"Any sign of them?"

Suthe dared to lift her head from under the tarp she had been hiding under since midday. She and Nem Koel had taken refuge in one of the many fishing boats tied up in one of the city's canals, and Nem Koel had set herself up as lookout at the prow while Suthe burrowed beneath the protective tarp used to shield the deck from sun exposure.

It was fishy and damp under the tarp, and she longed for a breath of fresh air, all cares of being seen thrown to the under-heaven. If she stayed under the tarp any longer, Suthe figured, she would actually start to prefer being caught and shipped back to Montmyth.

Nem Koel looked up from her nonchalant act of sharpening one of her knives and glanced around before returning her attention to the blade.

"None yet. You should get back under there."

"I'd really rather not. Isn't there somewhere else we could hide?"

"It's almost time for us to head over to the warehouses," Nem Koel said. "It would be a waste of time and effort to find a new hiding place now."

Suthe wriggled and squirmed until she'd managed to turn over, still half-beneath the tarp, and squinted up at the sky. "What if we left a little early? We could...we could scope it out ahead of time!"

Nem Koel looked up from her knife again, mouth twisted to the side as she considered Suthe's proposal. Finally, she shrugged and gave a nod.

"Well, why not, I guess. Makes sense."

"Yes!" Muttering a prayer of thanks to her ancestors, Suthe resumed her wriggling, struggling to get out from under the narrow space beneath the tarp.

"Hold on, I haven't confirmed the coast is..." Nem Koel began, trailing off as Suthe jumped to her feet. "...clear."

The boat rocked a little at Suthe's sudden move, but she didn't mind stumbling a little. "You just said there was nothing few moments ago."

"Nothing in regards to Saer Lon or Ulsper," Nem Koel clarified, but rolled her eyes and stood up from her perch, sheathing her knife in the process. "Follow me, and don't forget to put your hood up."

Suthe sniffed the fabric of her cloak as she did so, wrinkling her nose at the fishy smell that had now transferred to her clothes. What she wouldn't give for a proper bath at home in Crestdune!

She shook her head and followed after Nem Koel, wishing that things would fall into place as soon as they met with the design expert. They would find out where the swords were, make sure they were well-hidden, and once the search for them had died down due to a lack of success, she could go back home.

Too bad it was only wishful thinking.

Suthe heaved a sigh as they trudged up a street on a small hill, a series of walls and blue-roofed buildings clustered together coming into view in the distance. Though still in keeping with the rest of the city's color scheme, these buildings were more elaborate and set apart from their neighbors.

"What's that?" Suthe asked, pointing to the gleaming structures in the distance. A gust of wind tugged at her hood, threatening to pull in off, and Suthe withdrew her hand to tug the fabric lower.

"Oh, that's the palace," Nem Koel said, with all the enthusiasm of someone pointing out the local bakery.

"The- the palace?" Suthe echoed, unsure if she had misheard.

Nem Koel turned back and gave a fake smile. "It's best if you avoid it, for many reasons."

"Well I won't dispute that," Suthe muttered, then realized that Nem Koel had already started walking again, and scurried to catch up.  The panic from the morning's events had dulled after hiding out in a boat for so long, but the farther they walked, the more her concerns slowly began to come back to her.  All it would take was one person's suspicion, and she'd be in trouble again.

Though it was later in the day now, there were still plenty of people out, and the two of them kept close to the side of the street in particularly crowded areas. As they got closer to the warehouses, the roads became narrower and the bridges more rudimentary, and the canals that intersected the city grew wider and deeper.

"It's better for cargo ships," Nem Koel explained as they waited for a party to cross the bridge in front of them. This bridge was wooden, unlike the white stone ones found throughout the rest of the city, and the bridge arched high over the water with steep, high stairs, even though the walls of the canal themselves were already high. "But at high tide, some even have to wait to get through. There's been some talk of building a retractable bridge, but it would require shipping a lot of parts from Sylterra, and who knows how expensive that would be."

