Just wanted to add this little tid bit, as I replayed the game today and I got to the dungeons and recalled when I was younger and got to this part, I wanted to try and free the prisoners and Jen didn't react to them.

Enjoy.


Helot Dungeon


It had been uncomfortably silent, before this guy joined Jen and Scree, what with the muted thick air of doom and oppression looming in these dungeons but since their silent 'ally' appeared it seemed worse. The helot had just appeared, rounded a corner and greeted them by saying they share a goal.

Scree was sceptical, he didn't trust an inhabitant of Chaos and he turned to meet Jen's questioning glance as the helot walked up to her. Obviously choosing to follow her lead, Scree knew it would make sense given she looked like a Wraith and he was merely a helot. Pecking order seemed to have been drilled into the helot here.

Now that he thought about it, it was most likely a very good thing she was in Wraith form right now, who knows how he would have reacted to a mortal or, to confuse him further, a Ferai strolling in and killing Valkyrie guards.

Nevertheless, maybe an ally down here may be useful, know the way up to the mansion or any secret passages that might help. Although the helot hadn't actually asked if he could join them, Jen looked to Scree to see his reaction, Scree nodded. Jen looked back at the prisoner and muttered an 'okay' warily.

He nodded at her and they continued on quietly, down yet another long foreboding corridor which lead to the cells.

The silence was broken but it wasn't at all welcoming, a woman's scream echoed horribly from the unforgiving stone walls making Jen flinch, she sounded desperate, in such pain. It was joined by another scream of agony, male this time, his cry filled the area, he sounded closer than the woman.

Jen's shoes seemed loud against the cold stone floor, she glanced down at it, noticing the dust and mud, her gaze moved to her left; and...blood. A rather big puddle of it and it wasn't dry.

Scree took out a key he snaffled earlier from one of the guards corpses and stretched up to put it in the keyhole, Jen stood back to wait and felt on edge rather suddenly.

Warm air brushed against her neck making her tense up, narrow her eyes and turn to look at the helot behind her. Uncomfortably close behind her.

He looked at her and her at him. His face was expressionless as Jen's thoughts processed from telling him to step back, wondering if it was an honest mistake, maybe Wraith didn't understand boundaries to thinking the guy was lightheaded from being starved and beaten.

"There we go," muttered Scree.

He pushed the heavy wooden, blood stained door open and went on through. Jen took a deliberate step to the left of the helot and gestured for him to go through the door first.

He didn't react other than doing as she had gestured for him to do. If anything it annoyed her more.

This room was different to the others, it was split into different sections by bars, Jen checked the area for guards however a small form of grey colour caught her eye and her head snapped to attention. She stopped and her guarded expression dropped in shock at the pitiful looking helot that knelt at the wall, head held in place by a sort of collar.

Scree noticed Jen had stopped walking and he plodded over to her and saw what she was looking at.

"Jen?" She looked down at him. "We must press on."

"We can't just leave him here." She exclaimed and marched over there, slowing down as she got closer, making sure that the prisoner knew she was no threat.

The helot couldn't hurt her, hands bound and kept in place by the wall but still Scree felt on edge. He could see how she would feel about this but they were prisoners, agents of chaos and sneaky to boot. They couldn't waste time with this; the realms depend on them both.

"Jen..." Scree trailed off before thinking of a way to make her move. "The sooner we defeat the Count and Countess, the sooner they get freed."

"Or left in here." Jen countered quickly.

Her hands searched for a way to take the collar off.

"Leave him." Came the harsh voice of their new 'ally'. "We must get out of here."

What happened to avenging family? Was the mean thought in Jen's head as she turned to glare at him.

"Either shut up and help or find your own way out!" She snapped.

He didn't do either, just stood there with that blank expression.

Jen turned back and all was quiet as she managed to find the clasp to undo the lock, luckily no key was needed, and she unhooked the iron bar from around the prisoner's neck, she then used Herne's dagger to untie his hands.

"There you go," She murmured gently.

She went to slowly stand, expecting him to do the same but the helot remained where he was. Jen stopped in a half crouch, confused.

"C'mon, you're free now." She tried to coax him up. "Are you injured?"

He didn't look injured, just a bit thin but all the Wraith here seemed skinny as hell.

"Jen?"

She ignored Scree and put her hand under the others arm in an attempt to pull him up. He was like ragdoll, didn't even speak in defence.

"Jen," Scree tried again. "We don't know how long these prisoners have been down here."

Jen knew he was hinting at these people being lost causes.

More screaming, the same woman from before it sounded like, filled the air but it was broken by a loud clanging from the next room over.

Two guards they hadn't spotted before ran over to the bars; snarling angrily in demon tongue.

After a good ten minutes of taunting them through the bars, going through the corridor that linked the rooms together and killing the two, Jen learned that their 'ally' was shit at fighting. He kept bumping into her, almost hitting her with his sword several times and he couldn't even hit the guards.

Jen had done most of the work and maybe she shouldn't be too hard on him since he had been down here too, most likely getting tortured and watching his family die but with Jen's new found haughtiness and arrogance that came along with being a Wraith, she found she couldn't stop herself making a snarky comment.

"Not much a fighter are you, Xander?" She sneered, clearly annoyed.

Scree unfurled from stone, looked at her sternly.

"Jen..." He reprimanded.

"What?" She loudly questioned indignantly.

She marched forward back the way they came, now the guards were dead, and back the way they came to find a way out, damn place was like a maze. Scree stopped for a second to check the map, Jen came to stand behind him to peer over his shoulder however she was bumped into yet again.

She gritted her teeth but said nothing.

Scree scanned it quickly before noting the way forward would be through the big double doors they passed before, near the statue and so they set of back.

He also noticed that Jen was walking a lot of faster.

"Jen, slow down, remember we have to be careful." He called cautiously.

The helot seemed to jogging after her.

And Scree put the pieces together and started to chuckle to himself.

It was after Scree possessed the Wraith statue near the door and smashed it open that the helot prisoner suddenly seemed to snap to attention as he shot to a defensive stance and look round him. Jen gave him a strange glance as he started to stagger towards the stairs ahead of them, looking everywhere like a jittery hamster, in Jen's opinion.

"You are on your own from here," he rasped out, disappearing from view.

"Good riddance." Jen grumbled.

"I'm going to miss your shadow," Scree commented innocently.

Jen shot a true Wraith-like glare at him and stalked off in a huff with Scree following behind as they entered the actual mansion. Cold brick floor was now a decadent black marble, the room was a warm temperature and exotic plants with fresh green leaves were sat near sleek marble benches. The dungeon, screaming and the torture seemed so far away now, as was Jen as she trotted ahead, not even on guard anymore.

Scree sighed.

"Jen, Jen, Jen, how many more times – take care! We'll be no help to anyone if we're captured."