Chapter 3 - Niza

Her soft leather soles managed to find purchase quickly and she thanked the Gods that she didn't fall or make enough noise to catch the guards' attention as she immediately went into a crouched position again. That small moment of prayer caused her gaze to flicker briefly over the rubble of the church, which she happened to have a good view of from her current vantage point. The Elar had set it ablaze a week ago, after chaining most of the priests inside. Even from her hiding spot a few blocks away she'd been able to hear the screams. Many had gone over to the Elar then, assuming the Gods had already left them if they had not saved their priests from such a fate.

Niza turned her attention back to the task at hand. Nearly a week ago, they'd caught her friend, Maren, and taken her to one of the new "orphanages" that had been set up since the Elar took the city. Niza had made up her mind to get Maren back after hearing some nasty rumors about what might be going on inside. She knew which building it was, and had spent a couple of days watching it. The only way inside that wasn't guarded was the roof. She inched her way quietly to the edge of the one she was currently on, and took the next jump, grateful that the next roof wasn't as sloped. She still had two more to go before she got to the orphanage and the hatchway into the attic she'd seen.

It was less difficult as she got further away from the corner the two guards were on, although there were also guards posted at both the front and back of the orphanage. The last jump she would make would be the most important. If they heard her, it was all over. She would have to make a run for it and try something else. Once she reached the point where she was about to make that last jump, she held her breath and prayed once again before taking the couple of light running steps she needed to make the jump upwards to the orphanage roof.

She made it, and quietly too. Still, she stopped and clung to the roof, trying to will her heart to beat more quietly as it echoed her fear in her chest. This was harder than it had ever been in the past. Before the Elar had come, the nighttime streets of Riverport had still bustled with people. In some places, the noise of loud, drunken sailors singing bawdy songs as they moved from bar to inn room would cover any movements she might make. She normally loved the night. It was her time. The best time for sneaking about in the shadows and liberating certain individuals of their excess belongings or coin.

But when the Elar had taken the city, they had imposed a curfew. Now, the streets at night were silent, only the echoes of the Elar guards' footsteps breaking the dead of noise that blanketed over the rooftops. She spent most of her time in hiding now, fearful that she'd be fed to the thing that roamed freely in the marketplace. The group of young boys who used to work the marketplace had been either put in an orphanage or eaten by it, depending on how they'd been caught. Jink had been one of the ones eaten. He'd been a friend and a good source of information on some of the wealthier merchants when they came into town. She knew that Maren would not yeild easily and feared that she too would be fed to the creature. She'd heard it was some sort of demon. She didn't want to know anymore. She just wanted to get her friend and get out of the city.

The building had originally been a school. It was U-shaped, with a grassy lawn in the middle. The roof was somewhat gently sloped. She moved to the inside edge to stay out of sight. There was no movement in the central courtyard.

The two wings were the lower part of the building, being three stories tall, with the middle one level taller. There was light at a couple windows on that top level, but they were curtained. No one inside them would be able to see her. Their own lights would keep them from seeing in the dark outside.

She crept along slowly. The far part of the building had windows closed and shuttered. She flattened herself along the middle of her wing and peered over the edge. Windows there were also shuttered. Her best chance of getting inside quietly would be through an open window. There were some in the middle part of the school.

She got to the corner. There was an open window a little below the roofline she was on, and about a dozen feet over. Standing where she was, the building seemed even larger than before. It occurred to her to wonder how she'd find Maren.

She knew that most of the building had appeared unused. She had guessed at the area that had most of the housing. First get in, then find her, she told herself. She grabbed a spot on the rough brick wall and started pulling herself towards the window.

She crawled slowly across the wall. Her fingers grabbed at edges of bricks, and her toes found whatever purchase they could. She kept her attention on what she was doing, and she didn't stop. She reached the window. She got her foot on the windowsill.

She climbed in as quietly as she could. The room was sparsely furnished. There was a dresser and a bed, and a sleeping figure on the bed. She froze, but the figure didn't shift. She could hear heavy breathing. She prayed for no squeaky floorboards as she crept closer. She saw blond hair. It wasn't Maren.

She made her way out of the room, being especially careful where she stepped. At one point, one of the floorboards did begin to squeak, and she froze as the figure on the bed stirred briefly in their sleep. The person did not wake, however, and she continued, all but holding her breath until she'd gotten to the other side of the door.

