The Gate Traveler

In the morning, we were in the middle of making breakfast when all of my new friends suddenly became as quiet as church mice. I looked around to figure out what had happened and saw the commander gripping the bars in front of the cell. His expression was strange. His face was red with anger, a vein throbbing in his right temple, but his jaw hung open.

Puzzled anger? Bewildered fury? Whatever.

“Good morning, Commander,” I said, waving.

His jaw snapped shut with an audible click, and his face reddened even more. His fists, gripping the bars, turned white from the strain. For a second, I worried he might have a heart attack.

He shouted, “I hate wizards!” then turned and stomped away.

I looked around to figure out what his problem was.

Hmm, yeah... I can see what threw him off.

Our cell was sparkling clean, with pleasant smells of air freshener, soap, and delicious food. I had brought out some of my spare furniture. In the center of the cell stood a large dining table with chairs around it. We set the table with plates, glasses, and cutlery. In the center were baskets of freshly sliced bread and a selection of pastries, with bottles of juice lined along the table.

On the left side of the cell stood two large stainless-steel tables. Solom, Ravin, and Mensh were busy chopping vegetables for a salad on one table. On the other table, I placed two stovetops with gas cylinders. I used one to make pancakes on two frying pans, and Galin used the other to fry bacon.

Shamis, Oron, and Ludig were sitting on two couches, drinking tea on the right side of the cell. Fion was drying his hair with a towel after washing up with a basin of water. All my new friends were wearing army surplus fatigues and boots, not their old rags, except Fion who had a big fluffy towel tied around his waist.

I shrugged. It was the commander’s problem, not mine. I had pancakes to flip.

I felt Rue and the core moving further and further away from me. Judging by the direction, they were heading straight to Crystalspire. They were also moving fast. I was sure they stopped during the night for a break, but I slept through it. At this rate, they would reach Crystalspire in a week or even less. I needed to intercept them before they reached Crystalspire.

With all the commander’s bluster about “I answer only to the king and yadda, yadda, yadda,” the evidence proved otherwise. I had an idea of how to get out of here, but I needed help. So, during breakfast, I asked Shamis in a casual tone. “What is the amount of your debt for which you were imprisoned?”

“Three gold and twenty-seven silver,” he answered, looking down at his plate.

“That’s all?! That’s nothing! They put people in jail for such a pittance?” I exclaimed, my voice rising in disbelief.

They looked at me strangely—yes, the look—and Shamis said, “They paid me one silver for every tree I felled and trimmed. Three gold is a lot of money.” His voice was steady but tinged with a quiet frustration.

I rubbed my neck uncomfortably, feeling the weight of my assumptions. Yeah... Most of my clients in the city were nobles, and in the towns, they were mostly business owners. It skewed my perception of costs. To the ordinary folks, it was probably a large sum.

After asking everyone at the table, the total sum of debts came to thirty-one gold and fifty-four silver.

“I have a proposition for you,” I told them all, leaning forward slightly. “But in return, I need you to do me a favor.”

“What?” Fion asked, his tone cautious.

“I will give you the money to pay your debt. In return, I want you to insist on not paying it through the bars, but to be taken out of the cell. When they open the cell, make a big ruckus to get all the attention on you. That’s all.”

“I think I know what you want to achieve,” Mensh said, narrowing his eyes. “But you won’t be able to escape from here. Some large metal doors are in the way even if they open the cell. They won’t open them that quickly.”

“Escape? Me?” I raised my eyebrows with an innocent face. “What gave you that idea? I want to make sure they get you out of the cell.”

They exchanged a look, clearly unsure, and Galin opened his mouth to say something, but Solom raised his hand, stopping him. They all turned to Solom, confusion written on their faces.

Solom asked me, “Are you sure you’re not trying to escape from here?” His eyes narrowed as if searching for a lie.

“Of course not!” I exclaimed. “I want to prove my innocence.”

He nodded, scanning the group around the table with a pointed look before asking, “So I can swear to a Truth Mage with a clear conscience?”

“Absolutely,” I said, meeting his gaze firmly. “I have no intention of escaping from here.”

