Now, Torpineas calms the demon with the spell Armanio, and the harp plays a sweet melody. They pass by Cerberus, who has fallen asleep, and climb the steps that lead to the stone exit.
They arrive before the great stone door, and with the spell Ainexo Assoumi, the gate slides aside, and at last they emerge from Akbazan.
They see the light of day and breathe the pure air of freedom outside Akbazan.
Torpineas quickly removes the necklace from his neck, places it on his son, and winks at him. Then he takes him by the hand and prepares to teleport—but it is not possible.
Torpineas realized that the Odyvians had now trapped the area with enchantments, making teleportation impossible.
Torpineas says nothing to Etydameas, and holding him tightly by the hand, they move swiftly toward a slope filled with trees so that they may hide.
First, they intended to hide in the grove, and then he would call Apheni using the mark on his right hand, so that they could leave far behind all those who prevented them from living together.
But before they even began heading toward the grove, agents appeared from everywhere on broomsticks and other flying devices and surrounded them.
Torpineas realized that they had been ambushed—exactly as he had expected.
He thought of calling Apheni using the mark, but the agents were far too many, and it would have been futile and would also have exposed her to danger without reason. Besides, there was no reason to reveal that Apheni had played a role in their escape with the enchanted pendant.
Thus, he reminded Etydameas not to attempt anything foolish and above all not to say anything, but to let him speak with the agents.
The agents approached them and ordered them threateningly to throw down their wands.
Torpineas placed his wand on the ground and nodded to his son to do the same.
Etydameas did not want to surrender after everything they had gone through to escape the dreadful prison of Akbazan, but he knew that the mark limited his powers, and so he also placed his wand on the ground with reluctance.
The agents quickly approached them and arrested them, placing chains on their hands.
They lifted them onto a flying vehicle and transported them to the palace of Sazideas on Mount Koryvos.
They arrived at the palace, and all the members were summoned to discuss the escape of Torpineas and his son.
They demanded that they reveal all the events of their escape and how on earth they managed to find the exit within the labyrinthine maze of the Minotaur.
They also asked what had happened to Eumaios, and they learned that he had died during their attempt to defeat certain beasts within the labyrinth.
Torpineas described the events of their escape, but they understood that he was certainly hiding the true facts.
They tried to verify Torpineas's statements through the young Etydameas, but the young mage did not utter a word—exactly as his father had instructed him.
The Black-cloaks understood that it was impossible for them to have escaped successfully and so quickly from Akbazan without additional help from someone or something.
It was truly unlikely that they had managed to escape so quickly without assistance.
They interrogated them for hours but achieved nothing.
As for Torpineas, who was an adult, they used a truth serum, yet even this had no result, as Torpineas resisted and told them that they had succeeded through miracle and pure luck—which was not entirely false, and thus the use of the serum did not benefit them much.
Meanwhile, Torpineas asked them to show mercy toward his son and not send him again to that dreadful prison.
A council was eventually convened, in which Apheni also participated, yet she tried to remain calm and appear surprised by the escape of her husband and son, so that no one would suspect her involvement.
The council discussed the punishments that should be imposed upon the two fugitives and also decided on penalties for the guards of Movinto, who had been humiliated by a mere child.
The council was also astonished by the knowledge and magical power of the young mage, which Torpineas had revealed during his interrogation under the influence of the truth serum.
After discussing all these matters in the palace of Sazideas, they realized two things.
The first concerned the highly developed magical abilities of Etydameas, who was still under the influence of the restrictive mark on his left shoulder.
The second was that the fugitives had escaped from Akbazan successfully in a very short time, yet they had not discovered how.
After long deliberation, the council decided to present Torpineas with a dilemma.
The dilemma was this:
Either Torpineas would remain a lifelong prisoner in Akbazan, while young Etydameas would serve a five-year sentence in a reformatory outside Akbazan.
Or Etydamon would serve his five-year sentence in Movinto of Kezan, while Torpineas would pay a large fine to buy his freedom from his life sentence and live freely with Apheni while waiting for their son's release.
The council had realized that Torpineas and his seven-year-old son were hiding something important, and thus they offered this tempting dilemma to Torpineas.
The Odyvians hoped that due to the rebellious nature of the young mage, if he attempted to escape again, they would monitor him closely and discover the secret that had humiliated the safest prison in the magical world.
Naturally, they did not want the two of them in the same place again, and therefore proposed that they remain in separate prisons.
