Chapter 19 – Escape

Unable to see due to a rotten smelling sack over my head I must rely on my other senses. The thumping of the carriage stops and loud footsteps clank outside. The chain around my neck suddenly tightens pulling me backwards, dragging me out of the carriage and onto the hard cold ground. The chains bounding my hands prevent me from catching myself and I land on my shoulder and head.

I hear a man voice say “Get off your ass and keep moving.” The chains rattle as I am lifted onto my feet by soldiers tugging at my neck.

I hear another voice angrily yell “get a move on Dark Walker.” A sharp pain resonates from my back pushing me forward. As I blindly follow the direction from the physical sensations and the men yelling I stub my big toe on something that makes a thud sound. As my foot hits the object the sound of tumbling wood appears before me.

“Step up!” The chain pulls upward at my neck slightly grazing my chin and another sharp pain stings at my lower back. I raise my bare foot and step onto what feels like moistened branches and bark as the smell of gasoline enters my nose.

I take a few more blind steps forward before running my shoulder into a large wooden pillar. The pillar and stage below me rattle from the impact of my collision. The people escorting me command “Don’t move a muscle!” I stand silently as they flip me around and press my back against the pillar. The chain around my neck is wrapped around me and the pillar several times. The chains are locked in place with a mechanical clanking noise.

“Won’t these chains melt and let him escape with all the fire?”

“Don’t worry he will be long dead by then. The only people who could survive this would be pyromancers. This magicless Dark Walker will surely die.”

The strange smelling sack is ripped from my head. As my vision slowly returns to me I examine my surroundings. A large group of people several paces from the gasoline soaked executioners stage display mixed reactions. Some have anger in their eyes and shake their fists. Others display smiles of excitement and jitter around endlessly. A few of the older members of the crowd have looks of dread and morn scarring their aged faces. A mother stares blankly in my direction almost as if looking through me into the past as her child cries on the hem of her apron. More people slowly gather as the sun begins to set.

The stage is set at the top of a large hill that overlooks the town. Outside the city walls I can see everything. The area around the white palace is beautifully decorated with trees and large well-made buildings. They all have plenty of space between each building and give off the feeling of nobility. The area is tightly packed with shops, stands and people. The sparkling of weapons, jewels and gold being exchanged can be seen from here. The well paved bustling road that connects the arena and noble quarters to the entrance with the two Great Trees completely opposes the rest of the city. As you would delve deeper into the town, the decaying of the slums increases. The roads become smaller as the buildings stack on top of each other. Destruction and trash litters both rooftop and alleyways alike. The people in the slums are being ignored as the nobles become wealthier. I only visited that area for a short period before killing the prince, but I could tell that the people need help.

As I scan the area further my sight is caught on three figures wrapped in cloth. They hide their faces but display weapons and armor. The woman with crimson hair has two iron spiked gauntlets. The man with orange blonde hair has a large two handed double edge blade on his back. The woman with blue hair has a set of armor and weapons that would catch anyone’s eye because of the extremely amazing quality.

Why are they here? I need to warn them not to interfere. If they become fugitives also I would regret it with all my heart. How can I tell them not to act without pointing them out to the guards?

Pushing through the crowd my friends inch closer to my stand of execution. At this rate it will be too late and my plans may become ruined.

A million ideas rush through my head as fear over comes me. Miraculously I am saved by the very people detaining me. The guard asks “Do you have any last words before you die you filthy Dark Walker?”

I nod my head and silently think for a moment. I need to find the perfect set of words to prevent my friends from being revealed but also making sure they understand my message. Each one of them would need a different message to understand what I want to say. Or maybe I only need to inform one of them and they will stop the others? Oh, I know what to say.

I raise my voice to a shout and say “Eternal flame!” saying our teams name will get their attention. “That is what I will become; I will be burned in this flame.” But I must also cover it with other words as to not attract the guard’s attention. Lucarus is bright enough he should understand. Rhea is also very cunning and will realize as well. “I do not need you pity or your help. I will come back to life reborn in the place where all was revealed.” Inside the inn I told them my secrets about how I have been resurrected. This should tell them to wait for me there. “If your feelings are strong then you will find me there before the sun rises!” Lucarus and Rhea have stopped walking forward but Aarushi keeps moving forward. “If you understand then stop and do not follow me, merely wait.” Dam it I don’t know how to make her stop without revealing her. Maybe if I call out for help to Lucarus. “If only someone could stop this stupid love I have I could be forgiven.” Lucarus acknowledges my statement and stops Aarushi in the neck of time.

