Lord Victor's Plot

---Indigo---

"Captured? How? What happened, Ashley?" Rachel asked, worry showing in her eyes.

"We made it past the guards outside the entrance successfully. It was just like you said, Rachel. There's a large granite door carved into the mountain. Lord Victor literally carved out the inside of the mountain for his stronghold." Ashley grabbed a water canteen and gulped down some water. "We were lost in the tunnels for a while. There were so many, all twisting and branching off in different directions. I figured that the prison cells would be on the lower levels, so we headed down any corridor that sloped downwards. But then, when we were so sure that we had reached the prison cells, it was a dead end.

"Something felt off. My nerves were tingling. While Aaron went down the length of the dead end, looking for a secret entrance, I hung back and tried to figure what seemed wrong. That's when a guard came barreling down a hidden side corridor and headed straight for Aaron."

I listened with wide eyes, imagining all the horrible things that could've happened to Aaron. "Is Aaron alright? The guard didn't hurt him, right?"

Ashley shook her head. "Not that I saw. The guard jumped on top of Aaron and knocked him to the floor. I started forward to help, but then Aaron's body suddenly went slack. I saw the guard pull something out from Aaron's neck—a tranquilizer, I'm guessing—and then slung Aaron across his shoulders. I casted an invisibility spell over myself so I could follow the guard to where the prison cells actually were, and I saw him throw Aaron into a cell. I went over as soon as he left, and saw Katherine in there too."

"Did you try to rescue them?" Lucian asked.

"I tried, but the guards stationed around the corner saw me. They almost caught me too, but I managed to evade capture. I knocked them out and cast a forgetting spell so that they couldn't report my presence to Lord Victor. I came here as soon as I fled, to tell you guys what happened."

The campsite was silent for a few moments as Ashley took another swig of water. "Should we send another rescue mission?" I asked.

"No. Don't. It's too dangerous," Ashley said.

"But—"

"I found out something else when I was there. I accidentally stumbled into the throne room, where Lord Victor was having a meeting with his generals. I overheard some things that you should all know." Ashley mentioned.

We all leaned forward. "What is it?" Rachel asked. Ashley looked around cautiously once more.

"First, Lord Victor's magic source is still in the Northern Mountains. His main stronghold is there. To defeat him, you guys have to destroy his source of power—something resembling a magic crystal ball."

"We should've just continued on our way and not make a detour here!" Lucian burst out. "If we didn't come here to Devil's Peak, Jason would still be alive."

"Lucian…" Rachel warned as she shot him a look. Ashley's face contorted, as if the mere mention of Jason's name pained her.

"What else did you find out?" I asked, redirecting Ashley's attention.

"Lord Victor has a plan to kill us all. He knows where we are." Ashley said gravely. We all gasped.

"What? How?" I asked, shocked. "When is he going to attack?"

Instead of replying, Ashley looked at Rachel. "What time is it, Rachel?"

"Almost four in the afternoon," Rachel replied. "Why?"

Ashley paled. "You all need to get out of here. Now."

"But what about Aaron and Katherine?" I asked.

"They'll be fine. But we're all going to die if you don't leave now!"

We burst into action, taking down tents and shoving our belongings into our magical backpacks. Ashley gave her satchel to Rachel and stood in the middle of the clearing, as if trying to use magic to pinpoint where Lord Victor's soldiers were.

"Ashley, where do we go? How do we evade capture?" I asked. Ashley closed her eyes and slowly turned in a circle while muttering incoherent words under her breath.

"That way." She opened her eyes and pointed northwest, into the depths of the forest. "Head that way, and run as fast as you can. Don't look back. Don't stop, no matter what you hear or what you see. Don't stop for any reason."

"How far do we have to run?"

"Keep running until you see a creek. Then follow the creek downstream to exit the forest, and from there you can use maps to get to the Northern Mountains." Ashley stated firmly.

I hefted my bag onto my shoulders and called out to Lucian and Rachel. "You heard Ashley. Let's go!" They took off into the forest, disappearing within minutes. I followed them into the depths of the forest, but soon realized that something was off. Ashley wasn't behind me.

I doubled back and found her standing at the edge of the campsite with her wand in her hand.

"Ashley, what are you doing? Let's go!" I motioned for her to come over, but Ashley stayed put. I frowned in confusion. "Ashley, aren't you coming with us?"

Ashley looked at me sadly and shook her head. I stared at her in shock. "What? Why? Are you out of your mind?!" I began to run to her to forcibly pull her along, but Ashley held up her hand.

"Don't come any closer, Indigo. You'll get hurt. Run after Lucian and Rachel, and don't look back!"

"I'm not leaving without you, Ashley! We already lost Jason, Aaron, and Katherine. I'm not losing you too!" I took a step forward, but I was thrown back by a large force. When I blinked, I was standing even further away from the campsite than before, about a hundred meters away. A four-inch wide strip of purple magic on the ground in front of me formed the edge of a large circle around the campsite.

"Ashley, what is the meaning of this?" I shouted. "What are you doing?"