And if Torpineas were sentenced to life imprisonment again, perhaps he would attempt another escape, allowing them to discover the method he had used before.
However, nearly all the Odyvians were convinced that the success of the escape was due to the young mage, because otherwise Torpineas would have escaped long before his young son arrived at Akbazan to free him.
Thus, with this highly tempting dilemma, the Black-cloaks hoped to persuade Torpineas—and Apheni—to send their son to Movinto until the age of twelve in exchange for Torpineas's release by paying his sentence in gold coins.
Torpineas and his son remained bound and heavily guarded in separate cells throughout their stay in the palace of Sazideas.
After Torpineas was informed of the dilemma, they told him that he had until sunset to consider it and decide.
Apheni, of course, was present at the council and already knew the proposal offered to her husband, and so she received permission to discuss the matter with him and decide together what they would do about their son.
Thus, Apheni visited Torpineas, whom she had not seen for years, and they discussed the council's proposal in order to decide what would be best to do.
Torpineas fully understood the cunning intentions of the Odyvians and refused to accept the offer of buying his freedom from his life sentence in Akmapzan.
Torpineas, who trusted Apheni, explained all the events to her and how by miracle they had not met the same fate as Eumaios.
He told her that Akbazan was extremely dangerous, especially for such a small child as their son.
If they had been sent together, perhaps he would not have worried so much, but without his help, there was no chance that their son could escape safely if he attempted it—even with the dragon pendant.
Thus, they concluded that for their son's safety they should not take the risk, and so they decided that Torpineas would return to Akbazan for life imprisonment—after Apheni first retrieved the necklace from their son and gave it to Torpineas.
Apheni then went to her son's cell to see him and ask for the enchanted necklace so that she could pass it to her husband, Torpineas.
Apheni was overjoyed to see her beloved boy again and asked him how he had been at Movinto and whether they had treated him well.
"Are you perhaps injured from your attempt to escape?" she asked him anxiously.
Etydameus reassured his mother and explained to her that at Movinto all his classmates–fellow inmates and the guards–teachers treated him excellently.
Additionally, he told her that he had nothing serious—only a few scratches—so there was no need for her to worry.
He also explained that at Movinto he enjoyed the training even more, because he had the opportunity to interact with older children, who taught him many useful skills.
The teachers, at least in theory, also provided him with knowledge of spells that he would not have had the chance to learn at Pirosovia, since it was a school for younger students.
Moreover, he boasted to his mother that if he had not had the chance to learn all those spells of magic in Kezan, perhaps they would not have managed to escape safely from Akbazan.
At the same time, he told his mother that if his father had not been imprisoned for life in the prison of Perkoumet, he would never have attempted to escape from Movinto.
The only reason he escaped, he explained, was to save his father.
Satisfied with what her son told her and relieved that he had not faced problems during his stay at Movinto, Apheni decided to reveal to him the proposal that the council had offered to her and his father.
Upon hearing this offer, Etydameus became happy and told his mother not to worry at all.
After all, as he had already told Apheni, his stay at Movinto had been unexpectedly very good, with many opportunities for the young mage to gain more knowledge about magic and beyond.
Apheni mentioned Torpineas's plan and how he had asked for the necklace, but Etydameus explained to her that there was no reason to take such a risk.
"It is better, mother," he told her, "for me to be patient for a few years at the school of Movinto and for us all to meet again free, rather than take risks and live constantly hunted by agent-mages."
After speaking with her son, Apheni returned to Torpineas to recount everything they had discussed and to hear his opinion.
Torpineas did not show the same relief that Apheni seemed to feel, because he explained to her that Movinto, although remote from the other regions of Ephilia, still belonged to the worst prison in the magical world.
He also told her that he feared the children of the Movinto reformatory might influence their young son and corrupt him morally.
Furthermore, they might mistreat him, since they were proven delinquent youths—after all, that was why they were in Akbazan.
The duration of their son's imprisonment until the age of twelve was not short, and thus Torpineas opposed the idea of sending their only child there.
In the end, Apheni agreed with her husband, and so she returned once again to Etydameus to inform him of their decision and to ask for his pendant so that she could give it to Torpineas.
They spoke, and she explained that they would not take such a risk with the life of their beloved son.
She then asked the guard to allow her to enter her son's cell briefly, supposedly to hug him and bid him farewell in person.
However, the guard was adamant and told her that he had strict orders not to allow her to enter either cell—neither Torpineas's nor her young son's.
