Mornn
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Chapter 621 - A beggar’s knowledge
🕑 Added 2025-02-15 16:35:24 +0000 UTCSofia flew through the air, falling two floors and crashing feet first onto the roof of a nearby annex. She fell straight through the ceramic roof tiles and the interior ceiling, before painfully landing on a wooden crate that burst open, spreading its contents around.
Ugh. Not bad.
Sofia was in pain, and relatively sure she had at least a broken leg, though it was an internal injury, but she thanked her good luck for the relatively safe landing onto a crate of some unknown crunchy material.
Can’t see shit…
Through the storm, Sofia still heard the booming voice of the manor’s lord, yelling orders at his guard. “What are you waiting for?! Catch him!”
Crap. I need to move.
Sofia stood up with difficulty. She whined in pain when she tried putting any weight on her right leg, confirming that it was more than a bit broken. She understood that she had landed on a crate of cabbages as she felt her way around. Looking at the hole she had left in the ceiling and recalling how exactly she landed, she oriented herself and pointed at a wall.
“Pestle, break this wall.”
The fairy did not need any convincing, and just charged through both the wooden wall and the stone fence wall it was built against, creating a gaping hole leading directly to the streets behind the manor. Sofia quickly followed through the hole as she could hear several voices screaming from behind, though she couldn’t make out any of it. At first in the warehouse she supported her weight with her arms, but out in the streets she could only jump on her left leg, quickly hopping after Pestle who ran ahead on her tiny legs, leading Sofia to the nearest narrow alleyway.
Sofia put her back against a wall and used what little perception she had regained with [Bone dominus] to diagnose her legs.
Multiple fractures in the left leg and foot I think… But it’s not painful so far? And it feels like the right shin bone snapped in two… Hopefully no internal bleeding…
She hastily started to mend the broken bones, but it would be a slow process of several minutes for a single leg with how weak her control over bones currently was. She heard the voices coming closer, and started to see the light of torches through the storm. Without much time, she just realigned her broken shin bones and fled through the alleyway, trying to put as little weight as possible on her right leg. It was painful, but she could walk. She took a few random turns, the voices from behind coming closer, there were at least four or five pursuers.
Right before Sofia took another turn, she heard a whistling noise, Pestle turned to a blur as she shrieked and jumped at the same time, her sudden move leaving cracks in the pavement, she grabbed something mid-air right behind Sofia’s head.
Sofia gritted her teeth and pushed forward into another alleyway, feeling the bite of the rain against her face and the wet fabric of her cloak sticking to her skin. Each step was a battle, and the pain from her shin was like fire, spreading through her leg with every strained movement. The storm seemed to only be getting stronger, drowning out her other senses with its pounding rain and howling wind.
I have to keep moving. I can’t stop now. The thought came like a distant echo, pushing her forward despite the fog of pain clouding her mind. She could hear the distant shout of a guard, its contents inaudible through the rain. It made her heart race even faster.
A faint noise from behind startled her, Pestle had returned. The fairy was covered in blood, red droplets splattering against Sofia’s cloak. Sofia didn’t have the strength to say anything. The crossbowman was taken care of. But at what cost?
Sofia glanced at a house’s backdoor to her left, the only cover she could find. She pushed herself forward, gritting her teeth as her right leg buckled. She barely made it to the door, slumping against it, praying that the darkness would shield her long enough to find the strength to continue fleeing. She could hear the faint shuffle of footsteps getting closer.
I need time. I need time…
Her breath came in labored gasps, but she forced herself to focus on the next step. The door clicked open with Pestle’s help, a claw swipe between the door and its frame destroying the lock, and she stumbled inside, heart pounding, eyes strained from the storm. She closed the door behind her with trembling hands, pressing her back against it, and slowly slid down to the floor. The scent of wood and dust filled the air.
The storm outside seemed to fall silent for a moment. Her body, exhausted and aching, threatened to collapse, but Sofia didn’t allow it. She couldn’t faint now.
Gnashing her teeth to keep the screams in, she readjusted the misaligned shin bone directly with her hands, which was much faster and did wonders to keep her awake, then she started to fix it with [Bone dominus] again. While Pestle worriedly listened to the outside, her little head stuck against the door.
Pestle and Sofia heard the sound of footsteps, boots striking against the wet pavement, they held their breaths. Sofia prayed that the pursuers would not notice anything, and Pestle was on edge next to her, getting ready to jump out and strike.
Sofia grabbed Pestle and pressed her against her chest.
We can’t kill them. She thought, even though Pestle couldn’t currently hear her thoughts. She hoped that Pestle had only injured the crossbowman and not killed him.
