3. SANCTUARY

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Erik powered up his Mekgineer's Chopper after two attempts. He had poured Drew into the sidecar and waited for Sarah to climb on the saddle behind him. 

She stared at the dwarf in disbelief. "You're having a laugh, aren't you?" she said, hands on hips trying to look unafraid at the prospect of ending up in a crumpled heap again – and where the hell would she end up then? Mardum? Argus?

"Listen, lass, ye'll no be bloody laughin' if the Archmage comes oot and finds ye standin' debating whether tae get oan or no," Erik replied, as masterfully as he could between hiccups.

Sarah scowled, knowing he had a point. Still, the thought of Erik being in charge of a bike while under the influence of Dwarven Ale no less, was a bit worrying. Especially with her and Drew as passengers.

"Stop yer frettin' and get oan!" The dwarf grunted impatiently.

Nodding, but with a degree of reluctance, Sarah climbed into the saddle behind Erik. "Where are we going?" she asked nervously.

"No fer. Now haud oan."

With an almighty surge forward the chopper moved out along the streets of the Dwarven Quarter. Sarah's arms wrapped around Erik's waist, clinging on for dear life. She looked to the side at Drew's unconscious body. His limp form was bumping about in the sidecar. Oh god, he's going to be sore in the morning, she thought.

The bike revved between the Dwarven Quarter and Old Town, its engine booming loudly due to the acoustics of the stone tunnel. Sarah's eyes widened as their chauffeur banked sharply to the right. She cringed as she heard the metal of the sidecar scrape along the wall. Erik straightened, then made an abrupt left turn over the bridge that crossed the canals.

He honked the horn twice at pedestrians. They jumped out of the way just in time. Sarah looked behind, mouthing apologies as the people shook angry fists at them. "Erik! For goodness sake..." she shouted.

"Whit! Wud ye rather I run the buggers o'er?" he answered gruffly over his shoulder.

Sarah just shook her head and clung on as Erik thundered through another tunnel to the Trade District. From there it was thankfully a clear run to the city gates, although they nearly ended up in the canals when he misjudged the turning onto the Valley of Heroes.

They zoomed off the paving and onto the dirt road outside the gates. Sarah's bottom was taking a beating against the saddle as the bike veered up to the left, over very rough ground. Drew, she saw fared no better, but he was groaning a lot more now. At one point she thought his eyes opened but as the chopper bounced over a tree root, he was rendered unconscious again.

Up ahead, a cottage rested in between two hills. Erik revved again and they started up the incline towards the building. Sarah was never so relieved as to draw to a halt. She carefully slid off the saddle, massaging her posterior as she did so.

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