The small group of four continued their way after a longer break in the hills. They were somewhere high in the mountains between Jarifa and Oras, where they had been discussing their further course of action.
However, before they could reach out to the contact person, they first had to make the mountain descent in time. Otherwise, they would have to wait outside the city for an entire day before they could try.
"Didn't think you guys would last this long," Slim joked, laughing. "Kids your age are a lot more nagging, aren't they? So with giving up all to quick and all that?"
They looked at each other in silence. All three of them had experienced things that normal kids their age perhaps hadn't experienced until then, but Slim could seldom know that. They would not tell him, they quite did not trust him enough for that. Even Laki, who was more open-minded than Kiyu and Zhèngyi, was silent about her background.
"We're just not that effeminate," Zhèngyi countered, shrugging his shoulders but not looking Slim in the eye.
"I guess when you're on the run from your executioner, you can just let some suffering wash over you," Kiyu explained, continuing to advance. They had begun their descent to Oras.
Lights were still burning in the city at many places, showing that there was nightlife in the city. Only Zhèngyi could say whether the same was true in Jarifa, since Laki and Kiyu had never been out at night, except for the incident in the park.
"Anyway. You guys please old Slim." he laughed, forming the lone lead of the group. "Had been a long time since I've had such strange but pleasant fellows around me. Could get used to you guys."
In Zhèngyi's eyes, Kiyu just read the >> please don't << that he expressed with his eye roll. She could not blame him. Slim appeared to be a frail man, his best years already behind him, but he seemed more dangerous now that they had known him for more than a few glances.
Doubts about the old man's status plagued Kiyu. There had to be something special about him, because otherwise he would not live alone in the mountains, but then again... one couldn't call life in the shabby hut couldn't quite good either.
"Don't worry, little man. I have no intention of playing your nanny," Slim said, seeing the silent exchange of glances between Zhèngyi and Kiyu. "Would be way too annoying for me in the long run, too."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Zhèngyi sneered, showing that he was feeling offended by what Slim was saying to him.
Laki, however, burst out laughing at Zhèngyi's reaction, and Kiyu couldn't help smirking either as they looked at their friend. At least something had changed his mood. Toras' death had upset him at first, especially in the prison cell.
But he had come to terms with it and decided not to just cry. For Kiyu this was a good thing, because seeing a friend suffer was a painful thing for her. Especially when there was nothing she could do about it when he suffered.
Slim didn't answer anymore and just dismissed the young spirit former's reaction with a smile. His bottle, however, he continued to pay great attention, too. Now and then, he had taken hearty gulps from it and had meanwhile reached the halfway mark.
But either the booze was not very strong, or it only had no effect on him. He still seemed sober and anything but drunk.
They walked for the next few hours down the pass in silence. The descent felt much easier, as they returned to an altitude they were used to. It also took quite less effort.
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Besides, they could already spot Oras from a distance. The city was much larger than Jarifa and seemed to benefit from the harbor. Unlike Jarifa, there were several entrances to the city. This was perhaps the reason for Slim's certainty to catch any guard who he could bribe.
If it didn't work at one entrance, they could just try at another. But they had little time left either, as the first rays of sunlight appeared on the horizon.
"Better step it up a notch," Slim shouted, increasing his speed. The others did the same.
"And we can just walk in with some gold?" Zhèngyi's question was not quite unwarranted, if Kiyu thought about it that way. After all, in Jarifa they also had to pay a fee to enter the city. If they expected that now, they would doubtless not have enough money to enter the city. Indeed, there had to be a trick?
"Oras is not like Jarifa. The town lives on trade and everyone gets a bit of the pie, but a little extra gold doesn't hurt," he replied. "By the way, you guys should put something on. Do you have capes or something?"
'Capes?' Where would they get capes, please? They had just escaped from Jarifa with their lives and a few other things. Capes had not been on their list of priorities. Especially not with Kiyu, who had come out of the fight with Xianzhu injured.
"Sure, I'll just get them out of my vest pocket, easy enough," Zhèngyi replied in a sarcastic undertone. "What color do you want?" At the last sentence, he glanced at Kiyu and Laki.
"Don't get all offended, little one," Slim grumbled and continued walking, paying no further attention. "Well then, I guess we have no choice but to hope. Just let me think of something then."
"Who knows? Maybe we were even faster than the message about us," Laki interjected and seemed to be still in good spirits.
The sun was on the horizon by now and had given Oras a fresh glow. The cold of the night had not yet quite given way to twilight, and the city had not yet awakened. It turned out very good for the group, because they were about to approach the first checkpoint.
Slim had moved differently than before. Where before there had been normal, controlled movements, now trembling and weakness appeared. It was quite the image of the old, bedraggled man he also looked like.
The three of them didn't quite understand why he was pretending, but since they already couldn't contribute a disguise, they too tried to pretend. Their movements were limp, they held their stomachs and looked as if they had nothing to bite between their teeth for a week.
A pathetic group that seemed even more pathetic by their spectacle. 'Now it's all or nothing!'
Since the whole thing had been Slim's plan, they let him go first. At the gates of the city there had been only two guards, while on the stone walls there must have been a few dozen patrolling, judging from the moving lights.
"Halt! What brings you here?" shouted one guard who had noticed the group. While they did not perceive any hostility, they still seemed wary. For guards, however, this was perhaps habitual, especially when they were guarding the crossings. "Come on, now, tell me," he growled and yawned.
"Sorry," Slim countered, coughing. "We are refugees from the village of Harios and are seeking shelter in the city. Please help us."
Continuing to cough, he drew attention to himself, which was to Kiyu and Laki's benefit. Their bodies had reacted when Slim mentioned their home village. It had taken them a second, maybe two, to get their reactions under control, but if the guard had looked at them at that moment, anyone could have noticed how surprised they were. Then it wouldn't have mattered how tired they were.
"Harios? Isn't that the tiny fishing village to the north? I have heard nothing about a raid.", the guard pondered, looking to the three younger ones of the group. "And who are these three?"
"I'm afraid we're the only ones who survived, my children and I." Slim had concocted a story that built on more and more lies with each word. "Even," he began again, and lowered his voice. "Even my beloved wife they killed."
His gaze faced to the ground. And had Kiyu not known the truth, even she would have bought it.
"Robbers raided our village and during the raid I took my children and our last bit of money before we flew over the mountains," he continued. Every word fit well with their outward appearance. True, Kiyu and the others had taken a dip in the lake in front of the mountains, but other than that, they hadn't done anything for their appearance. Above all, their clothes were still the same.
"I beg you, let us take shelter behind the safe walls of the city. I'll give you money, all I have." Slim had gone down on his knees and whimpered his request straight out. He could even let tears flow in a controlled manner and used them in his acting.