Two days passed quickly. Mariel received regular visits from Rilvi, and through the time spent together, she got to learn a lot about Siravin’s family. Though she never asked the girl to elaborate on the darker parts of the story, it seemed like he had largely told the truth about his past. He had been a slave and had been separated from them. While he had been working his way up, the rest of his family had eventually been bought for work at a minor landlord’s house. A gentle fate, despite the lack of freedom. When war had been declared. The imperial demon hunters had been going house to house, buying, abducting or outright killing any demonkin they could find. Rilvi and her mother had only survived by throwing themselves into a nearby river, nearly drowning in the process.

“I’ll come back tonight… We have everything ready for you, but the guards will still be on duty… Most of them… I’ll sneak you out… I hope you are a quiet person.”

“I’ll stay close… See you tonight then.”

--

She slept early to be ready for the night. She could hear the voices of the guards from outside the door. But slowly, as she guessed it became darker, the voices hushed. A short while later, there was a loud commotion and the voices and noise increased. Drunken songs began rolling into her cell. The later she guessed it to be, the worse the songs got, and soon the thuds of a great brawl replaced the song.

The small peephole opened letting in a ray of light from the room outside. Mariel took the key and very gently unlocked the door, before pushing it slowly open. The hinges groaned painfully. Once outside she shut the door and locked it behind her.

“Hi. This way.” Rilvi gestured for her to follow her. She snuck along the wall. A row of crates and other items obscuring her from the large room in the centre where the guards were fighting. The sound of the fight intensified with the added noise of wood being broken.

She snuck out of the guardhouse and into the dimly lit streets. Being a vast cave, the temperature was unpleasantly chilly. A few scattered torches ensured that the likelihood of walking into a wall remained relatively low. They continued down the tight streets. Rilvi remained ahead, scouting the next path. Suddenly she stopped and listened momentarily. Then she reached out for the nearest torch and threw it to the ground, the flame flickering out and dying. Rilvi then began pulling Mariel into a different street. Behind them, could soon hear the voice of a guard holding a conversation with himself, and soon the light behind flickered back to life just as they turned another corner.

“It’s not far now, this way.” Rilvi whispered and smiled.

Up ahead through the darkness, she could see a small open space between the houses. A circular clearing with a well near it. Rilvi came to a stop outside one of the hastily built wooden doors.

“This is where I live… Come on in!”