Once I'm outside ballista range, I shape a fire construct with twenty portions to reduce the speed at which flow decays from not being in my reserve of thirty and launch it at the gate with the speed of an arrow, making it impossible for someone to urgently assemble a disruption construct.
By the time the Palace gathers the reports and organizes a proper pursuit, the blaze consuming the eastern gate will take far more flow to control than I've used. I leave with flames at my back and a tightness in my chest.
I separate from the group following the road to head directly to the 'Merry Wanderer' where I told them to meet me. I cruise through the plains at double-pace while burning more energy than I should so that my muscles are never strained.
It matters little because I can't run long enough to overwhelm my regeneration. I find a thicket of bushes with a line of sight to the inn and stop there to rest. Thankfully, the group of fifteen are welcomed in without issue.
Unfortunately, a messenger from Meiridin shows up on the horizon not long after they do. I assemble an air-needle and shoot it at the man's horse, injuring its leg.
The animal neighs and throw his rider off before falling to the ground. The messenger slowly gets back up, throws a glance around and then runs back towards the city, abandoning his mount.
I change spots in the bushes and return to my rest, knowing it'll be a long few days until we lose our pursuers. A half-hour later, I catch sight of Rowland, Uhla, and Nahl coming from the south on horseback.
I throw a glance to the west, finding that there's still smoke coming out of the distant gate. It won't be long until someone in charge sends messengers out. Take a deep breath, sister. I rise and head for the inn.
The village is small but there's more livestock than there was back home, it feels like a trading hamlet if anything. I walk into the inn to hear a cacophony happening in the back of the room. Three of the women are on the other side of the main room taking care of all the babies whose cries are adding to the chaos, but they look cute so they're alright.
“We should split up.”
“We could make groups.”
“That's not a good idea.” Nahl contests.
“Why did they try to arrest us? You said the King promised we'd be left in peace!” One of the men asks.
“And he put people to spy on us, with swords.” Hilda utters.
“It's all that woman's fault!”
“Elizabeth sent her, that has to mean something.”
“She should have come herself if she was so worried!”
“Wait, Elizabeth Vil sent her?” Rowland asks urgently.
“She didn't, I lied.” I interrupt.
Everyone turns to me at once, even the bartender who seems lost and afraid about the names that came up. I stomp over to the group while ignoring their ardent glares, and completely playing oblivious to the few who seem scared and look at me with expectation.
“I knew about you long before Liz and I spoke, something happened that convinced me you wouldn't be safe so I took it in my own hands to move you out of Meiridin.” I explain. “Now, we need to decide whether you'll be going to so let's go.”
“Go?! You're going, to get us killed.” One of the women accuses me. Her hands are shaking and her eyes are avoiding mine.
“They'll want to capture you to bring you back, it's unlikely they would even judge you as runaways considering who you are and the questions people would ask about why you ran.” I explain.
“Can you guarantee it?” Marie challenges me.
“No, which is why I have no intention of letting you get caught.” I reply.
“With the mess you left behind, your presence will only increase our pursuers.” Hilda mutters.
“I'll be traveling behind you, blocking pursuers. They'll be taking care of you.” I briefly glance at the three.
“Jessica, we...” Rowland starts.
“Don't speak to me, and use Dame Freepath.” I utter coldly. “Make sure you follow the latter part since you'll ignore the former.”
“We can't start a fight with King Cenwalh's people, Dame Freepath.” Nahl speaks up.
“I'm not staying put if they attack them.” Uhla says with an aggressive tone.
She glances to me. I keep my face blank and my eyes empty because there isn't anything to say. I'm uncomfortable enough being here, I'm not going to deal with them since they've obviously chosen to listen to Leomi over what they clearly know to be my wishes.
“Since you lied, how do we know this isn't a trick to make us run so they can get rid of us in the wilderness?” A woman with her hands joined and pressed between her knees asks.
“She knows Elizabeth, they wouldn't do that!” Leah protests.