“What the hell are you going on about?”

“I think he has gone mad, let’s just burn him already.” The two guards questioning my words decide to ignore them. Each guard is holding a burning torch. They nod at each other before tossing them into the gasoline soaked wood pile under me. The fire instantly ignites. It leaps over ten feet into the air. The flames surrounding me blocking my vision of the world, but also shroud me from the worlds gaze.

If I was not in the body of a pyromancer, or I did not taken the seed of death those many years ago then I would surely not survive this ordeal. The flames lick every part of my body, bathing me in a red and orange heat. The wood under me quickly turns into black ash from the intense heat. Smoke billows into the air drifting into the golden light of the setting sun. The cloth around me becomes cinders in an instant. The black chains bounding me to the post turn red hot. This reminds me of the time I was nearly burned alive while taking the seed of death. If I could survive that then I can survive this.

I know no normal person could silently withstand this torture. I can’t allow them to grow suspicious. I pretend to cry out in pain. “Uaaahaaahhhhh!” Throwing my body around to further sell the act allows me to work on escaping.

I absorb the heat from the inferno and use it to power my own strength. I amplify the heat around my hands and wrists causing the chains bounding them to become soft, almost melting them. Continuing to absorb the endless amount of flames I pour power into my muscles. I scream out to the world as my muscles react violently. “Sssshhhhuuaaagh!” Microscopic explosions force them into motion. With the weakened metal and the explosive power of my secret technique I rip free from the chains grip around my wrists. One set of bindings down. I become silent as breathing becomes harder. The billows of smoke both protect me from view but also cut off my supply of air.

I do the same action to rip open the chain around my neck and wrapping me to the post. It takes several minutes to fully free myself however the wood still burns strong shooting fire and smoke into the sky. I am still protected from the eyes of all the people watching.

At this point in time everyone who believes me to be a Dark Walker would presume me dead. The guards should no longer be watching me carefully. The people who came to see a death should be mesmerized by the bright rich flames and black towering smoke.

I try to take a deep breath of relief but instead cough at the smoke. The inferno around me is eating all the oxygen replacing it with ash and embers. My head becomes light as the world around me begins to spin. If I do not escape soon I will suffocate.

I climb onto the pillar in the center. I raise my hands above me gathering all the energy in my body directly into them. I absorb all the heat around me that I can hold, filling me to the brim with power. I prepare myself for the largest attack I can muster. At the same time I build up physical power in all the muscles in my lower body. The wind pushes the smoke slightly away from the village and above the forest. I aim my body in that direction. Simultaneously I force my leg muscles to launch me into the air while throwing my arms down and releasing an explosion. I exhaust nearly all the strength I can muster in a single blast.

The nimble and agile body I have easily gets launched into the air. I can easily survive a fall twice that as a normal human because of the light weight build this body has. However I must still be careful if I wish to come out unscathed.

I travel nearly seventy feet into the air with the smoke before reaching the pinnacle of my trajectory. As I sail through the smoke I absorb as much heat energy as I can in preparation for my decent. Plummeting to the ground I spread my naked body to take advantage of air resistance, slowing my fall. It only takes a few short seconds before I near the ground. As I near the ground I shoot a pillar of flames toward it exhausting the rest of my energy reserves. Landing on my feet I tuck and roll to absorb as much of the impact as I can.

Lying motionlessly on the ground with my eyes closed I listen to my surroundings. All I hear is the crackling of the fire burning in the distance. The guards and all the people failed to notice my escape. I take a deep breath of fresh air through my nose. The earthy smell of grass and trees embrace me. The pain saturating my brain fades and slowly I am lulled to sleep by my exhaustion.

