The escape that Zig had dreamed of finally came. It wasn't an extra skill, or outside help from a stranger. It was, of all things, a stone in Jint's shoe. Zig saw him wince and reach into his shoe, pluck out a stone, and toss it out of his cell.

  "Nononono!"

  Too late. The stone sailed out of reach of both of them. Jints was very confused.

  "Are you alright mister Zig?"

  "Jints, please tell me there's another stone in your shoe. In your cell? No matter how small."

  Jints looked around but couldn't find anything. Zig looked longingly back at the little stone lying in the hallway between the two cells. It was too far to reach through the bars. But...

  Zig tore off his shirt. Considering what was growing on it, he should have done that sooner. He ripped it into strips of cloth, ran over to the bars, and tossed it to the stone. After three tries, he got the ribbon of cloth to softly land on the rock. Zig's heart fluttered, but this wasn't working. He pulled the cloth back and it just went over the pebble without pulling it closer to Zig. He looked around at his poop bucket. It might work, but...

  Some goop was forbidden.

  Instead of the poop, Zig dug a few splinters off the side of the bucket. That would do. He threaded the splinters into the cloth at one end, giving it a tiny bit of weight. He rushed back to the bars and starting throwing the cloth at the stone again. Eventually it landed neatly over the stone. Holding his breath, Zig pulled gently on the cloth. The splinters weighed it down just enough that the stone was nudged a little bit toward Zig's cell. With a growing smile on his face, Zig repeated the process. Then again. Then again. Then—the stone caught on the splinters this time, and Zig brought it all the way into his cell.

  "He he. He hehe. He he ha haha. Ha! Hahaha!"

  Zig danced around his cell holding the stone aloft as if he had just discovered fire.

  "Zig, please. What is going on?"

  Zig stopped mid-dance and turned to look at Jints.

  "We're getting outta here Jints. I'm taking you with me."

  Zig picked up the stone that was about half the size of his finger nail. He went to where the stone wall wasn't so smooth, lifted the stone, and started tapping. Loud bangs started echoing through the prison cell. Zig hoped nobody could hear this. He kept tapping, and eventually hurled the stone at the wall, as hard as he could. There was an even louder bang, and a patch of stone crumbled off the wall and fell into a pile on the cell floor. Rocks. Plenty of them.

  "Paint me green and call me a goblin." Whispered Jints, seeing Zig pick up a much larger rock and throw it at the wall again. Zig didn't want to miss the bars and hit Jints, so instead of throwing rocks at the bars themselves, he just destroyed the solid stone walls they were attached to. Then he walked out of his cell, over to Jints, and proceeded to wreak havoc on those walls too.

  When both men had been freed, they shook hands for the first time.

  "Well met, Jints. I haven't bathed in about two weeks."

  "Well met, Zig. I believe there is a Lady needing rescue."

  The two men walked hand-in-hand toward the entrance. Zig thought that was a bit too much, so he let go.

  The door to the dungeon was locked from the inside, so it was no problem to Zig and Jints. From the entrance there was a clear courtyard until the stone walls of the keep. The walls must be pretty thick, Zig thought, because there were guards walking along the top of them.

  "Jints, I'm not wearing a shirt. Would that stick out?"

  "Like a sore thumb, mister Zig."

  "If we can get over those walls... But not yet."

  Zig and Jints looked up at the keep itself. The stone wall went up several storeys, dotted with windows along the way. Jints pointed out which one would be Lady Jane's room. It would be a difficult climb. Zig wished he had legendary climbing. Time for plan B. Jints picked up as many rocks as he could, and put them in his pockets, with a small stone in his shoe for luck. Zig picked up a rock in each hand, and they slipped out of the dungeon entrance and into a servant entrance that wasn't too far away. They got in, closed the door behind them, and waited for any kind of shouting. Nothing. Phew.

