Jonas suddenly, without any sort of warning, lunges towardsBuran. He sweeps her up into a headlock, and snarls at the guards,"If'n any of ye move, I'll snap her neck! Now, I'm leaving this place,but of my own will. Since time is such a treasure here, I want noneof ye to move from this spot or say anything to anyone fer at leastten minutes. If ye do, I'll kill her, ye ken?" That said, Jonas beginsbacking away and out of the Palace, heading towards theLandsknecht Keep.

There is a tense second where no one moves while Jonas backs away,then the impostor Jael breaks into a clattering run away from thisscene.

"Hold!" The Khatta captain orders, sweeping his arm back as theother guards start to draw weapons. There is the hiss of bladesreturning to scabbards. "You can't escape, Fugitive. You will be shownno mercy if you harm your hostage. Release her. Now!"

Buran, realizing thatshe is in mortal danger, cries out for help. In her distress, she forgetswhere she is and reverts to Rephidim's common language. The shoutis unintelligible to the guards or to Jonas.

Jonas grins at thecaptain, saying, "Then, laddie, ye should do what I say, and shewoon't be hurt. Doon't move fer ten minutes, or else!" He backsaway from the guards, towards the exit. As Buran begins crying inRephidim, a tongue he doesn't understand, he says, "Ye picked an oddtime to converse with yer fellow Primogen, Mistress."

"Do not compound your crimes, Fugitive." The panther snarls, butholds his position. "We take a dim view of innocent bystanders beingused as shields by cowards, you will earn a death sentence for this,and not receive another warning."

Jonas says, "I didn't think ye'd be pleased, captain. But I have anoath to keep, and yer Lord Ruthven kin go to blazes with hisbanishment. I'll be leavin' yer lovely city soon enough, and yercountry soon after. Too many clocks fer my taste. But as fer you, Isuggest ye doon't move!"

The Khatta stands defiantly, but remains in position as ordered.Behind him, the other six guards are also tensely frozen. Their handsare on weapon hilts, but their blades remain sheathed.

Jonas backs rapidly towards the gates, pulling Buran with him.

The healer, dwarfed by her captor, barely registers Jonas' remark.But some instinct – or Jonas' words? – serves to remind her of thelanguage barrier, and she speaks again, this time in Bosch. "Let mego!"

Jonas pauses, almost to the gate. Felis has given him a directcommand. Is she playing along with his bluff, or has he trulyoffended one of the Primogen? He thought she understood. Shemust have understood. He continues towards the gate, splitting hisgaze between watching the guards and looking for other hazards.

A black ear flicks as the panther keeps staring as the retreatingJonas. "Your actions are futile, you will not leave the cityuncontested, and you will not survive the confrontation. Surrender."The Khatta fidgets.

Outside the gate, there is the normal noises of traffic passing, andsome of the residual confusion caused by the Bosch fiend. There is noindication anyone has noticed the events inside the courtyard of thepalace barracks.

As he reaches the gate, Jonas gives the guards one last glance, andlooks over his shoulder into the street. Not enough people to losehimself in a crowd, but there may be a carriage. "Forgive me,Mistress," he says, quietly as he loosens his hold on Buran. "I dohave my oath."

As Jonas' hold loosens, his arm brushes against one of the Sphynx'wings. A feather drifts to the ground and lands near one of his feet.She steps away from him, crouching to take flight. But she hesitates."Go," she says to him. "Quickly! You don't have much time!" Then sheis gone, climbing into the air to land gracefully on the ledge of anearby clock tower.

Some distance up the street, and off to the side, is the Landsknechtcarriage used by Jonas to arrive at the scene. All the other vehiclesare in use, and moving. Several citizens stand around, describing thefight to those not fortunate to witness it, and the police officer whorelieved Jonas is slowly working through the crowd, gatheringstatements.

Jonas pauses momentarily as the healer lifts away, but as soon as sheis clear, he turns and barrels towards the carriage. Despite his recentdismissal, he shouts, "Commissar, coming through!" hoping to clearthe crowd enough to make it to the carriage unhindered.

The officer looks up from his note taking, as if to ask a question, thenabandons that thought at Jonas' order. "Clear a path! Let theCommissar through." He waves, even though the crowd is alreadyparting out of self preservation as the bear charges.

The driver on the carriage snaps alert, and uses the whip to readythe Drokkars. He reaches back and swings a door open for theapproaching bear.

Jonas reaches the carriage and pulls himself in quickly. "Back to theKeep, and fast!" he orders, glancing behind him as he shuts the door.

