The streets of the city were a labyrinth of winding shadows that welcomed those who dared to go out at that hour to keep their secrets. The dim illumination of the lamp posts did not completely drive away the cloak of darkness behind those walls. Not a passerby was to be seen, not even the night watch, as if they also feared to run into the shadows. The silence of the once bustling streets magnified any noise, noting that it was forbidden to disturb the calm of those who surrendered to sleep after a long day. Mathew's footsteps dared to break the silence, as he entered the city in an unknown direction.
An unknown direction for Kunoichi, of course, Mathew, on the other hand, moved through the city as if he knew it from before. Turning corners without missing a step or to corroborate that he was going in the right direction. He covered himself with his cloak so as not to be recognized, a completely unnecessary precaution in a dark and empty place. Perhaps it was embarrassment or fear rather than for any practical purpose.
It was hard for the young ninja to keep up with her friend without making noise as she walked. In those quiet streets, a bad step would be heard in the distance, forewarning him that he was being pursued. The walk took them to the east side of the city, at one point Mathew turned the corner quickly and when Kunoichi reached that point, he was gone.
Maybe he had accelerated his pace, she said to herself, so she sped up to get to the other corner, but Mathew was too far ahead of her. No, that was not possible, she had not heard him speed up, so it could not be that. Surely he had entered a house, that wasn't good news, there were at least ten houses in that block and Mathew could be in any one of them.
"Let's see" thought Kunoichi, " If he entered a house, he had to have left a trail". The young ninja immediately started looking for clues, the ground was made of stone, so looking for footprints was useless. The lights of all the houses were off, but the curtains of one house were disarranged, as if they had been closed too quickly. That was unforgivable in an avian, as orderly and methodical as they are, it would be strange to go to sleep without closing the curtain properly. That had to be the house.
Without making noise, Kunoichi approached and put her ear to the door to check if she could hear what they were discussing inside.
She took out her listening device, which was a metal cup, to amplify the sound and eavesdrop better, she could make out Mathew's voice, also two others, but she couldn't understand what they were saying.
Suddenly the conversation stopped and they opened the door with a bang. Kunoichi jumped like a cat and perched on the wall of the second floor. For a moment she thought she had been discovered, but it was not so, those who came out of the house did not turn in her direction. From that house came out Mathew dressed in white from head to toe, with a somewhat square false beak, accompanied by a bird person with the same attire worn by the cleaning men she saw picking up the garbage hours before. They were pushing a wheelie bin with great effort, it didn't make sense.
Pushing that container, they walked for a long time towards the west end of the city, on the way they met some guards, who were owl birds, they said something to them and continued on their way. Kunoichi wanted to evade the guards, but if she made a detour, she would surely lose sight of Mathew, so she decided to continue straight ahead. The owl soldiers stopped her, but seeing her passport necklace, they let her continue on her way without further questions.
Fortunately, the dumpster made noise when it rolled, which made it easier for her to camouflage her steps. After a while, they arrived in front of a large stone arch, it was like the threshold of a gigantic door, it was about twelve meters high and fifteen meters wide, four guards guarded that monument.
On the surface of the stone arch, there were carved arcane symbols that perhaps Mila could have read. For a moment she regretted not having brought her, but if she had been with her, they would probably have been discovered by now, the other girls were not very stealthy to say the least.
Mathew and the other character in white, approached the guards, exchanged a few words and after this, one of the guards took out a key that was hanging around his neck like a necklace and inserted it into a rock pillar that lit up. The strange symbols on the rock arch lit up with a blue light and the space inside the arch changed, the wall behind it was no longer visible, it became a door leading to some remote place, outside the city. It was the portal that Sergeant Pepian had told them about! Mathew and his companion crossed the threshold carrying their trash container and once they entered, the guards closed the portal behind them.
Now Kunoichi was at a crossroads, from where she was hidden she could observe everything without being seen, but if she wanted to enter through that portal, she would have to reveal herself. Attacking or knocking out the guards was out of the question, there were four of them and she didn't know how strong they were, it could be too much for her, not to mention that if any other guard passed by, she would notice that something suspicious was going on. While she was thinking about what to do, she saw another figure in white turn the corner in the direction of the street where she was, he was pushing another garbage container. She managed to react in time by hiding in an alley a few meters away, she heard the footsteps of the cleaning worker approaching, she didn't want to resort to something like that, but she had no choice. As soon as he passed through the alley, she jumped on him giving him a strong blow to the back of his head, the bird man collapsed unconcious, but she received him in the air, avoiding him to make noise. He was too heavy to carry, so she dragged him into the alley, pulled off the white uniform that covered him up to his head, but she was not prepared for what her eyes would see. He was a crow!
She found it suspicious from the start that the cleaning workers had their faces covered all the time and didn't talk to anyone. The raven wore a bronze necklace around its neck, with arcane inscriptions, she didn't know what the symbols meant, but she could guess. Now more than ever it was necessary to enter the secret area through the portal. She hid the raven behind some empty boxes and covered it with a tarp that was in the trash. She put on his clothes, which were a bit too big for her, and secured them as best she could with a string she had brought along, carrying some of her equipment had ended up being a wise move. She cut a piece of old leather to simulate a beak, under the thick cloth that would cover her face, it wouldn't be noticeable.
Once she was ready, she made her way to the portal, the guards watched her approach without making any gestures. She stopped in front of the gate, waiting for them to open it.
- What do you have there? asked one of the guards in a deep voice.
- I'm carrying garbage, sir. - She said trying to make her voice thick, hoping she hadn't screwed up or ignored a password.
