Tia felt a wave of calm wash over her as she took in her surroundings. Flames danced menacingly around the wooden support pillars, and a thick blanket of smoke was gradually rising to envelop the ceiling of the basement.
'Shit, I should probably get out before this place collapses on my head.'
With renewed urgency, she sprinted towards the staircase flooded by smoke.
She took a deep breath, holding it in as she made her way up. She could feel the heat of the smoke wash around her skin, forcing her to close her eyes to protect them. Blindly, unable to see her path, she climbed higher and higher, step by step, the old wood creaking below her.
At last, she felt the air cool down, so she opened her eyes.
As she looked around, she could only sigh, 'There is nothing worthy of looting. What could I even find here?'
She was in a modestly furnished room. Its only features were a simple wooden table and a pristine stone oven, so untouched that it appeared to have never known fire.
'I bet that the owner liked to eat raw.'
But the smoke was relentless, pouring into the room from the basement door below her.
On instinct, she bolted for the entrance. As her eyes shimmered with intensity, a burst of telekinetic energy erupted, ripping the doors from their hinges and sending them crashing onto the street outside.
Finally, a rush of fresh, cold air filled her lungs, sweeping away the mental fog as she exited on a wide street. The night had fallen, with only a sliver of moonlight piercing through, mingling with the flickering orange inferno that raged behind her, quickly spreading through the house.
'I shouldn't linger here for too long. It is only a matter of time before someone notices this fire.' Without any hesitation, she dashed into the darkness of the night-covered street.
In the not-so-distant mansion:
POV Baron:
A man in a black suit sweated before his desk. The feeble glow of an oil lamp cast intermittent shadows across the room, revealing shelves teeming with tightly packed volumes.
"What do you mean she's vanished without a trace?" The burly, middle-aged baron, dressed in a lavish brown coat, slammed his fist against the sturdy wooden surface of his desk. The impact reverberated through the room, creating ripples in the air.
The nervous officer involuntarily jumped in response to the outburst. "Sir," he stammered, "this manaborn individual possesses a knack for evading capture. She's adept at body possession, making her exceedingly challenging to apprehend."
He frowned even further. His frown deepened, his concern for his foolish and inept son who was so stupid and dumb enough to get handy when dealing with the manaborn, 'That pervert would have only humiliated the family. That idiot has destroyed this entire deal!'
Instead, his heart smoldered with greed, his attention captivated by an enigmatic magical apparatus resting upon his table.
'They are useless! All the mages, alchemists, and enchanters! They can't even find out the magic within this.'
"Go!" he thundered, his voice charged with urgency. "I want her tied and chained before the end of this month, or I will demote you!"
'If I can catch her and turn her into my slave, I could even become a count!'
POV Tia:
The streets lay shrouded in darkness, the silence disrupted only by the distant echo of dogs barking and the rhythmic clacking of her shoes against the cobblestone.
The entire street exuded a sense of familiarity, both in its appearance and atmosphere. As she meandered through its vacant, shadow-draped lanes, her certainty about this feeling only deepened.
'It should be alright as long as I keep this appearance.'
Aware of how complex and expensive spatial storage tools were, she understood that acquiring them by just walking into some random store was likely an unattainable feat.
'Not everything can be bought with just gold. In my old world, they were highly restricted. Also, connections are needed here.'
She quickly made a mental list in her head, 'Nobles and high-ranked magic users are most likely to have them.' A frown appeared on her face, as they were the exact kind of people she wanted to avoid.
Her familiarity with the town was insufficient, and the intricacies of the local society's norms eluded her grasp. Adrift and constrained by the urgency of her situation, she found herself in a state of being lost.
There was only a single hope for her, 'A black market—if someone has access to such restricted goods, then it would be them.'
Abruptly, her gaze alighted upon a nearby storefront and sparkled with intrigue. A mannequin adorned in a long, ebony traveling gown reminiscent of the Victorian era, coupled with tall black boots and a refined black hat, captured her attention.
Casting a disapproving glance at her own blood-stained and ragged attire, she mused, 'I can't walk like this, nor can I wear clothes from my world.' Even though she tried, it proved shockingly hard to hastily gain an antique and otherworldly-looking dress back in her world.
Her gaze involuntarily gravitated towards the exquisite dress, and a soft smile graced her lips as a gulp of longing escaped her. Despite her dire circumstances, her inner girlhood yearned for a touch of refinement and the desire to be pretty.
'Yup, I will get some acceptable clothes, find some low henchmen, beat them up, threaten them, and maybe torture them a bit. They will lead me to their boss, and I will buy information!' With grim determination, a ruthless strategy began to take shape in her thoughts.
A confident smile played on her lips, and a glimmer of excitement illuminated her gaze as she advanced toward the entrance of the store. A soft chuckle escaped her at the sight of the antiquated, rudimentary lock. Extending her hand towards her wand, she grasped it and aimed at the lock.
Subtle threads of imperceptible force extended from her wand, delicately infiltrating the lock. Her consciousness connected with each pin, discerning its location and condition.
'What is a small theft when compared to all of the deaths I have caused?'
In the hushed embrace of the night, a muted click reverberated, followed by the doors smoothly pivoting on their hinges.
A tiny bell suspended above the entrance chimed, prompting Tia's eyes to widen in astonishment.
A female voice came from the inside, sending a jolt of panic down her spine. "Who is there?"