The platter of meats and vegetables tinged against the hardwood table. A cup of diluted beer shone amber in the evening glow, and gnarled hands cracked open bread, which smelled fresh. The hands belonged to Akisane’s grandmother. Strangely, despite being from the Duke’s side, she was pleasant from the first they met. And soon the ancient woman with a hooked nose befriended her and decided to help her escape.
“Thanks, Gisella,” Ema said.
“Eat up. And take these.” Gisella threw four contraptions on the bed. They had spikes on them.
Ema turned them over and fit one onto her hand. She looked at her barbed palm. “I can climb better with these?”
“When the sun kisses the horizon, the balatma can’t see until it’s completely set. You’ll only have a couple of minutes to climb down. Do you think you can do it?”
“I used to climb all the time. I have great flexibility.”
“Good, you’ll need every bit of it to escape.”
“Why are you helping me?”
Gisella moved a pillow and sat on the bed. “Well, I’ve never really agreed with my son’s actions. And there’s something else you should know,” she said.
Ema took a bite of bread. “What is it?”
“Everyone was in a stir when Whitebeard announced he was from Gilgash, the Swallowed City. But I recognized him. Let’s just say that I had a little bit of a crush when I was a girl.”
“Who is Whitebeard?”
“That’s for him to tell. Let’s just hope that his identity stays hidden. The realm is already full of problems. Just make sure he doesn’t go through with the draining ritual.”
“I’ll try to dissuade him.”
“Good. Now eat up, and good luck to you.” Gisella grunted as she stood and moved to the shadowed part of the room.
Bin jumped down from a joist and landed on Ema’s shoulder. The squirrel cat licked a paw.
Then, the woman shadow-walked away.
Ema looked down over the balcony at the dizzying height. The sun was a finger away from setting, so she went back inside and ate her meal. Nothing stayed in her mouth long enough to provide much flavor.
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The steps to descend played through her mind. The rough and cracked cliff face provided handholds, and about two fathoms below was the top of a tree growing from an outcropping. She needed to make it to the tree, shimmy down it, and then make another drop to the castle. If she fell at any point, it meant a plunge of hundreds of feet.
She sat her fork aside and, feeling her stomach sink, returned to the balcony to put one leg over the side. Her other leg went next, leaving her back to the void. Outstretched arms held her dangling until her foot found a crevice beneath the overhang. I’ve climbed almost as bad, even if it were closer to the ground.
The bulbous red orb touched the horizon through the two buttresses of the mountain where the towers were built. The balatma screeched.
Ema was in a race against the twilight.
The creature's hair flared out and struck the cliff, but it was three paces away. Rock chips rained. Even if it were blinded, the balatma wouldn’t be long before it found her.
Bin bounded to the balcony and tossed the beer down onto it. The liquid splashed.
Ema felt the drops hit her face and turn cold in the wind. Her foot slipped, and she felt her grip fail. Then, the world tilted. The tree wasn’t far below, so she let herself drop and got tangled in the branches. That actually saved a few moments. On the way down, the bark scrapped her calf and snagged her dress. The fabric ripped, but she had no choice but to let it tear.
Something hit the top of the tree. Bin’s head appeared, looking down at her. Behind the squirrel cat, tendrils snapped branches and sent down a shower of needles.
Ema let go and saw a flash of white. She was lying on her back. Beneath her was the precipice at the angled end of the outcropping. The tree stood shaking with the balatma ripping it apart. Bin!
To the side, the sun was just a ruby bulge. There wasn’t any time left to get away. But she could try. She didn’t want to die.
Yet she stood halfway between the balcony and the castle, and climbing down was even more challenging. She scrambled to the bushes growing down the corner and used them as holds.
But the sky grew dark. The balatma uprooted the tree and tossed it away. The eyes opened like lampshades. It seemed to smile at Ema as its sight returned.
Ema felt a sharp pain in her arm. Detached hairs were wiggling on the ground like worms. She looked down to see one push itself under the flesh on her bicep, and she yelled out. She had to let go and risk falling to attempt to pull it away, but it was as strong as a snake.
She tried and tried, but it buried itself deeper. She looked down and wondered if it were better to die dashed against the rocks than to let this thing inside her guts. There really wasn’t a question. It was better to die by falling. She let go.
The balatma seized her by the hair and pulled her up.
Ema screamed.
Ema
Level: 1
Focus: unknown
Secondary focus: unknown
Weapons: none
Items: climbing gear