- But what else do you want him to bring? let him pass at once, he'll stink up the place if he stays too long. - Said another of the guards, holding his nose.
The fussiest guard took his key and the gate opened. Kunoichi entered, pushing the trash container slowly, once she had passed through, the door closed. On the other side of the portal, there were more guards, about ten guarded the entrance, there seemed to be no buildings in sight, on both sides of the doorway solid rock walls could be seen, it was an outdoor area, above it was only the starry sky. She continued to advance beyond the stone passageway, she could spot a large number of workers dressed in white, thousands of them. they were working the fields and were being whipped by the Avian guards. So the prosperity of the avian city was owed to the slave labor of the ravens. At a great distance from there, she could make out hundreds of canvas tents, where the workers probably slept when they were allowed to, but if their workday began at four o'clock in the morning, it was to be expected that they would not have much of a rest.
No matter how hard she searched with her eyes, she couldn't find Mathew or his companion, so she decided to follow the most recent wheel tracks. These led her to another area where a large group of workers were unloading waste from the big city, white at the expense of the suffering crows. The foreman, who was a very fat turkey fowl, would crack his whip if he saw them moving less quickly than he saw fit.
It would be a bad thing if they noticed her, not only could they whip her, but if they discovered her, she might not return alive. The level of danger increased with every step she took, so she decided to retreat. Unfortunately, as she was turning around, a voice addressed her.
- Where do you think you are going, slave? - Didn't you come to leave the garbage here? - said the foreman cracking his whip.
- Yes sir, sorry, I just wanted to go to the bathroom. - Said Kunoichi faking her voice.
- Always these lazy crows making excuses for not working, you will go to the bathroom when I say so. - He said, in a threatening tone.
Ducking her head, she continued to push the dumpster and emptied it into the mountain of garbage under the watchful eye of the foreman. Now she was in trouble, she would not be able to move freely if she was watched like this. Once her dumpster was empty, she continued on her way out, she had to find an opportunity to sneak out and investigate.
The taskmaster's whip resounded on her back, making her let out a cry of pain, a trickle of blood began to run staining the white clothes.
- Ahhh! - she exclaimed without being able to help it.
- I like how you squeal slave, delight me one more time with a moan. - Said the taskmaster throwing his whip once more.
Kunoichi reflexively dodged it, without thinking about the consequences of that action.
Ah, so you think you're such a skilled scavenger bird, then I'll give you something so you can use all that energy. He said kicking her and making her fall on her face.
- Walk slave, since you said you want to go to the bathroom, I have a special job for you in the latrines. - He said giving her another kick.
The pantomime would not last much longer, the young ninja obeyed and went to where she was indicated, followed closely by the taskmaster, who had decided to dedicate his special attention to her. The latrine area was away from the rest of the camp, consisting of a series of tents grouped in rows. Unlike the other areas, there were no guards, probably because no one wanted to be near it. The smell was nauseating even from afar, when they found themselves in the center, that ocher, pungent aroma, almost made your eyes water from how horrendous it was. This is where the taskmaster stopped.
- Well, now that we've reached your house, I want you to shovel the waste into that barrel over there. - Said the foreman. - To cheer you up I'll use my whip, so you'll have the strength you need.
- Yes, sir. Said Kunoichi taking the shovel to go to the latrines, but halfway there a whip made her lose her balance and fall.
- Damn slave! You walk very slowly, I thought that being at home you would feel encouraged, but if my generosity is not enough for you, I will have to encourage you in another way. - Said the taskmaster and then whipped her several times.
She could not let this continue, if he continued to whip her she could lose consciousness, if that happened, she was lost. When he launched the next lash, she caught the whip in the air.
- You dare to defy me huh? well, now I have the excuse I need to do what I wanted to do. - Said the taskmaster drawing his dagger and approaching her. - I'll send you to your dirty ancestors....
The fat foreman lunged at Kunoichi to stab her, but being used to those who can't resist, he didn't see her dagger sticking out from between the white clothes to go bury itself in his neck. He tried to stammer something, but could not and fell as long as he was.
- I hope your ancestors whip you at least half as much as you did to others, you bastard. - She said, enduring the pain of her wounds.
She dragged the foreman to one of the latrines, removed the planks that made the floor and threw him into the pit and then covered it. No one would miss him, at least not for a while. Now she had to find Mathew and get out of there. No sooner had she left the tent, when she could see in the distance two figures in white pushing a container, the beak of one of them, was too squared, that no doubt was Mathew. Finally some luck, she thought.
She saw them enter one of the tents in the area where the workers were supposed to sleep. Hurriedly she approached, there were few guards in the area, so she managed to pass hidden in the shadows without being noticed. Inside the tent she could hear voices. She brought her ear as close as she could.
- Everything is ready for the fall of the city, not a single one of those usurpers will be left alive. The barrier that prevents the air troops from entering will fall at dawn, but it will only be for a short period of time, when the energy drops, the collars will be deactivated and we will be able to attack from here with the weapons you brought us, the number of guards is insufficient to stop us all. Even so, this will not be enough, you must take advantage of the diversion to destroy the core that holds the city in the air, once it explodes a chain reaction will be generated, the same barrier will prevent the inhabitants to escape flying, they will be trapped in the explosions without being able to save themselves ... Then we will be avenged, all our enemies will be exterminated and our proud race will be able to resurge.
This was a macabre plan to destroy the whole city, if carried out, thousands, tens of thousands would die, including her friends. She did was horrified by the avian slavery policies, but many innocent people would die for that revenge. She had to warn them.
A dull thud came without her noticing it, interrupting her thoughts, she fell to the ground without being able to avoid it, everything went dark and she could not see anything else.