Echoes of Broken Vows

Chapter 15

Sam worked feverishly, hunched shirtless over his desk, his muscles were filled with ink stains. His eyes darted between the clumsy map he was drawing and the door. Every few moments, he would pause, listening intently for any approaching footsteps outside his door.

Sam quickly covered his work with a blank sheet of old fabric as he heard a gentle knock at the door. He opened the door slightly, and saw Rowan’s face, tensed and worried.

Rowan hesitated.

“I need to talk to you about something,”

Rowan whispered, Sam’s eyes scanned the empty corridor behind him.

Sam beckoned him in, quickly locking the door behind them. As soon as he was done, Rowan’s composure disappeared. “We need an escape plan,”

he said, worried. “It is just a matter of time until Sailas will reach us.”

He started walking back and forth.

“I know,”

Sam smiled, removing the fabric to reveal his work. “I’ve already started planning.”

Rowan leaned in, he tried to study the rough map of the temple and its surroundings but understood nothing. “You can’t really draw do you?”

Rowan and grinned.

“Shut up, it’s not that complicated”

Sam pointed to a series of markings he drew along the eastern wall of the temple. “There’s an old drainage system here, long forgotten. I discovered it during my research into the temple’s history. It could be our way out when things go sideways.”

Rowan nodded, his brow furrowed in concentration. “But what about after we escape? The Eidolon’s influence extends much further beyond these walls. We are still at risk even if we manage to escape”

Sam pulled out a bigger piece of paper, this one had a wider map of the surrounding lands. “I’ve been thinking about that too. We’ll need supplies, new identities, and a safe place to stay at beyond the Eidolon’s reach.”

As they bent over the maps, the gravity of their situation settled over them. This wasn’t just a contingency plan, it was an admission that their dangerous game would come to an abrupt and possibly violent end at any moment.

“We’ll need to cache supplies along the escape route,”

Rowan said, tracing potential paths with his finger. “Food, water, weapons...”

Rowan thought for a moment, “We can go tomorrow and search for places to his them,”

he suggested.

Sam nodded in agreement. “We’ll need to do it discreetly. Any unusual activity would raise suspicion.”

As they continued to flesh out their plan, the sounds of the temple preparing for another day of interrogations filtered through the thick stone walls. The distant echo of boots on stone and the muffled voices of guards served as a constant reminder of the precarious nature of their position.

Rowan paused, a thought suddenly occurring to him. “What about the others?”

He asked, his voice filled with concern. “Einar, and anyone else who might be unjustly accused? We can’t just leave them to Sailas’s mercy.”

Sam’s expression grew grave at Rowan’s question. He ran a hand through his disheveled hair, the weight of their responsibility clearly visible in the slump of his shoulders.

“You’re right,”

he said softly. “We can’t abandon them. But rescuing others will complicate our escape significantly.”

Rowan nodded, his jaw set with determination. “We’ll have to be strategic. We can’t save everyone, but perhaps we can create a diversion that allows some to slip away in the chaos.”

They bent over the maps again, now plotting potential routes not just for themselves, but for others who might need an escape. The complexity of their plan grew with each passing minute, as did the risk.

“We’ll need to move quickly,”

Sam murmured, adding notations to the parchment. “The longer we wait, the more people Sailas will break. And the closer he’ll get to uncovering our involvement.”

Suddenly, the air crackled with magical energy. Before either could react, the door to Sam’s quarters exploded inward in a shower of splinters and arcane sparks.

Armored figures poured into the room, the Eidolon’s special force. Their faces hidden behind enchanted masks that glowed with an eerie blue light. Without thinking Sam grubbed the wooden chair beside him, and swung it to one of the guard’s heads, breaking the chair into pieces. Then rushed to tackle the guard that stood nearby, they both hit the wall with a grunt. The guard managed to maintain his position and hit Sam with a knee to the stomach, making him lose his breath. Then with an elbow to the jaw, the guard knocked Sam to the floor.

Rowan’s hand instinctively went for his concealed dagger, he wouldn’t go without a fight. He jumped to kick one of the guards in the face, but the guard was quick, he caught Rowan’s foot and slammed him to the floor. Beside him, Sam managed to wake up, his nose bled all over the floor, his eyes wide with shock and fear.

“No...”

Sam granted as one of the guards snatched the maps from the desk. “Those are just historical research...”

His protests were cut short by a swift blow to the stomach that left him gasping for air once more. Rowan tried to call out, to defend his friend, but one of the guards kicked him in the face, making him to spit blood.

The guards moved with brutal efficiency, securing both men with enchanted shackles that seemed to drain their very strength. As they were roughly dragged from the room, Rowan caught a glimpse of a familiar figure standing in the hallway, Sailas, his dark eyes gleamed with anticipation.

“Well done,”

Sailas said, his voice dripping with malice. “It seems our suspicions were well-founded. Take them to the deep chambers. We have much to discuss.”

As they were hauled through the corridors of the Eidolon temple, past shocked initiates and grim-faced senior members, the reality of their situation crashed down upon them. Their carefully laid plans, their hopes for escape and revolution, all crumbled in the face of this sudden, overwhelming force.

They had no time to plan their escape, no chance to warn others or set their plans in motion. As the dark, foreboding entrance to the interrogation chambers loomed before them, Rowan and Sam exchanged one last, desperate look. Whatever horrors awaited them in the depths of the temple, they would face them together – their shared secrets and burdens now fully exposed to the merciless scrutiny of the Eidolon.

The heavy iron doors creaked open, ready to swallow them into the abyss of Sailas’s infamous interrogation. With a final, rough shove, Rowan and Sam were thrust into the darkness, the doors slamming shut behind them with a finality that echoed through the stone chambers. Their ordeal was only beginning.