The Black Spire

The steep mountain peaks stood defiant against the blasting winter wind as the icy cold cut through any pretense of warmth with every gust. On top of one of the tallest plateaus, the fortress stood as a man-made monument of conquest of the elements. The black stone was perpetually covered by snow and ice, making it treacherously slippery, resulting in more than a few accidents each month from outdoor patrolmen who didn't watch their step. Inside, it was a constant struggle to stay warm and maintain any semblance of comfort, even with supplies and magical support.

Because of these factors, duty here was rotated on a frequent basis to spread the suffering equally. Those who spent more than two consecutive cycles here usually were paying some kind of penance, apart from the warden and his senior leadership. On the one hand, this meant the guards here weren't necessarily the highest of caliber; top-notch warriors had better places to be than the lonely corner of Hell. On the other, the warden himself once pragmatically observed, even if a prisoner actually did escape his cell, where exactly would he go? It was a ten-day trek by wagon down a steep mountain trail to the nearest town. Attempting that trek by foot would be tantamount to suicide; even the hardiest soul would be found frozen stiff by the third day at the latest.

Inside the central keep, guards stood by, having been alerted that they would be receiving additional prisoners through the mystic portal that was established here from the capital city. Once the spell was cast and a shimmering sheet of energy glowed, the first of the group stepped through, dragging the chained group of new arrivals. In particular was the couple they were told to watch for. "The outsiders..." the senior officer in charge observed, pulling them to the receiving center. "I have had the spell of tongues granted to me so I may inform you of your situation in this prison. You are now inmates of the Black Spire of the Calidor Empire. Here you will remain as punishment for the blood crimes committed against the Empire. If you attempt any disobedience or make trouble, you will find whole new ways of suffering even more than you already have," he warned.

"B-but we haven't done anything," Isamu protested.

"We've never even heard of this... Calidor Empire until now," Kyoko insisted.

"Irrelevant," the officer flatly denied. "Blood crimes are crimes paid by the family. Perhaps in your next life, you will raise your children to be more obedient to the Empire."

He nodded as the guards dragged the couple away with minimal resistance to their assigned cells. One of the escort guards then came to him and handed him additional instructions. His face piqued with interest as he read the communication: Be prepared for exceptional attempts to be made to retrieve the new pair of prisoners. Take all necessary actions to capture or kill anyone who makes such an attempt. Lives of the prisoners considered secondary for that goal. He turned to all the officers present and ordered a meeting be convened to discuss the directive. Instructions of this nature could only mean these two people had to be related to the ongoing insurrection crisis. That meant if we played our cards right, we could all come out looking like heroes... and be set for life...!

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"So, what's this Spire he's talking about?" Akiko asked. "I thought Murshard Island was the Empire's prison for dangerous enemies."

"It's one of them," Kenji confirmed, "but the one that's the most dangerous is the Black Spire, located deep in the Corellian mountain range that stretches up and down the east coast of the continent. Reaching the prison by conventional methods for the supply cargo wagons means going into the snowy mountains up a narrow single set of roads on a steep incline, which is nearly constantly snowed in. Because of this, the only realistic options in or out for people would be wyvern or mystic portal."

"So, they didn't even take them there by wagon train?" Keiko asked. "Which means we can't intercept them before they get there?"

"I would imagine they were sent there by mystic portal," Amberbrooke confirmed. "Taking untrained and involuntary riders by wyvern would have been extremely problematic." She turned to Keiko. "It seems we're going to have to step up your training," as Keiko reacted nervously.

"How does portal magic work? Is this something where we could teleport our forces just outside the prison, then sneak our way from there?" Akiko asked.

"Portals either require one knows the location by sight or by previous familiarity," Amberbrooke answered. "The Empire can portal people there because they have mages who have been there. We don't have that luxury. For us to do it, we'd have to fly there by wyvern first and likely be spotted far too soon before we could establish ourselves in any kind of defensive or covert position."

"I won't accept that!" Akiko demanded. "They're my parents! If I have to go all by myself, I will!"

"Don't be so dramatic, no one's saying we're going to accept it," Jun cautioned. "We're just going to need to come up with a plan, since we have to assume this whole thing is a trap, almost certainly to draw you in."

Hiromi added, "I wouldn't put it past the Empire for the prisoners themselves to be the ambush as disguised troops and your real parents are held elsewhere and this public announcement is solely to bait you for that purpose."

"You're saying my parents could be anywhere on the continent... then how are we ever going to find them?" Akiko exclaimed with frustration.

"They might still be in the capital; that would be the most likely alternative place," Kenji suggested. "We'll have our sources throughout the capital scour for any signs of them.  They wouldn't put them in some small hamlet or village since there's no way they could keep enough security around them without giving their position away and unless they were going to kill them outright, they need a town or established prison to sustain supplies.  So, it's still quite possible they're in the Spire, but in another part, possibly in a hidden area while they count on you to go straight for the prisoner cells.  I agree with Jun, if it were me, I'd have an illusion or disguised agent where your parents should be and the moment you go charging in to rescue them, the trap closes around you."

Akiko looked downcast.  "Fine... how do we defeat that?"

"There's a simulacrum spell that might work, if Lady Chiba can master it," Amberbrooke suggested.  "But we need to decide on how we're getting there and who's going."

Kenji paused to take a breath. "OK, we can't portal there directly, at least not without flying there first by wyvern to get a line of sight and if we do that openly, they'll likely shoot us out of the sky with magic and ballista. That means flying in under cover of illusion." He paused to look at Keiko and the rest of his available men. "That limits the number of wyverns we can bring, not to mention there's probably only a limited amount of area we can set up even once we get near."

"We have to assume the prison has magical proof against portals other than the one specifically to the capital palace," Amberbrooke warned. "That means not only would we have to portal in from outside and make our way in, then assuming we were successful in freeing them, we would need to escort your parents outside the prison's perimeter to the portal site beyond the warded area. The portal would need to be cast and maintained, potentially while under fire if your escape is compromised."

"I have to go on this mission," Akiko insisted. "This matters more to me than anything!"

"I understand, but..." Kenji paused, "remember that a wyvern can only carry two people per flight, and in this case, one of them needs to be able to cast and maintain an illusionary disguise."

"So, what's the problem? I can be the second person," Akiko declared.

Everyone around the table paused and took a moment to consider before Hiroshige answered, "Lady Chiba will be focused on maintaining her illusion and possibly setting up a portal to bring in reinforcements if the enchantments allow it. She'll be basically defenseless. She'll need someone who can potentially engage and defend against multiple attackers should the need arise."

Akiko huffed with frustration before Hiromi put her hand on her shoulder. "We all understand your need to be there. If Keiko can set up the portal, then I'm certain you'll be the first one through. But if it's going to be one and only one person fighting for your parents' lives, who can you honestly say is going to give them their best shot at coming through alive?"