Apheni, as the daughter of Sazideas, tried to threaten the guard into letting her pass, and when that failed, she begged him—but again without result.
Thus, Apheni returned to Torpineas and told him what had happened.
"So," she told him, "the plan with the enchanted dragon pendant cannot be applied in your case, and without it, your escape will certainly have no chance of success."
After some time, the couple finally decided to place their trust in their seven-year-old son.
She returned to Etydameus's cell and told him that, as he understood, since they could not take the pendant from him to give it to Torpineas, if his father ended up in Akbazan, they might never see him again.
Nevertheless, she told him that the decision must be his alone—and only if the young mage still insisted on his plan would his parents agree for him to go to Movinto for those five years.
Etydameus did not hesitate for a moment and agreed to go himself to the school of Movinto in Akbazan so that his father could finally be freed.
Thus, Apheni conveyed to the council of the Odyvians their joint decision: their young son would be sent to Kezan until the age of twelve, and Torpineas would buy his freedom from his life sentence and live thereafter as a free citizen.
The very next day, Torpineas was released, and together with Apheni they visited their son's cell to bid him farewell and give him courage.
"Be very careful, behave yourself, and never stray far from the Movinto reformatory," they told him anxiously.
Apheni could not hold back her tears, while Torpineas looked at him with a serious expression and told him:
"Do not let ideas enter your mind, because Akbazan has terrible traps and dangers!"
A group of agents approached Etydameus's cell to take him and lead him to the territory of Lord Damanis, where the largest and most secure prison in the magical world was located.
The group of agent-mages eventually arrived with the young prisoner at the palace of Damanis, where two guards awaited them.
This time, however, Lord Damanis himself was present, suddenly revealing himself before them by removing his cloak of invisibility.
He had heard much about the young mage and wished to personally see the one who, for the first time in the history of Akbazan prison, had managed to escape successfully.
He stared at him intensely and addressed him, saying that he knew of his achievements.
"I learned that you humiliated several of my guards when you escaped from Movinto, as well as when you freed your father with Eumaios in Perkoumet.
Additionally, I heard that you did not perform poorly in the labyrinth—even against the Minotaur himself.
Of course, we revived the beasts and increased our security measures even further, so do not get any ideas, little one.
Still, it is truly astonishing how a mere child accomplished all these things that no other mage has ever achieved before.
We will be watching you closely—remember that and do not forget it!"
Finally, he dismissed him, wishing him a pleasant stay in Akbazan.
Etydameus smiled and, without saying anything, walked away under the escort of the agents who held him firmly.
The group of agents, with the help of Damanis's guards, finally sent Etydameus to the Movinto reformatory.
The atmosphere of his arrival was tense, and the teacher-guards watched him with stern and threatening expressions.
On the other hand, all his fellow students were inside the Movinto buildings, secretly gathered at the windows, full of curiosity, to witness his arrival.
The guards of Movinto took custody of him to lead him to the dormitory with the other children.
As they climbed the steps toward the reformatory gate, voices of children were heard from various windows, cheering and praising him for his achievement.
The director of Movinto was standing on the landing, and hearing the children shouting, he commanded them in a thunderous voice to be silent and close the windows.
The escape of the young mage with his father and Eumaios had become widely known to everyone—even within Akbazan.
The Director, Sohar, turned toward Etydameus irritably and told him that this time no one would be lenient with him.
He also told him to remove from his mind any thought of attempting another escape, because now he would be constantly monitored.
"You exploited the understanding and compassion we showed you because of your age, little one—but now we will show no mercy, be certain of that."
Then Sohar introduced him to his new supervising teacher and guard, who would take responsibility for watching over him.
Irmeas, the previous supervisor of the seven-year-old mage, had been replaced by Tamathos.
Tamathos, with a stern expression, introduced himself and informed him that he would watch him constantly and that he should forget everything he had known from now on.
Tamathos ordered Etydameus to follow him so he could store his belongings in the locker and show him which dormitory he would sleep in.
Tamathos left him in the dormitory with the other children, who watched him while trying to hide their excitement so that Tamathos would not scold them.
Etydameus asked the children which bed he should place his belongings on, and they all suggested that he sleep beside them.
In the end, he chose a bed and placed his belongings on the floor.
Before he had even begun making his bed with sheets and blanket, his young fellow inmates overwhelmed him with questions.
"Tell us everything, Etydameas!" they said to him."Tell us the truth—how did you manage to escape from the underworld of that dreadful cave?" they asked.
