Chapter 358 - Do it my way!
The two boys were now being taken towards the prison house - A single building that was shaped like a wide block, but a little bit worn out.?It was slightly detached from the rest of the town, so the prison was isolated. Usually, small towns would have a small temporary holding place for sinners. Then, someone from one of the big cities would come and do a monthly collection of the prisoners, that they would bring with them to the city cells.
Of course, if the prisoner who was caught was a prominent individual, a town or village could ask for immediate assistance, or even set up a quest for the prisoner to be escorted by some guild members.
Upon entering the building, one could see that there were several guards stationed inside.?Thinking about it, Ray felt like it would be easy to take over the whole place with just the two of them. However, every time that thought entered his mind, he would remember Slyvia giving him a scolding.
"Alright, you two, fill this paper with your personal details as best as you can." The man behind the counter said as he handed over two forms for them to write on.
"Do you know what's going to happen to us?"Jack asked.
"Relax, your crime isn't that big. People lose their ID's all the time. All we need to do is check with your registering town, the one where you were born in, if you really are on their records. Once they are able to confirm your identity, you're free to go." The man confirmed.
While looking at the forms and from listening to what the man had said, a little idea suddenly popped up in Ray's mind. As he answered, he looked at the question asking what town they were from and resided in, Ray had jotted down Zrey. Seeing what his comrade had done, Jack followed suit.
Of course, Ray also didn't fill in the question about his real name, but Jack did.
As the man started to read the forms, he noticed the town that they had written down straight away. Working in this post for a long time, he often met people hailing from all sorts of places in the Allure Kingdom. He was quite proud of that fact, yet he had never seen this place before.
"You think I'm an idiot, don't you?" The man said. "I have been here for 10 years and I have never come across someone from the town of Zrey. Lock them up in the cellar. Let's see if they're more cooperative tomorrow."
"What!" Jack shouted, flailing his hands out of panic. "But it's true! I really am from a town called Zrey! It also shouldn't be too far from here."
The guards didn't listen to their excuses, continuing to lead the two towards their cells. Jack still shouted for his complaints as they walked down the hall. Hopefully, Jack's plea would seem genuine enough that the Guards would try to look into if there really was a place called Zrey.
They had been in the cellar for a few hours now. There was nothing to do in the cramped cell, so the two of them opted to exchange messages with the base to see how everything was going.
"Boss, how long are we going to stay like this?" Jack asked.
"Well, if they don't let us out by tomorrow morning, let's just get out of here and move on to the next," Ray replied.
"What if they try to stop us?" Jack asked again, and this time, he sounded more anxious.
Ray just stared over to Jack. When Jack met the gaze of his superior, he could tell that ray was losing his patience. He was surprised he had even waited this long.
All of a sudden, a man's booming voice resounded from down the hallway, and it was one they could recognize.
"Are the two lads from earlier now locked up?" The fat man asked.
"They've been locked up for the night for lying on their forms. Could you believe that? They tried tricking a veteran like me. They said they came from a place known as Zrey. It was laughable, so I had the soldiers grab every known official of the Alure Kingdom, and guess what, not one of them had the town of Zrey on their forms."
After hearing those words, the merchant's face slightly changed, going a little silent even.
"You don't mind if I went to see them, do you?" He asked.
The guard then beckoned with his hand to show where the cells were located, indicating that it was okay for the man to visit.
The merchant proceeded to saunter down the corridor, eventually reaching his destination.
"Hello boys, I believe we met earlier today. I think a more formal meeting is required. My name is Bob shank." The man said. He initially put out his hand for a shake in between the bars, but after seeing how crudely dressed the two were, he pulled it back again.
"Anyway, I'm here to talk about that strange carriage you brought earlier. It seems it has run out of power and not one of us knows how to get it going." He explained. "You see, I'm a well-known merchant around these areas, and I want to spend all of my money to purchase that vehicle, so I was hoping you would be able to indulge my request. In return, I shall get you out of these cells, but the vehicle shall still be mine. Do we have a deal?"
Jack got up from where he was sitting and immediately went forward, grabbing onto two of the bars - The act caused a loud bang to reside within the cell. It startled the man, making him move back a few feet.
"Barbarians, what do you think you're doing?!" Bob hollered.
Jack then pulled the bars a bit out of place, and when he let go, the bars had been bent backwards. He made a space wide enough for them to fit through. "Your deal doesn't look so great now, does it?" Said Jack. "We can get out here anytime and take back what's ours. Your deal doesn't sound so good now, does it?"
Beads of sweat started to make their way down Bob's face after he witnessed what Jack had just done. The cells in this prison weren't made from your average steel. Otherwise, anyone who could control Ki would be able to bend them. From this act alone, he could tell that Jack was strong.
Thinking Jack was the said leader, Bob started to focus all his attention on him. He wiped the sweat from his forehead before speaking again.
"I heard you two were planning to go to Zrey, correct? I was planning to take your machinery over to that place. There should be plenty of people interested in it." Bob said.
"Wait, you know how to get to Zrey?!" Jack asked loudly.
"I thought you two were from Zrey?" The only reason why Bob had revealed this information was that they had mentioned the town, but now, he quickly realised that they had no clue where it was and he could use it once again as a bargaining tool.
"I see how it is." Said Bob with a smile on his face. "It seems like I once again hold all the cards. I will tell you where Zoey is located once you tell me how to power up that machine of yours, so it will be rightfully mine."
Jack then felt Ray jab him on the shoulder, asking him to move back slightly. This time, Ray held the iron bars that were beside the ones Jack had bent. They soon started to glow red, and a few seconds later, the two bars looked like melted cheese.
"Do you always have to one-up me?" Jack said.
"Time to do it my way. Now tell us where Zrey is?" Ray demanded.