Book 3. Chapter 39

Book 3. Chapter 39

The further they ran the harder they laughed, until Brin was laughing so hard he started thinking he would collapse.

A group of Watchmen arrived from a side street behind them, running towards them in full plate armor and halberds in hand. “Halt in the name of the law!”

Brin and his friends looked at each other in horror, smiles draining from their faces. What were they going to do? Were they actually going to stop and take their just desserts, or were they going to try to escape?

Brin had got them into this. He’d be the only one to get in trouble if he–

“This way!” shouted Zilly, and pulled them down a side street. That was it. They were running.

They ran past a long row of stylish townhouses, with little staircases up to the doors and matching shrubs and lollipop-shaped trees in front. No place to turn or hide, the group focused on sprinting forward to make some ground.

Zilly led the group, running faster, and faster and faster. Brin realized that on her own she could probably outpace them all easily, and she was slowly increasing the pace to see when they would start falling behind.

As the speed increased, he actually started to feel the burn. His lungs started to burn, and he felt a wear in his legs; a rare feeling ever since he’d started training [Athleticism].

Sion was the first to falter with his heavy backpack, so they all slowed down to match his pace. Even so, they seemed to be making progress against their pursuers.

For his part, Marksi wasn’t having any trouble keeping up at all. The little dragon scampered alongside him, looking happy and excited.

“I’ve decided on what I will do with the General Skill point I’ve been hanging onto. [Running]. It seems to be a theme with you lot,” panted Sion.

“Good choice,” Brin gasped back.

Despite the complaining, they were doing it. They were gaining ground against the members of the Watch, but then when they reached a side street, they heard the alarm whistle coming from their left. Another group was coming to cut them off.

Zilly led them down the other direction. This was a more commercial area, with tall shops and workhouses and tighter streets. She ran through backstreets and alleyways, doing her best to help them lose their pursuit.

This area of town looked poorer. Not that the buildings were shorter; in fact, they were taller. Apartments. Unlike the careful blocks in the big cities back home, these seemed to wander in every direction. Often buildings would grow into their neighbors, or expand from brick into what looked like trash and driftwood and had Brin wondering why the whole thing didn’t come crashing down.

They zigged and zagged through the chaotic streets and alleys. Brin thought for sure they’d lose their pursuit here, but the Watch knew this area better than them. Every time they turned a corner, the whistles seemed to be just a bit closer.

Then a group of the Watch dashed around the corner a block away. “Halt!”

More of the Watch were behind them, and the other direction was a dead end. They were trapped.

Marksi scampered to the dead end and climbed up the side of the building, up four stories to the top. He looked down and nodded at them as if to say Just do that.

“Got it,” said Davi. He pulled out his oud and began to play.

This time, he broke every single rule about how [Bards] were supposed to act in cities, and Brin felt a swell of power and confidence surge into him. That, and instructions.

He pulled the backpack off of Sion and swung it up into the air as hard as he could. Zilly scampered up the side of the building as easily and quickly as Marksi had and caught the backpack up above. Then Brin and Sion scaled the side of the building. Brin moved a little more slowly than Zilly, but his Dexterity was more than high enough for the task. Instruction from the song made him reach down once without even looking to grab Sion’s hand and prevent him from falling, but then they both made it to the top with little trouble.

Davi threw his lute up towards them, and then climbed up himself with the casual ease of a gorilla.

The Watch arrived at the base of the wall just as Davi crested the top, but their armor would give them at least a little trouble.

They ran across the rooftop, and Davi started playing again as they ran, bolstering their confidence.

Zilly turned suddenly and jumped off the roof, and without second-guessing, Brin turned and followed suit.

Below them was a ten foot drop onto a steeply slanted roof. They landed and slid on their feet down the roof, then jumped off at the last minute across a small gap to yet another roof. It was impressive that Davi did this all without ever stopping his music, and guided by the song even Sion managed to pull it off.

They crossed the last roof and then dropped down to the ground. Zilly guided them onwards, into a section of town that looked a bit more industrial.

As they ran behind a tall red-bricked factory with tall smokestacks rising into the air, Sion took his backpack back from Zilly. He swung it around and pulled out a few shirts and hats, tossing them at the others. “To change our appearance!”

Brin shoved a red shirt on, and a blue cap. The party slowed to a walk, trying to conceal the fact that they were panting and flushed from running.

“Your pet will give us away,” said Sion.

“No he won’t,” said Brin.

Sion looked around, probably noticing that Marksi was nowhere in sight. When they’d all started changing their appearance, he’d recognized camouflage and activated his own. Even Brin had lost sight of him. He didn’t know anyone who could find Marksi when he didn’t want to be found.

