Episode 2: The Thieves' Grotto (4 of 5)

"You pick a door this time, Lil," Locke suggests.

Lil looks around thoughtfully before pointing to the unopened door on the eastern wall, "Well, we might as well try that one next."

Locke nods and heads towards the door in question, pressing his ear against the door to check for any hostiles. He listens and hears nothing but a drip of water rhythmically falling within the room. Locke stands and then opens the door. The door swings open with a loud creak and as our Heroes step in, they realize the room is completely dark. Lil frowns.

"Wow, not even I can see in this!"

"Could your magic help us?" Locke asks.

"Let's see," She says, retrieving the orb from her bag. Lil holds the orb in her right hand and with a wave of her left, the orb begins to glow with a bright white light. As the light grows, shadows begin to dance across the walls and they realize the room is empty. However, on the far left of the room they spot the beaten remains of a human chained to the wall, its face frozen in agony.

"That's not. . . encouraging," Locke announces.

Lil looks away, whispering, "They're even more violent than I thought."

"Indeed," Locke answers. "I wonder, was this a thief, or a hapless victim?"

Lil frowns again, "I guess nobody will ever know."

"Yeah," Locke answers before he turns and exits the room. Once again in the main chamber, Locke walks across the room to the door adjacent to the room they came from before he presses his ear against the closed door to listen for any sounds of movement. Locke listens but hears nothing, just the whistle of the wind traveling through the caves' interior. He stands once more and opens the door. The duo walk into the room where they immediately realize that they are in a prison cell block. The room is dim; however they are able to see that inside the jail cell there sits a female elf archer sitting on the ground. They also notice that a longbow hangs on a hook on the wall away from the cell.

The elven archer immediately glances up with a look of fear on her face, "Wh-who are you?"

"Who are you?" Locke echoes to the female.

She stares him down for a moment before whispering, "You're not with them, are you?"

Locke looks at Lilanei with a puzzled expression and then looks back to the female before replying, "I suppose not, since I don't know who you're talking about."

The archer stands and walks to the cell bars, grasping them in her hands, "I was captured by a pair of Kobolds. I don't know how long I've been here, possibly a couple of days. Can you help me?" She pleads.

"Well, sure," Locke answers. "But maybe you could answer a few questions for us first."

The elf frowns and then nods.

"Excellent," Locke announces. "Do you know why you were captured?"

"I don't," She answers, shaking her head. "I was merely making my way through the grotto on the surface when I was ambushed. I told them I didn't have any money, so they instead settled on capturing me."

"Have you seen their leader? Do you know if they have one?"

"Leader?" She asks thoughtfully. "I haven't seen a soul since those Kobolds locked me in this hellish prison."

Lil stands with her arms crossed, thoughtfully taking in everything that is being said.

"Well, where are you from?" Locke asks again. "And why were you going through the grotto in the first place?"

The elf raises her eyebrow, "Why else would I be going through the grotto? To get to the towns on the other side of the island."

"So, you're from. . .?" Locke asks. The look of hope that had graced her face when they entered slowly begins to drown away, leaving worry.

"I'm a traveler," she finally states. "I've come through Illias after having taken a boat from the nearby island of Fukai."

"Fair enough," Locke says. "I guess we'll get you out. Well, at least try to."

She nods and steps away from the bars. Lil then glances at the cell inquisitively, "How do you propose we free her? These are solid metal bars."

"If you have no magical spells that could help us," Locke begins, "well. . . then, I'm already stumped."

Lil frowns before her eyes brighten with an idea, "Maybe," she says, glancing down to his feet, "you should use your master lock picking skills!"

"Oh yeah, right," Locke announces sarcastically. Meanwhile, the elf watches in wonderment before Locke continues. "I'll just pull off something that Akorinn probably could do and just dropkick the bars away!"

Lil nods, "I guess you'll have to," to which Locke mumbles under his breath.

"You know what," Locke begins, before turning to the elf. "What did your captives look like? Have you noticed any guards and did they have a key?"

"Like I said," She responds. "I haven't seen anyone since I was locked in this prison." She looks down slowly at the floor and shakes her head, "There might not even be a key. . .”

Seeing the hopelessness in her face, Locke steps back before announcing to the Elf, "Stand back." He lifts his left foot and thrusts it forward kicking out at the cell door in a bid to break it down. The cell door appears as if it will give way as his foot makes contact, causing the door to groan loudly; however the door does not quite open. "Once more!" Locke cries, this time stepping a few paces backwards before he charges at the door, his right shoulder facing the door as he attempts a shoulder barge.

His shoulder makes contact with the metal bars, and with a loud crash, he sends the door and himself crashing into the cell as it opens, Locke lying in a heap on the metal as a result. The elf's eyes brighten as she realizes she is free. Quickly reaching for Locke's arm, she pulls him up to his feet before she gives him a big kiss on the lips.

"Thank you!" She cries.

"Not a problem, madam. . ." Locke mumbles in a stunned daze.

With a slight tint of jealously flashing across her face, Lilanei takes the crossbow from the wall and hands it to the elf, "If you're going to escape, I think you'll be needing this."

