43rd Fall, 516 AV
Early Evening, as the sun is setting
Early Evening, as the sun is setting
OOC :
Karin ached, all over. All it had taken was one miscalculated step, and here she was, winded and bruised, knocked to the ground having slipped down a set of stairs. She gasped for breath and clutched her chest with the pain and fear of feeling as if her lungs were turning themselves inside out. For a long while, the young woman sat curled up on the floor, in a quiet cul-de-sac of Riverfall. The day had been pleasant, but dusk was drawing close with wispy clouds that darkened on top and glimmered with a slight luminance from the falling light of Syna. All she could do as she recovered was stare at that ceiling and watch as the sun gradually and slowly faded down until it disappeared behind the houses, behind the horizon, and the darkness began to creep over the white-painted houses instead.
As soon as she could stand properly, she did so. It was a shock to the system to find herself so weak, yet as she gingerly pressed a finger to her spine, she understood why. All along her back where she had fallen she could feel the dull throbbing of a bruise. Hesitantly she tried bending over, but failed to. Instead, she started to walk towards the very same steps that she had fallen down. She hadn't ventured far, but as she began to make her way up the now dark staircase, she was forced to stop as the dark figure of a man stood unmoving on the very top stair.
Politeness suggested she move out the way to let him pass, but as she was halfway already she decided to press forwards. Yet as she continued to climb, the man failed to move. Now a feeling of anxiety was beginning to stir in her gut. She stopped again, looking back over her shoulder as discreetly as she could. When she turned to face forwards again, the shadow was making the distance between them smaller and smaller. Not saying anything, but holding something in his hand...
Anxiety turned to panic, and Karin turned on her heel and started walking back down the stairs. Yet, as her mind ticked over, she knew there was no way out at the bottom. The houses formed a neat semi-circle, enclosing themselves with a small plot of garden, with only a culvert of water that disappeared into the stone and the staircase leading away from it. She also knew, having been down there just chimes before, that the houses appeared to be quiet and still.
She could almost feel the man breathing down her neck, and with a lump in her throat Karin began searching for her dagger, fumbling to free it from it's sheath at her waist before finally taking it into her trembling hand. The man's pace sounded measured, but Karin fought the urge to run, hoping to give the man the illusion of surprise. Perhaps if she needed to fight, then should would be able..-
Who was she kidding. Karin couldn't fight, not with her dagger, not even with the quarterstaff that lay useless at her accommodation. She wanted to curse, over and over, scream or cry or make some kind of noise but she could almost feel the retaliation the man would wreak upon her. Oh gods. She had thought Riverfall a safe place, and everything she had seen so far had indicated it was so, but now her mind was skittish and racing all over the place. What little she knew about the world could be her downfall.