28. The Golden Girl (4)

That was when he heard the voice. "He keeps the key on a chain around his neck."

The face of a beautiful young woman was showing through the bars of the heavy door. "Thank you for the information that will save us some time." Novum grabbed the key and headed for the door and quickly opened it and stepped back out of the way so that she could come out.

"Brave one I hate to tell you this but I am chained in here as well."

Novum saw the chain around her ankle was also bolted to the wall. "Did you happen to see the key to that one?"

"I have never seen the key for this one. I woke up in this room with this around my ankle. It is designed to not only drain my magical energy but it also leeches physical strength to that I can't fight back."

"Then please be patient with me as I try and find the key." Novum started tearing through the big room that they were in. He did manage to drop in quite a few items that his appraise told him were of some value but he would check everything else out later. But he knew the bag of coins that he picked up was a heavy one. He checked to make sure it wasn't a magic bag and saw that it was filled with platinum and gems and was a normal bag so he dropped it into his bag and continued on.

Novum was about out of places to look and knew that the guards above would be waking up soon if thy were not already awake and the longer he took the higher the risk. After he gathered everything of value and still did not find the key he was not sure what to do. He walked back in and looked at the chain. He pulled out one of the magic swords that Henry used and slammed it into the chain. There was a spark when they hit but the chain looked in perfect condition and there was a small nick in the sword.

Novum looked at the wall again and at the size of the block and had another idea. He grabbed the chain and did not feel it draining his power so he braced his foot on the wall and pulled with all of his might. For about ten seconds nothing happened and then he felt a shift. He relaxed for a second, took a deep breath and then pulled again as hard as he could. After almost a full minute of pulled and jerking back and forth on the chain the heavy block fell out of the wall.

"Well that is a start." He held up the block by the chain in one hand.

"But I can't drag that thing. Honestly with this chain I can barely walk at all."

"If it is not to forward ma'am I will carry you and the block out of here. It might be tricky but I think I can do it."

"Aureus, my name is Aureus. Anyone brave enough to break in here and rescue me gets to use my name and not ma'am or lady or any of those other titles."

"Very well then Aureus. There are two options that I have seen. First there is a pile of rubbish, mostly trees trimmings, along the wall. We can climb those and then we will be outside of the city and I can carry you around to a gate and I can get you home that way. The second option is probably more dangerous. I carry you along the front wall out of sight for as long as possible and then when he get close enough I sprint for the gate. They might not risk shooting us but that is not a guarantee."

"Sir."

"Novum. If you are Aureus then I am definitely Novum."

"Okay Novum, I think that going over he wall would be best. If they have no idea where we went and who took me then they are not going to know where to start looking. And I hate to say it but if we can get to the gate on the far side of the city my family has a small group of our guards that help out. They escort visitors directly to the estate."

"Then over the wall it is." He started wrapping the chain around the stone block until there was no extra chain to drag the ground. "Aureus I know that is it not very dignified but with the ladder I am going to have to ask you to jump on my back." A little color rose in her cheeks as she moved towards him. Novum thought about it and removed his armor. "This will probably be a little more comfortable." He knelt down so it would be easier for her and once she had a grip he stood up and moved out.

Novum had a little trouble when he got to the ladder. It was not that the block was to heavy but that with the shortened chain he could not really move that arm without jerking on Aureus' leg. So he climbed a little slower with only one hand. It was a little tricky opening the hatch but he got it open without slipping. He poked his head up enough to see if anyone was waiting on him and when the coast was clear he climbed out.

"Are you okay Aureus?"

"I am fine. You are actually easier to ride than a horse." Novum knew what she meant but the twelve year old boy inside of him almost laughed out loud. He held it in and he could physically her body heating up as embarrassment.

"That is good. It is going to be a long run and you need to be as comfortable as possible." He did not remark any more on her comment and instead headed for the door. As he got close one of the guards was struggling against his restraints so Novum gave him a little kick to the face as he ran by. Once he was out the door he made a straight run for the wall. He did not want to take a chance and get seen if he could help it.

It did not take long for them to reach the rubbish pile and Novum saw I clear way up as long as the branches held his weight. "Are you ready?" He felt her grip around his chest tighten. He took that as a yes and ran at the pile of trees and paused at the top of the wall to fine a good spot to land. It all looked the same so he jumped and ran out away from the wall. "Which way would be faster?"

"Go straight out for a distance and I will tell you when to go left. We need to be mostly out of sight of the closest gate since the Earl has his guards there like my father does at the other gate."

