When I step past the last line of trees the familiar fields of grass welcome me. It’s not the same place I entered the forest obviously, still, it seems very much like human lands.

I see no settlements in the immediate vicinity of the forest and that’s somewhat understandable as beasts wandering outside are a common occurrence and villages have no walls while cities or towns don’t just spring up anywhere like weeds.

“Now, which way should I go?” I ask no one in particular.

Back when we sat in the carriage… it moved to the right of the forest, so Sereban should be that way. It’s likely closer than Granhall and the land is more densely populated near the imperial capital. Damn, it feels good being smart.

“To the right it is.” I declare.

I don’t move too far from the forest to use it as a food source if need be. Moving on the more even terrain is a lot easier and even if more boring than running for the lack of obstacles. Maybe I’m just wrong in the head, not enjoying the easy things anymore.

A road comes into sight not too long after my escape from the woods, a dirt road, one sparsely used, nevertheless it has to lead somewhere. The path curves away from the forest so I have to make a difficult decision here; stay near the forest in case I get hungry or risk it with the road and maybe find civilization.

There’s only around four hours of sunlight left of the day and I really don’t want to spend a night near the forest entirely alone, on the other hand, I hate being hungry but being killed in my sleep sounds worse… Fuck. Hopefully, I’ll meet some people on the road so it won’t be as boring, or I’ll just turn the Tempest Sprint up to maximum and see how far my mana can take me in four hours.

I throw a quick prayer to Mahat for the Solaire to stay a little longer above my head and continue my journey.

***

The dirt turned more compressed from regular use and widened with some carriage tracks appearing after it joined a few other dirt tracks just when the first of the moons, Ebon climbed over the horizon. Soon the grassy fields and wildlands turned into seas of wheat and other crops, the first signs of human activity and just the sight I was hoping for.

By now I’m tired as hell, like someone who’s been running all day. My spirited sprint has long turned into a steady march to conserve stamina however knowing my destination is just within arms reach manages to invigorate me a little. I almost find the levels Stamina gained in the past few days a bit stingy by the System considering it was endurance training at its finest.

Water was not an issue, and never has been, food on the other hand, or rather the lack of it… An empty stomach made the journey even worse and the only thing to remedy that is a settlement and some food stalls operated by beastmen. Or some stray easy prey, none of which offered themselves up anywhere near the road.

In the end, the bothersome sprint down the road bears fruit when the outlines of a wall appear past the wheat fields. It’s not the tallest, longest, or fanciest but at the end of the day a settlement is a settlement and as much as I hate being around people, that’s exactly what I need right now.

The fields around here are empty, the farmers most likely already safe behind the walls for the night so I can’t ask anyone what this place is or ask for help on entering the city. I’m dirty and dirt-poor so this won't be easy. Speaking of walls, this one looks remarkably… unremarkable. Flimsy craftsmanship and mediocre materials.

Don’t get me wrong I’m no master mason, it’s just a comparison to the other such structures I’ve seen so far and this one just seems… poor. The gate is slightly better, however, it still has a remarkable flaw… it’s fucking closed. No one is standing guard outside, no snaking line of people waiting to get inside, nothing. It’s closed shut.

The last thing I do is hide the gift from the elk inside my hair secured by the bracelet dad gave me, just in case someone tried to rob me. All I have on me now are my clothes and some twigs holding my hair up, perfectly robbery-proof.

I stop a good few steps before the gate and shout. “HEY, is anybody there?”

Response quickly arrives in the form of a head peeking over the wall, and then an entire upper torso appearing in the form of a man wearing brown and gray armor of the poor kind, likely a guard.

“What do you want?” He shouts back.

“Uhm…” I haven’t thought of what would say if someone really showed up. “Could you… I don’t know, let me in?” I ask sheepishly, trying to act nice and innocent to spark some pity in them.

“The gates are closed for the night.” He says.

“I can see that. Couldn’t you just open the wicket gate at least?” I ask again hopefully.

“The gates stay closed for the night.” He tells me off stoically and disappears behind the wall.

“Damn, Operation Act Cute is a failure.” I stomp more so in frustration than actual angst.

My ragged appearance obviously didn’t help the image but the guard didn’t even seem to consider my pleas. Heartless bastard.

The next step is obvious. How to sneak in?

I’m sure as hell not gonna spend the night out here after running like crazy for half a day to find a town, this is not what I signed up for. What stupid reason do they have to close the gate for the night to begin with? They never did that in Meliorport or Granhall…

Walls are made to be difficult to cross, however, dad told me what to look for when trying to cross one. Just in case I ever needed to.

