Chapter 31

"Kodori-san! Kodori-san!" Some one was shaking my shoulder. I opened an eye and tried to focus on who ever it was that was trying to wake me up. "Hestia-sama has been captured! Waah!"

I was awake, alert, and on my feet. The transition giving me a head rush that nearly flattened me again. "What? How?" I realized it was Chigusa who brought the news, and she had fallen on her rear at my sudden motion. "Ow my head..." A quick look outside told me it was a little after noon.

"She had been on an errand that took her close to one of the city gates." She handed me things as I needed them, helping me get dressed and armoured with my shin guards and bracers, "Lord Ares himself and a few of Rakia's soldiers took her and started running."

"I miss morning practice and this happens..." I grumbled, hopping up and down twice to make sure everything was strapped on properly. "Where's everyone else?"

"Bell-san left the city a moment ago, he left from the north gate, and told me to wake you." She replied, "He left at a run with Ais-san."

Quickly I thought of the logistics of it all. Our home was closer to the south east of the city. That meant that Chigusa got here roughly a half hour later at a run. That would give Bell and Ais more than an hour head start, and they were the two fastest people I knew. And aside from 'north gate' I had no other directions to follow.

"I am going after them. Hopefully, some one is still around to help with directions." I looked at Chigusa, "And the rest?"

"They are in the dungeon mostly. Welf-san has not returned yet, but Lilly is with the rest of my Familia today." She followed me as I marched to the main entrance, picking up a rice ball that had been left, carefully wrapped in a leaf, on the dinner table. "I was on shopping duty today, so I stayed home, and Bell-san didn't want me to have to carry everything."

I had heard Bell chose the skill 'Luck' for his level three. Maybe this was part of it? To have 'coincidence' favour you. "Okay. Stay here, tell them what you know when they get back."

I found myself accelerating as I did a rooftop trip to the north gate, and had to force myself to slow down as my technique became increasingly harder on the rooftops. Not wanting to be fined for breaking some one's roof, I hit the streets as I saw the north gate come into view.

Boots almost sparking as I skidded to a halt, I saw some of Loki Familia there already, as well as some others I didn't recognize. And surprisingly, Ganesha was there, the tall God with the elephant mask was being yelled at by Loki herself and a guild representative who I didn't recognize.

"Ah, the fox is here." I heard Finn say, his usually ever present smile absent, "You've heard the news then."

"She wouldn't be here otherwise, right?" Tione said, the implied 'duh' left off. "Ais and the little rookie already left. Wow they can run fast... Hope he can keep up."

"No shortage of determination." Tiona replied, "But, how are you going to find them? Have you ever been out of the city?"

Panting slightly, I looked at them, "No. I was hoping I'd find some information here."

"Well... Hmm..." Finn thought a moment, "We can get a better view from the top of the wall. None of us have a map, and I doubt you want to wait for us to organize for a pursuit... wow..."

As soon as he said 'top of the wall', I had looked up, then stared focusing. I almost didn't hear his exclamation as I jumped as hard as I could, the wind rushing past my ears as my first jump carried me almost three quarters of the way up. Fingertips touching the almost non-existent gap between two bricks, I stuck there. Using nothing but my arms and unbreakable grip, I finished scaling the wall in seconds.

Blood singing from the sudden rush of motion, I felt like an idiot. Sure, I was up here, and the view was amazing. But without Finn, I didn't know what I was looking for.

"You're really motivated aren't you?" Tiona said as she got to the top of the steps a few moments later, her sister and Finn were close behind, "And the way you got up the wall... That's sure to bother someone at the guild."

"Tease her later sister." Tione said as the two of them stood to either side of me. "Well Master Finn? Care to give her directions?"

"Since you are in a hurry, I'll simply give you the basics." The pallum started.

Orario was commonly called 'the centre of the world'. With its high concentration of Gods, high level adventurers, and being a massive trade hub with the magic stones at its core. Around it, were plains, mostly for farmland to support the population with the basics of grain and livestock. North, were a wide range of mountains, were most of our ore came from. And despite this being the gate Hestia was taken from, Rakia was not to the north. But more west.

