Run!
1361 Words
The knock on the door agitated everyone in the room. Sigil glanced at Gust and nodded, implying that he should open it. As Gust approached the door, the knock came once more; this time, it sounded more urgent.
"Esteemed knights, it is I, the innkeeper! Please, open up," said a voice from outside.
Gust opened the door, and revealed the owner of the inn. She was holding several satchels of what seemed to be supplies for traveling. "Sir, you are the captain of this squad, yes?" she asked, turning to Sigil.
"Yes, ma'am," he replied.
"Then you must hurry! There's an underground tunnel below this inn's wine cellar. Use it and it will lead you directly to the other side of the river. A few of my friends will be waiting there with your horses."
Tatiana stood from her seat and exclaimed, "But that's Regalian territory!"
Sigil waved his hand to halt her. "We don't have much of a choice."
"Siege is right," Rune remarked, and then he glanced at Zeke and saw the obvious displeasure on his face. "If you have something to say, say it!"
"This wouldn't have happened had you not acted rashly!" Zeke said with displeasure.
"That's enough, you two. We have no time to argue among ourselves. Right now, our priority is to get away from here. Let's go!" Sigil chimed in.
The innkeeper gave them the satchels to Gust and Rune and said, "I heard that you two are the reason that my daughter didn't have to suffer at the hands of that horrible officer. Thank you."
Gust and Rune nodded at her before following the rest of the squad.
It took them less than a minute to reach the wine cellar. There, they found a door leading downstairs into a dark tunnel. For no surprising reason, the tunnel reeked of alcohol, piss, and sewage.
Tatiana snapped her fingers and created six balls of light to act as torches in the tunnel. As the light traveled through the path, they could now see what lay ahead of them. They were indeed inside the sewers.
Sigil thought it best to proceed deeper into the tunnel, just in case those soldiers discover the cellar door. As they traversed the dark sewers, something dawned on Rune.
"Siege, shouldn't we tell commander Liana about this?" Rune suggested.
"We shall," Sigil replied flatly. "But not right now. Whether your actions were justified or not, if those soldiers catch us, we'll be arrested. Our only option is to evade Mirea's soldiers, and reach the capital before they do. There, we will plead our case, and hopefully, the least we'll be looking at is a dismissal from the army."
Tatiana looked at her feet, seemingly dispirited. "But I can't afford to lose this job, Sigil! I..."
Yelena patted Tatiana's back and said, "We'll be fine. Right, Gust?"
Gust chuckled at the question as if it were a joke. "Commander Liana sent me with you for emergencies like this."
"What do you mean?" Zeke asked tentatively.
"With the setup of this squad, she figured that it will run into some sort of trouble. But if I'm being honest, she made an error in judgment by choosing me to be your guardian," Gust remarked.
"And why is that?" Zeke asked.
"Like I said earlier, I would've done what Rune did if he didn't do it."
Silence returned to the sewers when nobody wanted to speak anymore. Only the faint sound of dripping water and their footsteps resonated within the tunnel. It took another half hour before they finally saw a ray of light in the distance.
And as they ran through the source of the light, they saw a ladder leading to the surface. Once on the surface, they stretched out their arms, relieved that they were no longer in that smelly sewer.
Just as the innkeeper had told them, they did end up in the other side of the river. They were in the middle of the forest in Regalian territory, but fortunately, there weren't any scouts nor camps nearby. Shortly, they heard some rustling leaves that startled them.
"Who's there?" Yelena asked, ready to attack at a moment's notice.
"Please, don't! Madame Endive, the innkeeper sent me. We looked after your horses before the soldiers could seize them. Follow me," said the stranger.
The squad followed the man into a clearing. There, their steeds were being looked after by another man. Sigil thanked them for their help, and soon, the squad went on its way back to the capital.
The full moon was riding high that night, so they needed no torches nor light magic to see through the night. Any form of light could give away their positions, so it was best to hide themselves in the darkness for now.
They travelled through a path down the east side of the valley near Bandit's pass as the quickest route back to the capital. Time wasn't on their side, so they needed to get there before anybody else could.
As the night wore on, the squad was starting to get exhausted. They had been riding for a couple of hours and were lacking sleep. Based on Sigil's estimation, it was already past midnight, and they would reach the capital city of Wisteria within another two hours.
Yelena was showing signs of exhaustion more than the rest, but Sigil told her to toughen up. They couldn't afford to rest. But sadly, his words fell on deaf ears. Yelena had collapsed and almost fell off her steed. Fortunately, Rune was quick enough to prevent it from happening.
"Siege, we need to rest. Everyone's tired, and you don't look so good yourself. If we proceed any further like this, we'll be too exhausted to defend ourselves in the capital!"
"You're right..." Sigil responded. "But we also can't afford to delay. We need someone to go ahead to the capital and speak to Commander Liana in advance. That way, we'll have a fighting chance to explain ourselves."
"I'll do it," Zeke suggested.
"What?" Rune didn't seem too happy about that suggestion.
"You've got a problem with me doing it, criminal?" Zeke said, trying to goad Rune.
Rune gritted his teeth and was about to draw his sword, but Gust intervened. "I'll go with him. I know you're worried that Mr. Young Lion over here will rat us out, but with me there, Commander Liana will at least hear us out."
"Zeke, are you fine with that?" Sigil asked.
"I was actually going to suggest it anyway. Let's go, Gust," Zeke said as he rode away before receiving any response.
Gust steered his steed closer to Rune and whispered something that the rest of them weren't able to hear. After that brief interaction, Gust followed Zeke.
Tatiana made preparations to set up a campfire, and let Yelena sleep on her lap.
"You men take the first watch. Yelena and I need to rest," she said to Sigil.
Naturally, he didn't contest to her request.
While the two ladies drifted into sleep, Sigil decided to speak to Rune.
"Rune, what did Gust tell you?"
Reluctance was written on Rune's face when he heard the question. It was as if he didn't want to say what it was. However, he trusted Sigil's judgment more than anyone else; even his own.
"Gust told me that Zeke could betray us, and that if the worst were to happen, we should head west," Rune said after a momentary silence.
"Where will we go, then?" Sigil asked flatly.
"There's a town called Merseto beside the Occidental Sea. Father has a friend there, and I'm sure he'll be willing to take us in until things blow over," Rune answered.
During this time, Tatiana woke up, and joined their conversation. She left Yelena sleeping near the campfire.
"And then what's your big plan, huh? Hide until we shrivel and die? Rune, I have a family that relies on me for money! My brother is sick, and my mother can't work anymore. What do you think will happen to them if I get kicked out of the army?" Tatiana exclaimed.
"We'll work as mercenaries," Sigil replied.
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