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Description
Chapter 1
Part 10 : Follow the senses
In her mind, the hard part was done, donning her dark clothing allowed her to blend into the shadows a lot better and the soft leather on the soles of her boots made her footsteps a lot quieter than her bare feet. She allowed herself a moment to acquaint herself with the environment, the goal was to reach an opening to the underground tunnels.

She remembered the slits at the sides of the hallway floors on her way to the store room and she noticed the flow of the water was going in the direction opposite from where she was going at the time. That meant that this was the ground level and that she would have to retrace her footsteps back to that hallway, she had to avoid the cell blocks however.

That was going to be a new area that she hadn’t been before, she had no idea what to expect, but she could no longer stay there idle, at any minute the guard could be back and if she wasn’t out when her deed was discovered, her chances of escape would greatly diminish.

She hoisted the bag over her shoulder and began to sneak up against the wall towards the hallway and following the sound of the water. She went past the archway that led to the cell blocks and kept going. She had to pass several more of those archways, all leading to different parts of the building. The rooms she passed were used for storage and cooking, but the room that caught her attention was a laundry room.

Surely there must be an opening for discarding the used water. The room had several tubs filled with liquid and the whole room was stacked with bundles of fabric. She was confused as she hadn’t seen any fabrics used or clothes worn by the inmates. She did find a book on one of the tables which sated her curiosity. The upper levels of the building had some cells for special prisoners, she didn’t quite know what that meant, so she skipped to the next part, there was a guard dormitory there as well, she assumed for the guards who couldn’t afford their own domicile.

Unfortunately there were no clothes that she could take for herself there, so she decided to not waste any more time and start looking for an opening. She examined the tubs, each one had a drain hole on the side, covered by a wooden plug. Under each of those there was a groove on the floor and they all led towards the back of the room. There behind some barrels she saw an iron cover where all the grooves met.

She placed the bag on the floor closeby and tried to lift the cover, it was heavy and it wouldn’t budge, she started to panic and frantically looked around the room for anything that she could use. At first she tried to use a washing paddle, but it didn't work and it chipped part of the wood from it. She kept looking around the room, in a corner she finally spotted a shovel along some tubs filled with ash. She quickly fetched it and used it as a lever to lift the cover. This time she was able to do so and with some effort she managed to slide the lid completely to the side, making enough room for her to squeeze inside the opening.

She grabbed her bag and crouched down making sure she had enough space to move, she wasn’t out of the woods yet, so she timed her movements to be masked by the flow of the water under her feet. She saw other pipes converging there, but thankfully the water coming in was relatively clean. Of course she was completely ignorant regarding the sophistication of the sewage system in Whitewall, different parts of the tunnels handled different things, so the raw sewage was going in deeper tunnels and was funneled to underground pockets and absorbed by the soil. Used water was going into the higher parts of the sewer and that water ended up in a stream which then combined with a big river and ended up in the sea.

With her lack of knowledge, she fully expected to be covered in sewage and stink for days, but luckily she chose the right opening for her escape. After some crawling and going downwards noticeably, she finally saw the other end. There was water under her but about another meter to the front there was dry ground, paved with stone slabs. She positioned herself as best as she could to gain enough momentum to land onto the dry ground.

She barely made it, but that was enough, now she just stood there, in the middle of a dark tunnel and looking around, waiting for her vision to adjust.

“Now what….?” she said out loud while looking around slowly.

The place was empty, she approached the inner wall and placed her hand on it, it was cold, she had no idea which direction to take and was at a loss about what to do.
She started walking, bracing the wall for a few minutes, then she stopped, she could smell something very familiar, the smell of soot and burned oil, she looked up and was able to see a wall torch. It was high, but with some effort, she thought she could get to it.

After a few unsuccessful attempts at jumping, she used the bag with the valuables as a footstool to help her stretch high enough to reach the torch. She had to pull very hard to dislodge it and ended up falling on her backside, but with the torch in her hand. Luckily she always carried a tinderbox with her, just in case and this was a case in which it was needed desperately.

Starting the fire wasn’t hard, but maintaining it would be a struggle, as she didn’t have the means to fuel it, best she could do was to tear a strip of burlap from the bag and wrap it around the end of the torch and hope that the residual oil on the torch could carry her to the outside.

She couldn’t give up hope now, at least she had a light source, but no way of knowing which way to go. Her sense of direction was also of no help underground. So she just started walking and hoping for a sign she was going in the right direction. It didn’t take her long until she came across a diagram etched on a plaque on one of the walls. It was a map of the tunnels, workers down there would need them so they wouldn’t get lost.

She found that to be fascinating, unexpected, she was happy to be able to locate herself and where she needed to go, but sadly all this time she was going the wrong way.
She made a mental note of where she needed to go and where the next diagram was located, then she quickly backtracked, until she knew she was in the right direction, and then she allowed herself to use a more relaxed pace.

There were a few ways she could go, each tunnel ended up in a different place, the one she chose was the one closest to the poorest part of the city, and near some woods. Her goal now was to be out of the tunnels and well on her way by dawn.

When she made it to the tunnel’s entrance, she had to squeeze through the grate, that covered the opening, she was thin enough to fit, so she preferred to do that, instead of trying to pick the lock there, she didn’t want to betray the direction she took, in case guards chased after her.

Once she was out she started walking briskly towards the small wood, but keeping an eye on the road. There was farmland near the city too, she could hide there for a few hours and then continue on South. But for now she was happy to be out, but a cloud of melancholy shadowed over her. This was the place that she was born and raised, until this night she had never been away from this city. She was afraid and excited at the same time about what the future would hold.

But for now, she just kept walking, leaving behind Whitewall and everything she had ever known.

