Secret of the Dungeon

Isamu shackled Sachi's and Itsuki's wrists behind their backs with anti-magic bands.

The weight of the shackles nearly tipped Sachi over. 

Itsuki tried to find a position of comfort with her arms. "Good grief, did you have to make them so tight?" 

Isamu walked ahead of Sachi and Itsuki after connecting them to him by chain. "Well, we have to make it realistic, don't we?"

Itsuki glared. "I bet you just did it out of spite towards me."

Isamu smirked to himself behind his helmet. "I have no idea what you're talking about... How's mom and the rest of the family? How's the house? The business? You're not still fishing on the boat with all of them, are you?"

Itsuki huffed. "At least give me a second to answer before you add more for me to report, would ya?"

Isamu sighed. "I miss home you know. I'd do anything to be back and not in this nightmare..."

Itsuki's tone brightened up. "I know you do. You only did what you thought was right, no one can blame you for that. Anyway... Let's see. Mom is as busy as ever managing all the kids, the twins are especially a hassle, but she's still cooking in the kitchen for the guests, no idea how. Izumi has a new hobby of waking people up at inconvenient times, he gets a kick out of it for some reason. And of course I'm fishing on the boat with the other fishermen, someone must, actually Izumi also sometimes joins..."

Itsuki's words trailed off as she spoke about home.

Sachi smiled to herself. Though the two only see each other once a month, they speak as if nothing had happened between them. They tease, laugh, and smile as if the time apart and misfortune were nonexistent. She couldn't help but be envious about how easy it was for them. Though Itsuki talked down on her brother from time to time, Sachi could tell she cared deeply for him and for the rest of her family for that matter, no matter how tired she was from helping. She wished it could've been like this with her family, that no matter how tired or how much they were struggling, that they would still care for one another, still care for her. 

-

Before long, they arrived before the entrance to the dungeon. 

Sachi kept her head down, avoiding eye contact.

Isamu reported to the guards on duty. "I arrested these two thieves after a robbery in the city."

"Why were we not informed of the robbery?" One guard asked.

"I managed to catch them directly after the robbery. I just happened to be in the right place at the right time. The victim has gotten their belongings back, but these criminals should still be punished."

The guard glared. "That is correct, they should be punished. We cannot have such disobedience and disgrace in our city. They shall be imprisoned until given a trial."

The guards exchanged a glance and nodded. They pulled the levers and the giant iron doors creaked open. One of the guards led the way and the three of them followed.

As they walked further into the dungeon, the guard continued to lead the way further in.

"Do something." Itsuki whispered to Isamu.

Isamu looked back in distress. "Like what?"

Itsuki rolled her eyes and dramatically fell over shrieking. "Ah! My leg!"

The guard turned around. "Get up this instance!"

Itsuki did not move. "I can't. My leg has cramped up. I cannot move it."

The guard grabbed Itsuki, forcefully pulling her up by her arm. "What nonsense! How dare you try such a cheap trick!"

Itsuki lowered her head forward and quickly smacked it right back into the guard's face, throwing him off balance. Itsuki took the opportunity to round kick straight into the guard's neck, knocking him unconscious. 

Sachi and Isamu stared in disbelief.

Itsuki turned to Isamu. "Now will you make yourself useful and remove the shackles."

Isamu removed Itsuki and Sachi's binds. "I didn't know you could fight."

Itsuki chuckled. "So, I throw one kick and I'm a fighter now."

"It was really impressive though; can you teach me to do that?" Sachi asked.

"Of course, Sachi, I'd be glad to."

"What about me?" Isamu whined.

Itsuki scoffed. "You're a solider, aren't you? You should be protecting us, not the other way around."

"You know I'm not much of a fighter." Isamu's head lowered.

Itsuki patted Isamu on the back. "I know, and that's your strong point."

Sachi stared at the guard's unconscious body, keys hanging from his belt. Sachi kneeled close to the guard and keeping herself at arm's length, took the keys. "Shouldn't we go before he wakes up?"

Itsuki and Isamu nodded and started heading further in the dungeon.

"You know, you were also quite the actress back there too. Ah! My leg!" Isamu mocked.

Itsuki gave a light punch into Isamu's arm. "Oh, shut up."

Isamu looked back at Sachi. "What did you think of her performance Sachi?"

Sachi chuckled. "By far some of the best acting I've seen."

Itsuki rolled her eyes. "Oh, I'm sure that's a lie. I bet your world has tons of better things than here."

Isamu's curiosity spiked. "What was your world like before you came here?"

Sachi thought for a moment, not sure where to begin. "Well, for one thing, there's no magic."

"What?!" Itsuki and Isamu said in unison.

"How do you build buildings then?" Isamu asked. 

"Forget buildings, how do you farm?" Itsuki interrupted.

As the three of them walked deeper into the dungeon, Sachi told stories about the world she came from.

-

The three of them finally arrived to where the prisoners were kept. The prison cells were poorly lit and uncomfortably cold. Behind the thick iron bars sat dirty looking prisoners shackled in anti-magic bands loosely chained to the floor. None of the prisoners reacted to their presence. They didn't ask to be released. They didn't care that they were even there. All hope and will lost from their souls.

Itsuki approached one of the cells. "We're looking for a man named Kenji Kimura, do you know where we can find him?"

None of the prisoners responded. They didn't even look up from the ground they stared at.

Itsuki looked back to Sachi and Isamu. "I guess we just have to search every cell."

"Let's split up to cover more ground. We shouldn't stay here long." Isamu advised.

The three of them split up in search of Itsuki and Isamu's father.

-

With keys in hand, Sachi unlocked the cell doors, but none of the prisoners moved. It was as if the life was sucked out of them. She even decided to unlock the anti-magic shackles that bound them. Sachi approached a prisoner about to unlock their shackles, when she realized the prisoners skin was oddly grey and cold to touch. The light made it difficult to see, but upon closer inspection, Sachi realized the prisoner was made of stone. She closely looked around the rest of the cells. All the prisoners were frozen in stone. 

Sachi ran back to find Itsuki and Isamu.

"Isamu, the prisoners. They're trapped in stone. That's why they won't respond to us." Sachi said as she caught her breath.

"What?" Isamu used his dark magic to conjure flames to illuminate the place better. Only to be horrified by the sight of hundreds of prisoners frozen in their last moments in stone.

"Do you think they're alive?"

Isamu gulped. "I would assume so, why else would they keep the bodies?"

"But why would they do this? They're already prisoners... It makes no sense..."

"We have no business making sense of these crazy people. Let's just find Itsuki."

Sachi and Isamu ran around looking for Itsuki. They finally found her stood still in front of a cell. 

Isamu approached Itsuki. "Itsuki, I think we should get out of here. This place seems way more dangerous than-"

Isamu words came to a sudden stop when his eyes laid upon the sight Itsuki was also looking at.

"Do you think he's alive?" Itsuki's voice shook.

Sachi looked in the cell to see a large burly man frozen in stone. Though it was difficult to see the resemblance through the coating of stone, Sachi could tell that this was the father they were searching for.

"He's alive. I'm sure of it. There's no other reason why they would keep them here if not, right Isamu?" Sachi said in attempts to be comforting.

Sachi's words pulled Isamu out of his trance. "Uh... Right..." He put his hand on Itsuki's shoulder. "I'm sure he's alive."

"We'll find a way to turn him back to normal, to turn them all back to normal." Sachi said.

Itsuki clenched her fists and gritted her teeth. "I really hate the capital. I swear I'll make them pay."