Eletheria and her group ran towards the shipyards. There was no attempt at being stealthy or hiding from sight. The rain had started coming down harder, so it was doubtful anyone else would see them. The more distance they could put between where they were attacked and the shouting ensued, the safer they would be. After a block of moving as quickly as she could with the crutches and falling behind Konrade, Gerard, and Lex, she realized they would not make it like this.

“Hold up!” Ele said, just a little louder than normal. Lex and Konrade were a little way ahead, and Ele was getting ready to repeat it louder. Gerard was the furthest back and he stopped first after repeating what Ele said in the same tone. Ele almost did not hear it over the rain. Lex and Konrade heard him, though, and they stopped. Ele hobbled up to them her shoulders sore from the crutches.

“I cannot keep this up,” Ele informed them. They had made it a block, and from what Ele knew of the distance they had to go, there were many more to go.

“Can you channel quan?” Lex immediately asked when he was within whispering distance.

“I think so, but I don’t have…” Ele started to say but was interrupted by Lex pressing a metal bar wrapped in the wire into her hands.

“Here, secure this in your belt or somewhere, then power it and hold onto me. Only channel enough to lighten yourself so you can be pulled along behind me,” Lex advised, directing Gerard to snag her crutches.

Ele secured the bar in her leg pouch. Since it was made of leather, she had no doubt it would hold under the strain, and there was going to be some pain. As a precautionary measure, she tore a strip of her cloak and used it to secure her pouch to her leg. Ele gritted her teeth and started channeling quan while holding onto Lex’s hood. She channeled enough to lift her a little bit off the ground and then Lex started to run. For a moment, she took delight in flying but had to focus on maintaining her center of gravity over her leg pouch, which meant she was in an awkward crouching position as they moved through the rainy streets.

As she flew through the streets, her broken leg started to hurt. The position she was forced to maintain to keep herself in the air was becoming increasingly difficult. Part of her wished she still had her corset with the built-in coil as that would have been much more comfortable; she would have to get a new one of those when she got a chance. As they moved through the streets, the pain got more intense. Soon Ele was doing everything she could to maintain her quan and avoid screaming in pain. Every few moments, her leg would throb, and for half a second, she would lose quan and fall towards the ground. Immediately she would regain control and lift back upwards. As it happened more frequently, it became obvious to all that Ele was losing her fight.

“We stop here for a moment to rest. Ele, do you want to sit down?” Lex said after he stopped and held a hand also to stop Konrade and Gerard.

“Yeah, I just need to rest a moment. The pain is making it hard to focus,” Ele said as she slowly released her hold on quan until she could stand on one foot. Then, with Lex’s help, she sat herself down with her back to a building. The cloak and hood she was wearing provided ample cover from the rain, and the soft lining inside made the position comfortable.

After Lex helped Ele get seated on the sidewalk, he walked over to Konrade and Gerard who were standing a few paces away watching the street.

“What are the odds you two could snag a wagon or carriage?” Lex asked, looking at the two of them and nodding his head towards Ele. “We have probably another 5 blocks to go before the docks, and I don’t think she is up for it with her leg.” Ele closed her eyes for a moment to keep from screaming in pain.

“Ele, Eletheria?” Lex said as he knelt close to Ele’s face. She woke up groggy as she had fallen asleep what felt like a second ago. Lex was kneeling near her and shaking her with a concerned look on his face. Once she focused her eyes on him, he spoke, “I need you alert. Some people are coming, and we may have to defend ourselves.” Lex had to repeat himself a second time before Ele nodded in acknowledgment. As she stood up with Lex’s assistance they both leaned against the wall of the building they were next to. She looked around for Konrade and Gerard, but they were nowhere to be found.

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The sounds of the cart got louder as it rolled towards them. “No horseshoes,” Ele noted in a whisper; hopefully, only Lex would be able to hear. Lex’s nod confirmed he heard her, and the cart rolled closer and closer. Once the cart came into view, Ele and Lex could see it was being pulled by a big man. Konrade was pulling the little cart himself, and Gerard was walking alongside it. Both Ele and Lex sighed in relief.

“Glad to see us?” Konrade asked as he pulled the cart up next to Lex.

“Yes, that was more than 500 counts,” Lex replied, smiling.

“Sorry. We tried getting something to pull it, but it was guarded tighter than a farmer’s dau…” Konrade said, interrupted by a punch to the side from Gerard.

Gently, Ele was placed in the cart, and both Lex and Gerard held onto the yoke. With the two of them pulling, it moved quickly, and soon they were back underway. Ele was thankful for not having to maintain quan while fighting the pain, but the wheels of the cart whenever it rolled over a bump, shook her. She still had to focus all her energy on keeping quiet as pain jolted through her with each jostle. The third was enough to cause her to yelp in pain. From then on it was slow going as they made their way to the docks.

