The streets were empty, save for the dim light of the many dozen lanterns swaying above and the small silhouette that was hobbling down the road with some tempo. Night had fallen long ago now and the somewhat cooler, dewy air circulated around the linear street of the city. Esper ran by many windows that were all radiating with deep orange glows that silhouetted the many frames of laughing men and playing children behind them. A mother holding a baby and a boy swinging something long around above his head. The sounds of the wakeful ringing out into the empty streets and to those few dark windows in which nothing stirred inside; their residents already long asleep.
She winced, facing forward again, following the road rising ever so slightly higher and higher. The town of Achtel was quick enough to walk through, she could already see the massive, looming wall take vague shape in the near distance. The construction was illuminated by the same lanterns that hung on the ropes and chains dangling over the streets. Would they let her out? She didn’t know. She couldn’t stay here though. She didn’t understand it, but she trusted the voice in the wind.
Esper blocked out the ache from her leg, determined now that she would reach the surface no matter what. She didn’t know why the nice woman had tried to get her, she didn’t know why the horrid thing from her nearly forgotten dream had warned her, she didn’t know why the tall man broke his promise and left her behind. But this she knew, it was all she wanted, was to see the top of the great chasm and she didn’t need anybody's help to get there. Esper clenched her fist, still feeling a slight, but now much more bearable sting in her right arm.
As she approached the wall, she saw the two blobby shapes of the men standing atop of it. They bobbed up and down somewhat, but seemed to be looking off the other way into the night, judging by the way they were both hunched over forward. She sped up, with any luck there would be a small door just like on the other wall. Sure enough, there it was, on the right side near the edge of the pit. Hustling to the wall the girl hugged herself against the cool stone construction. The men were talking heatedly about some subject, but she couldn’t quite focus on their words that seemed to melt into the background ambiance of the town.
Taking a deep breath, she shuffled down the length of the wall, past the shut large gate and towards the little door on the side. A large wooden bolt, that wasn’t fastened, was all that would theoretically bar her way. Reaching upward she grabbed the thick, rough metal ring on the door and pulled it slightly ajar and saw the man on the other side, a few steps ahead with his back to the door. He held a long metal pike lazily in his hand and took occasional swigs from a bottle clenched tightly in the other.
There was no way she would get past him. He would throw her back inside the town for sure if he saw a child leaving on her own. The great chasm was a dangerous place after all, it was only responsible to not allow unattended children out and about. She looked around, searching for some solution to her problem. She thought for a time, in panic, that any moment someone would come and see her and ask her what she was doing. Or worse, take her back to the chapel.
A trickle of sweat dripped down her eyes and she wiped her head with her arm, wishing that the wind would come and help her. But nothing came. Maybe she could climb up the wall and then down the other side? She looked up, wondering how she would get up there. Suddenly, a familiar cold sting pierced her chest. She clutched the spot tightly over her dress, feeling the frigid bump of the necklace beneath. She knew what she had to do now, it told her, but would it work?
She knelt down and felt the dirt below her and began running her fingers over it. It was well walked and a bit muddy, perfect. Taking her finger, Esper carved the sigil into the muck, this time however with a slight variation as the necklace had told her to do. She held her finger on the outer edge of the circle and then flicked her finger in the direction of the man behind the door, sending a streak of mud his way. Satisfied that it looked right, she got back up and slowly peered through the gap.
It creaked this time, the door. The guard turned back towards the door and his tired eyes met hers with some confusion. “Wha-,” Before he could form his thought, Esper threw herself down to the ground, slamming both hands onto the circle in the filth. She didn’t hear another word from the man, or even a gasp. He was simply quiet. Looking back, she got up and pulled the door open the rest of the way, wiping her muddy fingers on her dress and picking her bag back up.
The man lay on the ground, a quivering black shell covering him like a spider's cocoon. It was as if a piece of the night had simply decided to ignore the light of the lanterns above, indeed they too started to falter slightly; the flames dimming as if a gust were blowing them low and towards the other direction away from the empty spot where the man used to be. Esper slowly shut the door behind herself, making sure to stay quiet and looked once more at the fearful man on the ground. “Sorry,” she mouthed wordlessly and once more pressed herself against the wall, sliding down its length until she reached the cliff that it hugged on the left.
Thick, large shrubs had grown against the wall here in some height, for a long way down the road. Esper reached out with her hand and pulled some of the leaves to the side. They were dense and thorny, however only on top. On the bottom they were sparse, consisting of only a single stem. Each an odd branch growing outward only a foot off the ground, branching out then, as if to leave a tunnel for smaller creatures like rabbits. She bent down and looked; it would be a tight fit.
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But it was the only way. The men would see her if she ran down the road and they might chase her. With her leg, she would get caught if they did. Placing her bag down before her, she shoved it into the hole and then, compressing her own body as much as she could downward, she squeezed in beneath the bush, her wild hair getting caught almost immediately in the barbs above. Wincing through, she crawled forward.