I'd nearly done something incredibly stupid. My impatience nearly got me lost before I'd even begun.

Instead, he pointed me towards a smaller mountain range, much more west than north. From my vantage point I could see thin forests, small hills and finally the modest range of mountains he was pointing at.

It was this mountain range I ran towards, the late afternoon sun slowly being covered by clouds.

I never did a lot of running as a child. Never much more than a good sprint while playing baseball or the like. But now, as I pushed myself forward as fast as I could, my feet rhythmically slamming into the ground and propelling me forward at speeds that would outpace some cars back home... I thought to myself, I might want to add a run around the city as once a week addition to the morning workout.

There were still small pockets of fighting going on outside the city as well. I took care to avoid what I could see, as I had no desire to get in the way of a level five or six taking out a group of Rakia soldiers. That, or step in a pothole, or trip over a fallen blade, or any number of things.

And every so often, my eyes, enhanced by the status on my back, could see a trail of what looked like potholes, travelling in a straight line towards the mountain Finn had pointed me towards. Much like my own footprints, these tracks were going so fast, hitting the ground so hard, that dirt and stone alike were being pressed down. Small craters with two different boot sizes. One I knew belonged to Bell.

Unfortunately, as fast as I was going, I saw no other sign of them, and the clouds were starting to thicken up for a storm. It had only rained a few times since my arrival, and in roughly half a year, I hadn't seen a single thunderstorm. From the way the clouds were forming into dark grey pillars, I'd be seeing one soon. And be out in the middle of it. And I wasn't even half way to the mountain.

"More of my own stupidity..." I mumbled to myself as the first drops of rain started to fall. Soon it would be too muddy to run without risk of breaking a leg or something. As tough as I was now, twisting an ankle while running at full speed would probably define 'break neck' speed.

As the sky started to really open up, the rain falling with an almost painful force, I slowed down to a more 'mortal' pace. I had only covered maybe two thirds the distance, some of the mountains definition making itself apparent. I kind of regretted that I was on a mission, and not actually here to look around. From where I was, I could make out the mouth of a valley, see a cliff face dotted with caves, and a peak that was just starting to vanish into the heavy cloud cover.

I hated myself for it, but I had to stop. The ground was trying to eat my boots with every step, and when I found myself stepping on stone, it was almost like ice. Looking around, arm over my eyes to try and keep them clear of rain and the howling wind, I spotted a shallow cave that might at least let me get a fire going.

I'd managed to get a small fire going after a little bare handed remodelling of my shelter. I had to kick a small tree down, break off a few of its dead branches for kindling, and make a small stone circle out of rock I had mined out of my shelter with my bare hands.

My curse wouldn't let me strike rocks together to make a spark, so I had to tear a strip of cloth from the bottom of my shirt, the longest I could make, and use it to make a crude bow with a thicker branch. Using a sharp bit of rock, I wrapped my hand in a bit more of my shirt, and used my fist as a hammer to split the trunk. It took a few tries too, but I managed to make a platform for my next step.

Using the bow, a blunted stick, the half stump, and my kindling, I looped the 'string' of my bow around the stick a couple of times, and started sawing the bow back and forth, rotating the blunted end of the stick into the wood under it to make friction.

I swore I'd bring matches the next time I left the city. Or invent them myself, and then bring them. By the time my fire was started, I was shivering from the still pouring rain and erratic winds that had nearly blown away all my dry kindling. But, while smokey and not very pleasant smelling, I managed to get the fire going hot enough that the rain no longer bothered it.

That taken care of, I used my wedge to further split some of the thickest bits of wood, and used the longest and what was left of my shirt to further block the rain. It wasn't much, but from the half year I'd lived in this world, I didn't think it got much colder than it was now.

All I could do really, was stare at the mountain I wanted so desperately to get to. The storm hadn't slowed much if at all, but even before I had set up my little shelter the ground was turning into a swamp. I hoped Bell and Ais had made it to Hestia. Really hoped. And it ate away at me that I couldn't actually be there. That I had failed to make it in time. If I had made it to more stable ground before the storm really kicked in, I'd have been able to climb without worry.

