-Callia-

  I blink slowly and blearily as my mind starts sluggishly. An overwhelming feeling of numbness was crashing down on me, but I fought the dizziness trying to take in my surroundings. A gray stone roof and dimly lit room were the first things that greeted my awakening. I tried to move, but all I could notice was my perspective wobbling as my limbs were completely numb. I turned my head to the side, noticing what looked suspiciously like an IV feeding a green liquid into my arm. In what felt like a herculean effort, I tilted my head forward and immediately noticed it wasn’t just one but seven IVs all hooked up to my body. My mind remained sluggish, but I felt extremely alarmed even as my thoughts failed to link together.

  I pressed against the restraints binding me with all my might, and as I got my blood pumping, my combat-boosting skills followed. My awareness flooded back, and instead of fighting with the IVs in, I shifted them into the void. Their influence faded rapidly, and my strength flooded back into my body. The simple straps restraining me snapped as I pushed myself off the table and wobbly took to my feet. I was panting as I finally broke free with the rush beginning to fade. I must’ve been caught after I blinked away from the vault and taken here to keep me restrained. The sound of footsteps immediately alerts me that I’m not alone. My eyes snap to the side, locking with an elderly man carrying a bundle of new IVs. His reaction is far too fast to be a civilian but not nearly fast enough to keep up with me. Drugged as I am, blinking is effortless. I appear in front of the old man and deliver a brutal punch to his face, sending him flying backward into the door behind him.

  I immediately pin the old man to the ground. The numbness in my limbs severely reduced the strength of my punch, bringing it down from a lethal strike to a strong hit. My brain slowly caught up, and I immediately felt a bit of relief that I didn’t kill the old man. The most important thing to do now was to determine where I am, what I was injected with, and how to escape. I locked my arm around his throat, ready to choke him out while pulling him slightly off the ground.

  “Old man, what drugged with?” My speech came out just as slurred as my thoughts. The old man seemed to grit in resistance at first, so I applied a bit more pressure. I could tell from the way his eyes darted around the room he was looking for a solution. Again I tightened, and the old man seemed to finally relent.

  “Sleeping potion,” he gasps out under my restraint. “I had to be sure who you served.” I lighten my grip a touch, letting the old man stop gasping. While he was answering, I took the chance to investigate the room. Strange relics piled haphazardly around a room that definitely didn’t match my expectation of an evil vault demon cult. Nothing stuck out to me as immediately threatening, so I continued my questioning.

  “Who is it I should serve? The pope?” I could feel the man recoil in revulsion the moment I mentioned the pope. Immediately I felt a lot better about the man, but it seems he misinterpreted my question. I almost lost my grip as he started flailing with all his might, disregarding the fact I had him in a chokehold.

  “Cursed cultists! I knew I couldn’t trust someone who the relics reacted so strongly to! Just wait, you and your kin will all die miserable deaths! You might get me, but the resistance will live! Proof of your foul deeds has already spread; your reign is at an end!” I stopped strangling the old man, who clearly wasn’t my enemy, but I struggled to keep my grip on him as he burst with strength in resistance. The old man freed himself from the ground as I clung to his back. My numbed limbs couldn’t compete with his strength, but my supernatural grip let me keep hold as the man tried to peel me off. Before the man was fully off the ground, I leveraged my position to trip the old man, trying to bring him back to the ground and under control.

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  He lost balance but not before stumbling across the room. Together we both crashed down into a barrel near the table I had been restrained on. The barrel collapsed, soaking us both in a green potion. I gasped as numbness surged back through my limbs, making me flop onto the ground next to the old man who was similarly disabled. Lying in the potion, I felt the numbness in my limbs like an anchor, but it wasn’t putting me to sleep like before. Next to me the old man was also flopped helplessly but laughing vindictively.

  “HAHAHA, looks like I win, cultist! We’re both trapped here until the potion loses potency. Even with your cursed resistance, this is enough to hold you for at least a day. My allies will arrive before you’re free!” I tried to move, but I had completely lost feeling in my arms and legs again. I couldn’t help but sigh in exasperation. While that happened, I felt Callen reaching out to me. Apparently I had gone silent on him sometime within the last five days. I ignored the crazy old man and briefly updated him on what I knew before turning back to the situation at hand.

  “Old man, why the heck was I strapped to your table and drugged? How did I even get here?” The only scenario that could make any sense to me under the present circumstances was that the old man was secretly targeting everyone in the central tower and happened to abduct me before the Vault guards found me. Even that scenario seemed to have holes in it.

  “I saw your little act with the vault guards. It was convincing how you so brazenly fought them, and you knew I couldn’t ignore a possible ally in distress. However, I needed to be absolutely certain! The reaction of the holy relics to your presence was too strong and bright. Obviously you're under the same pact as the pope and meant to deceive me!” Is this victory gloating? I would’ve given the old man a stare to share just how crazy I thought he was, but I was stuck staring at the ceiling while he was face-first to the ground. Actually, considering his position, he’s lucky he isn’t drowning.

  “So did you feel the sticky evil presence that clings to him and the vault, or did you find out some other way?” Since we were both paralyzed and my fate was in the hands of someone hopefully less crazy, I figured we might as well chat. It didn’t take long to get the impression that the old man had needed a win for a long time. He didn’t hold back in a single chat, happily bragging about his discovery in the archives, his lifelong work building the resistance (it sounded a lot more like his friend Alex did most of the work), and the years of patience he dedicated to his cause. After hours of conversation, the sound of someone arriving at the door finally brought our peaceful chat to an end.

  “Alex, you're finally here! Quick, kill the cultist before she recovers from the potion!” I smiled at the figure that came into view and made my case.

  “Hello, the old man was a bit crazy with the sleeping potions, so I may have attacked him upon getting up. I think the whole situation is a bit of a misunderstanding. Would you be willing to give me a chance to prove myself?” He carefully grabs my collar, avoiding the portions soaked in potion, pulling me onto a nearby couch, and while doing the same for the old man, he speaks up in a familiar voice.

  “Nokin, I think I can vouch on Callia’s behalf. She's barely been in the citadel a week, and most of that time has apparently been spent sleeping on your table. The pope has only met with her once, and I have a trusted source that has already confirmed his displeasure with how that meeting went. While she was considered a target, the pope hasn’t had the chance to convert her yet.” I paused as I pieced together where I had heard his voice before.

  “Paladin Galen, right?” I paused as I thought of the paladin who greeted me after I killed the giant worm outside of the citadel. He just smiled and sat on a chair facing the two of us. I could almost hear the old man sulking next to me, but the fact he wasn’t arguing vehemently was proof enough that he trusted Galen’s judgement.

  “Alex is my alias so that I can continue my work as a paladin. A couple years back I almost caught Paladin Nokin, the old man next to you, who is a wanted criminal, but he had me read the archives he stole. Really incriminating stuff for the pope. I verified it outside and have been working with Nokin to help other paladins turn to the truth. Speaking of which, I brought another important visitor. Paladin Nokin, this is High Priest Norold.”

  Psalm 72:12 NIV - For he will deliver the needy who cry out, the afflicted who have no one to help.