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Chapter Six - Out of the Frying Pan

We haven't seen the reptilian that attacked us since we made it back into the city the day before. Even with his absence, I watched out for him carefully and avoided the popular inns for foreigners, or the medical facilities where he could potentially be at because of the wound I inflicted upon our attacker.

Midnight and I wished we could stay hidden for a while but we still had to eat. That need had driven me out in the dark hours of this morning to wander the marketplaces. It was still cold enough that I could see even my smallest breaths form in the air, regardless of the rising sun shining from the sea.

Few residents were out shopping but this marketplace was right next to the main gate of the city so it was more congested than the rest of the city.

I stayed to the dark shadows of the bordering alleys, hoping that my fur would blend in with the snowdrifts that piled up against the buildings. It helped to go unnoticed while I watched and waited for an opportunity to grab something. The fresh meats of one of the butcher stands teased me, the dried and jarred fruits of another marketer would definitely satisfy my sweet cravings, or even some of the dried vegetables and spices would be appealing right now; even if they were intended for the herbivore species.

Crash!

Did he find me? My breath caught in my throat, and my fur bristled from the sudden sound. I turned, fearing it might be the reptilian coming to finish me off. I may be young and lack a lot of life experiences but I knew that the reptilian would be hunting Midnight and me. He tried to kill us for a reason, and with us surviving that reason was still valid.

Further down the alley I saw that it was only a cart that lost a crate off the back. The crate had broken open and for a moment I got excited that it might be food but all I saw was the leathers of livestock. The cart driver could be heard mumbling something to herself as she walked around the cart to pick up the contents. Even if I had wanted to steal them for a nice new blanket, she would see me. The hunger I was feeling outgrew the desire for comfort, making the risk not worth the chance.

Turning back to the market I continued to watch for my opportunity; food falling from a booth, a guard being distracted, a marketer walking away just for a second, anything that'd give me a few precious seconds to grab something and run off.

I have been here since the marketplace opened at dawn, when the sky started to brighten from its dark inky color. My hunger was making me impatient but what could I do but to stare over the marketplace and wait.

"This is what I was talking about," I overheard one of the marketplaces patrons tell another. An adult female caribou and female hare walked to the merchant stand that was near the alley I waited in. "This fabric would be perfect for those dresses you make."

"How much is it?" asked the caribou as the hare showed her a bolt of silky cloth.

"Eight-five tails," said the merchant. When I glanced at him, his attitude and expression contradicted the usual merchants. He was obviously a native bear, with white fur, but unlike the other merchants he wasn't enthusiastic about his sales. Instead he looked depressed.

"Eight-five?" gasped the two shopping herbivores. "I can get this cloth from the docks for thirty."

"I know," grunted the bear. "My shipments come from Leakhos ships."

"I thought they dealt with their piracy problem," remarked the caribou. "They hired an entire fleet to guard their shipments."

"Which is why I can't afford to sell my merchandise for affordable prices," complained the merchant. "The pirates still attack, and even sunk one of the ships last month. The mercenaries are charging higher wages because of the risk."

"It's really getting out of control," muttered the hare. She stared down at the bolt of cloth in her paws before placing it back on the stand. "But we can't afford paying eight five tails for this."

With that the two patrons walked away from the stand, leaving the bear there with his unsold merchandise. He sighed heavily, obviously knowing the outcome of revealing the price.

"Have you heard about Lord Mika's son?" gossiped another shopping pair that walked by.

"Those are just rumors," replied the other, another male arctic fox, like me. "I don't care for the gossip coming from the south. They're not going to help me with my son."

"If Lord Mika does something then you can follow his expamle. Afterall I was the one to find Hima with--"

"Can't you keep your jaw shut?" snapped the fox. "Hima's business is his own, and I don't need to be reminded of it every time someone talks about my son."

"I'm just saying that Lord Mika might know what to do and that keeping your fuzzy ears open to the news of the south might help," persisted the white hare. The two adults had the same radiant white fur coat, that made them look almost identical.

"Lord Mika is known to love his children and I love mine so keep your twitchy nose out of my family's business," said the flustered fox, their voices fading away as they reached the other end of the market.

All the things I could hear in the market would be enough to fill the books I see sold during the summer. Very little of it was anything useful.

Another shopper came up to the overpriced linen merchant and immediately started complaining once she heard the price.

