the base of the keyhole before slipping in a lockpick she had hidden in her sleeve. Carefully, and with a speed only someone with experience could have, she pushed the pins of the lock up and used her knife to turn the lock. With a click, the cell was unlocked and she was soon strolling out of it.

She crouched down in front of Jussipo’s cell, ready to pick open the lock. “You sure you want to join me? A noble and some street scum? We’d be quite a pair.”

Any doubts fled his mind as the thought of returning home consumed him. “I’m sure, we both need to get to Dagonaut so we might as well go together.”

A smirk grew on Samena’s lips as she set to work. “Just what I was thinking.” 

Within seconds, the door was open and they were hurrying down the dimly lit corridors of the prison. Multiple inmates cried out to them, begging to be set free. Samena paid them little mind as they passed, although Jussipo’s heart clenched as he watched them cling to the bars of their cells like pitiful animals. “Most of those bastards deserve it,” Samena claimed with a grimace. “Killers, the lot of them.”

“If they’re all murderers then how did you get thrown in here?” Jussipo queried, eyeing his new companion warily. 

“I’d rather not say,” she hissed back. “The exit’s just up ahead.”

As they neared the door that would open out into the town, a guard turned round the corner, spotting them instantly. “Where do you think you’re going.”

“We’re just letting ourselves out, no need to worry about us,” Samena replied, slowly approaching with Jussipo behind her.

“And why would I let you leave?”

“Fabien, is it? Well, unless you want your wife to know about your affair, I suggest you forget you ever saw us.”

A flicker of frustration and fear crossed Fabien’s face before he walked back the way he came. That girl was more trouble than she was worth.

“You certainly have your uses,” Jussipo said as they snuck through the door and into the dark streets.

“Let’s just hope you have some, too. Wait here.” And with that she vanished, Jussipo left to stare at the spot she had been moments ago. She returned just moments later, trotting up to him on a horse. 

“You’ve only got one horse,” Jussipo complained once she arrived. “And you stole it!”

“We wouldn’t get very far on foot, and it’s a bit difficult to steal two, isn’t it? Get on or I’m leaving without you.”