Mage Mangler -(Crucible of Ascension)

Seen one prison you've seen them all. Though the ones I'd been to on Earth were generally cleaner and had bog roll.

What caught me by surprise was just how comfortable the straw mattress on the rickety wooden frame actually was. I didn't care for the rats that made the occasional appearance, but all told, it could have been worse.

My cell mate had been a big man, gray, with tusks like an elephant. As crazy as that was, what really got me chuckling was the fact that he tried to roll me as soon as I walked in. He wasn't even ascended!

When the guards came to see what the commotion was about, they clattered at the bars with their truncheons as if a loud noise was going to scare me away.

"I'm not a fucking house cat," I pointed out as they gingerly opened the cell up.

"Stay back," Wellin, the level 18 guard warned as he eased in. Only one of the three guards with him was above level twenty, and honestly I wasn't convinced they were up to the job. I reckoned I could take them all out, and escape, but, I didn't know what waited beyond, so I opted for staying where I was for a bit until I could have a think.

"Your sentence just got longer for this," the Level 21 said from outside the bars.

"What for? I'm not his fucking mother. I can't help if he's a clumsy oaf and tripped, broke his arm and banged his head of the floor at least six times. Hell, I'm traumatized by the whole affair. You should be arranging counseling for me or something."

Sensibly, he ignored me as Wellin dragged the body out. Once that was done, they all left me alone again so I could relax until I was broken out of here. I wasn't one-hundred percent sure that would happen, but I had a good feeling.

As I ran through the day's events, I felt another point of Toughness settle into my bones. Not durability this time. I felt a little lighter so I assumed agility or speed. I grinned wide, that meant I'd managed to reach Level 20! "Thanks for sending me all that experience, Peralt, you fucker! I owe you!"

Name: Earl Henshaw

Title: ---

Level: 20

Class: Warrior / Tradesman

Stats:

Toughness – 37 +10

Mental Acuity – 23 + 5

Harmony- 0

Total: 60

Progress in Class:

Warrior Level 36: 170/360

Level 10 Boon: +5 in durability.

Level 20 Boon: +5 in reaction speed

Level 30 Boon: +5 in durability

Tradesman Level Two: Leather Worker.

Mage: 0

"Well shit," I muttered to myself. It seems I'd missed a point in toughness at some point in the last two days as I'd gone up by two points. "We're on our way, fella, we're on our way." I laid my head back with a wide smile on my face and drifted off to sleep.

No rescue came that night and the next day creeped by with nothing but a bowl of bland mashed vegetables for company.

To say I was growing irritated was an understatement. Not even a word from Loosh or Ree or anyone else. They better be fucking dead or dying… or at least captured.

Whatever the reason, it meant it was time to work on my own escape plan. As it was a windowless cell, those options boiled down to devising weapons to kill the guards.

My old cell mate had gotten my collection started with a small, roughly made knife that I hid in my mattress. I was also able to snap the back leg of his bed for a cosh. I managed to make it look as though the bed was still fine, by pushing it tight into the corner. So unless someone lay back on it, no one should notice the damage. Now I just had to get the guards to come.

Easier said than done. I spent an hour shouting for them, but they ignored me. I spent an hour threatening them, and again they ignored me.

If only I'd known they'd be visiting later that night I could have saved myself the effort.

They came mob handed. Six of them, all with decent levels, leading a restrained Level 26 warrior. A new cell mate! That should help when I killed him.

They uncuffed his hands and pushed him the cell with me with a few lame threats and warnings for me to stop shouting. I wasn't interested. I only had eyes for my new cell mate:

Name: Moll Gulla

Title ---

Level: 26

Class Warrior.

He was well over six-foot, built like a barn door with dark orange skin and light orange eyes. Those eyes bored into me with intent as he paced up and down the cell like a predator waiting for the guards to disappear.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

He was either as mad as me, which was unlikely, or he was sent here and from his general demeanor, it wasn't by the Siroth.

The guards were still there giving us both warnings and it looked like they wouldn't leave until he on his bed. Luckily choosing the corner, away from my earlier alterations.

Now satisfied, the guards went back about their business and Moll smiled. It was not a nice smile.

"Peralt sends his regards," he said as soon as they were out of earshot.

"Did he now?"

"He said he wanted you to die safe in the knowledge that he'd look after Malika personally."

