Xanthy shoved the sirtya into her pocket and charged towards the stairs just as two guards came racing by the opposite end of the hallway. She cursed. Without her magic, she couldn't blast them out of the way and she left her bow in the room. Cirasa. She still has to get him. Damn it.

She swerved right, racking her memory where the way to the stairs were. Oh, why must everything be so twisty? Her boots slapped the stone floor, sending shooting pain all the way to her temples. Her wounds had probably split open with blood leaking on the inside of her shoes that's going to smell wonderful. Great.

Still, she continued running, and continued taking the turns she could remember. Heavy footsteps followed in her wake. Boots. They're wearing boots. The guards shouted for her to stop but who were they kidding?

She rounded a corner and spotted the stairs leading to the kitchen. Ha! Victory! She dashed towards it when her side began hurting. She grunted. Already? She needed to exercise more.

The guards' footsteps echoed behind Xanthy. They're closer now. She needed something to delay them with. Certainly not a quick spell or two. Yeah about that, why weren't they firing spells at her now?

Xanthy scanned her surroundings. When all fails, channel the Disfavored within her. She didn't spend sixteen years in that place for nothing. Okay. Walls, cells, rails, lamps. Lamps...

Her eyes widened. Lamps!

Long, metal bars lined the length of the wall opposite the column of cells bearing glass cones with candles. Xanthy grinned. Metal bars were good weapons against anything. She stopped running and jumped. Her fingers brushed the bar before her foot slapped the floor again. She needed a boost.

Strong arms encircled her shoulders as a male guard shouted in her ear. "I got her!"

Here's her boost. Xanthy threw her head back, hitting the guard square in the nose. He swayed and his grip slackened. Just what Xanthy needed. Adrenaline pulsed through her as she flipped herself up the guard's shoulders and leaped for the nearest metal bar.

Her fingers closed around the bar just as the rest of the guards in pursuit arrived. She swung once, twice, then lashed out with her legs. The tip of her boot hit one guard in the jaw, driving him backwards. Xanthy glanced at the bar she was dangling from. She needed something to hit the bar to remove it from the wall.

"Get down here!" a female guard brandished a dagger. "Don't make me use this!"

Xanthy smiled. "I was hoping you'd do so."

The guard growled and lunged. Xanthy waited until she was close enough to strike. She kicked the guard's hand closed around the dagger. The blade glinted in the faint, orange light as it flew out of the guard's hand. Xanthy caught it between her feet.

In one quick motion, Xanthy grabbed the dagger with her other hand, prayed to the gods that it was dwarven metal or something just as durable, and struck the metal. The bar squeaked before breaking apart from the wall.

A grin spread from Xanthy's lips as she dropped back to the ground and slammed the glass lantern against the wall. The fire fizzled out as the echoes of glass breaking and crunching faded in the distance. What was left was the metal bar and a sloping brace where the lamp used to be.

Glass littered the floor by Xanthy's feet. The corridor was one lamp dim. The guards hesitated as Xanthy brandished the metal bar and the dagger she stole. "You'd step back, if I were you."

The guards glanced at each other and an agreement passed. They charged.

Xanthy shrugged as she stuck the dagger into her belt, turned back, and ran. She's almost to the stairs. If these guards were to start casting spells, they would've burned Xanthy to a crisp already. So...why weren't they?

Xanthy shook her head. Thanks be to luck and Rudik's heavenly ass that they haven't thought of that. She reached the stairs and began climbing. Too slow. The guards caught up to her like a pack of rabid cleretis. How would she slow them down...?

She swung the metal bar. It connected with a guard's forehead, sending reverberations up Xanthy's arm. A distinct crack rang in the air. The guard tumbled backward, crashing into his companions.

Xanthy turned and tackled the stairs. No time to watch them roll down the stairs in a tangle of limbs and curses. She swallowed against the guilt budding in her throat. Later. She'd deal with those feelings later. Right now, she needed to get out of here.

She threw the door to the kitchen open and was instantly greeted by a host of more guards. What? They're non-existent earlier so why did they multiply like mercok eggs now? Just great.

She grasped the dagger by her belt and stuck it into the tip of the metal bar, creating a makeshift ax. She waved it at the guards and they wisely stepped back. Good. That's what she needed. She surged forward, knocking carts filled with vegetables, throwing pans and utensils behind her. Clangs and pained curses rang behind her. Slow them down. Good.

She wove through the aisles of cooking stations, aiming for the door to the far right. She ducked as a dagger sailed past her head. Why were they starting to throw weapons now?

As an answer, her arm swept to the nearest cooking cauldron she could reach and upended it on her head like a helmet. She swerved left and right for good measure. She needed to reach the quarters for Cirasa first.

The kitchen door flew open as Xanthy hauled herself out, shut it, and twisted the lock. Fists pounded on the other side. She grinned before turning towards the open space.