“It's a bit difficult to trust you with just that, especially since you admitted you lied.” The woman presses.
“I wouldn't have said a word if it was the case.” I note. “Either way, you don't have a choice but to run now.”
“We can return to Meiridin.” One of the men speaks up.
“To be jailed again? No!” Leah erupts.
“What about our babies? What about your sister? Can we travel like this?”
“I'm not going back.” Joah mutters tiredly. “If we go back, they'll take our children.”
“...”
Shock fills the faces of those who hadn't realized as much while a few of the women seem almost indifferent. One older woman with mean eyes doesn't even spare an instinctual glance towards the children, I would bet she'd have left her child at a Temple if she wasn't part of a larger group and doing so would threaten her social standing.
I try not to judge her because, not only is this mere speculation on my part, but I don't know these women's circumstances, how they got pregnant and what their lives were before Suxen ruined them. Still, I'm not turning my back on this one, or any of them really.
“Did she kill her?” Hilda suddenly asks.
“... Not yet.” I reply hoarsely because I feel guilty about missing Suxen.
“Then, we can never be caught.” Maria utters with finality. None in the group even shows a hint of disagreement.
“Take this.” I extend my hand and release my surplus of flow. “About one portion and a half each to travel faster since I can't effectively store it.” I give them a moment to split the energy between themselves. “Now, let's go discuss this outside.” I utter with finality.
“Ruth left immediately, she went north.” Nahl speaks up.
I rapidly wave my hand at him to dismiss his words and head out. The room behind me gets busy as they swiftly pick up their luggage and the newborn. I don't wait for them outside but directly leave the village.
I stop a hundred meters out near an apple tree and crouch down to start drawing a very crude map of the region. When they arrive, Marie immediately pulls her brown hair back and settles next to me to add details.
“Pick, Hetlan by land or Izla Meria by sea.” I speak up with a firm voice.
“We don't have a ship.” Leah notes.
“Steal one or pay a fisherman.” I reply. “I suggest you travel east until you find a village with either a large enough ship or several, once you've sailed far enough west you'll then be able to find a larger ship to take you down the coast and perhaps to Izla Meria. Either way, you'll be in a different place then they expect so you'll be safe.”
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“I don't think we can handle the journey to Hetlan on foot, even without being pursued.” Joah says while holding her round stomach.
“Wait, why wouldn't they know where we are?” Marie asks while staring at me.
“Because I'll slowly make my way north while eliminating pursuers so they'll never scout past me. As long as you travel at night and don't show yourselves, you'll be far gone by the time they figure it out.” I explain.
“This puts you at huge risk, they'll catch up to you in no time.” Uhla protests.
Leah and Joah nod while a handful of others twitch like they don't know how to take my offer but have no intention of saying no. I turn my eyes back to the drawing. It's not like I'm giving them a choice over what I'll do anyway.
“We can't let you do this.” Nahl speaks up, causing Rowland to wince.
“Let me?” I humorlessly chuckle. “The three of you have three choices in front of you. You either help them, leave, or get put down after trying to follow me.”
The atmosphere tenses up but I ignore it all to focus on the map just as Marie marks woods north-east. I decide to go there because it'll be easier to conceal I'm alone tomorrow.
“We're going north-east to the woods and stopping there to rest until nightfall because you'll travel north or east during the night.” I speak up while rising to my feet. “I'll stay close until you board a ship or until you make it to Hetlan.”
With these words, I walk off at a normal pace. I immediately feel much better by myself. It takes about ten seconds for the commotion to begin once I've left them behind.
“We don't have time, talk on the way!” Marie seethes sharply in a low voice so as not to disturb the babies.
An hour later, I spot the edge of the woods ahead and two squads of foot soldiers following us. The fact they're not equipped with cheap spears and led by three people on horseback indicates there are more to come.
I briefly stop to estimate the distances to the forest for each of the three groups and determine that I need to intercept. I find an old fallen tree and settle down with my long broadsword out.
