My body felt numb, as if piloted by someone else. I had to hide myself from anyone who could identify me as a slave. The first step was my head, the helmet fixed that. The next was the replacing rags covering my entire body, I owned no others. Xandar’s armor was adjustable, and he wasn’t that much smaller than me. As sickening as it would be, it was my only option. I lifted the limp body and rolled it over to his back, the fasten to his armor’s breastplate was on his shoulders, my clumsy fingers thankfully able to remove them without damaging the armor.

  The forearm bracers were easier, just simple buckles that came off in moments. The shin bracers were the same. Next was the part I was less familiar with, the leather armor underneath. I had to flip Xander's body back over to get his chest piece off. I carefully avoided looking at his face, I wouldn’t be able to continue if I did. The laces keeping the armor tight were quickly loosened, and the armor pulled over his head. The sleeves were a bit tricky with the elbow bent in a way it wasn’t supposed to go, but luckily, the armor hadn’t torn or anything in the fight. The leather boots, greaves, and gloves came off with ease, having nothing fastening them. Whilst taking off the greaves, I saw the sewn-in pouch holding coing that he carried, looking rather full for just carrying, but likely nothing more than a shopping spree for newely courted woman Liza, it would do me more good than him now.

  Now that I had clothes, I could blend in, but I had to have a way to leave. My mind briefly looked at his cart and horses, but there were too many flaws. Taking the entire cart would be incredibly obvious and couldn’t be hidden were I to encounter someone as I left the estate, not to mention I didn’t know how to drive it. The next thought was taking a horse, but they did not have saddles, nor did I have a way to create makeshift ones, and yet again, I did not know how to ride one. It was too risky for what was likely pointless. My escape would have to be on foot, I could hide more easily that way.

  The next issue was finding a way to buy time for myself to get away before anyone would be able to catch on to what happened. Thankfully, it seemed that Xandar had come alone to deal with me in his anger. Had he brought even a single estate guard, there was no way that I could have come away from this with my life. Everyone knew to stay out of his way when he was furious, so I likely had hours to leave before anyone considered looking for him. I needed to buy more time than that. If they found his looted corpse, they would figure out what happened too quickly.

  With my mind made up, I began searching through the cart. Luckily, there was rope thrown into it, whether in case the cart ever got stuck or to bind me if I ran, I do not know. I just thanked the gods for it being there. Throwing his body over my shoulder quickly, I placed it on one of the horses. Leaving the horse attached to the cart, I began tying down the body, not too tightly as I hoped the body and ropes would fall in the woods before the horse made its way back to the estate. I was thankful I didn’t want the ropes tight, as the knots were as shoddy as if a child had simply tangled them; it would have to do. Quickly, I unhitched the horse and slapped its rear end. It seemed that it didn’t have to be told twice as it galloped in a seemingly random direction, my sight of it lost in the dense trees of the forest I had been attempting to raze just an hour earlier. I quickly donned the armor and plate that Xandar had unwittingly provided for me and attached the sword he carried to my hip after sheathing it. There was no sense in leaving myself unarmed in case anything else happened. With myself ready to leave, I turned to take in the estate.

  The intent was to look and see if any others were approaching me, however, I took in everything I could see of the estate. From the forest’s edge, I could see most areas of the estate. The main home lay in the center of the land. A grand two-story home made of finer materials than anywhere else, with tall windows allowing Xandar and guests to see the fields and forest from anywhere within the house. I knew there was a courtyard in the middle of it where the most beautiful plants in the land could be found, however, I could not see them behind the walls of the home. I could see slaves milling about, working on their tasks, all with hair too dark to be magic users. What did that make me? A question for another time.

