“That girl appears to be in distress,” stated Azim.
“I agree, hun’,” Riva seconded. “From the looks of things, we need to get her out of those people’s care.”
Leone led the way through the crowd, being careful to not be seen by those with the girl. He walked around the edge of the commotion, the group making their way to where the sitting carriages rested. When they reached the other side of the lake, they looked around for where the men and women might be but saw no one. The only thing in their view was an array of tables along a lush lawn. Looking at one another, Riva and Leone then realized that not only were the men and women from last night not present, but Azim was not with them. They turned back to see that the robot was steadily approaching the girl and the two people with her.
“Crap! What is he doing?!” Leone wondered.
“We have to distract them before they see him,” Riva responded.
Looking around, Riva noticed a coconut tree halfway between the two of them and the recently arrived carriage. She asked Leone if he could do something with it to draw their attention, and he thought. He decided to use the same Target Detonation spell that he had used on Azim back in Welstom, only on a smaller scale. The particular detonation spell Leone used was a level 6 spell that locked on to any target the young man decided. The longer he let the detonation wait to go off, the stronger the explosion would be. Conversely, he could set it to go off as quick as possible with the awareness that the blast would be significantly weaker. However, in this case, that would be perfect.
The young wizard targeted the tree and set the spell to go off as quickly as possible. After 5 seconds, which was the fastest he should set it, a small explosion burst at the top of the tree, knocking all of the coconuts around it off the tree and seeing them flying. The commotion caught the attention of the older man with the sideburns, who instructed the tall woman to come with him to check out the cause. He said he didn’t want anything messing up today, and if anyone dared to do so, they would be sorry. Before leaving, he turned to the blindfolded girl and sternly told her to stay where she was. The two adults then left to settle their concerns, leaving the girl all alone, just seconds before Azim finally showed up.
The crowd took several steps back when they saw the two adults walking away, but they were practically back in their homes when they saw a cloaked stranger approaching the girl who had accompanied them. Whoever this mysterious person was, and however stupid he was, none of them wanted to have any part in what would come of it. Face to face with the blindfolded and hand-tied girl, Azim asked, “Would you like my assistance?”
“Huh?” The girl’s head turned toward Azim, her giant frizz swinging behind her, clearly rattled by the presence of the stranger. “Who are you?”
“My name is Azim, as of recently. What is yours?”
“Wait, why are you here?”
Azim slowly took the girl’s blindfold off. She opened her eyes and gazed at the metallic stranger in front of her. “Who are you??” she asked again, clearly bewildered.
Before the android could answer her, the men and woman in matching suits returned. “HEY!” the man yelled. “Get away from her!”
Leone jumped into action, running back around the lake to join up with the others. “Whoop! That’s our cue!” he exclaimed to Riva as he left.
The man in the navy blue suit summoned a curved saber out of the air, clutching it by its gothic, gold hilt, and pointed the tip at Azim. “I will not say again,” the man uttered. “Get away from her!”
Just then, Leone jumped in to join Azim, putting a hand up to shout back at the man. “Woah, woah, hey man,” reminded Leone. “You’re the creeps that kidnapped this poor girl for whatever it is you’re gonna’ do with her. So how ‘bout you leave her alone? Yeah, I like that better!”
“Are you serious?!” the man with the sideburns bellowed. “That’s my daughter!”
Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
Leone’s face went blank. All of the tension and ferocity he carried evaporated from his demeanor. From across the lake, Riva was making the same unbelieving face. “I’m sorry… What?!” the young man questioned.
“Nemal! Get away from those people, now!” the tall woman yelled.
The girl ran past the robot and young man, the silver trim of her suit shining as she did, and stood behind the woman. Leone was rattled. He had no idea what to make of the situation either. Azim, on the other hand, did not have as much worry. His processors were too busy assessing all possible scenarios for him to be “concerned” about anything. Instead, he maintained his usual expressionless gaze. “We know who you guys are! What are you doing with that girl?” Leone asked, trying to recover some control over the situation.
“What we are doing is throwing a birthday party for our daughter!” the navy-suited man replied. “One that you people are currently getting in the way of. A mistake that no one should make with us.”
The man swung his saber in a wide arc in front of him. A moment later, both Azim and Leone were fiercely knocked back, having been slashed by some invisible force. Leone was struggling to get back up, but Azim was ready. The scrawny woman then turned to the girl standing beside her and gently spoke to her, “Darling, take of them for us, won’t you? I know you can do it.”
