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Chapter 10: Kiran and Thiana: Escape

    Kiran, Thiana, and Theros made their escape from Shinning Hill in the middle of the night. Knowing Mica was in the city, Kiran made every effort to avoid him. He would confront his son later, but first he had another child to meet. Kiran ran most of the way to the south gate of Shinning Hill. With Thiana’s dog in tow, he couldn’t cross the rooftops as easily. As late as it was, he didn’t bother to summon invisibility spirits, he just focused on running.

    The city gates were closed, but there was a door on the gate, unlocked, that they left through. Finally on the road, Kiran stopped running. The dark elf paused for a second to catch his breath, then glanced over his shoulder at the gate, just in case. No one had followed them.

    “Let’s go as far as we can endure, then we’ll make camp,” he said. Kiran began to walk, occasionally looking over his shoulder in paranoia.

    Keeping pace with Kiran, Thiana did not want to look back. Once they were outside the city and walking she kept her guard up, in case anything came up. “Sounds good. They’ll probably start searching the city in the morning. Hopefully we should have at least a day’s lead on them, which gives us a small advantage.”

    Kiran stayed quiet after Thiana stated the obvious. It was the entire plan to get a head start. How did he tolerate communicating with her before? I probably didn’t care what she had to say, he thought, glancing sidelong at her. The dark elf kept a fast pace, still glancing over his shoulder until the gates were out of sight.

    “Tell me what you know about Mica,” Kiran said after awhile.

    Thiana had walked quietly until Kiran asked her about Mica, in truth she knew little about him aside from what she had seen from his actions and words. “I’ve only really met him once, though I noticed that he is terrified of water. On the boat he was digging his nails into the deck, unable to move out of fear. He is pretty disturbed, the moment your name came up he was holding me by the collar and interrogating me about you. Someone who knew him tried to stop him, he threatened to take her hands off for trying. He even kicked Theros, something that I cannot abide by. He’s psychotic. When I took my leave of him he paid money to have us thrown overboard. From what I experienced, just helping you evade him will set him off into going after me too.” She shuddered at the thought as she finished speaking what she knew. She did not even want to know what could make a man that dangerous, or unstable for that matter.

    Kiran frowned as he listened to Thiana’s description. Mica was dangerous, and there would be no reasoning with him. They had to get as far away as they could to protect themselves and Thiana’s son. Using Mica’s fear of water would be helpful, though he had plan to cross land. If he reached Raiden first, perhaps Mica would be too terrified of a trip from there to Marmo to follow by sea. However, he feared Mica’s determination would win out over fear. He could lay a false trail, however.

    “Thiana, I have an idea,” Kiran said. “There is a little village called Meale up ahead, they have an inn. We can stay the night there and we’ll make sure that someone who works there hears that we’re going to Alania’s port. It may not be much, but maybe it’ll throw him off.”

    Thiana listened to Kiran’s idea and gave a brief second of consideration. It could just work and give them the time they needed. “It sounds like it should work. I just hope that he won’t catch onto the trick before he reaches Alania.”

    “It’s worth a try, either way,” Kiran replied. “At any rate, we have a head start if he intends on searching the city.”

* * *

    The half-moon had passed quite a distance in the sky as they walked to Meale, until it disappeared beyond the horizon. Kiran was feeling the effects of exhaustion, but he pushed himself onward, focusing on the goal of reaching the village. The sun was beginning to rise in the east. Slowly, the sky went from the dusky gray of early dawn to the golden light of sunrise. Up ahead, Kiran spotted the fork in the road from behind the trees that he had passed the morning before. “We’re almost there,” he said, his voice raspy. After he spoke, he suppressed a yawn that came up.

    Thiana had been keeping up, though she was also getting pretty tired. When Kiran spotted the fork up ahead she looked up, rubbing her eyes to keep them open. “Which way do we go, left or right?” was all she could ask in reply. The sunrise was rather beautiful, but also a little hard on her tired eyes.

    “This way,” Kiran said as he pressed on, leading the way. They left the main road and entered the small village nestled amongst the trees. There were a few homes, an inn and tavern, and a store, but little else. The inn was rather large, as it was often visited by travelers on their way too and from Shinning Hill who couldn’t quite make the trip between the major stops. Kiran went to the door of the inn and tried to open it, but it was locked. It was still a bit early for the inn staff to be up, but Kiran didn’t want to wait. If he stopped moving, he may as well just pass out where he stood.

    The dark elf knocked on the inn door heavily, then listened carefully. After a long, tortuous moment of exhausted suspense, his sensitive ears heard movement inside and a tired innkeeper in bedclothes shuffled to the door, as Kiran could see from the windows in the door. He unlocked the door and opened a crack to see who was out there. As the innkeeper saw the dark elves, he recoiled and tried to push the door shut again. “Yer kind ain’t welcome here!” he growled.

    Kiran put his hand on the door to hold it open and gave the innkeeper the meekest face he could muster. “Please, sir, we just need a place to rest on our way to Alania. I’ll pay extra,” Kiran begged. Perhaps pity could get them a room. As tired as he was, Kiran would try anything. He had no dark elven pride left to sully any more. “We won’t disturb your guests. All I’m asking is for your cheapest room and a little food if you’ll spare it. My companion, she is with child. Early still, but she is fatigued,” he lied. Perhaps that could bring a little sympathy to the man.

    The innkeeper paused and considered it. Even if they were dark elves, it seemed the pregnancy lie had tipped the scales in their favor. “Alright, but ye stay out of the common room. When yer ready to leave, go between meal times so no one sees ye. Twenty-five gold fer the room, but yer mutt’ll have to stay outside.”

    “Fine,” Kiran said and pulled his coin purse out from under his cloak. He only had around forty gold left, along with a few silvers and coppers, but it was better if they didn’t travel by inn from here on out anyway. Kiran paid the gold requested and the innkeeper opened the door for them. Kiran stepped inside and waited for the innkeeper to get a key for their room.

    Thiana nodded in between breaths; she was exhausted and out of breath. The prospect of a good sleep was what she looked forward to right now. Theros staying by her side as she entered.

    “Thank you, kind sir,” she finally replied to the kindness. Even if Kiran had to lie to get them a room she was quite grateful to the innkeeper.

    The innkeeper returned to give Kiran the key and opened the door wide enough to allow them in. “Upstairs, last room to the left of the stairs on the left side,” the innkeeper instructed Kiran. “Hey! I said the dog stays outside!” the innkeeper barked as he noticed Thiana’s dog had come in with her.

    “Very well. Theros is just doing his job though.” Thiana quickly led Theros out and tied him off where he would bother nobody. She hated having to do this to Theros. Once he was secured, she returned and sighed. She would have to treat him to something nice for putting up with this.

    Kiran gave Thiana a sympathetic shrug, then led the way upstairs. Just a few more steps until he could finally rest. Kiran looked down the hall, and found the room they had been assigned. He unlocked the door, and the moment he stepped in, he dropped his pack and cloak on the floor on his way to the bed. He took only a moment longer to unfasten his belt and drop his sword next to the bed, then he fell forward onto the bed, unconscious almost the moment he hit the pillow.

    Smiling at the shrug, she headed upstairs, taking one last look at the door with some sense of relief they were safe. Thiana changed into a long top after slipping out of her skirt and shirt once Kiran had fallen asleep. Laying down on the bed as well she was asleep within seconds.

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