The dirt below her was soft and oddly dry and cool and she made sure to mouth a wordless “Thank you,” to it as well. Moving forward, she found it easier than she had expected at first, the opening was very tight, but the under passage seemed to widen up ever so slightly as the row went on further away from the lights shining out from the city wall. Every once in a while, she would snag herself on a low hanging branch or misplaced thorn, but she did her best to clear the way with the little bundle before her.
Soon it was growing dark down in the hole, very dark, as the light failed to reach here out this far. There was nothing to do but to keep going forward and so she kept up the pace, having more energy now from the bath and the food than she felt in a long time. Her thoughts went to her family and her home for a time, but she shook her head, not wanting to become distracted. Then she heard it, the gentle howl of the wind rising from the abyss, as it caressed the walls of the chasm. The bushes rustled as it swept over them.
Esper let out a soft “psst,” as she looked out into the darkness. The outside of the bush rustled. Knowing that she had the wind’s blessing to continue, the girl crept onward, her motivation piling up in bounds now. Once more she pushed the bag out in front of her and wormed after it, then once again and then one final time when she felt it break free, having reached the outside.
Excitedly, she wiggled her way forward, the bush giving her the mercy of not taking any more of her hair or skin as a keepsake. Fresh night air struck her face, as she popped out of the underbrush and slowly rose to her feet and pulled the rest of her body out behind her. It was completely dark here where she was standing, entirely pitch black. Standing there in the dark, way past the daylight hours she felt tense. The sting of fear shot through her, bringing the fresh urge to crawl back beneath the bush. It was safe there.
But she knew if she did, she would never get far enough. She turned and looked back. The town was a long ways behind her now and she was surprised at the distance she had gone around the spiral already. A smile crossed her face, but Esper knew she couldn’t rest now. If the tall man had told her any truths, then there were still seven other towns that she would have to pass through to reach the surface. It would be a long walk, she couldn’t afford to only move during the daylight.
The prospect excited her nonetheless, a flame kindling in her chest. She had waited for so long for her family to return, for anything to happen. Then so many things happened at once and now she was going to the surface. Esper knelt down and opened up the little bag. It had a few new tatters and marks, but nothing too serious. She wondered if the tall man would catch up to her. She wondered if she wanted him to, promises were meant to be kept.
Reaching inside, she felt around for the metal cylinder. It seemed much larger in her hand than it had in the tall man’s. Esper held it up to face and recited what she had watched the tall man do. “Glimmrig,” she whispered and turned the bottom of the metal cylinder. A single loud metallic click snapped from it. The contraption shook in her hand, growing hot and she dropped it to the ground with a yelp, it shot bright sparks out in wild patterns that lit up the night.
The lantern vibrated around, spinning almost in a circle in the soft dirt it had landed in. She looked at it with worry, had she broken it? Did she do it wrong? The vibrations stopped and it sat there lifeless for a moment, leaving her alone with the sounds of the night. She sighed, realizing she would have to wait for daylight after all. Wait. Did the men on the wall hear this? Did they see it? She looked over her shoulder but couldn’t discern anything at this distance. It was all a blur.
Just as she looked back, Esper saw the faint, blue glow come out from behind the glass. The girl bent down and looked at it. “Kobold’s fire,” said the tall man's voice, popping into her head from memory. She wasn’t sure why it wasn’t normal fire now, or why it did that weird thing. But she was happy it was on and reached out to pick it up.
She yelped again as her fingers touched the cylinder, it was hot. She waved her burnt fingers in the air, the tips were tender and painful. Of course it was hot, she shook her head at herself, thinking she should have known better. If only she had taken the rod. She looked around for a solution to her problem.
Esper made a mental list of all of her things in the bag. Nothing there would help her carry this. She stood there, her mind going from place to place for a time. She wondered if a bird could carry it for her, but then shook her head when she realized it would burn its feet. Oh, wait.
The oversized robe that was bundled together, had part of a sleeve loosely hanging out from the knot. Inspiration having struck, she took it and spit on the end before running it through the dirt. She did this several times, until there was a layer of mud and dirt coating the fabric. Satisfied with her plan, she slid the hook of the lamp over the cloth and then looped the rest of the sleeve back up once more, folding it inside of the pouch. She didn’t know if the mud would stop the robe from burning, but she thought it might.
Grabbing the bag tightly, so that the knot wouldn’t slip loose, the girl rose to her feet and saw the lantern rise with her. Esper felt a pride well on her face and in her chest and took her first resolute step forward up the path. Oh. Esper stopped and turned around and looked to the bush.
“Thanks, sorry about my hair,” she nodded to the bush, it nodded back. The pact was sealed. All was forgiven. Smiling, she turned around and ran up the road. The little blue light dancing through the air like a lonely will-o’-the-wisp at midnight.