In the morning we went down to the main floor and had breakfast, then I looked out the main door before the both of us went out. We soon turned off to a less used alley way before we went walking up up the walls, morgan holding onto me as we moved about.
[morgan] “any plans?”
“just to look around and see if I can’t scale us over a spot. I don’t expect it but it would be better than going out a gate.”
[morgan] “yeah, well I’ll keep an eye out too I guess.”
“maybe, though it wouldn’t be bad for you to be looking for other ways out we might use.”
[morgan] “alright, if you want me to divide my attention I can do that.”
We roam and search, looking about to what might grant us and escape. A heavy mist then rain slowly rolling in on us and the city. I take us down and under an overhang.
“well I didn’t see anything we can use, the walls are well guarded”
[morgan] “yeah… you know, if we can’t get out by land then maybe we should go by water?”
“please no.”
[morgan] “well do you have another solution? Flying perhaps?”
“ohhhh I do not like this one bit.”
[morgan] “yeah well getting hunted down tends to do that.”
“Damn… I don’t have anything.”
[morgan] “right so boats it is then.”
“alright, alright a quick bit of boat riding. But first we need to get you some clothes”
[morgan] “what, why- oohhh, to disguise myself more right?”
I nod.
[morgan] “fair enough. Guess we’ll be two cloaked figures… honestly we could get you a good coat while we’re at it. This place is wetter after all.”
“sure, let’s just get moving on it.”
She nods and we’re off. Moving from overhang to overhang as the rain gets heavier. Small streams of running water forming in the streets. Stepping over parts of the ground with wide movements as we avoided getting our feet and shoes soaked. That clear, wet smell filling my nose… I couldn’t help but have part of my mind think of flash floods, landslides of wet mud that could bury and suffocate a person. The one thing that I knew, that everyone of my kind knew a soft-skin could was swim. They could happily float on the surface of water like it was meant to be, despite them being land dwelling. How they saw it as normal was and is beyond me. I was dreading this next part, trying not to think about it.
[morgan] “you having trouble keeping up?”
I look back to her and move up, trying my best to focus on the task at hand rather than what was coming. Before long we arrive a clothing store that looks like it will serve us well.
[morgan] “phew, never knew it could be so rainy grandpa.”
I follow in only nodding.
[morgan] “hey uh we’re not from around here and-”
[shop keeper] “you need a- no two coats for the weather yes?” Her black hair back behind her as she looked at us. Brown skin peeking out to the candlelight from under her covering but light looking clothes.
[morgan] “ah yes, I suppose it’s obvious we’re not from around here then.”
[shop keeper] “what? No, of course not you just look like your unprepared for the local weather, oh and you stick out real easy pale girl. But that’s fine, Haria will take care of your problems… unless you consider being naturally pale as a problem, then I cannot help you. One moment and I’ll get some good coats.”
A minute later she comes back in holding a stack of clothes and sets them on the counter with a soft thud and release of her from her body.
[Haria] “there we are, good coats in somewhat timeless style… functional. I assume you are not staying here all that long.”
[morgan] “right again”
[Haria] “then these will serve well, bit bland. No unique touches which means that even if you go far, these shouldn’t make you stick out too much. So try some on see how they fit and when you find ones that fit well it’ll be a gold for the both.”
[morgan] “five silver per coat?!”
[Haria] “yes, and you are getting quality! I don’t go spending money on town criers to trap the ignorant into a poor deal. How did you find me if not by recommendation?”
[morgan] “we just looked for a place when it started raining.”
[Haria] “Well then you are lucky! These are quality coats, should last you years if not decades. Hell, I have one customer who bought a coat when he was eighteen and he still wears it three decades later.”
[morgan] “that’s- wait three decades? Wow, you’re looking wonderful.”
[Haria] hugs morgan “see I knew there was a reason I liked you when you walked in. Being so very sweet.”
[morgan] “uh, I.. we, we need to try on coats.”
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[Haria] “yes yes! Go on, try on and see what fits.”
After minutes of trying things on morgan has found the coat, she definitely wants. I on the other hand was having some difficulty with the fit and making sure I didn’t give away what I was.
[morgan] “ah, yeah he’s… grandpa’s gonna have some problems. When we escaped the war bug invasion he ended up pretty damaged, can’t really move his shoulders right so...”
[Halia] “oh that’s terrible to hear, hope you got out with all of your savings at least. Moving around places can be spendy. Ah never mind that though I got something that should work just fine.”
About half a minute later she returns. With just one item.
[Haria] “here it is, just take it in-front of you and holding it at the shoulder pieces whip it around your body and it should fall into place on your shoulders, then just clasp the top and work the buttons. Which are on the inside, I knew someone would need a cloak like this.
I do as she instructs and after the initial failure it flies into place on me, the hood I have to bend down to get into place but it works well.
[morgan] “yeah that was excellent. Uh here’s your gold.”
