The first cell is empty apart from a rat. The second one contains a vibrant blue lizard, collared, in torn and tattered clothes.

"Get out of here," she hisses, "Before you're caught and get us all in trouble!"

"We're escaping. There won't be any trouble."

"Ohhh no, I've heard that one before. Tried it myself, and thank the Gods I made it back. It's worse out there than in here, take my word for it."

She's not particularly inclined to, at least not without elaboration. "Why, what's out there? We'll be killed or worse if we stay."

"Undead cannibals! I hadn't gotten twenty feet out of the tunnel before they caught me and tried to drag me into the swamp. I could hear the screaming of some other victims the whole time, it was horrible."

Lizards are strange, this one is paranoid, and undead don't eat. Still - "...tunnel?"

"The sewer tunnels drain on the other side of the fort but I already told you, it's no good."

"So you did. Are you sure you're not coming?"

"Damn sure, now get out of here before you get caught."

The first person Imene comes across is slumped insensate on the ground. She prods him for a while, gets nowhere, tries a healing potion, gets nowhere with that, and gives up and moves on. Outside the next cell there are two Magisters, arguing not all that quietly about something.

       " - it's your funeral."
"I'm just saying it's better to get it over with."
      "Get what over with, life?"
"Talis said they just wanted them to go as far as the armory. Enad's group was told to find a way into the armory. If you sign up now, you have half a chance of coming back. Wait another month and they're going to be ordering people to storm the cursed tower."
       "Or they'll give up on the whole bloody mission because it's stupid and they're down to a skeleton crew here."
"Keep telling yourself that."

She does not really want to pop out from the shadows and kill them both but it's probably the best way to proceed if the intent is to break some prisoners out. She stands there a while even as their conversation moves on to complaining about the food, hoping Alaherren will turn something up that decides her.

Alaherren sees Spear, sees the magisters, and does her best to gesture "So what are we going to do about them? Retreat or attack?" without making a sound or coming into the light.

They're sitting and chatting like they're on duty; they'll probably eventually be replaced by someone else on duty. There's no plausible scenario where they search the dungeons and rescue the prisoners without encountering any guards. And if their excursion upstairs is noticed, the guards will be on higher alert; there'll be more of them to fight. 

She hates killing people.

She signals to Alaherren that she thinks they should attack.

Does that mean 'attack'? It probably means attack? Ugh. She'll start readying a spell and be ready to stop if Spear meant to indicate retreat.

They need to work out an actual signed combat language in common, but that's a tomorrow problem. Imene has a smuggled magic bow that ignores armor. She lines up a shot, fires. 

She has a somewhat harder time of it, having to ablate away the antimagical protections on the second magister's armor before she can actually hurt him, but she can at least draw his attention and keep him too busy to shout for help while Spear lines up a second shot.

She hates killing people and she's very good at it. It's over almost immediately. 

She checks to make sure no one else is coming, and then kneels to pray.

Guards, may your souls be free. May they go swiftly to the halls, and may those who love you greet you there with as much joy as sorrow. May we meet again, if you will it, or may the troubles of this world never again trouble you, if you will that. If you will look upon me in my journey, please guide me down the path that saves our order and our people; please make me worthy of my mission, or anyways capable of it.

Rhallic, father of Men, take these your children to your keeping; forgive them their errors; grant them healing from the horrors of this life and the space to grow and learn anew; and guide us in our desperate struggle so that we do not all swiftly join them; give us the strength to save this world with which you entrusted us, and forgive us where we are unworthy of your trust. 

Lucian -

- the church has put off the question of whether you're supposed to pray to Lucian now that he's dead, as it looked like the wellspring of more divisions they couldn't afford -

- Lucian, I don't know whether to hope that the crimes done in your name are a horror and an insult to your memory, or whether to hope that you were right, and there are situations where only terrible crimes can save us, and this is one. I suppose at least if it's that I am to hypothesize it's possible to save us. Please, stay my bow, if I draw it in error, and if this is a mistake show me how to turn your Church away from it. 

And give me the strength to carry on. Please. 

She does in fact always carry on so in that sense the prayer is always granted. She searches them, not really expecting to find anything important and indeed not finding anything, and then continues through the dungeon. 

And so it is that she comes face to face with the first of the silent monks.

He's standing against the wall, looking blankly out at the opposite wall. 

At first she leaps reflexively back behind cover, and then realizes he's close enough by he should have seen the fight, or at least heard it, and that he is standing far stiller than people stand. 

"Huh. So that's what it looks like. I wonder why it's here."

"As a sentry, one imagines, except he's a very useless sentry, if he doesn't - respond to alarms." She steps forward, cautiously. "Can you hear me, sir?"

What if she takes his hand.

He follows, as if expecting to in this manner be led somewhere.