Jail For Phil, by Patrick E.

   The jails in Suza are very uncomfortable places to spend the night, especially in the winter. They were always cold, damp, and dark. Many of the occupants were frequent visitors and Phil was quickly able to learn a few. Tonight however it was cold and lonely with none of the usual being thrown in for bar fights or petty thefts. Phil lay on his wooden bench that served as a bed. Sure it was better than sleeping on the cold stone floor, but not much better. Phil could feel the place where thousands of men just like him had lay on this same bench in this situation: Didn�t mind spending the night in jail, but was having a problem with the sleeping utilities.
   The young lord lay there wishing that his buddy Lord Weber were with him, instead he had rats to keep him company. With great reluctance the two men parted ways, Phil staying as the King�s second hand man while Weber went back to Twinrivers to rule as King after their greatest adventure. He dearly missed the man and the two had only been apart for year and a half. Since then Phil had been off making friends with the princess of a nearby island city that was nearly as big as Suza. Not only that but he has become one of the regulars for his constant bar fights. Weber and himself said that they could defeat any man in Suza in a bar fight, he intended to keep it that way. It was strictly man, Phil was unable to beat a woman in a fight unless it was important or with weapons.
   Loud screams brought Phil back from his contemplations. He recognized the voice of it being the head of this jail, Peridoc Jonarnic. During his many visits to jail he met the man and they chatted for a while before he would go back to duty. He did not like the desperation in the scream.
   Jumping to his feet, Phil was ready to help the guards in any way he could. The sound of steel ringing on steel met the young lord�s pointed ears. That was not a good sign, it meant that the jail was under attack because some high-ranking member of one gang or another was getting broken out or had just broke out and was trying to escape.
   Phil started to yell for a guard when he heard footsteps coming down the hall towards his cell. �What is going on? Someone please tell me what is going on. I am an accomplished warrior, I may be of some assistance.�
   �Who is it?� A gruff voice called from the dark hall outside his cell. Phil was quite relieved when he saw the man to be a familiar guard.
   �Well I�ll be a bearded gnome. If it isn�t the great Lord Phil in a common jail cell.� However Phil was surprised to find that the voice belonged to a guard of Princess Mallory, his good friend who was the princess of the island city of Joray.
   �Yes it is I, the great Lord Phil humbly at your service in his magnificent cell. Would you like to come in? There is enough space for about three more people.� Phil waved his hands around the room with a wide smile.
   �Yes, I can see that it truly is the sarcastic, part warrior, part diplomat, Lord Phil.� Then the man�s face turned serious, �What in the name of the Dark Gauntlet are you doing in a local cell?�
   �Well to be honest, and don�t tell the princess, I am a regular here for tavern brawls,� Phil gave a weak smile at his confession.
   �The king�s advisor in jail for roughing up a few mishaps,� the guard let out a deep laugh at the irony of it.
   �Well anyways, why are you here? Where is the Princess? If you brought here down here where there is tro��
   �Well we did bring her in here, but I left her at the top of the place with her bodyguard, Cassos. We both know that the man can take care of himself and the Princess while fighting off any army at the same time.� The guard chuckled again, �I have never seen you look so worried about anything. So how do I get you out?�
   �Well you are going to have to kick down the door because none of the keys for it are around here. The chest down next to the door holds all my possessions.�
   �Alright,� the burly guards said before taking a big breathe and kicked the door.
   Phil watched with out surprise as the door cracked and split inward. With the second kick the whole door crashed in.
   �Where is your sword?� The guard asked after rummaging through the chest and finding only his purse and some jewelry.
   �They normally keep it in that chest. Try the room down the hall, it�s where the guards have put it on a few occasions.� Phil stepped over the broken door and followed the guard down the hall.
   Phil was able to find his beautiful white bladed, silver hilted, long sword inside a large chest. The room was quite large, because it was made for all the paper work. Three dead bodies lay strewn across the room along with stacks upon stacks of papers. After strapping on his sword they quickly scanned the room only to find that it was empty of all valuables.
   �Shall we go up and see the princess,� Phil asked turning towards the door.
   �You should go, I am going to check the rest of the area for survivors,� the guard said.
   �Well be careful, from the looks of it there are still at least three men left down here,� Phil advised.
   �You too,� the guard said leaving through the only other door in the room.
   Lord Phil waited until he heard the man�s foot falls leave his ear shot before turning and taking off at a deep sprint. He quickly made his way to the stairs where he found three men in black leathers and carrying long swords.
   �You three. What are you doing down here?� Phil asked drawing his own white long sword.
   �You wouldn�t happen to work for the city would you?� one man asked impassively.
   �No, actually I was a prisoner just a few minutes ago. A man let me out and I slew him.� Phil was not telling the truth, but he wanted to find out what was happening around here.
