The Dreaming Land

Chapter 4: Escape

Evening light cast the town in an orange hue as Orius and Imara stalked the backstreets, making their way towards the constable's office. To their surprise, the town was still bustling with townsfolk up and down the main streets. This was to their benefit, though. Quietly, the two of them approached one of the back windows of the building.

Inside, there were nearly twenty guards, and a few officials sitting around. Taking a quick headcount, Orius gave a nod to Imara, who moved out onto the main street. She approached a beggar across the road from the office and handed him a whole gold piece, a note wrapped around it, and then disappeared into the crowd.

She watched from afar to make sure he read the note. The beggar unfolded the piece of paper, his eyes widening as he shot to his feet. He ran across the road and into the constables office. Everyone turned to look at him as he babbled something unintelligible before finally getting his words right.

"The- the guys yer lookin' for!" He spat, "I saw 'em, just down the road! They're at Jessie's suit shop!"

The whole room burst into movement, rushing out of the room and onto the street, the beggar close behind. Imara quickly rejoined Orius behind the building. Once the room was empty, he gestured again, and she moved down the backstreet, keeping a close eye on the group of guards from an alley way. Orius hopped the window cill and into the room. It was time to figure out just what the guards believed.

On one of the tables he found a ledger, marked with the king's sigil. He flipped through it, taking notes best he could. It was just as they expected, nothing the guard had said back in the inn was a bluff. The bounty price was high, almost too high, for their bodies and belongings, dead of alive. They noted a smaller bounty for just the shard, but he could see why they would leave that information out. A shard was valuable, especially this one.

Continuing through the notes, his suspicions were realized. 'They're likely headed north, to see that moon shard expert' a quick note said on the last filled in page. They were one step ahead of their game, it seemed, and it wasn't likely they'd be dissuaded from this course.

"... Are you kidding me?!" A woman's voice broke the silence from another room.

As fast as he could, Orius slid behind a desk near the window cill. Just as he got behind cover, a door swung open, and footsteps clicked across the wooden floor. It sounded like two or three people, but he wasn't about to take a look. Silently, he took hold of his crossbow, just in case.

"Yes, I'm serious." A man said, his voice deep and like gravel, "We are here to detain the fugitives and return what rightfully belongs to his majesty."

"Besides that," another man with an accent chimed in, "there's no sport in that, lass."

"The contract specified dead or alive." The woman sighed, "Doesn't that mean I get my choice of the matter?"

"Their belongings need to be in tact, lady Kazimir." The older man said, sternly.

"When was the last time you ever heard of a moon shard getting burnt up?" She asked.

"She's got a point." The other man laughed.

"As long as the shard is returned to his majesty's vault," the man groaned, "and you don't break the law in the process, do as you see fit, or I will intervene, and you may find yourself in one of Gigas Cities' great dungeons."

"Sure, sure, I know..." She sighed.

The front door swung open as the three of them left. Without hesitating, Orius quickly exited through the window where Imara was waiting. She looked panicked, but sighed in relief when he signalled they'd got what they came for. Now they could start planning a proper escape.