In The Shadow of Asora

20. A Helping Hand

They parted in their way out. Yeosang went first and distracted the Bishops in the gardens long enough that Mingi and Jongho smoothly escaped over the wall. Earlier when Mingi had come back to find Yeosang bundled up with a scarf and coat next to Jongho in the dark, he had merely invited him to the party. Without further ado, he had adjusted their plan.

Once outside of the wall, they reversed the act. As Yeosang went back inside, Mingi stirred up some subtle commotion at the front so that Yeosang could flee from his window. Jongho helped him over the obstacle of the fence, and they got swallowed by the night in Asora immediately. Yeosang shivered as they ran through the streets. Worried about his condition, Mingi murmured something about an old coat he still had at home that he could lend him once they were back. Jongho wished he could have done the same, but he was already wearing Yunho's old jacket that had long since lost any pleasant smell of the man it once carried.

Jongho could at least promise his friend that Zey would be slightly more protected from the freezing wind. In an attempt to hide his identity in the worst-case scenario and also to shield him from the worst breeze, Mingi and Jongho had taken him in their midst. Jongho carried the man's bag, too, while Yeosang's considerably smaller statue followed behind the tall Mingi. Against Jongho's desperate attempts, he had persisted in carrying his bird. It was his new best friend, and he thought hard about its possible names whenever he didn't look around the empty streets warily.

As before, not a single soul travelled Asora during the night. The lack of people worried Yeosang, but it was all the more practical to smoothly reach the canyon. At the sight of the gaping abyss, Yeosang immediately retreated a few steps. Instead of down, he tried to look up and at Zey's grey houses. Through his mask, he audibly tried to fix his breathing. With an inward prayer that the man wouldn't throw up or panic at the idea of transgression, Jongho turned to look at Mingi.

"Is it a good idea to still climb down and over? It might be the easier way for him to slide down if he's not used to hiking."

Mingi regarded the nearby edge. Behind his forehead, the cogs turned as he calculated the risk and possibility.

"I agree," he said finally. "Then you go first and show him. I'll stabilise him." At his signal, all three of them dashed over to the Chasm and threw their bodies over the edge. Yeosang determinedly followed behind them even when his movements were less secure and unaware of the danger that threatened them if they were to hesitate too long.

Jongho's eyes were by now used to the familiar form of Mingi's door in the dark. As he quickly rammed a hook into the wall next to him and shot his rope over to the stone above Mingi's door, he tried to hurry for Yeosang's sake. The man hung next to him on the wall with a pale face and trembling hands. Mingi had wrapped one arm around him to shield him with his taller body and trap him successfully against the wall.

Once Jongho was ready, he swung his metal-wrapped fingers over the rope and let gravity pull him. Without a single sound, he arrived at a lower point on the other side of the wall within seconds. Darkness whizzed past his face, and he used the right moment to pull up his feet and catch his momentum against the wall. He hung there on one arm while he opened the door with the other one. It put barely any strain on his muscles, even less to since he used his left hand. He hung securely.

After a second, he managed to open Mingi's door and dropped down on the small threshold in front of it before he stepped in. Once he had put both bags on the ground securely, he stepped back into the opening. Trustful, he motioned Yeosang to follow.

The librarian struggled for a good moment. Mingi stabilised his wobbles to the best of his ability and quietly explained that he just had to hold on tightly, too. Jongho waited and merely opened his arms for Yeosang to crash right into. Better him than the wall.