Description
Chapter 1
Part 10 : Follow the senses
In her mind, the hard part was done, donning her dark clothing allowed her to blend into the shadows a lot better and the soft leather on the soles of her boots made her footsteps a lot quieter than her bare feet. She allowed herself a moment to acquaint herself with the environment, the goal was to reach an opening to the underground tunnels.

She remembered the slits at the sides of the hallway floors on her way to the store room and she noticed the flow of the water was going in the direction opposite from where she was going at the time. That meant that this was the ground level and that she would have to retrace her footsteps back to that hallway, she had to avoid the cell blocks however.

That was going to be a new area that she hadn’t been before, she had no idea what to expect, but she could no longer stay there idle, at any minute the guard could be back and if she wasn’t out when her deed was discovered, her chances of escape would greatly diminish.

She hoisted the bag over her shoulder and began to sneak up against the wall towards the hallway and following the sound of the water. She went past the archway that led to the cell blocks and kept going. She had to pass several more of those archways, all leading to different parts of the building. The rooms she passed were used for storage and cooking, but the room that caught her attention was a laundry room.

Surely there must be an opening for discarding the used water. The room had several tubs filled with liquid and the whole room was stacked with bundles of fabric. She was confused as she hadn’t seen any fabrics used or clothes worn by the inmates. She did find a book on one of the tables which sated her curiosity. The upper levels of the building had some cells for special prisoners, she didn’t quite know what that meant, so she skipped to the next part, there was a guard dormitory there as well, she assumed for the guards who couldn’t afford their own domicile.

Unfortunately there were no clothes that she could take for herself there, so she decided to not waste any more time and start looking for an opening. She examined the tubs, each one had a drain hole on the side, covered by a wooden plug. Under each of those there was a groove on the floor and they all led towards the back of the room. There behind some barrels she saw an iron cover where all the grooves met.

She placed the bag on the floor closeby and tried to lift the cover, it was heavy and it wouldn’t budge, she started to panic and frantically looked around the room for anything that she could use. At first she tried to use a washing paddle, but it didn't work and it chipped part of the wood from it. She kept looking around the room, in a corner she finally spotted a shovel along some tubs filled with ash. She quickly fetched it and used it as a lever to lift the cover. This time she was able to do so and with some effort she managed to slide the lid completely to the side, making enough room for her to squeeze inside the opening.

She grabbed her bag and crouched down making sure she had enough space to move, she wasn’t out of the woods yet, so she timed her movements to be masked by the flow of the water under her feet. She saw other pipes converging there, but thankfully the water coming in was relatively clean. Of course she was completely ignorant regarding the sophistication of the sewage system in Whitewall, different parts of the tunnels handled different things, so the raw sewage was going in deeper tunnels and was funneled to underground pockets and absorbed by the soil. Used water was going into the higher parts of the sewer and that water ended up in a stream which then combined with a big river and ended up in the sea.

With her lack of knowledge, she fully expected to be covered in sewage and stink for days, but luckily she chose the right opening for her escape. After some crawling and going downwards noticeably, she finally saw the other end. There was water under her but about another meter to the front there was dry ground, paved with stone slabs. She positioned herself as best as she could to gain enough momentum to land onto the dry ground.

She barely made it, but that was enough, now she just stood there, in the middle of a dark tunnel and looking around, waiting for her vision to adjust.

“Now what….?” she said out loud while looking around slowly.

The place was empty, she approached the inner wall and placed her hand on it, it was cold, she had no idea which direction to take and was at a loss about what to do.
She started walking, bracing the wall for a few minutes, then she stopped, she could smell something very familiar, the smell of soot and burned oil, she looked up and was able to see a wall torch. It was high, but with some effort, she thought she could get to it.

After a few unsuccessful attempts at jumping, she used the bag with the valuables as a footstool to help her stretch high enough to reach the torch. She had to pull very hard to dislodge it and ended up falling on her backside, but with the torch in her hand. Luckily she always carried a tinderbox with her, just in case and this was a case in which it was needed desperately.

Starting the fire wasn’t hard, but maintaining it would be a struggle, as she didn’t have the means to fuel it, best she could do was to tear a strip of burlap from the bag and wrap it around the end of the torch and hope that the residual oil on the torch could carry her to the outside.

She couldn’t give up hope now, at least she had a light source, but no way of knowing which way to go. Her sense of direction was also of no help underground. So she just started walking and hoping for a sign she was going in the right direction. It didn’t take her long until she came across a diagram etched on a plaque on one of the walls. It was a map of the tunnels, workers down there would need them so they wouldn’t get lost.

She found that to be fascinating, unexpected, she was happy to be able to locate herself and where she needed to go, but sadly all this time she was going the wrong way.
She made a mental note of where she needed to go and where the next diagram was located, then she quickly backtracked, until she knew she was in the right direction, and then she allowed herself to use a more relaxed pace.

There were a few ways she could go, each tunnel ended up in a different place, the one she chose was the one closest to the poorest part of the city, and near some woods. Her goal now was to be out of the tunnels and well on her way by dawn.

When she made it to the tunnel’s entrance, she had to squeeze through the grate, that covered the opening, she was thin enough to fit, so she preferred to do that, instead of trying to pick the lock there, she didn’t want to betray the direction she took, in case guards chased after her.

Once she was out she started walking briskly towards the small wood, but keeping an eye on the road. There was farmland near the city too, she could hide there for a few hours and then continue on South. But for now she was happy to be out, but a cloud of melancholy shadowed over her. This was the place that she was born and raised, until this night she had never been away from this city. She was afraid and excited at the same time about what the future would hold.

But for now, she just kept walking, leaving behind Whitewall and everything she had ever known.