Eliza breathed a sigh of relief as she neared the top of the hill. Up ahead, she could see that Leah and Leo had stopped, equally exhausted by the climb. She planted the butt of her spear into the ground, leaned her forehead into it, wiped the sweat from her brow, and rested for a moment to catch her breath.
Her legs felt like lead, and she had almost passed out several times on her way through the city. The only thing that had kept her moving was the thought of sinking into her bed. That, and not dying to some random demon that was lurking about.
She looked back down the hill to see where Demitrus was at. He was struggling to climb the hill, obviously more exhausted than she had thought. He was hunched over, a grimace of pain evident on his face as he limped toward her.
Eliza turned her gaze to look over the city sprawled out in the cavern below. Even now, the scope of this city surprised her. She looked to where they had come from; that part of the city now lit up due to them accomplishing their mission. Seeing the light, she felt a slight feeling of satisfaction. With the leftover feelings from overcoming the Wraith, Eliza felt pretty good.
She had a few questions about what had happened in the fight. In particular, Demitrus’s usage of illusion magic. While his ability to use minor illusions meant he had a natural affinity towards it, creating an illusory clone of someone else was an entirely different matter. It meant that a god or something had enabled him to cast a higher-level illusion. His exhaustion and injuries suggested he had used the higher-tiered illusion magic without a god's blessing like Leo had used his Ki, which means that he most likely had an artifact that amplified his abilities. If that was the case, he was much more dangerous than a mere thief.
She turned to look back at him in time to see him stagger and fall forward; he tried to catch himself but failed, face-planting into the trodden dirt path right next to her. He let out a small groan as he struggled to push himself up.” “Blasted hill,” he grumbled.
Eliza looked down at him dumbfounded. Before she could stop it, a small giggle escaped her lips. She shook her head and dispelled the thoughts clouding her mind. The threat his magic posed aside; he had used it to save her. His state right now was a clear case of magic overextension. Meaning that he was like this because he had saved her.
Using her spear to support herself, she crouched down and extended a hand to help him, “Still think you could’ve carried me out of here?” She said with a soft smile.
Demitrus pushed himself up until he was resting on one knee, his usual smile returning to his face. He reached his hand out towards hers. However, he didn’t take her proffered hand; instead, he went past it and flicked her on her forehead. She lurched backward in surprise and, losing her balance, fell back onto the ground.
Slowly standing up, Demitrus looked down at her with that annoying smile on his face, “Look who’s talking.” He said before continuing to limp up the hill.
She grumbled as she pushed herself up and followed after him, fighting back the growing urge to punch him.
They soon managed to catch up to the twins just as they neared the outpost. The guards launched into a flurry of movement when they approached, and she saw many eyes focused on them.
“Crap, it's Dale,” Demitrus muttered.
“Great.” Leo managed to get out, his face contorted in pain.
They approached the steps entering the mausoleum, but the foremost guard stopped them.
“Identify yourselves.” a middle-aged guard with a scraggly beard demanded.
“You know who we are, Dale; let us in,” Demitrus said.
Dale let out a sigh of disappointment, “Ah, Demitrus is it? You and your group were reported most likely dead by the captain a little bit ago; a pity, he got my hopes up.” he said before a look of anger crossed his eyes, “How about this? Tell me where you hid my socks, and I'll let you in.”
Demitrus dramatically clutched a hand to his heart and leaned forward, hiding his face, “I'm hurt. How could you think I would do such a thing. I thought you knew me better than that.” his voice sounded as if he was on the verge of tears.
“Stop the dramatic bull crap; I know it was you. Only you would think of doing such a thing!” He yelled, spittle flying out of his mouth.
Demitrus looked up with a sneer on his face, “ Do you have any proof?” he asked, all pretenses gone.
Dale’s face flushed red.
“You're not helping Demitrus,” Leah murmured to Demitrus before yelling, “Just let us in, Leo is injured, and he needs to rest.”
When she spoke, Gary strode out of the mausoleum, a swagger in his steps causing his immaculate armor to clank with every movement.
