Vivi flinched awake.

The room was dimly lit by a lone candle. The low ceiling was uneven and burrow-like. A greyed-out carpet covered the floor. The wooden door had a boot-sized gap at the bottom. The room was cramped and the air was musty. With Zand's standards, however, the place was surprisingly inviting.

Vivi tried to move her arms. Her wrists were tied behind her back with cold metal. Same with her legs. She sat on a heavy stone chair. And as if that wasn't enough, loops of rope were tied around her chest, fully locking her onto the chair.

"Finally, you're awake," Lucius said. He sounded awfully concerned. "You've been out for quite a long time. At least two or three days. Uh, we kind of need to escape. Quickly."

Vivi blinked at the ground for a moment while her head booted back to reality. Aches across her body took her straight back to the boss battle. Right… she thought. We got captured.

"They got us good," Lucius said. "There are some runes in those cuffs. I can't channel any ether. The runes in the metal suck in all ether immediately. And I think it also alerts our captors. I'm not sure how much time we have, but I'd like to escape quickly."

Sounds like nothing runes, Vivi thought. Those suck in ether.

"Doesn't matter," Lucius said. "Do you have any ideas on how to escape?"

I just woke up, Vivi thought with a sigh. Who captured us, the guards?

"I'm not sure who these guys are," Lucius said. "I don't think they're guards. They're weirdos, Vivi. Really weird. I spied on them while you slept. They wore creepy masks most of the time. I only caught a few faces. I think they're nimrods. One of them was Ven."

Ven? Vivi thought. That demon from Aang's Union? He captured us?

"No, he didn't capture us," Lucius said. "I only saw him for a few seconds. He was on a quick visit."

You're certain? Vivi asked.

"I don't know, Vivi, it's all messy," Lucius said. "I just know we need to get out. These nimrods don't want anything good."

Interesting… Vivi thought. She hadn't expected other nimrods to be in the hidden dungeon at all, but she wasn't eager to find out what they wanted with her.

The wounds all over her body felt slightly better. They all ached, but the pain wasn't unbearable. More noticeably, a bitter floral taste filled her mouth, as if she'd drank a potion. Whoever had captured her had at least made sure she woke up alive.

I still feel the skill in my core, Vivi said. My runesword is in spatial storage. And you have all of the boss's ether.

"You better plead the abyss and hope they don't torture the skills and ether out of us," Lucius said. "Which they most certainly will. They can't kill us for ether, so the only thing they can do is torture us. We need to get out of here."

Vivi tried to move her body again. Her limbs couldn't move in the slightest. Neither could any part of her lower body. She could move her head and very slightly her shoulders. Nothing was within biting range.

"Stop moving," Lucius said. "The weird cuffs might detect you're awake."

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

I don't think we can escape this, Lucius, Vivi thought.

"You don't have any ideas?" Lucius asked. "I thought you'd be good at escaping."

Vivi sighed quietly. What are our chances of negotiation? Did you figure out anything about our captors? You're the one that spied on them.

"They're strong," Lucius said. "One of them was maxed out. At least five thousand ether. I could tell from his presence alone. He might have had skills as well. And I think he had a runesword."

A runesword? Nimrods have runeswords? How many runes?

"A lot," Lucius said. "The sword had the outside vein thingies with complicated patterns."

What are their goals? Vivi asked. Did you listen to anything they were saying?

"They were calling you an idiot human, wondering if you're Andre's ally. They complained that you stole their boss. They probably want the loot."

Maxed out nimrods with runeswords inside the hidden dungeon, Ven being a part of them… What in Ythar's name had she gotten involved in?

She studied her surroundings for a minute longer. She could have probably wiggled the chair for some movement. Perhaps she could have reached the candle to burn off the ropes. Though, she'd probably burn herself in the process.

While she was thinking of solutions, something moved under the door. A tiny arm poked underneath the gap. White hair and horns followed. A little fiend arrived.

Vivi's mouth hung open. "Eem?" she whispered.

Eem stood with her head low and back arched, as if trying to hide. She glanced around herself. Then she tiptoed to Vivi's chair. She grabbed hold of the cuffs around Vivi's legs and began pulling.

The cuffs didn't budge. Vivi watched, too shocked to say anything. Eem pulled harder. Then even harder, squeezing her muscles to their limits. All it amounted to was a cute noise of effort from her mouth.

This would never work. "Is there a keyhole?" Vivi asked. "Did you find keys?"

Eem was out of breath, letting out little puffs. She began looking around, searching.

"I don't think there's a key," Lucius said. "The cuffs work with ether. They need to be deactivated by whoever activated them."

Vivi bit the inside of her mouth. Eem had come to save her. The little fiend probably wouldn't get her out. Vivi was honored, but Eem only risked getting herself caught as well.

"You should go," Vivi said quietly. "We'll meet in the hub, I—"

Footsteps came from outside. Vivi and Eem both flinched. They held their breaths, hoping whoever was outside was only passing by.

The door creaked open. A demon stepped in, walking with a stick. His face was covered entirely by a black mask. The mask extended upward, making his head appear stretched out and unnaturally tall. The extension was probably to hide his horns.

His voice was rough and distorted through the mask. "Goddamned fiend, here you are."

Eem panicked. She grabbed hold of Vivi's cuffs and pulled as hard as she could. The cuffs didn't budge any more than they had before. Eem puffed and struggled, pulling as hard as she could.

The old man stood calmly. He glanced up at Vivi, noting that she was awake. The black mask was totally faceless, hiding his expression entirely. Vivi's skin crawled.

Eem whimpered, trying as hard as she could to free Vivi. When the cuffs didn't show results, she climbed on Vivi's lap to pull on the ropes. Her eyes were wet with tears.

Eventually, the old man grabbed Eem from the neckline of her ragged shirt. He pulled Eem out of the room.

"No!" Vivi said. "Don't hurt her! She's harmless!"

The old man left the door open. Vivi's heart was racing. She could accept herself being captured. If it came down to it, she could face these masked demons on her own. But Eem also had a bounty. If Eem was harmed…

Lucius, is our skill any good? she asked. Spirits can examine skills, right?

"Yes," Lucius said. "I see it in Ythar's encyclopedia. It's a common weapon enhancement skill. Shadow Swipe. All it does is make your weapon harder to distinguish with some sort of cloak. It's an okay skill. Nothing special. The hunters would probably sell it for five thousand ether."

Can you access spatial storage?

"Yes," Lucius said. "But the sword won't be of much use if we can't wield it. I can't use ether to enhance it either."

Vivi bit her lip. She had to think of something. Was there anything she could use to escape?

There was no time to think. Less than a minute later, the old man came back. "Well, then," he said. "Let's get to business. Give me the skill, human."

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