Gates now barricaded the road, and tall chain-linked fencing was being put up on either side, defining the outpost's boundaries. The truck stopped shortly for Dave to signal to a hunter standing guard. The truck was let through. It drove a short distance ahead before stopping in front of the motel.
Dave made quick arrangements for two rooms before the town could take much notice of the newcomers. The women took one while Ravus occupied the other all by himself. Andromeda appreciated that.
A short while after they entered the room, Ian stopped by with new clothes for them. Luna dashed to the bathroom for a shower. As tough as she tried to be out in the wild, it was now obvious that she had minded how dirty they had gotten. Andromeda hadn't found it pleasant either.
Luna would have gone to visit Ravus once she was in clean clothes again, but Andromeda asked her to stay while she had her turn in the shower. They needed to talk, without him there to interrupt.
Ian knocked on the door again shortly after she got out of the shower. This time, he brought food from the diner.
"Come in. We have to talk with you, too." Andromeda told him after he handed the bag over.
He shuffled through the door, still bashful in the princess's presence. Luna and Andromeda split the food between them. The latter was accustomed to seeing Luna dressed down in simple clothes after weeks of traveling together, but she could still tell who she was. The hair and face were still obvious, yet at a quick glance she could be presumed as unimportant. Ian was no less intimidated by her presence.
"Have you eaten yet?" Luna asked him as he continued to stay near the door.
Ian shook his head. "No, ma'am."
"Here," She offered him a bread roll.
"No, thank you, ma'am." He stammered. "You need it more than me."
Andromeda rolled her eyes at both of them. "We can't stay here."
"Weren't there two other women with you?" Ian asked, relaxing a little.
"They've gone missing. Luna and I are the only two that will be able to find them. No offense, but the hunters will take too long." She explained. "If we're taken to Lestallum, we won't be able to get out. The place is crawling with Kingsglaive and Crownsguard."
Luna nodded. "I do not wish to enter Lestallum until the four of us are reunited. But I suspect my brother will keep a watch over our room until it is time to leave. I could try to reason with him again."
"It's not worth it." Andromeda grumbled.
"If you're planning to escape, you don't have a lot of time. Dave already called the Marshal. He's on his way right now. It doesn't sound like he was far off." Ian reported. "What's your plan?"
"We need a truck." She stated. "And someone to open the gate."
"I can operate the gate, but my truck died." He frowned.
"Can you get the keys to Dave's?"
"You're going to get me killed."
"I don't remember how to hotwire cars." Andromeda admitted. Hank had shown her ages ago shortly after they had escaped Niflheim together, but she had never had to do it much after that.
Ian sighed. "I'll try."
"Thank you." Luna smiled to him. "I can distract Ravus in the meantime."
"Try one of these." Andromeda dug in the bag of vials, which had gotten considerably lighter since she had left the cabin in Malmalam Thicket. She pulled out a small blue bottle and handed it to Luna. "This should help with him, if he isn't already asleep."
It was doubtful; even if he still needed rest from the Scourge, he would fight it in order to make sure Andromeda and Luna didn't take off.
She gave an uncertain smile. "This isn't the first time I've tried sneaking away under his watch. I've never tried to hurt him before."
"Hopefully you'll succeed this time. This will just knock him out for a few hours." Andromeda thought disabling Ravus would be the easy part. She was relieved that they were going along with her plan. It wasn't fully thought-out, but there were too many variables, including a limited amount of time. "Hurry."
Ian remained where he was, frowning. "I told the Marshal about you."
"What about me?" She crossed her arms.
"About last summer when we were traveling Lucis and you were healing the hunters. A lot of them started talking. Dave and Cor both heard them and tracked me down a few weeks ago. I told Cor everything about your healing."
"How did he take it?" Did they even believe it?
"I'm not sure. They let me go after I told them that you were traveling with two other women now, and I hadn't seen any of you for weeks." Ian explained. "I didn't really have a choice."
Andromeda shrugged. "I would have rather they got the story right. They'll look to you again when the Marshal shows up and we're not here anymore. You can tell him that I will gladly go with him once we've found the other two. And you can make it all up to me by stealing Dave's keys and opening the gate."
She was trying to hurry him along, but her message for Cor startled both Ian and Luna. Until people in Lucis had begun talking about this Marshal, it was easy to forget that Andromeda had been a person of interest to Lucis as well as Niflheim. With the fall of Insomnia, she had suspected that that would no longer be an issue. She hadn't thought that some of the throne's protectors would have survived. With Noctis's survival, they could simply just rebuild and continue where they left off. It seemed to be what they were planning in Lestallum.