A noise, like a thump, followed by a splash, another thump and a grunt of pain.

On my feet instantly, I peered into the darkness, my eyes seeing nothing but gloom, rain, and a small four legged animal. Slowly, I moved out of my shelter, into the rain and around the side, looking for the source of the noise. I saw a figure pull herself out of the mud and look up at me.

"Not entirely unexpected to find you here." The woman said, her voice clinical and flat.

Blue hair, glasses, it was Asfi, Hermes's attendant. Her usual attire was covered in mud on one side. "Bad landing?" I asked, "I've heard you can make some amazing things, are wings one of them?"

"Yes." She said flatly, "I did pull you away from the Black Goliath, though you were probably unconscious at the time."

"Explains what happened then." I said, "Do you know where Lady Hestia is?" The cold and my feelings of uselessness had made me more direct than I'd normally be.

"Yes and no." She followed me back to my little camp, raising an eyebrow at my makeshift setup. "Hermes," she said the name like it tasted bitter, "Sent me to follow them. I was also told not to interfere." She sighed as I gave her a look of disbelief, but she brushed it off and continued, "Bell and Ais reached them, up there." She pointed to the mountain I had been staring at, "But, She and Bell went over a cliff," she raised a hand, "You'd know if she were gone."

I got back out of the rain, having jumped to my feet at her news, "Oh... Makes sense I guess..."

"Yes. Before I abandoned the skies, I saw Ais jump after them. There was a river at the bottom of that cliff, so unless Bell can't swim?" She asked, then continued after I nodded, "They should be fine."

I grumbled, but couldn't fault her really. I assumed she didn't want to get hit by lightning, or an arrow, so she came back down. We sat in silence a moment, while I replayed her words in my head. "Asfi, this isn't the first time Hermes has done something like this is it. Told you not to interfere with Bell."

"The fox is wise." She said coldly, "But you shouldn't dwell on it. It is just what he does. All, the, time." She was obviously frustrated with her God's actions. "He is very whimsical, and likes to cause trouble, just to see what might happen."

"So this time, he knew you could help and told you not to." She nodded, "And before, he told us about the killing stone." Another nod. I was grateful he did tell us, but... "There's more though, isn't there?"

"The eighteenth floor." She said, her eyes focused on me, her hand moving to the sword at her hip.

I looked at her sharply, feeling my body tense up, "You made that helmet, didn't you?" She nodded, and I forced myself to relax, the feeling of anger sliding down to resignation. "I understand, more or less how the Gods think by now."

"Bold claim by one who couldn't even speak the language a half year ago." She said, relaxing slightly herself.

"It's simple. They are like adults who have never been told they were wrong about something as a child. Ishtar and Apollo are good examples. Both are very set in their ways, both want things that they believe they are owed, because for them, until they came down here with us, they simply got it. Ishtar took being second place to another Goddess of love badly, because back in the Gods realm,"

"Tenkai." She said.

"Tenkai, she had her own domain. And Apollo got what he wanted because he bullied people into giving it to him." I sighed, "Hephaestus rules the forge, Soma makes wine. All very set in their ways. But, just like children, they can be taught, guided. Soma thinks of something other than wine now, if only just. Hephaestus has learned how to do her own paperwork. And Lady Hestia, I hope, is slowly learning about the rest of what 'love' can mean. Even Lord Takemikazuchi has set aside most of his warlike ways, and is taking care of orphans."

"So you do understand. I underestimated you, I'll admit." She said, frowning, "But?"

"But, while I understand Hermes likes to meddle with us, if I catch him doing something like what happened on the eighteenth floor, to me or my Familia, I'm going to be VERY upset." For emphasis, I put my hand on the stone wall of the cliff, fingertips finding grip on the nearly flat surface, and pulled.

Something within the wall itself groaned as my arm and shoulder tensed up. Letting my magic flow into my body, I pulled harder, my elbow and shoulder straining, until with a sharp crack of splitting stone, I pulled a person sized boulder from the wall. It nearly landed on my foot, and upset my makeshift tarp, letting the rain in again. But the look on Asfi's face proved I made my point.