Suthe tried not to look down as they began their ascent to the crest of the bridge. "Are there, uh, a lot of bridges like this?" she asked, hoping her voice didn't come out as a squeak.

"Around here? Yeah." Nem Koel deftly navigated the stairs while Suthe held on to the railing with an iron grip.

"Oh. Lovely."

Suthe was about to take another step when a hand grabbed her shoulder from behind, and the squeak she had been trying to hide came out in an alarmed rush.

"Keep moving, and don't look back."

It was Ulsper's voice in her ear, quiet and urgent, and after her initial shock Suthe forced her legs to work again and take another step up the bridge.

"Ulsper?" Nem Koel gasped, having looked over her shoulder to check on Suthe at the sound of her previously-issued squeak.

"Keep moving," he said again, this time a little louder so that Nem Koel could also hear.

Suthe took a breath, trying to assure herself that everything would be okay now that Ulsper had rejoined them, but there was something about his tone that made her uneasy, and her body refused to relax.

"Where's Saer Lon?" she whispered over her shoulder.

"Busy," came the curt reply.

"With the thugs from earlier? But I thought you were going to help her shake them off?" She would have thought it would be an easy task for a well-practiced spy like himself.

"No." Suthe could hear his intake of breath over the hollow taps of their feet against the bridge's wooden planks. "We ran into someone else."

"Uh, should I ask who?" There was a pause. "Ulsper?"

They were on the far side of the bridge now, and one of her feet slipped down on the stairs, forcing her to cling to the railing for dear life. Behind her, Ulsper's hand steadied her at her elbow until she regained her footing, and she let go of a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. Before she could thank him, however, Ulsper answered her question.

"It's the Imperial Guard."

Despite her imbalance, and Ulsper's previous warning, Suthe spun around to face him. "It's the what?"  Her foot wobbled on the step, and she gripped the railing tighter for support, hoping she had misheard.

His hood was up, like hers, but there was enough light that she could see the gleam of his eyes. They were still sharp and alert, but there were dark circles beneath them, as though he hadn't slept in days.

"Turn back around. We don't have much time."

She did, but not without another question. "Did you really just say the Imperial Guard is here?" The image of the red-haired rider they had seen when they first arrived in Fai flashed through her memory, and once Suthe finally reached the other side of the steep bridge, she turned to wait for Ulsper as he descended the last few steps. "Is that why you went missing in Fai? To distract them while we took the train?"

"Something like that," Ulsper said, ushering her forward.

"What about the Imperial Guard?" Nem Koel asked, falling into step beside them.

Ulsper hesitated, and Suthe decided to answer for him.

"They're here," she provided.  "Ulsper and Saer Lon ran into them."

"What? That's impossible! I thought – "

"Ulsper!"

All three of them turned back to face the bridge, where a figure was just appearing at the top of the wooden arch.

"Saer Lon!" Nem Koel exclaimed.

They waited as the woman rejoined them, rapid words of Shun Dwo flying from her lips as she ran up to Ulsper, who turned from Suthe to respond, gripping the woman's shoulders and replying in low, urgent tones.

Suthe felt her stomach sink. She had never seen Saer Lon like this. The woman had always had a hard edge to her, and even without the language barrier Suthe was sure it would have been difficult to befriend her. But this version of Saer Lon was frantic, wisps of hair loose from her ponytail and a worried expression in her gaze as she looked up at Ulsper.

"What's going on?" Suthe asked, sidling over to Nem Koel.

The girl's lips thinned, her eyes never straying from Saer Lon. "The Sylterrans are right on her heels. It's a good thing we started out early, because it's going to take us a bit longer to get to the warehouse. I think we're going to need to split up again."

Sure enough, in the next moment, Ulsper had turned to both of them, meeting Nem Koel's eyes for confirmation. "You heard all that?"

She nodded. "See you at the warehouse, if you can make it. Good luck drawing them away. Suthe – come with me."

Whatever questions Suthe might have had at that moment died at the back of her throat as Nem Koel pulled her down the road. The buildings on this side of the wooden bridge were wider and had fewer windows, and there were fewer people out too – though that might have just been because it was getting darker, Suthe reasoned.

