After about another day of travel, they eventually find the area where the secret passageway is supposed to be.
"It has to be around here somewhere. I think the door looked like a large rock. But... I don't know if it can be opened from this side." Duvainion confesses.
"It's fine. If not, then we'll just have to figure some other way in." Nicholas replies.
After a bit longer of searching, Duvainion finally spots it, running up to it, and inspecting it some. "This looks like it's the one."
"Okay. Any way in?"
After searching for some sort of button or lever, or just anything that could let them in, he doesn't seem to find one. "I don't see any. I guess it's only meant for escape..."
"Or, maybe..." Nicholas thinks for a moment. "Maybe you can use your powers. Either to slip in there and open it for us, or maybe to manipulate the shadows to open it for us."
"I can try... But I'm still not very good at it."
"Shadows? Duvainion, do you have dark magic?" Hunter inquires to Duvainion, while Duvainion just sheepishly nods. "I've never heard of such a thing before. Elves with special magic usually have light or life magic, and even those are rare among Elves. But dark magic? Only the sinister race of Dark Elves has even a small chance at getting that. But you're not part Dark Elf, are you? You look nothing like one, just like a typical High Elf."
"I don't know... I don't think my parents are related to them. At least, I know that my father never would've taken my mother as queen if she were, anyways..."
"Well, not like it makes any difference what you are, or even what you feel. You're still my friend. Just...don't go around advertising that...little fact, to just anyone, okay?"
"Okay."
"Thanks. Anyways, do your thing, I guess?"
"Right." Duvainion then starts to concentrate on the shadows around him, and soon enough, his own shadow extends through the cracks between the rock like door and the actual rock. After a few moments, the door finally recedes, revealing the passageway. "Let's get going, then." Duvainion is actually the first one down, this time, seeming fairly determined, now so more then ever. Buddy, Nicholas, and Hunter all follow after him.
Once down in the passageway, they end up coming upon multiple other paths branching off as well.
"Duvainion? You never mentioned that it'd basically be a maze down here." Nicholas questions Duvainion.
"I... guess I never noticed before... I was just following Caleldes before, and was distracted by the sounds of explosions from up above. Sorry..." Duvainion admits.
Nicholas just sighs. "It's fine. It'll just take a while longer to find our way through, is all."
"Right..." Duvainion still feels a little guilty for not realizing just how vast the tunnels were.
"Well, at least there shouldn't be any enemies down here, I suppose?" Nicholas then starts to rummage through his bag. "Never thought that this would actually come into use, but I grabbed it anyways, just incase we ran into a situation like this." Nicholas then pulls out a simple stick of chalk, then drawing an arrow on the wall near them, pointing back to the exit. "Let's get going. If this place really is a maze, then there should be multiple doors. We need to find the one that works best for us." He takes the lead this time, occasionally marking the way as they explore the underground maze like tunnels.
After maybe a few hours, though they really couldn't tell, themselves, since they're underground and all, they eventually come upon another door.
"Alright. This one should be it. If we're looking for the palace prison, then this is the likely door, since it doesn't lead up any stairs like the others did. Hunter. The usual?"
Hunter just nods as he pulls out his bow, Nicholas opens the secret door, and Hunter then slowly creeps out, looking around. He only sees a dark hallway at the moment, but he ventures down the hallway that seems like a dead end, l until one would find the secret door that Hunter had just come through, at least. And he soon finds a hall lined with cells, quickly doubling back to the secret door, and knocking.
Nicholas opens it back up.
"Looks like it." Hunter whispers.
"Great, let's go, then." Nicholas and Duvainion exit the door then as well. "And Duvainion, I'll need you to be near me, do you can identify who are
we're after."
Duvainion just nods.
After making sure to close the door again, Nicholas then heads down the hall, Duvainion following closely behind him, with Buddy safely in his shadow, and Hunter following just behind them, his bow at the ready.
They do encounter a few Orcish guards every now and then, and Hunter is usually the one to take care of them, but Nicholas does take down the most recent guard, as they start to get closer.
Duvainion soon heads over to one cell in particular, having recognized Caleldes.
She just sits towards the back of the cell, chained up, and her clothes seeming rather tattered, after countless hours of various torture methods. She doesn't even look up though as she hears them, though, just expecting more Orcs.
