The alleyways of Prusha were dense with many of the alleys holding boxes and imports from other areas of the world. Some alleys led to nowhere, some were accessible to houses or stores. Most of the time, these alleys were used as shortcuts or for transportation of imported goods. But since it was winter time, these areas were piled with snow and it was hard to get through.
But right now, it was a place where a crimson was hiding. And someone was on its trail.
The blood from the man was still visible over the snow, the red blotches dribbled over the whites. I was also following the trail of crumbled snow and flattened snow of the man. Also…
Someone else was following me.
"Can't believe you're being trained by someone who works for the king!" The voice echoed behind me, I turned around to see Amelia, shuffling behind me through the snow. She had started to follow me once I began to follow the blood trail, not sure why kale didn't stop her. Now I was stuck with this Mage girl.
"Mhmm. That's my teacher…" I awkwardly said. I wasn't in the mood for any conversations, I needed to focus on the task on hand.
"Following some trails, huh? Want me to lift us up onto the roofs? It'll be easier! Ooh, it'll be like we're thieves!"
"Ugh…" I pressed forward through the snow, trying to ignore the girl's rambling.
The alley we were at came to stop, a wall blocking our path. The blood trail only led past it. How did this man get over this wall? I looked around to see any sort of way to pass this wall, but nothing seemed to aid in getting it.
However, I heard voices on the other side. It was muddled, but I could hear someone…it must be that man.q
"It's an earth spell! That wall is a beginner spell! Heh, looks like we're dealing with a mage, huh?" Amelia nudged me. "He probably made that when he was escaping! Ooh, I can show you my magic now!" Amelia then pulled out her staff from its holster on her side. "Let me help!"
I gave her an annoyed look, For someone who I think is older than me…she seems more childish than me. Her attitude towards all this was mischievous and excited, like this was some sort of game or something. But…she might provide usage with that wind spell of hers. I haven't seen Kota use any before, so I was somewhat unsure of what it'd do.
"Fine, I'll let you help. But this is serious!" Amelia nodded frantically as I said that. "What would be the best way to get over this?"
"I'm going to launch you!"
"Huh?" Was she crazy? Actually, I'm pretty sure Kota did a similar thing before to that owl monster…
"It shouldn't kill you, think of it like a high jump! You'll be able to get over it, even get to the rooftop!" Amelia aimed her staff at me. "Just make sure to have that magic cloak on! Or you'll get hurt!"
Mana cloaking was something that kale was teaching me, focusing the mana into a layer of sorts onto yourself to enhance yourself. To my knowledge, he has said that I was able to do it without any thought for some time. The last time was when I fought the owl monster, which I didn't even know I was using. When I told kale about it, he made the assumption that it was because I was a dragon hybrid, forcing me to wear a mana cloak when in any sort of real threat.
Anyways, I would say that I have a very rough idea of how to actually activate it still.
"I-I'm unsure if this'll work…" I said in a worried tone.
"Nonsense! If anything, you could land on the rooftop! I'll stay here and make sure they don't leave!" Amelia insisted.
"Couldn't we just break the wall?" I gave another option, I mean I could actually break it if I could…
"Pfft…that's not as cool as running on the rooftops, is it?" Amelia scoffed. "He won't see you if you're in the air! Now let me chant this spell!" And Amelia began to chant.
Suddenly, I felt a rush of wind come from underneath me. The cold air made me shiver as it crept up my legs. I had to take hold of my cloak to stop it from flapping as in a split second, I was in the air. Above the alleyway's wall lies an already white colored kingdom. The snow in the rooftops piled upward as I slowly found myself moving towards the nearest ledge. Amelia somehow managed to perfectly launch me up here safely, my feet landing on the rooftop of one of the buildings. I looked down below to realize that She was also correct. Past the wall, there was more to it. Further down, the alley did stop at another wall that was the kingdom's. And near that end of the wall was a man struggling to aid his wounds.
"Hup!" I heard as Amelia launched herself up the rooftop, she barely made it herself. I had to grab her hand as she looked like she was about to fall off. "Goodness! Look at this view! I didn't expect to be up here!"
"Neither did I. Let's just focus on getting the man that got your satchel." I paid no mind to her as I trudged through the snowy rooftop of this building. Luckily the rooftop was flat so I didn't need to pay mind where I stepped.
