[center][h3][u]Nillium Encampment, The Burroughs[/u] [sub]3rd of Summer - 9:25 PM[/sub][/h3][/center] Philip remained unconscious as Ayer rummaged through his pockets. But Locke had not yet passed out. He still writhed underneath his coverings in pain with burn marks scarring his face, arms, and upper body. Despite that, he still tried to speak to the two fugitives. But it wouldn't do much. His voice was completely drowned out by the blood pooling in his mouth. Each time he spoke, Locke was forced to stop himself and clear his throat with a sputtering series of coughs. As Ayer and Paric walked off, he finally gave up and put his full focus on evening out his breaths. This wouldn't be where he died. [center][sub]Later, 9:34 PM[/sub][/center] The guards, after dispersing from Mop's little performance, returned to their patrol routes. If Ayer and Paric were planning on taking the streets, or continue through the alleys, they would have eventually spotted them for sure. But the boardwalk was massive, and men were limited. It was only a matter of time before they saw an opportunity to scurry across undetected, and find themselves a selection of boats. The Nillium's Fang towered overhead and cast a dark shadow on the men, while several smaller boats, usually tasked with patrol, fishing, or small deliveries, were lined up on the opposite end of the dock with nobody to guard them. However, high above both men, there were several patrols keeping a close eye on the pride of their fleet. Julius Barrel stood, or rather, [i]sat[/i] among them on top of the cabin's roof with a wad of herb stuck in his cheek. The Nillium captains were not adverse to drug use, but Locke and Julius were especially addicted to their substance of choice. Where Locke preferred a hard liquor, Julius had a taste for a variety of mildly [i]hallucinogenic[/i] plants found throughout the entirety of the [b]Lemow Forest[/b] around Leias. Today's herb of choice was [i]fizzle root.[/i] It dampened the man's sense of hearing significantly, and in return, he lost a great deal of feeling in [i]both of his arms.[/i] Experimenting while on-duty was strictly prohibited. But Julius didn't care. After all, he was practically the [i]strongest person in the entire city.[/i] The boats that Ayer and Paric had easy access to were all large enough to fit 10 men comfortably. They all had cabins, and arcane propulsion devices. For such an unkempt, and low-tech city, Nillium was host to quite advanced naval hardware. They were efficient enough that anyone with mana could easily fuel them, and simple enough for anyone with even a narrow understanding of Human-tech to pilot. All of the boats looked similar though. There were no paint jobs or intricate designs to be found along their hulls, and their cabins all looked fairly similar with differing levels of wear along the edges. But between the 4 or 5 larger boats, a much smaller vessel was situated almost [i]underneath[/i] the 10-foot high docks. The only thing keeping it in place was a length of rope wrapped around one of the pole. It had no anchor, and drifted casually in and out of sight, under the dock and then away into the water. The water itself looked [i]pretty deep[/i] too. If they were unfortunate enough to fall in, the men wouldn't be [i]walking to shore.[/i] From where they stood, looking out into the sea would not show them much. They were on main-land after all. The only other landmass in sight was barely visible as a silhouette, and from there, they could see even larger boats making their way back to shore. If they wanted to escape via the water, they may have had a hard time doing so. [center][h3][u]Northern Marrenfall, Gybol's Cafe[/u] [sub]4th of Summer - 11:03 AM[/sub][/h3][/center] The man let out a wheezy chuckle. "Your stories are as colorful as your skin, sonny," he bleated before taking in another spoonful of soup. Nina slowly backed away from the weird conversation between [i]old men[/i], retreating into the kitchen to find herself a little meal. The man looked towards the girl briefly. As she disappeared into the back room, his smile melted away. "Tell me where you got that necklace, boy," he grunted aggressively. He wanted details, and didn't sound like the type to walk away unsatisfied. [center][h3][u]Berganfont, Lilith's Keg[/u] [sub]4th of Summer - 9:01 AM[/sub][/h3][/center] "Cheapest?" Peter mumbled, "All meals cost the same, now. We'll get you whatever you want!" Lilith finally peered out of the kitchen and started to work into the bar-top with a ragged cloth, rubbing it down until even the grungy wood sparkled.