Flora's on her back on top of the bush has calmed down after her sudden rush. Her mind questioned what she just did. In her panicky state, she had launched herself out the window past some armed guards.
The Guards yell to alarm the others. "Intruder!" They yell. Flora shoots out her vines to get herself over the wall, but as it pulls, a bullet from one of the guard's guns shoots the vine severing it. With her momentum, Flora is still thrown over the wall but is now falling fast toward the ground.
She quickly tosses a seed which turns into a flower to cushion her fall. She wanted to catch her breath after the sudden fall but couldn't as she heard yelling from the gate.
"She is over here!" Yells one of the guards and takes two shots at Flora using his gun. Flora makes vines to block the shots and runs in the opposite direction. The bullets go into the vines, and they wither and break apart.
She runs through the street, chased by the soldiers. Her run is stumbly, and the soldiers get closer. Her side begins to hurt, and her breath is unsteady. She turned to run through some alley, but as she turned, a bullet was shot, and her thigh was hit. She fell flat on her face but kept crawling despite the pain. The soldiers got closer, and all she could do was crawl. She felt a hand on her arm. She was being pulled, and she couldn't fight back.
"I've been caught," Flora thought, but instead of being pulled by some soldiers. She found that the hand came out of a manhole. She was pulled into the darkness below. She wanted to scream, but a hand was put over her mouth.
"Quite. They haven't left yet." A man said in a hushed tone. They hear the footsteps above them. They yell over where she went. The sound became quieter as time passed, and finally, after what felt like an eternity, the one thing she could hear was the sound of water. The man let go of Flora's mouth.
"Follow me, and don't make a sound."
Flora, on unsteady feet, follows the man stumbling through the darkness. Her face scrunches together as she finally notices the smell. The stress of the situation made her completely forget that she was in a sewer.
The man squats down by the sewage and plunges his hand into it, pushing unto something. He waves, indicating he wants her to follow. He jumps into the sewage and disappears from Flora's sight.
"I have to jump into that?" The thought was disgusting, but whatever is down there is probably better than being caught. She pinches her nose and puts a hand over her wound before throwing herself into the sewage. She falls further than expected and begins to flail in panic.
She lands on her back and pulls herself up. She coughs and feels like she is going to throw up. Her nose is burning, the pure disgust almost making her forget the pain in her leg. The man hands her a handkerchief.
"you get used to it," he said with a grin. Flora pulled herself out of the knee-deep sewage. She wipes off her face using the handkerchief. Then she notices something she didn't before. She wasn't just in a small opening but a giant cave. She looks down from the cliff she found herself on and finds buildings and people walking around going by their day. Flora looks upwards. Her face lit up by the dozens upon dozens of light.
"Welcome to the Rogue hideout. Names Shade, by the way." Said the man who had helped Flora. While in the sewer, he was caught in darkness, so Flora couldn't see him clearly, but now she could, and what Flora saw was a fairly skinny man with long silky black hair.
"How can a place like this exist?" Flora said in a loud voice. She was confused about how could a base this humongous exist right below Nexus. Shade Shushed at Flora.
"Who knows who could hear you," he said with death in his eyes. Flora, shocked, apologizes, and with a sigh, Shade invites her down below.
Flora tries to get up, but as she does, the pain in her leg suddenly grows sharper, and she collapses again. Shade rushes over, takes her arm, and puts it over his shoulder. With Flora leaning against him, they make it down a rough stone staircase. The steps are narrow and lumpy, and Flora almost trips multiple times. Walking around the streets, he gives her a small rundown, showing her around the place.
"to the north, you see the resting house."
A hollowed-out stone block with a hole in the wall as the door. Long halls lead into small rooms with a single bed and a chest for personal belongings. A wooden ladder goes through the hole in each floor, allowing people to go between floors.
"Next to it, you find the storeroom. If you plan on taking anything, ask me first."
Like the resting house, it's a hollowed-out stone block filled with goodies. There were Scribes, Food, and some luxuries.
"let's sit you down. Hey Doc, we got a bullet victim!" Shade yells to an older-looking woman. The woman moves her hand towards the wound, with Flora pulling her leg away. Shade grabs her by the shoulder, trying to make her relax more.
"Man, AS. bullets hurt like crazy." Shade made light of her pain. Flora, however, looks confused, not understanding what he is talking about. Shade explains that AS bullets are anti-sorcery bullets. Bullets carved from the bones of magical beasts that feed off mana, the bones drain mana until they are unable to, and then combust.
"Are you telling me it exploded in my leg!" Flora yelled, with Shade shushing her. She apologizes and takes a tight grasp on the ground as the doctor opens the wound to pull out the shards.
"Just relax for now. Love to hear your story sometime." Shade said, winking at Flora.