[Haria] “ah thank you. If you don’t mind me asking what do you do for wages?”
[morgan] “oh my grandpa’s a capable potion brewer. He uh, well he’s less talkative now, but he still knows what he’s doing so I help with chatting and being the hands between us.”
[Haria] “well blessing on you both. It’s been a wonderful time to get you both the rain protection you need. Though it seems to have let up outside.”
[morgan] “yeah, you’ve been great yourself. I will let others know where I got my coat.”
[Haria] “all I ask sweety, now go find yourselves a place to live.”
with that we’re out. Walking down the sunlight lit streets with rain water still cascading across. Others coming out of the various buildings as well. Or even just overhangs. Morgan leads us down to the docks with nothing of note on our path. Some negotiations later we’ve secured a small fisherman's boat for the next day to take us out and around. Then using the winding alleys that seem to exclusively make up the city we find our way back to the inn.
“that took way too long.”
[morgan] “we got what we needed to be done. Besides this place is a maze, it’s a surprise anyone can get around it let alone all the people that live here.”
“was good to have plenty of meat once we got back though.”
[morgan] “yeah so is it only meat for you or do you just like meat?”
“flesh, not just muscle. And some other things can help feed me but that’s fairly selective for my kind. Most of the fruits you humans eat are fine, not as tasty to us though”
[morgan] “just humans? Not the other peoples?”
“humans is what I know for sure. Besides the short ones eat almost exactly the same stuff.”
[morgan] “mhhh but they cook it so well… wait is it better raw or cooked?”
“lightly cooked, but that’s my preference. Many like it raw, straight from the body if they can.”
[morgan] makes a motion with her head and throat, her eyes closing for a moment as her hand goes to her mouth. “ugh, that’s not an image I needed. Ok, I’m good let’s change the topic”
“what too?”
[morgan] “let’s say we evade this manhunter. Then what? What’s next. I can’t travel back knowing he’ll track me down. Do we just keep up this ruse forever?”
“I don’t have a good answer. Nothing has gone to plan for us for a while now.”
[morgan] “can’t say you’re wrong. Still, we should plan right?”
I shrugged. “We’ll deal with it as it happens.”
[morgan] “fine. Guess we will… still would’ve loved to keep studying magic at the tower, you owe me on that.”
“let’s get some sleep.”
The next day was both bright and rainy, a good reason for us to be wearing our coat and cloak… though maybe that was just a given here. It wasn’t too long this time to get to the docks and meet our fisherman turned ferryman. Stepping into the wooden bowl-like thing that rocked back and forth precariously he introduced himself to me.
[Gelir] “names Gelir though you can call me Gel if you want.”
[morgan] “what? You said under no circumstance can I call you-”
[Gelir] “and YOU can’t, still. But from what you’ve said I won’t have to worry about your grandpa calling me anything will I?” grinning as he replied to her.
[morgan] scowled back at gelir. “fine, old coot”
[Gelir] “what’s that dumb and young? I’m hard of hearing at this age!”
[morgan] her face blushes as she keeps scowling. “let’s just get going”
I was finding this quite odd, pointless, and wonderfully distracting as once he started our boat moving out of the harbour I was reminded of how I was on open water. I WAS ON THE OCEAN! What madness this is to ride in this wooden death contraption of their kind.
[Gelir] “alright we’re out enough. Time to raise sail” he moved various rope about in a way I didn’t understand but soon the sail was unfurled and he moved to the back of the boat.
[morgan] “so… this is easy. Off east we go right?”
[Gelir] “you bet, pretty simple really.”
[morgan] “great, looks like we’ll have wonderful weather for it too”
[Gelir] “damn it woman why’d you have to go an jinx us?”
The next three hours passed in what made me only more and more certain of death as the winds picked up. Our boat rocking more and more side to side as Gelir did his best to keep this foolish thing from being destroyed.
[Gelir] “THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT WOMAN! Ahhhh, I can’t keep us on the sea!”
[morgan] “what?! What do you mean?”
[Gelir] “winds gonna blow us into the land. I’m gonna beach this old gal as best I can!”
[morgan] “can’t you anchor or something?”
[Gelir] “do I look rich enough to afford a big ol hunk of iron like that?… we’re getting close, brace for th-”
I didn’t hear the rest as the ship lurched, and I went overboard. It was easily one of if not the most fearful moments of my life. Sinking down into deadly, malicious open water. The fluid rushing down my nose and into my lungs, suffocating me in a moment like it was hungry for my life.
Fortunately, it wasn’t far to the bottom. I was still conscious, and desperately I walked and climbed my way under the water to the shore. I was struggling as much as the greatest feat of running, sprinting I could manage though my movements were sluggish. My mind fading, slowing as I tried, as I reached out for land, for air and salvation from this substance of dread. The great concealer that harbored dark and terrible things. Then for me there was darkness.