...And I Would Walk...
"What took you two so long? You've been gone for a few days!" Aqua cried.
"Travelling isn't exactly instantaneous, especially not when you have to fight a giant sea creature sieging down an island village in the middle of nowhere."
"Well I hope you know that I don't plan to go on this trip of your's, I have my own baby to watch over," and she gently rubbed the egg sitting in her lap.
"Any way I look at that thing, it's just a chicken's egg. Is it too much to expect a self proclaimed Goddess to be able to tell the difference between the two?"
"I am not a self proclaimed Goddess! And this really is a Dragon egg! Really you couldn't be more insulting to both me and my baby."
"If you're so concerned about your egg then have you at least considered looking for someone to watch over it while we're gone?"
"Of course not! I already told you that I don't plan to leave!"
"You are going to leave or else you're going to find yourself facing down a very angry fox who doesn't appreciate your non-cooperation." He had his arm extended out to stop Anatalia from pouncing on Aqua, who was rightfully angry that this blue haired idiot was valuing a chicken egg over her sister. She was practically foaming at the teeth to get to her. And that, obviously, scared Aqua.
"M-maybe I can come along after all, I'll just find someone to look after the little one."
"Good choice," Anatalia backed down. "Any idea of who you're going to ask?"
"No idea, I don't know anyone I'd trust with my baby."
"Firstly, please stop calling it your baby, It's a chicken. So unless you start laying eggs don't refer to it that way. Second-"
"How rude! I am a Goddess and I can call things whatever I want them to be! I don't have to listen to an old fart like you."
"-you should ask Wiz to look after it."
"Ew! Why would I ask a dirty and disgusting undead to watch over my precious? Especially one that's a Lich with a secret hidden agenda."
"Well I think you should stop pushing your luck before a fox isn't the only thing you pissed off." Aqua, hearing the threat in his voice, backed off.
"Okay okay! Fine! But she better not do anything to him or else I'll purify her."
"Try anything and I'll send you back to heaven prematurely," hearing that Aqua crossed her arms and poured. "Anyways, have any of you started getting ready yet?"
"I have, in fact I'm already prepared to go," Anatalia said with a bag full of things.
"Well you I expect, I was more asking the others." He turned to Aqua, Darkness and Megumin.
"We didn't know how long you'd take to get there, so we haven't packed our things yet."
"Really?"
"Really," Darkness confirmed. He'd at least expected one of those three to get ready, but apparently that was too much for them. He sighed and his eyes drifted around the room. That was when he noticed Megumin was glaring at someone, Yunyun. It was one filled with murderous intent and anger, though she really gave no other appearance of it on the surface. Just what was it with these two? He knew that they were supposed to be 'rivals' but they were a team now, and it wasn't like this was the first time he noticed something odd going on between them. It, honest to God, felt like he'd have to watch their every move just so he didn't lose sight of them and have them enter a brawl to the death. Things would never really become easier for him, would they?
"Then at least get started, I don't want to waste any time just sitting around." He ushers the three of them out of the room, it was on him, Yunyun and Anatalia now.
"Aurdel, what did things look like over there?"
"We really didn't stay long enough to get a good look," he sat down on the couch with a cup of tea, "We landed just on the coast near a small town in the south, though we didn't exactly go inside. Yunyun set her teleport point and we left."
"That's fine, it'll be better to move around at night anyways. The day is-"
"The day is where they'll still be looking for you."
"Right…" she grimaced.
"Why didn't you tell us really anything about your past? We only heard about what you did from an island off the continent, and even then it's not a full story."
"I was going to tell you what I did in due time. And besides, it's not like you can believe all of what you heard. A lot of it was probably exaggerated."
She sat down on one of the recliners, her ears and tail drooped. "But I am sorry, I really was meaning to tell you eventually. It's just that things get so busy that I get sidetracked and don't have the time to tell you."
He sighed, "It's fine, just try to be a little more open in the future," and she nodded. "So I suppose this is where I should start asking questions, since we have the time. "Anatalia shifted into a better position on the chair, Yunyun sat next to Aurdel with her own drink.''What's your sister like? If we get the chance to find her it'll be better to know now."
"Well, she looks quite similar to me. The last time I saw her she was about half my size… and a bit shorter than me." Hmm? When she said size she wasn't referring to height? "Her ears are a little bit more pointy than mine though, she has sharper teeth too. And in terms of how she acts, she's… she's just a scared little girl. She didn't want to leave when I sent her away."