  Zig was glad to have Jints with him. The man knew the keep inside out. He led Zig through some passageways. At some point they bumped into a manservant. Zig put a hand over the man's mouth long enough for Jints to explain the situation to him. The servant was happy to help. He ducked away and came back with a shirt for Zig. A clean shirt. Zig teared up.

  The manservant, a fellow named Jenkins, went ahead of them, checking that the coast was clear. The three of them made their way up the keep, eventually to a hallway. Jenkins left them there.

  "I cannot go further, my good sirs. I wish you all success. Fight well."

  He ducked back to the servants quarters as Zig and Jints stepped on to plush carpet. Paintings lined the walls of this hallway, interrupted by the occasional statue or vase. Zig almost felt embarrassed with his dirty feet scuffing up the rug. Then he remembered who owned this place. He stepped extra hard, twisting his heel as he walked, making sure the maximum amount of dirt transferred onto the floor.

  They came to a grand door locked with a chain and old-fashioned padlock. Zig smashed the lock with a rock. There was a yelp from within. Zig opened the door and saw Lady Jane next to the open window of her room, holding a bunch of sheets tied together in a rope.

  "Ah, great minds think alike, Lady Jane!" Jints swept in, grabbed Lady Jane's hand and kissed the back of it.

  "Jints?"

  "The very same. I've had enough of this petty township and rumor tells me you are of the same mind."

  "Oh, Jints."

  Lady Jane squeezed Jints into a big hug, then looked up to Zig.

  "So. The rabbit's out of the bag now. What's the plan?"

  "Ho, miss Lady Jane. The plan was, um, well, to come here."

  "And then?"

  "Uhh..."

  Zig was looking at the sheets, and the variety of furniture in the room. How far was the window to the wall? Perhaps he could build some—

  There was a yellow flash. That yellow flash that Zig hated so much. His body stiffened, and toppled to the carpet floor.

  "And so the traitors unite." Jed spat. "The dungeons aren't secure it seems. I guess I have to kill you all." He stepped over Zig's body, holding a shortsword. Lady Jane and Jints backed away.

  "Let's talk about this, Lord Jed." Jints eyes flicked down, then back up. Hopefully too quickly for Jed to notice.

  "Talk? About what, how you killed my father? You're even worse than the legendary brat. At least he didn't pretend to be loyal to us! And you." Jed turned to Lady Jane. "I thought I taught you enough lessons. Not a fast learner are you? We'll remedy that. I'm disappointed. In each of you. I don't think I'll kill you tonight, Jints. I want you to learn some lessons before you die. I want you to know the pain you've given to me. I want everybody to know my pain. You're all worthless. Even my stupid guards keep dying. Why is everyone so worthless? Why don't you just do what you're told! Why are you—"

  Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

  A small rock sailed through the air. It hit the back of Jed's head softly, and his neck nearly snapped at the sudden jerk. Jed crumpled to the floor without another word. Zig smiled at that. He was still lying on the floor, shaking out the last of the paralysis. That stun spell still hit like a freight train, but Zig could start to move within seconds.

  "Legendary endurance, huh? With it I could almost endure the words coming out of his mouth."

  Zig tried to wink at Lady Jane, but with the paralysis still wearing off it was more like a facial spasm.

  "Hrrnnnng."

  Lady Jane and Jints both flinched when they saw that Jed wasn't actually dead.

  "One of you finish the job." Zig spoke weakly. "I think you might level up."

  Jints and Lady Jane looked at each other, and Jints offered the Lady to take the first blow. She didn't hesitate. She picked up Jed's own shortsword and swung down with a scream. The head came clean off. Zig blinked. When Lady Jane kept stabbing and hacking away at the corpse, Jints put a hand on her shoulder and gently took the sword away. Zig stood up and shook his arms and legs.

  "I'm ready to go."

  "Get his rings." Jints said to Zig.

  "Way ahead of you."

  Zig patted down the headless corpse and found a money pouch, the two golden rings, and a dagger with a ruby set into the hilt. He also stole the man's boots. He started eyeing the rich cloth of the man's pants.

