Sirius had almost wished he would have just escaped from the mines the first time he opened his cell locks. Everyone were so surprised after the first time, that he had to actually make some effort to get caught, and look like he was actually trying. That hurt. Seeing how close the freedom was, and knowing how short he would live to enjoy it. If the prison complex wasn’t in the northern mountains, or at least the summer was closer, he probably would have taken the risk. That would have still killed him, but mines alone were bad enough to make that choice. He was close to killing some of the guards, but if he pissed them of too much, there would be no trial. Just death. Cutting them for that few drops of blood was risky enough, but it finally to brought him back to the capital.

Prison was surprisingly good place to learn new things. The amount of Arthan prisoners alone helped his linguistic abilities more than three years he was learning it at school. Not that it made him want to talk to any Arthans in the near future, but it could be useful. He had no good memories of those people, aside Sal who made this whole crazy plan possible.

“I’m sorry,” he said bowing to a low noble who just ‘accidentally’ bumped into him.

Money. From the size of the purse in his hand he could tell it was enough for a small bribe. He was hoping to get some amulet out of this man, but this was good too.

Sal would be proud of him. That small Arthan man was the only reason, why he was finally free, aside from The Great One. Honestly the amount of luck he had today, was enough to make him a bit more religious. Which still wasn’t much, but he was in such a good mood, he could probably leave some money at the church, after buying all the necessary things. The Almighty knew damn well how much Sirius will need all the luck he could get in the next few days, and if God was feeling generous, Sal could probably use some too.

After buying some things he needed from the market, and grabbing some that were just too easy to steal, he decided to lie low. After burning both his beard and hair using a quick dread fire spell, and painting a random sigil on his forehead he didn’t have to worry about the dirty rugs he was wearing. All the pilgrims and mystics traveling through the city made it easy to almost blend in, but he was about to push his luck to its physical limits. Nobody would believe that he would be so stupid, that he would go back to his old apartment. Going to see some of his relatives or friends? That could be expected. Going to a place he was living in for less than two months, that had none of his old belongings, and was rented to someone else already for longer than he spent there? Now that was stupid. And someone to pull an escape like this can’t be so stupid.

But for some reason, his old neighborhood was full of soldiers and city guards.

He was going to just cast a resonance spell for a sigil that was in the building, and this way he wouldn’t even have to go in. Now, the smart choice would be to skip this part of the plan. The Bad choice would be to stay in the city, and wait for a better timing.

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“Can I help you?” Asked the man at the door of Sirius’s old apartment.

That was the stupid choice.

“Why good day, sir. Would you be so kind and accept this small token of gratitude, for letting me pray looking at this beautiful sunset at your window?” He pulled out what was left of the bribe-money he’d stolen earlier. “I was planning to ask your upstairs neighbor for a better view, but my legs were generous enough to bring my all the way to this city, and I want to show them some gratitude, and save them from more stairs.”

The guy didn’t look so sure about letting a hobo-looking… whatever he was, into his home, but the money seemed to give him some religious compassion. Let The Almighty bless this man’s greed and stupidity.

Sirius actually made the extra effort to recite a proper prayer, while infusing ether into the sigils hidden under the floor, and stuttered a bit after realizing that someone have found it. Nothing was wrong with it, but it felt fresh, like he used it just days ago, and not months. This took his aback so much that he couldn’t recall any other prayers, and didn’t even start to power the mechanism in the floor. Saying the words out loud might not have been the best idea, since he hasn’t done anything like this in over a decade, but he was very experienced in bubbling nonsense.

If only that guy was out Sirius would gladly use some time to practice, and stretch his metaphorical muscles. Nothing has done more to his growth than finding this thing. His mana pool and ether pool aside, getting the ability to use Sight with so little practice was an actual miracle. But for once he was going to use this hidden equipment for something closer to its actual purpose.

Looking into The Twilight Realm, he had to stop himself from using all of his gate rings. Keeping two of the five was a safe option, but he knew very well, that it was the last chance he was going to get. Those rings will keep him alive. Three times he can save himself from most of the mundane dangers, and some of the more sophisticated ones. Three. Enough to let him live for years and hide somewhere away, or die after a month of more threatening events.

He made a risky choice, and destroyed the original enchantments, replacing them with something he didn’t even fully understand. He always wished he had enough mana to practice enchanting, but even with his lack of experience, everything went fine. The Shaper signed with relief, making the new tenant back out a bit. Poor guy. Sirius’s crazy-hobo performance must have been a bit too genuine, with some emotions going through his head. He thanked the man without any blessings or over the top gestures, and left the old apartment.

That was actually where the good parts of his plan, were ending. He had some vague idea of what to do next, but not much more than that. Looking back to his previous promise, he didn’t really intend to keep it, but after seeing the small temple, outside the tenement house, he decided that he didn’t have anything better to do anyway.

Also, if his pursuers knew anything about him, that wouldn’t be very high on their list of places to search him for. Which was a weird thing to think right before walking carelessly into a room full of soldiers.