The stone wall was slippery at the top and Scar and Thaulka stood back to back as they fought the men who crawled up the walls like spiders to a fly.
They had waited it out in the dirty laundry baskets in the dungeon all night. The smell had been awful and so had the air quality. By morning most of the men had left to search outside the walls for the "escaped criminals".
By morning Thaulka's magic had built up enough to get them halfway up the wall unseen and unheard, but they had been pursued. Scar was in bad shape. Holding up their progress, but quite literally just trying his best to stay alive as the two men fended off arrows, throwing knives, and poisonous darts.
Thankfully the wall was slippery all around and they had managed to knock some of the men off the walls and down into the dirt below or the thrashing waves. Depending on what side of the two men they stood. Both were a near death sentence.
They were figuring a way to crawl down without dying when they saw it. A boat out in the near distance. The men looked at eachother and nodded.
Scar advanced on the men in front of him. Thaulka stayed to his back as they made they're way closer to the jump.
They were probably going to die in the water. Beaten bloody by the stone wall, sharp rocks, or the ruthless waves themselves. They both knew it, and yet it was better odds than the slow crawl down the other side with men trying to kill them as they kept their grip; tired, and hungry, and altogether weak.
They had reached the point of the wall where Scar could see the water crashing madly into the side. Frothing white welcomed them at the bottom of their plunge. He could only imagine the sharp teeth beneath the foaming mouth of the liquid beast.
"Three." Thaulka murmered.
"Three." Three Scar agreed.
"One." Thaulka said and then screamed as he ripped an arrow from the meaty part of his outer arm before launching the pointy end into a man charging him.
Thaulka thought that was worse then a body wound when he knew swimming was on the bucket list for today. Seeing as they'd both likely plunge to their deaths anyway he tried to put it from his mind.
"Two." Scar said before stepping forward to slash a few men with the last two daggers he had left.
"Three."
****
The water was ice cold.
Both men managed to avoid the pointy rocks. Tired as they were they knew it was a try or die jump and they both launched themselves as far away from the stonewall as they could. Thaulka was in a living hell as the salt water stung his exposed flesh. His arm was on fire as he drug it threw the water almost limply. Desperately fighting the current in his injured state. Scar wasn't much better off. He had also been diced up here and there, and in his weakened state he thanked all that was holy that both of his arms and legs were intact. A shallow gash in his side was the worst of his injuries as far as he could tell.
The boat seemed to be endless miles away, but after and exhausting amount of time and energy they reached the ships latter.
A few men who'd survived the fall began screaming in the distance as Razor toothed beasts were drawn to the scent of blood.
Like two half drowned beetles they clung pitifully to the bottom of the latter both trying to reach inwardly for the strength to make the climb, and be ready for the unknown on deck.
If the beasts were after blood they'd find some here too.
So first Thaulka then Scar ascended the latter.
The flag that whipped in the wind suggested the ship was one of the first armies of the Queen of Raverea on the other side of the water. Allies of the Democractic Council that ruled over his homeland. The council Resided eighteen cities away from Reavador to the west and they had little contact with the soldiers that crawled around the capitol like ants.
Scar had only met soldiers by the docks in Sommephenia two cities to the East of Reavador -the closest city with a port.
He did know one thing.
The animosity between the Soldeirs and the elves hadn't gotten any better from the elven wars. While most humans had moved on their was still violence. Particularly the people closest to the capitol city, and the resident city of the council, harbored hatred for people like Thaulka. People like him. Scar grasped Thaulka's ankle.
"Don't you have somthing to hide yourself?"
Thaulka smiled and drew a necklace from the folds of his shirt.
An onix stone lay amongst silver and was held by braided black cord. He painfully managed to slip it around his neck. Scar wasn't awed like the first time he'd seen it happen, but Thaulka did look strange to him this way. They paused before hauling themselves into sight crouched at the top rungs; listening. Thaulka's arm was shaking as he held fast.
"Fuck it." Thaulka muttered after a moment before shoving himself over the bow and collapsing on the deck. Scar hoisted himself up just in time to see the deck come alive.
And the life aboard didn't seem to happy to see them.