Meera jumped out the de facto door that Hilnoa had created while waving her goodbye. The woman responded by closing the door shut. She found herself in the outer courtyard of the fortress. From the outside, this fortress would make any enemies' tears fall.
Is that why he named it Tearsfell Prison?
The fortress must've been four to five stories high, but again, given the lack of windows, it was hard to tell. The spires were even higher, ending in a conical top with spikes all along its length to prevent climbing. Most of the fortress was smooth, and all of it was made of metal.
Soldiers were patrolling its ramparts. They must've been the Steel Sentinels as they wore steel armor and not the dark armor of the Shadow Vanguard she had just seen. Behind her, there was a wall some forty feet high. Soldiers patrolled its ramparts, too.
She saw a gate in the wall, and some soldiers stood guard. The massive door must've been twenty feet tall and made entirely of the same dark steel as the rest of the castle.
Meera moved for the gate. The soldiers eyed her suspiciously but relaxed once she produced the king's seal. They let her pass through a smaller, regular-sized gate. Meera expected to be out of the castle, but she found herself on a bridge that led to a clearing. Trees had been chopped to stumps, and even the grass had been trimmed.
In a way, it made sense as they would want to see who was coming. She crossed the wooden bridge. Below her was a wide moat that seemed to encircle the fortress. She had always wanted to see a castle with a moat. Now she had, and it was nothing special. Just greenish, dirty water that smelled bad.
She didn't bring out Onyx just yet as some soldiers were surprised to see a Varshan or someone who looked like a Varshan come out of the castle, but they didn't give her any trouble. She touched the Gateway Mirror before continuing. It was placed a distance from the bridge but not too far. Surprisingly, there were no guards posted at the mirror.
As she walked, she felt like someone was watching her. Good thing she didn't need to turn to see who it was. She scanned the treeline and then the fortress itself. The soldiers kept doing their rounds. Nothing odd about them, but she noticed around the top there was a window with lots of spikes around it, which she had missed before.
A man in a shadowy armor watched her from there. She zoomed in, and it was Narikas. How he had absorbed the girl into his armor had terrified Meera. But she also couldn't resist turning around and waving to him.
Narikas' expression was one of confusion. He looked around, wondering if she was waving to someone else, but Meera pointed to him and waved again. You're not the only one who can watch people from afar.
With that, she turned around and kept walking as Narikas ducked inside. She quickly checked on her skills while she had the time.
[Name: Meera Singh]
[Age: 24]
[Race: Unnatural Human]
[Class: Mirror Image Hunter – Level 154]
[Class Ability: Stalker – Level 25]
Stats
[Health: 1122/1140]
[Stamina: 1190/1220]
[Mana: 1401/1420]
Attributes
[Constitution: 114]
[Power: 30]
[Dexterity: 89]
[Endurance: 122]
[Focus: 142]
[Agility: 96]
[Perception: 91]
Skills
[Ambush Tactics – Level 58]
[Shroud of Shadows – Level 47]
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[Vampiric Chains - Level 19]
[Mirror Step - Level 70]
[Druvis Power - Level 15]
[Mirror Eagle's Perceptivity - Level 63]
[Mirror Shield - Level 41]
[Mirror Blast - Level 65]
[Mirror Shard Barrage - Level 24]
[Vitalize - Level 59]
[Mirror Wing – Level 22]
[Petrifying Surge - Level 1]
[Nimbus - Level 10]
[Mistbound Illusions - Level 8]
[Mist Concealment - Level 1]
General Skills
[Identify – Level 6]
[Mirror Affinity – Level 113]
[Climbing – Level 20]
[Tree Walker - Level 15]
[Potion Making - Level 1]
[Alpha Aura - Level 22]
[Wild Instincts - Level 22]
[Charred Body - Level 3]
[Shadow Affinity - Level 32]
[Tactician's Gaze – Level 45]
[Prismatic Distortion - Level 13]
[Absorption - Level 26]
[Haunting Presence - Level 18]
[Spectral Resilience - Level 39]
[Blood Magic – Level 1]
[Soul Bond-Onyx the Stallion – Level 12]
Armor
[Armor of Mirrors - Level 40]
It didn't take long for Meera to reach the shade of trees. Now, she called on Onyx.
He neighed. "So, what happened? Wait, we're outside… how did you escape? Where were we imprisoned in the first place? I have so many questions."
Meera chuckled and jumped on his back. "I'll explain everything, but we must hurry to this city, as we're on a tight timeframe."