In the hallway, there were a few lanterns lit here and there, leaving deep shadows between them. She moved into one of the shadows and stood there a moment, wondering what the best way to find Maren would be, when she heard voices down the hall. One was a female voice, local to the area, while another bore the thick accent that an Elar had when speaking the language here. She ran quickly into a corner shadow for the best cover and remained very still as they passed.

"There are still a few who cling to the old ways," the woman said. "We have separated them for special tutoring. Until they come to see the truth they will remain apart from the others."

"Very good," the Elar replied. "The dormitory seems very full. You should move some of those who've shown themselves to be devout to rooms now. Keep them nearby, the second floor just above the dormitory perhaps. Assign them roomates. Keep them in groups of four at the smallest. We will be bringing more of the ignorant to you soon."

"I will move them tomorrow, My Lord," the woman told him. "May I ask about the food situation? Our stores grow very slim to feed so many..." She trailed off, with a hopeful edge to her voice.

"We are at war, woman," the Elar said in a cold voice. "Supplies are slim for all of us. Some of the fisherman are only just now returning to their duties. I will keep your needs in mind when they return, but I can make you no guarantees. You have all allowed yourselves to be ignorant for so long that the truth can not come without its price or you will take that, too, for granted."

"I understand, My Lord," the woman said as they moved to go through a door at the other end of the hallway. "The will of Eltharn be praised, in Darnen's name."

The two continued talking but Niza could no longer make out what they were saying. It didn't matter. She couldn't believe her luck at hearing what she needed to know. Perhaps the Gods are watching over me tonight after all! She just needed a way to get to the first floor now.

She decided that the direction the two had gone would be pretty likely to have stairs down. There might be stairs in both directions, but she wanted to get done and get out as quickly as she could. She gave them another minute and followed.

The door would open towards her, which worked in her favor. She listened at the door long enough to not hear anything before she cracked it open just a little. Peeking through she didn't see any movement. There was some pale flickering light, but not much.

She opened the door enough to look through properly. The hallway was in fact empty, with one lantern at about the halfway point. There were a number of doors along both sides. It was the shadowed doorway at the end that caught her attention. Stairs!

She moved as quickly as she could without extra noise to the stairway. It was a tight spiral down. She couldn't see any light below from her angle. She listened another moment before starting down.

The stairway shaft was brick like most of the structural walls, but the stairs themselves were timber like many of the interior walls. They were solid enough to not creak, but even still each step made her nervous. Part of her expected at any moment to hear someone coming up from below.

She went down a level and there was a hallway similar to that upstairs. This one also had one lantern, but it also had an armed and armored guard. She pulled back and then edged back forward until she could see where he was.

She knew she was in a shadow, so he was less likely to see her. Still she stayed out of sight. His footsteps came closer, and her heart pounded. Please, she prayed, not now. The footsteps stopped and started moving away. She moved quickly down the stairs and away from him.

To her dismay, Niza found that the first floor had a guard in the hallway as well. She stood in the shadowed corner of the small landing, trying to figure out a plan when footsteps started heading in her direction. Oh no! What do I do now? she worried, ducking down in the small space underneath the stairs. She held her breath as this guard did come out into the landing and glance around for a moment. To her relief, he turned back again and slowly paced back the other way. After listening for a few minutes, she realized that he paced a small circuit, stopping now and again for about a minute or so, seeming to listen.

Her heart raced as she alternated between small prayers for help and attempts to come up with a plan. She knew that she couldn't sneak past the guard. There was enough light and he seemed alert enough that he'd notice her for sure. There didn't seem to be another way through the hallway, and she still didn't even know where the dormitory was at on the level yet. How many more guards are there? If this one doesn't see me, surely another will.

She was all about to give up and try to work her way back out of the building to safety when an idea popped into her head. An image formed in her mind of herself, dressed in just her underclothes, pretending to look lost and afraid. She quickly tried to remember the names she'd heard the woman upstairs use - Eltharn and Darnen - as she removed her dark outer clothes and tucked them into her pack. If she was going to save Maren, this seemed the only possible plan. She pulled her boots off as well, and untied her hair, tucking everything securely into the pack and making sure it was hidden but easy to grab quickly if necessary.

The pack represented about half her worldly belongings. The other half were in a similar pack in a hiding place several blocks away. Niza had tucked them in a place that would prove easy enough to get to if she had to make a run out of town quickly, which she figured she and Maren might. She also figured she would have to share with Maren - it was unlikely they'd let her friend keep much of anything.

