Chapter 3 - Escape

“Hey, you!” a voice called out from behind them.

They turned. An armed guard was approaching, hand on the hilt of his sword.

His sword isn’t drawn. It will be close but I should be able to cover the distance quickly enough. I can take him.

“Help me!” She rushed to the guard. “He forced me to come with him. He was going to make me a slave!”

She put her hands on the guard’s breastplate. “Please, help me,” Alina pleaded.

With an attractive woman unexpectedly clinging to him, the guard was thrown off for a moment. Alina seized the opportunity. In a single motion, she swiftly pulled the guard’s sword from its scabbard and tossed it backwards towards Renji.

“Hey!” The guard’s eyes widened in surprise. She dodged aside and crouched with hands covering her head.

Renji darted forward, caught the blade mid-air and drove it into the guard’s neck.

Bloody hell, this woman…

A gurgling sound escaped as blood bubbled at the corners of the guard’s mouth. The guard then dropped to the ground with a thud.

Renji tightened his grip on the sword and quietly peeked around the corner. He waited silently in a crouch, his attention on a door several metres down the corridor.

“What are you doing?” Alina whispered as she got up from the crouch.

“Making sure he doesn’t have friends nearby that heard us. We’ll have to deal with anyone that comes out of that room to investigate.”

“I see,” she said in a low voice as she stared at the guard’s corpse lying in a pool of blood.

After several seconds with no sign of movement, Renji stood.

“You’re a dangerous woman,” Renji remarked.

“Y-you killed him, I barely did anything,” Alina said, feigning innocence.

“That makes you even more dangerous.”

“Never underestimate a woman’s cunning.” She winked and raised her index finger with a smirk.

“You are surprisingly cheerful for someone breaking out of prison.”

“Hmm… I wonder why. Maybe I feel safer with you breaking out with me?” Her tone was thoughtful, a finger resting on her chin.

A second later, she turned to the side and started to throw up.

Seriously, right now? Renji thought, as he started rummaging through the guard’s gear.

Too many questions unanswered about my current situation. Given the surroundings, did I get thrown back in time? Is that even possible? Just need to focus on survival. One step at a time, for now.

He removed a small bag filled with coins and a ring of keys.

“I am assuming this is money?” Renji showed Alina the bag.

“Yes, it is.” Alina nodded, wiping her mouth with a sleeve.

“Are you feeling better?” he asked.

“Yes.” She nodded. “I’ve never seen someone killed up close.”

“That confidence earlier was all an act, huh?” he asked.

She grinned sheepishly. “Wanted you to think I was useful. Didn’t want to be left behind.”

Renji exhaled as he pocketed the coin bag and keys. Nothing else of note on the guard.

“We shouldn’t leave the body here.” Renji dragged the body around the corner towards the door he was watching earlier. He set the body down next to the door before taking the sword from Alina.

Renji tried the door. Locked.

With the keys he got from the guard, he tried them one at a time. Success on the third key.

Sword in hand, Renji eased the door open and then swung it wide suddenly.

There was no one. It looked like some kind of storage room.

“Ah, there it is!” Alina exclaimed with glee. “I thought I’d lost it forever.”

Alina grabbed a wooden staff which flared at the top in a diamond-shaped hollow, adorned with small gems.

“That’s yours?” Renji asked. A flashback of the scene where Alina was struck by the dark-elf. She had been holding that same staff.

“Yes, it was a gift from my teacher.” Her expression a mix of joy and relief.

If her staff is here, that means….

Renji started searching the chests in the room. In the third chest he opened, he found it. His gear, all of it.

“I’m surprised. All my gear is here,” Renji muttered.

“The Duke and his men probably have no idea what any of these things do,” Alina added. “I know I don’t.”

Renji put on his tactical gear. Alina watched curiously, occasionally probing at his kit with a finger.

He checked his gear one last time. Good, all of it is in working condition.

He kept the guard’s sword as well, fastening it into his belt.