All the children looked at him with curiosity, waiting for him to recount his adventure, which was a unique phenomenon, since no one before had ever succeeded in escaping and managing to get out of Akbazan.
Without a doubt, the fame of the seven-year-old mage had spread to the farthest reaches of the magical world, and of course throughout the entire realm of Ephilia.
The days at the Movinto reformatory passed, and Etydamon tried to make his presence as unnoticed as possible. He avoided contact with the guards and teachers of Movinto as much as he could, so they would not trouble him, since they had their eyes on him after what he had done.
At the slightest excuse, they scolded him and loaded him with chores as punishment for humiliating them with his escape.
Thus, he avoided the guards and teachers whenever possible, because they would always assign him some new task to complete and leave him no time to study—which he loved—or to play games and sports with his friends.
On the other hand, his classmates now respected him greatly after his escape, and they never grew tired of asking him to retell the story of his adventure during his escape from the prison of Akbazan.
Time passed, and the year came to an end. Despite the difficulties and the negative attitude of his teachers, Etydamon performed quite well in most subjects during the exams.
Of course, he did not have the privilege of leaving for summer vacations as he did when he studied at Pirosovia.
However, he was at least allowed to communicate with his family through the personal fireplace of Director Sohar, or through a three-dimensional projection from one of Tamathos's magical pyramids.
The magical pyramid had the ability to project images from its peak, allowing Etydameus to communicate with his parents and other relatives once every seven days.
Time continued to pass, and the teacher-guards treated him with the same cold and unjust behavior, despite the fact that the young mage caused no problems and always performed every chore assigned to him without complaint.
There were many times when the now eight-year-old Etydameus considered using the dragon pendant and escaping.
However, after thinking carefully, he realized he would not have the slightest chance of succeeding alone.
He remembered how, with the help of his father and Eumaios, they had barely managed to escape alive—and in the unfortunate case of Eumaios, it had ended in death at the second level.
Thus, he clenched his fists and understood that he had no other choice but to endure the unjust mistreatment of the teacher-guards.
Summer ended, and autumn arrived for the now eight-year-old mage. A new school year began.
Etydameas enjoyed acquiring new knowledge, so he had double joy. First, he would gain even more knowledge, and secondly, one less year remained until the completion of his sentence at Kezan.
He always kept this thought in his mind to give him strength and patience until the age of twelve, when he would finally live freely with his parents.
With this thought, the eight-year-old mage acted wisely and did not react to the provocations and chores constantly imposed upon him at the reformatory.
He was not discouraged in the slightest, always keeping in mind his ultimate goal—to complete his sentence and afterward wave them goodbye forever.
Thus, cleverly, he avoided giving them any excuses.
And so, another year passed with the same admirable success for the young mage in his school examinations.
Etydameus showed a special love for knowledge in general, and especially for magic—even if it was only theoretical.
Sometimes he grew frustrated that he could not practice certain spells, yet on the other hand he had access to knowledge far more advanced and specialized than he would have had at Pirosovia.
Movinto had originally been intended for students over fourteen, so he had the opportunity to learn much more at every level.
Therefore, the young mage did not waste this opportunity and often borrowed extracurricular books on magic from the Movinto library.
His parents and relatives learned of his progress and excellent exam results, and whenever they spoke with him, they praised him, giving him strength to continue.
Of course, they asked whether he was doing well at the reformatory, but the young mage did not want to worry his parents, so he never revealed the harsh punishments imposed upon him by most of the teacher-guards.
Instead, he changed the subject and spoke about other matters or about the excellent relationships he truly had with his fellow inmates.
Another year passed, and Etydameus reached the age of nine. Now, three more years remained until his release from Akbazan.
However, the teacher-guards at Movinto, besides seeking revenge against the young Etydameus for humiliating them, had secretly received orders from the Odyvians to pressure him.
Their aim was to force him to attempt another escape, so they could finally discover how he had previously managed to overcome all the prison's security measures—and in such a short time.
Yet the young mage showed immense patience toward the oppressive treatment imposed upon him, without showing the slightest reaction.
Thus, that year they were ordered to intensify their efforts to force the young mage into attempting an escape, in order to uncover the mystery surrounding his earlier success.
They even suggested that Tamathos should deliberately leave his wand lying on the desk or elsewhere, so that Etydameus might be tempted to steal it and attempt to flee from the Movinto reformatory.
