Dragon in a Dream, page 14 ---"Cat and Mouse"--- +Lady_Blaze+

It took a total of five tries to securely transfer myself from the rope to the wooden rungs, and three to wrap myself around to the other side so I could climb up properly. My ears caught the patter of feet in a corridor as I reached for more rungs, steadily growing louder, and I hurriedly stepped out to the next level as I hauled up the ladder.

There was a dull brass handle on the other side of the trapdoor, and I heaved it into place seconds before the sound of hinges could be discerned through the thin floorboards. Glancing up, I could see now that there was only one other level, high above, and many naked rafters in between. The afternoon sun crept through the narrow windows all along the length of the tower and sent its rays to illuminate thick airborne dust floating everywhere. The ladder disappeared upwards in the half-gloom, obscured by the abundant shadows.

I have never been afraid of bats, nor of rodents, but looking at the dim expanse of the tower soaring above me caused my breathing to accelerate. It seemed too quiet of a place, too...unlived in. It puzzled me that no dark crannies harbored darker, leathery-winged animals, and though they would not have lessened the unexplainable anxiety I was experiencing, I would at least have had another creature to share my discomfort with.

Two voices, perhaps three, could be heard below me; the urgency of my situation began to eat at my insides. It would only take a moment or two to discern what had occurred in the room, and maybe a minute to fetch another table to climb on for investigating the tower. My enigmatic nervousness was quelled by a sudden rise of excitement in me, as I realized that a chase was on, and I was playing my favorite part: the mouse.

I remembered Michelio teaching me the basics of the game Cat and Mouse and, after finding my own way of playing the rules, it had been I, the mouse, who won, because I could find places too small to slither into than my bigger, bulkier foe. The game had been popular in my younger days, though it was still played in the streets by the urchins. The more I thought of the game and my place in it, the faster I climbed. I was up, up, through the gloom, my limbs as agile as ever, my pack a minimal hindrance. Adrenaline rushed over me as my hands grew more sure, my feet quicker in finding the next rung. I did not pause to look down, knowing that the sooner I reached the next level, the more likely my escape would be successful.

I did not know what might await me at the end of my long climb, whether it be nothing but an empty room or some clues to the Dragon Skein. How I would manage to avoid being noticed, or even find a way out of the building from this height, I also did not know. My first concern was that of any pursuers. If I was found and exposed…the beginnings of a plan flashed through my mind…

My shoulders cleared the rough square cut in the platform topping the tower just as the first tugs of pursuit vibrated up the rope ladder. I had not heard the trap door's painful creak of movement, and I knew that I was too far up to perhaps peer down through the thick gloom and chance a look at who might be climbing up until they got closer. Wiping my moist palms on my trousers, I quickly surveyed the room.

Four huge, open air windows graced the walls. A lone rude bench squatted in one corner. There was a noticeable absence of dust, for a stiff breeze swirled around the four support columns and carried away any that might drift up from below. Any article lighter than a woolen winter cloak would have sailed away sooner or later. I was deeply disappointed in the lack of items in the room and the unlived in appearance. I doubted anyone could have been in the tower in the past year.

I glanced at the rope ladder, idly picking at a tear in my tunic. "So it comes down to this," I muttered to myself, "No way to get down and no where to go up. I suppose it's time to throw around some - " I grunted as I heaved the wooden bench from the corner an inch - "Ok, that won't work - "

Then, my utter forgettance of the arsenal of weapons on my person finally made known, I unsheathed a randomly chosen knife and began to hack at one rope of the ladder with its serrated edge.

I happened to glance down during my task, to drop the knife down the hole, aghast at the face of the figure climbing the ladder.

-- Who is it?? :D Find out soon..

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