…

I wake with a fright. Darkness and silence surround me. A small chill comes over my bare back. Due to my lack of energy my body fails to warm me and instead focuses on revitalizing my strength. This is the first time I have felt cold in this world. I sit up holding my body up with my hands as I scan my surroundings.

A set of shining golden eyes peer at me from beyond the darkness. I have no weapons or energy, I can’t survive an attack from even a wolf right now. I do not know what this creature is but I pray they will not attack me. I stare back into the disk shaped eyes. Sweat drips down from my brow as we silently exchange looks. If I make a single action the predator will leap at me killing me in an instant. The eyes shut closed for an instant before tilting to the side. The beast lets out a cry “Whoooo! Whooo!” The sound of wings and feathers whirling around originates from the direction of the animal as the set of eyes ascend into the night sky. As the owl flies past one of the moons his outline is revealed.

“Oh thank god! For a second I thought I was dead.” I need to get back to the inn and find my friends. I can’t allow them to worry about me any longer than they already have. I am the one who promised to meet them at the inn and forced them to wait for me.

I push myself up and onto my feet. Pain shoots through my right leg as I drop down to my knee. I clutch at my ankle feeling around. No bumps or blood can be found. I believe I merely sprained it. I stand once again ignoring the pain resonating through me and slowly limp back toward the town.

As I reach the city walls I place my hand upon them. “I can’t be seen walking through the gates. I need to climb up this.” The walls only rise about twelve feet in the air. Under normal circumstances I could easily run up the wall and vault over it in just a second or two, but with my ankle and lack of energy I don’t know what to do.

I step back a few steps. I charge at the wall jumping as high as I can off my left foot. As my right foot strikes the wall for the first time I lose my concentration from the pain. My body is flung into the wall face planting into it. I flop back onto the ground with a quite thud as the air escapes my lips.

As I stare up toward the top of the wall I think silently. If I had power left, I could shoot myself over the wall with an explosion. Or I could force the muscles in my legs to launch myself over it with ease. In my weakened and beaten body I have no way to climb this wall right now. I slump my head against the dirt in defeat.

No I can still do this. I must get there now. I pull myself back up and turn toward the wall. I step back once more and take a deep breath. Talking to myself I say “I must push myself to the limit, I must ignore the pain. This is nothing. I have gone through far worse. Heck I have even died before, a wall and a sprained ankle should be nothing!” I rush at the wall once more. Launching myself with my right foot this time pain seizes me but I brush it off as my left foot makes contact with the wall. I take two more steps up the wall pushing myself higher each time. I reach out with my arms and grasp the brim of the wall with my fingertips. My hands turn white as I force them to hold onto the walls edge. I pull myself up and over with a grunt. Rolling onto the edge of the wall I sigh. "I did it."

I roll onto my side to look at the cityscape. The inn we stayed in is on the outskirts of the slums. Right now the only thing between me and the inn is several blocks of broken buildings and trash. The people here will not care nor notice the presence of someone limping past them. I scoot of the wall into the city. As I land on my feet I crumble to the ground. I pull myself up using the side of a building.

A black cat scurries past me as I limp through the slums. I lean one hand against the wall while holding my side with the other. The combined beatings form the guards and the abuse from the falls I have taken along with exhausting my energy is beginning to take a toll on me. Aches and pains spring from parts of my body I didn't know I had.

Each corner I round a new sight reveals itself. A mother and father with their child sleeping together in an alley way with garbage as a blanket. The streets are bustling with rats and other small rodents. People completely ignore my presence believing I am part of the slums. Prostitutes display themselves from doorways. Last time when I was here with armor and a dazzling blade they would usher me toward them, but now they ignore me completely. The blood stains on the ground where I killed the prince still reside, now dried to the ground. I continue the limp from building to building slowly guiding my way toward the inn.

How did I never notice the corruption in this world? I was far too focused on my own needs and desires. I have been fixated on becoming stronger for strengths sake. I wanted to kill Suzaku, but I know that is a fool’s errand after hearing he died by the hands of Xeodra. I wanted to protect the ones I love and prevent them from dying. I don’t even know if the images that stupid dagger gave me are true. Either way I have become strong. I can’t use this strength for selfish reasons any longer. I need to keep my promise to the old man who gave me hope. I must free the slaves from the palace, and while I am at it I should bring wealth to the slums. I do not want to be a hero, but I can’t stand by and watch these people suffer. Seeing them suffer before my very eyes is a sobering experience.

