Escape from the Tower of London

"Just one." Fred quipped. "Heeeeeeeelllppp!!!"

The Executioner roared in laughter and swung down with his axe, aiming for Fred's unprotected neck. At the same moment one of the guards raised his hand, exclaimed something - and the axe bounced ineffectually off a magic forcefield.

"Hurry, Fred!" yelled Oberon (for it was he), knifing one of the other guards in the stomach. "Break loose of your bonds! The shield won't last long!"

Fred got up from the chopping block to see the Executioner's axe flashing towards him again "Die!!!" Fred's hands were still in front of him, so thinking fast he raised them up to let the axe chop through his bindings. The Executioner growled in rage and drew the axe back for another swing.

"Here!" yelled Oberon, tossing Fred a sword as he stabbed another guard in the face. The axe was flying toward Fred's jugular - lacking time to draw the sword Fred blocked with it still in the sheath, the cold glistening axe blade inches away from his face as the two struggled. In the distance, Oberon had already killed all four guards in the room, and was running to lend aid when the Executioner let his pressure go slack and instead clobbered Fred in the side of the head, so hard Fred's head rang and he flew across the room to smash into another team of guards racing up the stairs. Fred and the guards tumbled down the stairs in one pile, ending up on a lower landing. Fred got up to see one of the guards dead with a broken neck, and the others struggling to stand.

"Down here, Fred!" he heard Scarlett yell. Fred ran to the window to see Scarlett in the seat of a horsedrawn cart filled with soft hay. "Jump down, Fred!"

"What about Oberon?"

"He can take care of himself!"

Fred cast one last worried glance up the stairs and jumped just as the guards lunged for him. One of the guards managed to grab Fred's legs, but lost his balance at the window and both toppled to the ground below. Fred struggled with the man in mid-air as the guard tried to choke him. Both landed in the haycart - but while Fred struck the hay, the guard was slammed on his back against the wooden side of the cart, and contorted in agony for a second with his back broken before he lay still.

Scarlett pushed the dead body off with her foot and spurred the horses onward. "Hyaa!!"

Fred grinned amorously as he climbed into the front and put his arm around Scarlett's waist. "I missed you, m'lady. Shall we resume where we left off?"

"We're still being pursued, silly!" Scarlett laughed. A bullet pinged off the side of the cart - looking back Fred saw two police carriages careening toward them across the frozen courtyard.

"Get them!" Constable Simpson was yelling as he reloaded his revolver. "You there, halt! Halt in the name of the law!!"

"Keep your head down, m'lady." Fred told Scarlett. "I fear this will get worse before it gets better."

The massive Traitor's Gate loomed ahead of them as one of the carriages pulled up and a guard aimed his pistol at Scarlett. "Nooo!!!" Fred roared and swung his sword, hacking the man's arm off at the wrist. With an ear- piercing scream the guard fell to the ground, where he was eviscerated by the wheels of the carriage. Another guard, wielding a spiked billy-club, leapt from the carriage into the back of the haycart. Fred turned to face him.

"You'll never leave here alive!" the guard taunted, a diabolic sneer across his rough-hewn, unshaven features. He swung at Fred - our amoral, yet oddly lovable hero blocked with his sword and counterattacked, cleaving the man's head from his shoulders. The headless body stood swaying for several minutes before it slowly fell back and rolled off the cart. Turning around, Fred saw Scarlett struggling with another guard, a knife clenched between his teeth. Fred lunged forward and stabbed him in the heart. Screaming "Aaargh!!!" the guard let go of Scarlett and fell over the side.

The Traitor's Gate was very close now. "They're shutting the gate!" Scarlett yelled, frantically spurring the horses onward. With a fresh burst of speed they raced through the gate, so close the sides of the iron door grated against the cart with sparks of electricity.

"They won't get away so easily!" Constable Simpson swore to himself as his carriage came to a halt beside the door. He took careful aim with his revolver...

"We did it, Fred!" Scarlett grinned. "We escaped from the Tower of London!"

No sooner had she said this than with a loud bang one of the rear axles of the hay cart exploded into wooden splinters. Fred and Scarlett clung to each other, screaming in fear as the cart flipped on it's side next to the shore of the River Thames, throwing them both into it's icy waters.

1. Fred and Scarlett are carried downstream.
2. Fred and Scarlett turn themselves into the authorities to avoid freezing to death.
3. As they climb out of the water, Scarlett casts an invisibility spell on them.

Add New Option

Go Back

View Forward Story Tree
View Back Story Tree