"I know it's not all his fault either." I said to her as my arm and shoulder relaxed, the strain on my joints sharp and painful, "Even if they are Gods, without us, they have no power. If we don't say no, if we go along with everything they want, then they will not learn."

"I'll deliver the message." She said, taking her hand off her weapon again, "Though I don't think he will listen."

"Fine." I said, using the rock I'd just pulled from the wall to help shelter us a little more from the wind. "So, now what? What are you going to do now?"

"I've been told to keep an eye on Ares, and once the storm lets up, I will go back to doing that. If I'm not mistaken, Loki Familia should be heading this way?" I nodded, "And they plan on bringing him back to Orario."

"Think they will send him back?" I asked, calming down again, "Like Ishtar?"

"It is not something done lightly." She replied, looking up at the sky, her face illuminated white by a flash of lightning, "But I would assume they plan to make demands, and send him back if he does not agree."

I fed a little more wood into the fire, thinking. "Then... Let's do that. I will trust Bell and Ais to keep Lady Hestia safe."

"Very well."

The two of us took turns napping, leaning against each others shoulder for warmth. It wasn't until nearly sunrise that the storm had died down enough to risk Asfi using her flying boots. Still being more logical than mystical, I wondered at how they might be made, though she didn't offer me any clues when I asked.

"So, how would you like to proceed then?" she asked as she stretched her arms over her head, "They may have moved some time during the night, or perhaps set up an ambush in case I returned."

"If you did a quick look at that plateau? If they have moved on, then you can bring me up there and we can track them." I wrung out my poor shirt, shivering as I put it on over my sport bra. "Brr... If they are still there, give me a signal and I'll jump up there. Now that there is less rain, and more light, I'm sure I'll manage the climb."

"Very well." She tapped her heels together, and the wings on either side of both her boots expanded. With a quick and practised motion, she knelt slightly and jumped into the air, the wings of her boots 'flapping' once.

I started walking towards the slope of the mountain, minding my step so I didn't suddenly lose a boot to the mud. As the softer ground became almost entirely rock, I looked up. It didn't take long to spot the blue splash of Asfi's hair as she did a slow semi circle around the plateau, then descend towards me. Not sure how she wanted to grab me, I lifted both my arms above my head and made ready.

It was like falling out of bed, only backwards, as she swooped over me and grabbed my forearms. I curled my fingers around her wrists and with a sudden twist in my inner ear and gut, I was ascending quickly. "Signs of a camp, a battle, and a hasty retreat." She said into my ear as we went up, the slope of the mountain passing under my feet in a grey blur.

"Ais must have been going easy on them." I said back to her, "If she was of a mind to, she could have left all of them too wounded to run."

"She didn't have time. Lady Hestia and Bell went over the cliff," She paused to turn her flight a little, letting me look down into a water filled ravine, "And she went after them right after."

"Fair. Set me down, lets have a look." I said as we cleared the ledge and revealed the site. I took a couple of running steps and skid to a halt as she let go, my eyes quickly picking out details.

Scraps of uniform, broken weapons, mostly spears as well as helmets and shields wrecked beyond repair. Yes, this was certainly messy. I suspected, as soon as they chased Asfi off, they picked up what was worth the trouble, and kept going. "So Bell and Ais came up here." I pointed to what looked like a bit of the rock ledge that looked almost scraped clean, "Ais, I'm guessing, fought here," I pointed to another spot, that had a neat circle of broken spears, shields and helmets, as well as slash marks in the stone, "Bell followed after her..." I trailed my eyes towards the cliff that led into the rushing waters of the ravine, "and..." A few more bits of cloth, shattered swords, and a freshly crumbed bit of rock at the edge, "And went off there."

"The fox is wise." Asfi said, "Ais abandoned her offence when she saw them go over, and that left them to focus on me."

"And since we made no secret," I pointed to the still faintly smoking remains of my fire, "That we were out there, they picked up and ran as soon as they could." I grumbled, "But, it was either I camp there, risk the climb, or not build a fire and freeze."

"Indeed. I will take a look then."