I finally reach the inn. Because of my current appearance I decide I should not walk through the entrance and instead sneak into the window. Aarushi should be asleep so I must be quite. I go around back to find my window on the second floor is slightly open. I climb the wall and grab onto the bottom edge of the wooden window sill. The window creeks loudly as I pry it open further. I silently pull myself up and lift one leg into the window. I scoot inside slowly and get my other leg inside. I inch my lower half toward the ground inside the room. As I land on the old wooden floor a combination of a thud from the impact and loud creaking from the floor boards echoes through the room. I cringe slightly from the pain in my ankle but more so from the noise that could awaken Aarushi.

I stand motionlessly for several seconds. I move to shut the window as I hear the howling wind against the outside wall and feel its freezing grip creep in from the window. I examine the room to find it void of life. My silver sword lies on the desk, Rhea must have placed it there after she ripped it from my leather waistband. As I reach for the blade the door swings open.

Without looking into the room Lucarus motions someone to enter the room and says “Look Aarushi, Rhea and I are just as worried about him but for now you should go to bed.” He glances in the room and sees me holding the dagger completely nude. He stares at me momentarily then gives a slight nod before shutting the door. From behind the door I hear him say “Aarushi there is a surprise in your room for you. I’m going to give you a few minutes then I’m sending Rhea to your room.”

“Why would Rhea need to come to my room? Didn’t she already go to her room to sleep?”

“You will understand when you see your surprise. Now hurry before it gets ruined.”

How would me getting home safely be ruined by time? Wait why didn’t he give me time to put clothes on? No way! The surprise is Aarushi seeing me in the nude! When I realize what he meant it was too late and the door violently swung open revealing my naked body to Aarushi.

Aarushi stares at me for a moment before realizing what is going on. Her face slowly reveals happiness and surprise. “Deadra…You’re back!” she rushes over and embraces me with her arms. I can feel her soft cheek brush against my bare chest. Her crimson read hair tickles my nose as it follows after her. Her usual smell of honey wafts upward. Her rough leather armor brushes against my stomach. The warm iron gauntlets press against my back as she squeezes me with her body. I return the hug wrapping my arms around her and setting my face on top of her head.

“I missed you Aarushi.”

“I’m so glad you’re safe! Are you injured? Let me look you over.” she releases the hug keeping her hands around my waist. She eyes me up and down for a moment. Her eyes become wide and she tilts her head sideways as her vision reaches my family jewels. This is the first time she has seen me naked, what could be going through her head? Her head continues to tilt and she becomes motionless while tightening the grip on my waist.

I shuffle in place and start to cover myself with my hands. “Aarushi ummm can you stop staring?”

“I ugh staring at what” I can hear her take a large gulp as she straightens her head and turns red before continuing. “I ugh were you naked when we hugged?” I nod my head awkwardly. She lets go of me and wraps her arms around her chest while swaying back and forth. “I... I mean you just came back, and I was so worried. For you to propose such a thing at this time I just don’t know how to react.”

“And what exactly is it I am proposing?”

Still not taking her eyes off of me she says “Well you know…”

“No I don’t know, my clothes burned in the fire and I just got back and haven’t had time to change.”

She nods her head and says “Ok I am ready, you can take me!” she puts the back of her hand on her forehead and flings her head back while swooning. She dramatically falls into my arms with a devilish grin on her face and her eyes closed.

“Aarushi are you listening to me?”

“Yes I love you to Deadra!”

“What?”

“It’s my first time so please be gentle.”

“No I said I need to change, also Rhea and Lucarus will be back any minute now.”

“Mmmm Deadra” Realizing she is lost in her own world I decide to drop her and gather up my spare clothing. As I finish putting my pants on Aarushi springs up from the floor into a seated position. She looks around the room confused. “Uugh Deadra? What’s going on?”

“Are you ready to listen to me now?” She nods her head apologetically. “The four of us are going to raid the palace.”