Quick Errand

It was good to see the stars again, one of the beautiful consequences of a power outage. I could stand here till dawn, the view was so mesmerizing.

"Babe?" Where was he?

"I think he went to the bathroom, but who knows." I hear a foreign voice say, they had a weird accent, I couldn't put my finger on where it was from.

"Who are you?! What did you do to Aaron?" I asked, desperately trying to feel out which pocket my phone was in while not looking too obvious.

"I told you: bathroom, I think, he may have wandered around a bit, can't really be sure, now can we?" What the hell was he talking about? "Your phone, darling, it's there. On the couch." He pointed out. Crap! "Don't worry, even if you had it, it'd be useless, you know, because of the power outage. I thought you'd be smarter than that, well I guess you'll have to manage with what you got."

"What are you rambling on about? Leave."

"Well, that was uncalled for, and quite frankly very rude. But if you insist I'll go. Your bf is in my house in another plane of existence, but I guess that's not your problem is it? He'll just find his way home...somehow." I'm going nuts or I'm hallucinating. How do I wake up? Maybe if he disappears so will my delusion? What if he's telling the truth? Or what if he's the mad one and has Aaron tied up somewhere? Yep, that seems most plausible. So I just need to play along, maybe I can figure out where he is, or better I can negotiate and get him returned safely.

"I'm sorry, that wasn't very hospitable. Do you want something to drink?"

"That is much better, but no, thank you, we don't have time for such pleasantries. I'm here to make a deal with you. You'll get your pretty boy back if you'll run a quick errand for me. Sound good?" Sounds vague. Did I have a choice? Probably not.

"Yes."

"This is going so much better than I hoped. Okay, so all I need you to do is the typical recovering a stolen item quest. I'll even send you as close as I can to the castle. All you need to do is waltz in there, grab the chalice and come out, call my name and I'll get you out. Easy, right?" Nope, not even close. I was trying hard to translate this into normal talk, but it was too much, this man was way over crazy, he was delusional to an irreversible extent.

"Sure."

"Oh, I know what you're thinking, I can't just send you to a well-guarded castle unarmed! So here are the three items that you can take in and still go unnoticed." He handed me some boots, a brooch and a ring. Wow, these will help me so much.

"Uhm... Thanks, can you give an address or some directions as well?"

"I'll teleport you there, don't worry. Besides, it's a giant castle, impossible to miss. Now put on your boots. You know what they do?" He was seriously asking me what shoes are for? How did I get into this mess? "They're called the Boots of False Tracks, they'll mimic the footprints of a tiefling, so no one will suspect you if they see you in the castle when the alarm goes off." That sounded kind of cool, if only there were such shoes, I'd be interested in seeing them do their magic. I put them on nonetheless, they fit me well. Now I was inspecting the two small metal objects I was gifted. They seemed delicate and pretty, but not useful in any way.

"That is a docent, very useful for someone like you, with knowledge that leaves much to be desire. Touch it to your chest" I brought it close to my bare chest, I felt a sharp pain, as if something bit into my flesh, deeper than any I felt before. "It might hurt a bit." Thanks for the warning. Fortunately, it was fast, over before I could complain. "However, it's pretty amazing. It can translate any foreign language to your own, also it can help you find the chalice, and that is your number one priority." Only the ring was left, I turned it over, wondering what this madman could've made this up to be. "Oh, that one is my favourite, sorry Ben." Who the hell is Ben?

'It's alright, boss.' I heard in my head. I must be hallucinating, this is beyond mad. He probably saw my shocked expression, cause with a chuckle he replied: "He's called Ben, don't worry only you can hear him, wouldn't be of much use, if everyone could hear him."

"How are you doing this?"

"It's not me, Ben has telepathy. But back to the Band of Shocking Grasp. I didn't want to give you anything that you can accidentally hurt yourself with, but it seems you'll need some kind of weapon in case you get caught red-handed. So listen carefully, Ben will help you out if you forget, but still, it's better if you could scribe this into your mind. You can do three things with this ring: teleport to a place within your vision, cast lightning or electrocute someone with your touch. The first will require no words, just concentration, the second one is a spell called Lightning Bolt, say the name and direct the lightning anywhere that is away from yourself, this will take up much of your energy so try and only use it if necessary. The last one is based on touch, you have to actually physically put your hand on the creature you're trying to electrocute and say the words Shocking Grasp, works best if they're in armour. Got it?" I actually listened as if this will come in handy. He had that effect, no matter how obvious it was that he belonged in a loony bin, somehow I couldn't help but believe every word he said.

