- ORIS -
One of the guards on Darrel's side snorted at his proclamation as another nudged at him with his hand.
"Keep moving!"
Darrel was led out of the prison mines and out into what appeared like a courtyard. On closer examination, Darrel noticed that it was merely the outside foot of the mountain surrounded by a few important-looking tents and structures.
'How quaint.'
The structures appeared to still be under construction, the barricades were arrayed further encompassing the camp in a short wall of spikes.
"Why am I out here?" Darrel grumbled to the guards, but neither of them responded. "Why did you bring me out here damn it?!"
After exiting the prison mine the guard's demeanor changed, they appeared more focused and barely batted an eye at Darrel. The guards moved in two files and stood in two parallel lines with Darrel at the center.
"So you must be Darrel?" The voice came from inside one of the tents and by the sound of it, the individual may have been a giant.
The speaker waited for a response, but Darrel shrugged defenselessly and stood there waiting for the individual to continue speaking.
"When I first got your report I wondered what sort of mortal would be capable of not only going toe to toe with two squires but to defeat them too." The voice explained with marvel.
"Yeah, so what did you..."
"Silence!"
A different voice shot up from one of the other tents and Darrel was immediately compelled to shut up.
"You call yourself Dar-rel which is strange because no one has ever heard of you." The first voice resumed. "Tell me, to which faction in the house of E.L. do you belong?"
Darrel appeared stunned, he had no idea that having the letters 'E.L' at the end of his name was a crime. He turned to look at the guards, but none of them turned to meet his gaze.
"Respond, prisoner!" One of the guards shoved Darrel forward who stumbled and fell face down into the dirt.
"You bastard!" Darrel lashed at the guard furiously, even after spending days in isolation his disdain for the word prisoner had yet to be quelled.
"Shut your mouth, prisoner!"
"NO! YOU SHUT YOUR MOUTH!" Darrel fumed.
"So you do respond to that word, just as Vedial stated." The individual behind the voice chuckled at his reaction.
"How dare you?!" Darrel trembled with fury. "Show yourself and I will show you who the real prisoner is, RAAAAAARGH!"
'Damn it I can't stop myself, where is all this rage coming from? Is it because of being called a prisoner?'
Darrel clenched his fist and gave a cynical grin, and a couple of the guards rushed to subdue him before he could cause another scene. One of the guards clutched him from behind, while another started chanting strangely.
"Clasps of iron, grips of steel bind my enemy and hold them still!" The guard uttered whilst locking his fingers together.
"Wait is that an incantation?" Darrel quickly realized what the guards were plotting. "Let go of me!"
When the guard finished his incarnation, he stretched his arms out towards Darrel and a round seal with magic symbols appeared underneath him, the guard that was holding Darrel's arms quickly let him loose and backed away.
"[Magic Containment - Mana Bind!]"
Alone within the magic seal, a green light began to emanate from the symbols. Darrel could feel his limbs going stiff as the chains on his arms grew heavier.
'Tch! I can't be trapped again. No, I will not be their prisoner!'
Darrel knew this was his only opportunity to escape Oris, the guards did not seem like they could cause him much trouble, and the Knights from before were nowhere to be seen.
"I won't let you hold me!"
"You are too late!" The guard using the binding spell exclaimed as he placed his palms together and tightened his fingers once more.
"[Bind-]"
The symbols in the magic circle suddenly shattered together with the runes on Darrel's chains, the shackles around his arms crumbled away, and the chains that were wrapped around his feet dropped to the ground.
'I am free!'
"HAAAAAAAR!"
Darrel picked up the chain and swung it at the bewildered guard's face and sent him sprawling to the ground. The rest of the guards backed away and encircled Darrel at a distance.
"Yeah that's right, be very afraid!" Darrel exclaimed haughtily.
Feigning arrogance was one way of displaying his superiority, but he knew his lie would not last long if it had no substance to back it up, especially now that the guards were starting to recover from the sudden fright.
One of the guards drew his mace and began to steadily approach Darrel and instead of rushing him like how the knights had done, this particular guard was wary of him as he slowly placed one steel-booted foot after the other.
