Chapter 31: A Second Escape Attempt (Ch 31 - Part 2)
At dawn, Vermon’s carriage set off for the port. He permitted Orb to sit opposite him after forcing him to wear his red mask and one of Vermon’s black cloaks. The thick cloak concealed his presence by minimizing the flow of his black energy.
Vermon did not offer any explanation to Orb regarding the necessity of concealing his identity from the Arkosians. For a fleeting moment, Orb wondered if all these precautions were excessive, but then he admitted to himself that this troublesome situation was all Vermon’s fault.
He was the one who dragged Orb to the Carnival against his will, inflicted harm upon him, and exposed his possession of dark energy to the Arkosian nobles, thereby putting him in grave danger.
Vermon, his arms crossed beneath his black cloak, maintained an intense stare directed at Orb throughout the journey.
Sensing Orb’s discontent from the tightness of his lips, he remained indifferent, convinced that he did the right thing.
As the carriage arrived at the port, the coachman hastened to open the door for Vermon, who remained seated.
Orb did not move either, as he did not sense Vermon’s movement and tried his best to calm his loud, accelerated heartbeats.
He was ready to carry out his plan but worried Vermon might restrain him the moment he set foot on the ground, either with the Uthusian-generated chain he releases from his hand or with the rough-textured ropes that causes him pain whenever they graze his skin.
“Are you going to try to escape, Orb?” Vermon questioned earnestly.
“No,” Orb replied swiftly.
Vermon alighted from the carriage, trusting that his blind and suicidal slave would not attempt to flee. I hope he will not try to play any tricks on me and make me upset. I really don’t want to hurt him.
However, the moment Orb’s feet made contact with the ground, he bolted forward, leaving everything behind. Orb sprinted at the peak of his speed away from the carriage and Vermon, to the shock of Vermon himself and the coachman.
He ran and ran, passing other passengers, carriages, and workers with the fervor of a man possessed. Despite stumbling over a rope and tumbling several times, Orb managed to pick himself up and continue running as fast as his emaciated legs would carry him.
His heart pounded wildly in his chest, and he gasped for air as he raced onward, driven by a mad desire to escape.
* * *
Meanwhile, the coachman and two more of Vermon’s men were about to go after Orb and bring him back to his master, yet he ordered them to stay and prepare the ship to set sail. Vermon was extremely vexed but feigned composure as he proceeded to pursue Orb.
Vermon strode with increasing vigor across the stony ground of the crowded port. Keeping his gaze on Orb, who stumbled at that moment, Vermon’s triumphant smile widened as he followed his runaway slave, confident that Orb could not go much farther without assistance, even if he knew the directions.
Vermon could have teleported himself to where Orb was heading and caught him immediately.
Still, he found pleasure in hunting him that way and witnessing with his own eyes his slave’s trepidation and confusion. Orb’s constant stumbling and collision with passengers and workers were entertaining yet pitiful to watch.
Although Vermon could have easily teleported himself to catch Orb, he derived pleasure from hunting him down in this manner, relishing the sight of his slave’s fear and confusion firsthand.
Orb’s repeated stumbles and collisions with passengers and workers were entertaining yet, pitiful for Vermon to watch.
Despite being a Roaming Star capable of navigating away from the port, Orb had not accounted for the unexpectedly bustling activity at dawn.
Dodging Arkosian men and women, carriages, crates, beasts, and various obstacles in his path proved challenging. Nevertheless, Orb pressed on, running faster and more frantically without slowing down.
Suddenly, he stumbled over an old net and crashed to his knees. As his feet became ensnared in the tangled mesh, Orb struggled desperately to free himself amidst the alarmed gazes of onlookers.
Orb shut his masked eyes tightly in extreme panic, dreading Vermon’s imminent capture.
Orb then recalled his ability to evaporate. He sweated heavily and released a groan as a shock wave swept his entire body, just like the one that paralyzed him the night before.
