They hurried across the roof tops as quickly as they could, with Raezyr and Trychon assisting Reed and Schyrt with a little Force push when the leaps from one building to the next were too wide for them to attempt on their own. The first couple times were nearly disastrous as it was a feat they'd never attempted before, but they quickly got the hang of it.
The biggest trouble came not from having to assist the two non-Force users, but from Raezyr himself. The jumps were easy enough, and even though he did his best to cushion the landings, it was quickly taking a toll on his knee. He wasn't the only one noticing, either.
"You know, Raez," Trychon said between pants during a momentary breather, "we would have had a pretty rough go of things as it is without your knee holding us back."
Raezyr looked at his half-brother. "I'll make it. This isn't a problem."
Trychon gave the big man a skeptical look before they continued on their roof-top flight toward the city gates. They weren't exactly sure of any plan of escape at this point, their primary plan having fallen through, and that one thought up on the spur of the moment as it was. Despite the fact they had the so-called 'water sockets,' they didn't relish the thought of trekking by foot across the deserts of Meisos. On the journey here, it had usually taken them most of a day to travel between the villages located at the waterholes and oases, and that was by beast. They could only guess how long it would take them on foot; a day and a half was their optimistic guess, and they weren't sure they even had the water for that. At this point, all they could do was wing it.
As they neared the city gates, they noticed from the vantage point of one of the higher buildings a large wagon with a domed cover being pulled by a team of the four-footed "Meisos nerfs," as they referred to them, lumbering toward the city gate. "I might have a plan," Trychon said. "Stay low and out of sight when we get close to the street."
They angled their approach so as to reach the main boulevard about 50 meters ahead of the on-coming wagon. They hunkered down in a prone position, just back from the edge of the building. From their position, they could also see the main city gate about 150 meters away, along with the ten or so guards on duty there. Luckily for them, the main street didn't seem to have much traffic on it. They assumed most of the natives were probably searching for them in back alleys and side streets. Apparently they had yet to look up.
"Alright, here's the plan," Trychon began. "I'll jump down first as the wagon approaches and try to sneak into the opening in the back. Reed, you go next. Then Schyrt. Don't worry, we'll cushion your landing by using the Force. Raez, you bring up the rear. Move fast, one at a time. It's a big wagon, so hopefully we can sneak out and Force willing, we can ride for a long way before we're discovered."
Trychon gave them a moment to offer any alternative suggestions, but there were none. In a moment or two, it was time, and Trychon launched himself over the edge, dropping the 10 meters to the ground below and behind a stack of crates. Despite the Force, the landing was still rough. It was one thing to learn to levitate other people or objects, but doing that to yourself wasn't so simple. It was like trying to pick yourself up: Impossible without the Force, and difficult even then.
The others in the group watched tensely as Trychon pulled up the hood on his tunic and strode out from behind the crates and into the street. As soon as he reached the rear of the slowly moving wagon, he leaped inside. They looked around for a brief moment to see if any of the natives had noticed, then Reed slipped over the edge.
By the time it was Raezyr's turn, the wagon was much farther down the street. He ran along the tops of the buildings to shorten the walking distance between him and the wagon. Both Reed and Schyrt had made it flawlessly, and Raezyr had every confidence that he would do the same. He stood up and stepped effortlessly out into the open space.
When he landed, there was a loud 'pop' and his knee buckled. The excruciating pain shooting through his leg elicited an involuntary cry, which he immediately stifled. He tried to stand up, nearly cried out a second time and clutched at his knee. Suddenly he looked around, remembering where he was.
Every native within ear shot seemed to be looking straight at him. It dawned on Raezyr that the pain had momentarily distracted him from masking his presence with the Force and now every Meisosian knew where he was. They hesitated only a moment, then a fierce yell went up almost simultaneously.
He began hobbling and hopping as fast as he could toward the wagon.
"I've got a bad feeling about this," he muttered to himself.
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