"I think so."

"That's as much as I can ask, are you ready? One" he started slowly, I just waited for the obvious to happen, but still felt a tinge of excitement, if anything he said were to be true..."Two." Wow, that would be so amazing! No, no, I shouldn't let myself go there, we don't need more disappointments or distractions. What will he do when he finishes counting and nothing happens? Will he tell me the address then, will he let Aaron go? Will he-" Three. Good luck! Don't forget who's on the line!"

It happened in a blink of an eye, one minute I was standing in the middle of a power outage, worrying what the madman, standing in my stolen boyfriend's living room, will do, the next I'm on a bridge, water flowing in the moat underneath me. The only things that stayed were the darkness and the quiet. The view, however... The glittering sky turned matt with clouds blocking the stars, the moon shone through eliminating the castle in front of me. It was huge, just like the madman had said, made of stone, emanating power and authority.

Where am I supposed to go? Where's the entrance? Can I use the main gate? What if someone will see me? I'm supposed to be a robber, and if I don't want to get caught, I shouldn't be seen.

'The boots will cover your ass, even if you're seen.' Oh right, the boots. Let's see if they work... I took a few steps. Looked back. Nothing. No footprints at all.

'You're walking on stone, no one leaves marks on that.' Right. So what use are they, if I won't even leave tracks to be covered?

'Your magical trail is also masked.' Of course, magical trail, why didn't I think of that?

"So, Ben, any ideas where to infiltrate the place?"

'I refuse to help you any further.'

"What?! You were given to me, so you can guide me, how can you refuse to do so?"

'I'm a sentient being, I can choose to help or not, and you missy, aren't deserving of my gifts.'

"And why the hell not?"

"You call the boss a madman for starters."

"Can you blame me? In my world, these things never happen, other than in books and movies. Can you even imagine what it's like for me here? The whole world is foreign to me. My first and only memory of this place will be me committing a crime."

'Side door, in the wall.' Look who's in a charitable mood all of a sudden. To my luck the outer gates had no guards, no one saw my arguing match with the brooch. As I walked to the thick wall, however, I saw the security this castle possessed. Four guards surrounded the front gate, two protecting either side of the inner half of the great gate. I don't know how those didn't see me, maybe they didn't pay much attention to random bystanders, mostly unarmed women. I simply walked past them, nodding as a way of greeting. I was inside! It wasn't a hard task, but still. Babysteps.

I arrived in the upper town, I guessed. There were small houses, forming a thick outer circle, then I noticed another wall. The four guards weren't protecting the entrance, just another gate.

'Turn right, now.' I did as I was told.

"Where are we going?" I whispered.

'Secret entrance.' I followed Ben's instructions. It led me to a door in the wall, just as it had stated before. It was a trap door, probably not meant for humans, as its size was barely fit for a child. How was I supposed to get through?

'It's magical, just try it out, it'll accommodate your size. It's meant for the bossman, so you should fit.' It was correct again.

I ended up in the kitchens I deducted, seeing as I was surrounded by pots and pans. I tried searching for a knife, but Ben instructed me to stop, it would be suspicious if I'd have a weapon on me. Following the directions it gave me, I went upstairs, just to go back down again. The basement was enormous, filled with vaults. Some were only protected by iron bars, others were unnoticeable, built into the wall. Where were the guards?

'King's holding a feast, so many of them are busy getting drunk.'

"Wait. This is a king's palace?"

'It's a castle, not a palace, but yes, it's his.'

"I'm robbing the most powerful human?"

'Well that's a stretch, there are much more powerful humans, like the bossman.' Right, people can do magic here, not just manipulate others with words. 'Here, it's this one.' I stopped. In front of me was a wall with some engravings. What could it say? Stay away or die? Like in the movies.

'Nah, it's nothing interesting. Let's get inside.'

"How?"

'Keep forgetting how inadequate you are for this job. Push that stone there. No, not that one, the one that is clearly a button. Nope, that's just a stone. Can't you see it? It's so obvious, only a red X could make it more visible.' That would've been useful. After the fifth try, I got it, thank god, there was no punishment for too many incorrect passwords. As the walls moved to let us in, a sudden wariness came over me, all the movie lessons kicked in, this place must be filled with boobytraps. I weaved my way through, slowly and carefully, making sure my weight didn't trigger anything. I found the chalice. It wasn't a big deal, it was one of the many things tossed to the side to let a locket mounted with rubies be placed on a pedestal that was on a podium. What could it possibly do to deserve such glorification?

