And so the story continues…
Day 24: She looked at faces and followed actions to make sure she was not anyone’s particular focus of attention.
She looked at faces and followed actions to make sure she was not anyone’s particular focus of attention. She headed back towards the archives so that her actions would look like they did any morning. It would help set the spell that caused them to think she was still here.
Once away from those who lived closest to her and mixed in with the full morning crowd heading in towards the city center, Anna adjusted her path. She slipped down side streets, angling her course away and making for one of the few unguarded exits from the city. It wasn’t a planned exit, more of a building that the city forgot. Anna found the exit marked on one small map in the archives. It was a map that was only a handspan wide and so tightly rolled it threatened to crack into pieces as she unrolled it. It marked the building as an escape route in time of siege.
Anna followed the map, and even though the city changed dramatically over the centuries, the exit was still usable. She had taken it once just to see if she could and found it weathered the years well. After, she doublechecked the other maps in the archives and saw the exit was lost to time, or at least the map makers. She secreted the small map out of the archives so no one else would know. She copied it onto a new piece of paper as the old one disintegrated as she worked.
In addition to the exit she was using now, there were three others marked. Only one of the others was functional. The old map also showed her where older market gardens were placed, and in a few of the forgotten spaces, she found spell ingredients she could harvest. It let her save her coin and not draw attention from the herbalists. The herbs she harvested were the ones that would be least likely to be included in culinary experiments. The others she could play off as an experimental seasoning if she had to and made certain to buy them in quantities that let others believe that.
‘Always visiting the herbalists after the butchers helps,’ Anna thought.
She reached the building’s entrance and walked in as though this was her destination. There were a few other people about and they were going into different buildings. Even though she only traveled the route through the edge of the city once before, she made a point of coming here relatively often so that her face was not unexpected and so that she could see those who routinely moved through as well.
No one seemed out of place and no one thought her out of place. She slipped inside and bolted the door behind herself.
Once bolted Anna felt secure. She made her way quickly to the exit, knowing she would not be safe until she was safely out of the city. The stairs took her down into a short tunnel and Anna walked quickly. It wasn’t a long tunnel but she didn’t want to be caught in it. She reached the other side and opened the door. She stepped through and let it close behind her.
While Anna was certain the forest was usually kept back from the city, here it came close and once outside the city walls, Anna found herself under the leavy green of the forest canopy. She heaved a deep breath and let go of some of the tension she was carrying. She was outside the city now and well on her way.
She felt a zing of excitement as she started off. Anna realized as she walked that she should have left months ago.
Ten til Midnight 