The fairy seemed to settle down a bit in Sofia’s embrace.
Sofia heard a first voice outside, but it was far and muffled by the rain. A second one answered, from closer, the voice seemingly a bit panicked but authoritative. “He can’t have fled far! Keep going, you two there; I go this way, stay wary of the firearm and explosives!”
Two voices answered, and again Sofia heard the sound of their boots as they went away.
The alleyway was silent once more, and Sofia could breathe again.
Firearm… Did they mistake Pestle for a flintlock?
Hopefully they’ll just give up soon…
All of this being said, Sofia could not see a thing at the moment, in complete darkness, now that the people outside had left the little light they had brought with them that filtered from under the door was gone. She calmed her breathing as best she could and worked on fixing her legs while checking every other bone in her body.
Nothing else broken, luckily… The cape suffered a bit from the fall but it's a very resistant cloth, so it’s not ruined. Overall… It would have been better without the mishap at the end, but I got what I came for: better clothes and some funds.
I only need to find a way to sell the jewelry without getting arrested… I can sell them first thing in the morning, before the news of my stunt can travel too much. Can’t be too hard to find a jeweler in this city.
They’ll know what I look like but…
No… I can’t, can I? It’s too risky even like this. If I end up being stuck here a while I can’t let them trace this back to me, if I’m wanted in the city it will make everything difficult for no reason.
I’ll have to find a fence.
Sitting in silence in the dark, Sofia healed her legs. Now that she had calmed down a bit, she could hear the muffled snoring of someone sleeping in a nearby room, thankfully her intrusion had not woken up the people living there, but she could not stay hidden in place for long. If the guards were serious about finding her, it was only a matter of time before they started searching the nearby homes, and if not, she would undoubtedly be reported to the authorities, so the city guards would also be looking for her in the morning. Not only that, but she had to leave before the people of the house she was in woke up and noticed her.
I better take advantage of the storm while it lasts. I should rest just a bit more…
Around an hour later, and having heard the sound of the guards’ boots searching for her through the storm passing by two more times, Sofia finally felt that she had the strength to get up. In the dark, she had Pestle slowly guide her to this house’s main entrance, where the guard would be much less likely to be waiting for her at the corner of an alley.
Breaking through a second lock, she carefully left the house. There were semi-distant lights in the street on both sides, though their sources were hidden by the rain.
They’re still searching… Sofia mentally lamented, but after some hesitation she still bit the bullet and ran to the opposite side of the street, into another dark passage.
From there, she advanced quickly, avoiding two city-guard patrols, which were undoubtedly searching for her. She circled some streets several times, both to avoid the patrols and to spread her scent in order to confuse hunting hounds, should the guards try to find her that way.
The sun was starting to rise over the horizon, a faint glow illuminating the city through the rain and the thick clouds. Sofia’s thoughts were foggy, her body a dull ache. She had no idea how long she had been moving through the storm, it felt like hours. She finally made her way back to the abandoned house she had slept in. The cape she wore was dripping wet, leaving a trail of water behind her in the house. Climbing to the second floor, she fell asleep as soon as she sat down.
Comments
Tejing
That could have gone better, but I guess she at least accomplished what she set out to do.
Cyclone001
I suppose you're right about that. Still, the first rule of burglary is not to go to houses where the people are awake (especially if they're armed security guards). If all Sofia was really after was some clothes, it would have been wiser choose a different house or shoplift the next day or something similar (Pestle could either distract or steal the item). For the amount of effort Sofia put into this, I confess I expected Sofia to get more out of this adventure than clothes that barely fit (I suspect this is not the last time we see this house or it's owner, therefore).
Songy
We thought we couldn't get such a staple anymore due to Sofs powerlevel. Jokes on us, it seems. I hope Orator is liking the entertainment at least :D
Mornn
The sad reality is, if you look like a hobo people will treat you like one. Now that she has no power (Aside from letting Pestle slaughter people), appearances matter more than ever if she wants to do anything / get any help in the city.
Cyclone001
The thing I don't quite get is why Sofia did this house raid in the first place though. I mean she had clothes already - granted, no good ones - and she had enough money to buy food. The only thing she accomplished was a small upgrade in clothing for getting on the wanted list (which I have to assume is the important part from the story telling point of view for later).
E
Manor Lord: "My cabbages!"
Lazy Monster
TFTC. Ah a good old fashioned run from the town guard
Kennyevilmonkey
!retpahc eht rof sknahT
Wensber
Thanks for the chapter!
Quentin Cozzi
Thanks for the chapter!