The highlander's rush is easily visible from Buran's vantage point onthe clocktower which overlooks the street and the barrackscourtyard. The Sphinx can also see the wing of Luftritteren whichtook to the air, and then were waved down by the palace guards. Shecan't hear what they are saying, and their gestures are obscured, butone did indicate her position on the tower. As the carriage wheelsand turns on the street, the Korv take to the air again. Several splitoff singly, one headed directly for Buran, but the bulk of them glideto the street immediately outside the gates.

Observers on the ground see Buran turn toward the oncoming Korvsas she settles into a more stable position. Apparently, she believes itsafer to stay up here than to mingle into the commotion below.

Down on the ground the guards split in several directions. The othervehicles pull to the side as the driver rings the emergency bell,letting Jonas' carriage speed along. Three of the Korv land beside theofficer, but Buran is distracted from their further actions as anotherflies up to her. "Are you injured Ma'am?"

Buran glances herself over, brushing a bit of dust from her robes."No, sir. Other than more than a bit … unnerved." Her accent is morepronounced, an aftereffect of her experience. The only visible artifactof it all is a small amount of blood on one arm, left over from hertreatment of Talia.

"Do you know the fugitive's intentions?" The hovering Korv asks,"What direction did he go, and where is he headed?"

The Sphynx looks down the street in the direction which the carriagetook. "That way," she says. Her gesture indicates the proper directionbut is not more specific. "I do not know where he plans to go."

Several more Korv take to the air from the palace grounds. They arerecognizable as either messengers or members of the Chronotopianair force. They split off in all directions, but a large number of theLuftritteren wing for the Einheimische Keep #1, outside of the city.

"Thank you Ma'am. Go down to the palace and someone will take careof you." The Korv wingwaves as he flaps off.

The Sphynx does glance toward the palace, but the bedlam belowconvinces her that, it is probably safer to remain where she is. Atleast for a few minutes. Buran spends the next few minutesobserving everything with intense interest.

The ringing of an emergency vehicle bell is barely audible in thedistance, even though the carriage is lost from sight among the tallbuildings and even taller clocktowers. Inside, the highlandercontinues to be jostled around as it drives through the cobbledstreets at high speeds. Storefronts fly by past, as well as parkedvehicles that have cleared the path, with curious citizens glimpsedbriefly as well.

Meanwhile, Jonas sits in the carriage. He has calmed down some andis starting to realize how little a chance he has of getting out of thisunhurt. "Yer a moron, Jonas MacAlister," he mutters to himself,angrily punching the seat next to him. "OW!" he snarls, and looksdown at his arm. The wound delivered by the faux Steinhardt hasbeen left untreated. Matted fur, soaked with blood, sticks slightly tothe stained rent in his shirt. He shakes his head and retrieves abandage from his sporran, tying the wound closed.

Jonas leans out of the carriage window and says to the driver, "Ye'dbetter let me off away from the Keep, lad. There's some strange stuffgoing on, and I doon't want to alert the wrong folks, if'n ye take mymeaning. Around the back or a block or two away will do."

"Okay sir!" The driver shouts back over his shoulder, dividing hisattention between the road and his passenger. "It's still a goodlydistance away, at least twenty minutes even at this speed."

Jonas nods, and looks about the street. Spying a Korv, he curseshimself for forgetting the avian species and checks the skies aboveand behind him for pursuers.

Easily visible against the gray sky are three black Korvs in the redlivery of the Luftrittern. They are following the carriage at a heightthat gives them a good view of the Landsknecht carriage, and a muchbetter vantage than its driver for any possible obstructions ahead.

Jonas curses again. Time to improvise. He looks up ahead forsomeplace suitably shadowed to hide an escape.

A few possibilities are visible all along this route, narrow alleyways,walkways crossing the street, buildings with large landing balconies,and ones that overhand the sidewalk. A store would also providetemporary concealment, but the best option is the swiftlyapproaching entrance to the Underground.

Jonas looks up at the driver again, saying, "Doon't look behind us, lad,but we've been followed. I'm gonna take my leave pretty quick, butyou keep on, ye ken? Slow down just up here at that tunnel mouth,and I'll jump out. Got it?"

The driver slows, "Tunnel mouth? Oh, you mean the Underground."The carriage rolls slowly past the pedestrian entrance. It is a set ofstairs on the sidewalk that descend into the earth. A protectiverailing surrounds it on three sides, and oil lamps light the way down.

Jonas opens the door and leaps out as the carriage slows. He uses hisforward momentum to propel himself down the stairs, unsure ofwhat lies below, but sure that none of his aerial pursuers will be ableto track him.

