Suddenly someone grabbed her arm.

“Sage!” Astraea gasped.

“Change of plans!” She yelled, her nails lengthening and fur beginning to spread over her dark walnut colored skin. Sage glared at her with yellow glowing eyes and slit pupils and a look that could only mean one thing. Get the crown and run! Astraea took off sprinting as Sage deployed her smoke bomb, sending more cries of panic, and a wolfish howl rising into the air. She stumbled through the smoke, desperately trying to avoid tripping over the fleeing party guests. This damn dress isn’t doing me any favors! Annoyed, she ripped off the lace frock, and removable skirt which she tied around her like a cloak.

“WHERE’D SHE GO?!”

“FIND HER!”

“THIS WAA-AAAGHH!” The guards yell turned into a scream as he was attacked by Sage’s lycan form. Her wolfish growls and barks echoed and bounced off of the great walls. Finally she stumbled into something. Astraea fanned away the smoke around her to see the glass case, the crown still inside, but then found herself face to face with two guards, spears pointed directly at her. She ducked as they swung. It’s best to take them out one by one! She spun back into the smoke allowing them to chase after her. Near the wall she felt a flag banister. She ripped off the flag, kicked over the metal rod, then flung the velvet material over the head of the nearest guard. Wrapping it tight against his struggling arms, he dropped his spear and started to swing blindly. Astraea pulled him hard and he tripped over the knocked down banister, crashing to the ground and hitting his head, knocking him out. That was a little too easy… She laughed, adrenaline rushing through her. The second guard yelled, charging at her. She squatted, grabbing the middle of the spear and pulling it down with her as she rolled onto her back. Using the guards own momentum, she kicked out, vaulting him into the air and crashing down who-knows-where. Spear still in hand, she sprinted back to the crown’s case and easily smashed through it. Grabbing the golden diadem, she shoved it into her satchel that she amazingly still had. But there was still too much smoke. In the thrall of things she had lost where she was. No sense of direction. Where’s the south wall? Where’s the south wall?! She was running out of time. As soon as the smoke lifted, she’d be visible and taken captive for sure. She turned left and right, panic preventing her from making a logical decision. Suddenly a hand flung out from the smoke, grabbing her satchel.

“Let go!!” Astraea yelled. She tucked desperately, ripping the bag from the unknown hand and fled. She sprinted as fast as she could, jumped and slid over the large table, sending food careening over the edge. Turning her shoulder outwards she crashed through the nearest window. Tumbling down, her cloak flailing madly, blocking her vision. She screamed glass shards showering around her as she landed with a Thwump! Into a cart filled with hay. Pulling the hood and dry grass out of her hair and eyes, she looked around. The majority of guests had left, their carriages gone. Something’s wrong..! She couldn’t see Kolas and the others. They were gone too... Sage had stopped howling as well, and the voices of the guards were fading. She took a moment to catch her breath, the adrenaline rush fading. Then she observed her body, searching for any bruises, scratches or breaks. Nothing? How did I survive that fall without a single scratch?! And mom’s necklace! The clasp had come loose after the fall. She couldn’t worry about that now. Cautiously, she placed the damaged necklace into her satchel. Astraea then climbed out of the wooden cart and dropped silently to the ground. Staying low, and keeping to the shadows she began slowly making her way around the castle wall. Every now and then she heard a night patrol, and quickly ducked out of sight, holding her breath and praying that no one would spot her. Eventually she managed to make her way to the southern wall of the castle’s exterior and scanned the courtyard for any sign of her guild. Left behind cloth, tracks, anything that could lead her to them, or at least signal they were okay. Nothing… She knew they couldn’t risk being followed, but their lack of presence made her feel abandoned. Maybe I can still catch up to them in the drain systems..! She raced to the outer castle wall enclosing the courtyard and followed the large stream that ran beside it. It led her to the mouth of the drain system, enclosed by a metal grate. Luckily the bars were just spaced far enough for her to slip through. She splashed into the ankle high water, shivering at the cold and tried to ignore the dank smell filtering through the tunnel. She stepped up onto the raised stone ledge that formed the stream’s pathway, and from her satchel, she withdrew the map of the drain system. She then silently thanked her father’s genetics for permitting her to see more clearly in the dark than a human could. As she followed the faint red outlined path on the map, she strained to listen for any sign of her guild. Still, nothing… Astraea tried to ignore the panic that began bubbling inside her, spreading throughout her limbs. Still she pressed on. Suddenly a scratching noise sounded from ahead of the left fork in the tunnel. The exact path she had to take. Unsure if it was friend or foe, she hid behind the wall, holding her breath. The scratching and skittering grew louder, her fear begging to trigger her fight or flight. The hair along the back of her neck began to rise and a cold sweat formed in her palms. A rat burst through the tunnel. Astraea gasped in shock as it skittered rapidly past her. She had heard of the massive warval rats that lived near the orc region of Tresall and the nuclear wasteland, Gaap. Thankfully it was just a meager sewer rodent fleeing back into the darkness. She panted, a hand raised in a meager attempt to still her rapid beating heart.

