Guardian of Heaven and Earth
-
Rota
Part 2 - Enemies Among Friends
Chapter 3 - Attack
The day passed slowly. Strength returned to Balsa's limbs by degrees; she shook out her hands and legs to banish the lingering numbness. A poor woman came to attend on her and check her over for injuries; aside from her, Balsa saw only Hugo and the magic weaver he supposedly worked with.
Balsa managed to sit up with great difficultly and rest her back against the wall. This place didn't look like an inn or a home. Maybe it was some kind of warehouse or holding area. The room she was in was small and had no windows. She thought it looked like a nice, quiet spot for a murder. The candles on the desk near her were refreshed periodically, but aside from that the room wasn't lit.
When Balsa leaned down and brought her hands to the floor, she found the floor's surface to be gritty with sand or some other fine powder. She sniffed and smelled flour.
Definitely a warehouse, then. Hugo and the magic weaver must have rented it out before it could be fully cleaned out. The wall at her back was made of cool, smooth stone. She heard the sound of waves lapping against something nearby, but she heard nothing else. She took in her surroundings in complete silence and leaned her head against the wall.
There was a loud sound of knocking at the door. Balsa sat up. She heard footsteps and shouting voices as well as loud thunks like merchandise falling from shelves. Someone screamed.
Are we being attacked?
Hugo almost certainly had enemies. He’d said as much himself. Maybe the Nanyoku spies had found this location.
Balsa frowned as the smell of smoke reached her through the door. And now they’ve set a fire...
The sounds of fighting grew louder. Balsa crawled silently toward the raised platform that served as her bed and hid underneath it. She could move, but her arms and legs felt almost completely numb. She could do nothing but hide and hope that she didn’t burn to death.
She felt a sudden shock like impact through the floor that made her grit her teeth. She felt the shock directly in her jaw, since her head still felt too heavy to lift.
“Shit,” Balsa breathed. She supported herself on her elbows and crawled toward her spear, which was on the other side of the room. If she could use her spear to support herself, maybe she could walk. She could at least try to block the attackers from opening the door that way. It was still locked, but if they beat against it enough she was sure they could break the door open.
She didn’t know how long she’d be able to keep the door closed in her condition, but she had no choice but to try. She didn’t have the key. She couldn’t leave.
Balsa saw smoke streaking through the crack under the door, moving like a living thing as it spread across the floor and rose into the air. Balsa started coughing violently. Her chest and throat felt like they’d been pierced by something sharp.
When she finally picked up her spear and leaned against it with her back to the door, she heard footsteps again. There was a loud thunk against the lower part of the door; someone must have kicked it. The corners of the door emerged briefly from the doorframe before Balsa pushed it back into place, groaning with the effort.
So this is how I go, huh?
The door opened behind her, revealing Hugo. He lifted her up and started carrying her.
“Oi! Leave the woman behind. What’s wrong with you?” a voice yelled from outside the room.
“Go ahead of me,” Hugo called back. “I’ll meet you at the usual place.” Hugo carried Balsa back into the room and kicked the door closed behind him. He set Balsa down on the desk, then picked up the platform where she’d been recovering and propped it up against the wall. There was a trapdoor beneath it.
Hugo lifted the trapdoor, revealing a staircase descending down into gloom. Fresh air wafted into the room from below, dispersing some of the smoke. Balsa wondered what the owners of the warehouse could have used such a place for--were there more goods hidden down below?
“Are you really gonna leave me behind?” Balsa asked Hugo as he started descending the stairs.
Hugo turned to face her and chuckled. There was a drawn short sword in one of his fists. He slipped silently down the stairs and disappeared.
Balsa heard more fighting, this time from the opening of the trapdoor. There was a loud twang like a bowstring being released; Hugo cried out. The sound of blades clashing echoed in the small room.
Even with the influx of fresh air from the trapdoor, the room continued to fill with smoke; it was becoming difficult to breathe again. Balsa gripped her spear and rolled from the desk to the ground, where she crouched down near the trapdoor.
