Arcantas sighed as he slowly woke from his cot. Opening his reptilian eyes, he yet out a roaring yawn as he tightened his loincloth, brushed off his tail, and set his clawed feet onto the stone floor of his open cell. It was more of a cave, really. No door, no bars, no barrier at all.

The low hum of the antimagic crystals was a constant in large parts of the Pit. As a mage, he not only heard them, he felt them as well. It was a nagging presence at the back of his mind, present at all times. They prevented him from utilizing his spells at anywhere near their potential. This made it almost impossible for him fight against his jailers, let alone escape. The dragon who had been paid to keep him here knew it. As such, the mages held in the pit were allowed latitudes which would be otherwise unthinkable in a mundane prison. The dracon could wander around the corridors, visit other prisoners at will, and he could even wake and sleep at will. 

The Pit was a prison operated for the benefit of the world, or so Arion claimed. The red dragon made quite a profit this way, accepting criminal mages in exchange for a copious amount of gold. Arcantas was a well-known necromancer and demonologist. His talents were in demand, so much so that rival contenders to the throne of a dracon kingdom vied for his support. Not for the first time, one of the treacherous princelings turned on him. Unlike the other times, his punishment called for banishment from his homeland as well as imprisonment. For months, the wizard tried to find a way out of this pit.

It all made no difference. Any serious escape attempt would trigger an escalating attack by the golems. Although mindless, they were capable of tremendous violence when the situation called for it. At first, golems made of stone would move to intercept a rebellious mage, followed by iron, steel, and adamantine golems in that order. Shaped like oversized humans with few details, they were effective at keeping the prisoners in line. For months, Arcantas had largely avoided the other prisoners, but at long last, the conclusion was inescapable: he would have to cooperate with the others in order to get out. He didn't mind working with other dark mages. Those he could trust to be selfish, manipulative, and conniving. He knew how they thought. No. His main problem would be that he might need the aid of mages who did not actually deserve to be there, the "good ones". They just might take exception to some of his plans.