Thor jumped out of the way as a hand shot out for his leg—he leapt over it and crushed it with his boot. But then another surfaced and scratched his ankle.
"Run!" Thor said. “Back to the path!”
As one they all ran, slashing down with their swords, trying their best to avoid the claws. Thor’s legs stung in pain as he was clawed and scratched incessantly. Krohn snarled and jumped as he ran, snapping at the hands that emerged from the sand.
They sprinted for their lives, leaping more than running, and finally they made it back onto the path, just steps outside the city.
They all kept running, trying to enter the city quickly enough so as not to be seen. Thor led them into the city and down a narrow alleyway between two buildings where there seemed to be few Empire soldiers, and which was thronged with slaves.
The slaves stopped their work, the sound of their chisels slowing, and turned and looked at them in wonder. Their eyes were wide open: clearly they had never seen free people in these streets before.
"Who are you?" asked one of them.
Thor turned and saw a large man, face covered in dirt, leaning back on his pick, surveying the group. Dozens of other slaves gathered.
"We've come from the Ring," Thor said. "We are on a quest, to find something that was stolen from us. We seek a dozen men, carrying a sword. We were told they came to this city. Have you seen them?”
The large slave shook his head.
"You have made a grave mistake to come here,” he said in his low voice, as more and more people gathered. “You will not leave alive. No one leaves alive. The Empire troops are everywhere. There is no escape.”
"Free us!" cried another slave.
“Yes, free us!” cried another, holding up his chains, desperate. “Or we will alert the guards to your presence!”
Thor drew his sword, as did the others.
"You will do no such thing,” Reece warned.
“We will free you if you tell us where the men went with the Sword," Thor said.
"We have no fear of you," said the large slave, stepping forward, scowling down at them. "Do you know what it is that we mine here? Fire!”
"Fire?" Thor asked, puzzled.
The slave turned with his pick, and struck the ground again and again. After several seconds, a burst of flame shot into the air, and the large metal structure glowed orange, absorbing the flames.
"These are the fire mines," another slave said, stepping forward defiantly. "One of the worst places you can be sent in the Empire. There is nothing you or your swords can do to us which they have not done already. So now free us. This is your last chance. If you do not, we will summon the guards!”
Thor stood there, wavering.
"Don’t do it," Elden said.
“If you free them,” Reece said, “they will start a commotion, and it will give us away.”
"Free us!" screamed the group of slaves, louder and louder.
Thor and the others looked nervously about, and in the distance he saw several guards turn their way.
"GUARDS!" screamed a slave.
“GUARDS!” the others echoed.
“Run!" Thor said, not wanting a confrontation. "This way!”
They all ran down an alleyway, twisting and turning their way deeper into Slave City, past rows of slaves, all of whom stopped and looked as they went. Thor checked back over his shoulder, and his stomach dropped at what he saw: dozens of Empire troops bore down on them.
A horn sounded, and dozens more troops joined them, pouring in from all directions.
They were quickly surrounded, soldiers charging them from all directions, and there was nowhere to go.
"Over here!" came a voice.
Thor turned and saw a single slave girl, chained to a post, gesturing wildly towards them. With long, wild black hair, and a pretty face covered in dirt, she had desperate, flashing black eyes. She lifted a huge metal trap door into the earth, and gestured for them to run towards her.
"Inside, quickly!" she yelled. "I will hide you!”
Thor looked at the others, who were skeptical; but then they turned and saw all the troops bearing down on them, and realized they didn't have much choice. He didn't want to enter into a battle with thousands of Empire troops, and certainly not here, in these close quarters, and in a place he did not know. He would have to trust her.
Thor nodded and the others all turned and raced with him for the open compartment, diving in head-first, Krohn diving in beside him. Thor dove into the shallow hole in the earth, the others diving on top of him, all sandwiched in like sardines, and the girl slammed the lid down on top of them—making their world blackness.
Krohn nestled up against Thor, and it was hard to breathe in here. Thor’s heart pounded and he could not help but wonder if they were being set up, if it was all a trap. He wondered if maybe it had been stupid to dive down here, to trust her.
The sounds above them became muffled, and Thor heard the girl stand on the metal lid, and then heard the footsteps of dozens of soldiers running past. After several seconds, the ground above became quiet, and the girl lifted the compartment.
The metal door opened slowly, harsh light pouring in, and Thor saw the girl’s face, gesturing quickly for them to get up. They all scrambled out and she led them to the shadows of a wall, standing beside them, her wrists shackled in heavy iron chains.
"Free me," she said, her eyes wild, desperate. “Cut my shackles!”
Thor examined her: she was tall and broad and bony, nearly as tall as Elden, with plain features, and large black eyes. She was covered in dirt, and had a wild, crazed look to her, and a toughness that Thor rarely saw in a girl. She also had a bit of a shady, wily look, and Thor didn't feel as if they could entirely trust her. She was clearly a survivor.
"And why should we?" Elden asked firmly, stepping close to her.
She looked up at Elden, examining him, and he looked closely at her, too.
"Because I will lead you out of here!” she said. “No one else knows this city as I. If you don't follow me, you will certainly be caught and enslaved by these guards. But I know a way out. There isn’t much time. Do you want to trust me?”
Thor shook his head.
“We appreciate your offer, but we didn’t come to this city to run away,” he said. “We came to find a sword, and the group of men bearing it.”
“I know where they went,” she said.