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Chapter 14: The Plan
🕑 Added 2023-10-12 19:00:01 +0000 UTCThe caves rumbled slightly as another distant earthquake reverberated across the land. They were increasing ever so slightly in frequency with each passing month. It wasn’t quite at a rate where everyone had noticed. At the same time, it was easy to recognise those who had. They were ever so slightly more fearful than the others. It was almost as if they were asking themselves what would happen when the interval between quakes could be measured in hours or perhaps even minutes.
That isn’t to say that everyone else wasn't also frightened. They most certainly were, even the guards trembled with the earth. The threat of a cave-in was a subterranean nightmare, after all. Rowan was less concerned, however, as the tremors had given her the very first foundations of her escape plan. Earlier in the year, an earthquake closer to home interfered with the heat-stealing Resonance Array attached to the gate of their cell. It was only for a few seconds, but it was enough to show Rowan what was possible.
It was then that she started formulating her plan. Alas, it didn’t take long for her to hit a fair few roadblocks, most notably with finding accomplices. Trusting people in this place was no easy task, especially as the kind of people that were easy to trust tended to also be the ones who broke first. It didn’t help that they had stopped bringing in new shipments, thus depriving Rowan of potential allies that she could have saved with a spark of hope. At the same time, she was glad that the number of people that she needed to save wasn’t increasing any further. ‘Twas a small comfort in the dank caves.
Alas, Rowan was forced to conclude that finding people she could trust from the people who hadn’t been broken yet was not going to be easy. The main challenge came from knowing that she would need to keep everyone she confided in from breaking. Letting that happen would likely ruin everything and put everyone at risk.
As such, she marked the search for accomplices as a task for the future when she had a more substantial plan. That way, she would have more time to vet potential allies whilst also ensuring she had something they could cling to. All she had right now was an idea and confidence in what she had seen.
In the meantime, she shifted her focus to a different roadblock with regard to her lack of any potential escape routes. Initially, she worked on memorising the few routes that she was made to follow on a regular basis, be it to the education chambers, the exercise cavern, or the torture room. She mourned the loss of Kiriin every day. Together, they would have been able to pool their limited resources and understanding. Maybe then, Kiriin would have been strong enough to resist Lord Fein.
Alas, such fortune was rare in these caves. Proof of that could be seen in the disproportionate rise of young girls falling to the dark magic of their scars. The guards were surprisingly hush about whatever it was that was going on behind the scenes. Rowan had expected them to at least gloat about it. They usually did whenever someone of note ended up giving in. Still, even in their silence, rumours of what was happening spread like wildfire.
All the victims had been from other cells, so it all felt so distant. In a way, that made it even more horrifying, especially as there was barely anything that Rowan could do about it. She lacked the means to recognise the suffering they were being forced to endure despite the very idea of it terrifying her.
Knowing that she couldn’t help them alone, she turned to Amran for aid. He was an Empath, so maybe, just maybe, he’d see something that she could not. Every so often, he would point someone out and Rowan would offer them a few comforting words. It didn’t always work, but it was better than nothing. That’s what Rowan thought, at least.
After a year or so of doing the bare minimum, however, it was becoming clear that all her attempts at reaching out to people had ended in futility. She was on the verge of giving up when she saw someone on the brink. If Rowan did nothing, she’d be a pawn of the Good Lords within the hour. To make matters worse, the girl seemed to be at a similar age to what Anri would have been.
Rowan couldn’t give up when someone was so clearly in need, though she’d need to approach with care. One wrong move could push the girl over the edge rather than pull her back as Rowan intended. Fortunately, both of them had been assigned to the labyrinth that afternoon; it was one of the few places you could talk to someone without any risk of being seen or overheard by the guards. That isn’t to say there wouldn’t be any risk involved. Risk was a natural part of life and the existence of loyalists only added to it. Furthermore, there was also the added challenge of finding the girl before it was too late.
The first few runs of the labyrinth ended in failure. With each attempt, Rowan’s anxiety levels rose and they spiked when she saw a guard make a threatening signal to someone in the group. If Rowan read the sign correctly, she could not fail again.
Deep breath, Rowan. Focus!
After taking a moment to centre herself, Rowan stepped into the labyrinth, her senses peeled.
Seconds later, she was running as fast as her legs would safely take her. She found the icon that she was tasked with finding by the taskmaster first. It was mostly luck that led her to the icon so quickly; they were scattered throughout the labyrinth in between runs as the people who failed or finished last were punished.
Ideally, Rowan would have had her luck direct her to the girl rather than the icon, but this way, she at least had one less thing to worry about.
Alas, the search for her true objective was not without incident. She encountered a few individuals who still hadn’t found an icon of their own. Seeing that she had one and that they outnumbered her, they charged.