"It makes sense, it's hard to leave behind everything you've known. I can understand the feeling," there was a long silence. "But what happened to your parents? I know that they're no longer around, but I'd like to know about them."
"If I'm going to be honest, you remind me of them a little," she gave a weak smile, "they were good people, perfect parents who'd do anything for us. But they were just as kind to everyone else too. So even though they bought a few slaves they never mistreated them, never admonished them and gave them praise. But I guess that wasn't enough." She lowered her head, "I was coming back from shopping in the city when I saw that our home had been completely destroyed, I sprinted over as quickly as I could. When I got there I saw them standing over my parents bodies, near them was my sister. They'd died protecting her. Before they could put a single damn finger on her I tore out all their throats, then I broke down. Even with how kind my parents had been nobody wanted to help us, they said that they'd reaped what they'd sowed. We were on our own, I had to do a lot of things I'm not proud of to make sure that she could grow up safely… but… Then that damn war happened!" She slammed her fists, there were tears in her eyes.
"We were too close to where the country had split, meaning that the battles would get to us sooner rather than later. We only barely got out when the first one happened. I used all the money I had saved up to get her out of there, I didn't have enough to go with her." The two of them got up as she hung her head, comforting it. "And I have no idea if she's even alive, all I can do is hope that she is."
He put a hand on her shoulder, "Sometimes that's all we need to do, keep hoping. Don't worry Anatalia, we'll find her. I promise."
She looked up with a smile, "Thank you, boss."
Once they all had their ready to go Yunyun teleported them back over to the other continent, it was still dark out. She stumbled after all of them managed to get their footing, nearly toppling over. Aurdel managed to catch her, "Are you alright?"
"I'm alright. It's just that teleporting large distances like that more than once uses a lot of mana," her legs were trembling. It didn't look like she'd be able to walk very well without support.
"I'll carry you as far as I can until you regain enough strength to walk steadily," he picked her up, carrying her in his arms. He couldn't carry her on his back given all of the gear he had with him so this would have to suffice. Megumin was glaring at her again, though there was a little less hostile intent this time. "Alright, let's go."
Out in front of the small hill they stood on was a small rural town, probably considered a fishing village given its placement on the coast. That said it meant they shouldn't have too much trouble with guards or soldiers, or really anything like that. But since they have Everest with them it meant that their priority should be finding a carriage to hook up for easier travel. "Lurk!" Him using Lurk on all of them was the best they could do for now, as Yunyun wouldn't be able to put up her cloak spell for a while. They walked down the hill. Sticking to the outskirts was their best option to avoid being seen. Though, that was only viable until they left town. "Anatalia, do you know anyone in this town?"
She looked at him, "I haven't exactly been all over the south, this town is way too far out of the way to have been the target for one of my missions. The further inland we go the more likely I'll have been there." At least there was the chance of getting help later on, it was better than nothing.
No lights were on in the town, everyone was still asleep. By his guess it was about two hours past midnight so they'd still be asleep for a while, but there was no telling to be sure. There were farms he'd seen off in the distance and farmers had to get up early for their work. But that was probably where they'd be able to find a carriage for themselves. The grass began to get taller as they approached the town allowing them to hide more effectively. But there was something odd… "Anatalia, are there a lot of monsters in these parts?"
"Monsters? Not really. You might have the occasional attack but those are easy to throw back. They almost always stick to neatly uninhabited areas."
"Really? That's odd."
"To you it might be, but it was odd for me to see so many monsters so often on the continent you're all from."
"But why do they stay away so much here?"
"I think it's because they're afraid of us, and I don't mean just my subspecies. They're scared of all of us Demi-humans."
"But aren't you just like me or the others?"
"Mostly, but we're almost all inherently strong with some much stronger than others. It's why we don't have Adventurer Guilds here, practically anyone here can fight off a monster. Though from what I've learned that is also the reason why none of us are able to master magic."
"Nature gives, nature takes." That seems to be the natural order of things anyways, there was no point in disrupting it. They kept moving.
"It's a shame, I really wanted to meet some strong monsters…" Darkness, per usual, had her mind elsewhere.
"It's better for there to be less around given the fact we're sneaking around, if we got into a battle with something it'd be sure to attract some attention. Especially if we used any magic."
"Why do I feel like I'm being targeted by that statement…?" Megumin asked.
"You're not being targeted, but Explosion isn't exactly a quiet spell either. I'm pretty sure by this point it can be heard for miles around."
"I'll take that as a compliment." It could be taken as a compliment, sure, it's just that it wasn't what he'd intended to do. But whatever.