Taking a huge breath to steady her pounding heart a little, she waited until the guard was at the far end of the hall from her before slipping out into the hallway, and placing herself directly under the lantern while his back was still turned. She didn't have any trouble looking lost and afraid - she was afraid.

"S - sir?" she stammered in a tiny voice, barely able to make herself get the word out.

The guard whirled around and looked down at her angrily. Though she was nearly old enough to be an adult, the Elar stood almost twice her height and girth with his armor on. Her knees trembled and threatened to collapse underneath her.

"How did you get out?" he demanded in his thickly accented voice. He moved forward and grabbed her by the arm.

"I - I don't know," she lied. "I walk in my sleep sometimes. I just want to go back to bed."

He glared down at her and, terrified, Niza feared he'd seen right through her deception. Then he pulled her roughly by the arm so that she had to run to keep from being dragged as he took her down the hall and opened one of the doors.

He practically threw her into the room. It took all she had to not fall to the floor.

"Now you stay in the room until morning and not come out. You won't like what we do to little girls who don't behave."

He closed the door and left her in the dark. The windows were blocked up and there was no light in the room. A little spilled in from under the door, and some leaked in through the window shutters. It took her eyes some time to adjust, and even then she could only barely see anything.

She could tell that there were quite a few people in the room. She heard heavy breathing, some near-snoring, and the occasional quiet sobs. One sob was a little louder.

"Shut up and go to sleep," a girl's voice said. The sobbing stopped with a snuffle.

The best she could see were outlines and vague shapes. It was too dark for colors. She moved towards the closest cot, and the girl on it rolled and turned away from her.

"Maren?" she called in a whisper.

There was no answer. Slowly, she began creeping her way down the rows of beds, stopping to peer at each face that was visible. She got nearly to the end of that side of the room before she saw Maren's familiar reddish-blonde hair and freckles. She shook Maren's arm to wake her up, sighing with relief at having managed to find her. Maren's eyes snapped open and she looked around suspiciously before spotting Niza.

"Niza!" Maren sat up, tossing her blanket off and hugging Niza tightly. "I'm so glad to see you!" Maren's voice was barely above a whisper, but Niza quickly put her finger to her lips.

"Quietly, the guard will hear us."

"True," Maren nodded. "We are supposed to be sleeping. Didn't they explain about the rules to you?"

"You don't understand, I snuck in here to save you. I've got a bag stashed past the hall, under the stairs, and another a few blocks from here. We've got to get out of this city, Maren. They killed Jink. They fed him to that... that thing in the marketplace!"

"Jink was ignorant and refused to see the truth, Niza," Maren said, shaking her head. "It's a shame, but if he couldn't be made to understand, he had to die."

Niza's jaw dropped open with astonishment. Maren had always been protective of Jink, treating him more like a younger brother than just another orphaned kid on the street. There had been several times when Maren had been the one to help get Jink out of a scrape, barely keeping him from getting his hand lopped off by the city guards or ending up in the keep's dungeons. Yet Maren seemed unaffected by the news of his death.

"Maren?" she asked in bewilderment, blinking her eyes to be sure she was looking at the right girl.

"Besides," Maren went on, as if Niza hadn't said a word, "the creature in the marketplace isn't a thing, it's a demon. The Elar have powerful conjurers who control demons and force them to do good in Eltharn's name. It is an important part of restoring the balance for the good of all. Our Holy Lord and Master Darnen has brought us Eltharn's message. Hopefully in time. They are trying to save the world, Niza. It's such a very difficult task to take upon themselves, and very noble of them to come and save us."

"They... fed... Jink... to... a... demon... Maren," Niza said slowly, emphasizing each word. "What in the Gods' names is wrong with you?" Maren had spoken every word with honesty in her eyes, as if she believed what she was saying. Niza had never known Maren to bluff well. Either she'd picked up the skill out of desperation after being captured or she actually believed what she was saying was true. What have they done to her? she thought fearfully. She could see no signs of bruises or bandages on her friend. It's dark. They would have had to beat her very badly to make her believe their lies... wouldn't they? I just can't see the bruises in the darkness. I hope she'll be able to run when it's time. She realized she hadn't seen Maren move her legs yet and worried that her friend had broken bones that might hinder their escape.

