Chapter 16: Ch 15. Part 2. Knight before the nightmare

Sweaty sheets and the exhausted woman reminded Antony of the last few hours.

He still remembered the happy smile of his partner, and the gentle words she was telling him.

Though he clearly was amongst the worst lovers, being distracted from the ‘process’ many times and listening to the surroundings, leaving the vulnerable woman to wait for naught, the one-night lover never showed a sign of disappointment. ‘I believe you’. ‘I will follow your instincts’.

Those were not flattering words of a fallen woman. She truly seemed to believe him, that something is not right.

Perhaps that is why at the end of it, he heard that whisper: ‘Let me bear your child. If we live past this day, let us escape this place. Once and for all…’.

Antony caressed her cheek with his finger, and cautiously left the bed, covering her with the quilt. He then sat down by the bed, and listened into the surroundings while holding the unsheathed sword.

He didn’t hear anything extraordinary, only the muffled sound of panting and screams of ecstasy.

‘Haaaaa’

Eyes opened and the hands gripped the handle.

Something wet touched his shoulder and the entire body of the knight stiffened, like a spring ready to unleash its power.

“Antony…?” The woman’s voice reached his ear.

“Ah, no, it’s alright…” His body relaxed and a few moments later he turned his face towards her, showing a gentle smile.

His lover was smiling too. Her long eyelashes and green eyes seemed to be the prettiest, and her curves to be the most seductive. Antony drew his face closer to give her a kiss. Closer and closer, closing their eyes…

‘Aaaaaa…!’

That was when they heard a scream coming from outside.

The knight immediately sprung up, but before he could rush outside, a tiny hand gripped his sleeve.

“A-Antony… Y-you must… come back alive…”

“I will.” With this, he rushed out of the room.

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The halls of the brothel were filled with people: nobles in night gowns were being escorted out by the lackeys, and the bandits, the dirty barbarians, were rushing towards the exit too. Some of the bandits seemed to be scared, for whatever reason.

Antony managed to catch one of them and push him into the wall. The bandit tried resisting like his life depended on it, but after Antony used magical strengthening and punched the wall by the bandit, he sobered up.

“What is going on?”

“K-knight…! Run! Run! That thing! That damned thing!” When another scream came from the bandit innermost hideout, the bandit suddenly broke out and ran for his life.

It was clear as day where the danger was.

Antony rushed back into the room, and before his scared woman could utter a word, he picked her up and snuggled her closer to his chest.

“Hold onto me! I will bring you out!” Antony ran towards the exit, where a lot of people pushed each other in panic.

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Now it was getting clear, that there is barely any way of getting out without having to jostle through. It was even harder with a fragile woman in his arms. But then a thought crossed his mind: ‘if the bandits didn’t mingle with the customers after the entrance, then there must be a way they are coming to their hideout without going through the brothel’.

‘Alice, don’t let go of me, under any circumstances.’ He whispered the order in the woman’s ear.

‘Um…’ She rubbed her cheek against his chest, and clenched onto his shirt.

Antony found one bandit right outside the crowd, and quietly said to him while showing the sword.

‘The other entrance. Where?’

The bandit’s expression darkened, but since it brought him no harm he spat it out.

‘You’ve seen that carpet in the room you entered first? Tell a sidekick you want to ‘do business’ there. Whatever happens to you is not my problem.’ The bandit turned his head away, returning to overseeing the badly-managed evacuation.

Antony followed the bandit’s words and approached a lackey, then, making sure nobody notices him, he entered the tiny space behind the carpet and opened the extra door with the key given.

The couple entered a dark tunnel.

There were no sources of light anywhere nearby and the knight needed to know where the way is.

'Sorry, you will have to walk. Please, be careful.' He put the woman back on the floor and drew the sword in one hand, and with the other he touched the wall.

'I will be right behind you.' She gripped the shirt at the back, and the couple took their first cautious steps into the pitch black.

They walked forth, hugging the right side of the wall, the side where the exit should be. Until the woman suddenly pushed herself into his back and trembled.

‘I… My feet… Something… Something… Wet…’ She muttered.

Antony crouched and touched the floor. When he touched a wet spot, he brought the finger to his nose, then tasted it.

Blood. Still somewhat warm blood.

‘Those bastards never bothered to clean the floor of their… erhm… excretions…’ He decided not to tell the truth. The woman seemed convinced enough.

‘Sorry, I wish I could carry you.’ He whispered.

‘I will follow your lead, my knight.’ She calmly whispered.

They continued going until they hit a fork, where they turned to the right. Antony felt like they walked for 100 meters from the brothel to the door leading outside into the catacomb tunnels.

But when they stepped out, the outsides were awfully silent. Not even a sound could be heard, even in the distance.

Antony squatted.

‘I’ll carry you. Don’t hurt your legs, the floor is rough.’ The woman obediently accepted the piggy-back ride and silently let him carry her.