"What do you mean?" Alaron clenched his fists and leveled his gaze at the guard. He could not remember anyone ever escaping from the palace prison before. Such a thing did not happen.

"Are you sure?" Cafer asked nervously, forgetting the spill on his garments. "Perhaps you should check again."

"I am sure. Six prisoners are missing from their cells," the guard announced with all the courage he had left.

"SIX?" Everyone at the table repeated. Brinn was in shock as much as anyone.

"Who is missing?" Alaron tried to remain calm. Maybe it was not as bad as it sounded.

"General Nurlan…" the man paused trying to decide how to proceed. "Uh, two of King Baak's prisoners: a horseman and the woman with him, and the three assassins that tried to kill Princess Mairwen."

Everyone in the room was in an uproar for various reasons.

"General Nurlan is a powerful enemy. We cannot let him escape!" Cafer raised his voice and hands, ready to call all the soldiers to look.

"What do you mean my prisoners are gone? How could you lose a horseman and an unconscious invalid?!" Baak moaned and banged his fist into his dessert, causing an additional shout of indignation.

"Mair—My assassins are free? We must catch them at once!" Brinn called angrily, almost giving up her identity.

Ravenna and Xander also yelled into the chaos their opinions on the matter. The guard who had brought the news looked helplessly around, not sure to whom he should listen. A great wind blew through the room and flickered the lamps along the wall. All eyes went to Alaron as he lowered his hands to allow the magic to stop.

"Enough," he growled in a low voice. "Find the assassins, Nurlan and the others. In that order. Understood?"

The guard stood. "Glory to the Emperor!" He ran from the room to complete the orders.

"But sire, you should have released those assassins along with the rest of your allies. Surely Nurlan is a far bigger threat," Cafer argued. Brinn watched the beads of sweat form on the advisor's brow.

"You let them out!" Brinn challenged Cafer. "You put my safety at risk and released the assassins."

Cafer scowled. "How dare you! Your Majesty, how could I have done such a thing? I have been here the whole time."

He was now holding up his hands in defense when a thought suddenly entered his head. His eyes narrowed on the princess.

"You let out General Nurlan! He was one of your mother's favorite subordinates!" Cafer thrust his accusing finger at the girl. Brinn's jaw dropped that the advisor would be so bold.

"I have been here the whole time just like you. Brother, surely he cannot speak to me in such a way." The elf looked wounded. Her dewy eyes only angered the gnome more.

The ground rumbled as the prince whispered and moved his hands into a tight fist.

"Enough!" Alaron yelled a second time. "Wild accusations have no place at my table."

Brinn and Cafer both fell silent as they beheld the altered prince. Alaron headed toward the door and with a glare cold as ice.

"I will not be made to be a fool. We will catch them, all of them, and then I will find out who is at the bottom of this…"

—————

(A short time earlier)

The two gnomic guards, Lukoss and Grisley, leaned against the outermost door of the palace's dungeon. Their instructions were to replace the humans at the door of the prison for a few hours, and the rest of what they were told made even less sense. So instead of paying diligent attention, they were admiring the dirt beneath their nails.

"I am going to get a drink." Grisley said gruffly. "I will be back. Don't come looking for me."

He walked around the corner and out of sight, where some muttering, a grunt, and a heavy thud made their way down to the mousey gnome at the door. "Grisley?" Lukoss called. The smaller gnome gripped his short sword and waited for Grisley or whatever else may be there to come into view.

To his surprise, a tall, lanky boy came walking casually toward him. He was wearing a servant's uniform, and he looked vaguely familiar. He was carrying a satchel draped across his shoulders, but seemed to have no purpose.

"What are you doing here?" Lukoss challenged. His voice wavered only slightly. "What happened to Grisley?"

"Let me pass," the boy said with a strange tilt of his head.

Lukoss shuttered at the unnatural motion. "By whose orders?" he managed.

"You know who. We need to pass," the boy said with an eerie grin.

Lukoss blinked in confusion. "He sent you? Wait, who is 'we'?"

Suddenly two of the boy were in front of the gnome's eyes, both staring at him with that mysterious grin. "What's wrong?" they asked in unison.

"How?" the gnome took a step back and only for his back to hit the door.

"Do not worry, you just need more..." the first boy blew some powder into his face, "...sleep"

Lukoss slumped to the ground in an unnatural slumber. His gentle snore was the only sign of life.

"Can you get the other one?" Renat asked his twin.

Alvar transformed back into his usual 'human' form. "Gnomes are heavy, but I think I can manage."