"The Enes Faction is behind those pirate attacks, I swear my life on it," ranted the she-wolf. "They're trying to buy out the fleet and what better way to do that than attack and sink their ships until they comply? I swear something needs to be done. We can't just wait until they buy out every military and naval city in the country! The only city they can't take over is Lontra Harbor because they have a powerful enough fleet to fight--"

Electricity sparked a warning with than unusual feeling again, just before the ground started to shift beneath us. The market went quiet as everyone felt that spark, but soon the roar of the ground shaking the city filled the air. I tried to stand but the shaking ground made me sink into the snow. Struggling to climb out of the snow, I soon realized that the shaking wasn't fading as quickly as the others have; instead it was growing more severe.

I couldn't keep my hindpaws steady on the ground, and just as I stepped out of the snow, I slipped and fell to the frozen ground. With frozen mud covering half my fur now, I pushed myself up to my paws and knees wishing for the shaking to stop. The ground continued to rattle relentlessly, but a loud crack followed by a scream distracted me.

Glancing up at the she-wolf, I witnessed her grab the bear by his shirt and pull him over the counter toward her. They both fell back, and just in time as a half second later, a large chunk of the nearby building crashed through the middle of the bear's booth, crushing and shattering it. If the bear were still behind his counter, he would have been killed.

Still bracing myself on the ground, I could see the others stalls of the market suffered as well. A few more stalls collasped on their own accord, cracks formed in the building foundations and everything that was nailed down was shaken loose. After what must have been a full minute, the ground finally started to settle and I was able to stand on my hindpaws again.

"Damn these tremors, they're getting worse!" cursed the enthusiastic wolf as she tried to pick herself up. "Are you all right?"

Wait. The other stalls were damaged too. My eyes glanced over the market stalls that have been damaged, and I saw that the butcher's booth had collasped due to the weight of the meat hung around it. The butcher himself was buried underneath the broken wood; a guard was there trying to dig him out but the food on the ground went ignored.

Without a second thought, I sprinted over to the scene in hopes of grabbing a large and bloody leg that had fell onto the ground. My gazed was fixed upon that leg that I didn't even see another orphan running for the same prize. The familiar looking lynx, with bite marks visible on his ear, grabbed the leg before I got there and ran off with it. The guard took notice and yelled after the lynx, but was still preoccupied by trying to lift a the collasped counter off of the butcher.

I was too slow. I hesitated, slowing down from my sprint, for only a moment before I set my eyes on a large roast, semi buried in the stall. With my motivation renweed, I quickly closed the gap between me and my prize. I grabbed hold of the roast and tried to pull it free but the blood made it slippery and I failed. The guard noticed me, but in the corner of my eyes I could see that he was now dragging the butcher out so I dug my claws into the meat and wedged it out from underneath the broken wood.

"Hey! Stop that!" yelled the guard.

Wrapping my arms around the roast, I turned away from the guard and sprinted for the nearest alleyway. I could hear a curse being thrown at me but I ignored it. I was grateful to realize that the guard had not pursued me, yet. I turned my attention to getting back to the rooftop as quickly as possible, and continued running through the alleys, but my haste would cost me.

Rounding a corner, I nearly ran right into another guard. I tried to stop suddenly from my sprint but slipped on the frozen mud and fell back on my tail.

"Whoa, wait up there, pup," another guard said. This one was a tall wolf with grey fur, and looked as if he had some combat experience. "Where'd you get that large chunk of roast?"

"I...I bought it for my mother," I lied. I picked myself up, and clutched the roast in my arms closer to my chest. The lie started to form in my mind. "See? I have the change here." I showed him my purse of coins that I had saved since Midnight and I was paid by the Velox fox.

"Where is your mother?" questioned the wolf, looking around in search of my supposed mother before turning his gaze directly onto me again. "Listen, there has been a report of an orphan arctic fox and a black wolf attacking a foreigner at the beach. He says that they attacked him with a stolen dagger so that they could steal something from the shipwreck. Would you know anything about that?"

That lying... I cursed in my head. My surprise and shock quickly subsided when it dawned on me that this guard might know it was me. My eyes slowly grew wider as I stared up at the large wolf. Keeping my jaw sealed shut, I tired to look innocent and slowly shook my head.

"Mind if I search you for a stolen dagger?" asked the guard, staring down at me. His tone suggested that he already knew it was me.

"My-my mother wants m-me back soon," I muttered trying to think of a lie. My heart started to accelerate as blood and andreline coursed through my neck causing it to feel as if it was burning.

