"I will try to help as much as I can, but crossing the border back into Faelion will be even harder then when I first left, since they will be even more on guard then they were the last time." Duvainion explains.
"Right. But there just might actually be a place where we could be able to cross over the border, a bit more safely."
"Really, where?"
"Yeah. I haven't exactly been there before, but I have definitely heard others talking about the place, before. I'll show you on a map." Nicholas then starts to rummage through his bag some, soon pulling out a small map. He opens it, and shows it to Duvainion. "This map only shows Adororia, but it also shows outlines of what's along the borders of the bordering countries. Here, see?" Nicholas points to an amazingly vast forest that spans large amounts of land across both Adororia and Faelion. "People usually avoid entering, or even getting anywhere near, this forest. They say that it's cursed. But there are others that believe it to be protected, instead. But whichever the answer may be, that is our best bet in getting back into your kingdom unseen."
"Okay. But... After that...?"
"Well, knowing those Orcs, they most likely would have moved into your capital and palace. So that'd be our next destination. Although getting into there will definitely be much more difficult." Nicholas just thinks.
"...Well, there was a secret passage that we used before to escape the first time. But I don't know if it can be opened from the outside entrance or not." Duvainion offers an idea.
"That may just work. Do you remember where it is?" Nicholas questions him.
"Uh... Maybe? I'd have to see the area again, though." Duvainion confesses.
"Well, that's still our best bet."
"Right."
"Anyways, I'll show you to where I've been staying, for now." Motioning for him to follow, he pulls his hood up as he heads off.
Duvainion pulls his own hood up, and then follows behind Nicholas.
After a few minutes of walking, they finally reach their destination. Though it only being a fairly run down and abandoned house at the outskirts of the city. "It's not much, but it's what I've been using as my, well, I suppose that you could call it my base of operations. Now, we need to prepare for the journey ahead of us. I don't have a lot, but I'll take what we may need with us. Do you have any money on you? So I can go to the marketplace?" He asks him, as he pulls out a pouch of money from its hiding spot.
"Oh, well, not much, honestly..." He pulls out his own small pouch of money, holding it out to him.
"Thanks." Nicholas then takes Duvainions money pouch, as well. "I'll be back, soon." Nicholas then heads out, Duvainion just watching him, silently, as he does all this.
-------
After well over an hour, Duvainion is still waiting on Nicholas, and he's starting to worry now about if he'll even be returning.
As the time that he's been waiting starts to tick into two hours now, Duvainion starts to get a bit paranoid, now.
Eventually, though, Nicholas does return, though seems to be in a bit of a rush. "Hey, sorry about taking awhile, I got what I could of what we needed, with what we had, but I might have accidentally gotten into a bit of trouble with the guards, at the same time. So, we'll have to leave now, sooner then I had initially intended, and we'll even need to sneak out, too. Come on, I know a discreet way out of the city, but we'll need to be prepared for any possible attacks, while taking the path. And no, not from the guards."
"Then... from what?"
"You'll see what, soon enough. Let's go, there's a back way out." Nicholas then heads out of the place, Duvainion following closely behind.
-------
Soon enough, they're now within a vast sewer system that runs all throughout the underground beneath the city. "Now, stay close to me, these tunnels go all throughout the city, and it's practically just one large maze, so you will get lost, if you don't know your way around down here." Nicholas explains to Duvainion.
"Okay..." Duvainion just looks around some.
After a while of walking, Nicholas soon stops.
"What is it?"
Nicholas shushes Duvainion, then whispering to him, "They're nearby..."
Just as he was about to ask Nicholas who, or what, but he then soon sees a couple large rats, generally ranging in size from between 2 to 3 feet long, not including the tail, though, which also then adds a good amount of length to its size if included, and while still being the standard dark grey color, their fur is also streaked with the occasional dark green, their beady eyes a deep red, and their drool a sickly lime green color. They don't look too physically strong, but they still somehow seem deadly, in a way. "What are those?"
"Plague Rats. They're both poisonous and venomous. So don't let them bite you." Nicholas quietly whispers the warning to Duvainion. Nicholas then pulls out a couple daggers. "You don't usually want to face these things in close up combat, but unless you have any projectiles, we have no choice.
This just worries him, but he soon attempts to concentrate his dark magic energy into a sword, like how he's seen Caleldes do in the past. Soon enough, he manages to create a short sword made from his dark energy.
Nicholas looks at this, though soon puts his consentration back onto the rats. He then throws an extra dagger that he has with him at one of the two rats, though only manages to hit it in it's shoulder, and make it angry. The two rats let out an enraged squealing wail, then start to charge towards them. The one that got a dagger in its shoulder charging for Nicholas, while the other goes for Duvainion.
This still makes Duvainion nervous, but he tries to keep his composure, and then attempts to slash at it.
Nicholas, having more fighting experience, quickly manages to kill the one going after himself, stabbing his first dagger into its stomach as it lunges at him, then his other one into its side. As it weakly tries once more, he then stabs it in the neck this time, quickly wiping any of its venomous drool off of himself, then pulling out the dagger from its shoulder, and putting it away. He then looks to Duvainion to see how he's doing, and to see if he needs any help or not.
Duvainion had managed to slash at its chest, but this wasn't enough to be able to kill it, and he's now just trying to prevent it from biting him. Though as Nicholas is about to help him out, Buddy finally reveals himself, and jumps out of Duvainions shadow, then lunging at the Plague Rat, his mouth covered in a dark energy, he bites into the rat's neck. This seems to get to the rat, and it then falls to the side, too weak now to try to attack again.
"Quickly, if you care for that wolf, wash its mouth out, now." Nicholas urges Duvainion, while handing him a pouch of water.
Without questioning him, he quickly washes Buddy's mouth out. But when he's finally done, he asks, "Why, though?"
"Because, as I said before," He then kills the one near Duvainion for good before continuing, "they're both poisonous and venomous. Their saliva is venomous, but their blood is also poisonous. They may not be too terribly strong, but that's why they're so deadly. It's just a miracle that they love these dark, damp, and enclosed spaces so much, that they don't even want to go into the city above. Anyways, conceal your little friend there, and lets get going." He then puts his remaining dangers away as well.
Duvainion just nods, letting his dark energy sword disappear for now, and having Buddy go back into his shadow. He just looks around as they head off, trying to be more wary of his surroundings now.
-------
After a few more hours of traveling, and multiple more battles with the rats, they eventually make it outside of the city walls. "I should probably apologize, huh? I never intended to get into trouble, causing us to have to leave this way. So, sorry." Nicholas confesses.
"It's fine. It was certainly... different. But at least we can finally get going, now." Duvainion admits.
"Right. And thanks. Well then, anyways, let's get going." Nicholas then starts to head off.
Duvainion nods, following behind him, and soon, Buddy then hops back out of his shadow, now that they're outside of the city.