Chương 69: Book 2 Chapter Five: Jail Break

FIVE"Do we have to bring the others? I don't think they bring anything of value to our lessons," Jerry whined. He looked back and forth as they reached the edge of the walls on the far side of the village. As far away as Roan could get from the gate and mayor's office.

"I'm paying them for their time, they can all come," Roan snapped as he waited for an alarm to be raised. There was no way they were going to pull this off with Jerry complaining so loudly. The other three rabbit-kin seemed interested in the way someone might grow interested staring at a weird bug. None had complained when Roan had told them he'd pay them to follow him and not have to teach him. Terry watched his brother with narrowed, suspicious eyes. Neither Roan or Jerry had brought up Hana being at Village 3.

Terry just did it for the love of the credits that Roan had deposited in his bank account.

"What do you guys need money for anyway?" Roan asked, trying to distract them.

"Hmmm? Oh, credits earned by teaching crawlers can be exchanged for contribution points in the tower. I'll use the points to access more advanced learning methods," Jerry said.

"Interesting. You can jump over the wall, right?" Roan said as they stopped at the base of the twelve foot wall. Bits of stone had been broken off, violent remnants of last night's fight.

"Any kit could jump these walls," Jerry said and the other three snorted and laughed to each other. Roan held back a flare of frustration as he wanted them to shut-up and be quiet, but he kept his temper in check. Any of these tutors could squash him like a bug if he stepped out of bounds. What the bounds were, he didn't fully know.

"Alright, you can leave the village right?

"As long as we're being paid or if the village is destroyed then we are free," Jerry confirmed.

"Shit. Four thousand an hour and then through the night? Three hours till night is twelve thousand by itself. I don't have the funds for this." Roan winced as he looked at his rapidly depleting bank account. Between the entrance fee and paying all four of them he was down seven thousand. CURRENT BALANCE 35, 831"Once it's night though, when the fighting starts, do you need to keep being paid to stay at the other village?" Roan asked.

"Once night sets we're technically supposed to stay in a secured room," Terry chimed in. He and the other three rabbit-kin had inched closer, to the point that Roan could smell their shampoo.

"Any secured room?" Roan asked.

"Yes. I understand why you wish for us to leave, as I would not wish to pay these brutes either, but what's in it for us? I am comfortable here," Terry asked.

"Don't," Jerry started to plead, but Roan cut him off and answered honestly.

"Ved Buul-Hana is the mayor of Village 3," Roan said. All three of them froze. Roan blinked slowly as six eyes bored through him like lasers." I think they stopped breathing. Hana must be way more important than I thought."

"What are we doing then," Terry said, snapping free of his stupor. The rabbit-kin moved in a blur, a lean arm wrapping around Roan's torso and then the world became a blur as his stomach was left behind. Rabbit-kin were natural jumpers. They cleared the twelve foot wall with ease and flew toward the forest in a single bound. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. Behind them a horn blew and shouts could be heard.

Roan blinked as the trees flew past him, nothing more than a stream of brown and green as Terry raced through the woods. The inertia pressed against Roan's sternum and he felt his stomach begin to revolt.

"WAIT!" Jerry's voice came in a shriek of rage. Roan looked behind them and saw the other three rabbit-kin racing as fast as they could in long, bounding leaps that ate the distance." Won't even have to use the full hour," Roan thought distractedly to himself. More horns were sounding, but it was fading rapidly in the distance. What had taken Roan about an hour of a good jog took Terry less than five minutes. They came to a gentle halt right before clear cut area, Terry dropping Roan without ceremony.

"Holy hell," Roan muttered, his legs wobbling as the world spun around him. He leaned over and threw up.

"Why would you tell them!" Jerry howled in despair as he slid to a soil churning stop next to them. His foot pounded the ground in what Roan thought was a nervous tic. All four of the rabbit-kin were running hands through their fur, straightening their clothes and preening as best they could." I really hope this is social climbing and not a sex thing. Hana will remove my innards if it's a sex thing."

Roan looked at the metalsmith, a female rabbit-kin, and the alchemist, male, who still had pimples on his mostly human face." I'm so fucked. But if this works. If it works."

"So, just to clarify. Your hour is based on real time right. Time being experienced on the majority of the floor," Roan double checked again.

"Of course. Why wouldn't it be?" the alchemist squealed, their voice about two octaves higher than it should be. The pimply youth was trying his best to tame his wild hair, but it had the appearance of having just run at near supersonic speeds.

"No reason. None at all," Roan said. He turned and started to hurry back to the village gates. Mobs had stopped on their patrol paths and stared down at them with pointed crossbows." Not us, them," Roan realized as he looked over his shoulder at the four specialists. They weren't even paying attention to the armed mobs. The gates cracked open and Ved Buul-Hana stood there, arms crossed, foot striking the ground fast enough that it was starting to crater.

"Ved Buul-Hana!" Four voices screamed and Roan was passed in a blur as the four rabbit-kin hurried toward the rabbit-kin woman. She only had eyes for Roan though. Murderous eyes.

"Hello, Madame Mayor. I brought trainers to brighten your fair Village," Roan said, plastering the widest smile on his face that he could. More climbers were starting to trickle out from around the area, drawn to the distraction at the gates. Roan saw Taoya coming at a leisurely stroll.

"Why are you ruining my vacation?" Hana asked, glaring at the four obvious social climbers who stood in silence, eyes downcast.

"We needed specialists and Village 2 won't survive the night," Roan explained.

"Why isn't it going to survive the night?" Taoya asked as he reached the gates. He stayed a respectful distance from Hana and the dust storm she was creating with her pounding foot.

"Someone killed the mayor and all the mobs there. Woman named Grace. Apparently the older sister of Nash," Roan informed them.

"Damn, Darren's going to need to know. We think Nash is floating between villages with a couple of followers. Last thing we need is another faction," Taoya said, pulling his communication stone out of his pocket and walking away.

"Taoya. I have trainers here. They cost a thousand an hour. And their hour is real time!" Roan shouted. The titan stopped and turned back, a wide smile on his face.

"Roan, you are the best investment I have made this year!" Taoya said, bounding out of the gates and bowing low to the four specialists.

"Honored teachers, would you like to see your new homes?" Taoya said, imposing his mass between them and Hana. The four specialists bowed to Hana and then hurried away, Taoya leading them to the houses without pause. Hana leaned in close to Roan, her eyes inches away from his face.

"My village better survive this level if I have to put up with those…" Hana just growled in her throat and waved a hand at the retreating backs of the specialists. She turned and retreated back into the village, leaving Roan by himself.

"That could have gone way worse," Roan said as he followed them into the village.