And she was off. I looked around the site some more, trying to pick out further details. But the hard rains had washed away all but the discarded equipment. There was the remains of a fire inside a shallow overhang of rock, but not much else. There were however only three ways off this plateau. Aside from climbing up, there was the cliff Bell had used, a narrow path that wound down to the base of the mountainside, that I hadn't seen in the gloom, and a path that lead further into the mountain range itself.

Figuring this last one was the best choice, I started down that path.

"Were you seen?" I asked Asfi.

I'd been moving at a brisk walk for at least a couple of hours, when Asfi landed beside me.

"I'm not sure they are even paying attention." She said after she matched my pace, "They are all but running back now, and carrying wounded."

"How much further then? How many can still fight?"

She gave me a raised eyebrow, as if to a child who asked a silly question, "You're level three, at best, they might have a level two with them. Does it matter?"

"Level four." I replied, "And... Oh right."

She was looking at me, stunned, "I'm not sure I should be surprised." She said after a moment. "But even more so, does it matter?"

"Fight every monster as if it can kill you." I replied.

"Ares himself is among them, and roughly in the middle. They have the wounded mostly at the rear, but they all have someone helping them. Ares has at least one level two by his side as well, if the helmet is any indicator of rank." She explained, my ears also picking up the faint echo of metal armour.

"I've never tried to capture someone. Suggestions?"

I'd always been the little kid growing up. Started school early, grew up slowly and my mother's side of the family averaged about 1.5 meters. So I'd always been a target for the bigger kids who wanted a cheap laugh picking on the little kid.

Well, I wasn't laughing. As I caught up with the Rakia soldiers, I put Asfi's simple suggestion to work. Push anyone in your way, out of the way, and stop when you got to Ares.

Orianos, who led the descent of the Gods to the mortal realm had banned all use of godly power except for special occasions, such as the viewing of the War Game.

But, Gods were immortal. And only another God could hurt their physical body. Should a mortal attempt to harm them, their divine protection would activate. And that, would mean a use of a forbidden power. It might not get him sent back to Tenkai, but it would make him a target of Orianos, who could simply declare a quest to bring him before a god for 'execution'. Aside from possibly Freya, who had Ottar at her side, and Loki, with her collection of level six adventurers, no Familia wanted that target on their back.

So, as I basically quick stepped through their formation, my magic burning though my body, I simply tossed people aside. It was as if everyone moved in slow motion, stabbing at me with spears only to have me catch the shaft of it, and either disarm them, or fling them still holding their weapon, into the mountainside, or another soldier. Or swinging at me with a sword, which I would swat away with my bracer, before slapping them with my open palm, sending them flying.

"She's only one person! And only a woman! What are you doing! Get back in formation!" Ares was easy to spot. Very tall, with wild golden hair, he was frantically pointing at me as I tossed aside his soldiers. Only one man, a lean faced soldier with a sort of Roman styled helmet was keeping his cool, though I could see it in his eyes he knew it was hopeless.

"Sir! I think we should use it!" I heard him yell over Ares.

"NO! I refuse to resort to mercenaries! What are you doing! Kill her!" He shouted back. I was maybe ten long paces from him now, and weren't many left standing.

"Sir! We can't stop her! She's probably level three! And our general is still near Orario!" He yelled back, drawing his blade and standing behind the last dozen or so in my way. "Give me the order! Or you will be taken!"

Even as I grabbed a spear and heaved someone away behind me, I found myself respecting this man. He didn't fear for himself, but for his God. He was trying to lead his God, teach him, change his way of thinking. But, Ares seemed too set in his ways, or this man hadn't stood up to Him enough.

But he was in the way.

"SIR!" I parried his blade between my two bracers, and found myself meeting the first real resistance since I started.

Ares growled, backing away from the two of us, "Fine! It's coming out of your pay though!"

I was paying too much attention to the conversation apparently, and my opponent managed to kick me square in the gut. It didn't hurt really, my magic focused more on keeping my body protected than making me stronger, but he used my half second of surprise to hop back, reach into a pouch, and crush vial of glass.

As bright yellow, almost gold smoke filled the air around us, I heard Ares almost sobbing, "A half million valis..."