  There seemed to be little urgency in their movements, good. The fields of grain surrounding the home are being worked by a few slaves, not requiring much labor due to the distance of the harvest. The ‘home’ for slaves had little movement, which was to be expected in the middle of the day. Next to it were the barracks of the estate guards, hired swords with minor magic abilities. They seemed to be relaxed, again with no urgency. That meant more time for me. My eyes drifted right, seeing nothing that needed attending, towards the road leading to the town the supplies Xandar purchased to keep the estate running. That had to be my ticket out of here. With no map giving me directions, nor experience with this lands, towns, or landmarks, I was beholden to the only place I knew. I would have to stay off of the road, but I could be close enough to follow the path unseen if I was careful. There wasn’t much more time to make decisions, and it was unlikely I could make a better plan. My mind settled, unwilling to dwell on the hell I was walking towards to escape another, I picked up the Xandar's helmet, the weight somehow comforting, and placed it on my head, the world becoming dimmer, as the only light that could come through was in the few holes the helmet contained. I turned towards the edge of the woods and began walking to hide myself from wandering eyes while I made my way to the road.

  Thankfully, the near-mile walk to get to the road was uneventful and quiet, save for me tripping over roots every few dozen feet as I got used to the reduced vision. Glancing at the sky above me, it was about halfway between lunch and dinner, which would hopefully mean that the treks were either back already or staying in the nearby town to avoid camping in the woods. Rather than staying anywhere I could be seen, I made sure to be far enough into the woods to stay hidden but able to see where the road led. The road seemed to be clear of any passersby, but that could change at any moment, and it wasn’t worth the risk to walk it if I wanted to make it to town before nightfall.

  I moved slowly to be quiet and not draw attention, but I moved with purpose, hopefully, my ability to handle monotony through repetition of pointless tasks would make this trip more bearable. It didn’t take much time to notice that I was becoming more proficient moving with this helmet on my head; the dozens of feet in between stumbling had shifted to dozens of minutes. Thankfully, those falls had come at times when no one travelling the road could hear. I was correct that there would be few people traversing the road due to the time, however, I was also correct in that I was far enough away not to be seen. The sounds of the forest I was in were quiet and pleasant, a sharp juxtaposition from what had happened earlier today. Had I not been wearing the clothes I took from my former owner whom I killed, I would have felt like everything had been a dream. Those quiet noises soon gave way to another sound. One that I hadn’t heard in many moons, it was the sound of rushing water. It crept up very quickly, which meant I was getting close, however, the low volume indicated to me that the water wasn’t moving particularly quickly. An idea came to me, and I quickly set off towards the sound, which thankfully was in the same direction the road was heading.

  It wasn’t more than a minute later that I stumbled onto a break in the trees, thankfully not one that reached the road. In front of me was a small creek, the water traveling from the direction of the town the road likely led to and turned directly away from the road leading to land which was likely populated by only what the wild gods governed. The river, which was better described as a creek due to being only a few dozen feet long, seemed to be deep enough to house animals but not enough to drown a man who was capable of standing. I hovered near the trees I had come from, ensuring that no wildlife was near to take advantage of the lack of cover. There was nothing more than a few birds resting in trees, no threats to me.

  I quickly moved towards the river bank, removing the helmet and greedily drinking any water I could scoop to my mouth. I was thirstier than I had been in a very long time, likely a combination between my fight with Xandar and quickly moving what must have been several miles, all while carrying armor I wasn’t used to bearing the weight of. My stomach twisted, having no food, especially after I had vomited. The thought of if they knew I had run crossed my mind, but I set it aside as wondering would not help me.

  The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

  Finishing drinking the water, I looked down and saw my reflection. I didn’t know how to feel, I could see my face, my large nose and hazel eyes taking a majority of the space on my face, with tanned skin having darkened from the days of working in the fields. The corner of my mouth twitched downward as I looked at the slave tattoo that sat on my cheek and extended down to my neck, runes and patterns that meant nothing other than to make it obvious that the bearer was a slave. The rest of my body looked different than I had ever seen it. Xandar’s armor looked strange on me. It was a given, considering that I had only ever owned rags, and even those were given by whoever had owned me. I looked almost like a magic user, and I realized that I couldn’t recognize myself. In a single day, I had gone from a slave who was doing what I could to avoid being beaten to a murdering magic user who had stolen from a corpse and was hiding in the woods. Proof of my sin was still present in the form of blood on the armor.

