Astra's Escape to the Courtyard

Astra opened a large window, and found that there was a stone balcony. There was no good way of getting to the ground from here, but she did notice that three windows down, there was thick branch of a tree rubbing against the window. She thought that she should be able to climb down with little trouble.

She quietly walked out of the room, past a sleeping guard and into a hall. She entered a room that was almost empty. There was a small stool to kneel on, and a set of field glasses. Gilder or one of his officers used this room to observe the people in the courtyard below, or perhaps watched the birds, as a distraction from the cares of duty.

Astra took the glasses, and opened the window. She looked into the glasses, and saw that there were two guards nearby, and that they were alert, and would see her. She bided her time. A nightengale had made its nest in a nearby tree, and started to sing. Astra listened to the song for a few minutes, and then looked at the men. They did not see her, but escape would be difficult. One man always stayed at his post, while the other made a circuit between his post and the end of the palace wall.

Then she heard a shout in the courtyard. The guard that was making his rounds turned to the source. A man with a curly brown beard, and dressed in fine robes, declared that he had been robbed, and that the thief was nearby. With one guard occupied, this would be Astra's best chance. She grasped the branch, and started to climb down the trunk of the tree.

Astra decided to

1. head for a main street, hoping to somehow escape through the main gate.
2. wander deeper into a garden, hoping to find an easy spot to scale the wall unobserved.
3. towards the man who was shouting about being robbed. Astra was going to try to use the incident in some way to help her get out of the palace.

Go Back

View Forward Story Tree
View Back Story Tree