whoosh!
A vortex of water appeared amongst some trees a short distance from lake in the elves territory. As the water settled and dropped into the the ground, Craig and Glowmyth were revealed standing together, a bit dazed.
Just like Setra had said, the teleportation was slightly inaccurate. In fact it was more than slightly, since it was supposed to at least put them Somewhere within the lake.
"I heard a noise over there."
"What are you waiting for check it out."
Two voices suddenly came from a short distance away, startling Craig and Glowmyth. Glowmyth immediately activated her invisibility to hide the both of them. With Craig's newfound power he had no aura which was an excellent perk in the current situation.
Silently and stealthily, Craig left the scene of the crime and circled around the lake back to the dock where the boats were stowed. Upon his arrival, he recognised right away, the elf who shot him was standing not far away from the dock. He was having a conversation with another elf about the situation.
Craig didn't stick around and continued moving forward, back into the ruins. After walking around for some time, he finally stumbled upon what he was looking for. 'Finally a freaking map.' He thought in ecstasy. It was a rather complex map detailing the entire Valley Of Desolation. A pity it wasn't a scroll and was etched onto a large stone tablet that he unfortunately, couldn't carry.
Since he couldn't take it with him he could only study the route that would help him to get out. 'This area in red must be where I came from. If the Lotus Pond is up here then this exit to the west should be, that way." He looked in the direction derived from the map.
With Glowmyth's invisibility and his lack of aura, it was a peaceful journey from the ruin to the specified exit. It was actually a long flight of stairs etched into the side of the cliff. There were two guards standing at the bottom, idly gazing straight ahead.
As Craig approached them he waved and smiled as if trying to get their attention.
The thought of disabling her invisibility crossed Glowmyth's mind. She knew she couldn't, but she wanted to do it so badly to see the look on his face when they spotted him. Such a mischievous little devil.
Craig passed between the two guards and began climbing the flight of stairs. At this point, the sky was gradually turning from black to grey as the early hours of morning were kicking in.
After a long upward journey, Craig finally reached the top of the stairs. He slipped past the two guards who were standing watch and walked into an area that resembled an outpost. There were many houses built into trees and walkways in the air connecting them.
Other than the tree houses there were several huts and cabins built onto the ground. There were also a few tents here and there.
Craig quietly walked around the area till he found a good place to hide, behind some barrels and the stem of a tree. "I'm not sure if she's in this area but look around for my companion a bit." He whispered to Glowmyth in a low voice.
She nodded and left, whizzing from building to building, window to window in search of Maeli.
Without Glowmyth Craig was visible but his hiding spot was perfect since it was highly unlikely that someone would randomly appear there. It didn't take too long before Glowmyth returned and shook here head. "She's not here. This is just the first area in this place. From above I could see many areas like this one, all interconnected like a maze." She explained.
A maze? How troublesome was this place. Craig hoped that things wouldn't get complicated. He'd been in this place long enough and was quite tired of it.
Invisible again, they slithered through the buildings till they entered another area that was twice as large as the previous one. Just like before Craig found a suitable place to hide and waited for Glowmyth to return from searching for Maeli's whereabouts.
She also turned up empty handed and they moved again to another area. They repeated this a total of nine times before Glowmyth finally returned and said, "I Think I found the room she was in, but it was empty. There was no one inside."
'If she's not there, then where could she have gone? Did they move her? Did she step out on her own?' Without knowing her situation Craig couldn't figure out what happened. 'Maybe she was still in there and just chose to hide, pretending to have escaped to get them to let their guard down.' A series of thoughts ran through his mind.
It was already bright out, half the sun had risen from behind the mountain. Elves had begun moving about, making things a bit more troublesome. Even with the invisibility and lack of aura, a door opening on its own was bound to catch someone's attention. Craig wanted to head to the chamber and search for clues. At least he would probably figure out what happened.
"Who was that leaving with Lord Eric. I've never seen her before, she's quite a beauty." An elf's words caught Craig's attention.
"I don't know but there's something off about her. She seems unhappy and disturbed." Another elf replied.
"Well, whatever I'm sure we'll see her again sometime if Lord Eric has anything to say about it."
"Yeah, we hardly get any visitors here. Other than Hora and the others I haven't seen another woman in years."
Their voices grew distant as they walked further and further away.
'This Lord Eric should be the one who was underground with those other two. Could she be the one who's with him?' Craig looked at Glowmyth. "Find the whereabouts of that Eric person we saw underground." He ordered in a hushed voice.
