Phoenicia limped along the narrow ally using the wall as support.
She winced as an animal rushed out of nowhere and startled her.
Slowly, she slid along the wall before dropping to the floor.
With her free hand, she reached underneath her robes and undid her belt. After finagling it a little, she was able to pull out a belt with several pouches.
Opening one of the pouches, she grasped some of the powder inside.
She swore, holding a fist full of the powder before raising it over her wound.
*pap
"AAAAAAAAHHH!"
She screamed in agony as she underestimated the pain. Her eyes teared as she squeezed them shut. Her body twisted in pain.
Something tinked on the floor.
Turning her head toward the sound, she noticed a small glass bottle inside another pouch.
She stretched out a hand.
'"Never take a health potion before pursuing a target. It'll give away your position. But more importantly, it'll let them know that you lost."'
The words echoed in her brain and she shoved the bottle away.
'Dang it. Dang it. Dang it! D*** IT!!'
She writhed there on the floor, not quite bringing herself to take or ignore the option
_______________________________
Eventually, she was able to stand again.
She put on her belt gingerly as to not aggravate the wound.
Once everything was secured and combat-ready came examining the hole in her robe.
"No blood, no smell, no-"
'"Don't say things out loud while on a mission. That's idiotic! It's a good habit elsewhere though."'
'Shut up I don't need your help.'
Phoenicia retorted resentfully as she continued her check-up.
'"Never confront the target directly. Always make sure to finish them in a single blow if you can."'
'Shut up.'
She thought as she ambled through the ally, confident in her recovery for when the moment came.
'"I can't help you with that, you'll have to figure it out yourself"'
'I'll have to move in quickly before he runs away.'
'"See that's how you do it."'
'I'm not. I'm only doing this so I can face him fairly.'
She retorted as she pushed another thought to the back of her mind.
Phoenicia pulled out a compass-like device. It was an old thing made of bronze and had various dents from how many times it was dropped. The screen wasn't made out of glass but of some clear material that was, shockingly, unable to conduct magic at all. It had a blue gem set into the ring inside.
Following the pulsing gem lead her to a theater with a large amount of nobility in line.
She paused to look around at the grimy surroundings of the poor district.
'Always the slums with him.'
She thought while looking for some way inside without having to use magic.
__________________________
After a few minutes of casing the area around the theater, she finally accepted getting in line.
Could've saved her a lot of time earlier, but noooooo.
Oh, give her a break. (We're the narrators by the way)
___________________________
Another person went inside.
They were all nobility so the bouncer moved rather quickly but it would still take a while.
So Phoenicia decided to go over the plan.
'I just have to sneak in and find the secret entrance. If I can't, then I'll make one quietly.
Once I get inside, I'll go ahead and look for the stupidest cloak in the room.
After confirming that it's Grant, I'll go ahead and place sigils on the ground and lure him into stepping on one.
After that...'
She paused and suddenly the voice returned.
'"You don't have an answer do you."'
'"All this time chasing him around the city and you have no idea what to do once you find him."'
'I-I'll just figure it out when I'm there.'
Plans never survive first contact with the enemy after all.'
She started as the voice spoke in unison with her thoughts.
'"Look at you still quoting me after all this time. How cute."'
She turned her head and saw him sitting on the filthy steps of a staircase nearby.
"You're not real." She spoke with determination in her voice before immediately realizing she said that out loud.
'You're right.' He said, nodding his head and dusting himself off before standing.
'But that doesn't make it any easier does it.'
He spoke with a certain charm and tilt. Like he seemed to know everything and enjoyed dangling it over everyone's heads.
'"How cruel must the world be after all's been done."' The man said before casually hopping down the stairs.
'"To let such a madman change so much while you're left behind."'
'"How was it when you finally realized that you were never going to catch up."'
He stopped in front of her and leaned down until he phased through her and disappeared. Leaving nothing behind except a shiver down her spine.
Phoenicia froze for a moment, staring into the middle distance.
That was until someone let her know that she was holding up the line.
Brushing off her robes, she walked up to the bouncer and palmed him a wad of bills before going inside.