The elf smiles widely, "I'll never be able to repay you. Nevertheless, take this token as a sign of my gratitude." The elf then reaches into her boot, retrieving two vials of potions, which Lil takes graciously. Looking back at the still dazed Locke, the elf's smile turns quickly to a serious frown, "Now if you'll excuse me," she begins. "I must make haste." And with that final word, the elf rushes out of the room.

"Oh, Lil," Locke groans. "That hurt."

Lil stares Locke down blankly, "What? The kiss? She seemed attractive enough to me."

Locke rubs his head slowly before shaking it, "No, I mean the cell door. That hurt me more than I hurt it! But the kiss was worth it. . . Although I didn't even get her name." He sighs.

Lil purses her lips, looking down her nose at Locke, "The same," she begins. "Men are all the same."

"Not all the same," Locke replies. "I'd like to think I'm one of the good ones."

Lil shakes her head, "Whatever. Let's move on." Locke stumbles out of the cell and follows Lil back out to the main chamber.

"Two doors left," Lil says. "What do you think?"

"Mm, I dunno," Locke says with a slight groan. "You choose, I feel kind of stunned right now."

Lil sighs and walks straight ahead to the unopened door to the north wall. Reaching for the handle, she gives it a hard pull only to find the door does not budge.

"Hm," she says, "It looks jammed."

Locke wanders over to the door and kicks it with his right boot; however the door still does not budge, to which Lil smiles, "Maybe you should try ramming again," as her eyes twinkle slightly, looking at his bruised shoulder.

"Don't even go there," Locke hisses.

"Well fine!" Lil hisses back. "I guess we won't know what's in this room."

"Guess not," Locke replies as he walks away from that door and to the only other door that is left shut. He grasps the handle and turns it, easily opening the door. The duo enter the room, which is brightly lit by torches hanging around its small proximity. As they peer through the doorway, they also immediately notice two human rabbles guarding a ladder heading up to the next level. Locke's eyes meet with theirs instantly, and no hesitation is had before the group leap into battle.

Locke withdraws his sickle and charges at the old man guarding the ladder, attempting to make a strike, but his female ally extends her foot, tripping Locke up as he stumbles into the old man. The woman grabs her club before she raises it in the air, preparing to slam it down on Locke. The club smashes down into Locke's head with a mighty clump. Lil soon unsheathes her dagger and runs to the woman's left side and with a sweeping motion aims for her neck. The blade plunges deep into the Woman's throat, severing her airway and killing her instantly.

Noticing his fallen partner, the old man snarls, "My woman!"

On that note, he takes an angry swing at Locke's chest with his mighty club, but Locke, on his knees, thrusts his body backwards so he lays back-first on the stone floor, afterwards thrusting his right boot upwards into the old man's chin. The force of his boot is enough to throw the old man's head back – straight into the jagged rock sticking out of the wall behind him. The old man's skull is pierced by the sharp rock and he also dies instantly.

"Relax, old man," Locke groans as he gets to his feet. "She was ugly anyway." He then spits on the old man and turns to the woman, but knowing his manners thinks against it, as Lil simply shakes her head.


"It's good to see your mother taught you how to treat a lady," Lil says sneeringly.

"My parents might be fascists," Locke begins, "but the Kallidins still know their manners. Just because my old man spit on your mom once doesn't mean we'd spit on human females. And before you say anything – no, I wouldn't spit on you, or your mother either. I'm better than that."

Lil uncharacteristically remains silent, simply shuffling her feet in the dirt, "Anyway," she says, changing the subject, "it looks like we're headed up now."

"Then let's move on up!" Locke says with passion.

And so, our Heroes begin their ascent up the ladder, into the darkness up above. Minutes pass before Locke and Lilanei finally complete their climb, only to find they are now in a very narrow hallway, dimly lit by candles lining the walls. This narrow passageway leads in only one direction – towards a massive wooden door.

As Locke walks further towards the door, he observes it before announcing, "This door looks rather sturdy; I hope it's unlocked because I couldn't take breaking down another door."

Lil chuckles before clearing her throat, "In all seriousness, I wonder what's on the other side."

"Me too," Locke simply replies as he stops in front of the door. "We're about to find out."

Locke presses his ear against the door as he wraps his fingers around the door handle, allowing himself a moment to try and figure out if anything sinister is behind the door. It is not long before Locke hears a loud conversation going on beyond the door. A woman is the first to speak.

"Well, anyway, that was too easy," she says in a snide manner, followed by a gruff male voice.

"Huh, I know!" He states before pausing for a brief second. "I'm too good."

"You're too good?" The woman shrieks. "I did all the work!"

"Whatever. . . We got the money, didn't we?"

"Hmm, sure did. Although. . . it isn't very much."

Locke listens to the conversation before an intense look of anger envelops his face; he turns to Lil and whispers, "I believe the thieves are behind this door."

Lil gulps, "Should we. . . take them on?"

"Damn right we're going to take them on!" Locke begins as he retrieves his sickle. "I'm gonna rip their heads off and use them as money boxes – c'mon!"