The two patrolmen, even with their thick steel-white armor, seemed to get smaller in front of Victor. Before the two could think of attacking, Victor grabbed their heads and slammed them together, easily defeating them.
Robe heard the metallic sound of helmets clashing and stopped running. Curious, he returned to the corridor where he had left Victor and saw the gray-haired man throwing the patrolmen into a broom closet.
"What are you... doing?" Robe asked, a little hesitantly.
"Hiding them, of course. That way, if any other patrolmen come by, they won't see them unconscious or issue a general alert." replied Victor. "Now, let's walk to the weapons room."
So Victor and Robe went back into their disguises, as guard and prisoner. Robe wasn't the ideal partner for this situation because, although he was a good liar, he didn't have the confidence to deal with the most adverse situations and nor was he a good fighter. But that wasn't nearly the biggest problem Victor had at the moment.
These dungeons were even more complex than Victor had anticipated, and he got a sense of this as he walked through the place. In addition to everything being divided into cells, sections, wings and floors, and having a lot of patrolmen walking around, there was an additional complicated defense system.
At each end and beginning of a corridor, there was a large metal gate, the kind with thick bars that would probably be lowered at the first warning of an escape or rebellion. This was perfect for dividing prisoners who tried to escape and holding them until reinforcements arrived. This put Victor in a situation where he needed to make a choice, but before that, he needed his sword.
The weapons room should above all be a place of great vigilance and movement, however, efforts to protect this place were reduced due to the imprisonment of a Rank-S hunter, which was on many levels extraordinary, special and unusual, even for these dungeons. So when Robe approached the counter in the weapons room, which functioned as a storeroom, the man in charge was a little distracted.
"Argh! That thing is heavier than it should be! How is that possible?" said the skinny, long-haired guard as he tried to lift a sword with a crystal pommel onto one of the tables.
Victor stood outside the room, and Robe, alone, rang the bell on the counter more than once until the man in charge of the weapons room noticed him.
"Excuse me!" Robe said.
"Oh, yes, just a second, please!"
With a Herculean effort, the attendant finally managed to place the sword on the table, then turned to look at who was calling him.
"Good evening, officer...?"
"Officer Ziko." Robe answered with a false name.
"Nice to meet you, Officer Ziko. It's the first time I've seen you here. My name is Antony and it will be a pleasure to help you. What do you need?"
"I was ordered to take that sword over there." said Robe and pointed to the same sword that the guard Antony had worked so hard to place on the table.
Antony looked a little frustrated, but didn't retort. "All right, I'll just check here..."
The clerk pulled out a stack of papers from under the counter and started checking them one by one at a good speed, showing that he had a lot of practice at this.
"Now, as far as I can see, there's no withdrawal request for this item." Antony said, lifting his head and adjusting some of his fringe with a shake of his head.
As Antony wasn't a strong, intimidating guard like the others, Robe wasn't afraid to contradict him. "Of course not, after all it's an item that arrived today, isn't it? I was told that it was a mistake to bring this sword to the common weapons room, because it belongs to the father of the Rank-S hunter who will be tried tomorrow, so it can't stay here."
"They said that, didn't they? But they didn't say anything to me. The Rank-S sword was allocated to the duke's vault before it came here, but the same didn't happen with this sword. However, if you have a signed request, I can release it to you, Officer Ziko."
"I can't tell you who asked me to come here to get it, because that person doesn't want others to know about his mistakes, but you have to imagine that HE won't be happy to be contradicted by simple officers like us." Robe decided to bluff. That was the only way to convince a tough smart guy like Antony seemed to be.
Antony raised his eyebrows in surprise and hesitated for a moment, but finally gave in.
"Ah, all right. You're right."
The clerk took out a blank piece of paper and began to write something on it. He then took one of his wooden stamps, dipped it in the ink next to it and stamped the paper. He stood up, went over to the sword and dragged it over to Robe with great difficulty.
"Here you are, Officer Ziko. And please send my regards to Councillor Steegar."
"You got it!" Robe gave a wink with one eye and received the sword, but when he went to hold it, he almost dropped it on the floor, as heavy as it was.
Antony almost laughed at Robe, but held on. Robe left the weapons room, carrying the sword with difficulty due to its surprising weight. He joined Victor, who was waiting outside.
"Did you do it?" whispered Victor.
"Yeah, I did it. But man, that thing is too heavy! I don't know how you can use it." Robe replied, dragging the weapon.
Victor looked at the sword for a moment and lifted it with great ease when he received it. "I have practice, don't worry."
The two of them made their way through the corridors, with Victor leading the way, until they finally found what Victor was looking for.
Two guards were standing in front of a heavy iron door, the sign above which read: Outer Courtyard.
One of the guards was holding a lamp, illuminating the surrounding area, while the other seemed to be checking his own belt. They chatted casually among themselves.
"I don't know if I've put this thing on right..." said the one with the belt a little loose, while the other laughed at his companion's face.
Victor looked at Robe and whispered, "That door is the one that leads to the upper area of the castle. It's the way out of here."
"What? Then we're going the wrong way. We should go down to find Wanda and free her."
"No, I don't think you've realized it yet. If we're running into several guards here, on the second floor, who's to say the next. A prisoner like me can't just wander around without many people getting suspicious and soon the other guards we knocked out will wake up. We don't have much time."
Robe narrowed his eyes, already picking up on something in Victor's words. "And what exactly are you thinking of doing? I don't know if you've noticed, but we don't have many other alternatives."
"I know you don't, but we do have an option in front of us now."
Robe frowned. "What are you talking about?"
"I'm going to get out of the dungeons through that door, I'm going to try to draw as much attention to the castle as possible while I look for the damned counselor, to try and put an end to all this somehow. And you'll be plan A. You'll take advantage of all the confusion and attention to look for Wanda on the lower floors. The security around her should thin out considerably and, if you're lucky and she realizes what's going on, the two of you will be able to escape from here together," explained Victor.
Victor Shieldman's plan was risky, very risky, and would probably lead to his death once again, as he was facing practically the entire Kozáni army, but this seemed to be the only way to have a chance of ending it all that night.