Book 2: Chapter 73

Author Note: If you want a physical copy of Book One...

Get it now! https://a.co/d/bQblYu4

The audiobook and Kindle version go live on 12/19/23

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“We’re leaving, now,” Daniel said, throwing the few camp supplies at Orrin. “Orrin, can you use [Teleport] to get us back to the Stillrock?”

“I can but we—”

“Don’t argue.”

Orrin caught the sleeping bag and took an extra second to push the length of it into his pocket. [Dimension Hole] was one of his most useful skills. In no time at all, Orrin had the entire camp stored away. His friends reached out and put their hands on his shoulder. Ignoring Daniel’s orders, Orrin jumped them a mile down the road back the way they’d come.

“Orrin…” Daniel’s voice was tense. “I said to the town. Why am I not seeing buildings?”

Orrin continued ignoring Daniel and talked with Madi. “I brought us about a mile away from where we were sleeping. We can use [Camouflage Ward] and sneak by them. I counted fourteen people heading our way but I doubt that group was everyone. We can either track them and get an exact count or just boost up and start running.”

Madi looked up at the sky, checking the position of the moon. “It’s not even midnight. We could get close to Mistlight.”

“Excuse me?” Daniel brushed between them. “Why am I being ignored? I’m in charge here.”

Orrin laughed. Madi’s smirked.

“Daniel, you’ve been outvoted. We are not going back to Stillrock. Do you have an opinion on what we do next?” Orrin cast [Camouflage Ward].

“We are going to talk about this later,” Daniel complained. “We don’t have time to track them down. If we’re going to run, let’s make it to Mistlight today. Orrin, bring Madi to the max with us. We need to move.”

Orrin acquiesced and cast [Utility Ward] again before increasing all of Madi and Daniel’s strength dexterity to one hundred with [Increase Dexterity] and [Increase Strength].

Despite Daniel’s suggestion that they not try, Orrin checked his [Map] as they ran but strangely, he didn’t find the fourteen they’d encountered before. They must have run back to their hiding place.

The river border had a bridge and bored guards on either side, but another application of [Camouflage Ward] made the crossing easy. The sun was coming up when Madi slowed them at an intersection. All three were slick with sweat and exhausted. She pointed to some markings on a crude sign. “Mistlight is another ten miles in that direction. We’ve made it.”

“Orrin, find us a spot nearby to rest. We all need some sleep,” Daniel ordered, trying still to be the group leader. Madi nodded at Orrin behind him.

“Yes, sir,” Orrin saluted sarcastically and marched into the brush. His mana was at about a tenth of his full mana pool and he needed the sleep. Even with [Meditation], the long two-day run had worn him down. He hadn’t fully regained his mana pool once and casting his buffs on everyone every twenty minutes had drained him.

Orrin made sure to cast [Purify] on Madi as the last buffs wore off. He patted Daniel on the shoulder and nodded at the sleeping bag he’d laid out.

“Get some sleep.”

Daniel shook his head. “I’ll take the first watch.”

Orrin sat down and crossed his legs. “D, I have my [Map]. I’ll be able to see anyone long before they get here. None of us are in any condition to fight right now and I’m not sure I could [Teleport] us more than once. You and Madi need sleep. I need you two rested so you can protect my scrawny ass.”

Orrin knew playing the protect-me-card was low but it was true. He wasn’t as good in a fight. He was useless to them right now besides his ability to stand guard while they slept.

Daniel’s arm snaked out and pulled Orrin into a headlock. He rubbed his knuckles on Orrin’s head. “You’re an idiot. We wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for you. Not just here right now, but alive at all. Stop doubting on yourself already dude. I can barely hit you with your new watery fight style and you have more options than a Swiss Army knife. Don’t even get me started on your Administrator bullshit. I’ll go to sleep but only because I know that you can protect us. I will wake up in a few hours and make you go to sleep though, even if I have to knock you out.” He playfully increased the pressure of his chokehold around Orrin’s neck for a second before letting him go.

Orrin watched his friend crawl into his bag. When the snoring began, he wiped at some dirt that had gotten in his eye and refocused on his [Map].

After a breakfast of sausages wrapped in pancakes, Orrin brought their strength and dexterity up to a manageable point for Madi and they jogged halfway to Mistlight before seeing anyone. Once the traffic began, they pulled up their hoods and moved slower. It was mid-afternoon by the time they made it to the gates of Mistlight and Daniel was grumbling about wasted time.

“We can’t [Teleport] into the city,” Madi said, kicking him in the back of the leg. “We can’t run in like the wind either. We have to try and keep a low profile. Once we get inside, we can do some investigating. Odrana has a Guild chapter but from what I know, it’s corrupt and not worth visiting. Lord Sanerris has all but bought every position of power. I have a few acquittances I could ask questions to but I doubt that would be helpful either.”

“Brandt is in Sanerris’s house, right?” Daniel’s voice was loud and Orrin kicked him. “Will you two stop kicking me?”

“Shut your mouth then,” Orrin muttered out of the side of his mouth. “There are guards up ahead.”

