"We're doing what?" Tamas cried loud enough to wake everyone. Thankfully, Most just shifted in their sleep.

Though, one added. "Please don't do something indecent. We're trying to sleep over here."

Meera rolled her eyes. "Come, follow me."

She stepped lightly down the stairs, and still, they creaked loudly. The house was dark, and people were sleeping on both sides of the corridor. Despite one youth's loud snoring, everyone slept soundly. She could hear the innkeeper and his wife talking with the Bloodstone Watchmen, who didn't seem friendly.

"How many people do you have staying at your inn?" The Bleeder barked.

"I-I'm not sure, sir," the innkeeper quivered.

"How can you not know that? A man should have an account of all those staying in his home." He made a disgusted sound. "Have you seen a pair of shifty-looking people about? One must've worn dirty bloody clothes, and the other would've worn a black and gold armor."

Meera paused. "So, the Mistblades and Bleeders are working together."

"That's not good."

"And I also heard the Bleeder describe us."

He gasped at that. "We should get out of here, then."

"My thoughts exactly." Meera motioned for him to follow. They stepped lightly around the sleeping people, making sure not to wake anyone up. Downstairs, the cop was getting fed up with the innkeeper's cluelessness.

"Just raise everyone and get them to line up single file out here," The Watchman barked.

"B-But they must be all sleeping. It's not polite to wake a man from his sleep. It brings bad luck and is bad for business."

"Your untimely death will also be bad for business."

"P-Please, sir," the innkeeper's wife jumped in. "Don't do anything to him. We'll have our guests out in no time."

Meera had only reached the main stairs that led down to the eating area. "Time to pick up the pace."

Then, without warning, she picked Tamas up, thanks to Druvis Power, and jumped down the stairs. The wood creaked loudly. It might have even broken, but she didn't care to check. Thanks to Nimbus, she landed in the air, making no sound. It was the eatery area, and it was also packed with people, some snoring, others not so much. Meera dashed for the kitchen and made it just in time. The main door opened, and the couple returned to wake everyone. Meera was surprised that they hadn't rented this place out as well. Just as Meera suspected, there was a door that she hoped led outside. She quietly set Tamas down.

"Wait here, I'm going to quickly check outside. Make sure it's clear," she whispered.

"Okay, but please hurry."

Thankfully, the door was unlocked. It creaked slightly, which meant it was probably silent to others. She activated Shroud of Shadows and stepped into the night. Much hadn't changed. Though, these red-uniformed Watchmen were everywhere. They were going door-to-door looking for Meera and Tamas. Parents even brought out their kids as they went inside to check.

Archers were stationed on rooftops, the gate they had come through was shut, and two burly Watchmen stood guard. One odd thing about these cops was that none of them carried weapons of any kind besides the archers. She found it strange, but given what she had seen, she fully expected them to be hiding some weapons.

Meera walked the streets without worry, looking for two whose uniforms would fit Meera and Tamas. She found a pair whose uniform might be a good fit. However, seeing as they were all men, it would be tough to find anyone who would be a perfect fit for Meera.

She followed this pair while watching her inn, where haggard-looking guests had begun to form a line. Soon, the Watchmen would go inside and find Tamas hiding in the kitchen. Time was of the essence, so she had to act fast.

She quickly scanned her targets.

[Bloodstone Watchmen – Level 119]

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[Bloodstone Watchmen – Level 123]

She breathed out in relief as she could easily handle both. The Watchmen was about to knock on the door to this house, but she came up behind them and knocked them out instead. They were out cold before they even hit the floorboards. She quickly checked behind her to make sure no one had seen the pair drop on the porch.

She had gotten lucky once again. She quickly tossed them over the edge and behind some bushes. She went to work removing their clothes, which didn't take long. But in her hurry, she made a big mistake. She ripped one shirt and cursed herself. She stuffed the rest in her Hoard Belt, left the two there, and rushed back to the inn. There was no time to find another. She would have to go with her Shroud active.

The inspection had started, and she was sure a Bleeder was inside already. She opened the door to find Tamas whimpering in the corner with a man in a red uniform standing over him, blood dripping from his fist.

Meera moved without hesitation, and before she knew it, she had slashed out the back of his neck. Blood sprayed everywhere—most of all on her. There was so much of it that she stepped back. It wasn't like she hadn't slashed out a person's neck before, but it had been so long that she was disgusted by the act…disgusted by herself. The Bloodstone Watchmen fell to the floor with a thud.