After just a few more tunnels, a silver moonlight began to flood through the gaping hole up ahead. Her first instinct was to race towards it, relief and excitement flooding through her, anxious to see Kolas, Sage, and everyone else, prize in hand. The celebration would be glorious! But then she smelled the smoke. Her stomach dropped. She took five tentative steps forward and peered up the ladder leading to the manhole, metal grate removed. They were here! She quietly climbed the metal rungs and pulled herself onto the alleyway’s cobblestone surface. Slipping behind an old housing unit, she peered around its edge until she saw the tavern. Astraea gasped at the scene she beheld. The very tavern where her guild met was being torn apart by the armoured soldiers of King Lucian. The sound of shattering glass, and splintering wood filled the air. In the front of the building, tables and chairs were being turned into kindling and lit on fire. Windows were broken as they recklessly ransacked the place, filling Astraea with rage, and causing her heart to ache vehemently. How did they find us?! 

Then, two voices sounded down the street. A uniformed guard exited the tavern, suits of armour and maps in hand.

“Darian, we interrogated the shop-keep and found these in the back room, but there’s no other sign of the rest of the guild. What should we do?” A second guard, wearing the customary captain’s helmet observed the findings, and with an angry scowl he yelled,

“Burn it down!” Astraea jumped at the intensity of his voice. No! I can’t let them destroy it, I have to do something! Desperation and despair flooded through her. There’s too many of them, you know you can’t do anything now… She cursed the king. Feeling helpless and utterly lost as she was forced to watch her second home begin to smolder with flames, the smoke burning her eyes, she stumbled backwards, and sent a metal bucket clattering in the street. No!

“What was that?” A new voice demanded.

“There, in the alleyway!”

“On it!” She heard two sets of feet charging down the street, coming straight towards her. She blindly took off running. She fled back down the alleyway where she had emerged from the manhole. She took turns, left and right, desperate to lose her pursuers. As she ran, making another turn, she checked over her shoulder, looking for any signs of them, when she rammed into something. She fell backwards onto the cobblestone street, and looked up terrified, expecting to see a guard. Instead, she was shocked to see an anthripe standing in front of her. His dark red horns that curved upwards from the sides of his forehead suggested he was an oryxitral. An “evolved” cousin to the orcs. He dropped to a knee, brushing his shaggy dyed white hair, with his dark natural color shaved short beneath it, out of his surprised face.

“Are you alright? That was quite a fall there!” The stranger extended a hand, his deep rosewood colored eyes filled with genuine worry. And then, maybe it was just an act of desperation, or maybe it was something more, that caused her to feel a peculiar and acute trust with this stranger. But either way, for reasons unbeknownst to her, she rapidly grasped his offered hand and held it fast.

“Please, I know you don’t know me, but I need your help! They’re after me and I need to stay hidden!” Astraea tried to keep her voice low, but her panic made it difficult.

“Wait, what? After you? Who?” He tried to pull his hand away, but she pulled him back closer, insistently begging,

“Please! I need you to trust me..!” He hesitated for just a moment, then peered down the street, hearing the growing voices of the guards, and he pulled Astraea to her feet.

“Come on, this way..!” He led her down a series of more alleyways. Left and right turns until she wasn’t even sure which part of Oberon she was in any more. Then suddenly, her aide pulled her sharply to the left, and ducked her into a shadowed corner, covering her with his body. The sudden closeness made her uncomfortable, and she started to protest, but he placed a palm over her mouth to silence her. The man then cocked his head towards the alleyway they had just run through, and from her hiding spot she saw two soldiers rush down the street and out of sight. They waited for just a moment longer as their voices drowned out, signaling their departure. Astraea heaved a sigh of relief, and the stranger backed away.

“Sorry…” He apologized. Astraea shook her head, understanding why he did it. “My home is just down this street. You can hide out there till morning if you like.” She hesitated for a moment. I have to get back to gran… And what about the guild? But… Guards are still patrolling the area… I’d never make it back to Osefield on my own… She looked back at the stranger, and nodded,

“Thank you.”