The dungeons were situated well below ground level, but for a military fortress full of knights they were in a surprisingly pristine condition.
Of course the cells weren’t luxury rooms, but they were actually better equipped than the priests’ rooms they stayed at in the last temple.
"Even my fellow round table members weren’t bold enough to try keeping sir Nickolas in bad conditions." Leon explained as he led them through the well lit corridors. "They are hoping he won’t be too harsh on them if he ever gets out."
"How did you even come in contact with him? I’d expect that he’d be well guarded at all times." Isara asked.
"There are no guards, he’s kept in an area accessible only to us. As for how I came in contact with him, it’s very simple - I just offered to take care of him. Since everyone knew of our rivalry no one questioned it and I could do as I pleased."
They walked for a little longer and walked through many doors which Leon had to unlock before reaching Nickolas’ cell.
To be honest it was a bit misleading to even call it a cell - it was a well furnished apartment with a bedroom, living room, bathroom and even a small kitchen area. The only indication that it was a prison were the bars in the front door window.
Leon unlocked those as well and walked in.
"Nick, I brought you some interesting guests!"
"What are you on about, no one beside you visited me since they locked me in here." A familiar voice responded from inside.
Calen, Cassian, Isara and Elira entered the room - Nickolas, quite predictably, looked older than 500 years ago, although not by much – he went from late twenties to mid thirties, the biggest difference in his appearance was his fairly impressive beard, and a new scar going from his jaw to collarbone.
Nickolas’ eyes widened and he jumped to his feet when he saw them.
"Cass? Cal? What the hell are you doing here?" Then he turned to Leon. "Why didn’t you tell me they were in the castle sooner?!"
Leon raised an eyebrow.
"I would have told you if I knew you were acquainted."
"Ah right, we only told our story to Alfred." Calen remembered. "Listen up then, I’ll try to condense everything that happened to us..."
It turns out Calen wasn’t very good at describing things briefly - his recounting took almost half an hour.
"It seems like Lady Sylara missed a few details when she was telling us about you." Leon chuckled. "Also I’m surprised you’ve managed to sneak Alfred in - no wonder all the instructors are complaining about a strange recruit, the guy is actually more skilled than they are."
Nickolas was staring into space with a thoughtful expression for a while before he spoke:
"I’ve lived in Asharil for almost a decade as sir Vandrel’s squire, it’s surreal that this part of my life is still there and can be saved."
"If we’re quick and eradicate the Blight before the barrier’s time limit is up they won’t even need saving." Isara pointed out. "I have a bad feeling out master won’t survive if we let the spell run out."
"Alarion is a great asset for humanity, it would be a shame to let him die." Nickolas nodded. "If you can get me out of here I’ll make sure the Order assists you in any way necessary."
Leon looked between the group and Nickolas.
"You know what, I’ll let you talk alone and go fetch Alfred in the meantime - we might as well use the fact that the rest of the round table is incapacitated."
Nickolas frowned and head snapped at Leon.
"What do you mean incapacitated?"
Leon didn’t respond, and instead just left the cell.
"I hope they’re alive..." Nickolas sighed. "Anyway, I assume you have some questions for me? I’ll try to answer them to the best of my ability."
"How did you come to be in charge of the largest human military force?" Cassian questioned.
"It was a coincidence to be honest - it all began on the day of the invasion, as you might remember back then I was in charge of a small legion stationed not far from gere."
"At the Silverstone castle, right?" Calen recalled.
"It was more a big house with some battlements on the roof, but yeah that’s what it was called." Nickolas smiled at the memory. "Right after the gate from another world opened a stranger approached our position - he claimed that something terrible happened, but we can survive if we do what he says."
"And you just believed him?"
"My men didn’t - but I did. I could sense the vile and terrifying aura coming from the direction of the capital, it was unlike anything I’ve ever felt before, and I knew that we would perish should we try to confront it. I could also tell that the man standing in front of me was countless times stronger than anyone I knew."
"So you followed him."
"I did, and so did my legionaries despite their initial scepticism. Along the way we gathered people from a few more encampments, but since there was no other branded knights among them, I remained in charge of everybody. We came to this castle, which was called Fortress of Giants back then, and together with it’s skeleton crew we began preparing for the inevitable siege."
"Did the man who warned you stay with you?"
"Yes, he was there until the Blightborn attacks stopped. It was five months of almost unending battle, but thanks to him not a single person died."
"I was shocked myself when I learned about it afterwards - the man was like a shadow, always following and standing right behind those who needed his help, and once the threat was over he simply... disappeared."
"Have you ever met him again?"
"No, but I did learn his identity thanks to the clues provided by Sylara - Tharion, the first Guardian of Humanity."