Arcane Innovator

I was slightly taken aback for a moment seeing Jenny as she made her desperate plea, but then I broke out of my stupor and asked, "Why me?"

We were total strangers not even a year ago, and initially, I only tried to befriend her for my own selfish reasons, trying to exploit her connection to Sir Roderick.

I won't deny that we have grown somewhat closer since then, but still... I had difficulty accepting that she would turn to me in such a grave matter.

'But I guess she must see it differently...' I silently wondered as I looked at her puffed-up eyes.

A pained expression then flashed across Jenny's face before she lowered her head, keeping silent for a long while, seemingly struggling to find the right words before finally answering me.

"I don't have anyone else to ask for something like this... But I can now see that coming here was a mistake... Don't worry; I will come up with something on my own."

She showed me a pained smile before she quickly turned around and started heading for the doors while saying. "Please forgive me for bothering you with this unreasonable request and take care... You were a true friend to me, Darian. "

However, she didn't make it far as I quickly grabbed her arm, stopping Jenny in her tracks. "No, wait! I didn't say I won't help you. I was just curious..." I hurriedly blurted out, trying to stop her from leaving.

Right then, seeing the resigned expression on her face, I realized that she would probably do something stupid and most likely get caught while doing it.

And when the guards would inevitably interrogate her, there was a very high probability she would be forced to reveal the fact I was meeting with her in secret for all those months, which would undoubtedly paint me as an accomplice even though I would have nothing to do with her escape.

Thus, I reluctantly realized that my only options would be to either help her... or to make sure she wouldn't leave this room at all.

But I quickly discarded the second option as that would be a truly despicable thing to do after all the things she had done for me and right after she placed her complete trust in me.

"You will help me...?" A mix of surprise and joy appeared on her face, but then the same pained expression reappeared on her face for some reason, and she started crying.

"I-I never met someone like you... someone who would be so kind to me..."

I quickly patted her on the shoulder in a futile attempt to calm her down. "Sure, sure, don't worry about it, everything will be fine..."

I felt a pang of guilt course through me as I was once again helping her for my own selfish reasons, but she didn't need to know that. When Jenny finally calmed down, I looked her in the eyes and said seriously.

"Still, if I'm going to help you with this... it has to be done properly. And you have to tell me everything from the very start... You can begin by telling me how you got here in the first place. Didn't you just say that you were locked up in your room this whole time?"

Jenny slumped down against a nearby wall before saying in a low voice. "Yes, I was locked up... But Old Wilma helped me. She was the one who was bringing me my meals, and earlier today, she managed to smuggle me the key to my room."

She then raised her head, looking straight into my eyes. "Wilma had also written me a note about a secret passage under the Fortress' walls that the guards don't know about... That was how I could escape and come here so quickly, but they will soon realize I'm gone and raise the alarm, so we must hurry!"

'Her again...?' I thought as an image of a particular old cook bumping into me surfaced in my mind.

I was still not entirely convinced that she did all of this simply out of the goodness of her heart, so I couldn't help but ask Jenny about something that didn't quite add up. "And how come she knows about that secret passage?"

Jenny chuckled, seeing my overly guarded expression. "It's not that big of a secret. Many servants know about that passage since it is a shortcut that leads directly into the Northern Quarter where most of them live, so they don't have to go around the whole Fortress to get home at night."

'Ah, so it's like that...' I nodded, accepting such an explanation as it quite made sense. The soldiers wouldn't know about it as they lived directly in the Fortress' barracks, and the higher-ups probably tolerated it to keep the servants happy.

I tried my best to digest all this new information while at the same time coming up with the best course of action.

First of all, I dismissed Jorn and the other guard, who were still waiting in the parlor, while ordering them to stay extra vigilant tonight as I needed to leave for a bit.

Jorn nodded with a somber expression, realizing it had probably something to do with the girl, but he didn't question me any further as, by now, he was accustomed to the fact that I kept many things to myself.

I then returned to my room to wear more inconspicuous clothing while hiding my face under a hood. I also equipped a few other useful things just in case I needed them.

With my preparations done, I stealthily sneaked out of my room and headed back downstairs. While I walked, I sighed with relief as everyone seemed already sleeping, so I didn't have to answer any uncomfortable questions.

Returning to the parlor, I spotted Jenny nervously fidgeting around, so I signaled for her it was time to move, and she quickly ran up to me.

We quietly slipped out of the house, disappearing into the moonless night. I smiled as I saw the city submerged in utter darkness, making it a perfect time for such a clandestine operation.

I cautiously followed after Jenny as she led me through the city's empty streets toward an inconspicuous sewer outlet in the Fortress' moat right under its mighty walls.