I knew my lie wouldn't work, he was going to catch me and take my dagger. It was the only thing I had worth anything and this guard was about to take it. He'd take the roast too because he knows I stole it!

"Let's go see your mother then and we'll ask her," said the guard with a calm voice.

Tears started to form in my eyes so I closed them and shook my head. Slowly and carefully I started to take a step back. I could feel the guard watching my every movement, reading my every thought and condemning me for it.

"No?" said the guard coyly. He took a small step toward me, closing the distance I tried to gain between us. "Why not? Your mother must be worried about you after that last tremor."

He knows I'm lying. Why won't he just leave me alone? Opening my eyes, I turned on my hindpaw and sprinted the other way. I could feel the guard reach for me and miss me by a mere hair's length.

"Wait, come back here," yelled the guard. I heard him sprint after me, his long strides allowing him to catch me within a dozen meters. He grabbed me by the shoulder and pushed me into the alley wall.

"No, I didn't steal anything!" I screamed after he pushed me into the wall. I closed my eyes trying to avoid eye contact, or even looking at the wolf. I didn't know what he would do to me, but I knew he'd take the only things I have. The very things I depended on for my survival. "Leave me alone." It was difficult to catch my breath, and I started to sob with tears leaking from my closed eyes.

"Don't run from the guards," he stated, quickly recovering his breath from the short sprint. He grabbed the roast from my arms, but I held onto it tightly. With a sharp yank and he ripped it from my grip. "Did you steal this?"

He knew the answer, why was he asking me? My ears fell back against my head, and I felt the blush spread from my neck to burn my ears as well. I didn't answer and just kept my eyes closed, pointing my nose away from the guard. I hugged my chest, trying to be small and wishing I could disappear.

I felt his paws pat my body, until they hit the dagger that I concealed underneath my clothes. With a paw he grabbed my pants and lowered them just enough to show the belt and dagger sheath around my waist. He quickly undid the belt and took the dagger.

"That's mine!" I shouted, my eyes opening with tears in them. I reached for the dagger he held but he pinned my against the wall with his other paw.

"And this, did you steal it?" he asked holding the dagger up.

"Give it back," I yelped. "I didn't steal it. I got it for payment."

"But you did attack someone with it," said the guard, glancing from the weapon to me. "And you did steal this." He nudged the roast that was on the ground with his hindpaw.

"Please, I was hungry," I begged, still trying to reach for the dagger. My sobs started to control my breathing. "The dagger is mine. Give it back, please."

"I'm sorry pup but I can't let you have it, you nearly killed someone," insisted the wolf. He set the dagger down, out of my reach as he continued to pin me against the wall with his other paw. He grabbed my coin purse from the rim of my pants as well. "Was this 'payment' as well?"

"Yes," I said, hanging my head in defeat. I sniffled and sobbed some more. I pulled my pants up to my hipbones again but remained staring at the ground. If I told him what we did for the coins, I doubt he'd even believe me. He's taking the dagger even though I told him I didn't steal it because I defended myself. He wouldn't believe me if I told him what happened with the reptilian either.

"Look pup, you can't go around stealing things that don't belong to you," lectured the wolf.

How else was I supposed to eat? I've only been offered one job before by the Velox fox and I know how lucky Midnight and I were to be offered that one job.

"I'm hungry," I whined under my breath.

"I don't know if you stole this coin purse but no one reported this small amount being stolen so you can have it back," said the wolf. He held the coin purse in front of me. I was reluctant to take it back. I wanted all the things he took for me. Not just a few lousy coins. Still, I grabbed the purse from the guard and held it tightly in my paw.

Another spark invaded its way into my defeat, signaling that another tremor was about to start. The pressure of the paw pinning me to the wall slacked a little, but not enough for me to get away. I looked up to see that the wolf had noticed the pending tremor as well. Starting off violently, the ground started to shake again.

The rattling of the ground was transferred through the building I was pinned against so I tried to step away, and possible run away. The guard however percieved it as an attempt to flee and pinned me harder against the wall, telling me to wait. The earthquake was much more intense as it rattled me to my core. The guard ignored me however, and was staring up over the horizon of the city buildings.

My ears, although ringings by the shaking and the roar of the city struggling to stay standing, started to pick up another, stronger rumble. Like before lightning struck, the sky would sometimes growl before the bark. Before the growl faded, the bark did come with a loud but distant boom! I have heard lightning at a distance and knew how loud they could be up close, but this was louder than lightning. The bark echoed and rolled across the city, lasting longer than any rolling thunder.

