“Help!” Devin shouted, sprinting out of the bushes towards the guards. They turned away from the door in bewilderment and it snapped shut behind them. The shutting let out a sharp click and they started to turn back.

“Gods, above, don't just stand there!” he called, “Help me, dammit!”

The guards faced him as their hands went to the clubs on their waists. He didn’t blame them, to be fair. It was a perfectly natural reaction to reach for a weapon when a man in ragged armor, covered in filth and screaming wildly comes chasing towards you.

“Just- just hold right there, sir,” the first guard managed to say, raising his free hand toward Devin as his right tightened on the club.

“Excuse me? You give me orders?” Devin tried his best to sound utterly confounded by the fact guards were not jumping at his word. He put himself in the shoes of the rich he truly hated.

“I was robbed, beaten, and left in the bushes over there!” He waved flippantly behind him.

The guards shared a look of worry between themselves, before eyeing over him again.

“We just aren’t sure what exactly is happening-” the second started before Devin stamped his foot down.

“I am Lord Covington the Fourth, owner of the Covington Fineries shop in the Old North End,” He managed to keep his voice shrill enough with indignant anger while not being so loud people from around would come to investigate. “You need to find those thieves right now!”

The guards seemed to snap at his outburst. “Of course,” the first one said. They started toward the bushes behind Devin.

“Not that way you buffoons! Ugh!” He stared at their confused faces with open hostility. “They left me there, not set up camp there! They took off to the east, along the water's edge.”

“Of course,” the second blustered. They started back down the way they came before the first turned back.

“Did you need us to escort you to our chief or home or anything?”

“No,” Devin said coldly. “Find the thieves and I will see what I do about talking to your chief on my own. Never have I ever met such incompetent fools, letting reckless ingrates run wild in my city…” He let his angry rambling trail off as the guards sped down the road, taking a turn to the right and heading toward the river, out of sight of Devin.

He waited a few moments before letting himself relax. His hands trembled slightly as the release of adrenaline caught up to him. He wasn’t sure that would work, given the state of his looks. He shook his head and chuckled. If you pretend you belong somewhere and make enough of a scene, people tend to just accept what you say as truth.

The door opened again and Shia’s face poked into the crack down low. She spotted Devin and opened it a bit more.

“Is it safe?” She whispered, her eyes glancing around as much as they could from behind the barrier.

“Yeah,” he said. “It's safe to come out. We better hurry back to everyone, before the guards come back to ask more questions or something.”

“That was pretty good,” she said as she stood up and stepped through the door.

“Silly fools didn't even ask me what the ‘thieves’ looked like. Hopefully they don't realize that too soon.”

She came out into the road with Devin, holding a large bag stuffed with items. Teryn followed quickly after, carrying an equally large bag. Devin was glad to see the bags seemed to be watertight, just like the ones with the clothes in them.

“Come on,” he beckoned them both and turned back toward the bushes. They walked quickly across the road and plaza. Devin kept checking over his shoulder, worried the guards would come back or someone would have heard the commotion and decided to investigate now that it had quieted down.

They made it back to the bushes without any problems and slipped in. Murton and Griff were both sitting in the circle of hedges, looking impressed.

“That was some quick thinking to save them lad, took balls of steel,” Murton said. Griff grunted in agreement, a flicker of a smile playing across his face. His eyes showed concern though, flicking between all three of them, but he said nothing.

“We have everything we need, let's get moving through town and get down into the water as quickly as we can. It's going to get cold soon, and the sooner we are done and in warm clothes,” Devin patted one of the bags he had brought, “The better.”

The group nodded in agreement and divided the bags. They left their safe circle of bushes and headed west, following the stonework at the river's edge as close as they could, avoiding straying into the town proper. Luckily for them, the rich townsfolk seemed to like a walk along the river and had created a walkway at the river's edge with smooth, tan stone. It was covered every few hundred feet by bushes, revealing another outlet for the sewers below them.

They went through these bush outcroppings every chance they got, pausing to catch their breath and keep an eye and ear open for anyone wandering souls that might have caught sight of them. They fled down the riverside, encountering no real obstacles, save an occasional guard patrol that they were able to easily hide from in the bushes.

Seeing the seemingly lax security, Devin could not help but wonder what kept the people from south of the river from coming over and stealing from the rich. Granted, access beyond swimming across the wide river was blocked to all but those with the correct passes, but still. It seemed a juicy fruit ripe for the taking, at least to help them remember they are not above all the others in the world.

After a quick breather, they left their circle of bushes and trotted down the river’s edge, keeping the slowly flowing and gurgling water to their left and the town on their right. The river bent slightly to the right and they found themselves face to face with a giant stone wall. The harbor had a small hill separating it from the city, with several paths cut into it to facilitate easier transport of heavier goods. Unfortunately, this meant they had run out of river’s edge to follow.