The highlander lands hard on the stairs, but is not seriously injured,managing to catch himself on the way down and avoid the otherpassengers. The underground is mostly empty at this time, a fewpeople waiting on platforms that bracket the lowered road where thecarriages run. There is the echo of hooves clip-clopping, and thecrunch of wheels on their paths. Several hand coloured posters linethe walls, located strategically beside the lamplights.

Jonas looks around momentarily confused. What is this place? Helooks around quickly for available exits.

Available exits would be the stairs to the street, one for eachplatform. The only other options are the two dark tunnels that are ateither end of the platforms.

"Ticket Sir?" A Rath'ani conductor asks as she approaches Jonas.

"Can't go back up the way I came," Jonas mutters to himself. Helooks down, a little surprised, at the Child of Procyon that hasapproached him. "Ticket?" he asks.

"Oh yes sir," she answers. "You need a ticket to ride the UndergroundTrains. They can be purchased at the booth over there, and it alsohas a map of destinations, in case you are unfamiliar with thesystem."

Jonas blinks. Trains? Trains of what? Jonas suddenly has an imageof an Imperial noblewoman's gown, with people sitting on the trainof it, being taken places. He chuckles, earning an odd look from the'coon. "Thankee, miss." He wanders over to the booth, looking for amap, and the quickest route to the keep.

The indicated wooden booth does have a large map of Blitzheim, withseveral intersecting lines imposed on top of it. Most likely indicatingthe tunnels running beneath the city. The Keep, unfortunately, lies onthe outskirts, and the marked paths stay within the boundaries ofBlitzheim. There seem to be a few stations that would get Jonaswithin a reasonable walking distance, with a minimum of transfersalong the way.

Jonas measures off the closest distance, and turns to the vendor inthe booth. He quickly asks for the cost of a ticket to the stationclosest to the keep.

Five Shekels, is the price, one the highlander can easily pay. As soonas the money and ticket are exchanged, the conductor clips a hole init for him. "The train is arriving now." She points at a team ofdromodons, preceded by a bi-colour lantern, and pulling what looklike several long carriages. The depressed path that this train runs in,puts the doors at an equal height to the platform.

Jonas looks in the direction that the vendor is pointing. "Interesting,"he mutters. He walks over to the train, trying to loose himself in thecrowd. As he boards the train, he looks over his shoulder at thestairs that he entered from, to see if there is any sight of hispursuers.

"Tickets please." The conductor asks the three Korvs on the stairs, asthe door on the bear's compartment closes. The Dromodons startmoving, lurching the train ahead into the darkness. Several of theother passengers are looking at Jonas, but the highlander sees noindication that the Korvs have noticed him before the train slips fullyinto the tunnel. The progress is much slower than his recent carriageride.

Jonas sighs. He sits down, nodding to his neighbors with a friendlyexpression. He stares out at the dark tunnel, contemplating hissituation.

The Chronotopian citizens nod in response, then go back to theirbooks, or staring out the side windows. The carriage feelsuncomfortably small and tight, even though it is designed along thenormal scale, perhaps it is from being so deep underground. Thesituation is also not very hopeful. There would seem to be a limitednumber of exits to this system.

Jonas mutters a quiet prayer the Trickster, saying in his ownlanguage, "St. Jack, I've had little to say to ye over the years, being astraightforward Watcher, but if'n ye would help me with this, I'd bemost grateful." He contemplates his route to the keep, wondering ifhe will get out of this. He hasn't killed anyone, thankfully enough.That should count for something.

No answer or sudden inspiration comes in response to thehighlander's prayers. A more mundane source provides a possibleescape – the architects who designed this subterrain carriageway,and included ventilation shafts at regular intervals. These passoutside the windows, set into the stone wall of the tunnel andilluminated by the lights of the compartment. They seem wideenough for a person, even Jonas, to climb and grips are provided onthe surface.

Jonas spots the shafts and smiles broadly. "Thankee, Trickster," hewhispers. He waits for a few minutes, until the train starts to slowfor the next stop, then, without hesitation, opens the door thecarriage and jumps out, jogging back down the line to the shaft. Oncethere, he starts to climb as quickly as his injury and size will allow.

The shocked exclamations of the other passengers at this reckless actare lost behind the highlander as he tries to squeeze his bulk into theventilation shaft. He fits, barely, and though the bricks protrudingfrom the wall make excellent handholds, the tight space makes it avery awkward climb. The light in this shaft flickers, and the reasonfor this soon becomes apparent.

