"Where did she go?" the Lesser Celestial who had been tracking Maia frowned in confusion and came out into the open. For a few minutes he had followed her without any major issues. However, the girl had suddenly disappeared.
"Dammit!" the man screamed uncouthly as his search yielded no fruit. He tracked back to where he came from, and even went as far as investigating the alleys in the area, yet he came up short in both departments. The girl had suddenly disappeared.
"Nola is going to have my head," the Lesser Celestial shivered in fear before sighing and giving up. It was better to face the music now than to wait for Nola to catch up and play an entire album for him. He gave the place another cursory glance, looking intently into the alley that Maia had disappeared into, before finally deciding on leaving.
"She is good," he acknowledged before his figure flashed a few times and he left. By now he had realised that the girl wasn't as naïve as Nola thought. She may be carrying the aura of a noble, but she was certainly no fool.
About a minute after his disappearance, the Lesser Celestial appeared again. "Still no signs of her," he mumbled. He hadn't really left. His announced departure was nothing but a bait. But it had failed. It was either that Maia was too smart to be deceived by such a childish trap, or she really wasn't here.
"Back again I guess," the man who was every bit as large as any other Celestial shook his head in pity, before leaving again. However, just like before he was back after a few minutes. The first time he returned after only a minute, but this time he was back in two.
After scanning the place once again, he left with a forlorn expression on his face. Some hints of desperation and fear could be discerned from his aura. Nola was a merciless leader, and a mistake like losing a mere Earth Realmer was not going to go unpunished. He couldn't help but shiver slightly at the prospect of falling into the hands of one of the 5 Rulers of the Outer City. This time when the man was leaving, he walked away. And peace returned to the alleyway – for 10 seconds. Unlike the first few times, the man's return was even shorter. He was hoping that Maia was going to try to escape with the limited time that she had. His first few departures were only meant to be baits, drawing Maia into calculating the time he took before his returns. And the last one was meant to be the real deal. However, he had failed once again. For Maia didn't buy it – that is, if she was still around.
"Ahh!" the man screamed in anger and struck the nearby building. His fist effortlessly made its way past the walls and completely destroyed the building's foundation, effectively turning the poor chap who wasn't home into a homeless person as it came crushing down. At least this person got to keep his/her life.
After seething for a while, the man left. 15 minutes after his departure, the one whom he had been trying to capture appeared from within the building's rubble. A faint white light shielded her from the debris and kept her safe. In fact, her clothes were without a single speck of dust.
'Are you sure that it's okay to come out now?' Reiki asked. The man had feigned his departure so many times that the Eternal Throne wasn't sure if he was really gone this time. And he wondered why his mistress was so sure that it was okay to come out.
'He is gone this time,' Maia however, was completely confident in her actions. There wasn't a trace of doubt in her mind, neither was there any hesitation in her decision to leave.
'How are you so confident he won't return?' Reiki wondered.
'Because he told us. The first time he left too quietly. His second departure was just as quiet, but his third departure was noisy. It wasn't simply because he was trying to trick us. He clearly doesn't have the brightest of minds. He was genuinely terrified. His shaking body was no act. And his frustrated punch was also a sincere expression of his emotions.'
'It still isn't enough to explain why you think it is okay to come out this time?' Reiki argued. What Maia said was good and all, but they were merely circumstantial. There was no real evidence.
'Because he foolishly destroyed a building. This is the territory of one of the 5 Rulers of the Outer City –Fist Mind. His name should tell you that he does very little thinking. Destroying property here is one thing, but staying longer and getting yourself caught it another.' Maia explained further, and this time Reiki didn't question her.
'How did you know that they will follow you?' Reiki went another way with his curiosity this time. He still couldn't wrap his head around the last few series of events. His Master had so expertly evaded the watch of a man who was a full realm stronger than her, and he just couldn't understand how she was able to do it.
'Because I knew who they were before I even approached them,' Maia smiled briefly underneath her hood and quickly made her way out of the alley. She was still shrouded in Reiki's light just to be safe, making her invisible to the normal human eye. However, any Heaven Realmer will be able to make her out as long as they were actively searching for her.
'You did?' Reiki asked in surprise.
'Yes,' Maia nodded her head. She didn't just enter a random bar. And she didn't just 'happen' to run into a group that knew all about the trials. She didn't pick her best robe to wear for this occasion just because she had nothing better to do. She didn't turn to wave when she was leaving because she enjoyed their company, but to present an image of naivety and ignorance she hoped they would pounce on. She wasn't some teenager who depended entirely on luck. And fate was definitely not kind to fools. Be ignorant and fate will abandon you.
Maia knew who Nola was. She knew that she could get the information she sought from the woman regarded as one of the 5 Rulers of the Outer City – the Scheming Empress. Of the five, she was the one with the greatest intelligence and knowledge. Her network was so widespread that even the inner city was entangled in her web. Surely she wasn't nearly as influential in the Inner City, but how many of the Rulers could boast of such an achievement?
Maia had only three good robes. She left most of her clothes in her kingdom. Most of what she possessed she bought along the way. They were largely inferior clothes and kept her away from the greed of men. However, she did pick a few good clothes for occasions like these. And time proved that her actions were right on the money. But she didn't only pick Nola for her knowledge. She picked the Scheming Empress because there was something she wanted from the lady.
'Why would you go through all that trouble when you could have purchased that information with money you have? After all, information vendors abound plentifully in this city.' Reiki continued with his questioning. By now the nimble legs of Maia had carried her all the way to her inn, and into her room. Sitting upon her bed with walls all around her eased Maia's rapidly pounding heart somewhat.
'Because of this,' Maia retrieved a ring from her robe and set it upon her bed. The ring wasn't what she had taken from Nola. It was a storage ring and Maia had hidden it to prevent Nola from tracking her by chasing after the owner of this ring. For this ring was too catchy to be worn in public, especially when going on a mission such as this – where secrecy was of the highest requirement.
Maia reached into the ring with her mind and retrieved that which she had toiled for.
'A stone?' Reiki asked in puzzled wonder as the light of the Eternal Throne reached out from Maia's back and covered the stone.
'No wait!' Reiki suddenly exclaimed in astonishment. 'This is no ordinary stone' Reiki was dumbfounded. 'This is Devilstone!' he screamed, finally understanding why Maia had risked herself so, just to sit at that table. Devilstone, one of the 7 Great Mysteries of the World. A stone impossible to find, and too rare to fabricate.
'How were you able to take devilstone out of the possession of a Heaven Realmer?' Reiki further questioned.
'Easy,' Maia chuckled, her laughter like a refreshing well that restored the soul of any who heard it. How unfortunate it was however, that the only person here was a Divine Artefact who cared not for the beauty of a woman's charms.
'The alcohol,' Maia answered.
'You laced it?' Reiki was stunned. Maia didn't have any interactions with the bartender, and Reiki will know this. After all, he was with her the entire time. Unless Maia was a secret Telepath, that was impossible. And Maia certainly wasn't stupid enough to do so anyway since that would have led to a loose end that could have easily been followed by Nola. So how was she able to lace the drinks without any of the Celestials noticing?
'Sense Stabber. I applied it the moment I arrived at the table.' Maia answered.
Sense Stabber was a substance that possessed no real levels of toxicity. It didn't harm nor did it lower the defense mechanisms of anyone. It was actually a drug meant for…uh…recreational purposes. But it was quite rare. And it reduced the senses of its target for a while.