Evasion

On one side, there were plowed fields; people were hoeing the soil and planting seeds. Near a stream, women were washing clothes. Children were playing, chasing each other. Old men were sitting at tables playing cards.

<Issei, do you think you can bend the bars?>

The knight was staring at the view, almost hypnotized. The coachman, however, called him back.

<Hm? Oh, yes, of course. Let's wait until there's no one around and then—>

He didn't have time to finish his sentence before the guards returned from carrying away the demolished carriage. Some were laughing, others had such serious looks they scared the stones.

<You're from the Elven Kingdom, then?>

A guard asked.
Issei turned to the coachman and Josuke, then looked back at the wolfman and nodded.

<So you're in cahoots with them?!>

The beastman looked very angry; perhaps something had happened between the two kingdoms.

<No...>

Issei replied.
He wasn't entirely sure what he should say to save his life. He did his best, though.

<But you came from the Elven Kingdom with a wolfwoman on board, right?>

<Yes...>

The guard scratched his chin.

<You're just ordinary adventurers, then?>

<Yes...>

Why all these questions? What do they really want to know from us?

<Well, I'll wait for further orders. In the meantime, please don't bother our citizens, thanks.>

Issei was perplexed. He was reconsidering his escape. There was a glimmer of hope in the guard's words. New orders could mean salvation, but also death.
The guard then left.

<Issei, we need to escape from this cage as soon as possible.>

Shirou was right. Even though Issei wanted to hope, the possibility of them being killed was very high. Since they entered beastman territory, they've been attacked twice in the space of an hour.

Growl!

Josuke's belly made a painful noise, the sound of hunger. The prince had an internal clock that told him when it was time to eat. It was absurdly precise, and Issei found it very useful when he was in the castle.

<I'm hungry!>

<You're right!>

Issei cheered. The prince pouted.

<Of course I'm right, my belly is growling!>

<I don't mean that... I mean, if you're hungry, it's probably lunchtime.>

<Yeah. So what?>

Shirou's eyes widened.

<Do you want to use that moment to escape?>

<Exactly!>

A few minutes later, the village bell rang, signaling lunchtime. The village women were already in their homes cooking. Josuke could smell the food, his stomach growled constantly. The blacksmiths, shoemakers, farmers, and so on, stopped working so they could eat. Everyone was at home eating with their families, alone, or with their lovers.

A guard arrived in front of the cage, looked at Issei, Shirou, and Josuke with disgust, and then threw a smelly mess on the floor.

<Is this food?>

Josuke asked. His stomach stopped growling; he had completely lost his appetite.

<Is there a problem? You're prisoners, so don't complain. You're still alive, after all.>

A tear rolled down the prince's face.

<I miss Asia's cooking.>

The guard glared at the boy and then left.

<It's time, Issei.>

<Yes, I know. I'll proceed to bend the bars.>

Issei used all his strength to bend the thin metal. His sweaty, veiny muscles seemed to throb.

Ugh!

<What's wrong? Are you tired?>

Shirou laughed, mocking the knight's strength.

<They don't bend!>

Issei was serious; Shirou's smile disappeared.

<What? Are you kidding?!>

Thin as the metal was, it didn't budge even a millimeter.

<Shirou, give me a hand.>

Even with the coachman's help, they couldn't move the bars.

<What are these bars made of?! Not even dwarven metal is that hard.>

Dwarven metal was known for being very strong, even though it was thin. The only problem was the metal's weight. It was impossible to make a light sword out of that metal. Not that swords were supposed to be light, but compared to a normal sword, those made from dwarven metal were five to ten times heavier. Issei was one of the few who used a sword made of dwarven metal.

The real question is how the beastmen, who live in the southeast, managed to get a metal found in the northwest.

<What do we do?>

Shirou and Issei were in a panic; their simple plan had failed.
Issei, furious, slammed the cage; something creaked beneath their feet. The cage, which was placed on a cart, began to move.

<Uh-huh!>

The chariot began to pick up speed, and in seconds the three were hurtling down a hill at incredible speed.

<AAAH!!!>

<How do we stop this thing?!>

<We're in a cage! What do you think we can do?!>

At the bottom of the hill, there were some ruins anchored. Seeing them, Issei knew the impact would throw everyone from one side of the cage to the other.
Issei then picked up Josuke and covered his head.

<Hold on tight!>

The chariot crashed into the ruins. The wooden chariot was completely destroyed, the cage dented.
Josuke was protected by the knight, Shirou flew at Issei.

<Sorry, Issei.>

Shirou touched his head and held out a hand to Issei.

<Issei, hurry up, take my hand, and let's get out of here.>
<Issei!>

Issei had fainted from the blow. Shirou picked up the knight, who had a red streak on his head. Blood was dripping from the knight's neck. Josuke froze.

<Don't worry, he wouldn't get hurt even if he wanted to.>

Josuke lowered his gaze, seriously worried about his master.

<At least the two of us survived...>

At that moment, the cage door clanged open.

<We're free!>

<Free my ass! We still have to escape! It won't be long before the guards realize we're gone!>

They had escaped from the iron cage, but they still had to escape the enraged guards of the beastman kingdom.
And with Issei out of the picture, they were completely hopeless.