Aid From Within

---Indigo---

I finished the rest of the tasks that Lord Victor assigned me quickly. The case that held what possibly was the spear of light was nestled in the inner pocket of my robe. It felt incredibly heavy, and I was eager, for the first time in my life, to return to my small room in the fortress and be alone. It took all of my self-control to calmly and nonchalantly walk up the stairs, past the guards marching down the hall, and into my room. Once in the room, I still peered around as if there were people spying on me before carefully taking the case out.

The case was very unassuming on the outside. It was made from pure mahogany and smooth to the touch. I unlatched the top to look at the spear again. I wanted to investigate it more, but I had to report back to Lord Victor first. I felt the overpowering need to hide the case. Surveying the simple layout of the room, I decided to slip the case in the pocket of a robe hanging in the wardrobe for now.

Reporting back to Lord Victor was another round of agonizing question and answer. He must not know what I have found. I answered all of his questions regarding the various check-ins I did with his subordinates. Fortunately, he seemed to be in a good mood today.

"Wonderful, Indigo. I knew that you would not let me down." Lord Victor smiled down at me from his throne. "You've worked hard enough today. I will summon you again when I have more tasks for you. For now, you're free to do with your time as you please."

I hurriedly dropped into deep bow. "Thank you, my lord!" Lord Victor made the shooing motion with his hands, and I exited the throne room.

It was early afternoon. The side of the fortress where I resided was quiet, and the guards usually posted outside my door were gone. 'Good, good.' I locked the door behind me and breathed out a sigh of relief. I had accomplished more than I hoped to today, and I allowed myself to feel a little bit of satisfaction.

Although I wanted to study the spear more, I had something else to do first—drawing a map of the fortress. I had been sketching as I walked around this morning, and now I added more details, penning in doors, guards, and additional labels. There were still gaps in the map for the places I haven't explored, and I didn't know where many hallways led. It was a very basic map, but I hoped that it would be helpful to Lionel and the rest of the team. At the very least, with this map, they wouldn't get lost.

A knock on my door startled me. I scrambled to hide the map as I asked, "Who is it?"

"Miss Indigo, your dinner is here." A voice replied.

I didn't realize how late it had gotten. I opened the door as nonchalantly as I could, revealing one of the guards who had been regularly posted outside my door. He held a tray of food in his hand.

"Thank you." I took the tray from him. He bowed his head slightly and turned to leave.

"Wait, isn't it your shift to be guarding my room?" I called out after him. The guard turned back around.

"We all received orders to be posted elsewhere. There won't be any guards outside your room anymore." He replied.

"Oh, I see." My mind raced with the implications of my new freedom. "Thank you again. Have a good night."

"Good night, Miss Indigo." The guard left briskly. I shut my door and paced back to my desk in thought. No more guards outside my room. I still had the pass from Lord Victor that allowed entrance to any room in the fortress. Suddenly, there was a lot more that I could do to help my friends.

'What if it's a trap?' A little voice nagged in my brain. 'What if Lord Victor is testing your loyalty?'

Lord Victor cannot suspect anything. Lionel and the army could arrive any day now. I had to hurry if I want to get everything I planned done in time. I just have to be careful, that's all.

After a quick dinner, I studied the spear for several hours. I found the name Phoebus engraved near the spear head. I discovered another secret button that caused the spearhead to unfurl into four pieces like the petals of a lotus flower, each with a curved hook at the tip. This mechanism revealed another skinnier spear head made of bronze inside.

I couldn't figure out if the inscriptions on the spear had any significance, though I'm sure they did. They also didn't glow again after the very first time, and I couldn't figure out why. Eventually, though, I came to the conclusion that Phoebus had to be the spear of light. Why else did it glow when I first touched it, and why else would Lord Victor bother keeping it?

The only item left to find was the source of Lord Victor's power. I recalled the Rosewood Seven's meeting the powerful sorceress Madeline Rowan in Hamberg. She had told us that to defeat Lord Victor, we had to find and destroy the magic orb that contained his power. She also told us the orb glowed red and fit in the palm of one's hand, containing great magic that had been tainted by evil. What was it she warned us? 'Only one with the purest of minds and truest of heart may approach safely.' The ancient magic will tempt us and twist our minds, which made the process of destroying it perilous.

The encounter with Madeline seemed like years ago. At the time, the seven of us were not far in our journey, and truth be told, we were naïve and had no idea of the dangers that lied ahead. Now we were no longer the starry-eyed, optimistic students. We became hardened warriors, but at what cost? We lost Jason and Ashley. We witnessed and heard of countless villages and towns massacred, pillaged, and burned. People died because of us. This battle has gone on for too long. We have to succeed. Our families and friends were waiting for us.

I looked out my window as darkness settled over the mountain range, smothering the white blanket of snow with a layer of black wool. Where were my friends? They must be on their way here. I have to hurry and find Lord Victor's magic orb.

I spent an entire day exploring the fortress. I tried looking for hidden passageways. I sneaked into rooms deep within the fortress. I even went as far as to look for Lord Victor's personal quarters. I found nothing. 'If I was Lord Victor, where would I hide the source of my power?' After a whole day of searching, my answer was that he'd keep it with him at all times, which was problematic.

What became more problematic was that Lord Victor assigned me more tasks. They were simple enough, like passing along a message to a general, but they kept me busy and required that I go to the parts of the fortress where there were many soldiers and guards. Even so, whenever I got the chance, I sabotaged in small ways: switching the labels on sandbags and gunpowder, cutting slits on bags of gunpowder so it would leak, sawing through the springs on catapults, cutting bowstrings, and causing small cases of food poisoning. I knew there was a lot more I should do, but I didn't have enough excuses to keep hanging around. What's more, I was running out of time.