"What the..." muttered the guard, letting me go for the first time since he caught me. He stared off over the horizon clear horizons where there were no hint of a storm, sight or scent. But I didn't given the horizon a glance as I took the opportunity. I reached for the dagger and roast that was on the ground near the guard's hindpaws, and ran for it.

"Hey, wait, pup!" yelled the guard, but this time he didn't pursue.

Running over the shaking ground slowed me down but it slowly faded like the others. Something was wrong though. By the time I was a few blocks away from where the wolf caught me, I realized what was out of place. The roar of the thunder still persisted, and everyone that I had run by was frozen in place looking off into the horizon.

I felt that what I was missing was creeping up on me like a shadow. Slowly I turned around to see over the buildings, on the horizon where Mt. Ignis was... Where it was!

In its place was a column of smoke and ash like nothing I have ever seen before. It rose thicker than thunderclouds, and even sparked liked thunderclouds. Those clouds were coming from the mountain itself, and rose higher and higher into the sky without the mountain ever slowing down its production. The smoke spread across the sky and towards the sun, slowly blocking out its light.

I took a few steps backwards and tore my gaze away from the smoke with only one thought on my mind. I have to find Midnight. I quickly wrapped the sheathed dagger around my waist again and continued running for the rooftop.

The other residents were confused by the smoke as well, some chose to run away from it, or hide from it, while others remained staring at those black clouds. I ran past those that stared, with the shadow of darkness following me until I reached the abandoned building. The sun was then covered by the dark clouds but I started climbing into the building anyway.

"Snowy!" Midnight's voice yelled from behind me. I turned to see him running down the alley towards me. "What's going on?"

"I don't know," I admitted, my voice panicked. "I thought you knew!"

"I don't know!" screamed Midnight, catching up to me. "It's not good, I know that."

I stared at the black wolf, seeing a side to him I haven't seen before. His yellow eyes were wide and staring at me. The usual playful and talkative wolf was gone, this one was full of fear. While we stared at each other, the sky continued to darken where it looked like twilight was already upon us.

"What do we do?" I asked. I tried to catch my breath but I could still feel my heartbeat through my chest.

"I... I don't know." We both glanced at the sky to see it steadily grow darker. The lightning was getting closer, constant and angry. "Let's go up and see what the adults are doing," suggested Midnight.

"Okay," I said uncertainly. With that I resumed my climb up the ruined part of the building. I found that the tremors had shifted the rocks a bit but I was still able to climb. Midnight followed me and within a minute we were both on the rooftop, capable of seeing the smoke that consumed the sky more clear now.

We stayed out from underneath the gazebo and glanced over the edges of the building. More of the residents were coming outside to see what was going on but they looked as confused as we were. Some panicked and ran back inside but they came out a few minutes later and started packing a cart. Some had bags slung over their shoulders and herded their children away from their homes. Others that fled into their homes didn't come out, probably hoping to hide from the black clouds.

"Where'd you get that meat?" asked Midnight, smelling the meat I still held in my arms.

"From the marketplace," I answered, looking down at it again and realizing how hungry I was. "One of the tremors broke the butcher's stand so I took it before they could catch me." That reminded me, I was caught! "Oh, you were right, the guards think we attacked the person yesterday. They're looking for us."

"Your shirt is soaked in the blood," commented Midnight. Looking down at my shirt, I realized that the blood from the roast was soaking through my shirt. "Take off your shirt and use it as a bag for the meat."

I did as instructed and took off my shirt, wrapped the roast in it and tied it off. There was a little red of the ends of the fur on my chest but it wasn't too bad.

"Think we should eat some of it now?" I asked, wondering why Midnight suggested packing it instead of eating it.

"Try to ignore the hunger, I don't know what this cloud is," said the black wolf looking back at the sky. "We might need it f- Ouch!"

Midnight held his paws to his head as what hit him bounced off and landed nearby. It was a small rock. Confused at where it came from we stared at it for a moment, before another rock landed nearby.

Rocks small as gravel started slowly started to fall from the sky like rain. Though small they weren't any less painful. We hurried underneath our gazebo, trying to hide from the rocks. It was deafeningly loud but we were saved from the pelting of those rocks, mostly.

"Think we should leave?" I asked, speaking over the falling rocks that sounded louder than hail.

"And go where?" questioned Midnight. A smell came from those rocks that smelled of rotten eggs except a bit different. I never smelled anything like it before, and I certainly did not like it.