Puzzled, covering my mouth and nose with a hand in case the smoke was toxic, I looked at my opponent who was backing away, using his back to push Ares. "I hope they are worth it." He said, "We mush flee Sir. Now."

A moment later, as I stood there, letting them get about ten paces away from me, Asfi hit the ground next to me, two arrows in her back and one in her leg. The angle was weird though, as if they came from above her.

Without thinking, I dove sideways towards her, rolled, and scooped her up, she didn't even cry out as I jostled the arrows in my haste. Quickly, I ran towards the cliff wall, an arrow slamming into the stone where Asfi had just been. I spotted a slight overhang in the rock, and slid under it, another pair of arrows nearly hitting me as I did. Two archers? From where?

I looked at the arrows, and noticed the feathers. Pure white, with gold thread holding them to the white shaft.

"Apollo..." I mumbled, setting Asfi down and looking down the path, seeing Ares and his general running away. "But where..."

I felt my heart sink, and dove out of my shelter. Another arrow split the stone behind me, but I managed to look upwards.

Two gliders. White and gold. Circling high overhead.

"Fuck." I said quietly, an instant before having to dodge aside, the glint of an arrowhead the only warning I got. Ducking, rolling, and sliding back under the shelf I left Asfi, I called out to her, not knowing if the fall had broken anything. Her boots were still extended, the wings out, and that might have stopped her from breaking every bone in her body, but I had no idea. "Come on, wake up, Asfi!"

With the arrows in her back, I ran my hands under her, checking to see if she had any potions hidden in her vest, then reached under her hips to undo her belt so I could go through the many pouches she had. She'd have probably slapped me had she been awake, but I was in a hurry.

"No... No... Maybe?" I mumbled as I went through her potions. She had an awful lot of them, but she was known as the most skilled mixer in all Orario, not to mention item enchanter. I scratched my skin with a fingernail, drawing a little blood, then opened a potion vial that was at least the right colour, and put a single drop on my broken skin. I made ready to cut myself deeper if the wound didn't close, but to my relief, my scratch healed.

"Sorry, but if that's Hyakinthos, I have no time to be gentle." I apologized to Asfi's unconscious body as I snapped the arrows and rolled her over, holding her with one arm and forcing the potion between her teeth. It must have been a much stronger potion than what I normally used, as the arrows were actually pushed out of her by the forced healing. Three bloody arrowheads clinked to the ground and Asfi coughed once her eyes opening.

"What..." She blinked at me, confused.

"You were shot from above." I said, "By two people using gliders. Can you fly? Or can I use your boots?"

"But... What..." She was still in shock I think, but she nodded, "Yes... Put them on, just think about flying, they should do the rest." I was almost instantly working on the laces, "Ouch, my feet are still in there..."

"Sorry. If it is who I think it is, we can't afford to be slow..." I ripped my own boots off in my haste, the leather coming apart under my fingernails, "Damn... Mia is going to be mad..." I crammed my own feet into Asfi's winged shoes, the leather still warm and feeling like it was shaping itself to my foot. "Now what?"

"Stand up, think of the sky, here... take this too." She reached for her belt, then saw its contents all over the ground, "white tube, yes, throw it at something solid. Don't open it."

I'd always wondered if my curse would stop something that was actually meant to break from not working. I snatched up a white vial and dashed out of cover, two more arrows cracking into the ground an instant later. Just how powerful were those bows?

"Hope I catch on to this really fast... Okay boots..." Like I saw her do earlier, as I dodged another arrow, I slid to a halt and tapped my heels together, thinking of the sky. And as I looked up, feeling the ground fall away below me, I found myself looking directly into a pure white fireball, its radiance sun white against the still cloudy grey of the clouds above.

Notes.

This was probably the most difficult chapter to write. Not so much for the content (topics and such) but the pacing. The camping scene (by the way, this method does work.) wrote slow and rather boring. I had to stop a few times just to wake myself up.

Asfi was also a little hard to talk to. She doesn't get much screen time (anime) and in the book, she's not very expressive either.

And remember what I said a few chapters ago? About her interference coming back to bite her?

Until next time. :)