“Well,” Devin turned to the group, “It seems this is the end of the dry portion of our escape.

Grumbles followed his declaration, but they each knew they had to do this. Tightening their bags and triple checking the airtight seals, they walked to the edge of the stonework hugging the wall blocking their efforts to remain dry.

“You sure we can't go through town?” Murton asked.

Devin shook his head, “No, there’s no way we’d get through unimpeded. It's best if we do it this way.”

Murton sighed, nodding slowly. With one final check to his bag, Devin held it to his chest and stepped to the edge of the wall. The others followed suit, everyone holding a bag except Murton and Shia. Devin hoped the air tightness would provide a semblance of buoyancy, but in case it acted as weight, they gave them to the strongest swimmers. If they worked out as rafts, they could switch in the water.

Below them was the River Trite, a dark blue shimmering with the lights of the city behind them, darkening as it reached the opposite shore, until it became barely visible with the mist creeping in. Unlike the northern side of town, the southern side could scarcely afford any sort of lights and went dark at night, save for a few wild areas that provided nightlife.

Devin took a deep breath, pulling in the thick night air. The smell of the river hung around him, heavy with moisture and the slight stink of human presence that always seems to make itself known. He turned to each side and saw everyone at the edge with him. He supposed the best way to do this was to count to three, but it would only be delaying the inevitable. So, he jumped.

His heart pounded in his chest as he leapt out from the wall. His stomach kept migrating north, pushing into his lungs it felt like, as he started to fall toward the water. Just as he was about to hit, he remembered not to gasp.

The shock of the cold water nearly overrode his thought. It took everything within him not to pull in a lungful of water at the sudden blow of cold to his body. Water swirled around him in the darkness and the bag was yanked savagely. He was barely able to hang on as it pulled on him. He figured this was up and let the bag tug him.

Devin broke the water's surface and pulled in a lungful of sweet, sweet, air. The bag was floating in front of him and he scrambled onto it, using his mangled hand to try to wipe some of the water from his eyes. Shia and Murton were both above the surface. Daisy, Teryn, and Griff broke quickly after, gasping and holding onto their packs. All four of the bags seemed to be holding fairly well. Griff shifted off his and let Shia use it as a raft, seeing that she was struggling to tread water. She nodded in thanks and began to swim toward the ocean.

Devin shifted off his pack and called out, “Murton, you can take this one.”

“Thanks lad, us dwarves aren't made for swimming. Too much muscle and good looks weighing us down,” he panted as he dog paddled over to Devin. The dwarf took the bag and positioned it as a float in front of him, then kicked off to the east.

Devin started after him, making sure everyone else was following suit. The slow trickle of the water gurgled and splashed against the wall, hopefully enough to mask the sounds of the swimming. He tried to keep most of his kicks and paddles under the surface, avoiding the crashing noise of breaking water.

Griff was a surprisingly strong swimmer, kicking in powerful thrusts in a bow legged motion, pulling himself forward with his hands. Devin caught up to Teryn, kicking and using a bag of food to stay afloat.

“How's the robe doing? Weighing you down?” He said between paddles, taking a breath and talking as much as he could.

“Not too bad,” she said as she kept her head craned back and above water, the bag just below the surface under her. “It is made of a surprisingly light material. I must admit, I was worried it would weigh me down and I would have to lose it.”

“I was a bit curious myself when you didn't drop it before we jumped, at least into the water.” Devin said. A silence followed his question as she kept her eyes forward, kicking with the pack.

“Ah,” He said, grinning slightly. “Naught underneath?”

“I am not in the habit of showing my work companions anything more than they need to see,” She shot back. A slight flush seemed to rise in her cheeks, but Devin wasn't sure if that was embarrassment or from the cold waters.

“Fair enough, I know I’d rather be in my armor in this freezing water than strip down in front of you all,” he said as he started to paddle ahead of her.

“You are a strange one, Devin Tenfingers,” she called to him. He smiled as he kept kicking forward, catching up to Daisy, paddling along with the sack under her. She glanced over to him as he came up beside her.

“Yes?” she asked after a few moments of swimming.

“Nothing,” he said, shaking his head. “Just making the rounds and checking on everyone.”

A small shiver escaped her as she kept swimming. She frowned and furrowed her brow, paddling a bit harder before another shiver shook her.

“Dammit,” she muttered.

“Everything all right?” Devin asked.

“Yeah, it's fine,” she said, paddling along. She lifted herself slightly from the water using the bag, but that only caused another round of shivers. She dropped back into the water and growled as she shivered again.

“Are you sure you’re doing ok?” Devin asked. His arms were starting to ache with the strain of swimming and the cold was starting to get through to him, penetrating deep under his skin into his muscles and causing the first pulses of cramps.