Exiting from the narrow alley behind the factory, they walked into rush hour traffic. Busy-looking workers walked every direction, probably on break between shifts. There were lots of small, dingy restaurants and bars, where the workers would have their lunch before returning to work.

There was also a group of Watchmen, standing up on the crossroads ahead, scanning the crowds with looks of intense interest. Sion handed Davi his backpack and Davi handed his oud to Zilly. Brin pulled his hat down and put his hands in his pockets to hide what scars he could.

They approached the crossroads with the Watch, and then walked straight by. No one called to stop them.

Then he remembered that Zilly was out there running for her life, to take the heat off of them for a crime that he committed. He didn’t get to feel bad about that for long, though, because another notification arrived for him.

Alert! You have received a new Achievement! Celebrated (Common) You have authored and performed a song which has been sung by one hundred people. You wrote the hit song “They call me Kukubaru.” You can make this Achievement visible to [Inspect] as proof that you’re the original author. You can sign anything you create with messages visible to [Inspect] as proof that you were their creator.

No way. People were singing his song? No wonder the Watch was so persistent.

The three of them wandered around a city for a time. They passed several groups of the Watch, but they must not have had good descriptions, because without an oud or Marksi to give them away, no one gave them so much as a second glance.

Eventually, they wandered into a part of town Brin recognized, and he was able to make his way to the street where his inn was. They’d been walking for nearly an hour, and everyone was ready for a break.

When the inn was in sight, Brin said, “We can regroup and wait for Zilly here. Hopefully she’ll be–”

Another notification interrupted him.

Alert! Your Achievement has advanced. Celebrated (Common) -> Celebrated (Rare) You have authored and performed a song which has been sung by over one thousand people. You wrote the hit song “They call me Kukubaru.” You can make this Achievement visible to [Inspect] as proof that you’re the original author.

You can sign anything you create with messages visible to [Inspect] as proof that you were their creator.

+20% to all attributes while creating, performing, or inventing. This bonus cannot be applied during combat.

Oh. He was in trouble, wasn’t he? He couldn’t help the smile that crept across his face.

“Brin? What’s wrong?” asked Davi.

“Nothing’s wrong. I just got an Achievement,” said Brin. He noticed that his smile had moved into “Scarred One” territory and focused on making it more normal, not sure if he was succeeding.

They reached the inn, and a bellman opened the door for them, causing Sion’s eyebrows to rise. “This is a nice place.”

In the lobby, Zilly was already waiting for them. She was sunken into a couch, and drawing frowns from the staff at her shabby appearance.

She jumped to her feet when she saw them arrive and struck a triumphant pose, hands on her hips. “What did I say? Easy!”

Still somewhat distracted by the Achievement, Brin gave her a quick hug. “Thank you. But never do that again!”

Zilly chuckled awkwardly, growing a bit red in the face. “Oh. Um. You’re welcome.”

“Thanks, Zilly. How’s my oud?” asked Davi.

“Not a scratch!”

Brin felt a hand on his shoulder, and he turned around to find a frowning Hogg.

“I could just about kill you right now.”

Brin grinned. “What? You didn’t like the song? I figured you’d think it was hilarious.”

Hogg’s frown cracked slightly. “I about laughed my head off when I heard you sing that, I’m not going to lie. But now the damn thing has been stuck in my head for the past two hours!”

Brin laughed. “That’s cuz I’m a kukubaru!”

“Stop it!” Hogg’s frown broke completely into a smile. “Your dumb song is everywhere. There’s no stopping it now.”

“I know! I got an insane Achievement for it.”

“You’ll have to catch me up on it later.” Hogg looked at Sion, Davi, and Zilly. “You kids mind waiting here for a minute? Brin and I have something we need to take care of.”

“What is it?” Brin asked.

“You’ll see.”

Hogg marched him up to their rooms, feeling a familiar sort of confusion and dread. Hogg really loved this sort of thing. They were probably heading towards their room so they could talk in private, and no doubt Hogg was going to drop some tidbit of information that would absolutely shatter his entire worldview.

He opened the door towards the common area of their suite, and found that they wouldn’t be alone after all. A large, stout man with a bushy red beard and fine noble’s clothing was sitting at their table with a mug of ale.

Brin recognized him from earlier in the morning. This was Baron Neves, the ruler of Oud’s Bog.

Neves smiled widely when he entered, like a man whose fishing pole had just reeled up a big one.

“Kukubaru, I presume?”