Chapter 388 - 387: Arthur
"Oi, mate! What's going on!?"
With Van freeing the mage prisoners in the plaza, the whole town was in a massive uproar. The chaos spread like wildfire, reaching the ends of the large town in a matter of minutes. And as a matter of course, the dungeon was not an exception from this, especially since they contain a fraction of the city's forces.
And so, right now, all of the guards were scrambling and running, making sure that all of the cell doors were completely fastened and secured as they were called by the soldiers as backup.
"Oi! What's going on!?"
"L… Let go! I don't have time for you, mate! We're being called to the plaza!"
Arthur was able to grab one of the panicked guards as he walked past his cell. The guard slightly struggled to swat away Arthur's hand, only able to set himself free when Arthur backed away and raised both his arms in surrender.
"You're just going to leave us here to die?" Arthur then chuckled, "What's your guarantee that you'll come back alive? I'm supposed to go free tomorrow, mate."
"You can just rot here for all I care… mate," The guard said before loudly collecting his phlegm and spitting it on the ground.
"Then at least leave your keys, pretty please? It will at least make my escape easier."
"Then escape if you can, you twat,"-- and with that, the guard let out a loud scoff before running to leave the dungeon. A lot more guards passed by Arthur's cell, their weapons seemingly all ready to thirst for blood and violence.
It probably took a quarter of an hour before all the footsteps stopped echoing throughout the halls of the dungeon, leaving only the curious gazes and groans of the prisoners to whisper in the darkness.
"..." And in the duration of this, Arthur still had his arms raised in surrender; but after a few more seconds of making sure that there were no longer any guards passing by his cell, he lowered his hands. And as soon as he did so, a light clanging whispered in the air-- revealing a set of keys hidden at the back of his hand.
"Don't mind if I do," Arthur then lightly chuckled as he casually reached outside his cell door and unlocked it.
"Later, suckers!" Arthur then raised his voice, shaking the keys in his hand as he walked through the hall, making sure the other prisoners saw it, "Oh, what's this? You want me to free you?"
"Fuck you, Arthur," the prisoner he taunted, however, instead of begging to be freed, only clicked his tongue before lying his back on the floor, "Just sit on it, you'll be back here with the rest of us in a few days."
"...What makes you so sure?" Arthur let out a tiny scoff, "Who knows, I might be a knight when I return here. I'll make sure you're fed 4 times a day then."
"Pft, you… a Knight?" Not only the prisoner he was talking to, but the others prisoners that were within hearing distance laughed at Arthur's words, "Since you're dreaming, you might as well go big and become king…
...King Ballsack, that is!"
And with that, the burst of laughter that roared through the air echoed even more loudly, all piercing Arthur's ears.
"You're a thief, Art. You'll probably die being stabbed in the back by one of your so-called thieving friends for a pair of apples."
"...I offered," Arthur, even with all the mocking laughter aimed at his ears, only let out a sigh before shrugging his shoulders and hastily leaving the dungeon. And as soon as the light of the outside failed to burn his eyes, a scenery of chaos slowly welcomed him.
From as far as he could see, there were people running around; fear painted on their faces. Most of the city was clean, however, with only a trail of smoke rising towards the skies from somewhere deeper into the city.
"...The Plaza?" Arthur said as he furrowed his eyebrows. If he wasn't mistaken, then the execution should be being held there. Were… the mages able to escape?
"Good for them," Arthur then let out a small chuckle as the thought entered his mind. He knows most of the people coming in and out of the prison. Their crimes, where they came from, and how they were caught-- and he knew enough that most of the mages that were being put on the gallows were innocent; with their only crime being attuned to the elements of the earth.
Well, he knew most except the long-haired young man named Van. He had this sort of air around him that Arthur thought was… quite different from the rest of the sorcerers. If anything, he was probably the one responsible for this chaos.
And if anything, he should be thanking Van for providing this blessing. With all of this chaos roaming the streets…
...he could steal anything he wanted from anyone and they wouldn't even notice it.
And so, Arthur started sweeping the streets. Going against the flow of the panicked crowd, softly bumping into them and swiftly, but carefully, taking off their valuables and jewels with a sleight of a hand.