"There's nothing wrong with me Niza. I have been brought out of my ignorance. I see things much more clearly now is all."

"Maren, it's me Niza," Niza leaned in even closer to her friend. "You don't have to pretend right now. We're talking quietly enough, I don't think anyone can hear. We need to work out how to get you out of here. And quickly, before they discover my bag and realize I wasn't in here already."

"You really shouldn't talk that way," Maren said. "You're confused. Go to sleep and talk to the priest in the morning. He'll help you."

"No, you're the confused one, Maren. I don't want help. I want you to get up and get dressed so we can get out of here. I can get you out of here, we can go someplace far away from these Elar. But we have to hurry, for the gods' sake--"

"Be silent!" Maren interrupted a little more loudly. "Blaspheme no more. There is only one god, and his name is Eltharn. Everything else is at best a spirit to be conjured up and made to serve Eltharn's will, in Darnen's name."

"You can't believe that," Niza pleaded. "They've done something to you. They've hurt you, or drugged you with something."

"They've shown me the truth. And they'll show you," Maren said, getting up from her cot. She started towards the door and Niza grabbed her wrist.

"Get your filthy claw off me," Maren said hatefully. "If you aren't going to listen to the truth then you're no better than Jink. You might as well be food for something useful."

Niza stood frozen, stunned, her jaw slack. Maren's arm slipped out of her hand. Maren turned away and went to the door.

"Maren?" Niza asked in a small voice, her heart sitting like a lump in her stomach. I've never seen her like this. What have they done to her? Niza stood there numbly as her best friend opened the door and called to the guard.

"Guard! This girl has stolen into the dormitory and is trying to abduct me. She must be seized and submitted to whatever punishment Eltharn wills necessary."

Niza's knees nearly dropped out from under her as her mind tried to wrap itself around what Maren was doing. She suddenly felt more weak and small than she'd ever felt in her life. Her best friend, the same friend who'd put herself in danger time and time again to help Niza, had just called the guard and ratted her out.

"You'd better run while you can," a voice behind her said. With the door opened, light was pouring into the room. She turned and looked at the speaker, seeing that the girl who'd said it did have her leg in a splint.

"They'll start with worse than feeding you to the demon," the girl said over the sound of booted feet coming down the hallway towards the door. "If you can make it out, get as far away from the city as you can. Riverport is lost. Warn others." The girl was older, probably of marrying age by a couple of years. She sported bruises across her left cheek and the eye on that side was nearly swollen shut. Niza found herself looking back and forth between her and the doorway where Maren stood, looking smug, with her arms crossed in front of her chest.

"Go!" the girl urged. The word seemed to snap something inside Niza. Tears began rolling down her cheeks as she bolted towards the door. Maren put out a hand to stop her and Niza stopped long enough to punch her former best friend, as hard as she could, across the face.

"Maren, that should be you!" she screamed, waving her fist back at the battered girl behind her. "I thought you'd at least try to resist them!" Then she turned and ran, smack into the guard who stood in the doorway.

"What's going on here?" the guard asked in a loud voice, grabbing Niza's arm. Niza kicked him in the shin as hard as she could, but only cried out as her toe stubbed against his thick armor. Desperate, she turned and bit the unarmored hand that gripped her arm instead. The guard gave a yelp of pain and momentarily stepped back in surprise. Niza ran quickly past him, trying to ignore the pain in her foot. She dashed towards the stairs and grabbed her bag from it's hiding place before dashing up them, retracing her steps from before. The guard began yelling loudly behind her.

She ran up the dark stairs, barely seeing where she was going. She could only hope that the guard would only chase after her himself, and not sound some alarm.

She remembered the sleeping figure in the room she'd come in through, and continued up the stairs to the top. She dashed into the hallway, praying it was empty. It was. There were doors on both sides. She went to the first doorway on the right, it would open to the back of the building.

She had her hand on the doorknob when the guard got to the top of the stairs behind her. Even in his armor he was still quick. She yanked the door open and burst into the room.

There was a large open window at the far end of the room. There was a bed between her and the window, and a figure was waking on the bed. She ran towards it and jumped up onto the bed. The figure managed to mostly sit up, and muttered some attempt at asking what was going on. She hopped over him and jumped off the bed as the guard barged into the room behind her.

She ran to the left. Her only chance would be to dive through the window and hope she landed on the lower roof of the wing extending from the right of the window.

