Road to Freedom?

Lyzzar sat in his cell, the darkness didn't bother him but the bonds holding his wrists together did. He had no way of getting out of his bonds, no matter how hard he tried. By now his wrists were raw from trying and try as he might he could not release any of his magic without the use of his hands. He had resigned himself to an uncomfortable sleep but even when he shut his eyes sleep was loathe to come. So he sat, waiting to see what happened to him next. It was apparent to him that this city had hatred toward the drow but he was not able to figure out now. All he knew was that with every minute he was held in captivity more of them would die at his hand.

He began contemplating how each would die, some would be bund alive, others would slowly be taken apart by his raven who was no doubt puzzled at the lack of his masters presence, trapped in his cloak in some chest, hopefully not suffocating. He closed his eyes and concentrated. He could feel the bird's presence. It was live at least, asleep and recovering from its encounter with that acid crab, he mused.

A beam of light appeared on the wall, the door as opening. Why had he not head the guard approaching, the brutes were loud enough to wake the dead. This had to be someone else, but who? Lyzzar moved to the corner of the cell, trying frantically to release his bonds. The beam of light on the wall got wider as the door opened silently and a shadow appeared on the wall. It was a small black shadow that moved silently. The beam of light disappeared as the door closed. The black cloaked figure approached Lyzzar. He raised his hands above his head, ready to do what he could to defend himself.

The cloaked figure moved closer and Lyzzar tensed up. An abrasive voice whispered from under its hood Come with me, don't ask questions, just know that I am here to free you, Lyzzar kept his hands in the air and said nothing. The figure moved, its hang going to its side and the gleam of a dagger could just be seen under the black cloth. The voice now said, Give me your hands, and let me free you. Lyzzar finally replied, Why should I trust you? The figure cast a quick glance at the door and hissed Shut up! If you are heard we will both be in over our heads. Just know that someone has hired me to free you and let me undo your bonds. 

Lyzzar looked at the creature in front of him, all parts of him covered save for the hands with rough skin and it seemed almost a yellowish orange color. He did not trust this creature one bit but what choice did he have. Lyzzar eyed the blade intently as he lowered his arms until they were within reach. He flinched as deft hands cut his bonds, expecting them to cut his throat as well. All the while thoughts raced through his head, had his companions hired such a person to rescue him? That was impossible; none of them would do that. The elf who loathed him and his race and the cleric whose only allegiance was the mead in the tavern. Those were all the companions he had left and they would not go so far as to spend their money on setting him free. For all he knew they had both parted ways, Poofus to the nearest keg and Skarlan anywhere else.

He was snapped out of his musings by another hiss from the figure that had by now moved to the door and was silently opening it. Get over here! Quietly! Lyzzar moved as quietly as he could, luckily bare feet make little noise. The door was open and soon he was out in the hallway and the other figure was closing the door. Just as he thought he was free the door made what seemed to be an impossibly loud screech. They both heard the guards go quiet. Go check that out. said one of them and the movement of chairs was followed by heavy footsteps in their direction. The black figure was gone in an instant, he had fled in the other direction without a second thought but Lyzzar knew that he could not be as quick or as silent as the rogue. He stood his ground and started muttering under his breath as the guard turned the corner. Just before he released his spell an arrow whizzed over his shoulder and stuck in the guards’ throat, he immediately sent three more bolts of magical energy at the guard, who was now as good as dead. Unfortunately his body made quite a racket as it fell to the stone ground. Metal plates had an unfortunate way of clanging quite loudly when they hit the ground with any force. Immediately they could hear the chairs move and worried voices get closer.

Lyzzar quickly stepped over the body while casting a disguise spell, his hands making the gestured and him muttering the words as quickly and accurately as he could. He took on the visage of the guard that had just been killed and picked up the sword from the man's scabbard just to complete appearances. He had no other choice from what he could see. The guards rounded the corner, facing Lyzzar immediately but they saw through his disguise even as he started to talk.

They exclaimed in surprise, seeing the body of their companion on the ground they let out an angry bellow and ran at him. Lyzzar was quicker though, in a flash he was by another door that he thought he heard someone in before. It was the one across from his cell. Quickly he used a spell to release the lock and swung the door open calling Fight for your freedom! and dropping the sword onto the ground. Before he knew what was happening an elf was standing in front of him crossing blades with the guard who was about to take a chop at Lyzzar. The elf's swordsmanship was almost unreal. It looked as if he were dancing with the blade and before Lyzzar could do anything one guard was on the ground bleeding from multiple wounds.

He felt the metal tip of an arrow dig into the flesh of his lower back and he yelped. Turning around but seeing no one. He would deal with that roguish backstabber later, he thought to himself as the words of a fireball spell came flooding out of his mouth, his finger pointing at the two remaining guards before him. Soon they would be reduced to ashes. The magical energy from within him erupted from his finger taking the form of a small orange sphere barely bigger than a finger. It flew past the elf's head, barely missing him and as it hit the first guard square in the chest it grew to engulf him fully. The ball continued to move while the man was still barely on his feet, white hot metal burning into his skin. He cried out in agony. Shit thought Lyzzar, This means more of them. He guided the fireball to the second guard as the elf dispatched of what remained of the second guard. The last guard watched in horror as the fireball came toward him, engulfing him fully as it did his comrade and the last thing Lyzzar saw before the guard was fully engulfed in flame were eyes full of terror and pain.

The body inside the fireball collapsed without another word, a silent scream could be seen on the lips of the now dead guard. The elf that had just been freed took the sword and turned. He stared at Lyzzar, an eternal enemy of the elves, but then ran right past him, spitting on the ground at the drow's feet as he passed. That was as much of a thank you as he could expect and about as much as he would have given if he had been in the same situation.

Lyzzar ran to where the guards had come from even as he heard the familiar hiss behind him Come here you idiot, you won't get out that way. He did not respond but kept running; he had to get his clothes, and his raven. He burst into the intersection of three hallways where the guards had left their food, drink and cards. There were three chests there as well, presumably to keep the prisoners belongings. He rushed to the first one and flung it open. A bastard sword and a loincloth must be the barbarian he had heard ranting earlier and snoring now. He rushed to the second chest, it was locked. Cursing under his breath he muttered the words to the spell that would unlock the chest even as he heard heavy footsteps and shouts from the floor above. He had no time. Relief briefly showed on his face, still disguised as a guard, as he grabbed his cloak and other equipment and ran back where his liberator had gone. He saw him peeking around the corner, holding his bow at the ready for anyone coming around the corner. An arrow whizzed by his head, apparently the cretin was not smart enough to recognize the disguise again. Luckily it had missed this time. He ran forward, dispelling his disguise to avoid any more arrows as he ran. He could hear the guards running down the stairs, their armor rattling loudly enough to wake the whole city, thought Lyzzar. He was counting on them not knowing which of the three hallways the guards had screamed from but that would hold them up for seconds at most.

As he rounded the corner he saw the black figure waving him on frantically. He was opening another cell door and Lyzzar's heart dropped. If this was a trap, the city now had him on the grounds of multiple murders. He ran on, not having any other choice but to trust the one who had cut his bonds and opened the cell. The orange skinned had was holding the door open for him as he turned to enter it, hesitating a moment until he saw that it was actually a tunnel and not a cell. That one moment was enough for the guards to emerge from around the corner. They both ran, as fast as they could, the door closed behind them, hoping the guards would not catch up. Fresh air soon tickled Lyzzar's nostrils as they approached the end of the tunnel. It seemed that he had been freed after all.