I’m still not free. I will only be free after I’m outside these walls.
What Mom and Camnucy told is true, and I can see it fully now. There’s no way on Earth I could survive for long in this city.
The guys pursuing seem to be able to do as they like, probably because their boss is the duke of this land. The guy who provided half of my genetic material.
Even if I managed to throw my pursuers off tonight, I wouldn’t be able to do what I need to get food without being seen and ratted on by soone.
That doesn’t an that the Barren Wilds will be safe. It’s filled with monsters, and it’s fully survival of the fittest out there. But still, the chances are better than zero, while in the city, they are negative.
As much as I want to kill that damn guy, I need to first flee before getting stronger. Then I’ll co back and strike when he is less expecting.
So my best shot is going there. I hug the sword and the small backpack I picked from one of the two guys I tested my new spell with.
Mimby, the fox beastkin from before, said that managing to get those would increase my likelihood of survival by a lot in the Barrens.
I put my hand on a little pendant she made for from scraps of clothing. It’s a symbol of her tribe and a sign of hope for the future out there.
But first, I need to focus on the here and now.
Thing is, there’s this fucking ten-ter-tall wall in my way. As my mind ponders all the pros and cons, I just keep looking up, bewildered.
How the hell do I climb that?
:::
I’m looking at the wall from a little roof slab on a house, which I managed to climb because of the strengthening aria. I have seen so of the duke’s henchn walk the street twice since I perched here. Luckily, they didn’t look up. Yeah, this isn’t a safe spot.
But then it hits . That wall guard tower... People go up and down every day, right? And sotis I see guards on top of the wall as well. There should be so stairs around.
If my ’father’ is the duke of the land, probably those guards are in his employnt, right? The difference between them and the other henchn is the uniform. Or maybe the city guards are under the command of a Mayor or sothing?
Anyway, the collar will give away as an escaped slave, so if they spot up there, I’m done.
And at night, the city gates remain closed, obviously. The threat from monsters of the Wilds is very serious.
So I weigh my options. I can try to find a good hiding spot and wait for the morning to try to escape through the gates. I would need to hope that I manage to maintain my illusion on the collar and also hope that the guards won’t mind a little girl walking alone to the wilderness. Slim chance there.
The other option is climbing that wall right now.
I squint my eyes, trying to spot a staircase or sothing. After a bit, I notice two ways of going up. One is a door in the base of the tower, which is closed. It’s probably the safest route for everyday patrols.
The second one is a narrow staircase that runs up the wall directly. It doesn’t have any handrail or safety asures, nor any light, so it’s probably a lot less used by patrols, especially at night. It’s probably there only for those tis when you need to man the walls in a quick fashion.
So that’s my way up.
Gladly, the sword is a shortsword, and the backpack is just big enough for it to fit up to the guard. The hilt pokes outward, but with the guard being inside, it will be safe enough for to carry it without hindering my movents and without risk of losing it.
I cast the strengthening aria again. I can feel my mana starting to run dangerously low, so I don’t think I’ll be able to cast any other spell without passing out.
:::
Right when I reach almost halfway up the stairs, I’m spotted.
I hear the commotion below , but I keep running. Suddenly, I hear a quick aria and sothing flying through the air. I don’t need to look at the side to know what was happening, so I just launch myself forward and hope for the best.
I feel sothing cold on my feet. I had tripped and landed so steps above, managing to maintain my balance just enough not to fall to the side.
I look down and see an icicle around the size of my forearm stuck on the wall. I had dodged it by a hair’s breadth.
And coming up the stairs is Mutton.
I quickly get back on my feet and get back to running, right as another spell is being hurled at .
"Quickly, Aurea." I encourage myself as I keep striding forward, up the staircase. I know that the mont I lose my balance and fall, there will be people on the floor ready to catch . The wrong kind of people.
The sa aria as before is chanted, so I already know what’s coming at . Right as the aria is finished, I stop in my tracks, and the icicle lands harmlessly a couple of steps up from . Exactly where I would be if I had kept running and then launched myself forward like last ti.
"How stupid it is to chant your arias loudly. Don’t they know that the other person will know what spell is coming?" I muse as I jump over the icicle and keep pushing up and forward. There are only two ters left till I reach the top.
:::
"Fuck."
The guards at the tower also noticed the commotion. So of them are already coming through the walkway on top of the wall. Exactly what I needed right now.
Another icicle cos at , and I just sustain the rhythm, not launching myself forward nor stopping. It lands two steps below . This mage isn’t the sharpest knife in the drawer, is he? And man, do you only know one spell? Seriously?
With a monstrous effort that took out almost all of my remaining stamina, I reach the top of the wall.
"It’s a slave!"
"She’s running away! Get her!!!"
Yeah, as I suspected, those guards on the wall wouldn’t be friends. They are still a couple of ters away when I reach the battlent and look to the other side of the wall, just as the moon peeks through the clouds to give a sight of the land.
Now I know why this region is called the Barren Wilds. The na fits like a glove.
Then I look down.
"Fuck!" I mutter for the thousandth ti this night.
There are no staircases on the outer side of the wall, for obvious reasons.
The only way down is through ten ters of free fall.
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