The Escape Room
18-19 Mirtul, The Year of Twelve Warnings (1494 DR)
The Border Tower, The Sword Coast
Caradoc woke up hours later and found himself manacled in the same room where ironically, he and Errich had earlier freed several prisoners.
All of his belongings had been taken. They left only the leather armor on him. Errich’s equipment had been taken also, leaving the halfing with only his leather armor as well.
Caradoc looked at his wrists. Both were locked in manacles with a length of chain that passed through an iron ring set firmly into the wall just above his head. By pulling his arms forward, Caradoc found his reach was limited by the length of the chain. He could at least lay down without his arms being held up, but he wouldn’t be able to attack anyone in front of him.
If only I had my thieves’ tools, Caradoc thought.
“How are you faring?” Errich asked from across the room. The halfling sat on a mat made of deer hide. It looked like he had been beaten up. “You nearly died…again. Fortunately, I managed to stop you from bleeding to death before the goblins came into the room.”
“That’s the second time you’ve saved me,” Caradoc said. “I owe you more than I can ever repay.”
“Help figure out a way out of here and I’ll consider the debt repaid,” Errich said. “If I had my tools, I’d have picked these manacles by now.”
“Now I know you’re a rogue,” Caradoc said.
“I’m still not sure what you are,” Errich said. “but, if you’re some kind of wizard, now would be a good time to teleport us both out of here.”
Caradoc ignored him. “You’re hurt,” he said. “Get some sleep.”
***
Errich assumed it was night when three goblins entered the room. One carried two bowls of slop, while the other two stood watch, their crossbows aimed at both prisoners. Caradoc recognized one of the goblins as the one he didn’t kill while it slept.
Now he wished he had killed it instead.
After leaving the bowls of food, the same goblin returned with two containers of water. Errich assumed they were going to be kept alive in exchange for the several prisoners the goblins lost earlier that day.
After their bowls of water were brought, a hobgoblin and a goblin entered the room.
The goblin stood a few inches taller than the others, although it was leaner. It wore silver round earrings in both of its long ears. A scar ran the length of its ochre-yellow face. Two shortswords were sheathed at his waist. Caradoc didn’t doubt the goblin knew how to fight using both swords at the same time.
“You two have cost us prisoners we were going to deliver to Silverclaw,” the goblin said in common. “I should kill you for that, but Silverclaw may take you both in exchange for the several you freed.”
“Who is this Siverclaw?” Errich asked.
“He’s our leader,” the hobgoblin began to spout, also in common. “He’s a very strong hobgoblin and he’s waiting for you at his base in Whitecloud Castle, and–“
“Shut your mouth, Glunk!” the goblin yelled at the hobgolin. “Are you going to tell them everything?”
“I wasn’t going to, Grog,” Glunk said. “I was just…never mind.”
“Now we know Glunk is the smartest one here,” Caradoc said smiling.
Grog walked up to Errich. The goblins hand rested on his two shortswords, clearly ready to draw his blades at any moment. He stopped just beyond Errich’s reach. “You killed Bloodtooth,” he said in a cold voice. “I had raised that wolf since it was a pup. I should kill you right now for that.”
The halfling stared Grog in the eyes. “And risk the wrath of Silverclaw?” Errich warned. “We’ve already cost you the other prisoners. What would Silverclaw have to say about that once he finds out how you’ve failed him?”
Grog considered the halfling’s words. He turned to Glunk. “Keep these two alive,” he said. “In a few days, we’ll take them both to Silverclaw.” He turned back towards Errich. “After Silverclaw gets hold of you, you’ll wish I had killed you instead.”
Taking the empty bowls with them, everyone left the room leaving Caradoc and Errich to reflect on their situation.
“Don’t worry, Errich,” Caradoc said. “We won’t be staying here long enough for them to kill us.”
Both of them began looking around for any ways of escaping the room. Caradoc even climbed the wall. The chain holding him limited his reach, but he was able to climb high enough to reach the ceiling with one hand. Based on how the tower was built, the ceiling clearly also made up the roof of this part of the tower. The other room had a second floor to it.
While looking at the ceiling, Caradoc spotted a nail; its sharp ended stuck out of the ceiling. Caradoc tried twisting and tugging the nail. It moved, but would require a lot of time of effort for him to pull it free. If he could get the nail, may he could use it as a makeshift tool to unlock his manacles. He considered punching through the ceiling but that would alert the guards.
Caradoc climbed back down and sat on his straw mat, He then began to pound the manacles into the wall behind him. A few times he cracked pieces of the wall off but the manacles were barely dented.
The door opened. Three goblins walked in. The one Caradoc didn’t kill pointed its crossbow at his head. “Stop what you’re doing or I’ll kill you,” it said in common.
“No killing him, Pludd,” one of the other goblins said. “Grog will skin you if you do.”
Pludd and the others left the room and relocked the door.
Caradoc began to beat at the wall again. This time no one came to make him stop.
“What was all that about?” Errich asked Caradoc.
“The goblin will now ignore any loud noise they may hear.”
“Brilliant,” was all Errich could say in response.
Errich began to look around for any loose parts of the wall. Unfortunately, their captors had fixed the broken part of the wall and reinforced it from the outside.
After a few minutes, he found bone fragments littering the floor around him. Remnants of past meals, he reasoned.
He was struck with an idea.
He took a piece of bone, nearly the length of his pointing finger. He sharpened one end of the piece against the floor, careful not push too hard and risk breaking it. After a few minutes, he discovered he was able to sharpen one end enough to use as a makeshift thieves’ tool. Offering a silent prayer to the goddess of luck, Errich tried to pick the lock on his manacles.
The piece of bone broke. But Errich was hopeful his idea may just work.
After a few attempts and all the bone fragments he could find nearby, Errich was finally able to unlock his restraints. Elated, he barely contained a scream of joy of having freed himself, using bone fragments no less.
After taking the manacles off, Errich quietly made his way to Caradoc who praised him for his efforts.
Errich unlocked one of Caradoc’s manacles, but not the other. “You have a weapon with these chains,” Errich said. “It’s better than trying to fight our way out of here unarmed.”
Caradoc agreed. While contemplating how they were going to escape, Caradoc relieved his past and considered his training as a soldier while serving in Neverwinter. He always valued his roguish ability, remembering the many compliments he received from his fellow soldiers. He was known for his ability to sneak up on his target, and he always got the job done. It even earned him the moniker, The Enforcer.
A deep-seeded side burned inside of him now. He always felt that he had the heart of a fighter. Perhaps it was from his orcish side, although It didn’t matter.
Caradoc now embraced that side wholeheartedly. And woe to his captors who will rue the moment when The Enforcer unleashes his martial prowess upon them.
Caradoc also took some bone fragments he found near his bedding and sharpened them. He stuck them into his leather cuirass knowing they could perhaps come in handy later. He then wrapped most of the chain around his left hand. letting enough length dangle so as to reach a foe adjacent to him.
“We could try climbing up the chimney flue,” Errich suggested.
“I have a better idea,” Caradoc said. “Let’s wait until they come back to check on us. Then we attack and escape this room.”
“Are you sure you’re up for fighting our way out of here?” Errich asked.
With a toothy grin, Caradoc said coldly, “I have never been more certain in my life.”
Relations
Protagonists
[Caradoc Ehrenhalt
Errich Alderleaf
Comments