NIMBUS AND THE KNIGHTS OF CENFERUM

Chapter 37 Part 2

Lonios and Nimbus stood at the front, just behind Elisis, who remained in the vanguard as they entered the tunnel leading to the adjacent cavern. If there were more hostages, they would be there.

The moment they entered the other spacious cavern, Elisis shot two enemies with her bow. They had no opportunity to move or realize what was happening to them. As always, she was the deadliest among the Brand knights. In the adjacent cavern, there was only one cell, and a disheveled blonde girl lay on a straw bed inside. At first, she didn't notice the approach but startled when she saw Elisis. She almost screamed, but Elisis brought her index finger to her lips, signaling her to keep silent. One of the officers had taken the cell keys from one of the dead guards and freed her.

— Who are you? — Elisis asked intrigued.

— You are squire Elisis Cirrus, aren't you? Did you come to rescue me? — she smiled.

— How do you know my name? And I'm no longer a squire; now I'm an Amazon. Who are you?

— My name is Pola Korri, daughter of the Grand Leader of Cenferum. I was kidnapped when returning from the 52nd Expedition.

Hearing this, the officers exchanged glances and knelt in front of the regent's daughter. After a few seconds examining the girl, Elisis also saluted, as knights do, placing a closed hand over the left side of her chest and bowing to the daughter of the Grand Leader.

— It is an honor to meet you, Miss Pola — Elisis spoke after completing her gesture.

— Let's get out of here. I've been fooling these pirates for months, pretending to be a kitchen officer. I can't stand making food for these damn bastards anymore.

Elisis widened her eyes in surprise; the daughter of the Grand Leader swearing at the pirates was not part of the expected government education.

— Your Highness!

— Let's get out of here, girl, quickly — the Grand Leader's daughter pushed Elisis.

After being surprised by the girl's manners, everyone returned to the chamber where they were confined. Some of the officers had stayed there to watch for any movement from the pirates, and fortunately, nothing happened because, according to the dead guards, the Pirate Lord would return momentarily to continue the interrogations.

— Get ready; we'll have to run across open ground until we reach the ships and steal the fastest one — Lonios instructed everyone at the cave's exit.

Moving to the ships wouldn't be easy; the location was a tropical forest with few trees and many open areas. The half-kilometer that separated them from the port would be tumultuous. There would certainly be pirates watching. And now, after daybreak, it wouldn't be easy to remain incognito. This was the worst time to attempt an escape; they would be seen for sure, and at least two hundred pirates were on that island, with more likely to arrive.

— Wait — Elisis said, looking out of the cave entrance. — There are some guards. — She stretched her bow and fired, one, two, three, and finally a fourth time. Four pirates were undoubtedly dead, four less for the inexperienced group of soldiers to eliminate. — Now we can go.

With Elisis' signal, everyone started running. Their goal was the sparse vegetation in front of them, low vegetation, and a few palm trees. Everyone ran, including Valeros, who, despite staggering from the massive blood loss from his mutilation, ran, pushing away Dr. Leonardo, who tried to support him. Finally, the first obstacle had been overcome, and now only half the distance to the port remained. They ran a little more, with Elisis eliminating unaware guards from a long distance, all with accurate and deadly shots, without making any noise. And they finally reached the last obstacle to the port, approximately a hundred and fifty meters of running until they reached the docks, a hundred and fifty meters in open field, with dozens of pirates walking around.

— We're doomed; they'll surely spot us — Elisis spoke angrily.

— We knew it wouldn't be easy, but we still have the element of surprise; we might make it.

— Maybe you're right. Attention, everyone, we need to head to the Brand — Elisis whispered to everyone around her.

— I don't think it's the best choice, Elisis. For sure, we'll be caught again if we try to escape on the Brand; they have those faster ships.

— But we have to take our cargo; now that the Peregrine has been defeated, Cenferum depends on us to transport the supplies. And what if we sabotage the other ships?

— Elisis, we don't have enough personnel to take a ship, let alone invade several pirate-infested ships and defeat them all. It would be a massacre; there are at least four hundred fighting-fit pirates on the two ships, four for each of us. Even if we eliminate them all, we would be too tired and injured to crew the Brand. It needs a large crew to be piloted. If we attack the Pirate Lord's ship, it requires a reduced crew. It's our logical choice, our only choice. Also, we'll need a lot of luck. The only experienced navigator on the Brand was Captain Jones; he made sure to have only one navigator on the ship, himself. So, we'll need a lot of luck to find the continent after escaping.