"The warehouses are just up ahead," Nem Koel said, still tugging Suthe forward by one arm. "We're almost there."

"My side is killing me," Suthe gasped, wincing as the feeling only got worse. "I don't see the Imperial Guard behind us – can't we stop for a moment?"

"I don't know if that's the best idea..."

Nem Koel rounded the corner and, contrary to her response, skidded to a halt, causing Suthe to nearly run into her with a small 'oof!'

"What are you—" Suthe began, the pain in her side forgotten. Then she noticed the figures down the street in front of them, cloaked in dark blue and facing their way.

"Sylterran?" Suthe asked in a small voice.

Nem Koel nodded.

"Maybe...they haven't seen us?" Suthe offered hopefully.

A shout from one of the figures disproved her theory, and she and Nem Koel darted back around the corner just as a shot rang out.

"Do you know what they're saying?" Suthe huffed as Nem Koel led them down one street and over to another, shouts echoing off the buildings behind them.

"No idea. Sounds like Noth? Or maybe Runin. Sometimes they sound a bit similar to me," Nem Koel said, changing direction as a bullet zoomed past them and pinged off a wall near Suthe's shoulder.

They darted down an alleyway, a rat shrieking past them as they disturbed it from the lengthening evening shadows next to the buildings. The members of the Imperial Guard behind them had not yet turned the corner, and Nem Koel ran past the intersection that led back to a main street, instead pulling Suthe into a small dead-end across the way, behind some old crates that smelled like fish oil and wood shavings.

Nem Koel pressed her finger to her lips for silence, but she needn't have bothered. Suthe was so out-of-breath that she didn't think she could even sneeze if she wanted to.

They listened as the footsteps of their pursuers pounded down the alleyway behind them, then stopped at the intersecting street – looking, Suthe presumed, for a sign of which way their quarry had gone.

Suthe was still trying to catch her breath, but forced her breathing to slow, trying to be quiet.

Why haven't they gone yet?

Nem Koel glanced at her, wide-eyed, and then frowned, looking almost bewildered. Suthe felt her pulse speed up with alarm at the expression. Had the Sylterrans figured out they were hiding behind the crates?

There was a hesitant footstep on cobblestone, and then another, the sound drawing ever closer to their hiding spot.

Suthe scrunched her eyes shut, willing herself to disappear, and take Nem Koel with her. If they didn't reach the warehouse, they'd just have to find a different way – at least they'd still be alive!

But the seconds passed, and nothing happened. Suthe opened her eyes in defeat. What was the trick that allowed her to disappear? She could do it on command sometimes – but why not now, when she needed it?

Nem Koel, Suthe realized, had also closed her eyes, and grown very still, as though waiting for the inevitable. Against the wall in front of them, Suthe could even see a shadow of one of the guards grow larger as they slowly edged towards their hiding place.

Suthe clenched her fists. Any moment now...

A shout from above diverted her attention, and Suthe looked up just in time to see a figure leap across the roofs of the alleyway. At first she had thought it was Ulsper, but the thinner build and darker cloak made her realize it was Saer Lon.

Shots rang out as Saer Lon landed in a roll on the next rooftop, taking off as soon as she had her balance. Pounding boots on the cobblestones behind them told of their pursuers' departure, and Nem Koel tapped Suthe on the shoulder as a signal that she should follow before stepping back out from behind the crates.

Hesitantly, Suthe joined her, waiting as Nem Koel slowly peered around the corner.

"Demons of the fourth realm," Nem Koel swore, ducking back behind the wall. "How can there be more of them?"

Suthe's eyebrows furrowed in concern. "Did they see you?"

Nem Koel barely glanced at her. "I don't think so. But they're headed this way – maybe five of them, but I didn't get a good look. They probably split up into groups to search for us."

"How soon until they get here?"

Nem Koel nodded back to the crates. "Very."

However, no sooner had Suthe taken a step back than a gunshot sounded, and she stumbled, trying to make her body as small of a target as possible. Had Nem Koel been hurt?

