The Façade of a Simple Farmer

Jacob’s itinerary consisted of one thing; get out of the city and into the countryside. He couldn’t fathom what would happen to him if he failed his mission to escape the city. With a little guile, Jacob knew that he could sneak past the Emperor’s obnoxious troops that guarded all the entrances and exits to the city. It helped that he had learned how to read and write as one of his former duties as a servant and now could easily plagiarize Imperial documents and orders. It also helped that most of the guards couldn’t read, so there was no way for them to prove his papers disreputable. Jacob knew that a little pretext and a little placation of the guards would be a potent combination and he knew that he could pull his mission off. Jacob would have to remain placid and put on the façade of a simple farmer, endemic to the countryside. He decided that the following morning he would put his plan into action and stake his very freedom on escaping the city.