Chapter Six—Escape Path

“Quick!” Ali hissed. “We need to hide, Shiro!”

“But where?”

“Come—follow me!”

Ali turned, leaving Debaku and the unconscious Razul and ran down the hallway. Shiro followed his friend down a series of corridors.

Despite having spent considerable amount of time in the manor, many of the tiled corridors and painted chambers were still quite unfamiliar to him.

“This way,” Ali said. “I have a side door leading out into an alley. “We can slip out and get away.”

Nodding, Shiro followed Ali to a storage room filled with sacks and baskets of food. From the ceiling hung a grid of wooden beams and from those dried foods such as herbs, garlic and cured meats were fastened, suspended in the air above their heads. From in here, the noises and sounds from the rest of the houses were unable to be heard.

Shiro expected Ali to lead him down the corridor where a small courtyard was located, used to park wagons and unload crates of food and other household provisions. But instead, Ali started moving a wooden shelf full of kitchenware tools.

“Help me.”

“Of course,” Shiro said, and moved to help Ali.

The shelf scrapped against the tiled floor, but it wasn’t overly heavy for both of them. Once it was moved from the wall, Ali undid the patina-covered metal latch keeping the wooden door held shut.

Following him out, their sandals gritting against the loose scree upon the heavy sandstone tiles, Shiro realized they were in a very narrow alley with a cross section directly ahead of them. Ali turned, sidling between the high walls. “These narrow alleys… They head out of this residential district near the river,” he said as he glanced back.

“Useful if you need to get away,” Shiro said.

“Exactly,” Ali said, leading the way. “And this is exactly why I chose this manor when I bought it.” Ali probably would have tapped his temple, as the Abassir peoples liked to do, but his hands were occupied. They got to the end of one alley and he changed directions, leading Shiro north-west, away from the house.

“I was… I was going to build a trap door and a tunnel, you know?”

“Really?”

“Of course.”

“Why did you not?”

“Because these alleys are perfect for getting away. Hafza calls them ratways.”

“I’m not certain they are ratways,” Shiro said. “In Mukuma, we have ratways under the city. Large sewers with actual rats.”

“Oh, trust me,” Ali said, “there are plenty of rats back here.” He chuckled.

Shiro quirked a grin and a thought came to him. “Is Hafza going to have your balls after all this?”

“Mine?” Ali asked. “Gods, you are right. Damn that Raz!”

They came out of the alleys after some time, their feet scraping in the dry dirt road between two poorer residences far from where Ali’s manor was located. Shiro nodded, agreeing with how useful those simple allies were. He just hoped Debaku or one of the house servants had moved that shelf back to cover their escape.

He looked up at the horizon across from the river. The sun was almost gone now, leaving the sky a cascade of blues and purples, a bright spot of yellow and orange where the sun had just gone to sleep.

Ali stalked down the road with Shiro at his side. “This way we will not be in the house. Just in case they have been looking for us, or gods forbid, waiting for us to return, Shiro.”

Nodding, the isekai said, “Debaku and Razul are not wanted men.”

“No, but even if they were, they’re top-tier adventurers, Shiro. They can take care of themselves. Probably they could escape even the Scorpion Guard.”

“Mm.”

They came to a cross road running alongside the river. Out on the waters were poll barges with small sails, their canvas full from the breeze on the flat river. On the barges were piled up goods on their decks.

Ali sighed. “These rivers provide causeways for the transportation of a lot of goods. They are safe from bandits.”

“What about pirates?” Shiro asked.

“Ha! There are no pirates on these rivers, especially not Urmia River. The sultan has his ships patrolling these waters.”

“When will go back to the house?”

“Soon,” Ali said. “I want to wait for a few hours and return later in the night. This road,”—he gestured—“leads back to the main thoroughfare. We can then take that back to the manor.”

“All right.”

“Shiro?” Ali asked.

“Hai?”

“Do you think we can really get into the Grand Palace and rescue Jessamine?”

“Hmm,” Shiro noised thoughtfully, glancing out at the river. The Grand Palace, also known as the Sultan’s Palace and the Great Palace, along with many other titles, would certainly be a challenge. Their greatest one yet. The waters lapped gently at the shore near the road as they reflected the beauty of the darkening sky. “I do not know. But I must try.”

“Yes, of course,” Ali said. “But you are forgetting to mentiuon the ‘we’, my friend.”

“If you would prefer not to come—“

“No no!” Ali said quickly. “I want to do this. You are a good friend, Shiro. You saved my life after all. This is the least I can do.”

“It will be dangerous.”

Ali chuckled. “Danger is what we do, Shiro. We are adventurers, yes?”

Shiro nodded. “Mm.”

“I am just worried about the sultan,” he added. “He will not be easy to kill. I have heard that he is a top-tier adventurer himself, and a sword master. There are other rumors as well.”

“That is why we have Debaku and Razul. But what other rumors?”

“Dark magic, Shiro.”

He shivered.

“Yes,” Shiro said. “But I still have the powers Jessamine gave to me.”

“Yes. Some, right?”

He nodded.

“Exactly,” Ali said as if Shiro’s point were his all along. “But those dark magicks, they make him that much more powerful.”

Shiro thought about that as they walked. “You do not remember that we saw Darius in the void. Debaku fought him.”

“I remember,” Ali said. “And I remember how fast your hearts were beating. I was half expecting them to burst within your chests!”

They quieted for a moment as they passed a residence with three women standing at the door talking in hushed tones. They watched Ali and Shiro carefully as they continued forward.

Women could not be too careful, especially at night. For that matter, in many places in Darshuun, no one could be too careful. But as two men together, capable adventurers besides, Shiro and Ali had no worries whatsoever for their general safety concerning thieves in the darkening streets.

“What are you saying?” Shiro finally asked.

Ali glanced back, then to Shiro he said, “That the experience made you afraid.”

“Yes,” Shiro said with a nod.

“Both of you,” Ali added. “Debaku is powerful—and I thought he was powerful enough to defeat my brother, even then. And still, he was afraid.”

“We must be careful,” Shiro said. “We cannot be reckless.”

“We are going to kill the sultan. It is crazy.”

“I know.”

“What will happen after? Who will lead the Abassir Empire?”

Shiro shrugged. “I have no idea.”

When Shiro and Ali returned, they walked through the broken door that Razul had kicked in earlier. Naro was guarding it. He bowed shortly. “Welcome back, Master Ali.”

The Abassir paused for a moment. “Do you know whether or not my wife has gone to sleep?”

“I am sorry,” Naro said, his eyes glinting in the lamplight. “I do not know. But she has not been on this level of the house in some time.”

“All right,” Ali said. “Stay here and guard this door.”

“Yes, Master.”

Upon entering the dining chamber they found Razul sleeping in one of the high-backed chairs in the dining chamber, his bare feet up on the table with a bottle of half empty wine.

“My thoughts exactly,” Ali muttered as he took up the bottle and took a heavy guzzle. When he lowered it, he shook his head. “But do you have to keep your feet on the table, man?”

Razul snored soundly.

“At least you bathed, you swine.”

Gesturing to Shiro, he declined the offered bottle from Ali, though he did want some water. He was thirsty and tired. “We need to sleep,” he said.

Ali nodded. “I agree. I am beat. I just fear if I go up into my chambers, Hafza will kill me.”

“Then sleep in another room.”

Ali made an annoyed sound. “I suppose you are right.”

They parted ways and Shiro went up to the chamber that he had used before, finding it dark and empty. That was good.

As soon as he lay on the bed, his back and his feet aching, he fell asleep with glistening sweet on his forehead.