We waited for the rocks to stop but they persisted, even as the day grew as dark as night. Lightning was now the only source of light that they had, and the lightning was aggressive. We waited under the gazebo, fearing that it'd collapse on us for nearly two hours before the rocks started to lighten up along with the lightning.

We ate part of the roast but had small appetites because we were too afraid of what was going on. Slowly we made our way out of the gazebo again too look around. The rocks were layered thick on the ground as if it had just hailed, and the air was noticeably warmer. This weather grew stranger and stranger.

"Maybe we should leave the city," muttered Midnight, glancing down into the streets to see many others had the same idea. "Let's get our stuff."

We didn't own much so rolling up the pieces of cloths that we slept on or used for warmth went by quickly. With the fragile lengths of rope we had, we tied the bundles over our backs for transport. Before we finished bundling them in a makeshift bag though, a noise distracted us. It came from the roof hatch that we used to climb up to the rooftop, but we both were here already. The hatch started to open, and to our horror a hooded figure came out of it. It looked straight at us, and I instantly recognized those eyes even in the dark.

"I knew you two would come back here," said the reptilian. He climbed out of the hatch and stood on the rooftop, but with an obvious limp. He unsheathed a short sword and faced toward us. "I'm supposed to make it look like an accident but no more surprises. You're the last one. Good thing too because the deity curses this town and covers it with His black cloak."

He pointed his sword at Midnight and the sky, and started to limp toward us. We backed away, with my eyes fixed on the sword. The blade ached for my life, and it had every intention to take it.

"This will be a lot less painful if you two just hold still," growled the reptilian, limping after us but he remained blocking our path of reaching the hatch.

I had stepped back, without watching where I was going and nearly stepped off the edge until Midnight grabbed me and stopped me. My eyes didn't leave the reptilian but Midnight quickly came up with an idea.

"Jump," he said, turning me toward the edge. The wolf jumped down into the street, landing on a melting snowdrift.

"Stop running or I'll make you wish I had killed you quickly," exhasperated the reptilian, his voice sounding closer to me than I'd like.

Without a second thought I jumped as well. The free fall made my heart jump into my throat until I roughly and painfully landed into the melting and rock-riddled snowdrift. Still carrying our bundles of cloth, Midnight helped me back to my hindpaws and we ran for the city's main gate.

"You god-forsaken brats!"

We lost the reptilian, much to our relief, and joined the crowds heading for the city's exit.

"The mountain is furious," I overheard one of the soon-to-be refugees say. "I've heard tales of mountains that get upset with the water so they try to cover the sea with land."

"No, the mountain grew too big so it exploded," said another refugee, dragging his family in a cart behind him.

"Fool, mountains don't grow," replied the first city resident. "Mountains aren't trees."

Their voices fell behind us as we tried to hurry out of the city. They were slowed down by more of their possessions, and their families but we didn't have that issue. And, we knew that the reptilian would still be after us so the sooner we got out of the city the better.

Reaching the main gate, it was crowded with a steady stream of fleeing city residents. Guards were trying to assist in the evacuation, and it seemed every guard in the city was there or helping someone carry something.

"Be calm," yelled one of the guards. "Head straight for Arktiline. We have sent our fastest messengers ahead to request aid. It's a four day journey west so stay to the road."

"I don't need to go to Arktiline," muttered one of the nearby otters to his family. "My brother is in Lontra and he'll take us in. Don't you worry."

While we were stuck behind others leaving the city, the gate steadily grew closer but the reality of leaving the city that I have never really left before started to catch up to me.

"Midnight, have you been out of the city before?" I asked, finding myself hesitant to leave it.

"Not really," he answered. The playful wolf was still absent. There was only the fearful wolf now. "Stay with me and we'll be okay. We'll find food. Just follow someone and we'll be in another city soon enough."

It was clear to me that he had no idea what to expect either. All we knew of what stood on the other side of the city walls were stories we had overheard from traveling merchants. The tales of frightening monsters, giants and other horrors had always stuck with me. Those merchants always told of their hunting stories while on the road because there was no other way to get food. I didn't know how to hunt, and I was certain Midnight did not either.

The gate was towering over me now. A few more steps and I was through it, seeing only the trail of refugees heading away from Mt. Ignis. I turned to take one last look at the city and saw that the clouds were darker there. Another loud explosion came down from the mountain, sending us off. There was no going back.