Whispers echoed around. The people in the boat spoke so in the hope of privacy.
Sometimes sobbing could be heard. Sometimes cursing and banging. Mostly, the creaking of the boat groaned over all of it.
Aureum felt her headache. This was her sixth or eighth try. The point was to twist with the right amounts of pressure so the inner teeth bits would finally yield and turn.
Not that it had been going as she wanted.
They turned, almost by mistake.
The cuff clinked open and Aureum pulled her arm out of it in her haste. She scraped herself on its edge as it clattered to the ground.
All of the quiet murmurings in the bottom of the boat stopped.
Silence.
The group before her was so hesitant. They didn't dare ask. If Aureum did nothing, they might pretend to forget.
But if I can get one person on my side it might make all the difference.
"Hey," Aureum said, her voice weaker in her pain than she would have liked. "Hey. I unlocked my chains, who would like to go next?"
If a dozen people's breath stopping made a sound, Aureum could have sworn she heard it.
"I'm next—
"Wait."
It was the same worn and tired voice from before.
"Even if she can unlock the chain that doesn't mean we're free. There's the guards. If you fail here there is only pain.
Besides.
I doubt she can snap her fingers and unlock everyone's or she would be gonna already. We can't all go."
"Should we stay here then? They might punish us just for trying. We should stop her ourselves!"
A woman, with a panicked strain to her voice, spoke.
"No. I'm saying we need to choose the strongest of us to go."
"You should also go. If we only send the strongest and they leave us behind, what will we do?"
This was a different voice, also a woman. But less terrified. Her voice reminded Aureum of sand.
"All right."
He agreed.
"I still think we should stop this! I don't want to suffer because she thinks she's immortal!" The panicked woman cried.
"You'll suffer even if she doesn't try."
The cold truth of his words snuffed out her complaint.
"So we'll have to try. What do you need us to do? We can only get so close."
This was directed at Aureum.
Aureum hadn't expected to be met with such cohesion. This stranger had them within his fingers.
His words made sense, but usually in a situation like this, sense didn't win.
Must be some other reason they're following him. Maybe he's been here the longest?
Aureum had expected more control over them.
Oh well.
"I need those of you who decide to go to tell me."
"How many?"
As many as I can manage?
But at hours per lock, this boat might be gone before she got them all free. She knew for the moment they were on a dock but boats left.
It was unlikely they would be given a warning.
Pain made it difficult to think.
"You want to go for the keys, right?"
"Yes."
It seems his plan was better.
"Then let's try two. Raise your hands and send a little mana out to me."
Any more would be pushing it for time.
The third member couldn't be decided so simply. In hushed murmurs, Aureum could only catch scraps of their debate. She could have used a bit of extra effort to catch more, but there was little point.
What she could hear went something along the lines of "I was taken only a week ago, I should go!" and "I worked in bricklaying, I have the strength," and so on and so forth.
It got to the point that Aureum started on the leader's lock while they were deciding.
Even as the mechanism was the same, Aureum felt herself stretch more for the same task. She was weak and getting weaker. She finished and found the decision had been made.
As difficult as it had been, the vague sense of the man who was ultimately chosen felt as light as the rest of them. He argued the fiercest. Hopefully, that spirit would do.
The time it took for Aureum to do this third lock was quicker than the other two. Without any distraction for her peers, the tension in the air frayed at her concentration. Finally, it was open.
The two men stood up quickly, or at least as high as they could before their heads hit the ceiling. It hurt for Aureum. Standing up felt worse than sitting, every slight tremble making her ribs feel like being stabbed. Being bent over made talking impossible for her.
"Let's go," the leader said.
In a haze, she followed the other two out. The top of the deck was small. For its cargo, the ship was small, but it was large for a simple boat passing time on the Vena.
Every heartbeat stabbed pain through her side and her head.
"Stay."
This was whispered to her.
She could see the leader now, the light from the moon as he crouched in the doorway. An older man. Or perhaps his hair was white from the wear of his life, and his arms and body were mostly bones from the hunger in it.
The strongest was not much better. He wasn't gray, but just as thin. They snuck ahead. Aureum focused on not throwing up.
Guards she hadn't seen until they moved were lifted up and thrown over. They fell into the water with a splash. The two came back to her.
"You can get out of the doorway, but try not to stand. There are more in the docks."
Aureum crawled out slowly. She felt weak, dizzy, and the stabbing pain from just breathing.
I've pushed too much.
"Are you alright?"
"No," Aureum gasped.
It was difficult to think of lying.
The leader laid her out and saw her bandages by her neck.
"So you were injured when you were taken."
"What do we do?" The strongest said.
"Can you go back alone?" The leader asked.
Aureum forced herself to nod.
"We continue. We will not get another chance."
Aureum waited as they left. She slowly propped herself up on the edge of the vessel in time to see them finish sneaking across the docks. The guards they came across were attacked from behind. Before Aureum's dazed eyes, the door to some large building closed shut.
The pain numbed her own panic.
Painstakingly, she pulled herself up onto the edge of the ship.
I can't climb down. But maybe I could jump and swim.
There was no thought about going back. Never willing would Aureum go back to such a place.
The waves rolled out before, darker than the sky.
She pushed herself forward into falling.
The pain of hitting the water while wounded nearly knocked her out. The cold sobered her, but after was more of a burden than a boon.
Flailing forward, her feet found the ground. On the bright side, her cloak was absent, so its weight didn't drown her. She pushed as she gasped and groaned and every sound caused her pain. Pulling herself onto the mud, she took slow steps.
