out of the city

[marycatelli]

So I throw my heroine and the rest of her company into a city.

A city of coldness, anonymity, isolation, hard streets where footsteps echo -- where the people's faces grow blank of any feature -- why, yes it's a magical city, and fortunately for the company, not very alluring for them.

I do have to find a way out. I still remember one fantasy story on the road, which I read to crit, where the heroine kept bumping into things, which could have been more wondrous, perhaps, but really needed her to do more than eye them to have the story seem to be more than a travelogue.

Just walking along the streets is not metaphorically appropriate, and therefore not magically. And while they have some plants, planting them and having their roots tear up the foundations would require some heavy duty plant growth magic, which they haven't got.

So I need to puzzle up some suitable way to escape this labyrinth. (String is also unsuitable, since they were thrown into it.)

sigh

Comments

[headnoises.livejournal.com]

Levers? Stairs? Ladders?

[marycatelli]

Stairs are going to be involved, I suspect. Long winding stairs that coil about towers and make it hard to see which tower you are climbing toward.