"Either way, if we do need to take anyone out it'll be me or Anatalia doing the work."
"Why not me?" Darkness asked, "I can fight in close quarters too."
"Missing every target you aim for is NOT fighting in close quarters, if you did somehow hit anything it would have to move directly into your swing."
"So unforgiving~" Hopeless as ever too.
They began to pass by the town now, they were on their way towards the outer limits now. "Hey Aurdel, my feet hurt. Can't we walk on the road?" Aqua whined.
"Going on the road, even if it's the middle of the night, is a horrible idea and will lead to us getting spotted. That is if you somehow don't manage to do that to us first."
"Why do you think I would do that?! You're being mean!"
"Because you're doing that," he slapped the back of her head. "You make too much noise, you'll get us found and then we'll be in trouble. So shut it." Aqua nursed the back of her head.
"He's not wrong, you know," Anatalia said, "More often than not you have the occasional wandering person out here in the more wild parts." She scanned the area around them, "Be careful." They walked slowly and quietly.
The breeze was cold and the grass swayed. By now, no doubt, winter was beginning to pass, though they were by no means out of the woods yet. With spring there was bound to be more threats that came to them. That was why he needed that prefab. Everything that he needed to prepare himself and the others would be in there, then nothing could stop them. And once they were ready he would take the fight to the Demon King and end it. Aurdel kept an eye on his motion tracker and Enemy Detection. By this point he was less carrying Yunyun and she more clung to him, which he wasn't particularly against. It made it all the easier for him to draw his sword if he needed to.
He held out his hand and stopped, the others did too. "What is it?" Anatalia asked.
"I'm not picking anything up with my motion tracker or with Enemy Detection, but I can tell there's something there," he whispered. Anatalia drew one of her daggers, and sniffed the air.
"You're right, there is." He motioned his hand down towards the others and the got close to the ground. The feeling had been in his gut, but there really was something there. He had no idea how it'd gotten past either of his methods of detection though.
He laid Yunyun down, "Stay here, I'm going to scout ahead." Crouched down he moved ahead, slowly pushing through the grass so as not to make too much noise. It wasn't long before he found what he was looking for though.
Aurdel leapt from the grass and tackled the man to the ground, knocking the bow and arrow out of his hands. They tussled. He scratched Aurdel's face with a set of sharp claws, his cheek started to bleed. But Aurdel was on top of him fast, throwing a blow straight into the man's gut and making him drop the dagger he'd been reaching for. Aurdel took the dagger away from him and put his arm against the man's throat. "Kill me then you damn traitor, you'll never take us all. The North will win eventually."
"Traitor? I'm not even from here, I"m not even a Demi-human."
"Then who the hell are you?" Aurdel grabbed the man by the arm and dragged him over to the others, throwing him down.
Anatalia looked down at the man he'd brought over, "Who's this?" The man looked up at her, his eyes widened.
"Not sure, from what he said he sounds like he's-"
"The Queen of Thieves! It's an honor to be able to meet you," the man bowed his head and knelt in front of Anatalia. "Me and my friends have been doing everything we can to fight these traitors, no matter what it takes we will win."
Anatalia put away her dagger, "I'm sorry to say this, but I don't fight with the North anymore. I haven't fought on their side for a while now, in fact."
"We don't really care about the North, it's just easier to pass off as one of them. What we really care about was what you believe in, your ideals"
"My ideals?"
"Yes, your ideals." The man stood up, "We all heard stories about what you did for our people and we took it all to heart, it's what we started fighting for. We still call them all traitors because they refuse to follow what you believe in. But we will win, I can promise you that!"
Aurdel leaned over to Anatalia's ear, "It seems you underestimated the effect of your efforts here."
"Yes, that would appear to be the case…" Anatalia looked at the man, "Then maybe you can help us, we're on a mission."
...Under Cover of Darkness...
"We thank you for the help."
"We'd do anything to help our Queen of Thieves," the man and his group saluted Anatalia. As it turns out her actions while working for the North had unintentionally inspired quite a large partisan movement both in the South and the North, though it was by no means the largest Aurdel had ever seen. Regardless it was a good sign for the rest of the trip as they might receive more help along the way. Everest was hitched up to the wagon they'd been given and everyone was inside it, aside from himself.
"I suppose we should be off then, let's get a move on boy," and Everest set off. The beginning of their trip was quiet.
"Hey, Aurdel, is Everest really a male Griffin?" Megumin asked.