At first, she didn't have the sense of mind to keep an eye out for guards. Many times she had to stop for a rest. She dared not sink to the ground. If she did, she was certain she could not get up again.
She felt freezing from being damp, but too sick to shiver.
One of the doors opened.
The two returned with the keys shining in the Leader's hands. They missed her, as she stilled in the shadows.
Aureum had hidden because she heard the noise. By the time she thought to ask them for help, they had already run back inside the ship. Time was of the essence for them.
Probably best if I left them to their own burdens.
She was deadweight in her current state. Yet she waited for them to come out. It was an excuse to rest, and following behind them seemed a solid plan.
They came out quickly enough. It was sad to see them, even in the dim moonlight. Men and women crept out with mirrored expressions of desperation. What they had most in common was their emancipated figures. Thin as rails, covered in rags, and worn skin.
I hope we all survive this.
That was unlikely.
They went by her as quietly as they could, too focused on freedom for a single one to notice her.
After the last one had gone through, it was Aureum's belated turn.
A few more steps, yes, so easy, so simple. I can do it if I try. I can do it. I can. I can. I can.
Her mind rambled to deal with the ache of her body.
The door was within her sight. Now she had to stretch out her thin mana. She could not meet the guards in this state, so she had to.
Despite how far she had already stretched herself.
She grasped at the familiar thread she'd spent so much time holding onto. Any mana would help her. It wasn't there.
It probably broke the second I fainted.
Aureum gathered herself. She needed her cloak, and to get out. The door opened without much difficulty, at least.
Now for the hard part of avoiding everyone else or possibly dying.
She leaned on the wall, a promising start. There was a bit of clattering up ahead.
"It's time we take back our lives."
That was from the leader. His tone was dark.
"Argh—
A man's cry was cut off. Aureum froze. Cold sweat, or maybe just the remains of the river Vena, fell against the back of her neck.
It made sense. If she had been mistreated as badly as they were, it wouldn't be just the utility of getting the guards out of the way. Vengeance would be its own reward.
It was not peaceful to listen to.
While they were thus distracted, Aureum stumbled past them.
Out. I need to get out of this nightmare.
The halls straightened. Sometimes she ducked inside a room for a moment as she sensed someone coming. For the most part, she stumbled straight ahead.
She completely abandoned any search for her cloak. Getting out required all she had.
As much as she clung to her senses her mind came in and out of focus. At least most of the guards were behind her now. The escapees, she didn't even know.
She heard a large group of people ahead and headed towards them. Maybe they could help.
When she saw the curtains, she couldn't have told you what turns she took to get herself there. She pushed through them, finding herself on a stage.
Hundreds of eyes looked at her in silence.
But they looked like normal people.
They began murmuring. Whispering amongst themselves.
"Miss! Please get off the platform!"
"Please," Aureum gasped. "Help me."
It came out like a whisper. She had pushed too far past her limits. She felt herself sinking.
Of all things, the shock and confusion of finding herself on stage was too much. The second she lacked a clear focus she was lost.
Aureum didn't fall to the ground. She found her head resting against something solid. But past that, she sank into a void, pushed out of her senses by pain and exhaustion.
———————————————————
Mendax had spent this time in idle comfort. He watched the artifacts being sold with minor interest. The first couple of items had value only as historical evidence. Nothing much could be done with such pieces of rust.
Later items, ones that were more recent or repaired for use, elicited excitement from the crowd. They were pretty to the eye.
Mendax was interested enough to lose himself to the atmosphere for a time. He wondered where such things had been found, whether in some dusty storage room or forgotten battlefield.
In many cases, the auctioneer would rattle off a short history.
However, one item they brought out in a group of others gave him pause.
"These beautiful winged cloaks are next. Some of you might remember the old trend from decades past. Here are a few of our best selections for you gentlemen."
The auctioneer continued to ramble off more information, but Mendax was not listening anymore. He leaned forward as his eyes narrowed.
A burgundy cloak, with an abstract water design embroidered onto it. How many times had he described that to others? Until the wording was branded into his mind.
With one garment any joy he had momentarily imagined was lost.
"Nivis," Mendax said, "Get me the burgundy cloak."
"It's a collection. I can't just buy you the one."
"Get me all of them then."
"Why would I do that?"
Mendax seethed.
"What can I do to make you do that?"
Nivis looked at Mendax and raised his number.
"119 for 250 quinques. 250 quinques!"
It went through. Nobody else wanted them. Not for that price.
"What do you want?"
"Watching you beg was entertaining enough. Plus, the rest are mine, right?"
There's nothing from you I want.
The implied insult to Nivis' words.
Mendax sat back. He would accept the insult for free.
But did she sell it?
It would make sense to sell something so distinct. Perhaps she could trade it for an equivalent garment with a quieter design. It just didn't fit for her to do something of sense.
The rest of the auction Mendax sat tense.
He needed to know how the cloak got here.
At the moment he could take no more, when he was only considering how to make Nivis give him the cloak later before leaving, she appeared upon the stage.
He saw first that she was soaked, dirty, and injured. He saw then the guard by the stage reach for his sword. For him, that was enough.
Mendax took a run past the audience and leapt onto the stage, catching Aureum before she fell.
Despite the fact that if he allowed her to die, all of his problems would be neatly tied up. If he had stopped to think he might have weighed these considerations. Though it likely wouldn't have mattered.
It had been some time since he followed what he thought.