And so, the nine-year-old mage now faced even greater pressure and mistreatment from the authorities of Movinto.
As if that were not enough, they also targeted the children in his dormitory, punishing them as well—supposedly because of Etydameus.
Their goal was to provoke resentment toward him even among his fellow inmates.
They reasoned that if his classmates began to hate him, he might grow desperate and eventually escape.
This situation continued for about two months, until Etydameus decided to take action, since he could no longer bear to see even his friends mistreated because of him.
For so long, he had tolerated everything the teacher-guards forced upon him—but now he could not endure seeing his friends suffer unjustly on his account.
Thus, one day, while they were all together in the dormitory, Etydameus asked them whether they were willing to take a risk and attempt something very daring, so that they might escape the unbearable behavior of the Movinto authorities.
His classmates, filled with curiosity and excitement, urged their young friend to reveal his thoughts, already suspecting what he was about to suggest.
"Listen," he told them."If you can no longer tolerate the brutal and unjust behavior at Movinto, and if you have enough courage, then I believe I have the ability to get us all out of Akbazan."
"I have already done it once," he told them, "and I believe that with your help, there is hope that I can do it again."
"However, you must understand that the danger is great—even if we all escape together from the dormitory."
"If enough of you are willing to participate in the escape, then I will reveal the plan. Otherwise, there is no reason to attempt it—it would be pointless and impossible to succeed."
His friends in the dormitory, filled with excitement, unanimously agreed to participate in his escape plan.
The excuse was that they could no longer endure the prison of Movinto, but in truth many of his classmates were daring and ambitious enough to want to make history themselves—just like young Etydameus.
They too wanted to gain glory and fame, as their young friend had, and be remembered for escaping from the greatest and most legendary prison in the magical world.
Thus, all his friends seized the opportunity and agreed to help him with the escape plan.
Etydamon revealed to them that he possessed a way to locate the exits from the sectors of Akbazan—even within the labyrinth of the Minotaur.
Of course, he did not reveal how he achieved this, fearing they might betray him and take his magical dragon necklace.
He explained to them that the real problem was escaping successfully from the Movinto reformatory.
"If we manage that," he told them, "then the path toward the exit from Ephilia will be certain."
"The next major problem," he continued, "is that we do not possess wands. We need wands—otherwise we will have no chance of surviving the second and third sectors of Akbazan."
"However, do not worry," he added, "because I have already considered this, and I believe I have a good solution."
"I studied last year," he told them, "in an extracurricular book on magic in the library, that in ancient times, before wandmaking was highly developed, mages used oak sticks—that is, oak wood."
"They used these oak sticks without cores, and for that reason the earliest mages were called druids."
"So, my friends," he said, "all we need is to secretly gather oak wood and make wands. And as you well know, the grove of Kezan is full of oak trees."
"However, I must tell you that it was written that oak wands have somewhat unstable magic, so we will need to test them ourselves to see how reliable they truly are."
"Finally," he said, "there is one serious problem that I do not yet know how to solve—and on this depends whether we attempt the escape at all."
"What is it?!" the children asked in one voice.
"In the third and final level," he replied, "there are the most dreadful demons—the Alnafropeis."
"These demons guard the third sector of Akbazan, and only a very powerful spell can prevent them from destroying us—the Onympator."
"But Onympator is a spell of ancient magic, of the element of Aether, and personally I do not believe I will be able to cast it successfully."
"So even if we pass through the labyrinth of the second level, the Alnafropeis will kill us in the third sector."
"The Protector spell is a very rare ability, and I do not believe any of us can perform it—so everything depends on this."
Suddenly, silence fell across the dormitory.
Then the eighteen-year-old Evimolaos spoke and assured them that he knew the Protector spell and possessed the necessary strength to protect them from the Alnafropeis.
After him, the sixteen-year-old Eusepir raised his hand and told them that, as a graduating student of Pirosovia like the others, he had been taught the spell Onympator.
He explained that he could not summon a fully embodied protector, but he did have the ability to project at least a luminous shield.
The children regained hope, smiling once again.
Etydamon told them that when they were ready and had obtained oak wands, they might also seize a more reliable wand—such as Tamathos's, which he often forgot on the desk.
The children joined hands and declared decisively that starting the very next day, they would secretly begin crafting oak wands.
Within a short time, they had all gathered oak branches and fashioned their own wands.
Now, the only thing left was to steal the wand of the careless Tamathos—who frequently forgot it behind due to his absent-mindedness.