'Are you an idiot?'
'It's obvious isn't it? We need a plan.'
He suppressed a groan.
'I said that but what can wedo?'
The heat from the flames contained within the village center radiates so wide it reaches Kaeviel which is still a considerable distance. He could imagine the feeling of slow burn from the heatwave for anyone still inside the village perimeter.
He had already covered some distance from where he left George and Selena trying to find anything that would help him come up with a plan.
To the east where the silhouettes are smaller in number.
Yet the only thing that he can see are trees and burning leaves that got caught when the raging flames scattered.
The shadows from the trees remains his only ally, hiding him from the villages line of sight.
"Maybe we can try entering through here?"
'A fools' plan born of naivety.'
He staggered.
A snarky feminine voice in his mind.
It seems his mind is playing with him again.
Still, it's not something he can ignore. The thought of trying to free all the villagers without being spotted is ridiculous to begin with no matter who tries.
'What if we use the sewers?'
It might be a good secret path but it would still be difficult to escape with the villagers without being seen.
Still, he could use it to secretly get into the village, see if he could make a better plan once he's inside the village.
It's at least a good start.
'If I remember correctly, there's a sewer exit near here.'
He walked further looking for the sewer exit, making sure to always use the tree shadows to hide himself.
It's a narrow hole made of rocks just enough for him to crawl into.
The smell of sulfur and brown water sludge coming out of it almost dissuaded him from going through with it.
Almost.
With an exaggerated gulp of air, he dove straight into it. The narrow opening forced him to dip his head into the water.
His slow crawl felt like an eternity without breathing as he pushed his whole body into it. Yet he had to crawl further, uncertain of how long the narrow opening is.
It made him anxious as he felt himself crawling downwards without seeing anything.
Eventually, he rose as his lungs protested painfully due to lack of air. The place is too dark, leaving him unable to see anything but the dull light coming from the opening he came from.
'Tsk. I should have known it would be dark.'
He wiped the stuff stuck on his head. The slimy feeling combined with the smell of rotten eggs almost made him vomit.
'I need to get light in here.'
Splash!
The sound of disturbed water alerted him.
Not enough sight to see what's going on.
'Probably just a falling rock'
He dove straight back into the exit coming out faster than he went in. He picked a wood stick and tried to burn the tip a few times but the flames would flicker in and out.
'Tsk. This won't do.'
The front of his shirt is wet but he noticed a part of his back remained dry. The sewer water was shallow enough that it did not reach his back fully.
With a resigned sigh, he tore the dry piece off and wrapped it on one end of the stick.
'It's a bit more stable at least. Let's hope it won't die.'
The thought of going back out through the same channel to rekindle the fire made him groan.
He dove straight back in ignoring the disgusting feeling on his skin. The arm holding the makeshift torch angled as high as possible trying to keep it dry.
He emerged a few seconds later, grateful as he could still take in air, albeit a bad one.
His torch on the other hand is on the verge of dying, with only a few dying embers on it.
"Oof!"
Pain exploded.
Something that he could only describe as a rock hit him on the cheek, making him fall with a splash.
He could hear the wooshing sound followed by more splashes of water beside him, that made him feel dread. His attacker just tried to stomp him, only missing most likely due darkness.
The muddy wet earth where his hand landed flew straight to where he imagined his attacker's face.
"Ah!"
A familiar feminine voice reacted. Yet he couldn't put a face to it.
There's no time to think, he had to defend himself somehow.
He frantically crawled backwards. Putting distance between them, hoping that his attacker loses direction of him.
Hope failed him as he could hear more splashes from someone running straight towards him. He can't hide it seems.
He could feel another narrow miss just in front of his face. It seems his attacker misjudged their distance, but it was enough to give him a feeling of where to hit.
And so he struck with success, the feeling of flesh met his fist. Yet he got careless, getting a kick on his stomach in return.
He endured unlike earlier, preparing another hit straight to the face again. It was inches before the hit landed when light entered his vision, he forcibly killed the momentum of his punch.
"Luna?!"
Smack!
"Ugh! Damn it!"
"Sorry!"