"That's good to hear. But there's one problem. I'm going to outlive Peralt by a good amount."

"No." he said about to get to his feet. "You're going to die tonight."

I held a hand up to stall him. "Before we start, can I ask, why do you follow him? Peralt?"

"Cos he's the boss, idiot."

"Nah. I mean is it money? Fear?"

"He controls the Haleen underworld. Who else would I serve?"

"Me. Because I'm gonna control the Haleen underworld soon. Save yourself a painful death now and join me."

For a moment, a genuine chuckle broke through his mean façade. "You really are as crazy as they told me if you believe that. Your mage is captured. Peralt is probably torturing her as we speak. And You. You're stuck in here with me, and trust me when I say, you've got no chance. I've won peripheral tournaments across the Union. I'm entering the upper tournaments and holding my own."

"Is that a no?"

He shook his head. "That's a no."

I stood up. Bed leg cosh currently still hidden under my blankets for a little surprise through the fight but my knife was concealed in my belt.

"You still think you can take me?" he chuckled, though it held no humor now. "This should be fun."

As he stood, I lunged forward, pretending to throw a punch at his face. He raised his guard and I changed my attack to a push against his arms. He was agile and twisted to take the power from my unexpected push, but when he stepped back, his leg hit bedframe and he toppled onto the bed.

As he fell, he probably still thought he had a chance. But when the bed tipped back and his head wedged into the corner at an awkward angle, I saw a flicker of panic in his widening eyes.

Before he could get back up, I jumped onto him, pinning him in the awkward position and aimed for those big wide saucers with the knife.

He blocked my first blow with a forearm like steel. I pulled back to go again at his throat and he bucked with his hips to throw me off. The knife hit his chest rather than throat and while it dug in a little, the blade bent on impact. He caught me with an open palmed strike to the chin that knocked me further back and then tried to get up, while also reaching into his shirt for something.

We couldn't have that, so I threw the piece of shit knife to the side and smashed him in the chest with a double hammer fist, preventing him from reaching whatever weapon he had. Then I shimmied higher up and cracked him with a big right.

His head rocked back and I kept punching. He wasn't getting a second to breathe now and though he thrashed and struggled, my position was too good. All he managed to achieve, was to get tangled in the blankets.

"Didn't think…" I dropped another double hammer fist to his face, "…that the broken bed…" I pummeled, left, right, left, right, opening up deeper cuts than I had with the shitty knife. "…would be such… a good weapon."

By the time I'd bragged about my booby-trapped bed, Moll wasn't moving any more. There was, however, a commotion behind me as strong hands gripped my arms and hauled me back.

"Killed another one, Joren?" The guard barked in my ear. "You're gonna have to stay in solitary."

"Fucker attacked me!" I said writhing to get free to kill again. "Someone called Peralt sent him to kill me."

"Peralt?" The guard asked curiously, still keeping hold of my arms.

His interest in the name sent my mind whirring. "Yeah! The interworld gangster dickhead sent those men in the street after me as well. I'm a bodyguard for a merchant and they've kidnapped her from your fucking city, and they tried to kill me. You managed to arrest the only innocent one in this whole ordeal." Which was almost true.

"Why didn't you say something earlier?"

"You didn't ask and you wouldn't bloody listen!"

"Wait here. I'm going to run some enquiries. We'll be back." The two of the restraining guards pushed me onto my bed, and left the cell quickly. And just like that it was just me again. If you didn't count the body in the corner.

I sat and flexed my hands a few times. My knuckles were bleeding and sore, but otherwise I hadn't come off too badly off. I replayed the fight over as I generally did, and a moment stood out to me from the carnage. Moll had tried to get something from his pocket during the fight. I definitely needed a better weapon, so I went to investigate.

Pulling his shirt to one side, I couldn't find anything in it at all. I almost gave up when I noticed the badly sewn wound in his chest. I didn't have sharp nails like Moll so I hunted out the knife I'd thrown and used it to cut the threads on the wound. And what would you know! Out popped an enchanted rod. I scowled at it. "Fucking typical. Something that's of absolutely no use to me." Then I nearly shat myself as Moll groaned.

"Motherfucker! I thought you were dead!" He must have had another fucking hole somewhere to breathe through because his mouth and nose were mush. I was about to restart the beating of his horrifically mangled face, when he held his hands up. "Gggg." He gurgled at great personal cost.

