Coming out of vector shift they appeared near the outer ring. Jane in his arms he applied vector masking to hide them from observation.
They finally reached a giant gate used for loading and unloading cargo into the trade district. With Jane resting in his arms in a princess carry, her head on his chest, he looked at her with tenderness.
Without taking his eyes off of her the giant gate covered in metal slabs and bolts tightly secured with human sized chains making sure no one got in or out.
It started to make creaking noises.
Then screeching noises, the metal began to warp and peel away for Red until what only could be described as heat wrinkles shot out from him slicing cleaning through the warped gate like a sword through air.
Revealing an open road that leads south.
----
Jane woke up, it was night already and she was in a waystation a few miles outside the city walls.
Remembering the fight with Red she didn't worry, but she still wanted to find him right away. Before she could start wandering around, Red walked in through the door with some water.
Sipping on the water Jane couldn't help but see that Red's demeanor had changed. She could feel it too, the turmoil inside him as her own.
So instead of asking if he's ok, she just walked to his side and held his hand.
Looking out the window, Red spoke with a more subdued voice than usual. "You know there was once a time I would have killed all of them without a second thought…I would have gone out of my way to kill them."
Jane tightened her grip a little and said what he was thinking.
"But this time you couldn't…because this time you had to kill while having empathy for your opponent." She turned him so he had to look at her.
"and that made you second guess yourself."
He didn't need to confirm her words because she knew they were right. With a puff of air Jane continued "but that's ok, this just proves your human, and that you can grow as a person."
Red was lost for words, in a matter of seconds she dismantled his walls and got to the core of his worries and not only that but said he was justified.
A look of appreciation and love was on his face causing Jane to tilt her head a little. 'Cute'
Pulling her into a hug, Red had only one response to her words, "I love you."
"Hehe I love you to" replying back as she wrapped her arms around his waist.
After a short rest they began to plan their next move, "I don't want to vector shift too much with you and the baby. We don't know the side effects, but one more jump should be fine."
Jane nodding in understanding grabbed her pack and grabbed his hand with a smile. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's start our new life."
With no further discussion Redgwrick the roguish, undocumented Vector and Jane his silver star shimmered and vanished without a trace.
leaving behind a life neither of them wanted, in the hopes of a new one.
----
Journey to the Goldfields.
On a dry and cold roadway miles away from the Empire two figures seemed to fall out of space in the middle of the road and started walking south.
As Jane and Red were walking they finally had time to really process the recent events. Regretful as it was that the war had broken out and claimed lives.
…they realized, Jane especially, that they were free. She was free from that suffocating office. Free from the Empire and expectations and most importantly her family.
Jane no longer had to worry about her family.
The sun had already been setting when they reached the waystation and they had been walking for a couple hours.
Red Glancing to his right, Jane looked exhausted but trying to hide it. "Alright that's it for today, we are setting up camp. We will resume tomorrow morning."
Jane slowed her steps and did a three sixty, "where will we sleep?"
Without a word Red walked to a nearby rock face and with vector manipulation he created a stone dome. Glancing over at Jane…"here."
Jane the ever noble lady already missing her comfortable bed. "Great…I love camping."
With a small chuckle "well my dear, we'll have to get used to it, this journey will be a long one."
Helping Jane lay down and closing off the dome except for a hole in the top to let the smoke of the fire he was preparing escape.
"Besides it'll only be for tonight my love, we should reach the carriage and horses tomorrow. You'll at least have a bed then."
Jane exhaled in anticipation "alright, that'll work I guess." with the fire made they ate some preservation and went to sleep.
The morning came more peacefully then expected to the point Jane had a slight scare thinking she was late for a meeting but there were no more meetings to do, "oh thank the 12."
She sat up on her arms seeing where Red had run off too. Grabbing her things she excited the dome.
It was a cool morning with some winds blowing from the west, the trees rustling in the wind, high in the sky Red was scouting their route and thankfully up until their first cache things looked clear.
Feeling Jane's eyes on him he descends and lands beside her "things look clear from here to the cache."
With a smile and holding Red's hand "then let's get going! I can't wait to get to the Goldenfields."
After hours of walking they finally came across a clay building with wooden barn doors and a fenced section in the back with hay laid everywhere. It was quiet but Red and Jane could sense someone inside.
Not one to wait Jane called out "hello!? Is anyone here? We came to pick up our things." Some time passed with no audible reply but they could hear the moving of feet and the shifting of a wooden lock.
A bald man with tanned leather like skin wearing a habit of dark maroons and faded oranges exited. He looked to be in his mid sixties. But had the eyes of someone still in his prime…he was barefoot.
He stood in front of the couple, not saying a word. Jane peaked around from behind Red…"w-we came to pick up our supplies the Wind queen stashed here for us."
The old man still said nothing, just looked at them with a small smile. "Are you the caretaker for the horses?" Red finally asked and to this question the man looked at Red and nodded.
The Monk had been placed here as a caretaker and guard of the supplies. Red was curious who the Wind queen would trust to guard this place alone.
So he peered into the monk trying to access him. It was unexpected this monk here was a peak 4 star Conduit and if Red has to guess his element was wind.
Red tensed ever so slight just in case. But the monk gestured with one arm for them to follow as he walked back inside. When they entered Jane let out a 'oooo' in excitement because the Wind queen had spared no expense.
Inside was a continental wagon, a popular travel wagon for merchants who wanted to travel with their goods in luxury.
It was a two layered wagon, the bottom was all compartments and enclosed space for supplies to be locked away and the second layer was the travel and living quarters with a bed, kitchenette, even a washroom.
The roof was a reinforced thermal canvas made to regulate the temperature and withstand the storms.
"Wow, I've always wanted to ride in one of these." Jane said turning to Red.
Red grabbing some reins. "Well it will be home for the coming months so get comfortable. Me and the monk will lace the horses."
Jane, the animal lover wanted to help but was quickly shut down.
"absolutely not you stay in the wagon and rest." Red said in the most demanding voice he could muster against Jane.
"hmpf fine." Jane puffed and climbed the wagon.