  Whether to hide the blood from myself or others, I do not know, but I began cleaning the armor. I took the Gloves off and made sure to clean any dried blood that I could off of the armor, most of which came off. The little that was left likely could be passed off as use in battle. This was all of the rest that I could allow myself for now. My stomach twisted again, and I took account of the sun being significantly lower than it had been when I set off today. Hopefully, the town was not too much farther away. Placing the helmet back on my head and letting my eyes adjust to the change in light, I stood placing my now cleaned gloves back on and moved back to the road, disappearing into the trees from the view of any animal curious enough to watch the brown and grey man.

  Resuming the monotony of travel wasn’t difficult, but hunger and impatience certainly made the time feel like it had been dragged out to torment me. It wasn’t quite enough for me to question what I was doing; however, seeing distant lights of a settlement that was settling down for dinner and to rest certainly lifted my spirits from the cavern I hadn’t noticed them slipping into. The trees broke into a large clearing with a town set in the middle of it. It looked to be primarily made of wood, with craftsmanship quality I couldn’t discern from afar, but I assumed it to be quite well made if so many people lived here. Each building had a chimney that was releasing smoke likely from fires to heat food or the home. It was too distant and dim to see what specific people were doing, but it seemed like a quaint, quiet town from what I could see.

  There were walls surrounding the town with various openings for visitors and tenants to move to the various roads that led into the forests. Unfortunately for me, each entrance was manned by two guards. I briefly entertained the thought of climbing the wall rather than walk in, however, that seemed like a particularly stupid idea, as there was no cover, and being seen on either side would immediately out that I had something to hide. My only real option was to walk through the gate, but I wasn’t foolish enough to walk through the gate of the road I had been following. It only led to Xandar’s estate, meaning that it would be obvious where I came from. It would add nearly half an hour to get in, but it was worth it to move to another road using the edge of the woods.

  I chose to be extra careful and skip one of the roads and head over to one that was nearly on the opposite side of the clearing the town was housed in. I glanced both into the woods and towards the town to make sure no one would notice me emerge from the woods. Luckily, I was in the clear. I stepped onto the road with the dark sky behind me. I'm sure if children saw me in my current clothes, stepping out from the woods, they would run screaming. A traitorous part of my mind unhelpfully pointed out that they should be scared of me; after all, I had just killed a man earlier today. I ignore the falter in my step the stray thought causes, this is no time for self-pity. I had to get into the town.

  The guards stood a little taller as I approached them, one reaching my height while the other, shorter, seemed not old enough to have stopped growing. “Halt, stranger, what brings you to our town this late at night?” The guard doesn’t sound suspicious yet. ‘Good.’ “I lost track of time and decided to finish my trek here rather than camping in the forest when a warm bed was a mile or two away.” Hopefully, the excuse I thought of earlier would work. “That explains the time but not the attire. Why all of the armor?” This time, the other guard spoke. His face looked up at my helmet, eyes somewhat narrowed. “A man who travels alone needs to keep himself safe. For me, that means armor and a weapon.” I gesture to the sword on my hip, I make a point to keep my hand far enough away so as not to be seen as reaching for it. I hope that my no-nonsense tone makes them eager to finish the conversation.

  I use my left hand to reach into my waistband, where my coins are stored, and taking out 2 silver pieces, which I remember being a medium form of currency, I hold them out, “feel free to split these if it means we can be done with pointless questions, I am hungry and tired.” If the rest of the conversation hadn’t satisfied them, that certainly did. The well wishes I was immediately given by the guards, along with waves towards the direction of an inn, nearly made my head spin. ‘Maybe the coins were more money than I thought.’ Deciding not to push my fortune, I headed off into town without even having to give my name.