Their expressions showed they understood. The smiles returned around the table, and we finished eating.

After the meal, I stored all my stuff back and gave each of them the exact amount of their debt. They thanked me again and again, swearing loyalty forever. My response was to pat them on the back and tell them they were good people who didn’t deserve to be in prison.

When a guard passed our cell, Ravin called, “We want to pay our debt.”

The guard stopped and frowned. “Who’s ‘we’?” he asked, scanning the cell.

Ravin gestured with a sweeping motion at the entire cell. “All of us.”

“All of you?” The guard asked, clearly skeptical.

“Yes, what’s not clear? We want to pay our debt,” Ravin replied, his tone growing impatient.

The guard reached his hand through the bars, eyes narrowing. “Give me the money, and I’ll pass it on to the commander.”

Oron interrupted sharply, “No way! We’ll pay the commander as free people. We’re not letting our money disappear on the way to him.” His voice was loud, brimming with defiance.

The guard’s face twisted angrily as he snapped, “You think I’m going to steal your money?! I’ve been a guard for fifteen years with a clean record. How dare you?”

Ravin raised a calming hand, speaking in a soothing tone. “We don’t think you’ll steal the money. But we want to pay the commander and get the document that shows we’ve paid and are free. You can’t understand that, but if you find yourself in a cell like us one day, you’ll understand.”

The guard, still scowling, didn’t look pleased but left without another word.

After half an hour, the commander returned, flanked by ten guards. My new friends stood in front of the bars, grinning broadly. I sat quietly on the stone bench along the opposite wall, as far from the door as possible, holding a book in my hand with an innocent expression.

The commander shot me a suspicious glare, his eyes narrowing as if he could see through my calm exterior, but said nothing. He turned to the others and barked, “I heard you guys are making a mess.”

He immediately glanced back at me. I smiled and waved at him, pretending to be oblivious.

They all started talking at once, voices rising in a chaotic chorus: “I want to pay my debt!” “I’ve got the money. Let me out!” “Take my money!” and more, all echoing off the cell walls.

The commander shot another quick look my way. I kept my head down, pretending to read, but followed him carefully through a mirror I held at an angle.

Turning to the guards, the commander ordered, “Stand in a semi-circle around me, shoulder to shoulder. No one’s getting past you. Is that clear?”

The guards nodded, forming a tight barrier, and the commander opened the cell door, immediately glancing back at me again. I kept up my act, fully “immersed in the book.”

Meanwhile, my friends began shouting and shoving each other, the tension rising. “Take my money!” “No! I’m first! My wife’s waiting for me!” “I’ve been here the longest; I’m first!” The guards grinned, amused by the scene, while the commander tried calming them down, frustration creeping into his voice.

“One by one, everyone will get out of here,” he said, trying to regain control.

This was my moment. I turned invisible and shot out the door like a bullet, floating near the ceiling in the hallway.

The commander shoved my friends back into the cell, shouting angrily at the guards, “Don’t move! He can’t get past you!” before slamming the door shut.

He glared at everyone inside. “You’re all accused of aiding an escape!” he bellowed, his voice shaking with rage.

Solom, calm as ever, replied, “John swore to us that he had no plans to escape.”

The commander’s face twisted in even more anger. “He swore to you?” His voice climbed an octave. “He swore to you?” And another octave higher. “He swore to you?! Let’s see what the Truth Mage says!”

He turned back to the guards, his voice thundering. “None of you move!”

Then he shouted toward the end of the hall, where more guards stood by a large door. “One of you, go get the Truth Mage and Life Mage here immediately!”

He turned back to my friends, his face livid. “And when I catch this criminal, if I find out any of you knowingly helped him, you’ll regret it!”

He was shouting so loudly now that dust and small bits of stone were falling from the ceiling. His face had turned an alarming shade of purple, and he was heaving like a bull at a rodeo. I was genuinely worried he might have a heart attack at this rate.

Meanwhile, a guard opened the door to the stairs, and I floated up the stairs casually behind him. He was very nice and accommodating. Following the commander’s orders, he knocked on the other three doors along the way, politely asking them to open. He was a charming, helpful guy.

