Mei still couldn't quite figure out what she'd said to catch the tavern patrons' ire. In retrospect, she should have perhaps been more careful talking to them. After all, she was unmistakably Thanati, from her skin color to her hair color to her very clothes, and Thanatos and Serendipity still weren't on the best of terms, but...
Mei kind of tended to forget little details like political tension.
In any case, whatever happened, whatever nuance she'd misinterpreted or missed, she'd wound up chased out of the pub by some very peeved off men sporting some wicked looking knives. Maybe she hadn't even done anything at all! Maybe they just had a thing against Thanati, as old beliefs ran deep, and she had a feeling maybe that had something to do with it as they yelled things at her, calling her a demon-worshiper and such. Which didn't make a lick of sense to her, but whatever! Hatred wasn't always rational!
Or maybe...well, this wasn't really a great part of town, come to think of it, and she hadn't seen any women in the tavern, which had struck her as a bit unusual. Maybe she should have taken that as a sign, though Serendipity's gender politics were still mystifying to her!
She ran as fast as her sandal-clad feet would carry her--which wasn't fast, because she wasn't a runner! She didn't do exercise! She was a scholar! But no matter how she shouted back to them that she was just a scholar and meant no offense, they kept on coming!
And soon, her lungs on fire, she found herself at a dead end, pinned between the angry men and a wall, and for a second panic struck her as she thought she was doomed. She stared across at them, eyes wide, and backed up further. "Ah. Hello, friends!" she said, laughing nervously, and she looked back to the wall as though it would be able to tell her what to do--
...Which is exactly what happened, when she noticed the small, barred opening near the bottom, with a gap beneath the bars large enough for a young child.
Or a small person.
The men came at her, and Mei dove for it in desperation, flinging her haversack through first before squeezing her way beneath it even as putrid water soaked her fine clothes. The bars caught on her robe, and one man grabbed her by the ankle, but she kicked with her other foot and got him in the face, and then she slipped from her sleeves and left the robe behind as she wriggled under the bars and into the dark tunnel ahead.
She heard the men cursing behind her and shouting their threats, but she ignored them as she climbed back to her feet and grimaced, because she was covered in...
Something she didn't want to know the source of.
In any case, with the men lurking out there, there was no place to go but forward. She left her robe behind, for it was torn and ruined now anyway, and strode onward, dressed in her sandals, cut-off pants, and sleeve-less shirt. As she walked, she checked her haversack for damage--or rather, the things inside it. Her book was there, and she would die if it were damaged! Luckily, though, everything looked dry. Then she removed her dry headscarf and tied it over her mouth and nose to try to fight against the stench.
Well then. Time to push onward. Though Mei knew she should be frightened to be in such a dark, mysterious place, especially a place that reeked of unspeakable things, her logical brain kicked in. If there was a way in, there was a way out. She just needed to stick to the wall and walk, and pay attention to the air. Air would flow where there was an opening, so she'd just need to go toward that.
And anyway, this was something of an adventure, wasn't it? Exploring a place few people could likely say they'd been!
Though Inima help her, she couldn't wait to get out and wash herself, and she didn't want to think about what was squelching beneath her sandals and between her toes!