   �It wouldn�t happen to have been a guard wearing the sign of Joray would it,� the same man asked.
   �Actually it was. Maybe you can tell me why he might have been here,� the young lord said coming closer to the men.
   �You�ll never believe this, but we found the princess of Joray upstairs. After killing her guards we took her upstairs and are now securing the rest of the building. He must have been with her. Guards put up quite a fight,� This time it was another man speaking.
   Phil thought this over for a second, �How did you know that it was the princess that you had captured?�
   The first man to talk pulled a scroll from his pocket and showed it to Phil, �It says so on this letter that we found on her page.�
   �Really, mind if I look at this?�
   �Go right ahead,� the man answered figuring that the young noble would never be able to get away from his men if he tried.
   All the note pretty much said was that Princess Mallory was coming to Suza so that she could reestablish trade between the two cities. Suza was a huge port city right on the water while Joray was on a small island about one hundred miles to the west. While both cities were extremely large, Joray could only get a few things from Suza because of relations between traders to the south. Princess Mallory did most of the diplomatic work for Joray while Lord Phil did most of the diplomatic work for Suza. So the two often used the jobs as excuses to meet with one another and have fun instead of for business. Phil could tell that this note was one of those letters.
   �Well it does seem that you do indeed have the beautiful Princess of Joray,� Phil said handing back the letter. �What do you plan on doing with her?�
   �At first we all thought to just rape her and then dispose of the dead body when we were done. Gurd, the wizard of our band, decided that we should keep her for ransom instead. I don�t think that is a good idea with the king being a powerful wizard in all, but Gurd assured us that it would work.� The man grinned.
   �So why were you attacking this low down jail anyways?� Phil asked before they left.
   �Well Gurd said that there was some powerful magic artifacts hidden under the jail from a wizard that was recently executed. So we are here to find it,� the man explained motioning his men to get moving down the hall behind Phil.
   �Ah, yes, I heard the very same thing not too long ago when I was laying in my jail cell. Well good day to you three,� Phil let them pass.
   He could not let them go however. When they started to walk away Phil ran the one closest to him through the back. The two other men noticed this and turned, weapons out. With two quick slashes the second man lay dead at his feet with his throat cut out. The last man tripped over his own fallen comrades. Phil just stuck out his own white sword and let the man fall on it. Dieing was something he didn�t want to do though and he only got a slight wound from the sword and continued to attack on the ground. Phil took a small cut to his ankle before running the man through his back.
   �Stubborn,� Phil mumbled pulling his sword out before wiping it clean on the back of the man�s black shirt.
   On the next floor he found where Princess Mallory and a few of her guards were. Four of her guards lie covered in blood in the corner. A pile of ashes next to a golden war hammer told Phil where her bodyguard must have been. Now he knew that the men were not joking when they had taken Mallory and that they had a wizard. Phil would have to be careful now. His friend�s life, not just his own, was at stack now.
   As he made his way to the second and top floor of the jail he wondered where all the soldiers were. By the sounds of it the thieves had this planned out and picked a day when most of the guards were off duty or out getting drunk across the street when they were on duty. Although he only found three bodies so far, where were all the others? Then a thought came to him, the barracks. The thieves probably tricked all the men into the barracks and then dropped it on them. That would explain why Phil had seen a pile of rubble outside when he walked passed the window on the first floor.
   On the second floor he found to men waiting at the top of the stairs. Both men wore black leathers, but only one wore armor. When they saw Phil they each drew a short sword that was smeared in blood.
   �Hold ser,� the not wearing armor said.
   Phil didn�t wait to talk this time he just drove right on through. With a lighting quick motion he put his sword through the man. In the process he was forced to duck as the blade of the other man came across trying to take off his head. With his free hand Phil punched out, catching the man between the legs. The other man dropped his own sword when he bent over in pain. Phil ripped out his sword and ran the man through while he was defenseless.
   Not waiting for any more guards to appear, Phil grabbed a fallen short sword and charged up the rest of the stairs. Someone talking took Phil to a room at the end of a short hallway at the top of the steps.
   Inside the room four men stood in front of a woman bound to a chair. �At least they wait to do their dirty business,� Phil thought. Without thinking he barged into the room.
   With a high slash to the throat, Phil was able to take down two men as they turned to face him. The other two jumped back while two more walked away from the wall next to the door. He must have missed those two when he ran in without thinking.
   �I know him, that�s Lord Phil. He works for the king,� one of the men before him said.
   Phil didn�t bother to respond, he just smiled and assessed the situation. So far four men have surrounded him in a small room. They all have short swords and leather armor. Phil is wearing light silk clothing and carrying his famous white long sword in one hand and a bloody short sword in the other hand. In his own mind, the young lord thought that they were badly out numbered, but maybe that was only what he thought. Luckily no wizard has shown up yet.
   �Bring it on boys!� Phil said with a friendly smile.