'This guy… He was the same guy that grabbed me from behind earlier.' Darrel recalled. 'He seems stronger than the rest of them.'
A couple of the other guards gained some courage and started to draw close as well, Darrel knew that if he did not make a move now, then getting caught would not only be inevitable, but the loss of his fearful reputation would make him a laughing stock and a target in this place.
'Especially after my bold proclamation earlier,' Darrel mused. 'Wait, maybe I can use this to my advantage…'
A diabolical idea came to his mind, he shot his glance at the ground below the guard and grinned expectantly.
"Come any closer and you go, 'bye-bye' buddy!"
The guard froze.
"I did not see you cast any spell," The guard stated anxiously, without moving an inch.
Having expected a similar response Darrel smirked and poised himself to give an unquestionable explanation of how he had done it.
"Then how did I manage to break out from the chains earlier?"
The guard blinked cluelessly, it was a simple way of admitting that he thought himself better than his colleague.
"Don't underestimate me, I am far stronger than any of you," Darrel warned the group. "You might think you are stronger, but I would advise against it."
The guard croaked.
It had taken a couple of lies, but in the end, the stalemate lasted, Darrel had gained his chance to figure out a way to counterattack and escape before any backup could arrive.
'If only there was a way for me to compare their strengths to my own, then I could see if I stand a chance against this mob.' Darrel pondered deeply. 'His stats, profession, and level are all that matter.'
"I guess I could do it the old-fashioned way," Darrel muttered. "Prison Guard, if I could guess he's a few levels above the others… probably level 17, he's carrying an iron mace, cheap but effective. Of course, his armor is plated with steel in the shoulders and abdomen, but the joints and sides are covered with a more flexible leather."
Even with several patches in his deduction, Darrel's analysis was now complete. The magic in his body had welled up, but he still had no idea how to use it and of course, he had no spells to cast in the first place.
'If only I could charge up the same burst of mana as I did a few days ago, but how?' His thoughts were all over the place, and he was now struggling to keep himself calm.
"Now I fathom your predicament, Dar-rel."
"It's that same voice again, I thought it was a communications spell or something..." Darrel whispered under his breath.
"You do not have any knowledge of spells do you?"
Whoever was speaking had a clear picture of Darrel's abilities and was unfazed by his recent threats. The guard in the steel armor peered at Darrel closely, then shuffled his foot forward till it was on the exact spot where he was about to step.
'The bastard.'
"Of course I do," Darrel noticed the guards starting to gain a sort of confidence as each one started moving toward him. "I know a thousand spells!"
"Oh? Then why not use one of them?" The individual uttered scornfully.
Darrel had feared what would happen if his falsity had been discovered and everyone knew he was a 'stat-less' weakling, his glances shot side to side as the guards murmured in a new light, he could see it in their eyes that their fear was no more.
"How dare you? One without any power to stand against the sacred guardians of this land, even the Greyhearts were not this foolish?"
As he finished uttering these words, a mild breeze abashed one of the tents and the opening danced about and for an instant, it revealed a man clothed in gold seated on a large armed chair. His chin rested on the back of his hand, while in the other hand, he held a scroll.
"You are the..."
The opening in the tent slowly came down, the man's lush green eyes gave a simmering glow before Darrel was knocked unconscious by one of the guards.
• • •
When his finally eyes opened, he saw a large ceiling and a larger cell still when sat up, it appeared as though he had been transferred from the solitary cells to the more crowded dwellings as Darrel noted the company.
'Hopefully, they don't bite.'
Darrel looked around and saw a huge burly shadow in the far left corner of the cell, a slender figure with pointed ears sulking alone on the top of the bunk bed.
"Well well, would you look at what the cat dragged in…" The burly voice rumbled from the back of the cell.
Darrel froze at the sound of it, he could barely see who it was in the low light, however, he could tell how large the person was just from looking at their figure, he slowly backed away from the figure but immediately bumped into another person behind him.
'Damn it!'
"Hey, Darrel! Long time no see. Did you get my message?"