He was even able to manage to snag a bag, expertly throwing all of its contents on the ground and storing all of the items he had stolen in it. And now, with a bag in his side, his hands became even faster and bolder, going through the wave of people like some sort of fish; his hands like a vacuum that sucked all of the treasures within its reach.
"B… bloody hell," Arthur then cursed as the latest piece of jewelry in his hand slid from the bag as he tried to store it. He could try to retrieve it from the ground, but with the way the crowd was moving, he would most definitely be stomped to death. However, it didn't matter if he was able to get it, as the reason it slid from the bag in the first place was it could no longer accommodate any more treasures.
"Jackpot," Arthur then muttered as he raised his bag and swiftly escaped from the ocean of people, "With this, I should be able to get out of to--"
And before Arthur realized it, he had reached the plaza. And what welcomed him was the sight of the sky, scattered on the reflection of the armors of the soldiers and guards that were lifelessly sprawled on the ground.
That bright reflection, however, was nothing compared to the brightness of the huge jewel that seemed to be waving at him-- a jewel attached to a necklace that was hanging on someone's neck. Specifically…
"Is… Isn't that the Pig Prince?" Arthur then hesitatingly pointed at Prince Aurelius, whose face was partially being covered by a hand, "And you… you're the--"
"Oh, Archie."
"It's Arthur!" Arthur then slightly took a step forward, his eyes still fixated on the Prince's necklace. He only averted his eyes as soon as he remembered that he was currently being surrounded by a ton of dead bodies.
"Did… did you do this?" Arthur then stuttered as he looked at Van, who was still holding the Prince's face even after minutes have passed.
"No," Van quickly said, "The other prisoners did this."
"You do not need to be so afraid," the dark-skinned mage, Emrys, joined in on the conversation, "Most of the soldiers are alive. We are already being hunted to death because of our reputation, killing the soldiers would only further fuel that."
"...Right," Arthur then meekly said as his eyes once again moved towards the big jewel hanging on Prince Aurelius's neck, "What… are you planning to do with him?"
Hearing his words, Emrys quickly looked towards Van, before shrugging his shoulders and saying, "We don't know yet."
"I… see," Arthur whispered, "Then can I have that?"
"Hm?" Van raised an eyebrow, before looking towards where Arthur was pointing to.
"Please? Consider it a payment for all the information I gave you last night?" Arthur chuckled.
"...Sure," Van then said before pulling the necklace from Prince Aurelius's neck, causing him to slightly squeal and flinch. He tried to resist, but the only thing he could do was watch as Van tossed the necklace towards Arthur.
"...Fucking hell," Arthur quickly whispered as soon as he felt the cold texture of gold piercing his palm. Forget all of the things he had in his bag, this huge jewel alone was probably enough to let him live lavishly for a lifetime, and then some.
"You're a fucking godsend, lad," Arthur then chuckled excitedly as he wore the necklace around his neck, "I almost feel sorry for just leaving you here, but a man's gotta go!"
And with that, Arthur started to turn around. The last thing he wanted to do was be seen here, with the King's brother all disheveled and the soldiers all sprawled on the ground.
"I am afraid it's a little too late for that, Mister Arthur."
"Hm?"
And as soon as Arthur heard Van's words, the sound of dozens of horses neighing also entered his ears… partnered by the sight of almost a hundred soldiers-- waving a banner with the insignia of what seemed to be a winged lizard.
"...Since when were they here?" Arthur then quickly took a step back, before removing the necklace around his neck and returning it to the Prince.
"They were already here when you arrived."
"Fuck,"-- was the only word that could come out of Arthur's mouth. This is what he got from being too greedy, he thought. "E… everyone, I have nothing to do with--"
Arthur was about to claim his innocence from the situation. But alas, before he could do so, the screams of the Prince reverberated through the air. He quickly looked back, only to see that Van and the Prince were no longer behind him. Instead, without any of them knowing, the Prince was already tied up on one of the wooden structures, his mouth covered in rope.
"I demand to see King Uther!" Van then shouted, "If not, I will burn his brother as soon as the moon reaches its peak!"
"Ah…" Arthur muttered,
"....Fuck me."