Glowmyth turned invisible and left instantly. A few minutes later, she returned with good news. "I found him. He's in a carriage near the main entrance to this place preparing to leave. Your friend is also in the carriage with him. We have to hurry lest they leave without us. You can hop onto the back without anyone knowing."
Glowmyth's idea was brilliant. A perfect way out of this place. They could figure out how to rescue Maeli when they were on the road with fewer enemies.
Back invisible, Craig followed Glowmyth's directions and soon made it to the main entrance where the carriage had just passed through the gate. Once the carriage left, the elves began shutting the gate which dropped down slowly from above. In a matter of seconds it would be fully closed.
Craig who was trying to be stealthier and quieter had no choice but to run with all his might, making it just in time to dive roll underneath the edge of the nearly closed gate.
One of the elves who was standing near the gate heard a thud and saw some dust raise into the the air. With a puzzled gaze he looked at the closed gate and disappearing carriage. 'My imagination?' He thought turning his head away.
Outside the gate, Craig ran till he caught up to the carriage and jumped onto the back, grabbing onto the ledge at the top. If it weren't for the Divine Lotus slightly increasing his speed he would have never caught up to a carriage pulled by horses.
The speed of the carriage increased and it drew further and further away from the forbidden territory. Craig wondered how they were going to cross the bridge that was destroyed by them. If only he knew that this was the true exit and that roped bridge was a decoy to lead intruders to the their death.
Inside the carriage, Maeli had come to realise that very fact. After looking out the window for some time she turned to Eric and said, "So this is the actual entrance into the forbidden territory. Then that roped bridge..."
Eric chuckled. "Is also an entrance. An entrance for intruders that is. I assume you used your perception ability to get through the traps. You're really quite skilled for a handmaiden." He eyed Maeli lasciviously.
Though uncomfortable, Maeli chose to ignore his indecent staring and averted her attention from his gaze.
"But you were wrong about this being the entrance. No. It's actually the exit. It is only used for leaving the premises so anyone choosing to enter through there would be an intruder." He chose to explain freely. "The entrance is yet another location that is only used for entering and has a disguise on it as well so it can't be easily found."
Maeli couldn't help but ask curiously. "What are you all hiding in there that requires so much security? All this can't be to protect a simple Lotus Pond?"
Eric smiled but didn't give a response. Instead he changed the topic. "You should focus less on those matters and more on what you will do after returning home. I'm sure the princess is going crazy right about now, no? Had you considered her before this little journey of yours?" He inquired searchingly.
Maeli remained silent with a cold expression.
Eric laughed pleasingly. "I'll be straight with you. I don't believe you were there to simply visit the Lotus Pond as you claimed." As he said this he studied Maeli's every bit of movement. "The reason I did nothing was to keep this incident from reaching the ears of the King. Whatever your motives were I doubt he'd spare your life."
Maeli felt a surge of anxiety grip at her chest. She was no fool. She could already see the direction Eric was headed in with his words and actions. He was attempting to blackmail her but, in return for not rating her out to the king what would he want? The answer was obvious. She knew what kind of person he was after all.
He pretended to be a righteous individual in front of the people. Everyone addressed him respectfully with the belief that he was some Saint. However, there were some who knew better. Maeli was one such person who knew exactly what kind of person he was.
So many had died by his wicked hands. So many had lost their lives due to his scheming. So many women had been destroyed by him. All this was kept under wraps by the powers that be.
"So?" He continued. "I won't be asking you twice about it. Should I stop the carriage or should we keep going?" He asked with a lewd smile on his face.
With a dark expression on her face, Maeli remained silent for some time before her lips parted and she softly Said. "Stop the carriage." A stream of tears dropped down the side of her face. She wasn't crying because of what was about to happen. She was crying because she felt like a failure for letting the Princess down. 'Why did it have to end up like this?' She thought dispiritedly.
Eric whistled for the horses to come to a stop. The carriage came to a Halt in the middle of the forest path. Not a soul to be seen in either direction. It was just the two of them. Eric had no guards or any other companion since he always travelled alone. That way it was much more convenient to carry out his evil deeds.
"I always knew that one day I would have my way with you. Patience is truly a wondrous virtue." Eric muttered to himself and laughed as he stood up and walked over to Maeli, lifting her chin with his filthy hand.
Outside, Craig's anger had boiled to the limit. He had already disengaged the invisibility and stood on the side of the carriage. With his aura nullified, someone like Eric could not sense his presence.
Eric was about to begin taking off Maeli's clothes when a burst of bright light appeared in the forest. "Who's there!" He called out as he exited the carriage and pulled out two long curved daggers. He turned to look at Maeli and warned, "You better stay put." Then he dashed toward the light.