“Was that you that I heard, Leah? What a relief, I must say; I had heard that you were dead! It would’ve been a shame for the world if you had died so young.” He said as he dramatically sighed and strutted up next to Dale.
He looked over the rest of the group, and Eliza thought she saw disappointment when his gaze passed over her, “Worry not; we’ll get you in just a moment.” He shot a wink at Leah.
“T-Thanks, Commander,” Leah said with a twitching smile, barely hiding her disgust.
“But Sir!” Dale protested but was cut off by Gary, who placed an arm around Dale’s shoulders.
“Nuh uh, Dale, Let girl and her teammates through the gate; I’m sure you understand me,” Gary said with a bright smile.
Dale was trembling in barely restrained rage, “Ye-Yes, sir.” he managed to get out.
“Now that's a good boy,” Gary said as he patted Dale on the cheek with one hand and stepped away. He then looked over at Leo with a bright smile.
“Since The Duke of Fyre’s son has yet to wake up, we’ll be holding the de-brief and handing out rewards for a completed mission when he wakes up. I suggest you rest up before then,” he said before turning and striding back into the mausoleum.
Eliza looked over at Leah in concern. Leah’s eyes met hers, and she slightly shook her head and started helping Leo up the steps.
Slowly they made their way through the outpost and the tunnel before they handed in their weapons and armor at the gate. They were then let go.
Eliza stepped out after the others and sucked in a deep breath of the fresh chilly air of early winter. She followed along with the others letting the little warmth of the midday sun warm her tired body.
They crossed the field and started walking through the tents. People moved out of their way as they came across them.
A little uncomfortable with the silence, Eliza asked the first question that came to her mind to break the tension; Eliza asked the only question that came to her mind, “Uh, Demitrus, Why does that guard think you took his socks?
“Ah, That's because I did,” he responded smugly.
“...Why?”
“He was the guard handing me my clothes when I first came here.” He said as if that explained everything.
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“So you took his socks because…?” Eliza asked
“The entire time he gave me my stuff, he wouldn’t shut up about the different designs on his socks. If I remember right, he said four times that I would never have socks better than his. So I took them and burned them.”
“...I see” Eliza made a mental note to be careful about what she mentioned to Demitrus.
“I remember that; he did it to me as well. He had it coming.” Leah chimed in.
Leo coughed and then spoke with a pained grin, “ I couldn’t tell the difference between his socks, and I let him know as much; he wasn’t happy.”
The entire thing was so absurd that Eliza couldn’t help but giggle. She raised a hand to cover her mouth and said, “that's ridiculous.”
They came to the tent; Eliza and Demitrus held the tent flaps to make way for Leo and Leah.
Once the twins were inside, Demitrus smiled and waved his hand into the entrance Giving Eliza as dramatic of a bow as he could pull off in his condition.“After you, My Lady.”
Eliza sighed and went in first, too tired to deal with his antics. She went over to her bed and plumped down onto the rough mattress. Almost immediately, she wanted to fall asleep, her body realizing it didn't need to work anymore. But there was one thing she needed to ensure before doing so.
She turned to look over at Leah, laying her brother down on his bed. “How’s he looking?”
Leah straightened up before she responded. “He should be fine. He just needs to rest.”
“I see; how're you holding up? You know, with Gary?” Eliza asked concerned
Leah sighed deeply and walked over to her bed, “He hasn’t done much more than that, so I’m fine.”
“I see; I’m already trying to find a way to get back at him; let me know if you have any ideas,” Eliza said as she laid back on her bed.
“How about we put a Rakna spit sack in his boots?” Demitrus said from the side. Eliza looked over to see him pull out a sack of Rakna spit that it seemed the guards at the checkpoint had missed. He casually tossed it up and caught it again before storing it in the small chest beside his bed.
The thought of Gary being unable to pull his boots off as the spit burned his legs caused a shudder of excitement to go through Eliza; she sat up and looked at Demitrus with an excited gleam in her eyes, “That sounds like an excellent idea. When can we pull it off?”
He raised an eyebrow, “you’re quite excited all of a sudden. Do you hate him that much?”