'Just grab the cup so we can get out.'

"How come he wants this old thing and not that?" I asked nodding toward the necklace.

'He knows what is actually worth something.' That was a good enough answer, even if it weren't the approaching footsteps were enough to get me antsy. I was much more ignorant on the way out, and I paid the price. As I stepped outside thinking it was over, I stumbled, accidentally stepping on one of the traps. The stone step, noticeable sunk down, but nothing happened. Me, being an optimist, assumed that it was old and didn't always get triggered, only to be knocked in the back with an arrow. Juts from the impact I fell forward. It stuck straight in the back of my shoulder, thankfully not piercing any main arteries. Even without bleeding to death, the pain was debilitating. I was on my knees and hands because of the fall, but couldn't even think of moving. Ben kept urging me to get going before I get caught. My little accident attracted some unwanted attention. The guards were close enough that I could hear their voices. I won't be able to hide. All I could do was hope the doors close behind me. The universe felt merciful enough to grant me that.

"Miss, what are you doing here?" Ben translated. I couldn't speak, so I just laid on the ground, my back to them, hoping they'd either help me or throw me out in a gentle manner.

"You see that arrow?"

"One of the traps." Crap. I was hoping it was a general arrow, that could've been from a hunter as well as a guard, but nooo, the king had to be smarter than that. What now? If I start speaking I'll only make them more suspicious. Can I act something out for them?

'What use would it be? No way they'll let you go, not after seeing the king's arrow in your back. The ring on the other hand might help. You can teleport to the top of those stairs.' I'm pretty sure they'll catch up easily. I'm not even sure I can run. Let's give my plan a try.

I started moving, slowly as to not alarm them. Acting surprised when I saw them. I was always good at charades, maybe it'll finally pay off. First I tried signing that I can't talk, they got that one quickly. The next part was tricky.

"Is the whole kingdom full of geniuses? How did they get it that easily?"

'If they were even the slightest bit of smart they wouldn't have even listened to what you have to say, or rather show.' I was currently in some sort of infirmary-for-one. A physician has attended to my wound then left. The guards were still outside my door, I may have exaggerated my story a bit. I tried to explain how the robber had just come out of the vault when I was heading to fetch something for the librarian. In their surprise they stumbled, thus the arrow was released, they ducked and the arrow found it's mark in my back, as I was turning away to shield my front.

'So how will you get out?'

"I need to get back the chalice. I need to go down again."

'No, you don't, those dumb asses were waiting for you to wake up, they haven't moved, they still have the cup on them.'

"Time for some ring action." I hobbled over to the door and treated them with my best "I'll be fine" smile. They both looked a bit worried, I couldn't see any suspicion, maybe they just excel at hiding it. I looked down to check they were wearing full body armour. It's my lucky day.

"Shocking Grasp," I whispered as I put my one hand on each of their chests. I do not know how charged this ring was, but they fell to the floor with loud clanking and banging. I snatched the chalice and ran. Thanks to my GPS, Ben, I got out the trap door in a matter of minutes.

"Can't I just call him now?"

'Nope, the castle has a power shield, no teleportations in or out.'

"So how come you said I should use the ring?"

'That's different, inside the fortress you can jump from one place to another. Don't ask what's the logic behind it, they aren't as smart as you have assumed.'

I thought I was through the hard part, I was out of the castle, I had the chalice. It was supposed to be a quick, easy walk back, but my luck has run out. As I arrived at the giant gate, the one that only three hours ago was unprotected now had a swarm of men around it, at least half a dozen. Lightning?

'Lightning.' I cast Lightning Bolt, managing to hit four guards. I just killed four people, they burned and screamed in front of my eyes.

'There's still four more, so stop having a crisis and teleport to the other side, that's still in the boundaries.' I tried, I really did, but it was hard to concentrate with four armed men were charging at you. I felt my mind start lagging as well, probably the healing and the spell overworking my body.

'I have a dumb idea.' Ben told me a word, the word for stop in the language of the guards. It was a shot in the dark, but it was also our only chance. I yelled it as loud as I could, doing my best not to butcher the pronunciation. It must've worked since they did stop, or at least shut up. The moment the sound left my mouth, I closed my eyes and thought as hard as I could about the bridge I arrived on. This time it actually worked, I heard the water of the moat gurgling under me, the grunts of the guards behind me.

"Ineth! Get me out of here!" I got my wish, or I died, for a few seconds, I couldn't decide. Then I opened my eyes to see the madman smiling at me.

"Good girl, I always believed in you."