   All at once the four men came on. With a dazzling swirl of blades, Phil came out untouched while one man in black fell dead. The other three fell back away from the young noble and started to circle like a pack of hungry sharks. Not waiting for them to attack again, Phil struck straight out, running his sword into the chest of the man in front of him. The other two men attacked at the same time that he did. Phil was watching them all the time however. The short sword went back, catching one man by surprise with a sword in his throat. Spinning around, Phil pulling both swords from their bodies and turned to meet the last man face to face. Not wanting to face the accomplished young warrior the man ran out the door. Or at least he tried to. Phil through the short sword into the man�s back as he tried to run away.
   With all his enemies dead Phil wiped off his sword and sheathed it. Turning to the beautiful young woman in the chair Phil used his belt dagger to cut the ropes. Once released from her bonds, Mallory stood.
   Princess Mallory was, well she was short. With pretty light brown hair, and shinning blue eyes like a clear summer sky, she was quite pretty. At the moment she wore a beautiful white silk gown that was made heavy for the winter season even though snow had not yet fallen in Suza. Mallory tended to not like that many people, she was extremely nice and kind, but she tended to get annoyed by the attitude of many people. Lord Phil came along and the two became friends, both rich, in need of a friend, and with the same views on life. It was not hard to see why the men would want to rape the woman, she was far from ugly, but ransom was probably a better idea, she was very important.
   �Hi! How are you?� Mallory asked when she was released.
   Phil just laughed at the young woman.
   �Hey! Are you laughing at me?� She asked narrowing her eyes at him.
   �No, No. It is just that you were in a lot of danger and you were about to be kidnapped. You started out your conversation with in such a friendly way when we were in a totally different situation.�
   �Oh, okay,� she laughed too.
   Phil heard footsteps behind him. Turning to see who it was, Phil was not glad to see a man with black hair and wearing silver robes come in. It could be none other than the wizard Gurd.
   �Well it is definitely a surprise to see you here Lord Phil. Just like it was a definite surprise to see Princess Mallory here,� the wizard said coming in the door.
   Phil drew his sword, �Why did you attack a lowly jail?�
   �Well that is none of your business,� the mage said taking a set forward.
   Phil stepped in front of the princess to protect her from the mage.
   �Well it doesn�t really matter what I am doing here. Just put your sword down so that you can live and I can get ransom for not only the princess here, but the king�s advisor as well. I must thank you as well Lord Phil, for you have killed off all my lackeys so that I won�t have to do it myself,� Gurd told him.
   �Well it doesn�t matter who you are and what you are doing,� Princess Mallory shouted from behind Phil, �My friend here is going to kick your butt.�
   �You are quite mistaken there dear lady,� Gurd said.
   Phil was fed up with this talk, he wanted the best for Mallory and the best for her was to kill that wizard. So Phil did what he does best and that was to strike out with his sword. Unfortunately he hit an invisible barrier and was knocked back a couple steps.
   The mage frowned, �If you are going to be difficult, then I suppose I will have to kill you.�
   Gurd quickly started spell casting with all his waving and shouting of arcane words. Phil definitely did not want to get in the way of whatever the mage planned to do. Thinking quickly and desperately he turned, pulled Mallory into his arms and jumped through one of the three big windows in the room. Turning his back so that the broken window did not hit Mallory, Phil took the blunt of the hit when they landed. Princess Mallory landed on top of him, knocking the wind from his lungs while at the same time the hard packed ground and glass shards broke his fall.
   Mallory jumped to her feet and looked down at her fallen friend who just lay there. Phil was not feeling very well at the moment, so he just lay there on the ground writhing in pain and gasping for air. Mallory on the other hand did not get a scratch out of the whole ordeal.
   �Are you okay?� Mallory asked.
   �I should be fine in two to three days of rest and relaxation with a good friend by my side.� Phil grinned, or tried to through the pain.
   �Well I don�t know about the rest and relaxation, but I could be your good friend,� Mallory said smiling broadly. Then she turned serious, �What about the wizard.�
   An incredible explosion went off in the jail room that they had just left. Fire shot from the three windows in all directions. The bright flames lighted the night sky. To Phil�s amazement, Gurd started to float down from the fire coming out of the room.
   �There is your wizard,� Phil said with real fear that they might not make it this time.
   �Don�t worry, I got this one. Give me your sword,� Mallory said with urgency.
   Phil slides his sword from its scabbard without getting up, �Have fun, but don�t get hurt.�
   �I said don�t worry, I got it.� Mallory assured her friend.
   The wizard landed about twenty feet from them and started a slow walk towards them. He never really made it that far before a white long sword flew end over end. The blade embedded itself into his chest, dropping him into a lump.
   �Good throw, but now you have to go get it,� Phil told her, lying his head back down on the hard packed dirt.