Eliza snorted, “He made a point of humiliating me by stealing my family pendant, and by wearing it, he’s constantly mocking my family and me. What do you think?”
Leo audibly shifted into a more comfortable position drawing everyone’s attention, “I’ll tear out his gawking eyes and throw him into a pit of Raknas. Maybe then he’ll learn what it means to mess with my family.” he mumbled and fell asleep before anyone could respond.
The tent fell into an awkward silence as they all looked at Leo.
Leah broke the silence by bursting into laughter and sitting down on her bed. She wiped a tear from her eyes and said, “Thanks, guys, I mean it; right now, I want to get some rest before the meeting later, so ill turn in here. ” She laid back on her bed and buried herself in her blanket.
Demitrus looked at Eliza, “I’ll see what I can do; for now, let's just get some rest.”
Eliza didn’t need any more motivation to sleep, so she laid back down and closed her eyes. A small smile came to her face as she let her mind drift, thinking about different ways to make Gary suffer. A warm and pleasant feeling filled her heart for the first time in a long time, and she slipped off into the darkness.
*****
Eliza jolted awake a couple of hours later and groggily sat in bed. Looking around, the tent was empty other than Leo, who was still knocked out in his bed. She threw her leg over the side of the bed and stretched her sore muscles, pushing the fog out of her mind. Once done, she stood up and made her way out of the tent.
She looked up at the sun's position in the sky and judged that she still had a few hours until the evening. Unsure of what to do, she looked around at the people around her.
There were far fewer people walking in between the tents than there had been the first time she had come here. They all moved towards the food area, with a few meandering here and there. Most appeared to be relatively clean. She looked down at herself and realized how much dirt and grim she had accumulated over her time in grimhold. She looked around the camp as far as she could see to see if there was a place she could clean up. Not seeing any, she decided to ask the nearest person and looked around.
She saw a burgundy hair-colored lady who looked to be in her mid-twenties happily engaged in a conversation with another blond-haired girl who looked to be the same age. They would do.
Eliza approached, and she didn’t go unnoticed; the blond-haired woman's eyes widened in shock when she saw Eliza. Before the blonde could warn the other lady, Eliza spoke, “Excuse me, could I get some directions to where I can clean myself up?”
The burgundy-haired woman didn’t notice the blond’s reaction and pointed towards the western part of the camp. She turned to look at Eliza simultaneously as she said, “ The river is tha-.” Then her eyes fell on Eliza’s long black hair, and she immediately went silent. She stumbled back a few feet, shock in her eyes.
Before the lady could say anything, Eliza flashed them a smile and said, “ Thanks!” She then walked off in the direction the lady had indicated. Once she was far enough away, the smile fell away.
She made her way through most of the camp and eventually came to the small, rapidly moving stream that cut through the tent area. Kneeling down, she cupped some water and washed the dirt off her face. The water was ice cold, and instantly the remaining grogginess fled away. After a few minutes, she cleaned as much dirt off her skin and clothes as possible.
Her mind wandered back to the fight with the Wraith. She had almost died; her hands trembled slightly, not due to the cold water. It wasn’t her first near encounter with death, but it didn’t make it any easier.
Looking over herself once again, she concluded that she probably wouldn’t get much better than this.
She stood up and thought about what to do next as she shook the water off her hands. Her stomach grumbled, and she again looked up at the sky. It should be just about time for dinner.
Passing through the tents, she heard a familiar voice talking to someone else who sounded familiar. She walked towards them and stopped when she got close enough to realize who they were. It was Demitrus and Lycus. They hadn’t seen her yet, and she hid behind a nearby tent. She could barely make out their conversation.
“Where is it? I know you hid it somewhere.” Lycus demanded in his gruff voice, holding Demitrus by the collar.
“What’re you talking about? the job was a trap; why else would I be here?” Demitrus flippantly responded.
“Don’t give me that bullcrap. You and I know you're good enough not to be caught by low nobility like them.”
“My skills aside, here I am. I’m sorry to tell you, but the book wasn't there. On my honor.”
