Scruffy’s Adventure

Written by Scruffy–hime

Edited by Luciferia

Chapter 18: Unfortunate Meeting

Airi ducked behind a low wall as she moved through the city. She had spotted a smaller gate than the one her and Scruffy had entered the town through. She tried to hide from dozens of guards searching for her as she made her way through the small alleyways. They seemed frantic in their search. Airi hoped that meant Scruffy had not been caught yet.

A guard stopped a couple feet in front of her. Fear rose in Airi as she heard the guard breathing. After a moment the guard ran off. Airi looked around to see if any guards were nearby before she ran to the next alley. Progress was going slow but if she just stayed hidden she might be able to get out. She hid from several more guards before getting close enough to the small gate to make a run for it.

There were only two guards standing guard. All the commotion must have drawn the others away. She was still carrying the sword she had taken from Vera. Airi pulled the sword from its sheath, being careful to not make any noise. She took a deep breath and ran for the gate.

The first guard drew her weapon and lunged at Airi. Airi dodged out of the way and cut cut open the guards stomach. The large gash ripped her far enough open for her insides to spill out. The clutched at the wound trying to hold it close as she died.

The second guard didn’t even look at her dead ally as she pulled her own weapon and let out a war cry. The guard swung at Airi ferociously giving her no chance to counter.

Airi took a kick to her side as she blocked a strike from above. The kick took Airi from her feet. Airi rolled onto her back and brought the sword up just in time to parry another swing. The guard pushed down on the crossed blades with all her strength. Airi could not hold her back any longer.

Airi put her feet to the woman’s stomach and kicked her as hard as she could. The guard was sent toppling over Airi and landed on her back. Before the guard could recover Airi stabbed into the woman's head.

Airi had no time to think about the guards as she got to her feet and continued her run for the gate.

The gate looked to be made of two small wooden doors. When Airi tried to open one she found that it was locked. She tried smashing the lock with the hilt of her sword but it would not break. Finding no other way around Airi decided she would need to climb the wall.

She sheathed her sword on her back and prepared herself. She took a short run at the walled and jumped. She dug into the wooden wall with her claws and started to climb. It was still a tall wall so the climb took Airi longer than she would have liked.

When she reached the top she wiggled herself between two of the pointed tops and hung from the other side. Digging in with her claws again she began her descent on the other side. When Airi reached the ground she sprinted to the nearby woods.

Hiding behind a tree she waited and listened if anyone might be following her. All she could hear were sounds in the forest and the chaos from inside Ensiry.

Airi pulled the map from where she had tucked it between her breasts. The town Scruffy told her they were heading to was called Bel'tas on the map. Airi’s mind raced as she thought about if he got caught. Pain lanced through her chest as the thought of them killing him came into her mind.

Deciding she would trust him, she looked down at the map again and studied the path to the next town. Airi found the side of Ensiry she must have climbed down from and looked for the best route to take.

Bel’tas was far from the forest so all the trails looked to be out in the open. Airi let out a sad laugh as she thought Scruffy must have done that for her knowing she didn't like the forest. After she decided on what path to take she began moving through the forest.

After a while, Airi had to leave the forest to continue down another trail. She felt uncomfortable being out in the open. She walked at a brisk pace down the road. She had chosen this path because it seemed to be one of the smaller paths that may be less traveled.

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It was morning now and Airi had been walking the path for a long time. Airi saw a group of women walking down the road. She jumped into the tall grass of the field and waited for them to pass. As they got closer she could hear the shuffling of chains.

The group took a sudden stop near Airi’s hiding place.

“Get up!” a voice yelled from nearby.

“It looks like her leg is broken.” a soft voice replied.

“If you can’t walk then you're of no use to anyone!” the woman yelled again.

Airi heard a metallic ring as someone drew their weapon.

“No please!” the voice sounded like a child. “Please, I don't want to die!”

Airi heard a thud and several gasps.

“Move!” the same voice ordered.

Airi waited until she could no longer hear the shuffling of chains before peering out from her hiding place. Choking as she caught the sight of a small girl, maybe eight years old, lying dead on the trail. The sight of the beheaded child was sickening. Airi gagged and held down her vomit as she moved out from the grass.

Airi felt sorrow for the poor girl but left her there. She had no time to bury or otherwise dispose of the body.

Airi turned to continue down the trail when an arrow pierced through her leg. She crumpled to the ground and looked at the sharp point jutting from her calf. Three women she had not noticed came running from a distance.

“Well, aren’t you pretty.” The first one commented as they neared Aiir.

“I think we could get a good price for her.” The second said.

“Her fur and tail look well taken care of. There’ll be lots of people willing to buy her.” The third confirmed.

“Hell I'd love to have one looking like that.” the second said hungrily, “A slave like that would make a good sex toy.”

Airi drew her sword and pointed it at the women. She scooted herself backwards along the ground. The shortest woman ran around the side of Airi and stopped behind her, halting Airi’s retreat.

“That's a pretty sword, where did you steal that from?” the young woman asked from behind her.

Airi hissed and swung the sword at her. The woman easily avoided it and laughed.

Before Airi could turn to face the other women again. The third woman kicked Airi’s chest, knocking the air from her lungs sending her sprawling backwards. Airi’s grip on the sword loosened, making it easy for the other woman to kick it away from her.

The other two laughed down at Airi as the third lifted Airi to her feet and threw the injured woman over her shoulder. The second pulled Airi’s scabbard off her back and slung it over her own shoulder.

“So what's a bitch like you doin’ out here?” the third asked Airi after they began walking.

Airi had to think of something fast. She decided she might be able to lie and get them to not sell her, or at least not kill her.

“I was running an errand for my master.” Airi said quickly.

“Damnit!” the second one exclaimed. “You mean this one is owned already?”

“Maybe we can get a discounted price in one of the underground markets?” the first said.

“A pretty thing like this?” the third questioned. “The black market would know something's up, and if I owned a nice cunt like her I would wonder where it was.

“Hey bitch, who’s your owner? We will return you and them give us a nice reward.”

“He,” Airi stressed the word before continuing, “is in Bel’tas!”

“Oooh she belongs to a man?” the first exclaimed. “That makes sense.”

The second laughed before saying, “She probably gets fucked daily!”

“We’ll take you back to Bel’tas.” the third said, “when we get there tell your master how nice we were and make sure we get rewarded and we promise not to rape you along the way!”

“That’s not fair, Mira! I wanted to fuck the bitch!”

“No, Kira, it’s rude to use someone else’s property without their approval.” the first replied.

“But, Lira! She looks so good!” Kira complained.

Mira roared with laughter, “You’d probably break her before we got back!”

“Let’s go, Mira, Kira. I’m sure she misses her master.” Lira said.