When all was quiet at last, Anaya rose from the bed and padded over to the little window in their room. She fumbled with it for a moment, finally able to push it open with minimal creaking and groaning from the wooden frame.
“All right, let’s go.”
Brugo came to the window, sticking his head out and looking around doubtfully.
They’d been waiting for hours to sneak out of the room they’d rented in the Sleeping Lamb. If the man from the tavern had come looking for them, the woman at the desk hadn’t said anything. Of course, Brugo doubted the man would be so forward. If he was looking for them, he was probably hiding in the shadows nearby.
Anaya lifted on leg over the window sill and then threw her other leg over, lowering herself until she was hanging by her fingertips. Brugo watched her drop and felt a little guilty. He probably should have gone first and offered to catch her. But she was already running off to the corner, waving for him to follow.
He attempted to climb through the window in the same fashion, but quickly found that his frame did not quite fit so easily through. In the end, he made a less than graceful fall to the ground and landed awkwardly with a grunt.
“You okay?” Anaya asked as he hobbled over to where she was waiting.
“I’ll be fine. Let’s just get this over with.”
They moved in tandem, darting from one shadowy alley to the next, working in a weaving pattern toward the city gates. So far, there had been no news of a city-wide lock down, and from what they could see from their room, the city’s guard force remained station around the perimeter of the mage’s tower.
In the quiet of night, they could still hear some shouting from the people gathered in the streets, demanding answers from the mages themselves, but the crowd had thinned once night fell. The side streets remained nearly empty, giving Anaya and Brugo plenty of space to move quickly.
They made it to the last row of houses and paused. The gates were straight ahead, but there were two guards posted on either side, and they were going to need a good story to get through. Plus, they would need to walk calmly up to the gates to avoid arousing suspicion.
“Ready?”
Anaya gave him a nod and together they walked out of the shadows and onto the main thoroughfare, headed straight for the gates. They were nearly within hailing distance of the nearest pair of guards when a familiar face appeared.
“Fancy seeing you two here,” the man said, giving them the same grimy grin he had back in the tavern. “I was just asking these fine gentlemen if they’d seen you.”
“Why?” Brugo asked dryly. He stood stiffly, watching the man warily.
“Well, as it happens, I was able to make contact with that friend of yours. I took the liberty of arranging a meetin’ for the three of ye in a safe place.”
The way the man spoke gave Brugo an uneasy feeling, but he schooled his expression, looking to Anaya. “Oh? That was very kind of you.”
The man stepped forward, attempting to throw an arm around Brugo’s shoulder and lead him away from the gates, but he was just a little too short. The effect was that his arm ended up around Brugo’s waist and Brugo sidestepped out of his reach reflexively.
“Where is this place?” he asked, trying not to give away his disgust.
Over the man’s shoulder, he could see Anaya stifling a horrified snicker.
“I can take ye there right now, if you’d like?” the man offered, beaming up at Brugo with that awful smile of his.
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“Actually,” Brugo cut him off, taking another step out of the man’s reach. “We were just on our way for an evening stroll. If you give us directions, I’m sure we can find our way there just as soon as we’re back.”
The man frowned, looking from Brugo to Anaya and shaking his head. “An evening stroll at a time like this? I thought I told ye, these are dangerous times. Wouldn’t want to be doing anything to draw attention to yourselves. Strollin’ around outside the city gates in the middle of the night would be… ill-advised.”
Anaya stepped forward, and Brugo prayed she had a better idea, because it was becoming clear they weren’t going to shake this guy.
“I’m sorry, sir. It’s just that, I’m not used to being in a city. My people, we’re not city dwellers. I guess I’m just feeling a bit homesick. Walking through the fields under the stars always seems to help. We won’t be but a few minutes, if you could relay the message to Miriam. Just tell her we’ll be there shortly. I’m sure she’ll understand.”
Anaya fluttered her lashes and gave the man an embarrassed blush. Brugo shook his head in wonder. To think he’d taken her as a helpless maiden when they’d first met.
“I really think it best that I take ye straight away,” the man insisted.
“Oh, but we’ll be quick. If you tell me where we’re to meet, we’ll be there within the hour. I’d be obliged to give you something special if you could help us out.” She fluttered her lashes again.
The man started to protest, but when she gave him a shy wink, he clapped his mouth shut and nodded.
“Alright then, I’ll let yer friend know. She’ll be waiting for you in the storeroom of the old rug shop. It’s down on the west side, past the fountain. It’s the one with the painted red sign. She’s in disrepair now, but it used to be a fine shop. Anyway, go ‘round the back and there’s a door.”
“Oh, thank you!” Anaya said, throwing her arms around the man’s neck and planting a big kiss on his cheek.
She released him, leaving him stunned, and twirled in a circle with a wave. “We’ll be right there! I promise!”
Then she took off toward the gates, and Brugo, bewildered, hurried to follow.
The guards gave them both a concerned glance, but didn’t move to stop them.
Once they were on the other side, Anaya turned away from the forest and Osric and ran a little ways until Brugo caught up to her.
“That was really something,” he muttered, still baffled by Anaya’s ability to leave the man speechless.
“Don’t be too impressed. And don’t expect me to do it again. The man smelled like old pig piss.”
Brugo chuckled. “I’ll have you remember he tried to climb my arm first. I’m quite aware of the smell. So, now what?”
Anaya looked up at the swirling cloud, still glowing bright in the night sky, bathing the fields in a strange light. “We need to put some distance between us and the gates before we head for the forest. I don’t trust him, and I don’t want to lead them straight to the weapons. Do you think this meeting with Miriam is real?”
Brugo shook his head. “I doubt it. But I think we need to at least check it out. If Miriam is there, I hate to think she’s in danger because of me.”
Anaya nodded. “You’re right. Let’s get this over with.”
They walked down the path leading away from Yaal until they were out of sight of the gates. Then, they turned sharply and crossed into the forest, backtracking until they were near the place where Harpyn had vanished. There was still no sign of anything out of sorts.
Finally, they came to the place where Osric slept at the edge of the forest. They could just see the city gates and the guards. There was another figure also, and Brugo guessed it was their unwanted shadow. With a huff, he rummaged under the roots and pulled out the two bundles they’d hidden before, handing Anaya her rods and taking the sword for himself.
Osric watched them both, his tail swishing silently back and forth through the leaves that covered the forest floor.
“What are we going to do with you?” Brugo said, eyeing the wolf.
“Actually, I have an idea,” Anaya said, reaching out a hand to pat Osric on the head.
He sniffed at her hand cautiously, but eventually allowed her to rub behind his ears.
A short while later, the three of them left the forest, emerging out onto the main path headed into Yaal. Anaya had her rods tucked into her pouch. Brugo’s sword was harder to conceal, but he did his best.
Just as they came into view of the city gates, they started screaming and shouting, running headlong for the gates. Behind them, Osric snarled and howled, giving chase.
As Anaya hoped, the guard’s snapped to attention at the first sign of trouble. They pulled their swords and formed a loose blockade between the open gates, knowing they couldn’t possibly close them in time.
Redoubling their shrieks of terror, Brugo and Anaya increased their speed, blowing past the guards and into the city. There were shouts of alarm behind them and the clang of swords striking stone. Brugo chanced a look back in time to see the guards turning about in confusion as Osric appeared in one place and then vanished, only to reappear out of reach a few seconds later. As Brugo expected, he caught movement off to one side and the stranger appeared momentarily before turning and disappearing down an alleyway.