"I was running away from Insomnia all those years ago. My other power left a mess behind." Andromeda reminded Ian, then glanced at Luna. "You Ascended as Oracle, and I found out what Etro had "blessed" me with."
The Oracle only looked down.
"So that's it, then?" Ian guessed sullenly.
"It was inevitable. We could have picked it up again this spring, and without Niflheim it would be a breeze now, but the Lucians are gathering whatever forces they have left. They won't toy with us like Niflheim did. They'd track us down eventually. They were nice the first time around when they didn't know so much. I don't suspect they'll still be nice now." Andromeda reasoned, then returned to the matters at hand. "But I can put it off for a little while longer. I'll come help with Dave."
She stood, having already devoured her portion of the food. Luna kept her table manners no matter how hungry she had been. She had the easiest task of the group. Ravus shouldn't suspect a thing from her.
"Be careful." Luna cautioned as Andromeda stood to join Ian at the door.
"Be quick." She replied. She hoped Luna could handle her task and didn't try to sway Ravus. He would just cause problems.
The sun had long since set when they all left the room. Ian led Andromeda to where he had last seen Dave at the minuscule town market. He was still there, speaking with a couple of hunters around a table. She spotted a ring of keys on the table, as well as some maps. Ian hid out of sight around the corner of an apartment building. She waited until the hunters walked away before she approached.
An old dog sitting by Dave's feet picked up its head at Andromeda's approach, noticing her first. Dave followed the attention of his dog and crossed his arms. She stayed back, hoping to coax him around the table.
"Everything alright?" He asked. The dog stepped forward to sniff at her. Andromeda offered her hand, then a couple of pats when the dog seemed content.
"Yes, everything's fine." She assured, noticing Ian appear in the shadows some distance away. He had gone around the building, out of Dave's sight. "You said your hunters have been telling stories about me. I thought I'd explain myself to you, so you won't have to rely on stories anymore."
"Alright. I'm listening."
Dave didn't give her an easy way to get into it. His expression was difficult to read. She couldn't tell whether she was in trouble with him or not. He didn't seem to like what his hunters have been telling him. Who knew what Cor had told him.
"Whether you believe it or not, it's true. I can't hide it anymore. I did before because no one would believe me, or they'd call me an impostor." Andromeda began. "I can heal people of the Starscourge. Not as nicely as Luna does it, but a scar or a missing finger is better than turning into a daemon, right?"
"That's a bold claim to make." Dave pointed out. Ian had crept close to him, but stayed back. He couldn't snag the keys without Dave noticing.
"I'd prove it if you know of someone who has it." She shrugged. "I'm guessing a lot of hunters have been saying the same thing, though. They talk to me, too. I don't know what the Marshal has told you."
Andromeda was curious to know, and left it open for Dave to explain. But just as she had hoped, he came around the table, then leaned against it. Ian began to creep closer again.
"And what have my hunters been telling you?" He lowered his voice now that they were a little closer.
"That you and that Crownsguard Marshal have been looking for me."
"And you sure didn't make it easy. How exactly did you three end up in Malmalam Thicket? It's off-limits to hunters." Dave asked. Ian had finally made it to the table and swiped the keys soundlessly, his movements meticulously slow. He crept back to the shadows.
"I don't know exactly. We got lost. It's complicated." Andromeda hadn't been prepared for that question. She wasn't going to tell the long complicated truth about that. She no longer needed to keep talking to Dave and now needed to make an exit.
He didn't believe that for a moment. She wasn't going to answer to him, though. "Does Lady Lunafreya know all about this?"
"Yes, and she thinks we're best friends because of it." Andromeda crossed her arms. She was grateful that Luna took their common power so well. Their journey would have been much more complicated if not.
Luckily, a phone began to ring. Dave pulled it out of his pocket and answered, turning away. Andromeda took the opportunity to slip away. She went back to the motel. Ian trailed behind her once she got far enough away from Dave.
He handed the keys to her. "That was risky."
She entered the room she and Luna shared. The princess wasn't there; she was presumably sitting with Ravus in the next room over. Andromeda grabbed their three bags and left.
"Like I said, it's over. There's no hiding now. Dave was owed the truth. He's not a bad man." She glanced over at the town market across the small town. Dave was no longer standing there. She went to his truck parked a few yards away and unlocked the passenger-side door.
"I'll go to the west-side gate. I'll open the gate when you start the engine." Ian explained, then took off.