'Hmm, this is quite smart...' I thought, admiring the ingenuity of the secret passage as we squeezed through the narrow opening.

Behind the rusty iron gate was a short, sloping tunnel that surfaced right behind the walls beside an empty guardhouse.

Once inside, moving about was much more manageable. The guards patrolled mainly on the walls so we could traverse the Fortress' winding corridors and hallways, mostly unperturbed.

But the main reason something like this was even remotely possible was thanks to the fact I had the guard's movements perfectly memorized by now since I was coming here quite regularly. This was also why Jenny apparently needed my help despite having a much better knowledge of the Fortress than I did.

We carefully sneaked across the Fortress right into the central part of the complex. Sometimes, we had to find a cover or choose a different route when my magic sense detected someone coming in our direction, but in the end, we made it safely without anyone noticing our presence.

Looking at the massive structure of the Keep in front of me, I realized that I had never ventured into this part of the Fortress as it was very close to the Knights barracks and the inner Keep, which was the home of the Count's family.

Usually, even at this late hour, this area would be teeming with activity, but since the majority of troops left for the mountains, everything was eerily quiet.

Soon, we came to a small enclosed courtyard, and right before us stood our goal - the massive doors that barred the path which led down into the dungeons.

Jenny and I exchanged an eager smile, but as we came closer, we realized that there was a slight problem. In front of the doors stood a pair of heavy-armored guards vigilantly observing their surroundings, ensuring no one passed them unnoticed.

'Oh crap...' I quickly looked around, looking for another way in, but this seemed like the only entrance to where we needed to go.

I immediately realized we had to somehow deal with them and do it fast, as we couldn't linger here. The longer we took, the bigger the chance someone might discover that Jenny wasn't in her bed and raise the alarm.

"Wait here..." I whispered to Jenny as I sneaked forward alongside the courtyard's wall, keeping in the shadows until I was as close as I could get to the guards without getting discovered.

I then stood motionlessly for a while, observing them. The guards looked quite bored as they lazily watched without much interest the little courtyard in front of them where seemingly nothing ever happened, but still, they evidently didn't dare to slack on their duty and remained alert at all times.

Soon, however, their eyes grew heavy for some strange reason, and an intense headache assaulted them. Both men blinked in confusion, not quite understanding what was happening to them as they swayed helplessly, gasping for air before finally passing out unconscious and unceremoniously collapsing onto the ground.

I emerged from the small alcove I was hiding in just now with a big smile. 'Hmm, this turned out even better than I had hoped for...'

At first, I simply wanted to make a bubble of air around them that would stop their screams as I hit them over the head with something, but then I realized that if I could make the bubble small enough, they would soon run out of air and suffocate.

I never tried it before, so I was wondering if it would work or not, but it worked flawlessly. I checked on the unmoving guards, who were still breathing, although shallowly.

'I'm guessing they will be out cold for at least an hour, maybe even more...' I thought with a pleased smile. That is plenty of time to make it into the dungeons and back to the surface long before they wake up.

Thus, I signaled for Jenny to quickly come over while I took the key from one of the guard's belts and opened the gate.

Jenny looked at me incredulously and whispered. "What did you do?"

I simply smiled as I quickly passed through the opened gate and disappeared inside the dark corridor without saying anything. The fact that I could do chantless casting was my biggest trump card and something I will never share with anyone, not even with her.

We descended into the dungeons, and the air became heavy with the smell of mold and decay. The thinly spread torches lining the rough stone walls were the only source of light, casting eerie shadows along the musty corridor.

I walked up front while being overly cautious about my surroundings; since my magic sense couldn't pass through solid walls, I was forced to go room by room, not knowing when we might stumble upon more guards.

Jenny was quietly following me the whole time, but then she placed a hand on my shoulder, pointing at a certain door at the end of the corridor. "It's down there..."

I nodded as I moved closer in that direction. I unlocked the cell's doors with one of the keys I took from the guards out front and carefully opened them.

I moved in to check it out, but then I paused as something felt wrong. The cell was submerged in total darkness with only a sliver of light permeating from the hallway, so I couldn't be sure, but still - the cell was empty.

"Wha..." I turned around, but before I had a chance to finish, I felt something cold as Jenny plunged a long knife straight through my chest.

Her previous distress was now replaced by a cold resolve. Yet she still sobbed as she whispered, "Forgive me, but this is the only way... The only way I can see my family..."

Jenny then pulled the knife out while shoving me into the cell. I stumbled backward as I looked down absentmindedly at the hot blood freely flowing out of the gaping wound in my chest, quickly painting my shirt crimson.