The gate they were moving toward made the bundles of people traveling to the city funnel into a walkway just wide enough for a single cart. Madi had avoided the main gate, saying it was too conspicuous. This side gate was the entrance for small-time merchants and people traveling for pleasure. The main gate was for dignitaries and large shipments, which meant tighter security.

Orrin was impressed with the height of the wall. Mistlight’s protection from monsters wasn’t as tall or thick as Dey’s walls but there was a cold beauty to the dark blue material it was made out of.

“There is a quarry about twenty miles east,” Madi whispered to Orrin, seeing his gaze. “The Sanerris family kept hundreds of Orc slaves and forced them to dig the blue limestone. Nobody knows how many Orcs and other slaves died excavating. They were allowed to only cut pieces as big as you can see there.”

Orrin noticed the line about five feet up. “That’s stupid. Why did they need it so big? Small cuts would have worked fine, right? I’m not an architect but I’ve seen old-timey castles. That’s as big as a horse.”

“Sanerris family secret,” Madi shrugged. “They had the money and the manpower. They built the wall. The rumor is it doesn’t extend into the ground and they used other stone for protection there and the base of the city throughout. You’ll see how much blue there is once we get inside. When the sun hits the roads in the morning, the entire city shines with a cloudy blue haze. That’s where the name Mistlight comes from.”

“How big is the city?” Daniel asked, watching a guard who poked around in the pack of the young man in front of them. “Can’t we find the castle that Sanerris is in and – ow.”

Madi shook her hand out before rubbing her pointer finger. “Why is your skull so hard? I’ll show you when we get inside… keep your mouths shut.”

Madi stepped in front of them and smiled at the guard. “Would one of you point us in the direction of an affordable inn? Preferably by the shopping district? My guard here can tip you if—”

“Move along,” one guard waved Madi through and pointed to a woman behind Daniel. “You, random spot check. Come along.”

“Davis Jergson, I will report you again,” the woman carrying a tray of vials cursed. “You can’t keep pulling me aside so your wife gets the best spot in the market. If you try—”

“Hey, Ephraim. I think this one is refusing a search. Maybe we ought to send her around to the front gate today,” Davis yelled over Orrin’s head as he snuck through as quietly as he could. The other guard spit at the ground and smiled nastily.

“Come on,” Madi grabbed Daniel’s arm and pulled. “Don’t interfere.”

Daniel frowned but allowed himself to be dragged away. His face was still contorted when he turned to complain but amazement settled over him instead as he got his first few of the interior of Mistlight.

“It’s magical,” Daniel whispered. “Beautiful.”

Orrin agreed. The majority of buildings crawling toward the sky were painted in varying shades of blue. The deep blue of the walls and streets reflected the vibrant shades of the buildings, throwing illusions of movement into every corner. The people moved around with an air of ease and calm about them, completely unlike the purpose and strong stride of the people of Dey. Orrin saw families in swimsuits, holding picnic baskets. They moved north, toward the water and Orrin could only surmise they were having a beach day. Even the vendors setting up stalls in small grooves between buildings put out their wares with a relaxed air about them. Streamers and flags flew from nearly every window and door.

The people were diverse too. Most of the people moving around wore dark shades of green, blue, and even some purple. The few people wearing more muted colors were standing around slack-jawed, taking in the sights.

“We need to get some new clothes,” Madi said to herself. “Orrin. Daniel. Stop acting like country boys and come with me.”

Orrin snapped out of it and raised an eyebrow at Daniel.

“Yes, my liege. Whatever you demand, my liege,” Daniel replied sarcastically but followed her.

Madi smirked imperiously over her shoulder. “I kind of like that. Keep it up.”

Three gold and seven silver pieces later, the trio stepped out of a clothier’s shop. Daniel kept tugging at his sleeves.

“Are you sure this color is right?”

“Purple is all the rage right now, you heard her,” Madi said, watching for an opening in the foot traffic. “Ms. Rose said there’s a good inn up this way. We can talk more once we’re settled.”

Orrin glanced at his own green shirt and thanked his luck that Madi had been focused on Daniel.

“Hurry up, you two,” Madi yelled over her shoulder.

The Dragonflight’s Inn was a step down from staying at the Catazano’s manor but they took a room for important reason. It was within throwing distance of the Sanerris castle.

On the western side of the city, the castle was made of the same blue stone as the walls. Orrin thought calling it a castle was a bit of an exaggeration but he’d grown up watching celebrities showing off their mansions. It had a lawn all the way around it, separating the main part of the residence from the rest of the city and the wall behind it. Eight towers joined together in an octagonal shape with a slightly higher tower in the middle overseeing the rest of the city. The Sanerris castle stood over Mistlight like a blue beacon.

“We can rest and eat some dinner,” Daniel said, yanking on the long sleeves of his shirt again. “Then we find a way to bust in there and free Brandt.”

“It’s surrounded by a fence and I can count ten guards from here with [Map]… I think,” Orrin countered. He sat on the bed and bounced, testing it out. “We should set up a distraction on the other side of the city and try to sneak in.”

Madi let the curtain fall from where she was spying out the window and turned to them. “Let’s make a plan.”