  "We probably don't have too much time..." Lady Jane began.

  "Right."

  It was night, which would provide some cover. Zig went to the window. There were a couple of guards patrolling the walls. How would they get out? He saw a cart rolling out of the keep, and the gates swung open to let it through. Zig could try breaking a hole in the walls, or the gate, but it would make a lot of noise. With his endurance, he might get away, but not the other two. Wait a minute.

  "Are you two, like, in trouble?"

  "What do you mean?"

  "If guards saw you, would they stop you?"

  "Zig, we just killed the Lord of the keep. For the second time."

  "I know that, but do they?"

  All three of them went to the window to look at the guards patrolling the keep.

  "You know what, I think you have an idea."

  The great escape, eventually, was simply walking through the keep. Nobody knew Zig, he'd been taken directly to the dungeon. Everybody knew the Lady and steward of the house. They walked as slowly and as quickly as they dared. Not wanting to give a hint of anything being wrong. Not wanting to stay for a second longer than necessary. They left the building, crossed the courtyard, and Jints nodded to one of the guards at the gate. The guard nodded back, and started opening the gate. Jints nodded again, and put a finger to his lips. The guard saluted, and let them through.

  They had just passed through the gates when another guard on patrol spotted them. Perhaps he knew that Jints had been thrown in the dungeon. Perhaps he was one of the guards that fed Zig. For whatever reason, he called out.

  "Ho!"

  The three started sprinting away. There were houses built right up to the keep's walls, and Zig pulled the other two into the cover of an alleyway, just in case there were archers on the roof. Shouts started up in a chain and quickly the whole keep was buzzing like an anthill. There was a scream coming from the keep.

  "Ah, they probably found Lord Jed." Jints said.

  They kept running. Weaving between alleys, making their way toward the edge of the city. At one point they tuned a corner and saw a guard charging toward them.

  "Stop!" The guard cried out as he draw his sword. A rock caved in his breastplate. It would have been more impressive, except for the loud clang that reverberated throughout the town louder than the alarm bells toiling in the keep.

  "Um, sorry."

  They kept running, there was nothing else they could do. The guards searching the city all started heading in the direction of the sound. The three rounded another corner and spotted someone else in the streets. It wasn't a guard.

  "Hepp? What are you—Hepp?"

  "No time! Come on!"

  Hepp beckoned and the four of them went together. Quickly joined by Gretta.

  "Gretta!"

  Nobody had the spare breath to talk. Except for Zig. He was thoroughly enjoying the run, and felt he could talk and run at the same time, no problem. Endurance was a fine thing.

  "Ok, while we're running, I can do introductions. This here is Hepp, he's an exceptional bowman and knows a thing or two about beets. He's saved my life more than once. This here is Gretta. Smallest member of the team with the biggest heart. Don't look at me like that Gretta. She is more terrifying with a shield than any man with a weapon. Oh it's so good to see you guys!"

  "Please. Shut. Up." Gretta panted. The five of them kept sprinting until they came across Holt. He was also running for his life and joined the pack.

  "Guildmaster Holt? This is amazing. What are you all doing here? "

  "Rescuing you, you slackbrained donkey."

  "Oh guildmaster Holt I missed you! Rescuing me? That's crazy! You wouldn't believe how awful prison is. Ok maybe you would. It's not a place I like at all. I'm going to carry emergency rocks in my pockets from now on. Oh, I digress! Let me introduce to you..."

  The team were running for their lives, hearts racing, lungs burning, muscles fatiguing. They couldn't do anything except listen to Zig yap like an excited puppy as he casually kept up pace without even looking sweaty. They encountered one more guard on the edge of the town. Before the guard could do anything, an arrow pierced through the leather armor on his chest the same time as a knife flew into his eye. He went down. Zig was impressed.

  "I really gotta grow beyond rocks. You guys are amazing."

