Escaping the City

Masako doubled back the way they had come, then pivoted down one of the side rooms in the hopes of giving her pursuers the slip. She had some hopes to finding another way out of the temple; if she could get outside, then it might still be possible to rendezvous with her friends. It was a slim hope, she knew, but at the moment, slim was all she had. Entering one of side rooms, she saw the windows facing outdoors and looked but then quickly saw the moat below. She was considering taking her chances before a voice interrupted her from behind.

"If you wish a slow and painful death, I'm sure the carnivorous creatures in the moat will be more than happy for the extra serving," the guards taunted.

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Akiko and Keiko's ran down the last passage and finally made it into the courtyard leading to the temple's main entrance leading outside. Their sense of relief on escaping was short-lived as the cityscape surrounding them threatened to overwhelm their senses. All around, they saw a mixture of the medieval, the fantastical, and incomprehensible; the armored and armed soldiers, live animals, both familiar and mythical, esoteric phenomenon that could only be described as magic, or at least nothing they could readily explain away. For a moment, both girls stood almost paralyzed in shock, not knowing where to go or who to reach out to, before survival instincts kicked in.

"We can't just stand here," Akiko realized, pulling Keiko with her towards one of the building alleys. Taking stock of their appearance, the first thing she realized was their appearances stuck out like eyesores. They needed some clothing that looked more like the locals if they wanted any hope of evading immediate recapture. Unfortunately, nearly any society they could imagine, clothing meant money and Japanese Yen wasn't going to cut it here.

"Stay here, I'll see if I can snag us some clothes," Akiko whispered. Normally both girls would abhor the idea of stealing but desperate times called for desperate measures. She was struck by how miserable looking some of the streets looked, running parallel to the wealth of the temple; didn't these people do any kind of proper zoning? She shook head... none of my business, if they want their city to look like a rat's maze, that's on them.

She saw what looked like a dumpster that didn't smell too bad that was mostly filled with rolls of scrap linens, skins and debris. She reached for what looked like discarded linens before someone grabbed her by the wrists, causing her to momentarily yelp.

"The penalty for looting this close to the capital is amputation, little thief," came a harsh whisper.

"Who the hell are you?!" Akiko demanded. "And don't tell me a place this run down makes dumpster diving illegal. And even if it is, you don't look like the temple guards!"

The tall stranger was wearing a leather tunic, black hair, a neatly trimmed goatee, and discreetly armed with a saber. "You may not know who I am, but I know you... Akiko Fujiwara."

Akiko was momentarily taken aback. "What? So, you magicked up my student ID or something?"

"Your questions will be answered shortly, but for now, you and your companions need to come with me," the stranger urged.

"And why should we do that?" Akiko demanded.

"Well, that choice is up to you," the stranger allowed.

"How is it up to us?"

"How badly do you want to live to see tomorrow?"

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Masako found herself shepherded back down the corridor she recognized as one she had left. OK, at least we're not heading back to that sacrificial temple. Guess I don't rate being sacrificed to their gods or something, which was both comforting and insulting at the same time. Despite having her head spinning at the events from the past several hours, she desperately forced herself to stay calm. One way or another, I have to survive, she vowed. My friends will come for me, I know it.

At the end of the corridor, the guards led Masako into another cell and roughly pushed her in, slamming the door shut. The cell was barren, not even a place to sit or lie down. The tiny voices were beginning to whisper words of despair and hopelessness at her situation, as all manner of scenarios began to creep into her mind about what was to come... were they going to torture me... maybe sell me off to some terrible person... or a labor camp...? Despite her best efforts at bravery, she could help but tear up at what was to come.  

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Akiko and Keiko sat in the covered wagon under the watchful eyes of their hosts as a driver steered two strange looking steeds pulling them to the outskirts of town. Despite prompting, no words had been offered yet, other than a motion to be silent for the trip, along with a cautionary glare suggesting that speaking out of turn would be unwise. What kind of paranoid people were these? both girls thought, until they remembered they had barely escaped what looked like a human sacrifice ritual; OK sure, maybe they had reason to be paranoid...

Outside the city walls, the wagons pulled into a tree line before coming to a stop. The warrior disembarked and tossed both girls a pair of heavy cloaks. "Put these on, it's going to be windy where we're going," he elaborated.

"OK, wait a minute," Akiko pressed, "Now that you're talking, how about an explanation? You promised that you'd answer our questions."

"And they will be, at our home base," he promised, as he pulled out a crystal shaped like an amulet. After a moment, the crystal began to glow and the rest of the party glanced upwards. The girls watched dumbfounded as a flight of wyvern came into view from the horizon and landed in a clearing next to them.

"Get on, the rest will be explained at our home base," the warrior ordered.

Both girls stared back at Kenji dumbfounded, before Keiko sputtered at the sight of the huge reptilian-looking creature. "G-get on that thing?

Akiko looked at Keiko with a deadpan expression, "I-I guess it's either that or take our chances with the human sacrifice cult..." before awkwardly climbing on. "Could you at least tell us your name and why you're helping us?"

The man paused, then sighed. "My name is Kenji Takeda, and I brought you here to fulfill a greater destiny."