Marie and the others quickly catch up and make their way past me. Rowland tries to reach out to my shoulder but I angle away from his hand. He makes a grimace but leaves without saying a word.
Our armed pursuers take a full half-hour to catch up. Their equipment is better than decent. They have hard leather armors, chain-mails, swords, kite shields, and helmets. Of the three riders, one is wearing plate armor but the steel doesn't seem as thick as the one Leomi wore.
They fan out fifty meters away from me and fire a couple of arrows which forces me off my seat. Instead of being offended they don't offer any words, I find it refreshing that for once I'm not being told to surrender.
“I am Jessica Freepath and you seek to hinder it.” I introduce myself because my reputation is an integral part of my plan. “Turn back now or fight with the knowledge your lives may be forfeit.”
“You may only leave feet first without a head on these shoulders.” The figure in plate responds coldly.
Two of the riders circle around me while the one in plate takes the lead. I aim at the one on my right with the tip of my broadsword, his chain-mail immediately takes a golden hue.
I launch an air-needle at his horse's leg but the rider taps the flank of his mount, making me miss by a tiny margin. I activate my perception construct and leap to my left. They rearrange almost immediately.
The one in plate guides his horse towards me and launches to intercept while the soldiers shift to keep me in the center of their semi-circle. I assemble an armor sundering construct and leap forth.
Two other arrows are fired at extremely close range. I twist my waist, letting one go past my back while the other whizzes right in front of my helmet's nose-guard while also angling my course to flash behind the rider in plate.
I reach the center of their line, encountering raised shields and swords held back to slash at me. I stomp down and twist my left, pivoting my momentum to my left while stabbing out.
The soldier, unprepared by my sudden switch, fails to adjust his shield and the tip of my broadsword slips past it to plunge into his shoulder, breaking past the defensive construct while encountering almost no resistance from either chain-mail or armor.
My broadsword's hilt hits and stops. The man drops, leaving my blade sliding out with a red effusion. Swords fall on me from either side, an arrow cruises at my torso, tiny spherical silver constructs appear to my left and right out of my field of view.
My left side impacts the shield of the soldier I just killed, arresting my course. I narrow my eyes and straighten up. The shift in my posture is just enough to dodge the arrow and the blade coming from my right but the second archer shoots towards my thigh at this exact moment which forces me to slide my foot back.
I inject a stream of flow into my armor's defensive runes, specifically focusing the energy on my arm-guard, and flick my wrist at the incoming blade. The weapon glances off and I lose a whole third of a portion for the very brief moment of contact, meaning the sharp edge hit however briefly.
The spherical constructs zip towards me with such straight trajectories they feel unnatural. I twist flow in my broadsword with the intent of triggering constructs and add a small kinetic charge.
Then, before the soldier to my right can bring his sword back, I launch a violent backhanded slash that cuts straight through his helmet to quite literally shred through his forehead.
I angle my spine back, dodging the silver projectile coming from my left by a tiny margin while I keep swinging, intercept the second one with the flat of my blade. Frr. A tongue of flashes engulfs my forearm.
Brhom. The explosion is a beat late to affect my weapon but it's so close and powerful it almost destabilizes me. A memory of Leomi teaching me to keep my balance flashes in my mind.
I twist and bend my knees to absorb the impact. FrrBrhooom. The second silver sphere blows up on the ground towards my right. I unwind and lion's leap forward past their arc of a formation to go straight for the archers. Clink. The tip of a sword glances off the back of my cuirass.
The archer who shot first before releases another arrow that I casually dodge by angling my head to the side while the other direct draws her short sword. Neither will survive.
I twist my forearm from left to right and deliver a horizontal hack at their throats. The two lower their heads, placing four bands of metal coming down from their helmets in the way of my blade.
It doesn't even slow down my weapon. It slices through those, the thick leather throat-guard, and lastly their flesh. I immediately stomp to my left for a brief but powerful lion's step to the right.
