Contrary to Devin’s fears, the tunnels were not a never ending maze of twists and turns. Unlike the alleyways above where the servants and poorer folks could dash between their clients' buildings, the sewers were neatly organized in a grid fashion. Smiling to himself, he found himself thanking the engineers who designed it, though he doubted they ever imagined they would be used quite like this.

After several minutes of walking through the shin deep water, if it could be called water with the amount of filth running through it, a small pearl of light began to show. He picked up the pace and risked the filth sloshing onto him as the light grew bigger. Fresh air began to creep into his nose as he approached.

Nearing the light, he could start to see the outline of water. The green of the river that split Mossglen Depot filled the hole. He slowed as he reached the end of the tunnel and peered out into the world. His tunnel ended at the river's edge. He was standing in the middle of a wall, watching the filth pour out into their river. Wonderous air wafted across him as the others crowded around, trying to get a breath of fresh air.

The sun shone down on them from just past overhead. The water fell about ten feet into the river below them, making a steady splash. Devin noticed the boats trolling past on the river and pushed everyone back in, much to their chagrin and outbursts of anger.

“We don't want to be seen, you buffoons!” he hissed at them.

“Well, you went first and stood in the bright open air,” Shia sulked.

“Lass makes a solid point,” Murton nodded.

“Fine, I admit that was foolish and stupid of me. What are we going to do to get out of here?” Devin turned toward Daisy, who was standing to the side and eyeing the air with a look of pure longing. She blinked a couple of times and turned back toward the group.

Raising her eyebrows, she asked, “Hmm? Did you ask me something?”

“What are we going to do now? It's just a pipe running into empty water from here. There is no boat below, no ledge below to crawl out of, nothing.”

Daisy ran her tongue along her teeth, always lasting a second longer on the broken tusk than the rest.

Finally, she spoke again, “I don't know. I really don't. I don't think any of us will make it in a swim across the river, and we are just as likely to get picked up by some well meaning crew but then taken in once we reach a port on the river's edge.”

“All this way for nuthin’,” Murton murmured.

“That can't be it!” Shia exclaimed. “There has to be something else we can do! What was out there?”

“The tunnel just kind of ends. The water and… stuff… spills out into the river. Around the tunnel is the wall. The water is about ten feet below, straight down.” Devin said. The group sat in silence again.

“What about above the tunnel?” Teryn asked.

“I'm not sure, I didn’t look above the tunnel. What are you thinking?” Devin asked.

“Well,” Teryn began, smoothing her eyebrows behind her ears, “What if we wait until the cover of nightfall and make a break for it? We climb up and out of the tunnel and make our way out of the city.”

“How would we get past the gates?” Devin asked.

“Never mind that,” Murton interjected, “How are we going to get through the rich part of town covered in and stinking like their shit. I mean, I’m sure they'll recognize the smell, but it doesn't mean they want to see it or smell their neighbors!”

“I’m not there yet, Teryn said irritably. “I am still working on it in my head. It's better than anything you’ve provided so far.”

Murton pointed to his bare face, “I was tortured and mutilated beyond anything you can imagine. I get a pass until the beard comes back.”

“Bah,” Teryn waved her hand at Murton, turning back toward the sunlight streaming in through their only chance of freedom.

“What if…” Shia began, staring at the slowly swirling waters collecting things around their feet as they stood in the dank sewers below Mossglenn Depot. “What if we go up and out of the tunnel, and head toward the bay? We can swim and escape around the water in the cover of night can't we? We would be close enough to shore to hopefully avoid drowning, and there are no gates or walls to stop us.”

Devin tapped his two good fingers on his chin, “It may be a stretch, but I like it. It is the best idea we have right now and the safest one.”

“I agree, I can not think of anything else we can do beyond wandering the sewers and hoping for an exit outside the walls, which is unlikely as it would lead to a cesspool of fecal matter and discharge,” Teryn nodded in agreement.

“Does anyone have any objections?” Devin asked. No one spoke up. “Can everyone swim?”

“Well, sort of,” Shia admitted.

“Why would you propose a plan with swimming involved if you can't swim?” Murton spun on the young woman. He didn't seem angry at her, just confused beyond measure.

She shrugged helplessly, “It seemed our only option. I can doggie paddle a fair distance, but as for real swimming I may have some trouble.”

“It is still our only real option at this point.” Devin mused. He might be able to help her if she started to flounder. He was a reasonable swimmer, nothing great, but could hold his own and potentially hers. She was not a large woman and would not add too much weight to him if she was able to stay calm and help out.

He opened his mouth to offer but was interrupted.

“I will help her,” Griff said.

Devin turned toward the large man, face as impassive as ever. “Are you a strong swimmer?”

“Strongest here,” he said.

