Chương 4: Rin’s Escape

The clocktower struck midnight. Deep tones reverberated through Rosenarte, pebbles shaking and shivering across the cobblestone. As the lanterns began to dim one by one across the city, a young girl in a slightly oversize cloak ran for her life. Rin darted a glance over her shoulder, almost tripping over her feet in turn. No, she thought, she wouldn't be on the streets. She would be— Her eyes turned to the sky. Nothing, except for twinkling stars, and a blimp in the distance.

When Rin reached the bridge across the Silverlight Canal, she leaned over the bronze railing like a ragdoll, panting for breath. It had been months. But the old gentleman had stuck to this same routine for decades. Surely, at midnight, he would cross through here as always? She didn't have to wait long. Within a few minutes, a long shadow stretched out from under the bridge, then the prow of a gondola emerged. Warm light from its lantern danced on the gentle waves.

A thin old man in an impeccable suit stood at the front, an oar in hand. Rin gritted her teeth. Ignoring her sore, aching muscles, and the healing potion that was continuing to purify and fix her damaged organs, she vaulted over the bridge and landed in the gondola. The boat dipped and swayed from the impact, water sloshing inside as it rebalanced itself.

"Excuse me, this gondola is out of service. Please - " Rin sat on a bench and pulled down the hood of her cloak, revealing her face.

"Good evening, Mister Monroe. Miss me?" The old man's eyes widened at the sight of her.

"R… Rin… I thought you had died in a ditch somewhere."

"Nearly," she said.

"Listen, there isn't much time. I need to get out of the city. I tried looking for my old squad, but I couldn't find them anywhere. You know everyone's business. Where can I find them?"

"Last I heard of the little ones, they went back to the orphanage." At her sour expression, he raised a brow.

"Without you and your leadership, did you think they could make it on the streets? They didn't have a choice." Rin scowled, her ragged fingernails digging painfully into the meat of her palms. Blood welled in the crescents before the remnants of the healing potion acted, sealing the skin in a moment. For some reason, that only worsened her frustration. St. Lucia's Protectory for Hopeless Youth was only a shade better than Lady Vyx's dungeon.

The children were locked in their rooms all day, with only a single meal of maggot-infested gruel to sustain them. No privacy. Men and women arrived to stare through the barred windows of their rooms - prospective buyers, more than prospective parents. She had worked so hard for her and the kids in her wing to escape. Life on the streets was cold. Dirty. People would spit at them and chase them away. But they were free. And then Rin, fool she was, fell for Lady Vyx's lies.

She thought about the archmage's newest scheme. Did that woman think Rin would truly believe that joke about taking her on as an apprentice? No. This was just the prelude to a new form of torture. Raise her hopes, only to dash them back down - to twist the knife further.

"Mind rowing me to the orphanage, then, Mister Monroe?" said Rin.

"After-hours ferrying costs double." Rin sighed and leaned back, crossing her arms behind her head. She closed her eyes.

"Too bad. I don't have a single cent."

"I am really starting to regret my policy of not charging the poor and needy," he muttered. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. The ferry swept down the Silverlight Canal, the banks winking with the lit windows of homes and businesses.

He took a turn left into a smaller canal, where a troll inside a toll booth tried (and failed) to forcefully stop him and give him a ticket, and then between two brothels, which echoed with annoying noises and the sickly-sweet fragrances of perfume and aphrodisiac incense. A red ribbon drifted down onto Rin's lap. She flicked it into the water, disgusted. She'd never quite realized that St. Lucia's was in the bad part of the capital until now. It was easy to forget, on the other side of the Silverlight Canal.

The orphanage grew closer. It was a monstrosity of plaster and white stone, a tarnished cross gleaming at the top. An ugly thing. Mister Monroe slid his gondola against the bank, and Rin carefully stepped out.

"Stay here for a few minutes," she told the man.

"I'm just going to take a look."

"And if you don't return, shall I send a message to that archmage friend of yours, Lady Vyx?" Rin froze.