  I take in the sights around me as I head in the direction that the guards waved when mentioning an inn. I quickly realized just how disadvantaged I was not being able to read. The signs looked like random carvings into wood frames, and I could not tell what anything meant. Instead, I looked at the contents of stalls and buildings in what I assumed to be the market of the town.

  Many wares were covered and locked away with shops having closed for the night, and most stalls were empty so thieves could not take whatever wasn’t tied down. Many of the permanent shops had windows with their goods inside of them, but basic inspection showed small glowing symbols of magic that likely made the glass as tough as stone. Above the entrances of these shops were carved pictures, likely of what was sold. That was an important detail; if the inn had the same accessibility, it would be much easier to find. I kept walking through the mostly dark market before seeing a wooden sign jutting out of a particularly large building. It was a carving of what looked like a bed, it had to be an inn. I smile underneath the helmet and step towards the swinging doors of the in with purpose.

  It was a quiet room that I stepped into, an old man with light grey hair sitting beind a desk, likely the owner, the wooden walls held a few paintings that I had no way of determining the value of, a few chairs for those needing to wait sat on each of the walls next to potted plants that served to bring color into the room, honestly it was much nicer than I had expected for a town in a field. I was the only customer in the room, likely due to the time and remote location of the town.

  I stepped forward as the innkeeper glanced upwards from what looked to be a book. “I was looking to rent a room for the night with the possibility of spending a few more to be decided on later. Is that something that you can provide?” Honestly, I would have accepted sleeping in a barn as long as it was warm and dry. “Course I can; it’s an inn, isn’t it? It’ll be 3 coppers for the night and 2 more for each night after that. If you want us to clean your room for you, that's an extra copper each night.” The fact that it was cheaper than I expected lent proof that I overpaid the guards to leave me alone, though not giving my name seemed worth the extra money. “I’ll keep the room clean myself, thank you.” I began to reach into the waistband for coins. “Sounds good, sir; all I need is a name to put down in the records, and you’ll be ready to go.” My hand stilled inside of the bag of coins, ‘shit, I don’t want him to write my name down, and itll be obvious if I make something up on the spot…’ “I hope this is as good of a name as any.” I place 5 coins on the counter rather than three. I’m given a smile showing more than a single missing tooth from his wrinkled face, “Of course it is Mr. John Smith, and I hope you enjoy your stay at the Stumble and Fall Inn.” His hand reaches from below the desk and holds out a key. As I take it from his hand, he mentions, “It’s the third room down on the left,” tilting his head toward the hallway where more paintings seem to separate the doors to the bedrooms.

  Easily locating my room I place the key into the keyhole and turn the knob stepping into the room that I will sleep in tonight. I know that to most magic users, this wouldn’t be much; it’s just a single bed with a mirror desk and wardrobe, a window letting in the moonlight to highlight the room. To me, it was the largest personal space that I had ever had, even temporarily. I was used to cramped barracks, loud snoring, and chatter from other slaves being able to speak without Xandar’s presence holding their tongue. I quickly grabbed the chair at the desk and crammed its back under the doorknob to buy me a few seconds if someone tried to come in. I pull the helmet off of my head and sit down, taking a few breaths. This is the most relaxed I allowed myself to be since I heard Xandar’s cart pull up where I was chopping trees.

  That realization made me think about the fact that they would have noticed Xandar not having come back to the house by now and that they would be searching the property for him and would certainly notice that I had never gone back to the slave quarters. I still wasn’t safe, and I had very limited money and no way to get more. I was no more free now than I had ever been. That didn’t matter, though; I needed to plan for my next steps, find ways to get money, and get far enough away that Xandar’s estate would never find me. First though, I needed to eat, my stomach grumbling in agreement. I stood up and grabbed the helmet from the desk, now prepared to go find some food to bring back to my room.