The CRES code

Chapter Sixty Eight - The Tunnel

     Randall found himself wishing he hadn't abandoned his horse. He could have jumped back onto it and just ridden hard for the nearest city gate. He could have just bowled over any priest who tried to get in his way. Too late now. The horse would almost certainly have been found. They would leave it there as bait and be waiting for him to go get it. He sighed with regret. That was what happened when you came without a plan and ended up making it up as you went along.

     How many priests were there in the city anyway? Enough to guard all the gates? Even if there weren't they would have alerted the guards and the police by now. They would have told them that there was a dangerous murderer trying to leave the city or something. The gates would be closed with armed men watching them.

     Forget the gates, then. Were they any other ways out of the city? Of course not, he realised, feeling a sick despair beginning to creep over him. If people could get out, orcs could get in. Even sewers and water courses would have stout iron bars across them to bar the passage of anything larger then a rat. There was no way out! He was trapped! The soldiers and the police would search for him and sooner or later he would be found...

     An idea came to him. If anyone knew a way to get out of the city secretly, it would be criminals. They might want to bring contraband into the city or get a wanted man out. The latter would be more likely, he thought. After all, the best way for a criminal gang to ensure the loyalty of its members, apart from paying them a lot of money, was to show them that they would be protected if they were wanted by the police. If they got careless and left evidence or witnesses while killing someone, for instance. If the gang members saw their bosses going the extra mile to protect one of their colleagues, they would be confident of receiving the same protection when it was their turn. Randall nodded to himself. Yes, and Loach's gang was the biggest in the city. If anyone could get him safely out of the city, it would be them.

     Fortunately, he was only a few streets away from The Halls of Valhalla. With any luck, if he kept to the shadows and back alleys, he'd be able to get to it without incident...  No! No back alleys! He didn't want to escape the priests just to get his throat cut by a gang of muggers. Best to stick to the main streets and just chance his luck.

     A pigeon saw him almost immediately. It was sitting on a high windowsill looking out across the street and when it saw Randall it took to the air to land closer to get a better look at him. Randall forced himself not to react. He walked normally, his face lowered to keep the bird from getting a good look at it. I'm just come common labourer on my way to get an early start to the day's work, he told himself. Can't lie in bed when I've got a wife and a family to feed. Was that what they would take him for? Would a priest be sent to check him out just to be on the safe side? In a city this size there had to be dozens, maybe hundreds, of men around his size and build walking the streets, even at this hour of the night. Some of them would be criminals, off to burgle a house or rob a bank. People moving furtively, keeping to the shadows. Acting suspicious. They would surely attract the attention of the priests first, he thought, so all I've got to do is not act furtive.

     The pigeon followed him along the street, flying from perch to perch, but no priests appeared. He turned the corner onto Bailey Street, his heart hammering, and the pigeon continued to follow. The main entrance to The Halls of Valhalla beckoned ahead of him, the doors open to allow the brightly lit interior to illuminate the street. A pair of grim looking bouncers were standing on either side of it. They stopped a rich looking couple who tried to enter, passed a few words with them, then stood aside to let them pass through the door.

     He passed a side street, and as he crossed he saw the white robed form of a priest at the other end striding towards a man in a dark brown coat. It took all Randall's willpower to keep himself from hurrying, to get across the street faster and get out of their sight. He kept his eyes firmly on the ground in front of him, forcing himself not to look to see if the priest had turned to look at him.