  They came out of the town and headed straight into the forest on the town's borders. Zig followed his old crew as they seemed to know where they were going. Eventually they came to a hollow in the thick of some trees. It was a campsite. Zig could see a cooking fire and some roughly hewn benches made of fallen logs. Everyone except Zig collapsed on benches, sleeping mats, or just the forest floor. Zig wondered if anyone would get an endurance skill just from this run. Poor things. They looked exhausted.

  Everybody slept like stones, recovering from the wild dash. Zig went towards the town a bit, and kept watch. He wasn't too sleepy. The night was still, and the forest felt like wide-open freedom to Zig. There was a smile on his face that wouldn't go away. He went over and kissed the nearest tree. No, that was too much. But nobody was looking, so Zig kissed another tree, and saluted an owl as it flew past. He breathed in the scents of the forest floor. He ate some pine needles, out of nostalgia from his escape from the mountain a few weeks ago. It felt like forever ago. At some point in the night, he heard some people moving through the forest. They were going in the wrong direction, and wouldn't find his friends. He let them go.

  As dawn lit up the sky, Zig wondered if he'd ever sleep again. He felt fine. He had spent most of the early morning stripping the nearby bush of thin branches, and braiding rope out of tree bark. It wasn't something he'd done before, but he had the time, and wanted to put his goblin crafting to good use. He wove a chair/nest thingy and hung it up fairly high between two trees. It was comfy, slightly springy, and gave him a good view of the surrounding forest.

  He also discovered something. It was Jed's gold rings. One of them was just a gold ring. Some sort of family crest. Hopefully worth a lot. The other... Zig was playing with them and tried it on. It was a gold ring with a small emerald set at the top. Zig put it on and almost fell out of his nest. He shook his head. His eyes had suddenly changed their depth perception. He could focus on anything, no matter how far away, and the more he focused the more he could zoom in on the details. He looked at a tree on the very edge of his sight and after a few moments of focus he could pick out the grain pattern on the bark.

  "Pluck my feathers and call me a goose. This is Jed's Eagle Eye skill."

  How did a ring get a skill? Jed took it off, and sure enough everything snapped back to normal vision. It was unreal. What was this thing worth? How could he get more of these? There was no internal memo in his brain, so he had no idea what level the skill was. It didn't feel like it was Legendary, so Zig's own class didn't seem to affect it. Still, what an incredible thing.

  "Zig? You there?"

  Hepp had gotten up and was looking around.

  "Up here, Hepp!"

  "Zig? Is that, a nest? Did you get bird powers Zig? Are you a legendary bird pretending to be a man?"

  "Not a bird, Hepp."

  Hepp climbed up the tree, and then carefully jumped into the nest with Zig. They watched the sun coming up and flooding the forest with light.

  "It took us two weeks to even find out where you'd gone." Hepp said. "We had to pay for a traveller with a dowsing skill. It clicked when we realized that the army we fought was a group of nobles that included Grimsby. We've been here ever since. I shot a few guards, but that keep was impenetrable. We didn't know what to do."

  "I don't know how to say thank you, Hepp. I thought by now you'd have found another adventuring group."

  "Ha, I would never, Zig."

  Hepp reached over and punched Zig's shoulder.

  "Where else am I going to find a Legendary warrior to carry me to greatness?"

  They sat in comfortable silence, listening as birds started chirping.

  "I want to give you something, Hepp. It'll probably go well with your archery."

  Zig handed over the ring. Hepp was puzzled until he put it on.

  "Zig.. this is an artifact."

  "A what now?"

  "An old relic that gives skills. It's not just an enchanted item. Zig, people kill for this stuff."

  "I did kill for that stuff."

  "This is incredible."

  Hepp went down to fetch his bow, and came back up to the nest. He lined up a shot, taking a long time to get it right. He released, and the arrow flew out with a twang. It sailed through the forest, eventually pinning a very distant squirrel to a tree trunk. Zig could barely make it out.

  By the time the others were all up, there were a few birds and critters roasting on the fire.