“Yeah, I’m just not a huge fan of the cold. Us orcs aren't really built for it, and on top of being starved in that dungeon for months…” She trailed off and kept her eyes forward. After a moment she glanced back over at him. “Let’s just say this is entirely unpleasant for me and I cannot wait to get to shore and change into some dry clothes.”

“Well, I would say we will be out of this soon, but it looks like the hard part is just beginning.” The wall they were following curved slightly to their right and the harbor came into view.

Tall, masted ships bobbed slowly in the water, tied to the longer piers that made up the nearer part of the harbor. Small boats were tied wherever they could find room, closer to actual land, with the occasional one tied to a larger ship.

They continued to hug against the wall as close as they could, fearful of wandering eyes up on land and within the city. The wall extended out where the shore would have been, coming to an end at the closest pier. The pier was made of stone at this point, jutting out like a knife into the cold, black water.

Devin held a hand up and bade the group come to a stop. They sat, silent, in the water, hearing nothing but the lap of waves against the wall and pier stones that held it up. Barnacles covered the legs of the pier whenever the water dipped down enough, their shells reflecting the moonlight for a brief moment before the ocean swallowed them again.

Satisfied that no one was watching or calling an alarm, Devin started to paddle forward as quietly as he could. They came alongside the pier, about twenty feet from where it connected to the stonework that would be the start of Mossglenn Depot, and swam underneath it. The small splashes of water seemed louder under the pier, bouncing off the stonework not three feet above him.

As the rest of the group entered the cave-like feeling of the pier, the splashes got louder. Devin winced a little at all the noise, but kept pushing forward. The first pier was the largest by far, nearly fifty feet across and made for Royals and Emissaries travelling from the Old Continent to visit the town, perched on the edge of the New World, the only bastion of civilization in a wild, untamed land.

Or so they thought, Devin thought as he cast a swift glance toward Daisy, who was shivering violently at this point. He pushed a little harder, causing the group to kick a bit harder to keep up with them. The sound did not seem too different and he hoped the increased movement would keep them slightly warmer and get them out of the water quicker.

He burst out from under the darkness of the pier and back into the moonlight. The stars above him shone coldly, distant pinpricks of light against an inky black night. They paddled across the open water toward the next pier.

The next few piers proved no real obstacle for them. They were slightly smaller in size than the first one, and still fairly large. Intended for use as cargo dumping points, they had large ships, galleons most likely, and medium sized trader ships bobbling alongside them.

For the first few piers they were able to circumvent the ships, going around just slightly to duck under the piers. At the sixth or seventh one, Devin was starting to lose count as he shivered and his muscles began to cramp and ache in the cold and exhaustion, they found boats lined up along the entire pier, with no room between them.

They were strange boats, ones he had never seen before. Instead of the usual curved bow, spreading out and up from the water, these were all square and flat. They had large round pontoon-like devices attached to their sides. He swam up to one and turned back to the crew.

“Ready to go under, seems we can't get around these weird ass boats,” he said through chattering teeth. The group each nodded, their faces showing open misery, even stoic Griff.

“Cantalons,” Teryn said, her jaw trembling as she kept her teeth from chattering against each other. “They are called Cantalons. Square hulled boats used for river sailing or calm water.”

“Weird ass cantalons then,” Devin said as he turned toward the boat. He took a deep breath and ducked under the water. While it was dark above the water, there was still moonlight and faint stars. Once he dipped below, the world turned into a silent darkness, He propelled himself forward as one of the pontoons loomed suddenly out of the darkness. Pulling himself down, he swam underneath it and kicked hard, hoping to get around it quickly.

The water whirled past his face, fingers of cold brushing his skin as he kicked and pulled with his hands. Each stroke of his arm brought new pain to his right hand. The pain was beyond just the mangled knuckles now, it pulled into his hand and was starting up his arm. He knew he should check the wound once they got out, but a deep part of him was afraid to. He was afraid to see infection had started and he would lose more fingers, or worse, his hand.

Devin kicked hard as the hull of the ship disappeared into the murky gloom of the unlit water. He twisted his back, pulling and propelling himself upward. He burst through the surface into the frigid autumn air. He tried to limit his gasp of breath as much as he could, and feared the sound would bounce around all the ship. With a quick glance around, he saw he was under another pier, this one only about six feet in width.

Several splashes and gasps announced other members of his escape team surfacing around him. Treading water, he spun around and made sure everyone had arrived. Murton, Daisy, Teryn, Griff… He spun around in the water, taking stock again. Shia had not surfaced yet. He heard a softer splash behind him and sighed, a small amount of relief coursing through his aching arms. Looking behind him, he saw one of the packs they’d been using to float bobbing in the water with no one on it.