Before going after Rue and the core, I flew to the forest, found a quiet spot, and filled paintballs with a sleeping potion. I used up all the potions Al had given me. Between the leftover potion from Vegas—in paintballs and two big jars—and what he gave me, I now had over 10,000 sleep paintballs. It took me a few hours, but it was worth it. I didn’t want to kill the guards with Rue and the core. They hadn’t attacked me, after all—they just stole from me. And as someone who had “liberated” some property from several people, I didn’t think that warranted a death sentence.

After the potion was ready, I flew as fast as possible after Rue and the core. I flew with my profile open and watched my mana drain quickly, though luckily, it regenerated just as fast. It took five hours to catch up with them; by then, it was early evening. At first, I thought about just shooting the carriage drivers, but I was worried the carriage with Rue’s cage might overturn, injuring him, so I held off.

I flew over them at a leisurely pace—my leisurely, not theirs. They were in three carriages, each pulled by four horses, and the drivers constantly urged them to run as fast as possible. I could see the horses were exhausted, foaming at the mouth.

Bastards.

The first carriage was open, with two people sitting on the front bench and twelve more in the back. The second carriage held Rue’s cage, with two people on the front bench, and the third had two people in front as well. I assumed the mages were inside. I couldn’t see them because the carriage was closed, but since my core was inside, I was pretty sure of my assumption.

“How are you, buddy?” I asked Rue telepathically.

“Cage boring!” His telepathic voice sounded disgruntled. “Rue did everything John say. Rue peed and pooped on guard shoes. Rue bark all night. Every time guards go sleep, Rue bark and bark. Guards and mages are very tired. Rue not let them sleep. Rue ask for food all the time. Guards bad people. They only gave Rue little food. They not give Rue snakes!” In the last sentence, he sounded utterly outraged.

“My poor buddy! Don’t worry. As soon as they stop, I’ll release you. When I tell you, put on the muzzle against Al’s potion.”

Two hours after night fell, they finally stopped at a clearing on the side of the road. Three guards brought Rue a bowl of water and a bowl of food. While one opened the cage door, two aimed crossbows at him.

Sons of bitches.

When I saw the amount of food, I understood why Rue complained. They’d given him an amount that might be enough for a golden retriever, not a dog the size of a juvenile horse. I noted the one with the key for later.

After they stopped, they lit a fire and started preparing food. The mages exited their wagon, and one hugged my core with both hands. The same one that jumped on the book in the skyrest. I counted them and saw that everyone was present.

“Put the muzzle on,” I told Rue.

In the dark, with his black fur, they didn’t notice that he now had a brown muzzle on.

Seeing he was ready, I wasted no time and shot them with the potion balls.

Once everyone was down, I retrieved my core, instructing it to wrap itself in a new backpack, which I strapped onto my back. I found the guard with the key and freed Rue. He jumped on me excitedly, paws landing on my shoulders and knocking me over. Luckily, there was grass, or I might have been injured by love. I still had to cast Healing Touch to heal the bruises from the fall.

He enthusiastically licked my face, and after he calmed down, he told me, “Rue need snake steak and smoked crab.”

“Sure, buddy. Coming right up.” I said, laughing.

While Rue ate, I went to take care of the rest of the tasks. It was very considerate of the bad guys to release the horses from the carriages so I could store them directly. I removed the remaining equipment from the horses and left them to graze. Walking twenty meters into the trees, I opened the house, returned to the clearing, picked up two men, and slid them into the detention room through the chute the core had made.

No one in my private detention room poked their head through the opening this time. Apparently, they’d learned their lesson. I returned to the clearing, took two more, and sent them down the chute. I had to repeat this action twelve times, but eventually, only the horses were in the clearing. And my detention room was overflowing. I had to find a solution to what to do with those idiots.

Rue finished licking the bowls, I closed the house, and we walked further into the trees. After half an hour of walking, I opened the house again, and we spent an enjoyable night at home. He told me again how heroic he was in annoying everybody and made me laugh.

Before falling asleep, I had a fantastic idea for prisoner storage and revenge, and fell asleep with a huge grin.