Hands grabbed her arms and she instinctively swung the cauldron upward. She hit solid bone, followed by a yelp of pain and a thud. Don't stop. The guard would be okay. Probably. Escape. Focus on escaping.

She crossed the common area, relying on her speed and months of running for her life. When she reached the wide opening leading to the quarters, she swung her pan again and connected with yet another skull as a guard leaped from behind the wall. She leaped over the guard's unconscious form and tore down the corridor leading to the quarters.

Where was their room again? The images of doors muddled in her brain. Queen's breeches. Why do they all look similar? She came to a t-shaped corridor. Left or right? Ugh.

She swerved left and almost collided with someone. By instinct, she swung the metal bar. The assailant ducked before saying, "Whoa, Xanthy, it's me!"

Xanthy froze. Cirasa had his arms up his head in a defensive position. "Oh, sorry," she huffed and wiped her forehead with her forearm. Her skin came away wet. Ugh. "Let's go. Where's the armory?"

Cirasa looked behind him, registered the black-clad guards tearing in the corridor leading to where they were, and turned to Xanthy. "Wh-you vanish in the middle of the night and suddenly you're running with a pan and a metal bar," he glanced at the makeshift weapon in Xanthy's hand. "Would you mind explaining?"

She turned away from Cirasa. "Run now, explain later."

"I didn't grab your things in the room," Cirasa jerked his thumb behind him. "I'm just looking for you."

"Leave it," Xanthy said. Such a waste of resources. But, hey, no resources was better than dead. She craned her neck at the ceiling like it would hold all the answers to her questions. "Do you know where the armory is?"

"Just at the end of the quarters area," Cirasa said.

"Convenient, then," she breathed, her side throbbing with pain. Her chest constricted as she breathed through her pounding heart. "How did you know?"

Cirasa pointed to a floor plan pasted on the walls that alternated with doors. Oh. Okay, then.

"Cirasa, use this," she passed him the cauldron. "Go on and prop the armory open for me."

"What are you going to do?"

Xanthy gripped the metal bar tighter. "I'm providing a bit of distraction. Go!"

The shard fairy pushed forward while Xanthy turned to face the oncoming horde. Where was the Sovereign? It's impossible that the witch didn't know of this yet. Why wasn't she coming to stop Xanthy?

Xanthy hefted the metal bar-slash-ax and charged forward. She knocked one or two with the butt of her weapon, ducked under a direct thrust of a dagger, swept her foot at two guards' legs, rolled away as another dagger slashed down.

They pushed backward. Xanthy let them. That brings her closer to the armory anyway.

Block, dodge, swing. The guards drove her back.

"Xanthy! It's clear!" Cirasa yelled at the far end of the corridor.

Xanthy turned and ran the rest of the way to the armory where Cirasa waited for her after having the door to the room out of the way. Cirasa bolted for the platform hidden behind a pile of gleaming daggers. A curse tore out of Xanthy's lips. The guards could use any of these against them. Then, she smiled. That means she could too.

She surged through the armory just as a guard grabbed her ankle. Her chin hit the floor just as she twisted and drove her boot into the guard's nose. His grip loosened and Xanthy reclaimed her foot as she stood up. She fished a sheathed dagger from the pile and threw it at Cirasa blade-first. The shard fairy caught it with one hand.

"Spin the dial once!" she called as she discarded the metal bar and replaced it with a sword she randomly picked on the pile. Cirasa turned and tinkered with a round contraption installed on the platform's balustrade. The platform was wide enough for at least four people, but who's counting?

The guards flooded the armory as the platform groaned alive and began rising. Arms clad in black rushed for her. Xanthy turned to Cirasa. It's still a long way to the platform. Would she make it?

Rudik's buttcheeks. She shoved the sword into her belt, its tip poking at her ankle every time she took a leaping step. Just as the nearest guard could grab hold of her ankle, she jumped. Her fingers clamped on the edge of the platform. The wood groaned as her legs dangled in the air, the distance between her and the guards increasing with every second.

Cirasa pulled her onto the platform. She's...alive. She made it. A soft laugh of disbelief tore through her lips. Her heart pounded in her chest as she pushed herself up and gripped the platform's rails.

Xanthy fished out the sirtya from her pocket and held it out to Cirasa.

"Where did you get it?" The shard fairy brushed his hair off his face. Where did he throw the cauldron Xanthy gave him?

"I'll explain once we get out of here," Xanthy closed her fingers around the crystal ball. "I have the next clue...I think."

Cirasa nodded. "Cool."

The sirtya started humming softly on her palm as the platform neared the surface. "How do you think this works?"

"Just think of the place you wanted to go," Cirasa shrugged.

Xanthy closed her eyes and gripped Cirasa's elbow. Her mind and memory brought her to the place where everything started.