As she shrugged the little pack onto her back the guard jumped onto the bed taking the most direct route to her.

The man on the bed screamed out in pain, and the guard jumped off the bed. Oh, Gods, she thought as she ran for all she was worth and dove through the window. She landed high enough on the roof, but she landed flat and hard. She struggled, half dazed from the impact, to get a grip on the roof and not just slide off. There was yelling from behind her, but she was only partly aware of it.

She did check her slide in time. She got first to hands and knees, and then stood up. Alarm bells started ringing, and she turned enough to see the guard positioning himself at the window to come after her. She cursed and ran up the rough shingled roof on her sore bare feet.

She stood for a moment at the top of the roof, checking the rooftops for the best route out of town. She glanced in the direction she had planned to take first, as a diversionary tactic. But she knew she no longer had time to go back for the other bag. With the alarms ringing, she'd have guards on the street joining in the chase too. She needed to put some distance between herself and the alarm. She needed to get out of Riverport fast.

The most direct way out of town was not the safest. She'd already scoped out an area of the town wall where it was old, crumbling and lower in height. She'd known there would be no way of escaping through any of the main gates themselves, and she wasn't a strong enough swimmer to feel confident in her abilities to swim upriver. She'd laid out rope in advance, covered in dust to conceal it against the rock, and tucked into the ivy that clung haphazardly along the cracks in the wall. She aimed herself directly for the area she'd placed it, and ran forward, leaping over the first of the alleyways she'd have to cross.

She hadn't planned on running the rooftops without boots, however, and she cried out as one of her feet slipped, splinters from the shingles lodging themselves into one foot. She banged her chin up against the rooftop as she tried to catch herself from sliding downwards, towards the edge of the roof. She could hear voices below her now too, as guards made their way into the alley she might fall into. Splinters lodged into her hands as well, as she grabbed desperately for anything to stop her fall.

Finally, she caught hold of the chimney as she was sliding, and stopped herself. She pulled herself up and looked around. The guard from the orphanage was on the rooftop of that building, looking warily at the gap between it and the one she was on. She saw him take a breath and make the run for it, but his armor was just too heavy for him to make the jump. She heard him scream as he missed her rooftop entirely and fell downwards into the alleyway between. There was a loud clattering as he hit the ground.

She sat up for a moment and realized she had the rooftops to herself just then. Quickly, she yanked her boots and other clothes out of her pack, yanking as many splinters out of her bloodied foot as she could do in just a couple of tries before shoving her feet through her pants and into her boots. She yanked the tunic over her head before slinging the bag back into place on her back and tugging a pair of gloves she'd had in the pants pockets onto her scraped and splintered hands. At least they won't get worse, she thought to herself, trying to put the pain of her injuries out of her mind to concentrate on escaping.

As she stood up, her heart dropped into her stomach again and her eyes were wide with fear. While the guards remained on the ground, yelling and pointing up at her, the gray winged beast from the marketplace had taken to the air. For a moment, she was frozen in fear, her breath stuck in her throat as she watched it start in her direction. Then, the memory of the girl's voice from back in the dormitory seemed to pop up into her head.

"Go!" it urged. Again, it seemed to snap her out of her horror and she set herself in motion again. The pain in her foot was forgotten as she sprinted across the rooftop, heading towards the next one and making the leap flawlessly this time.

She made the next four leaps without error, but the demon seemed undaunted by her speed. In fact, it flew around ahead of her and she found herself stopping again and looking in despair as the demon pulled her prepared rope out of its hiding spot and moved towards her. It dangled the rope in the air, laughing and taunting her with it as it came. It whipped it in her direction, as if indicating what it intended to do with her before turning her into a late-night snack. She turned, picking a direction almost at random this time, frantically searching for a rooftop with a hatchway. She knew she needed to get off the roof quickly if she hoped to survive at all. She leapt to the next building, moving faster than she'd ever moved in her whole life, disregarding caution in favor of raw survival instincts.

The demon flew around and dove at her. She ducked and it flew past and down out of sight. She took the opportunity to change directions and leap again.

The next building was a slightly shorter one, and when she landed hard on the roof she crashed right through it. It ended up not hurting as much as she would have expected. She found herself in a cluttered attic surrounded by boxes and bits of rotted roof.

She knew she had to get out of the building quickly before she got cornered in it. She scurried around the attic looking for the way out. She found it by stepping on it, and the floor went out from under her. She landed on someone and did her best to roll up to her feet.