The change from the cart rolling on cobblestones to wooden planks announced their arrival to the docks. Ele sat up in the cart when it stopped, she looked around. Gerard and Konrade were moving away from them and along the docks. Lex stood near the cart turning his head this way and that, as if trying to see every direction at the same time. Ele laid back down in the cart to stay out of sight.

Ele awoke to Lex shaking her shoulder. “Someone is coming,” Lex said then moved to stand in front of the cart as Ele tried to quietly sit up. Once the steps got louder the person making them must have been close but the dark and rain obscured any vision. The rain had switched from the large drops into a drizzle mixed with a little fog.

“Who goes there?” Lex said, breaking the sound of the rain and footsteps with his challenge. Ele could feel the hairs on her arm raise slightly as a faint ball of light moved towards them.

“Lex, it is Felicia, James, and Gerard,” a feminine voice said out of the darkness. Both Lex and Ele looked at each other and nodded their head.

“Do we have a ship?” Lex asked, taking a deep breath and lowering his arms and shoulders.

“Aye, we have two ships that may work for what we need,” Felicia replied. Doctor McLellen appeared from the fog and rain, moving towards the cart. Soon, the doctor was standing near Ele.

“How does your leg feel?” James asked as he leaned over into the cart and checked the wrapping around her leg. Ele muttered she was in pain. Once he was satisfied that it was not damaged and still holding up, he looked back at Ele. “I’m sorry, Ma’am, I did not catch what you said.”

“It’s just pain, but I think it’s okay,” Ele said, gritting her teeth a little. Then, with a slightly louder voice, she said, “We need to get moving. We got attacked by some ruffians along the way.” Neither Felicia nor James appeared to be surprised by this statement, but soon Gerard and Lex grabbed the cart to get it moving. Felicia and James moved alongside it, keeping an eye on the darkness behind them.

“Let me give you something to help with the pain,” James said, rummaging through his satchel. He pulled out a little vial, angling it towards the lantern light. He studied the label. He then handed it to Ele. “Drink this.” Ele drank the sour liquid quickly and gave the empty vial to the doctor.

Gerard and Lex pulled the cart further down the street and turned at a pier Gerard indicated. They passed by a docked ship.Ele looked around with a confused look on her face as they continued down the pier.

“Why didn’t we go do one of the docked ships?” Ele asked as James and Lex helped her out of the cart.

“The ships in the dock sank deep into the mud. Cesar thought pulling them out would be too difficult,” James replied and then he handed Ele her crutches from the cart.

“It would depend on how stuck. Does Cesar have a better ship in mind then?” Ele asked, and she hobbled over to the edge of the pier. She couldn’t see anything in the distance due to the rain and darkness. Hearing the sound of someone below, she looked down to see someone climbing up a rope ladder attached to the railing. Ele quickly put a hand to her mouth to prevent a yell and started gathering up quan. When she saw it was Isaac, she released and moved out of his way.

“Aye, there is a flat-bottomed cargo boat a little way out. It won’t be fast, but it will be unassuming and not stuck in the muck,” Isaac quietly replied as he climbed up the railing. “Also, keep your voices down. Even with the rain, we could hear you below.”

“Where is this ship?” Ele asked in a whisper.

“Half a mile from the dock. It will be slow and muddy but Cesar reports the ship is abandoned and in good condition,” Isaac commented and then glanced at Ele’s crutches. “We have a sled to pull you on across the mud.” Ele frowned at Isaac but nodded her head.

“All right, I’ll lower myself down so I don’t hold us up getting down,” Ele said as she moved to the railing. Ele handed her crutches to Isaac and used the railing for support. The pain in her leg was a distant hum but she knew she couldn’t walk on it. She pulled the metal bar wrapped in wire from her leg pouch and gripped it with both hands. She channeled quan through it, and the bar pulled upwards, trying to fly from her grip. Ele held the bar tightly while it pulled her arms above her head. As she held onto it while channeling, it lifted her up over the railing. Since the downslope was towards the sea, she slowly moved at an angle away from the pier. As soon as she was free from the pier railing, she started reducing the quan she channeled. This allowed her to lower slowly below, but it did not stop the downslope sliding; when she stopped channeling, she was fifty paces from the pier and a pace off the ground.

The impact of the ground on both feet as she dropped down, just like she had done a thousand times before, resulted in sudden agony for her. She cried out in pain and collapsed to the ground. Lex leaped over the railing when she cried out and fell for a second before he started channeling quan, shifting his momentum halfway down towards Ele. Once he was near the ground, he stopped channeling and landed. Immediately he was running towards Ele to help her. Once he got to Ele, he knelt and laid her out. While she wasn’t screaming in pain the tears in her eyes and the tightened jaw told Lex all he needed to know.

“They are bringing the sled,” Lex said, holding his cloak over her face to block the rain.