About one hour after, a petite figure appeared seemingly out of nowhere in the mountainous area covered by trees to the east of the fort. Had there been anyone careful enough observing, they might have noticed a well-disguised cave that led to a secret long-forgotten passage. The petite figure cut quite a sorry figure. She, however, nimbly scrambled to her feet. A heavy-looking backpack dangled on her slim but steady shoulders, sturdy muddy boots covered her small feet and a warm ever muddier coat was wrapped around her. She attempted to dust off her coat but did little more than rubbing the mud around. She put the hood covering her head down and tried to coax her bird nest of hair into something resembling orderly. Not only was such an endeavor fruitless, but she ended up smearing some mud on the right side of her face in the process. Then, she looked back and whistled. Two huge fierce-looking hounds came out of the hole. Nonetheless, on a second glance, their ferocious look was at odds with their behavior, as they proceeded to amusingly shake their bodies trying to get rid of their muddy covers, without more success than their human companion. As she started walking, they bounced briskly after her. She headed on decidedly as if she had some set destination in mind. Suddenly, a slight smile lighted up her visage, giving her a girlish and innocent kind of look as rush of excitement took over her. She breathed in deeply savoring the refreshing and fresh scent as the world around her became bigger and bigger. If she extended her arm, she could almost catch the warm rays of sun filtering through the treetops. On her toes, she extended her arm, grabbing for something only she could see. “Is this the so-called freedom?”

Suddenly not having a plan didn’t seem that bad anymore. Chances were no one would discover what happened till tomorrow morning, mother had after all instructed that no one was to disturb their family time alone. By that time she would hopefully be far away enough. She sighed, shame that I couldn’t take a horse with me. At least the only ones in that fort full of decrepit fools able to track her were probably… those two meekly following after her.

As she strode forward, she looked behind only once. The once-mighty Fort Karlham loomed behind her. Long were forgotten the days of war, becoming mere legends that bards sung at night. Fort Karlham had become a decadent remnant of the past; and its inhabitants had grown idle, complacent and corrupt. In front of her, a small but flourishing town with its own port had sprouted. Its apparent prosperity, however, hid a darker side; for its wealth came mainly from the highly lucrative commercial route that brought slaves from the Kingdom of Gottern that lied to the east, through the Eastern Pass that Fort Karlham once proudly guarded, and into the Great Wyrn Empire in whose borders Alyssa had come into existence.