"Hey, I never got your name! I gave you mine!" Amelia said as she wobbled across the snowy rooftop. "Come on, Spill it out!"
"Why are you even following me?" I asked, turning to her. Amelia stopped dead in her walk, tilting her head at me. "We just met and somehow…you're being too Friendly…"
Amelia frowned when I said that, folding her arms. "You're being too…Un-friendly! And it also seems I've taken a liking to you as a friend."
"What?"
"You seem like you don't talk with many people. I can tell just by your body language. Let me help you!" Amelia then held out her hand in offering. "Plus, you're helping me…best if I repay you with this."
I took a step back at her offer, I should be focusing on getting this man. But hearing her say that was making me blush, someone wants to be my friend! No,no! Focus on the task at hand!
I took a glance at the ground and saw the man was still tending to his wound, a green aura surrounding his face.
"Hey! Are you paying no mi-Oh. Hey he's healing right now! Let's get the jump on him!" Amelia stumbled behind me, getting right next to me.
"We?" I looked at her. As much of a help she was with getting us up here, I see no usage of her when it came to actually taking this man down.
"Yeah, yeah! Watch! Erm…when I do this, make sure you get down there to jump him!" Amelia then aimed her Staff at the direction of the man. "Winds become mine, allow me to use nature itself to blast those away! Wind shot!" As she spoke, a blast of wind shot at a fierce rate towards the man. The force of the wind caused the snow on the rooftops to blow. As it rammed into the man, the snow beneath him blew out. It was quite impressive to look at.
Listening to what Amelia said, I looked down and made a leap. Usually a height like this would probably kill someone, but oddly I was fine with this height. I landed easily on my two feet, brushing off snow that fell around my shoulders. And now, to deal with the man.
"Mister! It seems we had some sort of confusion on where you might be going. Please, refrain from fighting so I don't have to bring you half dead…" I tried to mimic how Kale would interact with criminals he finds during his investigations. He carried a nice tone while giving out threats causally. Like he was sure he'd win.
"H-huh! Y-you! Ah, fuck off!" The man recovered from the wind blast, his face only slightly healed with blood still leaking from his mouth. "Fucking Nobles and their petty workers!"
"Err…yeah? I don't work for any nobles…" I started to walk towards the man. "Only one I consider working for is my Master Kale…"
A WOOMPH noise came from behind me, then some groaning after that. Amelia must've dropped down as well and didn't quite stick the landing. I'll take care of her once I-
A whizzing noise broke my train of thought, the man Had chanted what I assumed was an earth spell. I looked back to see a crack in the earth wall, a spike of sorts lodged in it.
That is something I should be avoiding.
"Damn it!" The man grunted, as he got into a stance. His hand opened and aimed at me.
Kale has told me about confronting mages before, it takes time for them to cast. Besides Kota, who can just do it without chanting. Always aim to close in on them, be relentless and aggressive. I gripped the helm of my short sword on my waist and dashed forward. The alley wasn't that long, but it was enough space for this man to do at least one more spell.
"Gah!" The man began to panic as I closed in, but he frantically tried to chant a spell. "The earth beneath me, lend me a piece and protect me. Stone cannon!" As he finished, a long spike of sort formed in front of his palm that was held for a moment before being fired.
With a quick flick of the wrist, I opened the holster of my shortsword. My shortsword came out with ease as I brought it up to deflect the spike, shifting the spikes trajectory to the left of myself. Amelia was out of harm's way since she was on my right. The spike then dug right into the wall with a thud noise. The man panicked even more as I loomed closer to him, my short sword pulled back as if I was going to strike.
"Hrraah!" I yelled, swinging my sword down at the man. But I only meant that swing to fool him. The man then immediately jerked back, tripping over himself as he tried to step back. Now on his butt, the man threw his hands up.
"Haah…Alright! I give in! I-I…just don't kill me!" The man quivered as he said that.
Still holding my sword at him, I looked back to see the Earth wall crumbling into the ground and Amelia brushing snow off herself before she ran to me.
Not taking any other chances with the man, I butted him in his head with the bottom of my shortsword. A nasty hit that rendered the man unconscious as he slumped into the snow.
"Woah, nice job!" I heard Amelia say as she walked to me. "Hmm…guess we'll need to wait for the guards to get him?" She looked around the alley to see if the guards were coming.