It wasn’t exactly surprising. These activities were no-holds barred, and the taskmaster encouraged foul play. Of course, even if they succeeded in taking Rowan down, they would immediately turn on each other. Unfortunately for them, however, they wouldn’t even get that far.
Rowan did not look back.
As the search continued, Rowan found a few more icons waiting to be claimed. Then finally she found the one the guard had signalled and he was staring the girl she was looking for down with malicious intent.
Rowan leapt into action and the potential assailant’s head crashed against the rough stone walls of the labyrinth with a crack as Rowan drove her foot into his face with incredible force.
When he dropped, Rowan turned to face the girl with her hands raised in an attempt to appear less threatening.
“It’s okay,” Rowan said softly, sympathising with the girl’s fear, “I’m here to help.”
“Y-y-you k-killed him,” she stammered.
With her arms still raised, Rowan kneeled beside the prisoner that she was guessing to be a loyalist, and with her left hand, she slowly lowered it to check his pulse. “He’s still alive,” Rowan said, her tone unchanging, “and he was going to attack you.”
Rowan wasn’t being entirely honest with her. His heart was still beating, but with an injury like that, he wasn’t long for the world. Part of her regretted not holding back just a little bit, but you had to be careful with the loyalists, especially the ones that were used as muscle as they were, more often than not, Awakened. She just couldn’t risk it, not at a time like this.
“How do I know you won’t also attack me?” the girl replied, her voice dripping with fear.
“You don’t,” Rowan answered truthfully, “but I’d be a pretty lousy assailant if that was my intent. Which is why I intend to do the complete opposite.”
“Why?”
“Because you remind me of someone I used to know who was also on the brink. I failed her. If I can help you now, I hope to at least do right by her memory.”
“But things don’t work like that down here!” the girl protested.
“According to whom? Our captors? I have no intention of playing their game. I’m Rowan, by the way.”
The girl stared at her incredulously.
“You don’t need to tell me your name, by the way. I just thought you wouldn’t want help from a complete stranger.”
“Yet here you are offering to help a complete stranger who might not even need or deserve your aid?”
“The fact you added that second bit is a clear sign that you do need it. I’m not here to judge. I’m just here to let you know that you aren’t alone.”
“Do you mean it?
“Yes.”
The girl sighed and Rowan saw the fire in her eyes.
“I’m Maro,” she said.
*****
Over the next few months, Rowan spoke to Maro more and more, always in short bursts within the labyrinth. It took a while for Maro to open up. She had been through a lot and was newly Awakened. Rowan was careful to not push her too far, especially in those early days.
Before too long, however, Maro started offering little bits about herself. At first, it was mostly just her reminiscing about life in a small mountain village in Særis that had been taken from her. Eventually, however, she revealed her Gift, and Rowan could barely believe her ears. Maro was a Wayfarer. With some effort, she could memorise any road she travelled.
Furthermore, Maro didn’t just reveal her Gift, but the truth behind the rumours. Rowan could see the shame and the guilt in Maro’s eyes as she explained what happened.
“They took me while I was sleeping… I woke up, blindfolded, to a cold breeze and bird song… A branch snapped beneath their feet… I was thrown into a room… He overpowered me…”
There was something primal and uncomfortably familiar about Maro’s pain that was impossible to ignore. For a brief few moments, Maro’s account brought back memories of the incident with Bragi where the unthinkable almost happened. It wasn’t the exact same experience as what had happened to Maro, but it could have been extremely close if Rowan had frozen up in that moment.
Rowan’s focus soon returned to Maro as her retelling came to an end. She cursed herself for not paying better attention, or more accurately, the right kind of attention. There was more to the account than just sharing, but Rowan couldn’t quite grasp the meaning between the lines. It wasn’t until later that night, after hours of agonising over it, that things finally clicked.
Maro had been outside and she was a Wayfarer.
*****
“We have a way out!” Rowan exclaimed quietly to Seres and Amran.
“Calm down, Rowan,” Amran whispered. “Take a breath and start from the beginning.”
“Maro, the girl I’ve been talking to has been outside.”
“That’s great!” Seres said a little bit too loudly.
“Do you trust her?” Amran asked.
“At least as much as she trusts me,” Rowan nodded.
“I hope that’s not your naivete speaking.”
“She trusted me enough to tell me what happened to her, and she’s done nothing to make me doubt her.”
“If Rowan trusts her, so do I,” Seres added adamantly.
“Then I’ll question you no more on the matter,” Amran replied. “Just be careful.”
*****
Over the next year, Rowan solidified her plan after ensuring Maro’s loyalty and friendship. With her help, Rowan had a rough idea of how to escape the caves should the chance arise. They had also started networking to get an idea of where the other cells were in relation to the exercise cavern.
It wasn’t a perfect plan. Especially with them relying on the earthquakes as the escape catalyst, but it was enough to give hope to those in the know.
Now all they had to do was wait.