A wooden fan blocks the shaft, forcing air down into the tunnel. Itsspinning blades cast erratic shadows.

Jonas grunts, trying to fit his bulk into the crevices. "Too manygriddlecakes this mornin', Jonas, me lad," he grunts. Spying the fan,he snarls, "Bloody hell! Ye don't make it easy, do ye, Jack?" He castsabout for some way around the fan, or some way to stop it withoutinjuring himself.

Careful examination reveals that the fan is on a frame held down bya couple wooden pins. It would appear that removing them wouldallow the frame to swing upwards on its hinges, much like atrapdoor.

Jonas grins, and, bracing himself with his feet, cautiously works toremove the pins.

The pins slide out easily, and it appears they can be reinserted justas easily from the other side of the fan by reaching through someslots in the frame. If Jonas was a Rath'ani or a human that is. Oncethey are out, the frame swings up, and disengages from the drivegear as it does so. The blades gradually spin down, and thisobstruction can now be passed – with some squeezing on Jonas' part.

Jonas sucks in his not unimpressive gut and pulls himself throughthe trap. He looks about, making sure that he hasn't walked intodanger, and then, mindful of St. Lupus' hunting advice, that thecautious prey leaves less of a trail to be found, he turns andexamines the sill of the trap, clearing away any fur or fabric thatmight indicate he had passed this way. That done, he closes and re-secures the fan.

Or rather, Jonas tries to. The shaft continues beyond the trap, and hefinds that he doesn't have the room to turn and look to see if he hasleft any signs of passing. He shifts for a moment, trying to find someway of doing so, but cannot. After a moment, he hauls himself up afew feet, and lightly kicks the fan down with his foot. Then, hecontinues climbing.

The only difference on this part of the climb is the rotatingdriveshaft set into the wall. It rattles once as the fan slams down,and Jonas can hear the blades spin up beneath him. Above at somedistance, is another fan, and a third one even further beyond. Bothare just as awkwardly passed by the bear, allowing him to get underthe grill that blocks the top. Street sounds can be heard, not close,but not far either.

Jonas is out of breath as he nears the grill. He looks up through it,trying to ascertain if he's coming out in the street, or on the walks, orelsewhere. He tries to get a look through the openings at anyone thatis nearby.

Nothing can be seen through the grill except the wall of a nearbybuilding. A carriage rattles by on the cobblestones, and from thesound, it is below the bear's position. It would seem this shaft isindeed a chimney as well, rising at least one story off the ground.

Jonas, satisfied that he's not going to get run over, pushes on thegrate, lifting it off. He moves carefully, trying not to drop it, andpushes himself up and out with his feet as he steadies himself withone hand and holds the grate with the other.

The grate opens approximately 12' off the ground, the shaft attachedto the side of a building, and located just inside the alley. SomeDustbins and boxes are tucked out of sight from the street behind it,allowing an easy way down. A panther and human couple stroll paston the street, not looking up enough to spot the bear. The sound ofanother approaching carriage can be heard.

The noise from the street pulls over to one side, "Taxi sir?" someoneasks the couple. "No thank you cabbie." Comes the response.

Jonas grunts, more out of surprise than anything else. He sits at thetop of the shaft briefly, resting, before making his way down. Hereplaces the grate as he goes, remembering to clear the opening ofany torn fur that might indicate he came this way. With a swiftmotion he drops down to the dustbins, steps off and walks out to thestreet. "I'll be takin' that cab, driver," he says as he does.

The human driver looks up with a startled expression, likelywondering how he managed to miss Jonas' presence. "Ah, very goodsir. Where would you be off to then?" He pulls on a lever that swingsopen the door on his carriage, and lowers a step at the same time.

Jonas steps into the cab, sparing the street a glance for possiblethreats. "The #1 Keep o' the Landsknechts, if'n ye please."

He spares the driver a long glance. Curious appearance, these'humans.'

"On my way sir." The cabbie brushes his hair back, then replaces hiscap on his head. Yanking the lever, he closes the door before startingoff towards the keep. The ride is uneventful, and soon the scenerybecomes recognizable. Before reaching the keep however, the cabstops. The driver taps on the roof and says, "Sir… I think there's aproblem, look ahead."

Jonas looks up, trying to see what the driver is indicating.

Einheimische Keep #1 is closed. The portcullis is down, and the maingates shut. Clustered outside of it seem to be several different groupsof guards, and a large contingent of police. Some of the ChronotopianLords and Ministers are even present, wearing the gaudy robes thatare normally contained in the legislative houses. No one is leaving,and the only ones able to go in are Korvs – and they don't come outagain.