----------------------------------------
The best part about having a ghostly horse was the look on people's faces as she rode on by. No matter how much Meera asked Onyx to reduce the amount of smoke emanating from his body, enough remained that it was noticeable, and then, of course, there was his translucent body, which was hard to miss.
The number of people Meera passed on the road was increasing which meant that she was headed in the right direction. She pulled out her map again, holding onto Onyx's sides with her legs tightly, as she had Onyx running like the wind and the road was not exactly straight. To make matters worse, they had densely populated trees on both sides of the road. She studied the map once more, making sure she hadn't forgotten to take a turn and got all her landmarks right.
"We should be close, Onyx," Meera said, eyes still on the map.
"Does the map state that the city has mostly blue walls?" Onyx asked.
"Blue walls?" Meera looked up from the map. Her eyes widened. "Onyx, stop!"
Her horse skidded to a stop just where the treeline ended. A few yards ahead lay the city of Nelees. It had about a fifteen-foot wall with a few soldiers dressed in white and blue uniforms, with swords strapped to their hips and big round shields on their backs.
The most striking feature of the wall was the blue color. It matched the color of the sky, though the paint was peeling in several places to reveal the stone blocks underneath.
"Hey, is your horse…a-a ghost?" asked a man to her left.
"Bye, Onyx," Meera said and recalled him. He disappeared from beneath her. She landed on a knee, stood, and smiled at the man. "What horse?"
His eyes threatened to pop out of his head. "Ghost! That girl controls ghosts!" He screamed and hollered as he ran off towards the city gates. "She's a witch!"
She looked to an older fellow with a bald patch whose eyes were fixed on her. "Some people start drinking too early in the day. Am I right?"
The older gentleman replied by passing out. Luckily, there were other people to tend to him, or they would think she was doing some witchcraft. She left the shocked crowd as they were and headed for the gate, hoping to mix into them before talk of this witch got out of hand.
The screaming man was talking to the guards at the gate while pointing at her. "There she is. She's a witch."
Meera looked at the woman behind her, feigned fear, and ran for the gate as did a few others, following her example. The scared man screamed and ran into the city upon seeing Meera. There weren't enough people to cause a stampede, but still more than enough for the two guards to stop by themselves without using violence. She quickly Identify'd them.
[Patrolman – Level 84]
[Patrolman – Level 78]
She sighed. Nothing to worry about.
The guards yelled. "People, stop. We must investigate this claim about a witch."
Of course, the people didn't stop. In the commotion and shouting, Meera caught one interesting exchange between the guards.
"If the Bleeders get wind of this, it's your neck," said one guard.
"Yes, like I'm the only one on duty here. Relax, they're too busy guarding the princeling at the mayor's house, and all this talk of a witch is just superstition."
"You better hope so."
Thank you, guards, for doing your duty so well. Meera smiled. Now, to find the way to the mayor's house.
Meera had half a mind to return to the bumbling guards and ask them where the mayor's house was, but she didn't want to push her luck too much. She figured she could ask anyone where the mayor's house was. After all, a mayor should be famous.
This is my first time visiting a city in this world. I should explore a little bit.
It was quite fancy. All the buildings were painted a mix of white and blue, like the guard's uniforms. As she ventured deeper, she could taste the salt in the air, as Nelees was a port city. It was to say something that Meera had come all the way to the west, though she didn't know how far Rothedon's forest was from here.
As she walked, she heard the calls of street hawkers trying to sell their wares. She went to the cart of an older man and asked for directions. After telling her how to get to the mayor's house, he grumbled about Meera wasting her time. So, she turned and flipped a silver coin his way.
Hilnoa did say that I could ask for more if needed, so why not be generous?
He thanked her profusely after that. Meera was ashamed to admit that it took her longer than expected to find the mayor's house and three more silver coins. It was evening by the time she arrived at the lavish home. It was easily marked by the massive crowd of people waiting outside. Meera found a spot on the boulder, which let her see above the heads of the people.
It was about three stories tall. It was the only house on the entire street that was so high. There were intricately painted designs on the walls of the house. There was a nicely trimmed yard with various colored flowers. The only things that marred the home's beauty were the Bleeders and another group of brutish-looking guards. They wore red and gold uniforms. They all had bows strapped to their back and carried various weapons. Some had swords, others spears or halberds, and even maces and clubs.
Before she could use Identify on them. The door to the upper balcony opened, and a richly dressed boy stepped out. Everything about him said he was the Crown Prince aside from his face.
It didn't match the picture that Hilnoa had given Meera.