Escaping Korbgrad

Current Location: Hinterfall Jungle
Main Characters: Ashburn, Raynar

            “Get out of here, scum!”

            Ashburn stumbled from the merchant shop as a Gorgon flung him from his establishment. At least he could buy a robe to conceal himself before he was tossed out.

            Ever since his people lost the war and were cast out of society he found himself stuck in limbo. He couldn’t enter a village without being assaulted both verbally and physically. He could barely make ends meet and finding food was sketchy at best.

            Ashburn pulled his hood up and noticed the merchant step outside, pointing him out to a nearby guard. 

            “Damn!”

            He quickly ducked into an alleyway between two buildings somewhere deep in the belly of Korbgrad City. The black material helped him hide in the shadows as the guard searched for him.

            After a bit, the guard gave up his search and moved back to his station.

            Ashburn waited in the shadows until nightfall. He slowly made his way back to the city streets. The doors were locked and the lights were out in most shops. The street lamps had a dull glow, and he made sure to steer clear of them.

            He worked his way back to the main city gates and noticed two guards stationed on either side. He took a deep breath and hoped if he kept his cool, he’d be able to head into the wilderness.

            “Hey, you!” Ashburn winced as one of the guards immediately called him out.

            “You don’t want to go out there at this hour, good way to die,” the guard scolded him.

            “I’ll be fine,” he responded.

            “It’s against the law to leave after midnight, and just what the hell are you doing out so late?”

            Do they have curfew laws here? Damn. Ashburn hung his head.

            “I’m sorry sir, I’m not from around here. I’ll just be on my way and you will never see me again.”

            “Hey, I don’t think so pal…” The guard stepped toward Ashburn now, closing the distance rapidly and reaching out to grab him, as he did so, he pulled Ashburn’s hood back, revealing his Vegonian heritage, ash-gray skin, and horns.

            “HEY, I remember you! You’re the guy who robbed the merchant earlier today.” 

            Damn it, this was the same guy from earlier? What was he pulling, a 16-hour shift? Not only that, but he was being accused of stealing something he paid good money for!

            “I’ll have you know I paid good money for this robe!” Ashburn retorted.

            “No, no, he told me the whole story, and you’re one of them! Vegonian scum are all liars!” The guard grabbed Ashburn’s arm, but the Vegonian had been demeaned so many times lately by quite frankly racist assholes, he’d had enough. Something within Ashburn swelled up, a burning rage. 

            As the guard pulled at his arm, Ashburn felt a fury boil up inside of him. A surge of power flared around his arm and flames exploded from the area the guard grasped. This was something Ashburn had no idea he could do, but apparently had some affinity for becoming a mage.

            “What the shit!” The guard immediately yanked his hand away, getting singed, but not falling to any true harm. By now the other guard was rushing over to help.

            “Come on! Just leave me alone.” The young Vegonian pleaded he had no idea how to do that again, nor did he have any weapons.

            “You just assaulted an honored guard of Korbgrad City! You’re going away for a long time boy!”

            Ashburn quickly pulled away from the disoriented guard, and about that time the second guard pointed a spear at him. He lunged backward, turned, and ran as fast as his feet could carry him. At this point, his only chance was to escape into the shadows again.

            “ALARM!!” The first guard roared as he began to chase after the young Vegonian.

            Ashburn quickly made his way back toward the market and scrambled into a dark alley. Large bonfires began flaring to life all around the city, but perhaps he could still hide somewhere.

            “Damn, damn, damn… I’m done.” Ashburn murmured to himself as he quickly took a side alley and as luck would have it, he found a random cart of straw. He climbed into the cart and hid.

            Several guards went running by, and one of them stopped and looked over the cart carefully. He lifted his spear and began poking around, but luckily Ashburn avoided the spear by shifting left and right several times.

            Satisfied, the guard moved along and continued the search.

            “Shew,” Ashburn was relieved, but how would he escape this place? Another guard could come by with the very same idea, and he didn’t want to spend his entire night dodging speartips.

            After a few moments, the young Vegonian built up enough courage to carefully and quietly climb out of the cart and slip into the shadows again. He scaled the wall of a shop and shimmied his way onto the roof, keeping low.

            As luck would have it, the rooftops were nearly as high as the city walls. So he carefully and silently made his way across the shops to the outer wall. Crouching low, he took a deep breath and leaped to the edge of the stone wall, just barely catching purchase on the stone.

            He pulled himself up and quietly climbed to the top where he surveyed his surroundings a bit. He noticed at least a dozen bonfires blazing around the city and the glint of armor searching him out.

            Ashburn turned to look into the jungle beyond the city. It was pitch black, but quite frankly he’d take the dangers of the land over the racial hatred of the guards and the cityfolk any day. He knew he’d be thrown in a dungeon and likely forced into hard labor after serving his time. 

            “No thanks…” Ashburn sighed and headed over the wall, dropping an ankle-shattering distance to the ground opposite the wall, he quickly tucked and rolled instead. It hurt, but he survived.

            He slowly made his way toward the edge of the jungle and disappeared into the shadows.

            ***

            Korbgrad was almost in lockdown as Ashburn stumbled through the city. By day the city and commerce went about like normal, however after the curfew hour you were not even supposed to be on the streets. The guards most of which are ex-military of the Black Empire, as it has not been long enough since Korbgrad broke away to dilute how many of the soldiers and guards were carried over from those days seem to have almost reverted to their training of kill first, clean up later.

            Any issues were rapidly called in either during or after an incident through communication devices that Raynar had acquired and distributed through his men. He was not going to have another situation like in the deeper layers. He lost too many good men to an ambush less than 2 miles from friends who could have helped. While he did find and even confronted the mastermind behind the ambush he was not left unwounded himself.
            
            Sprout had been a person born to be a warrior and a guard very similar in his training and tactics. Sprout had advantages against Raynar due to Raynar's Black Empire training and thus methods that Sprout had studied and developed tactics to counter. Raynar was still mending and coming to terms with his injuries. The loss of his left eye, and right hand, as well as a broken leg from that fight, has left him almost bedridden. His stubbornness is the only thing that keeps him from it. His physicians and family would rather he rest but he won't. Once more his heart is caged and locked away. He barks orders like the Black Empire's General once more from his throne.

            The report that a vegonian was in his city sickened him. While the people have suffered since the fall of the Black Empire even to be almost extinct he has little love for these people. That Grey their leader was a manipulated and twisted soul of an entity known as Bahamura does little if anything to appease Raynar's rage. The loss of his men, his injuries, and the stress from the lockdown of the city wear more heavily upon him than he realizes, or even those nearby realize.

            "I want that vegonian found! Send out a scouting party with haste."

            Three soldiers quickly left the throne room. Rushing from the castle towards the reported area he went over the wall and outside of the city. The trio of two lightly armored gorgons and a gorgon mage began to look around for signs of his passing and found where he had at least landed outside the city. It had been no more than an hour ago.
            
            Gorgon trackers who would not need to rest or sleep if needed for long periods were almost as bad as having a robot chasing after you. They were slower to scan and determine which direction to go and some would say that's because gorgons are not smart however it was really because they just took more time to look at everything and then to determine where to go.
            
            Gorgons are slower to react due to biology, not lack of intelligence. Unfortunately for this vegonian, the mage was merged with his elemental spirit, and much like Raynar himself faster and quick-witted. The very winds helped to guide the trackers.

            To be continued...