The man pointed at a map on the wall before I put him unconscious with a punch. I walked up to the map, noting important locations.
'My stuff is probably in the storage area, I don't think I've been out long.' I stroked my beard. 'I take that back. Hopefully they still have my stuff, I'd hate to stay one-armed the entire escape attempt.'
I checked the Displays and noticed one particular similarity between them. "All of them are old." A look of confusion was written across my face, but I shrugged it off and looked around for a button.
'They have to have an emergency release or something. Perhaps a way to feed the prisoners?' After a few seconds of searching, I heard footsteps.
'Orin, get in my shadow! Quickly!' Once he disappeared I ripped the map from the wall and used Flow manipulation to make a hole in the metal floor.
Below me was a room full of cleaning supplies and fire-fighting equipment. I jumped through without hesitation and closed the hole behind me.
Thunk!
I landed on the next floor and heard murmuring above me.
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"He was just here!" one guard said, wand in hand.
"I know! His tracking spell wore off just after he broke out of his cell, but it pinged here last!" The second guard tripped over the sleeping ice mage.
"By Order! What the hell are you doing!?" The first guard shouted at his sleeping compatriot.
The mage stood up and looked around. "Where am I?" His face had a large scorch mark on it, but he didn't seem to notice.
"Damnit Harf, you're a guard in Fort Lao!"
"No, the phrase is: Guard the kingdom's secrets."
Harf, the ice mage, looked straight ahead past his superior and said "Yes sir!"
"Now, where are you?" the guard asked
"Fort Lao" Harf answered as he had many times before.
"Never gets old." The guard laughed before turning around to resume his search for the first escapee.
--------
At first, I was scared that my landing would attract guards, but it turns out that it was no big deal. I put on a fire-fighting suit and took a step outside.
'It's a good thing this coat is so huge, you can't even tell I'm missing an arm. Plus the black lighting stopped just now.'
I waddled along in my fire suit and even walked past some guards who just assumed that I was supposed to be there. Eventually, by referencing my map, I reached the armory.
'This building seems large, but it really isn't, it's just complicated.' I had made far too many wrong turns on my way around.
There was one guard at the armory and no witnesses.
"Sorry fireman, you can't go in there without a pass." He said.
"One moment sir." I got closer to him and pretended to reach into my pocket, instead, his armor wrapped around his face and covered his mouth and nose.
'He should go unconscious in a second.'
Once the guard hit the floor I un-covered his nose and dragged him inside the armory.
"Nothing in here is enchanted, a pity."
I took a set of full plate and ditched my fire suit in a locker.
With a helmet blocking my face and an armored arm covering my stump, I was able to sneak all the way to storage without issue. I got inside and found a box labeled "Ingen Meiung's worldly possesions, return to parents"
"They're trying to make me look dead."
'No shit, that other guy said the king wanted to make an accident out of you.'
I took off my armor and replaced it with Changeling Armor from the box.
'I hope the room is big enough for this.' I made my shed big and put everything except my arm in it, then reattached my arm.
I used Changeling Armor to cover myself and look like someone else.
Then, out of nowhere, a loud noise filled Fort Lao. "All personnel, we have an escapee! This is NOT a drill, I repeat this is NOT a drill! Initiate lockdown red!" I ran out of the storage room towards the cafeteria.
'If there is a way to let out the rest of the prisoners, then this is it.'
Then I noticed something strange.
"Why can I see? Actually, now that I think about it, my spectacles weren't in the box." I instinctively checked to see if my spectacles were on my person.
'Spectacles, assess.' I got no reply or error message. 'Everything is weird. Why did the black lighting stop? Have I been brainwashed?'
Regardless of my questions, I arrived at the cafeteria.
'We will have to solve the mystery, but for now, we should find the way out and free the other prisoners. Maybe get some takeout to go with us.' Orin engaged a mind-link for a moment.
I made sure no one was looking and changed my clothes to include an apron. I walked into the cafeteria and then the kitchen without challenge.
I surveyed my surroundings. There were three chefs, all of them fire mages, and there was what seems to be an attached security room.
"Hey! We have to get out of here! Lockdown red remember! Or did you not remember the protocol?"
The three chefs filled out of the room. I went into the attached room without pause and closed the door.
'Well, that was easy.'
Randomly, I got an error message.
{Error: No golem to assess}
'What the...' I brushed it off. 'At least that means that I have them.' I got to work in the security station.
"There are two levers for each of the prisoners. Each has one to knock them out, and another to open a door."
I flipped all twenty door switches and watched through the display all of the prisoners be re-vitalized. They didn't look nearly as old, but their hair stayed gray and long.
'That explains the beard. I think I might keep it.'
I left the security room and started my walk to get out of the complex. The guards would be occupied with the prisoners, who were undoubtedly strong mages, while I walked out right under their noses.
'Suckers.'
'Don't think you are in the clear yet little one.' The same voice from before reached my head.
Just then, the sound of a sword hitting armor echoed through the halls and I was concussed by the force behind the strike and knocked to the ground.
"I guess I'm the sucker then."
I rolled away from my assailant's sword and got into an unarmed fighting stance.
"It's all been ambushes till now, I guess this is a nice change of pace, Professor Kesde."