"Thank you. I thought I was done for," Tamas said.

Meera was shaken out of her daze when she saw Tamas' bloody face. "Oh no, this is not good. How badly did he beat you?"

"Not too bad." He touched his jaw and flinched.

"My plan was for you to pose as a Bloodstone Watchman, and I would go invisible until we got out of town. Then you could have used the mirror to get yourself out of here, and I would go my way." Meera groaned and nearly punched the wall in frustration but stopped in case another Watchmen was in the house.

"Uh, how bad is my face?" The cook asked.

"I don't think this is the time to worry about that."

"No, it is. Do you think they'll recognize me that I'm not one of them?"

Meera frowned. "What are you getting at?"

"We can still do your plan, but let's improvise. We had to do that a lot after escaping from prison. One thing I've learned is that no plan goes as planned. So, how bad is my face?"

"Your upper lip is split, and your left eye is swollen a little bit, and the right side of your face is bruised and bloody from the cut on your forehead. I don't think anyone is recognizing you soon."

"Perfect," Tamas exclaimed. "I'll dress up as the Bleeder, and you'll be my prisoner. You attacked me, and I caught you. You tried to make a run for it as you saw me. It'll work, you'll see."

Meera chuckled. "Oh, it'll work alright until someone scans us."

He gave her a blank stare. "Okay now, help me take his uniform off."

"I'll do you one better." She produced the uniform of the Watchmen that she had knocked out.

Tamas grinned and quickly changed into the uniform, which was a little loose on him but nothing that would stick out. Meera listened to the sounds outside, making sure no one was coming for them.

"I would've said you should bruise yourself, but all that blood works nicely. Let's go," Tamas said.

They left the dead Watchmen where he was as it would take too long to hide him and then clean the evidence. It was best to make haste and get out of town. Meera quietly opened the kitchen door, and they sneaked out and made for the shadows, where Tamas tied her hands with the belt of the dead Bleeder. The only thing they took off his person.

"Okay, move," Tamas barked.

At first, Meera was alarmed, but she hoped and prayed that it would fool the others. She didn't give him any protest and got moving while he held her by the neck.

"That's right. You thought you could run away from us," Tamas spat, drawing eyes.

"Take it easy," Meera whispered.

"Relax. I know what I'm doing." He pushed her along, uttering random curses, and said she wouldn't be getting out for laying hands on a Watchman.

Meera kept her head down, looking meek, while she watched all the Bleeders, and they were all watching her for all the racket Tamas was causing. Even the townsfolk were looking and whispering if she was the one.

"Calm down," Meera squeaked.

"Shut up, you filthy maggot!" he barked. "There will be no mercy for you."

He moved her towards the closed gate, where she finally got the answer to her question. Where did the city guard go? She had not seen them at all when she went to look for the uniforms.

They were prisoners, too, of a sort. They were all sitting on the ground to the left side of the gate. A small man sat in a chair, with one leg over the other, as a Patrolman who seemed to be the captain gave an account of events of the past days. A lithe woman, wearing a black uniform rather than red, wrote everything in a journal. Meera scanned them both, starting with the man.

[Bloodstone Captain – Level 156]

He was about the same level as her and the highest-level Watchman she had seen till now, as most had hovered around Level 110 – 120. And then she used Identify on the woman, and her feet faltered.

[Shadow Scribe – Level 213]

She was about the same level as Edwyn, and it took everything Meera had to defeat him. She was stronger now, but there was also a townful of strong Watchmen to back up the Shadow Scribe.

Tamas was oblivious to all this. "You think—"

"Shut up!" Meera hissed. "Be quiet as a mouse, take us to the gate, and pray we don't have to go to those two."

"Why?" Tamas looked unsure.

"That woman there is over level 200."

He blanched and gulped loudly. "Okay."

They reached the gate before the Watchmen could even open their mouths. The Scribe appeared before them.

"Who is she?" She asked quill at the ready, eyes on her leather-bound journal. Her voice was monotone, without any emotions, as if she were a human robot or she could be a robot or construct of some kind, given what Meera had seen of this world.

"A-A prisoner, ma'am," Tamas said. "She attacked me and tried to flee."

The woman noted it all down. "Follow me. The captain will like a word." Then, without looking back, she walked to the Bloodstone Captain, and as she did, Meera was enclosed in a purple energy field.

Meera glanced at Tamas, who barked. "Move it, woman!"