Why don’t you let me use my power when I need it? Why must you follow the will of the master who bestowed you on me? Please let me be. Let me be, Orb panted.
The pain was terrible, but the sense of paralysis was more horrifying than words could convey. Orb wanted to use his ability to evaporate, even if just for a few seconds. He wanted to use it badly.
He blamed himself for letting his anxiety and confusion blind him from using that ability earlier, which could have given him enough time to mislead Vermon and his men.
At that critical moment, Orb evaporated, to the astonishment of Vermon and the workers who came to help him disentangle his feet from the net.
Vermon was merely a few meters away from Orb and about to capture him but was frozen in utter disbelief the moment he saw him disappear. He pushed his way through the crowd to the entangled net but found only Orb’s clothes, wet bandages, shoes, and mask.
What? Did he just disappear?
“WHAT THE HELL!” Vermon exclaimed.
Wait! What is that supposed to mean? Is he naked right now? Is he wandering the port stripped? Vermon panicked for a moment.
Then he collected Orb’s things as he demanded answers from the bewildered onlookers about where the young man had disappeared. However, no one knew.
Vermon furrowed his brows in vexation and blamed himself for his arrogance, underestimating Orb, and forgetting Orb’s unknown abilities.
He regretted not teleporting himself immediately to where Orb was heading when he ran off. He regretted not chaining him with his Uthusian chain when they were in the carriage together.
Vermon worried that Orb unable to control his energy, had vanished into the depth of the sea forever or that he had disappeared to some unknown place within the capital where someone, taking advantage of his blindness, could kidnap and exploit him.
I wouldn’t have to worry and bring him along if it weren’t for his black energy and special abilities. I would have locked him up. How troublesome!
He hated the rare black energy Orb’s body released, which marked him a quarry pursued by the nobles of Uthus.
He also hated the fact that they considered chasing Orb a sport to boast about and catching him as a prized achievement, without any regard to their assault on Vermon’s rights, his real owner.
“It’s my fault,” Vermon ran forward. “His escape is my fault,” narrowly avoiding being hit by a fast-moving carriage, “his disappearance is my fault,” he kept muttering in vexation as he shoved more people out of his way while looking everywhere for Orb. “I, alone, am to blame.”
* * *
Orb had not disappeared completely but had transformed into water before evaporating, using his ability to control the elements of water and air.
However, because the Uthus seal weakened his energy, he could only maintain the transformation for five minutes.
Although he moved smoothly in his air form, he lost his clothes and mask.
He did not forget the embarrassing fact of his being naked while moving to a secluded back alley before slipping into another side passageway less busy than the main road.
Orb eventually reached a quieter side of the port where commercial vessels were docked.
When Orb reverted to his original form, he leaned against a warehouse wall to catch his breath and calm his rapid heartbeats.
The sea breeze enveloped his bare body with vigor he did not like. He stood still, afraid and anxious about being spotted in that vulnerable state.
He heard someone snoring two meters away from him. Moving cautiously along the wall, Orb mistakenly stepped on the sleeping man’s hand, jolting him awake, grumbling and cursing.
However, Orb wasted no time as he squatted and quickly felt the man’s body.
“Excuse me, sir, I know this is a crime, but I must take your clothes,” he whispered.
Without giving the man a chance to react, Orb grabbed his face with one hand and slammed it against the wall behind him with surprising strength, but it rendered him unconscious.
Orb was quick, vicious, and felt no regret.
“I truly apologize. I know that hitting you was another crime, but I had no choice,” he murmured gloomily as he pulled the man’s shirt and pants off and put them on.
They smelled of sweat and smoke and hung loosely on his frame, but he did not mind. He was panting, nervous, and almost terrified. He wanted to get away from that place as soon as he could.
Orb could not see the wide wooden pier extending before him and ending in the sea. He also could not see the thick, high brick wall to his right, separating him from one of the port’s old gates.
However, due to his acute sense of smell, he could tell those two structures smelled old and desolate.
* * *
End of Chapter (31)
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