"No, they didn't follow us. Listen, you should find them. I'll watch this man." It shouldn't take that long for the guards to find us.
Amelia hesitated at first, but she agreed and walked through the crumbles of what was left of the earth wall.
Now to watch over this man until she comes back, I plopped myself onto a crate and kept an eye on him…hopefully she comes back fast.
***
A half an hour passed before Amelia came back with a group of guards. She followed behind them as they marched through the earth wall and noticed me.
"Oh, the girl in the market. Ain't you the one who dropped that man?" One of the guards asked before looming over the unconscious man. "Oh…you got him."
"I'm kale's apprentice. He asked me to track him." I said. The guards nodded at the name of Kale.
"I see…Well this young lady came up to us, telling us about someone getting pummeled. I thought it was a joke." One of the guards said as the others grabbed the man. "But it seems not. Good job on doing what kale usually does, us guards can't really maneuver the streets like him. He's basically one army man within the city."
"Yep. With most of us focusing on the North gate, there aren't many of us to do patrols. Now give me a hand with this guy!" One of the guards holding the man said.
As the guards grabbed the man, Amelia poked me. She had a light smile on her face as she did that.
"Couldn't find that older man with you. Kale, right? Not sure where he went, but I found the guards walking around the market." Amelia said. "Hey! Now that we got the guy, we're like a team!"
"Er…No. let's just keep it at…" Amelia's eyes shimmered at me. "…Friends…"
"Friends? But friends know each other's names! Here…" Amelia held her hand out again. "My name is Amelia, and I'd like to be your friend! Also, it's good to know a mage!"
I looked at her hand for a moment, reluctant. But…she did help me with taking this guy down, she's trying to do something useful. Perhaps I should give her a chance.
Even though I feel the negatives outweigh the positive…I grabbed her hand.
"My name is Lilith. Lilith Esheram." I introduced myself.
Amelia grinned as she shook my hand. As we shook, the guards hauled the man away in their arms. I'll need to tell Kale about this and tell him I finished the job.
"Well, Lilith! Where do you live? Surely you live in the residential district?" Amelia asked.
"Yes, I live with Kale and my…"I hesitated when I thought of Kota. What did I consider him? Friend? No…more than a friend at this point with what I did to him…Smooching is enough to pass beyond being friends, right?
"And? What's with the red face?" Amelia asked. I covered my face immediately when she said that. "Who else do you live with?"
"Er…F-friend-A friend! Someone I knew for some time now!" I frantically answered. I'll just keep it at that, no need to try to confirm things!
"Oh…I see. Well I reside in one of the Inns here, rented out a room until I graduated here. It's in the market district. You should visit! Ooh, maybe I should visit you!"
"Visit me? For what?"
"Duh, to hang out! You know…talk and eat, get to know each other! I'm guessing you don't go to the university."
"Oh…I suppose you can, but I'll need to ask Kale…" I'm sure the two wouldn't mind me having someone come over. As long as I train and do my part in the house.
"Great!" Amelia smiled and looked towards the entrance of this alley. "Well, it was fun helping you. But now that it's all done, I gotta head back to my room and rest, that duel I did in school really did a number on me! And so did that guy who tried robbing me!" She started to walk off before turning to me. "Hopefully we meet again, Lilith! My Inn is called The Adventures den, in case you do visit!"
"Oh…I'll make sure I'll visit when I can." I gave her a wave.
Amelia then quickly ran off, leaving the alley and me. I stared off into the sky, trying to figure out what had transpired. First, I made a new friend. Second, I did a job for kale. I didn't really expect this to all happen after what happened yesterday, maybe Faith is in good hands right now.
I walked past the earth Wall and out of the alley, taking a turn that would lead back to where I was before. But something felt…weird. I found myself walking before feeling a headache. It was similar to the ones I've felt before. The shuffling of feets made me whip around, looking down the other side of the alley.
For a quick moment, a woman stood peering behind one of the buildings. An owl mask over her head. Before I could say anything or do anything, she quickly vanished into the building.
"What the…?" I murmured. Was it someone who was passing by? Maybe they saw what I did. Nevermind, I gotta get back to the house before Kale gets mad…or worried. The headache of mine also seemed to be fading away.
A/N: After this chapter, the next one will be my second longest. More cutesy and character development before the major events. I'm going to start to pick up the pace so the story progresses. Hope you enjoyed this chapter!