More shots followed, and Suthe slowly unfurled as she realized that she and Nem Koel weren't the targets. Rather, the pistols being fired were at the end of the street, and by the shouts of the Imperial Guard, it sounded as though the Sylterrans were the target instead.

Nem Koel dared to poke her head around the corner again, just for a moment.

"It's Ulsper!" she whispered over her shoulder. "He's leading them away. We should be able to get out of here in just a moment. Get ready to run."

Heart in her throat, Suthe crept back to the corner next to Nem Koel.

"Now! Run!"

The stitch in Suthe's side came back almost immediately, as though insisting that this was a bad idea. Still, Suthe pushed through the pain and followed after Nem Koel anyway, in the opposite direction of the pistol fight.

A turn down another street, and they were greeted by warehouses – or at least what Suthe assumed were the warehouses, and she wondered how she hadn't been able to see the enormous structures earlier. Dirty white-bricked walls rose up from the ground at least three stories high, with tall single-paned windows set at intervals around the top to let in light. The roofs were also different, in the form of a half-circle dome at the top flanked by a gently-sloping peak on either side, in three-part segments of more white brick rather than the traditional blue-tiled peaks that capped the rest of Sang Bur's structures.

Suthe's steps faltered for just a moment before she remembered they were being chased, and she hurried after Nem Koel as they wove through the giant structures.

How Nem Koel knew which one would be number thirteen, she had no idea.

"It's this one!"

They finally came to a stop in front of a pair of metal doors that looked no different from the rest. There was a lock, but in the time it had taken for Suthe to catch up, Nem Koel had broken the clasp and tossed it aside so that she could open the door a sliver.

"Are you sure this is the right warehouse?" Suthe whispered over Nem Koel's shoulder, trying to get a better view of the dim interior.

Nem Koel shrugged. "It's where they said it would be," she muttered, opening the door wider so they could slip inside before more Sylterran soldiers turned the corner and saw them standing at the entrance. The hinges groaned – a long and drawn-out sound like the braying of a donkey, and Suthe cringed. She kept close at Nem Koel's heels, her heart pounding in her chest.

"Do you think Saer Lon and Ulsper will make it in time?" Suthe asked, her voice a light brushstroke in the silent canvas of the warehouse. Her mind was still replaying Saer Lon's sudden leap across the rooftops, and Ulsper's accompanying diversion soon after.

"It doesn't look good," Nem Koel muttered, and Suthe was worried at the lack of optimism in her tone – she had never heard Nem Koel speak without it.

Their steps slowed as they approached the center of the building and looked around, unsure. Each shadow cast by a large crate or cloth sack furthered the sinking sensation in Suthe's stomach, warning her that they were too exposed and someone could jump out at them at any minute.

"Irikri said he'd be here – do you think we got the time wrong? Or he did?" Suthe wondered uneasily.

The squeak of hinges had them both whirling around, only to let out a collective breath at the sight of Ulsper slipping through the warehouse door and shutting it again behind him. There was also something in his hand – the discarded lock, which he set aside on the nearest barrel.

"Ulsper," Suthe whispered across the building, the tension in her shoulders easing slightly. "You made it."

Her relief at seeing him was not reciprocated. His dagger was still drawn, one hand on the pistol at his belt, and steps cautious as he made his way towards them.

"We don't have much time..." he called out quietly, his words dwindling as his glance caught on something on the walkway above. "Seli-lo kae!"

Suthe's reaction was only a few seconds behind Nem Koel's as they spun to face the danger dropping down on them from above, but in that small moment Nem Koel had already drawn her knives, just in time to block the much larger dagger headed towards her throat.

~*~*~*~

And with the end of this chapter, I have now connected all the fragments of the story that I jumped ahead to write before going back to fill in the in-between spots.  Does anyone else end up doing that?  I try not to but sometimes if I get stuck I find that it helps to write a scene ahead and then work backwards.  The only issue is sometimes some of the plot will have changed from what I originally had in mind by the time I get to the pre-written scene, so I have to be careful it all still makes sense!