Setting the bags onto the floor of the truck, Andromeda was ready. She looked off towards the west gate, then towards the east gate. Luna had the easiest task, but the sleeping draught might not kick in the fastest. Reluctantly, Andromeda approached Ravus's room and knocked softly on the door.
No one answered immediately. She knocked harder. "Luna, we need to go!"
She finally came to the door and opened it. "Did you get the keys?"
Andromeda nodded. She would have asked how it was going with Ravus, but she could see for herself. He was slightly slumped over in a chair, dozing. Two empty teacups were on the table next to him, as well as the empty potion bottle. He would understand what had happened when he woke up—presumably in another day or so.
"You gave him the whole bottle?" Andromeda asked, surprised. She had thought Luna would have been more cautious with it—the draught had smelt potent, so it was likely several doses.
"Yes," Luna glanced back at Ravus. "I didn't know how much would actually work-"
"Let's go." Andromeda turned and led the way to the truck. The sooner they were gone, the better.
She heard the gate open on the west end of town and looked. She hadn't given the signal yet. A dark vehicle drove in, then parked on the other side of the street. The gate closed again. Dave approached the vehicle as a man stepped out.
Having left the passenger-side door open, Andromeda climbed into Dave's truck and to the driver's seat. She beckoned Luna in after herself, then glanced across the street where the two men were greeting each other. Luna thankfully closed the door as gently as possible. It still made a noticeable sound as the rest of the town seemed dead quiet, the sounds of fences being put up distant in the night. The men didn't seem to notice. It was so quiet that Andromeda managed to hear them through the truck's open window.
"Marshal." Dave greeted.
"Dave." The Marshal was the younger of the two, although not young himself.
"I put 'em up in the motel for the night. They looked worse for wear." The head hunter turned towards the building in question.
Andromeda then turned the keys in the ignition and the engine loudly started in the night. On cue, the gate began to open again. She heard Dave give a shout as she threw the truck in gear and slammed on the gas. She turned onto the road and sped through the gate, which was opened just wide enough for the truck to get through.
She had to laugh at their luck. The plan had worked after all. It had been a narrow escape. Luna looked back as the town quickly shrunk behind them. She joined Andromeda with her own laugh of relief as well.
"Is this your first time being an accomplice to a crime?" Andromeda teased, though she knew no one else would see it that way. They would claim that she had kidnapped the princess.
"I'm sure it's not. But it was necessary to do to find Aulea and Crowe." Luna insisted.
Andromeda knew there would be consequences for this, but she couldn't think of anything beyond finding those two. She continued to speed along the road—perhaps too fast for the daemons to catch them. She soon came across some prowling the road, slowing down as they were too big to run into with the truck. The headlights did not scare them off. They scurried to the truck.
They were met with Holy. Andromeda stopped the truck, unable to see. She looked back as the spell continued. They were too far away to see the town now. There were no lights behind them.
Once the spell was finished and the road was clear, Andromeda stepped on the gas again. She came to the crossroads they had come to during the day, then turned north for Lestallum. The truck sped along again.
"Where are we going?" Luna finally asked. After their first encounter with daemons on the road, they were no longer so relieved to have escaped Old Lestallum.
"North." Andromeda repeated herself. "I think the Well will be somewhere around the Vesperpool. It seems like the kind of place Etro would like. If anything, we just need to find a haven north of Lestallum. I should be able to find them then."
Luna nodded. Andromeda hadn't spent much time at the Vesperpool before, and with the current situation, she was reluctant to go there. Meldacio was the only outpost that far north, but the Vesperpool was a large, uninhabited area. It seemed like the perfect breeding ground for large daemons.
"Are you sure you're up for this?" It was too late to ask Luna this now. Andromeda wasn't dumb enough to do this alone, and she wasn't going to leave her behind when they reached Lestallum. It was only by Luna's magic that they could manage to travel at night. It would demand a lot from her.
"I must be." The princess replied.
They continued on in silence. Andromeda continued to speed along, cutting their travel time drastically. She did have to stop a few times when there were daemons in the road, then moved on once Luna's Holy cleared them away.
Eventually they went around a curve in the road and came upon Lestallum, brightly lit in the night. The road was mostly clear; there weren't any people milling around it that would require Andromeda to slow down. So she didn't. The truck sped past the town and into the tunnel. She didn't spare a second glance.
"You have family in Lestallum, right?" Luna brought up in the dimly-lit tunnel.
"Yeah. An aunt, uncle, and a baby cousin." Andromeda mentioned. "I think you're the only one who hasn't met them."
"I would like to."
As they came to the end of the tunnel, they encountered daemons. She stopped the truck again so that Luna could take care of them. After a minute, they moved on.