“Honor? You have no honor. When I find it, you're done for kid.” Lycus then shoved Demitrus, who stumbled back a few steps. Lycus stormed off towards another part of the camp while Demitrus dusted himself off.
“How long are you going to hide back there, Eliza?” Demitrus calmly asked as he turned to look directly at her with his usual smile.
Caught, Eliza stood up and warily walked around the tent until she stood before him. Knowing that she had witnessed something she probably shouldn't have, she carefully watched Demitrus to see how he would act. He was unreadable as always.
“How did you know I was there?” Eliza asked.
“You're from the Silverian Empire; You stick out like a sore thumb. Only an amateur wouldn’t know you were there.”
“I can’t be that bad. Lycus didn’t seem to notice.”
“As I said, an amateur,” He said as he lightly leaned back on a nearby tent pole, “ So, how are we going to resolve this? I need you to be silent about this whole affair, and I’d rather not kill you.”
Eliza let out a small incredulous laugh and waved him off. “As if you were capable of killing me.”
He raised an eyebrow and smiled, “Are you sure about that?”
Hiding her nervousness, she smiled back at him, “ I’m sure. Besides, you stole something from some noble. Considering where we are, that might as well be benign.” Eliza started walking towards the food area.“ Want to go get some food?”
“Hold up; You're not repulsed by me stealing from the nobility?” Demitrus asked, stepping out in front of her to block her path.
Eliza raised an eyebrow and evenly met his gaze, “We’re in a camp surrounded by what I presume to be murderers, traitors, and even possibly rapists. Out of all of those, why would I be concerned about you stealing from nobility?”
Demitrus went to say something but then stopped himself. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, “I forgot, you're not from around here, so you wouldn’t understand.”
Somehow that pissed Eliza off, “What was that?”
“Nothing, nothing; I’ll take you up on that offer for food; let's go.” He said, smiling, She internally sighed in relief, and they both left towards the food area.
“Ah, before I forget, could I ask a question?” in the corner of her eye, she saw Demitrus slightly tense up.
“Sure, can’t promise I’ll answer you, though.” He said cautiously.
“Are you able to cast higher illusions?” Eliza asked, carefully watching him; depending on how he reacted, she could find out how willing he was to trust her.
“Why do you think I can use higher illusions?” Demitrus asked without any emotion in his voice.
Eliza shrugged, “It would explain why I saw an image of myself getting crushed underneath the Wraiths tendrils; you’re the only one I know of in the camp who can even use illusion magic. Plus, you clearly were suffering from magic exhaustion after the fight.“
He was silent for a few moments, “what would you do if I said yes?”
“Not much; I would appreciate how much effort you went through to help me out.”
“Would I be able to get something for that appreciation?”
“Sure, why not?”
He quietly walked alongside her for several moments, clearly weighing it over. Finally, he came to a decision.
“If you put it that way, then I admit it was I,” Demitrus said, his smile widening. “ How are you going to show your appreciation?”
She slowed to a stop, and Demitrus came to a halt as well.
“Come closer,” she said, keeping her face blank and passive.
Demitrus shortened the distance between them with a raised eyebrow. “What, are you thinking of giving me a kiss?” She held up a hand when he stood about a step away, stopping him.
“In your dreams.” She snorted, “ Show me your arm.”
Confused, he exposed his arm, “Like this?” he asked.
“Yes,” Eliza said, then she punched his upper arm. It wasn’t nearly as hard as she would’ve liked, but it served its purpose. She clasped her hands behind her back and continued to walk.
Eliza didn’t see him smile ruefully as he rubbed his arm where she had hit him, “You have quite the way of expressing your appreciation; you did something similar to Leo earlier,” He said, following behind her.
“That was for the flick earlier. You got something else for my appreciation.”
“What's that?”
Eliza smiled; she continued walking for a few steps before she turned back and showed him a genuine smile, “I’m sure you’ll figure it out soon. Thank you for saving my life; I mean it.”
Demitrus stopped in his tracks for a moment, His eyes widening. Eliza turned around and continued walking towards the food area, and for the first time in a long while, she unconsciously began happily humming to herself.