Nicholas quietly instructs Duvainion and Hunter to keep a watch out, and he then starts to try and unlock the cell.
Caleldes soon does look up, though, and notices the three cloaked figures. "What...?"
Nicholas then shushes her, and continues trying to unlock the cell.
"Group of Orcs incoming. Not sure we can take them." Hunter whispers to Nicholas.
"Damn it..." He continues with the lock, though is having some trouble. "Damn Elven craftsmanship, I can't get this stupid lock."
"We need to hide. Now."
"Right. We'll be back, ma'am." Nicholas then takes Duvainion and Hunter and takes off down the hall, hiding around a corner nearby as the Orc King himself, along with a few of his guards, approaches the cell with Caleldes in it.
"It's been a while since I've come down here myself. I figured it was about time I came back down to pay you a little visit." He enters the cell, and he makes Caleldes stand up. "Now, I'll ask politely only once. Where is the Elven Prince?"
"Go f*ck yourself, you *sshole." Caleldes still refuses.
Though this only succeeds in p*ssing him off even more, and he violently slaps her before grabbing her and smashing her into the wall behind her. "I'm getting real tired of your attitude, you d*mned b*tch. Maybe I need to personally teach you some manners." He just grins maliciously at her, grabbing her head and making her face him. Though she then just spits at him. In turn he just slaps her again. "You will respect me!"
"Respect is earned, you b*stard."
He then just forcibly yanks the chains on her out of the wall, handing the chains to one of his guards. "Bring her to my room, and make sure she's ready. I'll be along eventually, I still have a few things to take care of, first."
"Yes, sir!"
"Good. And don't fail, this time." He then heads off.
The Orc guards then take Caleldes away with them, struggling with her a bit, though.
All this angers Duvainion, a streak of black now adorning his brilliantly blonde hair, but Nicholas tries to keep him calm, though it doesn't seem to be working very well. "We'll need to find a different door down in the maze. Assuming that he took over the former king's room, do you know where we'd need to go?"
"..." Duvainion just nods, then heading off. They soon get to the secret door that he had used to escape originally. After checking that the coast is clear, they head out, looking for the right room. Once they find the room where Caleldes was taken, they see a couple of the Orc guards still struggling with Caleldes.
While one us behind her and holding her by her arms, she manages to kick the one in front of her, and though this does incapacitate them temporarily, they soon get back up and punch her in her stomach a few times, while the other still holding her just pulls her arms back further as they hold her, causing her more pain. "You know, if the king didn't want you for himself, you'd probably have been sent off as... relief, for the rest of the soldiers, like some of your little friends."
This all just seems to trigger Duvainion some more, and as more streaks of black appear in his blonde hair, brought on by his extreme emotions, the shadows within the room soon start to expand. The Orc guards with Caleldes quickly notice this, and just seem confused. Though as the shadows then lash out at them, the two Orcs just drop Caleldes, and attempt to run. Though as they do, the shadows grab them, ensnarring them, and then pulls one of them into the shadows themselves. The one still there just starts to freak out, and even more so when the other one is soon returned, but is now dead, seeming to have been mauled to death by some mysterious monster from within the shadows. And the other Orc is then subjected to the same fate.
Once the second Orc is spit out of the shadows, they recede, and so does the black from Duvainions hair. Though he just seems tired, now.
"Sh*t..." Nicholas and Hunter just look both amazed and a bit horrified at this display.
-------
Now with Caleldes following them, they head through the secret tunnels that lead all throughout underneath the capital and even a bit beyond.
"I still can't believe that you actually came here for me. That was extremely dangerous, and an unnecessary risk. You're the one that the future of the kingdom is riding on, not me."
"...I'm sorry... But... I... I couldn't just leave you there, with them..."
Caleldes just sighs. "It's fine." She then hugs Duvainion some as they continue to walk along. "I am glad that I'm away from that pr*ck, though."
"Yeah. And it seems like we had gotten there at just the right time, too, ma'am." Nicholas comments.
"This time. But that's not something that you kids should concern yourselves with. I'm here now, and I'm fine, and that's all that matters in the long run." Caleldes explains.
"Right..."
"Anyways... We should head back to the forest, now. I really want to help Hunter with his problems, now." says Duvainion.
"I'm sure that they'd love to have your help, too. We could always use more helping hands." comments Hunter.