Together, they leaned the two gnomic guards against one another and placed them in a sleeping position along the wall.

"Nothing like a real life nightmare to make you think you were dreaming all along," Renat commented as he blew any remnants of the dust away from the sleeping figures.

"I really like human ingenuity. I would have just knocked them out and been done with it. This was more creative and hides that we were here at all!" Alvar admired the scientist. He understood why Brinn thought so highly of him.

Renat tied a cloth around his mouth and chin to mask his identity. If Alvar was going to take his place, then he needed to remain above suspicion for the prison escape.

Alvar took the key to unlock the door and placed it back on the soldiers. "Let's go."

Renat motioned to Lukoss as they left. "The gnome asked if 'he' sent me. Who do you think 'he' is?"

"It has to be one of the big guys. Who else would he listen to?"

They walked along silently through the halls, careful not to disturb the other prisoners as much as possible. Then suddenly, Alvar pushed back the boy against the wall as two feet stuck out from around the corner. The elf pointed to the legs flailed in awkward positions. He held his finger to his lips before he disappeared to investigate.

"Hm," Alvar said, which Renat took to be an all-clear. The scientist hurried to see the jailer lying at Alvar's feet.

"Is he..."

"He is asleep, and his keys are gone," Alvar whispered. They had hoped for some cooperation from the jailer, but now their hopes were dashed.

Renat bent down and examined the floor. Small dust like what he had just used was littering the floor. "Seems I am not the only one with sleep powder."

"Did you give some to someone else?" Alvar asked.

"No, mine came from the gnomes. Cafer left it behind the first time he attacked with Xander. I have not been able to recreate the dust because it uses magical items." Renat's mind was racing. Why would someone replace the human guards with gnomes and use sleeping powder on the jailer? Unless... "We need to hurry," Renat whispered. "I think we have walked into something."

Alvar seemed to be on high alert also. "Was someone in that cell before?" He pointed to a cell that was empty with the door slightly cracked. It was as if someone tried to shut the door quietly but was afraid to shut it all the way for fear of being heard.

"I am not sure but by the looks of it, yes." Renat would say no more. The more he thought, the less he liked what he saw.

They hurried through the halls until they got to the second large door leading to the more secure area. No one was guarding it, which was also very suspicious. The two males could not dwell on the unknown; they needed to stay alert.

"I do not suppose you can pick a lock like Brinn?" Renat asked with a weary smile.

"That is not in my skill set, despite my fiancée's best efforts," Alvar admitted. His head lowered slightly in shame.

Renat dug in the princess's bag for his own smaller pack inside. He drew out two vials and poured a little of each into the keyhole. Smoke billowed out of the hole, causing Renat to push the covering around his face firmly against his mouth and nose. After a moment, the lock surrendered and the door swung free.

Alvar tousled the boy's hair. "Now I do not need to be a lockpick!" He tiptoed over to Nurlan's cell. "You awake, General?"

Nurlan came to the small window in the wooden door. "I am ready when you are."

After Nurlan was free, they moved on to the final door to be breached.

"How goes it in there?" Alvar whispered to the centaur.

"We are about to taste freedom after years of living in a cage. Hurry up!" Faris responded with more than a hint of impatience.

The last door seemed to take the longest, but finally the door was opened and Alvar, Renat and Nurlan rushed in to check on Faris and Bukuri. They were shocked to find that Faris looked far more human than he had before. His front legs were missing and he now teetered on his back legs, making his horse-human torso exceptionally long.

"It is the closest to human as I can transform," he apologized. "I am not sure I will fool anyone."

"It will do. Here are the clothes you requested," Alvar tossed them to the centaur, who quickly donned the garments. In the servant's uniform, Faris looked oddly long and tall, and his tail created a bulge at his rear. But it was far better than nothing.

Nurlan and Bukuri also changed to look like servants. It was the best disguise because no one high and mighty would them a second look. The only thing odd was that each of the men had a sword at their side, but even that would only gain minimal notice from someone observant.

"Let us get out of here," Faris said with a grunt.

"Are you alright?" Bukuri asked with concern. She laid her hand on the centaur's arm, causing him to smile.

"I am just uncomfortable. This kind of shift is a little like sucking in one's stomach. It is slightly painful, and I cannot do it forever." Faris admitted.

"Then we will hurry. Follow me." Renat motioned as he rushed to the door. When he got there, the point of a knife brushed up against his neck.

"Do not try anything foolish," a blond assassin warned them with a malicious grin.