The soldiers have already turned and closed their formation but, now, their hasty shield-wall is preventing the riders from directly charging me. I throw myself at their lines without hesitation, causing a couple of them to flinch.
Kill them first. No, they'll break and cause the rout later, besides more bodies means it'll be harder to hit me. The three soldiers facing me react professionally, the one in the middle launches a quick stab while those on the sides deliver diagonal slashes.
Even with all the time in the world, I couldn't slip past this combination attack. I smirk and launch two streams of flow into the air left and right. The two portions harden the air and cause their blades to slow down.
I twist my waist and bring my right shoulder forward, allowing me to dodge the stab. I lean forward to slip in-between the slow swinging swords. My shoulder impacts the shield.
The force of my lion's leap causes the soldier to be thrown back. I flick my wrist while pushing out with my entire arm, causing the tip of my broadsword to make a small circle in the air before plunging into the very center of the falling soldier's forehead.
The man dies before he hits the ground, his eyes still fixed on my collar where he aimed to stab me. I pull the flow I sent out back, recovering three-fourths of it to fuel my armor-sundering construct.
So far, I've burnt very little energy, a little more than three portions to get rid of five, soon seven, soldiers. I coil my arm around my torso until the base of my palm hits the left side of my back.
Then, I bend my knees and twist my legs to turn as I crouch while releasing my arm like a coil, swiping low at one-hundred-eighty degrees. The blade passes under a shield and cuts straight through the left thigh of the one on my left.
It keeps going on its path to slice through the back of the right knee belonging to the soldier on my right. Both drop in my direction with indistinguishable distorted screams.
I unwind my legs while lion's leaping back, flying a whole meter up and three back while spinning on myself. As I fly, I witness expressions turning grim as one more comrade of theirs just died and another two will likely pass away from blood-loss before they can be helped.
My knee almost touches the ground on landing. I inject ten portions of energy into my blade to give it an intense golden glow before retrieving it. It's a trick to ensure that they don't realize I've used very little flow to defeat their defensive constructs as well as tell them I have a lot of energy left.
Despite these reasons for my action, it causes two soldiers on the far right to flinch and turn to glance to the sides as if considering running away. Their eyes quickly fall on the leader in plate armor and they focus back on me.
I deactivate my perception construct and take a moment to catch my breath, aware that I might run out of health long before I run out of flow. The soldiers take the opportunity to help their bleeding comrades while three riders thankfully decide not to order them to attack and move on me themselves.
Perfect. I would go in, slaughter them all without letting them reorganize. I could use the help, actually. Hmh, maybe later, you're doing fine. I hear an actual yawn coming from her and scowl at her reaction after I humbled myself. It isn't as if I think my tactics are inferior to hers, they simply suit the style I'm building for myself.
The two riders ride towards me on intersecting paths, their longswords held high and shields kept low. I control my face so as not to reveal a smirk. I let them close on me from either side while ignoring the ten soldiers moving in as well.
My eyes remain on the leader in plate who is observing behind the lines until the last moment. When they're five meters away, I flick my broadsword up in the air and bring my palm back.
The weapon drops slowly. I launch a lion's strike at the pommel with my palm. The weapon flies at the rider to my right, passes over his shield, and plunges straight into his chest.
I side-step to the left to avoid being impacted by the other rider's mount or lowered shield. He swings down from far overhead, threatening to hack my skull in half but he's so high up on his horse that all I have to do is bend my neck to dodge.
As his arm was swinging down, his forearm remains level with me for a split second despite the fact he was charging me with quite some speed. I use a lion strike to snag his wrist and strengthen my bones while digging my feet in.
Thuk. The horse keeps going, the rider doesn't. I wonder if I've imagined the sound of our arms being pulled taut but, apart from a brief flash of pain, I end up fine while the rider ends up on the ground. I lion step my heel into the front of his helmet, caving the entire nose-guard and his face in. Crack.