"I can't really bring all of you with me in a barrel. I'll have to leave you all here. So stay hidden. Use the sewers to hide yourselves."
Kai watched as his friends and the rest of the children shuffled away. Joran's corpse used its strength to open a sewer grate while the rest of the undead climbed down into the sewers.
"Hunter, I have a job for you."
The reanimated inquisitor stood at attention, his blank eyes watching Kai with unsettling obedience. The thought of binding someone like this—of stealing their will—should have disturbed him. But after everything, after Rhea, Joran, Finn, and Merri... he found himself numb.
"You're going to smuggle me out of here."
The plan came together in his mind. The Merchant's Guild was one of the only organizations permitted to move goods freely in and out of Ylthara without intense scrutiny. They often transported cargo sealed in heavy barrels, and his friends already secured one for him.
Kai commanded Hunter to carry him, inside the barrel, to the Merchant's Guild warehouse. Slipping through the slums unnoticed was easy with the inquisitor's hunter's presence—no one dared to approach them. Even the filth-covered street urchins kept their heads low as the figure of authority passed them by.
At the warehouse, Hunter located an unsealed barrel, packed with bags of dried grain. He opened Kai's barrel, and loaded two bags of grain onto his head.
Kai readjusted inside the barrel to sit comfortably.
"Seal it and load it onto the wagon. Then follow at a distance. If anything happens, I'll communicate with you."
Hunter complied without hesitation, sealing the barrel shut and rolling it toward the merchant's caravan. The sound of wooden wheels creaking and merchants shouting in the dim morning light was muffled from inside, but Kai could hear the rhythmic thuds as Hunter lifted the barrel and placed it onto the wagon. With a final glance around, the inquisitor departed, heading toward the city gate on foot.
From the darkness of the barrel, Kai focused his mind, shifting his vision into Hunter's eyes. The world snapped into focus from the inquisitor's perspective, and Kai watched the slums fade behind them as they approached the grand walls of Ylthara.
The city barrier shimmered under the early dawn, a protective field preventing unauthorized entry or exit.
"Stop the wagon. Inspection time," a guard called out.
Kai tensed inside the barrel. He listened as the guards moved through the caravan, shifting crates and barrels, tapping for hidden contraband. A loud thunk rattled through the wood as a guard struck the lid of Kai's hiding place.
"Just grain in this one," a voice muttered.
Then a new voice rang out. "You. Inquisitor. What are you doing here?"
Through Hunter's eyes, Kai saw two guards step forward, their hands resting on their weapons.
"I've finished my business in Ylthara. I need to return to the capital immediately."
Kai felt Hunter reach into his coat, producing a set of identification papers from his previous life. The lead guard examined them under the flickering torchlight, his expression shifting into something close to reverence.
"Apologies, sir. Didn't know you were still in the city. You're cleared to go. Safe travels."
Hunter nodded and stepped past the checkpoint, moving into the misty road beyond the barrier. The wagon rumbled forward again. Kai finally let out the breath he had been holding.
"I will come back for you," he whispered to no one but himself.
The wagon picked up speed, and as the city of Ylthara faded into the distance, Kai allowed his body to finally relax in the dark, cramped barrel.
For now, he was free.
Hunter watched the wagon from a distance with vacant eyes. Its wheels moved slowly as it rumbled. Under Kai's command, he remained unseen, a silent shadow trailing the merchant caravan through the dimly lit countryside. The moon above cast silver streaks through the thick clouds, bathing the land in an eerie glow.
Inside the barrel, Kai remained still.
He listening to the rhythmic creaks of the wagon's wooden frame. The scent of the grain from the bags, dried fruit and aged wood filled his nose, blending with the damp, earthy air that seeped through the cracks. His body ached from the past days—the wounds, the exhaustion, the weight of what he had done.
'So much death.'
But for the first time in what felt like an eternity, relief settled over him. His escape from Ylthara was real. He was finally leaving.
The gentle rocking of the wagon, combined with the exhaustion pressing on his bones, lulled him into sleep before he even realised it.
---
The world around him shifted.
Kai stood in a vast emptiness, a place where time had no hold and space stretched infinitely. The darkness before him rippled like liquid gold, forming into the shape of a towering figure. It was faceless, its presence immense, like staring into the heart of something beyond mortal comprehension.
The air thrummed with power. The golden figure lifted an arm and gestured toward him.
Words flowed forth—not spoken, but imprinted directly into Kai's mind. And yet, he couldn't understand them. They sounded jumbled, vast, layered with meanings beyond his grasp. He felt the weight of the figure's presence press against him, pulling him downward, making him feel unbearably small.
Memories stirred. Something important buried deep within him.
'My past? This feels all too familiar.'
Kai reached out, desperate to grasp the truth, to piece together the fragments of this lost memory. The figure's presence grew heavier, its form radiating a light so brilliant it threatened to consume him.
Just as his fingertips brushed against potential understanding, a violent jolt snapped him awake.
Kai's eyes flew open.
The wagon lurched, wheels skidding against icy uneven ground. The sudden movement sent his cramped limbs knocking against the wooden walls of the barrel. Outside, voices rose in alarm, muffled but tense. The air smelled different now. There was a coldness to the air, tinged with something else.
A lot of mana.
'Something's wrong.'
He re-entered Hunter's consciousness to see that a carriage blocked the wagon's path. An important-looking figure jumped down from the carriage.
"Knight..." muttered Hunter.
'A knight? Like a royal one? Doing inspections on travelers from Ylthara? That can't be coincidence.'
"Routine Inspection. We need to check your wagon."
"I-is everything alright?" the merchant asked.
"As long as you're not carrying illegal goods, it is."
Four inquisitors came out from behind the wagon.
'Definitely for me.'
Kai used Hunter's view to try and determine the best course of action before it was too late.
'If they check a manifest or something, they'll realise this barrel isn't supposed to be here. Do travelling merchants even carry manifests with them? I can't risk it.'
Kai breathed calmly.
'Strengthening Magic!'
He focused a large portion of the life essence from within himself to his limbs and waited for the right time.
The merchant and knight spoke at length while the inquisitors looked over the contents of the wagon. One of them stood over the barrel and knocked on it.
"This supposed to be here? It's an imperial seal on the top."
"I'm not delivering anything to the royals in the citadel. I'm heading in the opposite direction."
'This isn't good.'