Chapter 23: Ch23 – Escape!

Whoosh~

Ryan flew through the night air, a cold breeze passed through his hair as he flung himself onto another building.

Ryan landed hard on the neighbouring roof, his feet skidding on the loose tiles. He felt his balance tip, and terror surged through him as he began to fall backwards, arms wind-milling desperately for something, anything to grab onto.

“Eleanor!” he hissed, his voice a strangled cry, barely able to prevent himself from all out screaming in terror.

Without hesitation, Eleanor lunged forward, her fingers closing around his wrist in a vice-like grip just as he teetered on the edge. The strain was clear in her eyes, but her voice was fierce and steady.

“Come on, Ryan! We need to go now!” She commanded, her grip tightening, allowing Ryan to finally get a hold of himself and scramble away from the edge. Eleanor, with her hand still glued to Ryan’s, began dragging him along.

BAM!

A loud sound erupted from their room followed by aggravated shouts and the clattering of boots. Ryan swirled his head around, startled by the sudden sounds. Haha, too late idiots!

When Ryan looked down at the street outside of the tavern, he quickly noticed that the horses of the intruders had crests on them, new crests. A purple deer’s head upon a black background.

They must be from another faction, similar to the mayor’s.

Eleanor took her hand away from Ryan, and threw herself onto the next roof, startling Ryan out of his stupor.

Ryan quickly followed suite, he flung himself once again onto another roof, now slightly more used to it, he was able to maintain his balance.

Ryan tried to catch his breath, but Elenaor, knowing that the moment they were caught it would be over, didn’t stop.

Eleanor ran as quickly as she could on top of the houses, narrowly preventing herself from falling multiple times.

Ryan who was following behind managed to catch up.

This isn’t the way to the town entrance?

“Where are we heading to Eleanor!” Ryan shouted, giving up on staying quiet as he realised that running on rooftops and loose tiles smashing onto the ground below, was not being quiet at all.

“Just follow me! We can’t go to the town gates because they most definitely have multiple guards! So we have to try to find one of the Deuteros’ as soon as possible!” Responded Eleanor, without slowing her pace.

Eugh, how is she not even panting yet! I’m going to fall apart!

The duo were quite high above the steets now. They could easily see most of the town from the building they were currently on top of.

Oh crap, there’s a lot of these new guys. Ryan thought to himself, now able to see dozens of purple deer crested Elven soldiers running around the town in search for them.

Suddenly, a small voice could be heard from below them.

A whispering voice said, “Hey, you two! It’s me, the guard from the restaurant!”

The duo immediately lowered their bodies to the roof, so that nothing below would be able to see them.

“Don’t worry! I’m with the mayor, Deuteros, come down, he told me to bring you to him!”

Eleanor, mouthed the words, “Don’t trust him” to Ryan.

He can’t be with Deuteros, this guy ratted us out to those purple deer soldiers! But if so why isn’t he coming up here or at least shouting to get attention to our position? This doesn’t make sense!

“Deuteros thought that you wouldn’t trust me! So look towards where the town gate is, do you see those soldiers? The ones with that purple deer head on them. Keep looking at them for just one minute!” Said Umbar, the guard.q

Ryan raised his head slightly, and caught sight of the soldiers.

Straight after that little speech, Umbar began speaking to his hand. But, Ryan and Eleanor weren’t able to hear exactly what he was saying.

Waiting for a minute is risky, he may just be stalling so that more guards can arrive to deal with us, but why would Deuteros have town guards who he didn’t trust completely?

One, two, three, four, Ryan began counting,

Fifty one, fifty tw-

Suddenly, a massive fire engulfed the soldiers, their screams could be heard all the way from where Eleanor and Ryan were.

“See! Now come down, we have to go now!” Said, Umbar.

Ryan and Eleanor turned toward each other and slowly nodded, silently agreeing to trust the guard who only yesterday, slapped Ryan on the cheek.

Ryan and Eleanor moved cautiously, their steps slow and deliberate as they descended from the rooftop. The night’s darkness provided some cover, but the sense of exposure was palpable. Umbar stood in the shadows, his face half-illuminated by the moons rays.

“Quickly,” Umbar urged, his voice low but insistent. “We don’t have much time.”

Ryan’s heart pounded as they made their way to the guard. They reached Umbar, who was already scanning the surroundings, ensuring their escape route was clear.

“Follow me and stay close,” Umbar instructed, leading them through a narrow alley that twisted and turned, taking them deeper into the town’s maze-like backstreets. The sound of the soldiers’ screams faded, replaced by the murmur of the townsfolk trapped inside their homes who were either too afraid or too curious to sleep through the night’s events.

“What’s going on, who are those people?” Ryan asked, unable to keep the curiosity out of his voice.

Umbar glanced back, his expression serious. “The soldiers with the purple deer crest are sent by an Elven duke, We had to act fast when we realised they were onto you, and exploit the fact that they don’t know yet that Deuteros is aligned with the humans.”

“How do we know this isn’t a trap?” Eleanor questioned.

Umbar paused, turning to face them fully. “You don’t. But ask yourselves this—would the mayor hire guards he didn’t trust with his own life and would I blow up many fellow elves just to trap you?”

Before they could respond, Umbar moved ahead, leading them to a secluded courtyard. In the center stood a carriage, its simple design belying its importance. Two horses, each marked with the Deuteros crests.

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