First, going under it is a no-go as the stone usually continues underground and they have mana sensors installed to detect anyone tunneling. Above and trough is obviously the dumbest method, basically begging to be found.

Walls have more than one gate, although if this one is closed then so are the others. The main gates that is.

Each city has a few side gates, personal doors, and most likely a secret escape tunnel.

I am not delusional and know very well that I won’t find the secret tunnel, if there is one in the first place. It’s called a secret on purpose and was made by people stronger, more experienced and maybe smarter than me, I’m not arrogant enough to think I could find it.

I’ll have to try a side entrance, so let’s find one.

Since the guard just turned his back on me I move up close to the walls to stay out of line of sight in case anyone on the wall decides to take their job seriously. I don’t even understand in the first place why none of them are keeping a constant watch like they did in all my previous cities. I get that this is a poor remote town with little traffic but still. Imbeciles.

Hugging the wall, I use dark magic to hide myself better in case the light of a torch or one of the moons was to snitch on my position. My plan is not to stop the light as much as meld into the shadows like the panther did back at Granhall, without actually turning two-dimensional.

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Dark and Light mana somehow managed to slip into my repertoire of mostly basic elements like earth or metal, courtesy of the studious people of Earth looking into all kinds of weird stuff. They’re two sides of the same coin really, if Savant is to be believed, one is just radiation of some magnetic energy and the other is the lack of it… Whatever that means. Is it a wave or a particle? Yes.

The part of sneaking around at the foot of the wall turns out even easier than I thought. Torchlight passes over the edge a few times making me freeze in my steps but other than that they don’t seem to give a damn about security.

Finding a side entrance is even simpler as neither is it concealed, nor defended from the outside. The door seems battered and slightly broken, even so breaking it would be too loud and I have nowhere near enough Might to just force it open.

Even the key to our house door back at home wasn’t just a simple piece of metal in a whacky shape but had its own mini inscription as a magical second line of defense. Mana Vison confirms my hunch and shows the doorframe in a bright arcane light flowing into the hinges and… looking like someone smashed the inscriptions around the lock. The lines and light are broken like when you punch a sheet of ice meaning…

I draw some water, push it into the keyhole and make it fill up the space, then freeze it solid and voila, a key. I haven’t done this before so the validity of the tactic is a bit shaky… Let’s see.

I try turning the makeshift key and it doesn't even budge.

“C’mon now, isn’t this how keys are supposed to work?” I whisper in frustration.

I use my full force and even weight to make the key move because fuck this stupid thing for not working. Then it moves, turns, and breaks with a loud crack.

“Shit.” I whisper.

I dive back into the shadows and slunk away from the door before the light shines down from the top of the wall once again and I can see outlines moving around in the projection.

“Did you hear that?” One male voice asks.

“Yeah, must’ve been the wall again or some stray rat, or anything else really. This entire damn thing is coming down any day now.” Another answer.

“What if it was someone trying to get in?”

“Who would be stupid enough to use a dedicated entrance? An infiltrator would just scale the walls and disappear and we wouldn’t be able to do shit, stop being paranoid.” The voice seems tired and maybe even a little drunk.

What the hell is up with the guardsmen here?

The people and torchlight stay for a little more before moving on. I didn’t even dare as much as breathe while the guard stood above me, knowing damn well that a high-level warrior could hear that from this distance. Even after the coast seems clear I stay in the shadows for a little longer before looking back at my work on the door.

“The key broke after it turned…”

Fragile as ice should be. No wonder the guards didn’t see anything out of place, it's basically just water, conjured one at that which disappears even faster.

“So the door should be…” I turn the handle.

The lock clicks and the door slides open a tiny bit.

I won’t attribute this success to skill or genius planning, I got lucky, that’s it.

I throw my full weight behind pushing the hefty door open just a little so I can slip inside as the rust on the hinges maybe older than me resist stubbornly. I’m not the roundest of gals so a small opening is all I need to to slither in like a tiny rat.

Inside the streets are unlit and poorly maintained, the houses are mostly made of wood or some mud and the whole place is just borderline better than any slums. The material and craftsmanship all over the city interior seem below even that of the wall, which just doesn’t make sense considering how close this place should be to Sereban.

Just as I’m about to sneak down a nearby alley, I remember a mistake of mine. Close the damn door! It couldn’t be more obvious that someone sneaked then seeing one of the supposedly locked doors wide open.

I quickly correct my mistake and disappear into the shadows of a small street.

