“Hi, my name is Lam, and I live in a small port in the Jaz-cliffs, at the end of civilization – hey, bring back my camera Ki! It’s still recording!”
He took off, holding my camera up like a trophy. My cousin had stolen my camera, again. humph. It wasn’t even lunch and he’s already making me run today. I rounded the corner and – Oof – slammed straight into his backside. Such is my luck. “Ki, why’d you have to go and make me -” He spun around, held his hand to my mouth and motioned to be quiet. He mouthed, “Black coats.” and then gave back my camera.
We looked back around the corner to see where the black coats were going, but they had already left. “We need to go tell your momma.” He mouthed. I nodded and we ran back, stopping to hide from black coats, and made it without being seen. “Last one in tells?” He asked, pausing to look at me. I started running.
~~~
“So you boys are telling me there’s black coats outside?” Momma asked, putting herbs in bags. I nodded. “Well, let’s hurry then.” I was helping her and Ki was hiding our things under the floors, when the door started rattling. The Black coats were here.
Momma shoved the bags into my arms and stareered me toward the hidden tunnel. Then she went back for Ki. I opened the trap door in the wall and jumped down. Our house was built in the cliffs, so we had direct access to all the caves and tunnels – some lead to the port or another town, but those were boarded up.
The one I was in now had traps, and you could only avoid them if you knew about them. I heard the door open and spun around, relieved to see Momma and Ki. Then she took the lead, avoiding traps as we went, and walking as careful as a cat.
Eventually we came to our ‘safe cave’. It had access to the sea, and the only enter or exit was the tunnel. The lighting was good, and we grew all kinds of herbs and food down here. I also had built a system that turned saltwater into freshwater and salt.
Some nights we’d make a fire, and Momma would tell us stories about all the monsters and mayhem in the world outside our small, little town. She would tell of the Order of the Ravens, who scavenged the lands trying to snuff out witchery, or the Order of Nights, who would steal from kings and give treasures away the next day. And the mercenaries called The Giants, who were said to be as strong as titans.
We would stay in our safe cave long enough to make sure the black coats never found my momma, and then we’d go back to our house. But this time, someone was waiting. A man in a black coat, a raven mask, and a torch, standing in front of my burning house. My father.
