I'm still not free. I will only be free after I'm outside these walls.
What Mom and Camnucy told me is true, and I can see it fully now. There's no way on Earth I could survive for long in this city.
The guys pursuing me seem to be able to do as they like, probably because their boss is the duke of this land. The guy who provided half of my genetic material.
Even if I managed to throw my pursuers off tonight, I wouldn't be able to do what I need to get food without being seen and ratted by someone.
That doesn't mean that the Barren Wilds will be safe. It's filled with monsters, and it's fully survival of the fittest out there. But still, the chances are better than zero, while in the city, they are negative.
As much as I want to kill that damn guy, I need to first flee before getting stronger. Then I'll come back and strike when he is less expecting.
So my best shot is going there. I hug the sword and the small backpack I picked from one of the two guys I tested my new spell with.
Mimby, the fox beastkin from before, said that managing to get those would increase my likelihood of survival by a lot in the Barrens.
I put my hand on a little pendant she made for me, from scraps of clothing. It's a symbol of her tribe, and a sign of hope for the future out there.
But first, I need to focus on the here and now.
Thing is, there's this fucking ten meter tall wall in my way. As my mind ponders all the pros and cons, I just keep looking up, bewildered.
How the hell do I climb that?
:::
I'm looking at the wall from a little roof slab on a house, which I managed to climb because of the strengthening aria. I saw some of the duke's henchmen walk the street twice since I perched here. Luckily, they didn't look up. Yeah, this isn't a safe spot.
But then it hits me. That wall guard tower... People go up and down every day, right? And sometimes I see guards on top of the wall as well. There should be some stairs around.
If my 'father' is the duke of the land, probably those guards are in his employment, right? The difference between them and the other henchmen is the uniform. Or maybe the city guards are under the command of a Mayor or something?
Anyway, the collar will give me away as an escapee slave, so if they spot me up there, I'm done.
And at night, the city gates remain closed, obviously. The threat from monsters of the Wilds is very serious.
So I weigh my options. I can try to find a good hiding spot and wait for the morning to try to escape through the gates. I would need to hope that I manage to maintain my illusion on the collar, and also hope that the guards won't mind a little girl walking alone to the wilderness. Slim chance, there.
The other option is climbing that wall right now.
I squint my eyes, trying to spot a staircase or something. After a bit, I notice two ways of going up. One is a door in the base of the tower, which is closed. It's probably the safest route for everyday patrols.
The second one is a narrow staircase that runs up the wall directly. It doesn't have any handrail or safety measures, nor any light, so it's probably a lot less used by patrols, especially at night. It's probably there only for those times when you need to man the walls in a quick fashion.
So that's my way up.
Gladly, the sword is a shortsword, and the backpack is just big enough for it to fit up to the guard. The hilt pokes outward, but with the guard being inside, it will be safe enough for me to carry it without hindering my movements and without risk of losing it.
I cast the strengthening aria again. I can feel my mana starting to run dangerously low, so I don't think I'll be able to cast any other spell without passing out.
:::
Right when I reach almost halfway up the stairs, I'm spotted.
I hear the commotion below me, but I keep running. Suddenly, I hear a quick aria and something flying through the air. I don't need to look at the side to know what was happening, so I just launch myself forward and hope for the best.
I feel something cold on my feet. I had tripped and landed some steps above, managing to maintain my balance just enough not to fall to the side.
I look down and see an icicle around the size of my forearm stuck on the wall. I had dodged it by a hair's breadth.
And coming up the stairs is Mutton.
I quickly get back on my feet and get back to running, right as another spell is being hurled at me.
"Quickly, Aurea." I encourage myself as I keep striding forward, up the staircase. I know that the moment I lose my balance and fall, there will be people on the floor ready to catch me. The wrong kind of people.
The same aria as before is chanted, so I already know what's coming at me. Right as the aria is finished, I stop in my tracks, and the icicle lands harmlessly a couple of steps up from me. Exactly where I would be if I had kept running and then launched myself forward like last time.
"How stupid it is to chant your arias loudly. Don't they know that the other person will know what spell is coming?" I muse, as I jump over the icicle and keep pushing up and forward. There are only two meters left till I reach the top.
:::
"Fuck."
The guards at the tower also noticed the commotion. Some of them are already coming through the walkway on top of the wall. Exactly what I needed right now.
Another icicle comes at me, and I just sustain the rhythm, not launching myself forward nor stopping. It lands two steps below me. This mage isn't the sharpest knife in the drawer, is he? And man, do you only know one spell? Seriously?
With a monstrous effort that took out almost all of my remaining stamina, I reach the top of the wall.
"It's a slave!"
"She's running away! Get her!!!"
Yeah, as I suspected, those guards on the wall wouldn't be friends. They are still a couple of meters away when I reach the battlement and look to the other side of the wall, just as the moon peeks through the clouds to give me a sight of the land.
Now I know why this region is called the Barren Wilds. The name fits like a glove.
Then I look down.
"Fuck!" I mutter for the thousandth time this night.
There are no staircases on the outer side of the wall, for obvious reasons.
The only way down is through ten meters of free fall.