"Like you said," he drawled.

"I know everyone's business in the city. When an archmage pokes her head out, every rat scurries for shelter, and its all the winds can whistle about. Especially when she's accompanied by a young girl with red eyes that smells of hunger and darkness. Now, I don't know about that last part, but I know of only one red-eyed girl in the city. And I'm aware of a great many girls." Rin licked her chapped lips. A small laugh curled in her throat.

"Feel free to warn anyone except her." She drew the hood of her cloak up and stalked into the garden of overgrown cattails. It was late, so she didn't expect to hear anything. Rin stepped along the side of the orphanage, careful as a mouse. She pressed her ear to the worn wooden door of the cook's entrance. Silence. Darkness. No building holding over a hundred kids, several helpers, and the matroness herself should be this quiet. The place felt abandoned. A bad feeling wormed its way into her gut.

Why was it so quiet? Rin spun on her heel, scanning the cattails. She couldn't hear rats clawing in their burrows in the walls. Even the cicadas weren't chirping. Something was wrong. She stepped towards the back entrance - the one with a lock that she could pick with a stiff blade of grass - but suddenly agony erupted around her ankle. Rin cut off her scream, slapping her hand over her mouth. A rusted metal contraption had closed around her ankle, teeth skewering into her flesh and bone. A trap.

She screwed her eyes shut, blinding pain shooting up her leg.

"Mister Monroe?" she yelled into the silence.

"Mister Monroe!"

"You know I cannot leave the water, Rin," he said.

"Shall I alert Lady Vyx?"

"No!" she hissed.

"No, just forget it." Rin crouched down, feeling the metal trap. It was a bit loose - meant for a large animal, or maybe an adult. Before she could second guess herself, she gripped the blood-slick teeth and ripped her leg out. Pure, unadulterated pain. She looked away, not wanting to see her mangled foot. Hot stars grew behind her eyes. She hoped that stupid healing potion was still working. Luckily, it seemed to be. The pain in her leg slowly dulled, replaced by a cooling sensation. Life was so hard.

She still hadn't even figured out her Natal Skill, [CONSUME]. Her Leveling System didn't provide a description. Rin had tried physical exercise, eating weird foods, putting herself in danger… everything. Her stats had barely grown, and she was still a useless Level 3. No real skills, no abilities. If she had been able to figure out her Natal Skill, maybe she could've signed up with Adventurer's Guild. With a place to sleep and coin for food, she could've taken her friends off the street too. No Lady Vyx.

No orphanage. If only she had been given some self-explanatory Natal Skill like [Fireball] or [Spearstrike]! No one had ever heard of [CONSUME]. No one could help her. As Rin waited for the pain to abate, the sound of a branch snapping sharply drew her attention. An enemy. She grabbed the trap and flung it at the silhouette behind her. The metal hit a fleshy body. A string of growled curses sounded out.

"Stupid girl! Get back here!" Rin ran back into the cattails. She crouched out of sight, a fierce expression on her face. Who was he? He wasn't one of the orphanage's guards or hired laborers. The man shouldered through the cattails, drawing near enough for her to catch details of his round and flushed face. His expression was ugly, twisted.

"Come out, come out, girlie. I know you're close by." She stepped backwards, slowly, carefully, in the direction of the canal. The man's eyes suddenly flashed blue and his ugly grin widened. Rin's heart dropped. He'd just used a skill, hadn't he? Disregarding stealth, she started sprinting for the gondola. Mud splashed up around her, her ankle screaming in pain. A meaty grip wrapped around her arm.

"Got you." Rin sneered and spit in his face.

"Where are my friends? Where did you take them?" The hock of saliva dripped down the man's face, but he only continued to smile.

"So you've yet to hear the good news? Boss has been kind enough to take the orphans of St. Lucia into his employ. All the orphans. Well. Boss will be happy to hear we found you, little girl, safe and sound. God only knows what terrible dangers lurk in the dark."