NOVEL WEB Chapter 1773 City in Sight
--- Lily ---
Once they got back onto the road it was just a matter of passing the time. Lily did occasionally carry the group with her shadows, but it was much harder to do so at speed without Kat. Instead, it was limited to at most five minute segments as a way to help the other four to get some of their stamina back… and it was a tough run.
Lily and co passed a number of other people travelling along the road, even those heading towards the city. They outpaced some horses in order to try and make it there before too long. When it came time to rest at night the other four collapsed. Lily was tempted to do the same but, just in case, she decided to keep a watch over the night.
Nothing attacked them in the end… but there was more than one sapient scout that approached the tent. Lily would simply flare her shadows and make them all lean towards the person once she spotted them and they'd back off. Lily wasn't sure what she would've done if they pressed the issue… but nobody did.
Once morning came, Lily took the chance to rest up. She ended up getting carried by Gareth, the least tired of the group all the way up to lunch time. After a quick break for food Lily was back running alongside them but her transformation alongside her increased Rank meant she just didn't feel the effort in the same way the other four did.
They were getting close to the city as the sun started to set, and that triggered a fairly predictable conversation. "We're still a good five hours from the city, at least," stated Gareth. "That means getting to the city before passing out is possible… but we'll be looking for a place to stay in the dark and that might take hours as well. So, should we pitch a tent or make the last push?" asked Gareth.
Lily transformed and glanced around. Already at the sides of the road were quite a few different caravans and groups that had decided to simply rest for the day. Then again, if they were slower then her own group they might not make it before midnight or something else ridiculous. "I don't really mind," said Lily. "I might love to sleep often but I don't NEED it. I'm also not as exhausted as you lot and really, I'm a cat so I can sleep anywhere if push comes to shove. I'll leave it up to you guys,"
"Not idea," muttered Gareth. "You're the tie breaker if we need it,"
"I say we keep pushing forward," added Green. "I want to be able to just laze around all day tomorrow, and the next day, and the day after that. Just keep resting until the tournament starts back up. Maybe do a little practice at some point. Plus, if we get there tonight we can just sleep in tomorrow,"
"I'd like to wait," said Nixilei. "Assuming Kat is released after being held for exactly forty-eight hours it's entirely possible that she could meet us at the city entrance. It would mean not pushing quite so hard tomorrow, but that's a bonus in my eyes,"
"Fuck that," grumbled Kress. "I'm with Green. We get this done tonight so that we have one less thing to worry about,"
Gareth sighed, "Honestly I'm not too concerned either way. Certainly not enough to force a tie here. Let's keep going then. Lily, please by on lookout for us. The roads are enchanted and busy so they're normally quite safe but that safety does lessen at night,"
"Sure thing," said Lily as she snapped into a salute with a cheeky smile on her face. The rest of the group sighed as they stretched a bit, not really wanting to keep going but knowing it was probably for the best.
Soon they were all back running towards the city once again. Lily continued to help left them up every now and again, trying out different formations of shadows to see what would cost her the least amount of mana. Surprisingly the fact it was night time didn't provide a significant reduction. Heck, it might not have done anything in truth. Lily hadn't exactly had time to directly compare the cost. Something she really should do at some point.
When they made it over the lip of the crater, or rather cut through it because of the road, Lily felt a wave of intense mana pass over her, nearly causing her to stumble. Lily quickly ran past the others and transformed, "What the heck was that?"
"The cities defences," said Nixilei. "It's designed to keep monsters out… and rumour has it they have a siege mode for sentients but it's never been used. At least, not in recorded history,"
"It felt like I was running into a wall!" hissed Lily. "What the heck do they power it with?"
Nixilei shrugged, "The mana in this area is rather concentrated. I suspect that can do the heavy lifting… and they might also be tapping into the lava underneath the city. Not sure if there is any, and I can't remember the last time this place erupted… but it IS a volcano crater so I can see some genius working out a way to use the heat from it to power some advanced wards," Lily wasn't sure how likely that was, but she trusted Nixilei's knowledge of enchanting was stronger then her own. With her questions answered… it was back on the run.
The others were starting to flag though. Nixilei was hiding it the best but Lily could smell it somehow. The poor healer was completely exhausted and had taken to lightly healing herself to continue running. Lily had no idea how mana efficient that was or if it was safe at all… but she was doing it.
Gareth was fine. He was used to running around in heavy plate and hadn't been wearing it since they exited the forest. He could clearly keep up with the demand and Lily wasn't worried about him at all. Kress was doing alright as well Lily wasn't sure what made him so much more capable then Nixilei, especially when she was using healing magic to help but he seemed fine.
Green was wavering a bit. She looked exhausted but didn't smell it the same way Nixilei did. If push came to shove, Lily was sure that Green would manage, but it was odd that she was playing it up like that. It really just meant wasting more energy. Though perhaps that was the point, her own subtle chance at complaining a bit. Then again, she was the one who first pushed for the night time track.
Eventually though, after five and a half hours of running they made it to the main gates. They didn't exactly protect much because there was no wall, but there was some fancy stone pillars and a gap for the road. The guard house let out a soft, blue light as they hung around along the road.
They were ready to continue inside when one of the guardsmen blew out a whistle to attract attention. "Excuse me, are you four the adventurers Nixilei, Gareth, Green and Kress?"
Nixilei frowned at the fact no last names had been brought up, for Gareth and Green especially. "Yes? What seems to be the problem?"
"Your all under arrest for the escape of your companion, Kat, from their holding cell. Please do not resist and should it be found you will be released back into the city," stated the guard.
Nixilei whirled over to Lily who quickly shook her head. Kat was very much still inside the cell and having a great time. She'd been learning a variety of songs on the harmonica and more than a few customers had 'snuck' into the jail part of the inn to listen in better. Hey Kat, apparently you've escaped your confinement!
[Um… what? Pretty sure I'm still there. I even resisted the urge to sneak out and get a glass of water before heading back in. I thought it'd be hilarious… and scare a bunch of people so I didn't.]
Hmmm… that's very much not good then.
Nixilei frowned at Lily's shake of her head. "I have it on good authority that our companion remains in custody, but I also know that she wasn't actually arrested for anything at the time. What right do you have to deny us entry?"
The guard frowned hard at that and moved back behind the guard station while keeping a firm eye on all four of them. A moment later he brought out a stack of four papers. Each with a large shot of Nixilei, Gareth, Kress, and Green with NOTICE OF APPREHENSION stamped in bright red lettering at the top. The reason, that Kat had escaped was outlined at the bottom. Lily had needed to hop up onto Gareth's shoulders to see as much. The guard shrugged. "Look, I don't know why I got these, and if it's true this Kat is still in custody… we have a problem. That being said… I have my orders so I'm in a tough spot here,"