Free Adventurers Wanted, Book 4: Sands of Nezza by M. L. Forman Page A

knew that this door had been opened, but how fast could he do anything about it?
    Everything in front of Alex was dark, but the smell was almost unbearable. Alex listened for a moment. He could hear people moving around, but he couldn’t see anything. He took a step forward, holding out his hand in front of him so he wouldn’t run into anything. He stopped when he heard some faint whispers to his left.
    “My friend will come,” said a dry voice. “I know he will.”
    “He may come, but will it be in time?” questioned a second voice.
    “He will come as soon as he can,” said the first voice. “If not in time to save us, at least in time to avenge our deaths.”
    “Little comfort in that,” said a third voice.
    “Take comfort where you can,” said the first voice.
    “Skeld?” Alex whispered.
    “Alex?”
    Alex broke his spell of invisibility and turned toward the voices. It sounded like he had found Skeld and his companions only just in time. Conjuring a weir light that seemed incredibly bright after the total darkness, he had to blink several times before he could really see anything.
    “Thank goodness I’ve found you,” said Alex, shocked by how thin and pale Skeld looked.
    “I knew you’d come,” said Skeld happily, struggling to get to his feet. “I knew you would find us.”
    “How long have you been in this hole?” asked Alex, moving to the door of the cell that held Skeld and his companions.
    “Longer than I care to remember,” answered Skeld, coughing as he met Alex at the cell door.
    Taking a moment to examine the lock, Alex whispered a few magic words, then hit the door with his staff. With a loud crack, the lock broke away, and the cell door swung open. Alex caught Skeld as he fell forward with the door.
    “I should introduce you to my companions,” said Skeld, pulling away from Alex and turning back to his fellow prisoners.
    “There will be time for introductions later,” said Alex. “I’ve got to get you all out of here.”
    “How did you get in?” Skeld asked.
    “Magic, of course,” answered Alex. “And that’s how we’re getting out as well.”
    “But—” Skeld began.
    “No time,” said Alex, cutting him off. “Where are your bags and weapons?”
    “Taken,” said Skeld. “We were forced to put them in an iron lockbox after we were captured. If we’d had our bags, we could have escaped before ever reaching this cursed city. The lockbox was brought here as well, but I don’t know where it is now.”
    “I’ll see if I can find it, but no promises,” said Alex. “I’m going to put you all inside my bag for the time being. There’s plenty of food and water there, and there’s a fire burning to keep you warm. If I can find your things I’ll call you out again so you can collect them.”
    “It would be better if we made our own way out of this dungeon,” said one of Skeld’s companions. “The rules of honor—”
    “None of you looks like you could make your own way out of this pit without help,” Alex cut in. “And as for the rules of honor, well, I’m invoking my wizard’s privilege to waive them. There will be no loss of honor to any of you for accepting the safety of my bag.”
    “Wizard’s privilege—and some common sense,” said Skeld with a weak grin.
    “There is a dark wizard here,” said one of the other adventurers. “You should be careful of him as you search.”
    “I will be,” said Alex. “Now, everybody up. I think you’ll find my bag more comfortable than this pit.” He looked around. “Wait. I was told there were six of you. I count only five.”
    “There were six of us,” said Skeld, a look of anger on his face. “The men of Nezza have no honor. They shoot first and ask for a peaceful surrender after.”
    One of the other adventurers touched Skeld’s arm and he fell silent.
    Without waiting for further discussion, Alex held out his magic bag and gave the command for it to put all five prisoners inside it. There was the