"I don't know what the fuck your saying, but I doubt it's gonna make a difference. I was about to start again, when he tried again. "Gggg." He was gesturing wildly with his hands now trying to get me to stop. I still don't know if it was part of the translation ability the Able had triggered in my mind but some part of me knew he'd said, "Wait and then Peace.

"Why the fuck would I want peace with you? Nah fella. It's time to meet your maker."

He slapped his chest, pointed at the wall, then pointed at me, slapped his chest again, then at the wall.

"You can get us out of here?"

"Gggg."

"Okay. I'm listening."

He put his hand out. I looked from his hand to the rod, then back to him. Then I shrugged and handed it over, before retrieving my bed leg cudgel in case he pulled any fast shit.

The enchantment rod opened into a bag like the ones Loosh carried for us. I grinned and snatched it from his weak fingered grip.

He slumped back, defeated while I opened the bag up to check the contents. There was a lovely hand axe which I took out and lay by my feet. There were fresh clothes which I ignored, and finally there were several enchantment rods.

Four of them had a deep grove around the center and while I didn't recognize runes, they looked suspiciously like healing rods. I broke one in half, and felt the very mildest of tingling in my shoulder and across my knuckles. They didn't heal in any visible way, but I'd at least worked out what the rods were.

I checked the other enchantment rods but had no way to guess what they for were. I looked back at Moll who was trying to lift his head again. Hand outstretched for one of the healing rods. "Gggg."

"Please? You came to fucking kill me."

He slumped back and I watched him for a little while. I doubted I could trust him, but it was hard to gauge his sincerity from his facial expressions, but then the guards would be back soon. Could I trust them to let me out? They'd probably still lock me in solitary knowing my luck. So the real question was, could this fucker get me out of here? In the end I decided it was worth a try.

I gave him the first rod. He broke it immediately and sagged in relief as a glow emanated out from the rod and washed over his face. I picked up the axe again as his face started to pull back together.

"Aggov."

I handed him another healing rod. He used it immediately and started looking like his old self again. Not fully healed but not a kick in the arse off.

He looked at the axe and then to me. "I'll help you get out of here."

I chuckled. "Oh fuck no. Moll Gulla died in here. You are fucking mine now," I said pointing at myself to drive the point home. "It's either that, or your half-healed head of yours is coming off." I hoisted the axe up. "Do good, and you'll do alright with me. Money, power, I'll make sure you get it."

He pointed to the last healing rod hopefully. I shook my head. "I'd hurry up and get us out of here. The guards are coming back soon. I'll give you the last one if we get out."

He stalled. "I do owe you my life, but I can't follow you. My family are on Haleen. If he finds out I serve you, he'll torture them all until I'm captured. Then he'll kill them in front of me as part of my torture. You don't cross him, Joren. He's a true monster."

I hefted the axe. "You're no good to me then."

His shoulders sagged and his head dropped. "I want to live, but my family are worth more to me than my miserable life."

"What about if I promise to help you get them out of Haleen? I've got some pretty solid connections that might surprise you, and your ex-boss."

He deflated. "It's a huge risk, I don't know if I can take it."

"Who's gonna look after your family once you're dead? Who's going to look after them when I go and smash Peralt to pieces?"

"I get the impression you don't much like Peralt any more than I do. Get us out of here, and I'll get your family out of Haleen, that's a promise. And I want you to understand, I'll get out of here with or without you. There're already plans in action to spring me if the guard doesn't just let me go. But I don't like relying on the charity of others and I like you Moll. You're a tough motherfucker, and if it wasn't for my bed trap, this might have ended differently."

His eyes widened. "You set the bed up?"

"Sure fucking did. Now agree to join me, and let's get the fuck out of here."

He held out his hand for me to help him up from the awkward position. He frowned as he got to his feet. "I'm with you, Joren, for as long as you hold true to your promise to me. But can I ask one more favor."

I raised a brow. "I think you've had enough, fella."

"Still," he said, eyeing the bed. "Can we never mention to anyone that I was defeated by a broken bed?"

I broke into laughter. The most I could remember in a long time. I shook with it and a small tear ran from the corner of my eye. "I can't promise that, Moll."

"Could be a deal breaker," he muttered, then gestured for one of the other rods. "Not the one with green runes. Any of the three that are the same. Those are the explosives.