Under normal circumstance, Tiffaney had no way to outrun grown adults. Winding across walkways with strait line deficiency was a different story. Navigation was difficult but the noble just ran in what ever direction she hadn't traversed before. As she sprinted away, she heard bits of the people behind her.
"You two go, ill hit the interrupts, inform any-"
Whatever else was too far to reach her ears, without question it was bad that she was in this area, and even worse that she was noticed. Her path took her deep into the mechanisms, there was a gap in the path ahead. Yellow and black stripes enclosed the opening, yet regularly a large coupler bar would swing through the space.
"That ball trap, how nice of it to teach me something." Ruefully, internally chiding herself for being so against the dark side of the castle. She managed three deep breaths before the massive steel rod passed thorough. It would be at least 15 before they could pass to follow her. The women that chased her was much better than the men, counted five breaths before vaulting the railing and diving over the link.
"Its fine, we won't hurt you, there won't be any trouble!"
Say that again after you don't risk life and limb to chase!
The noble had some distance more and her small frame was more agile even without the big fancy skills of her pursuit. Unfortunately for her those who worked here considered this something of a playground. In short order there was another few people running along parallel walkways, all in the same blue coverall and caps. At the next junction, illuminated by a large swinging bulb, the noble darted away from her pursuers.
Up close the first titan gear was even greater than she imagined, towering almost out of sight. Knots of pipes were bundled by large cables that hung down. Ladders were evident, cladded in cages to keep people trapped. She managed to find a relatively strait section that would hopefully lead her from this nightmare.
Nightmare waved back, sending a crew of people shaped coveralls in front of her. Slamming on the breaks she hopped a few steps before running back to the other intersection. She darted the other way this time looking ahead to see if she could spot away forward. Titan gears behind, giga gears to her left, pursuers to right. In front of her another intersection lit and another choice to make. She sprinted by jogging left and then clambered up some stairs. Beneath. a mainspring unwound, and a vast set of parallel gears spun, their giant hubs appearing still as the helical teeth bore the brunt of effort.
This section had a wide curve but no offshoots. Unaware, the workers in this section had communication pipes they could pass messages. Rounding the curve, the noble spotted another group in front of her. There wasn't a nearby escape, so her only recourse was to turn back. Exhausted from the mad run, her feet gave as she tried to about face. Railings were designed for adult size workers, the small child rolled once under the gap and plummeted for horizontal gears.
"G17, parallel interrupt! Golf one seven!" One of the factors that determined if one could stay in this section was the ability to follow and respond. As soon as the interrupt was called, every worker repeated it.
Tiffaney fell short almost bouncing, from the two-meter drop. On a deadly merry go round, the noble attempted to move from her pursuers towards an opening in the machinery. Coriolis reared his head and giggled at the noble as she spun into the side towards the mating section of a large spur gear.
Resonating through the entire carven, numerus clangs peeled through the space. Clattering as belts drove linkages, clanking as heavy pins groaned under stress. What was once a disoriented sweep, petered out softly. The surface beneath the noble slowed and ground to a stop. All the mechanisms in the area had stopped revolving. It hadn't been dramatic either, the entire system had slowed allowing the noble to fall several feet short of the supered teeth. In the stillness she could see gaps that hadn't existed in the moving mayhem.
"Can't get caught and they don't seem to want to follow."
"G17, Two out! Golf one seven! Two Oscar!"
Her lack of hesitation was well served as she crawled into the gaps between the involutes. There were several small bars and links, vast to the child who shimmied along.
"F17-F18, static interrupt! Foxtrot one seven Foxtrot one eight!" As before the machinery slowed down the unstable link become easier to manage. With less noise, the chain of yells could be faintly heard trailing into the distance.
Taking a risk, she jumped and scrambled onto one of the strangely curved plates, unsure what they were. Before she even knew what they were, she was already springing down a camshaft, crawling through a cage of pipes, and somehow found a ladder to the ground.
Despite every desire to keep sprinting, her body wouldn't have it. Without any direct pursuit she slowed to a walk, feeling like an elderly sloth. The ground was the culmination of sequoia groves, metal beams rock pillars bolts and anchors for the overpowering structure above. Culverts of oily grease and coolant ran down all facets of the various supports.
"Those are marked…" Through hitched breathing, the noble muttered to no one. Etched into the ground, were yellow arrows. Whirling of motors and machine were still behind her, but the noise had faded to the point where she could hear herself speak. Following the prescribed path, the outer wall came into sight.
Where the culverts mated with the wall the noble found several long tube vents next to a vast tunnel. Leaning against the wall, she looked around. Above her in a narrow view, she could see a hint of the pathways and the swinging lamps. Uncertain if this was okay, but she already caused more trouble than before. If she balked at this moment than there was no hope in the outcome.
True to her fashion, she debated about it back in forth before climbing in the vent, and it would be hopeless to try to outrun people down a flat passage. Most of the pursuers were bigger and taller, they would struggle to fit. Acidic corn was the closet the noble could thing of as she wiggled down the pipe. There were vents that cast a shadow from the main lit tunnel, beneath her she could hear the sound like a light river gurgling down.
Tilting tunnel traversed upward and it hadn't taken long for her to grow tired of crawling. Resting to recover she could her faint speaking below. Freezing she held her breath hoping not to be discovered. Struggling to listen yet stay still the noble could still hear speaking even if she couldn't recognize a word.
Humming softly filled the air, a whirling sound mixed with a fuzzy quality. Unable to recognize it, she was completely unprepared for sparks to suddenly sear in front of her. Noble child screamed as a shiny silvery blade tore into the tunnel in front of her. Squeezing her eyes shut, something grabbed her roughly from the pipe.
"Which child?" Satin silk with just a light hint of gravel washed over her ears. Holding the noble by the back of her collar looking with an almost idle surprise. "Thought they could sneak around in my castle."
In a travel swept cloak dusty from her trip, her head butler behind her holding a large tube with a strange spinning thing on it, stood Lady Dyne.
"Well?" Asked the master of the castle that noble Tiffaney was attempting to flee from.