Devin nodded, “Very well. If she needs help, Griff will help. Is everyone else reasonable enough at swimming?” They all nodded. Shia’s shoulders slumped in relief and she looked at Griff gratefully.

He glanced back toward the sunlight streaming in the opening of the sewer leading to the outside world. When he had looked outside it had been a little past midday. They had several hours of light still until they could make their move.

“I probably don't need to remind you,” Devin turned back toward the group, “But it is fall. I say we make our move shortly after sunset to avoid it getting too cold.”

“I agree. The hour after the sunset is also one of the hardest to see anything. The mixture of a lack of light with the fading brightness of the sky leads to ocular illusions and difficulty seeing, especially around water,” Teryn said.

Devin blinked a couple of times at her before responding, “Perfect. Even better for us then. Does anyone know the layout of the harbor well enough to navigate it?”

“I do,” Daisy said from just to the side of the group. She had been starting out the end of the tunnel again, that same look of wistfulness on her skin and bone face.

“I have been down to the north harbor many times and know it quite well. I can navigate us out without bumping into anything troublesome.”

“Mind giving us some pointers, just to make it easier once we are in the water?” Devin asked.

“I’m not too familiar up here, but I imagine the water will run along the wall until we get to the harbor. The wall should continue down to the water. The point just before the harbor starts is probably our best time to jump in. It will be full of noises and people moving around, sneaking and splashing in the water should go unnoticed.”

“How far out does the harbor go? Can we swim around it?” Shia asked.

Daisy shook her head, “No. Well, we technically can, but we run the risk of getting hit by a moving ship and deeper water with more currents. We can swim under the piers, making our way around docked ships and out of sight of the people above.”

“That’s an awfully far way to be swimming,” Devin murmured, picturing the entire harbor in his mind. It ran the length of the coast that the city did. From what he remembered, there were 25 or 30 separate piers for ships to dock in, all large enough to allow frigate size vessels comfortably on each side.

“It is, but we can use the piers and their bases to rest when we need to. This won't be easy, and it will take a long time to get through. But once we are safe we can crawl up on the coast and flee to the north.” Daisy said.

“How far away is the city we are going to, Grinnish?” Teryn asked.

“A fairly long way. If we keep a solid pace and walk most of the day and night, pausing only to rest for a short time, maybe four hours a night, we should be there in about a week.”

Devin’s head spun a little at the revelation. He had been so concerned with getting out of the city, he did not even think about the journey to Grinnish. A week of hard walking with little to no rest with the onset of winter, going north as well, was not an exciting prospect.

“We are going to need better clothes for this, and some supplies,” he announced. “When we get up top, we are going to have to split up for a moment and gather the things we need. Murton and Griff, you should be lookouts. No offense to either of you but you are in no condition to be performing light breaking and entering. We need to remain anonymous, not cause a ruckus.”

“No offense taken lad,” Murton said. Griff grunted in agreement.

“Shia and Teryn, you two look for food and other supplies we will need for our journey. Nothing crazy, we can try to forage along the way. This is just enough to last an emergency,” Devin said. Teryn and Shia glanced at each other before nodding.

“Daisy and I will find some more appropriate clothing. We will look for oilskin bags too, to keep them dry through our swim.”

“We aren't changing first?” Shia asked.

“No,” he said. “We can swim through the harbor and wash the filth from us. Once we land, we will change into new, dry clothes, and ditch what we don't need. It will make the journey north easier and that much more comfortable.”

He looked around at the small group, huddled in the bowels of Mossglenn Depot, and felt a pang of regret for dragging them all into this. He pushed the feeling down, reminding himself it was not his fault they were here, it was Bronn’s and the shitfest that called itself the government’s fault.

“Any questions about the plan?” he asked.

They shook their heads, one by one, except Murton. “What about the other orc? Where does she fit into all this? Should we go back and look for her or anything?”

Devin frowned. He didn’t want to ditch the woman who had helped them escape, but he saw no other choice. “She gave us instructions to get out and find the warehouse. She mentioned the city of Grinnish and heading there. We just have to trust she will make it there and can meet us. We have no idea where she is or what happened, at this point it would be stupid to try to look for her.”

Murton nodded slowly, “Makes sense. I just wanted to ask, make sure it wasn't hangin’ on anyone's conscience.”

“You?” Shia asked, her face a mask of faux horror, “A conscience?”

“More than your kind ever had!” he countered, “Let me tell you what!”

Devin smiled to himself, watching the group pick sides and bicker with each other in jest. They would need the camaraderie for this next leg of their trip and what was coming next. As much as he was glad to be out of the dungeon of Bronn, he could not help but shake the feeling that they were leaving the frying pan, only to head into the much larger, much hotter fire.