Alina handed a brown cloak to Renji. “This will come in handy to hide our faces.” She had put one on herself.

Renji dragged the guard’s body into the room, locked the door, and noted the bloodstains on the floor—nothing he could do about them now.

He looked at Alina. “Let’s get out of here.”

***

Alina led the way as she knew her way around the duke’s estate.

They emerged from the stairwell onto ground level. “This way.” Alina beckoned Renji to follow. “This should take us to the side entrance. From there, we will have to make our way through a forest.”

Renji clicked his tongue. Sneaking out in daylight, not ideal.

Daylight filtered in from the few windows they passed. As they were in the basement before, he had no sense of what time of the day it was.

After carefully sneaking past a few servants, they arrived at a large door.

“This is the side door of the mansion.” Alina spoke in a low voice. “On the other side, past a lawn is a gate on the edge of the estate. A distance from the estate is the start of a forest. If we make it that far without being seen, we should be safe for a while.”

“Got it.”

Renji eased the door open. The immediate area was clear for now. About fifty metres away, he could see two guards on the other side of the fence facing away from him.

He had taken down sentries during past missions. The guard earlier was a self-preservation kill, in a way.

Renji raised his carbine and took aim. Too easy to drop them where they stand. Should I be killing my way out of here though? Before I get a handle on what is really going on or where I am? Who will I be killing?

“Renji, are you alright?” Alina’s voice pulled Renji back.

Renji nodded in response. “Follow close behind me,” he added as he moved out the door in a half crouch, carbine raised. He swivelled left and right, scanning for threats. Alina followed close behind.

Halfway to the gate, Renji brought his sights over the guard on the left and squeezed the trigger twice. A double tap, centre torso. The guard dropped dead.

Renji sighed. Kill or be killed… I’d like to believe that, for now at least.

He shifted aim and two more rounds struck the second guard in the back.

“Prisoners are escaping!” A shout from above and behind Renji caught his attention.

Renji could not understand the words but the intent was clear. A loud bell rang from somewhere within the estate.

“We need to move,” Renji’s tone urgent as he grabbed Alina’s arm and started running towards the gate.

Alina raised a staff toward the gate as they approached. A magic circle and a large icicle formed in front of the staff.

Arrows started landing around them. Renji spun around and dropped to a knee. He spotted several archers on the roof of the two-story mansion and opened fire with his carbine. Three archers fell to gunfire before Renji had to reload.

The large icicle Alina conjured shot forward. It slammed into the gate with a loud crash, shattering it and sending shards of ice flying in all directions.

“No way. What the…” Renji froze. Is this real? Real magic?

An arrow striking the ground nearby snapped him out of it.

“Run!” He barked at Alina who broke into a sprint towards the gate. Renji followed close behind.

At the wrecked gate, Renji spun around once more and dropped to a crouch. He opened fire at the remaining archers on the roof. Two more archers fell to Renji’s covering fire.

A bone-chilling cry from behind caused him to turn around. Alina was on the ground with an arrow through her left calf.

He cursed under his breath and dashed towards her. Scooping her up in his arms and sprinted through the busted gate.

“Sorry… and thank you,” Alina said, wincing from the pain.

“No apology needed. Thank me after we’re safe and away.” With Alina in his arms, he kept moving.

About twenty minutes later, the duo arrived at what looked like a small abandoned farm. Renji let Alina down against a wall of the small house and dropped to a crouch.

A group of five guards in armour about thirty metres away were running towards him, sword in hand.

They will be in melee range in about five seconds.

Renji took aim at the leading guard and squeezed the trigger in a quick double-tap. He dropped to the ground. Renji repeated the process and took down the rest of the guards before ejecting the empty magazine and reloading.

Down to four mags for the carbine. Renji made a mental note.

Satisfied that there were no more pursuers for now, Renji approached Alina.

“Sorry, but we need to keep moving, just to be safe,” Renji said, as he lifted Alina, carefully avoiding the protruding arrow.