She didn't succeed, but ended up on one knee. The person she'd landed on was an Elar in expensive looking robes. He looked to be unconscious. She spared a quick glance around the room.

For the most part it was a richly furnished bedroom. There was a four-postered bed draped in green silk, there was an inlaid teak wardrobe, and the floor was covered in imported rugs.

Her eyes caught on what looked to be an altar along one wall. Drawn to it, she stood and walked closer. There was a black cloth on it with strange symbols embroidered in gold thread. There were four white candles and a bowl with some clear liquid in it.

On the middle of it, on a black stand, was some kind of short scepter. It was about the length of her forearm. It was gold, with crown-shaped formations of some kind of iridescent crystal at both ends. She had never seen crystals like them before, and she couldn't take her eyes off of them.

She found herself picking it up. It was lighter than she expected, and warm to the touch. She unslung her pack and tucked the scepter thing into the pack, nestling it in among rope and everything else in there to protect it.

Then she remembered the demon and the guards hunting for her. She brought her eyes back into focus and the first thing she saw was the ornate wardrobe. an idea flashed into her head and she ran to it and flung the double doors open.

Nestled among the elaborate robes was one common looking one. She grabbed it and shrugged into it. She had to move the pack around front, but she thought it might work. She put up the hood and prayed.

She opened the door and went out into the hallway, her head bowed and hidden under the hood. She quietly closed the door behind her so they wouldn't immediately assume she'd left the room. There was no one in the hallway, but she could hear voices and footsteps coming from one direction. She went the other way, moving swiftly around the corner before she could be spotted.

She found a set of stairs and made her way down to what she hoped was the ground level. Once there, she moved in the direction the footsteps upstairs had come from, hoping that would lead her towards and exit. The hallway was teeming with people, almost all Elar, talking to one another in hushed voices. Many of them were dressed in robes similar to the one she was wearing, although none of them had their hoods up. She held her breath as she passed through them, hoping they would think that she was just another one of them, on her way out. She walked in a normal pace, which felt agonizingly slow as she felt herself brush against Elar on her way through the hallway. She could see a door at the other end of the hall and confirmed that it led outside when she saw it open and several guards come storming through. The guards didn't look down the hallway, but headed directly up the stairs at that end of the building instead.

She made it within reach of the door when a hand fell on her shoulder. She froze, and the person behind her pulled her hood back and turned her around to look at them. The Elar man was dressed richly, like the one upstairs had been, although his robes were of darker shades and bore more golden-threaded embroidery than the other's had. His face was thin, almost gaunt, as if he had been starving recently, and his eyes were a dark brown that seemed almost black. When he looked at her, she felt a chill run down her spine and it seemed as if he was looking through her, as if with just a thought he could have turned her to stone where she stood.

"Run! Go!" The girl from the orphanage's words sounded in her head again, as if in warning. She could feel the man's grip on her shoulder tightening. She pulled out from beneath his hand and bolted for the door, leaving him standing with the cloak in his grip. She yanked the door open and barrelled out of it, running into the street with all her might. Yelling behind her told her she wouldn't have much time to get ahead of them.

She knew she had no chance of leaving through any of the gates at this point, and her planned escape route was gone. She turned towards the river, keeping in the shadows of the buildings as much as she could, and watching for movement in the skies above her. Periodically, as she ran, she thought she heard voices nearing behind her. Her legs ached, and her feet burned, especially the one with splinters still lodged in it, but she willed herself to keep moving. She silently prayed that she'd have enough energy left to swim far enough upriver to get past the city walls.

Running was awkward with her backpack in front of her, so she shrugged out of it as she ran. She didn't look back, but she didn't have to. She could hear the shouting behind her. It didn't sound very far back. She slung the backpack over one shoulder and then got the other arm through.

She passed through a small market plaza empty of stalls. So many merchants had been arrested and their goods seized. Now she spared a glance over her shoulder. Although she was keeping ahead of them, it wasn't very far ahead. She couldn't see the demon though, and that scared her so much she nearly tripped.

Finally she saw the docks ahead. Most of the ships there were Elar, and suddenly she worried about them using boats to chase her.

The most direct route to open water was over one of the boats. Otherwise she'd have to swim around one. She'd be safer with a boat between her and her pursuers--maybe they wouldn't be able to tell which direction she'd gone.