"Understood." Novum took off at a fast jog and turned when she told him too.

They were well past the first gate when Aureus spoke in his ear. "Novum can we stop for a few minutes?"

Novum stopped and gently put her down. "Of course is everything okay?"

There was color rising in her cheeks. "The way that you are carrying me and the fabric that I am wearing are not good for my skin. It is rubbing the inside of my legs really badly."

"I am so sorry about that. I did not take that into consideration." He scooped her up into a bride carry. "How about this? Any discomfort?"

"None."

"Then we will go with this for a while." This was harder than the other way but he was more than strong enough to carry her this way. After a few minutes she leaned her head down on his shoulder. It was easier on her neck this way. His arms were just starting to get tired when she pointed towards a gate in the distance. Novum cut his angle and knew that he could make it there without stopping.

When the guards saw who he was carrying a few of them drew weapons ready to fight him. "He just saved me. He is not the threat. Just escort us back to the house since if the wrong people spot us he can't carry me and fight."

One of the younger guards took off for the manor at a dead sprint to alert them of the situation. The rest of the guards fell into step around them. Two in the front, one on each side, and ten two behind them. They were about half way there when he saw several men in matching uniforms come charging at them.

************************************************************************

Earl James came out of yet another meeting trying to win the favor of the merchant's guild when a guard came barreling down the hall. He stopped and gave the man a bow. "Sir the girl was taken."

The blood immediately rose to his face as his rage was about to boil over. "She had seven men guarding her and was chained to the wall." He was not in his secure office so he could not yell like he wanted to.

"Apparently last night a group snuck into the compound and struck at a shift change. They took out the two on the surface and waited for the next two to come up. That only left them with the three down below. Two of them did not wake up and were tied to their beds. Then the group killed Henry."

"Okay but how powerful must the mage have been to get rid of those chains?"

"The chains were not broken. Ummmm the block.....ummmmmm the block was torn out of the wall."

"So they could not break the chain so they just ripped a huge stone block out of the wall and walked off with it."

"That is the way that it appears sir."

"That means that they did not use our gate so they are dragging the girl and a stone block all the way around the city. There is a chance that they have not made the other gate yet. Take every man that you can spare and go watch that gate. When she shows up take her back or kill her I don't care which at this point."

"Right away sir."

The Earl headed straight back to his office to try and figure out a way to make sure that this did not come back and bite him. If the girl was brought back or dead there would be no one that saw him with her and without a witness there could be no church trial under the eye. He would be fine if either of those things happened. He might have to contact his son and have him speed things up there as well. He might need a place that he could run and hide for a while.

**********************************************************************

Novum moved as quickly as he could following her directions as the family guards would form up and block the way to give them a little bit of a lead. There were only him and two guards left and he did not think that they would be able to protect him but he knew that he could protect her. In a split second he made up his mind. He handed the stone to one of he guards and the girl to the other.\

"You guys keep moving. I can hold them long enough for the rest of the guards to make it to you. Now get moving." He brought out all of his equipment and got ready for a fight. The two guards could barely handle the load that they were given but even though they were huffing and puffing the pushed their bodies to the limit.

Novum set his feet and got ready for a fight. One of the men tried to sprint right past him thinking he would be to slow with that big sword. Novum aimed at his neck and the body took two more steps before it realized that the brain was no longer telling it what to do. The next guys in line were not so rash and moved forward in numbers to take the man out. They knew that when he was gone it would be a clear path to the girl. They also knew that it was not far from the house and they were running out of time quickly.

Novum did not know how far it was to the manor from here he just knew that he had to buy them enough time to get the girl to safety. He was honestly content with the fact he might die right here. His time in this world might have been short but it was the most fun he had in a long time. He was good and the sword helped but fighting three on one and then exposing himself to prevent a fourth person from running by was taking its toll.

One of the three men he was facing made a mistake and Novum drove his sword into the man's chest. The man fell back dying but the problem was another man just stepped forward into his spot. Novum heard footsteps coming up behind him and hoped that it was reinforcements and not more of this crew. Suddenly he saw the fear in the men he was fighting eyes and knew that it was help. He expected to hear a bunch of men running up but then a man appeared on each side of him.

Novum looked to each side and saw that the men were about the same size as him and the golden hair on both men told him that this was Aureus father and brother. The last of the guards gave up and ran away and Novum just let them go. Novum felt weaker and weaker by the moment. He had lost a lot of blood. "Perfect timing gentleman." Novum dropped to his knees and the before he cold do anything else he fell forward, unconscious.