Most of the houses still have their lights on as the moons only just took their place in the sky. Merchants and everyday people move around on the streets, retiring to their homes for the night while beggars and shady figures occupy the darker alleys, preparing themselves for the most dangerous time of the day. I’d much rather be despised in the crowd on the main street for my looks than be mugged in a dark corner so I leave the shadows and join the crowd.

As expected, people push me away or throw contemptuous glances my way simply because of the dirt and rags on me and the fact that I clearly lack any money. I’m basically a street rat.

Money is going to be an issue, I need some coins to buy food and maybe a room because sleeping on the streets with crime levels visible to the naked eye is no safer than in the depths of the forest. I could beg, tell people the truth and look miserable… Hell no, pride, both elven and my own, would never allow me something like that.

Stealing sounds better but not by much. I remember the last time I stole something with the old gang back in Meliorport. It felt fun at first, however seeing the sadness and disappointment on the vendor's face when he realized someone played him and took advantage of his hard work was a hard wake-up call, no stealing.

So what can I sell? My skills? Who am I kidding, at my level, with my specialization… The only thing I have on me is the antler bit from the elk and my clothes and they’re not going anywhere. I’d rather starve than part with the bracelet dad gave me and the last thing I have is my body but even the thought of that disgusts me.

My brooding is interrupted by a hand grabbing my shoulder, a strong grip. It pulls me back and spins me around to come face to face with a person I wanted to avoid even more than any random lowlife. A guard.

“Haven’t seen you round ‘ere before, lil girl.” The gruffy man with a messy mustache inspects me closer. “You do look like the beggars ‘ere but too well fed. I don’t like it. Yer comin with me.” He says.

What the fuck, no way.

“What seems to be the problem, sir? I’m just looking for a way to get some food and a place to sleep.” I ask quietly.

The grip strengthens on my shoulder.

“Every beggar ken a stead for the night and we haven’t welcomed ony freish ones lately.” He grabs my hand and twists it behind my back. “Shift lassie, this is the lest warning.” His voice turns threatening.

I know that resistance is futile, I feel a Skill turning my muscles into noodles, so I try words instead.

“Please, I haven't done anything. I just need some food for the night, I swear I didn’t want to steal anything. My corner was seized two nights ago, they took my friend and…” I get interrupted.

“Shut yer trap girly, yer a ill liar. Ye might have a Skill to help out wi’ sweet talkin but every street kid knows nea to lie to a guard, we kin tell.”

I get dragged back to the main gate, or rather the barracks right beside it and thrown into a small cell. Dad never told me about any lie detection Skill the guards would have so I think that man was just bullshiting, he caught me nevertheless. The room is empty and the stone floor is freezing cold, not the most accommodating place but one where I can sleep safely unlike the rest of the city.

After about ten minutes I hear footsteps approaching. I used some fire magic to keep myself warm in the chilly room and hopefully, they won’t see this as an escape attempt.

“This is the one ‘ere. Found it near the Green Market, Ne'er seen her afore in th' toon while mah fifty-two years servin’ as a guard.” This must be the same guy who kindly accompanied me here.

His grumpy, elderly form arrives before my cell bars accompanied by another much younger-looking man. His armor is cleaner and his stature more warrior-like.

“Talk girl, who are you and why are you in my city? Be warned, I do not tolerate lies.” The guard captain if I had to guess starts the interrogation.

I gulp as my mind races. Options run through my mind about possible lies and half-truths, yet… Do I even need to lie?

“I’m with the Fist of Krieg and was traveling towards Sereban with my escorts. I was about to start my studies there this autumn, however, we got attacked on the way and I got lost in the forest during a messy escape.” I explain slowly. “I spent around a week in the Flatmore Woods before finding my way out. This is the first city I found and-”

“Enough about the tall tales, girl!” The man shouts at me. “Nothing that you just told me makes even the tiniest bit of sense. Sereban? Academy? The Fist? And you surviving alone in the depths of the forest for a week? Don’t make me laugh. Not a single word that came out of your mouth was the truth. Last chance.” His eyes are cold and his face hostile.

It was the truth. I may have omitted the part about the Fluffs and all that but other than that everything was the truth.

“I’m not lying, we’re only days away from Sereban. Why is it so difficult to believe my story?” I ask indignantly.

“Hae ye gaen insane lassie?” The old guard asks. “The capital of the Empire is a week's travel oan land arond th' forest. Yer in Capula city, ye dumbnut, in south Turan.” He tells me with ridiculing eyes.

What?