She ran up a gangplank up to a ship 's deck, drawing surprised looks from a number of morgule slaves. There were oil lanterns lit, and temporary stalls holding horses on the deck. Bales of hay were stacked neatly. On impulse she grabbed a lantern and hurled it onto the deck before the hay bales.

The lantern broke and oil splattered about and spilled. At first nothing else happened, and she prayed that it hadn't just blown out. Suddenly it went up, and flame spread across the deck. Morgules panicked and she heard heavy, booted feet coming up the gangplank behind her. She ran and the fire moved between her and the guards. She dove over the side of the ship and dropped into the icy water.

At first, the shock of the cold water was almost more than she could bear, and the air rushed out of her lungs in her panic. Not having any air just made the panic worse, as she clawed and kicked her way back upwards in the water. Her heart raced as she made her way towards what she hoped was the surface. She suddenly couldn't be sure if she had flipped upside-down at all when she'd first entered the water. As it was still night outside, there was no sun on the surface to guide her way. What little air was left in her mouth left her too, as she unintentionally tried to scream. Water rushed into her nose and mouth, and she swallowed and swallowed, trying to get past it to air.

Without warning, she broke the surface of the water and her swallowing turned into gasps for air. She managed to calm herself some as she coughed some of the water out and restored her breathing to something resembling normal. Then the first arrow hit the water nearby. She spared a glance upwards to see Elar with bows, pointing down at her and shooting. She took a deep breath and dove under the water and swam frantically up the river. She felt one arrow stick into her thigh as she moved away, but ignored it for the moment.

As Niza got farther from where the boats were docked, the current seemed to get stronger, trying to push her small body backwards towards the Elar, instead of upriver where she needed to go. She veered towards the bank, where it seemed to have less strength and tried to set herself a pace to maintain that would make progress against the water's pull. She noted where the city wall came to the river's edge, and aimed for the bank farthest from the side the guards chasing her were on. She didn't dare stop long enough to look behind her and see what progress they were making on her. If she stopped for even a moment, she'd lose valuable distance.

She kept taking large breaths and swimming underneath the surface, hoping it would conceal her from the guards better, as well as help her swim faster. Someone had once told her something about swimming under water and surface tension and made it sound like it was better for speed. Her clothes and backpack were weighing her down as it was, causing drag and slowing her progress. It seemed to take forever for her to pass the city wall, and even longer before she thought it might be safe to leave the river itself and start running again. Shivering, she stopped long enough to break the arrow off, leaving enough of the shaft so that she could pull it out properly later, but not have it in her way so much right now. Then she ran upriver as best she could on the sodden and rocky bank.

It was early fall, so the air wasn't as cold as the mountain water of the river. She ran as best she could, and from time to time she shook. The nearby terrain was mostly farms with tall fields of wheat and corn. The riverbanks were more wooded, and she stuck to the trees. She could only hope they would keep her hidden.

She kept expecting to hear horns or dogs, but they didn't come. She kept moving anyway, although she let her pace slow. She knew if she didn't put enough distance between her and the city that they would catch up to her. For all she knew they weren't hurrying after her, knowing they could probably track her from horseback. She pushed herself onward.

Eventually morning came. By that point she was limping, more lurching along than even walking. She knew she would have to stop before too much longer. Another hour passed, and another. The sun rose higher but all she was aware of was the burning pain in her leg and the need to press onward. She moved her foot, and then moved her other foot to keep up. Then it was back to the first foot. She made no effort to keep track of time. She knew if she stopped she wouldn't be able to start again. She didn't let herself stop.

It was late in the day when she finally did stop. Her stomach ached, she was thirsty, and she was in so much pain she had trouble focusing on the ground. She had reached a thicket of older oaks, and she rooted around for a place to rest.

She found a hollow among big roots and she fell to the ground near it. She pulled herself into the little hollow. She sat herself up as much as she was able and looked at her blood-soaked leg. There was a waterskin in her backpack, and she used that to rinse blood away so she could see the wound. It was still oozing.

She could see metal at the surface, which meant it was one of the longer, thinner points meant for piercing armor. It would be only marginally barbed, which meant she'd be able to pull it out. She grabbed the bit of shaft left and yanked it out before she had time for second thoughts. The trees swallowed up her scream.

More blood came now, and she tore part of her pants leg to tie around it. She felt herself in danger of passing out. She managed to drink a little of the water before she did.