“Who's up there? Come down right now!”
From what I knew all the guards would be higher level then me so I was in trouble. I pull myself to my feet and, crouching, start to slowly move away.
“Come down right now” yells the guard.
I know it's only a matter of time before other guards come to check on what's happening. I have to get away before that happens.. The city will also be on high alert which means they will shut the gate. So I need to find another way out. Maybe I could get down the wall. But I would need rope or something else because the fall is too far.
When I am as far away as I can be from the guard without falling off the roof, I look for a way down. There's a pile of crates lined up against the wall. Without thinking, I throw myself off the roof. I land on my feet, firmly planted on the crate below me, as it sags under my weight. I quickly jump onto another crate before jumping onto the ground. I am in the middle of an alley with only one way out. I run over to it. Looking around outside my heart sinks. I see a group of guards, including the one that saw me, talking to another group. After a few seconds they all disperse going in different directions. I look down at my elven robe. Somehow it had magically repaired itself whenever it broke. But it stood out in the gnome city. Also all the guards are wearing green hats.
“[Stealth]” I whisper before setting foot into the street. Gnomes all around me are being ushered into their houses or off the street by the guards. I run by trying to keep as much distance between myself and the guards as possible. I know [Stealth] does not last ages so I need to get away from the guards as soon as possible. I reach another alley, this one goes between two streets. Tired, I lean against a pile of crates. Breathing heavily, I sit there for a few seconds. I look up. I see crates falling towards me.
The crates land on me one after another forming a pile over me while at the same time making a lot of noise. Luckily they are not very heavy, but it still hurts each time.
“I need to get moving before the guards arrive” I mutter to myself. Seconds later I hear the sound of running feet.
“Boss! boss!, I think they went that way. Look, they knocked all the crates over”.
“You're right. They might be going to the emergency exit! We need to stop them”.
“But boss, how would they know where the emergency exit is?”
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“They might not but we can’t take that chance”.
I hear their footsteps as they leave. Seconds later I burst out of the crates. Grinning, I follow them.
They don’t go too far. They are now heading into a regular looking building. It looks like it's been built into the cavern wall. I stand in an alley peering towards the house. My plan is to wait for a guard to go through the door. And when he does I will use stealth and sneak inside. I know this plan has a lot of flaws. If I bump into one of them it's over, or the duration could run out while I am in the open. But the gate is probably shut by now with many guards keeping watch. So I have to go this way. I wait for what feels like ages. But I see a group of guards run right past the alley I'm in. Luckily none of them glance my way. Taking my chance I activate stealth and follow them.
Running as fast as I can, while trying to make as little noise as possible, I follow the guards to the door. They swing it open letting me see inside. Inside sits a little room completely crowded by guards. It is completely bare apart from a single wooden door, which is currently wide open.
“Orders from the lord are we should guard the outside as well” says the guard in front of me.
“Why the fuck do you think we got the door wide open. The lord already told us”, replies another guard.
The guards stand, ready to have what looks like a face off. Taking my chance, I make a mad dash for the doorway running right through it. I hurtle down the path. I feel stealth wear off. Now it's all over if I am seen. I keep running even when I am tired. I don't stop because I know at any moment the guards could come up behind me.
I run and run and run. It feels like the tunnel is endless but I keep going. On and on and on. Finally after what feels like ages, I see the first radiant glimmer of sunshine lighting up the dark foreboding tunnel. Excitement fills me. I’m so close to finally escaping that place. I break into the sunlight. It covers me, that radiant warmth. I hadn't noticed it before. I had always taken the warmth of the sun for granted. I had never really felt the cold until that trip into the cave. Even in the cave where I first awoke it was warm. Even in the middle of the night it was still pretty warm. In that moment I swore I would never take the warmth of the sun for granted again. Stuck in my thoughts I didn't hear the pounding of feet coming from the tunnel. Quickly I run into the brush surrounding the exit to the tunnel. Mere moments later a guard exits the tunnel. There they are, he yells. I obviously hadn't been quick enough. Turning around I draw one of the two arrows I had left.
“[Mana Shot]”
The arrow sails towards the guard. He tries to raise his small buckler to save himself from being hit. But it's too late. The arrow takes him in the head, sending him backwards. I turn to run.
[You have killed a Gnome - Warrior - Lvl.16]
[You have leveled up Elf from Lvl.10 - Lvl.11]
[You have gained 3 stat points]
[You have leveled up Elf from Lvl.11 - Lvl.12]
[You have gained 3 stat points]
How did that kill him? Maybe he had all his points in strength or something.
“Master Keith, are you okay?” Not hearing a response the guard runs over to check on Keith. He sees the arrow. He looks around with rage burning on his face. I’m already gone.