"It's what I assumed, I don't exactly know how you'd identify a male Griffin from a female. Nor do I plan to stop and frisk him right now to find out what's between his legs."
"I think Everest is a female too," Darkness said.
"Does it even matter right now? We have more important things to worry about."
"It's not like we're anywhere near the north," Aqua said, "Maybe we should come up with something to talk about while we're travelling!"
"I'd prefer to just have some peace and-"
"That's a great idea!" Darkness said, Aurdel sighed. "But what can we talk about?"
"Maybe we can tell stories?" Megumin suggested, "Does anyone have any stories they can tell?"
"I can tell the story of my first monster-!"
"Absolutely not," Aurdel cut Darkness off before she could begin.
"Do you have any stories you can tell Aurdel?" Yunyun asked, "I love hearing from you."
"Of course I do, plenty. But given where we are if you want to hear stories, you should be asking someone else." The others looked towards Anatalia.
"I suppose I could tell you all a story, it only makes sense." She cleared her throat and began…
"Orzel, Kot, are you two ready?" She asked her two companions."
"I'm all set boss," Kot said. Kot was another Thief that Anatalia had been working with for some time now, she'd been introduced to her when she first started her infiltration missions to the South. Of course during that time they'd formed a near inseparable bond. So when she'd heard about her being discharged unjustly she came to her aid and planned to help her take revenge.
"I'm ready too boss," Orzel on the other hand was more recently introduced to her, though he was useful too. When she asked her for his help in taking revenge she knew that he would accept right away, which was exactly what he did. It was evident to her that he had feelings for her which made it all the easier for him to go along with whatever she told him to do.
"Alright, you two remember the plan. We're taking everything we can from this dump and make a break for it. Safes, cabinets, vaults. We're opening all of it." The rain was coming down hard during the night, thunder cracked. There were very few lights on in the capital so the only light there was came from the lightning, though they could see in the dark with the nightvision their eyesight provided to them. They were situated under a dark camouflage tarp next to a tree, in a position that put them right next to a window looked into one of the palace's hallways. "And don't kill any guards. No matter how much trouble they give you, they're just trying to do their job and have their own families to support."
"We understand boss," the two of them said in unison. Good, if they understood then that meant they could get going with their mission.
Anatalia reached into her bag. She'd bought several magic items for this mission, imported from the other continent a long time ago. They were expensive to purchase but they would be worth it. She pulled out a rectangular object. There was no real name for it, so she'd just call it a cutter. She pressed the cutter up to the glass, positioning it directly in front of where the latch to the window would be. It stuck to the glass with a click, then she pressed a button on the back of the cutter and it began to glow. The spot the cutter was touching began to glow too as it heated up, a slight sizzle and crackling noise sounded in the air. Normally she'd be against any tool that made noise like this but it was quiet enough that it wouldn't be noticed. After about a minute passed the device was done working.
She took her dagger and gently pushed it into and through the glass, cutting a hole in the warmed up glass. Carefully she pulled out the cutter with the circle of glass that'd been on the inside, it popped off. With her other hand she reached through the hole on the inside and flipped the latch, unlocking the window. She pried it open and the three of them made their way inside. Anatalia then gently placed the circle of glass back into the window, using the tool to reseal it and then popping the cutter off of the window. There was a slight amount of signs of damage done to the glass, but anyone just passing by wouldn't see it. "You all remember where you're supposed to go, so split up." And the three of them split up. For days prior to this mission they'd studied the layout of the building and knew where guards would be positioned, along with where all the hallways and entrances were.
They just needed to avoid those guards and make their way to their targets. Anatalia crept along the wall of the hallway and kept low to the ground, staying away from the windows so as to not let any light from the lightning give away her position. Before this she'd padded her gloves and boots to not make any sounds. It made them a little harder to move in and use, but it was a worthwhile sacrifice to be successful here. She rounded the corner and met her first guard. He was standing quite some distance away from her and was holding position in front of one of the hallways she needed to pass through. This was one of the possible snag points in the layout of the palace, which was why she'd chosen this route instead of allowing one of the others to do it. It's not that she didn't think they were capable, it was just that she really only trusted herself to do it.
She looked up, there were several pillars and columns leading up to buttresses and beams near the ceiling. She'd be able to use those. She waited for lightning to strike. "Bind!" As soon as it cracked she unleashed her skill and tied her ropes around one of the beams. Carefully she angled it and climbed up, making sure not to enter the guard's field of view. Once she'd reached the top she untied her ropes and put them back into her bag. The bag itself was the second magic item she'd bought. Supposedly it was some "artifact" from a "cheat user" on the other continent, one that was able to hold an infinite amount of things inside it and would take out anything the person who held it desired from inside of it. It was where she planned to store all of her loot from this mission.
