Entering the maw

Cleo picked me up again and I climbed into the hole. I started making my way into the prison by crawling with my arms like last time. Once my head was out of the hole, I tried to look around to see but it was quite difficult because of the darkness. The only thing for me to do at this point, was to get down and look. I didn't really have a choice here since I would be able to go back without coming out first. I could only crawl forwards, not backwards.

I came out of the hole as silently as I could and dropped down. To my surprise, the box I had used before was not there. Had it been moved? I started looking around using my arms. My eyes were slowly adjusting to the dark and I was finally able to confirm that the box was gone.

"Damn it." I swore silently.

Then I looked at the cell and to my relief, Nina was still there. She was either unconscious or sleeping and hadn't noticed me. She was still completely naked but her clothes were laying next to her. It seems like she hadn't even moved after being raped by the bandit queen. Was she still alive? This rescue would be pointless if it turned out that Nina was dead.

Before I did that I need to let Cleo know that I was alright. She will not call me as that might put me in danger. I went to the window and asked "Cleo can you hear me?"

I couldn't reach the level of the window, so I had no choice but to use a louder voice that what I would have liked.

"Yes" came Cleo's reply.

Before continuing, I thought I should check the passage way for guards.

"Hold on."

I walked to the entrance of the prison and peered out while keeping hidden. I didn't see anyone but I saw that there was a torch burning some 15 meters away. That must be the light from the torch at the intersection. It seems like that is the only one still burning. In the afternoon, there was light coming from the airhole into the prison, I hadn't really paid attention to the lack of torches. It looks like they didn't light the torch here.

Since it was safe to talk with Cleo, I went to the airhole and started talking with Cleo.

"Cleo…"

"I am here…"

"Nina is still here but Tien is not."

"Yeah, we expected that. Can you come out?"

"No, for some reason the box that I used last time is gone."

"Damn it. Alright I am coming to get you."

"Wait!"

"What?"

"Don't forget the plan."

"I am more worried about you right now."

"I know, but I am not in any danger right now."

There was a long silence before Cleo said "Fine. What do you want to do then?"

"I want to see if there are any guards inside. I will come back here and let you know. You can plan with Leana accordingly."

"Alright, I will wait here. But don't take any risks. If there are guards that you can't cross, let me know. I will get you out of there. If we need to run, I will make sure that we escape. So, don't push yourself too much."

"I understand. I will not take unnecessary risks."

After reassuring Cleo, I decided to check on Nina and see here condition. Regardless of if she was alive, Cleo need to come for me anyway but if we can rescue her, then this wouldn't have been in vain.

The cell wasn't very big, so I tried to get as close to Nina as possible to see if I can touch her pulse or listen to her breathing. I got close the bars of the cell and tried to listen. I couldn't hear anything. I decided to just unlock the cell and check directly.

I looked around but didn't find any keys. Looks like my lock-picking skills will be needed after all. I started working on the lock with my lock-pick with as little noise as possible. Finally after half a minute I was able to open it!

I open the cell door carefully since I was worried that it might make some noise. Thankfully it didn't make too much noise and I was able to enter the cell. I checked to see if Nina was breathing and found that she was breathing slowly. Whew… so she was alive. Is she asleep or unconscious? I didn't want to risk waking her up. What if she starts making a racket? I will let Cleo handle her.

Like I promised Cleo, I started looking for any guards. I made my way towards the torch but stopped in the shadows. I wanted to be in the torch light for as little time as possible. The only way to do that was to get to the barrels quickly, in a single dash. I kept looking around but I couldn't see a whole lot from this point. I was sure that no one was close by though.

I took a breath and quickly dashed by the torch and hide behind the barrels where I had hidden the last time. I slowly looked up and started looking around. As far as I could see, everything was quiet. I didn't see any other guards at all. Even the female guard that was standing outside the bandit queen's room wasn't there. I carefully made sure that she wasn't hiding in a shadow or something. When I was finally sure, I decided to make my way to the entrance as silently and as carefully as possible. There wasn't a lot of room to hide in the passage leading to the entrance.

I walked carefully to the entrance and didn't find anyone other than the two guards. I peered at them and saw them standing there without moving. There were not even talking with one another. I thought that was odd but I didn't have a lot of time to think about it. This is a mystery we will have to solve later. I crept back to the barrels and hid there again.

I carefully watched the place for a few more minutes to make sure there were no guards on patrol. Now sure, I made my way back to the prison. I went up to the window and call Cleo.

"Cleo."

"You are finally back! I was worried Ren. You took too long. Did you face any problems?"

"Ah.. I am sorry, I just wanted to be sure. I have checked and the guards at the entrance are the only ones I could find. As for Nina, she is still breathing but I don't know if she is just asleep or unconscious."

"She might have woken up by now if she was just asleep. After all, we have been talking a lot."

"Yeah… maybe. Anyway. I have unlocked the cell and you can come here anytime."

"Ok, I will work with Leana and take out the guards. I should be there in 5 to 10 minutes. If you hear fighting, hide yourself. I will try to come to the cell and get you."

"Alright. Good luck."

"You too."

At this point, all I could do was wait.