Dystopia

Chapter 23: The Escapee

Wren was confused beyond belief. How could Daeva have known she was.....unless.....a tracker! Wren dug through her clothes seeing if Daeva somehow managed to slip in a tracker until she stumbled upon the pearl she had first dropped when Wren was chasing her through the street. It flashed red, and Wren quickly threw it to the ground and stomped on it, revealing several wires inside the tiny thing. She couldn't believe she had been so oblivious. The footsteps were getting closer. Right. The current problem on hand. Wren definitely didn't want to meet Dagen and Dalvin. She tried to make as little noise as possible as she grabbed Cardithas and ran out. She didn't care if she was lost. Wren tried to memorize the way, so she could get back and steal the shard, but the last time she saw it, it was humongous! And the worst thing was, the Jule were slowly losing their life force. If Wren managed to get out of Gurr and tell the dragons, they would definitely do something. Wren just couldn't believe Daeva could go this far. She felt the footsteps quiet down, and dove behind a corner. She collapsed on the dirt, hoping to cry all her worries away. Somewhere in the distance a Troblin appeared. Wren quickly hid behind her hood and got up.

"H-hello, Daeva." The Troblin replied with a scared quiver to his voice. He bowed low, his snout touching to ground.

"Why, hello......."

"Bulruk is my name, your majesty." Wren seemed confused. They were calling Daeva their majesty?

"I'm just taking this foul golem to the dungeon." Wren made up a lie, hoping Cardithas would understand.

"Ah, yes, your majesty."

"Say, do you know the way up to the surface, I miss the air. I'm not a Troblin, you know."

"O-of course your majesty, I can lead you there right now."

"Perfect, Bulruk." Wren said, stressing if that sentence sounds too nice for Daeva. At least she had a plan now. Bulruk led her through winding tunnels once again, and Wren was glad this was probably gonna be the last time. Soon, they reached the entrance, there were lots of Troblins there, but everyone went silent as soon as Wren walked in.

"Would you like me to take the filthy golem child up to the dungeon while you take a surface break?" Bulruk asked.

"Oh, no need. He's coming with me." And with that, Wren took Cardithas by the hand and ran straight out of the hole into a winding desert. Up in the distance, she could have sworn she saw her old horse Aldywn, but it could have been a mirage. Wren still decided to run to it just in case. As expected, the Troblins came running after her as soon as they realized it was Wren.

"This is the second time she's lied to us! Show no mercy!" She heard a Troblin yell. If Aldywn wasn't a mirage, she was in the Vajan Desert. Wren was also aware she had left Zaatar behind, but he was a dragon that could transform into a Troblin, so Wren wasn't worried. A Troblin grabbed onto her leg and Wren yelped as her face hit the burning sand. She quickly got up and held out her sword. The Troblin was climbing up her leg, and Wren cut off his gnarly hands with her blade as he fell to the sand. The swarm of Troblins looked like a mirage in the hot sun, the heat waves making them look glitched. How was Wren going to be able to get out of this one? She was getting near the Aldywn maybe-mirage and mounted him, glad he wasn't one. She quickly threw Cardithas on his back and kicked his sides and Aldywn whinnied and started at a trot.

"Come on, faster!" Wren shouted, thrashing his reigns and kicking his sides. Aldywn moved up to  a canter, and then a gallop, and Wren took the saddle horn as she struggled to hold on to the fast horse. The Troblins were approaching, and Aldywn was bound to get tired soon. Wren needed a plan.