She leapt from buttress to buttress and beam to beam, making to avoid doing it whenever lightning struck as to avoid leaving a shadow on the ground below. For most other people such a feat would be extremely difficult, but for a nimble fox like her it was child's play. Now she was positioned almost directly over the guard standing in front of the entrance to the other hallway. If it weren't for the fact that she knew that there would be someone coming to check on him, she would be taking less precaution and would just knock him out. But she couldn't. So this would be the more crucially timed portion of her movements. She waited for lightning to strike, and when it did she began counting. The reason she was counting was because she needed to know how much time she would have between each strike, it was key to her avoiding being seen.
It struck again, thirty seconds. That was how much time she had. She got herself ready by hanging off the beam with her tail upside down, using it to support her as she waited until about twenty five seconds. Once it passed twenty five she swung down. Quickly she swung through the top of the doorway with her tail releasing the beam, using the top to ensure that she went in. She was in the air for a few seconds, then lightning cracked. At the same time she landed on her foot on the floor. She quickly turned her head back to look at the guard, waiting to see if he'd heard her. He hadn't. Good, she could keep moving. Again she moved slowly alongside the walls of the hallway and stayed away from the windows.
There was much more furniture in this hallway, she was coming much closer towards the bedrooms and more important sections of the palace. Eventually she had to come to a stop though, as a large door stood before her. Before she tackled it however she had to get something out of the way. "Watcher!" She used her skill to place down an object that would be able to notify her if anything came through the doorway after her. With that settled, she confronted the door. First she peered through it, waiting for lightning to strike to illuminate the other side. When it did she saw there were no guards. To doubly make sure it was clear she put her ear up to the door and listened, she couldn't hear anything on the other side either. Good, she could get through easily then. She pulled out a small pin.
"Lockpick!" She poked the pin into the keyhole and began to prod around. Lockpick wasn't an automatic skill like others, it only provided the user with a better view into the lock to be able to force it open. Lightning struck as she pushed the third pin inside the lock, she would have to wait to open the door once she'd finished. After the fifth pin was pushed through and the door unlocked she waited a few seconds. Lightning struck, she opened the door and squeezed through. She waited again for lightning to strike before she closed it. Leaving it open would be a risk to her and the others, as if a guard found it open they would know that someone was actively infiltrating the palace and begin a search for them. She moved quietly.
This hallway seemed to have much less windows, though those that were there were much more grandiose in size. But this hallway was where she needed to stop as it had her first ransacking target. She stopped, waited until after lightning had flashed and then quickly ran to the door. "Lockpick!" She pushed the pin and quickly went to work on the lock on the door, she didn't have much time before the next lightning strike. She managed to open four on the pins in the lock when she heard a man yawn, then lightning struck. She had no idea how close that guard was to her but she wasn't taking chances. "Bind!" She shot her ropes up towards on the beams on the ceiling and pulled herself up as quickly as she could with all of her upper body strength. She hid on top of it. The sound of metallic footsteps set in inside the hallway she was in, the man walking beneath her.
"Yeah, still nothing here." the man let out an exasperated sigh. "Jeez, I don't get why the King has us patrolling when there isn't even anybody crazy enough to try breaking into this place."
Nobody that crazy, huh? She thought to herself as the man walked back towards the way he'd come from. Anatalia untied the rope and gently landed back down on the ground before quickly finishing unlocking the door. She quietly opened it and crept in. The room that she was in now was one of the small scattered treasuries throughout the palace. The King was somewhat smarter than others, he didn't keep all of his gold and treasure in one place. That was only a little bit smarter than others though. A smart king wouldn't have discharged her. There was a guard in the room sitting on a chair, leaned against a wall. Given the fact he hadn't shot up when she'd entered he was reasonably asleep. She moved silently along the floor, snaking her way towards the vault door.
That when she noticed the man slowly starting to wake up. That wasn't good, she needed him to be out for longer. She looked around quickly, there was a glass filled with some liquid on a nearby table. Quickly she pulled out a vial of a sleeping mixture and put a few drops into the glass, then hid behind a desk. She waited as she heard the guard yawn, pick up the glass, then take a gulp. Then she heard the glass being set down, before the man was completely out cold. She poked her head out to be sure of it, waiting a few seconds, then stepped out. She walked over towards the metal door in the room. This was a multi-lock door, one with more advanced locks to boot. It would take a somewhat longer time to open.