Balsa crept down the stairs one by one, silently. She saw gleaming wet stones on the floor in front of her, along with moss and standing puddles of black water. On the far side of the room, she saw a man lying face-down. As she descended the steps, she realized that this area was some kind of sewage drain; there was a large sort of man-made river, and this was what the man was floating in.
Hugo was sitting directly next to the stairs with an arrow in his thigh.
“So they got you?” Balsa muttered.
Hugo looked up at Balsa. He was sweating profusely. “It’s not bad,” he said.
“You should probably take the arrow out,” Balsa said.
Hugo shrugged his shoulders and frowned in irritation. “I know.” He broke the shaft of the arrow, grunting in pain, but he didn’t remove it. Balsa slid down the remaining steps one by one, using her spear for support. She crawled closer to Hugo and realized he had more wounds than the one in his leg. His side had been cut open by a blade.
“That’s the Hura river,” Hugo said, pointing to the flowing water that Balsa had mistaken for a sewage drain. The mouth of the river was very wide; this place must either be far from the river’s source or located at a sort of choke point. Balsa now understood why a warehouse would find this place so useful; shipping goods in secret would be very easy from here.
There were no lights lining the river. The entire area was completely dark. Aside from the man Balsa had seen lying face-down in the water, she saw only one other: he was still and unmoving on the other side of the river. She didn’t know if he was alive, but he wasn’t moving. She frowned as she recognized him as the boss of the underground jeweler she’d infiltrated. There was a short bow lying next to him within easy reach.
Hugo gasped and stared at the river. The floating enemy started drifting downstream in the direction of the river’s source. There was a small boat in the distance.
“We managed to stop them here, but who knows how many of them are waiting for us outside,” Hugo muttered. “I don’t suppose you’re strong enough yet to fight--or even to help me walk out of here.”
Balsa laughed. “I don’t see any issue with leaving you here. I’ll be able to leave on my own soon enough.”
Hugo wiped sweat from his forehead and smiled bitterly. “I don’t want to let you do that, either. I don’t want you die over something so stupid.” He glanced at the boat. “I wonder if we might leave here on that. It’s worth a try.”
There was no way to tell if this was a cargo ship or if it belonged to the enemy, but the ship itself appeared sound and seaworthy. It also wasn’t very far from shore; he and Balsa wouldn’t have to swim far to make it--but they would still have to swim. Balsa’s limbs were still numb and Hugo had an arrow in his thigh. The ship was so close, but it seemed impossibly far away.
Flames consumed the building over their heads, making them feel entirely too warm. More people from above streamed into this space from other entrances, seeking to escape from the fire. The warehouse itself was made of wood, but this layer and the foundation were all made of solid stone; it was reasonable to escape here if they hadn’t been able to get out onto the street in time.
Balsa and Hugo didn’t know if any of these people were enemies in disguise. They hadn’t been spotted yet, but if they wanted to run, they’d have to do it fast.
“I have an idea,” Balsa said. “Help me.” She removed her arm from the sleeve of her over-kimono, then ripped the sleeve off. “I have rope at my hip,” Balsa said. “Get it and uncoil it. I can’t move fast enough.” She always kept the rope there, partially to protect her stomach from slashing attacks, but also because rope was always useful to have for times like this.
Hugo pushed aside Balsa’s upper kimono enough to find her rope and uncoil it.
“Now tie the rope around my spear’s head, under the point,” Balsa said. “And remove the scabbard. We might be able to use the spear like a harpoon and latch on to that ship’s hull.”
Hugo nodded in understanding. He stood up with great effort, then lobbed the spear at the boat as hard as he possibly could. He felt gripped the rope hard and felt it when the boat started tugging him along. The spear hadn’t breached the ship’s hull, but it had definitely gotten stuck on something.
“Don’t drag the rope on the ground,” Balsa said as Hugo approached the ship. He passed the end of the rope to her. Together, they pulled the rope taut and walked alongside the boat. When it was close enough for them to jump on, they did, then retrieved Balsa’s spear and concealed themselves.
I wonder who attacked them? I guess we'll figure that out soon enough.
ReplyDeleteIndeed you will (two chapters from now, the mastermind will confess), but Balsa's right here; it's enemy spies.
DeleteThanks for letting me know! Will look forward to it.
Delete