"Lockpick!" She began to go to work on the door. Anatalia wasn't exactly sure of what she'd do after this all happened. She knew for sure that she'd have to leave the country, possibly even the continent, but besides that there was no solid plan that she had in mind. The first lock opened. She'd have to find her sister though, that much she knew for sure. With the money that she'd get from this they'd be able to find a place to stay together, then from there she'd be able to grow up and live a normal life. She spun the seal on the door open and went inside, the vault was full of gold and gems. Immediately she ran over and began stuffing the bag she had with her with everything she could. Eris coins, gold bars, rubies, diamonds, all of it. There was even a large and shiny sword that she took, managing to stuff it inside the bag despite it appearing much too small from the outside.
Once she'd ransacked the entire vault she closed it back up and left the room, silently moving through the hallways of the palace once more. She'd ransacked three other vaults by the time she finally reached her most important target. The door was unguarded, the rug leading up to it embroidered with gold. This room was the bedroom of the King and housed the most valuable item in all of the kingdom. "Lockpick!" She forced open the door and stepped inside. The room was massive with all kinds of amenities everywhere. But his first focus was on the large bed situated by one of the walls of the room. She crept over. Peeking over she saw the King and Queen quietly asleep, snoring away. They were totally unaware of the fate that was about to befall them. She unsheathed her dagger and crept in closer.
First she went to the Queen's side. She was a beautiful young woman, bountiful with deep blonde hair like gold. She was adored by the populace. Unfortunately, because of who she was, she couldn't be allowed to remain alive. It was nothing personal. After all she kills her enemies, but she does not hate them. She put a hand over the woman's mouth and plunged her dagger into her neck. Her eyes shot open with fear and panic, she struggled to try and get out of bed to escape her fate. But it simply wasn't possible. Within moments she lay dead where she slept. When she took her hand off her mouth there was blood on it. She crept to the King's side now.
The King on the other hand was a pompous man. Sure he was dashing, with looks that were sure to make most fall, but as a man he was awful. It was astonishing to think such a kind woman could marry such a horrible man. But perhaps it hadn't been of her own will and this would simply be justice. She climbed up and sat on the King's waist, putting her dagger on the side for a moment. She put her non-blood covered hand over the King's mouth and shook him awake. His eyes drifted open, then froze with fear when he fully saw her. "Good evening, Your Highness. It's so nice to see you again. I just thought that I'd pay you and your wife a visit." The King's eyes looked over to his now dead wife.
"Of course I also wanted to show my gratitude, with all the thanks you gave me for my service." She drew an X on the King's forehead with the blood on her hand. At that moment her Watcher skill went off, something had passed through the door. Then another and another and another. Damnit, it looks like they knew something was up. Time to split. She picked up her dagger, "So long, Your Highness." And she plunged the dagger through the X on his head, the first time it didn't make it all the way through and the King spasmed with pain. She shrugged, one more should do it. She plunged the dagger down again, this time it went through. The King moved one last time, then he stopped moving. He was dead. She licked the King's blood off her dagger, it was only fitting.
The doors to the bedroom flung open, "Your Highness-!" She pulled out a small spherical object from her bag. It was the third item she'd bought, a smoke bomb. She pressed the button on it and tossed it towards the guards running in. It exploded and smoke expanded out. She ran from the bed and crashed through the window.
"...After that I escaped the palace grounds. I never saw those two who were with me again, I have no idea what happened to them. I had to ditch the bag somewhere to avoid being caught as I was eventually found, then I made my way to someone I knew who could Teleport me away. After that I ended up on your continent, in Alcanretia."
"That… that was a lot all at once," Darkness said
"Yeah, and some of that sounded a little bit sadistic," Megumin said.
"I think I prefer Aurdel's stories better…" Yunyun whispered.
"You asked, you recieved." She folded her arms, "I don't regret what I did, the King had it coming."
"What about you Aqua, what do you-?" Darkness looked to Aqua, she was passed out and probably hadn't heard even half of it.
"Well, why don't I tell a story to lift the mood?" Aurdel suggested, "I can even have one of you ride up her with me if-" Megumin and Yunyun both immediately scrambled to get up front. Even with the light he was trying to bring now he couldn't feel anything but a bit of unease from what Anatalia had told him. He trusted her, sure, but something still didn't feel right. It was like there was something else she was hiding… He'd press her on it soon enough.