“Yes, mama,” the girl said, before turning to face Azim and Leone, who was still kneeling. “You meanies… ruined by BIRTHDAY PARTY!”
As she screamed, a tight air filled the space in front of her. Both the robot and the young man felt themselves freeze. For whatever reason, the two travelers couldn’t move. The girl then dashed forward, closing the distance between herself and the cloaked android in a single second. Regaining his mobility slightly, Azim tried to put his guard up, but it wasn’t enough. She struck the robot’s guarding forearms with her palm and slid him back several meters in the dirt, not quite knocking him off balance. The girl screamed again, yelling that today was supposed to be her day, causing Azim to immobilize once more. Behind her, the older man reeled back his saber, holding it behind himself. The red-haired woman simply gazed forward at the display before muttering, “End them, Otto.”
He swung the blade back in front of him, sending another unidentifiable slash through the air. The silent arc struck Azim with incredible force, throwing him into a hut that was several meters away, toppling half of the simply built structure. Meanwhile, the girl grabbed Leone by the shoulders and tossed him behind her, throwing him hard enough to land next to the robot.
“Well done, Nemal!” the old man grinned. “Way to deal with those ruffians.”
----------------------------------------
Riva was in disbelief over what had just occurred. These people, who had some connection to Appilus’ east tower, were much stronger than she could have anticipated. Worst of all, the girl they had heard about was not a kidnapped child in distress, but a daughter of this corrupt family, who was just as ready and willing to fight as the rest of them.
Riva snuck along the shallow end of the lake, snaking back around to join the distanced crowd. She crept cautiously to her fabric cart and readied the horses. The travelers had no need to be here. As beautiful as this place was, with its vibrant colored ferns and trees or green, orange, and yellow, and bright flowers and fruits of red, purple, and blue, they couldn’t stay. This gorgeous place belonged to those of the east tower, and if the travelers wanted to survive… if she wanted to help Azim get home… then they would have to leave now.
“Nemal, darling, come along,” the tall woman beckoned. “Let’s head over to the other side now. It’s time to celebrate you.”
The wiry girl that had taken out Azim and Leone with her father returned to him and her mother. The three spun and walked towards where the three other carriages rested, to kick off a party for the young girl. Once they were away, Riva rushed over to the crumbled straw hut where Azim and Leone went soaring into. The hut was just a nudge away from being completely flattened, with the two beaten travelers lying in a straw heap. Riva was careful not to make the rest of the home fall, as she didn’t want to create any more commotion that would attract the adversaries back to her. “Come on, get up, you too,” she demanded softly.
Both Azim and Leone sat up at the woman’s words, looking at themselves and then at each other. Despite the manhandling they both received, neither one of them was particularly too beat up. Azim looked up at Riva. “Did you help us not sustain as much damage from those two?”
“I did, hun’,” replied Riva compassionately. “One nullified hit for each of you, just before you got launched. Come on, we best get going.”
Riva lent a hand to each of her companions and helped them up. They walked to the carriage and slowly climbed in, doing their best to not make any noise. Just as Riva was about to join them, she had a last-minute realization. They still did not have a map, and they didn’t even know where they were headed. They hadn’t planned on leaving in such a hurry this morning, as this wasn’t originally part of the plan. They were supposed to get a map so that they could head towards the Umbra Waterfalls in search of the fairy dwelling, but this endeavor had taken them by surprise. Before they left, she would need to get some sense of direction.
Riva walked back to the nervous crowd that was just watching the party unfold on the other side of the town’s lake. None of them seemed too worried about the other strangers or the busted hut, likely because the people celebrating were a far greater concern. Tapping one woman on the shoulder, she asked if she could get directions to the Umbra Waterfalls, or if possible, a map. Pulling at her braid as she spoke, the woman apologetically explained that neither she nor anyone else in the town had a map, because most of the people in Plumrose never left. She couldn’t even point Riva in a direction to travel. Riva thanked the woman anyway and walked back to her carriage defeated. Then, she had one last-ditch idea, though it would be risky.
She looked back across the pond and made sure the suit-wearing people of the east tower were focused on the indulgence of their party. Reassuring herself that none of the party-goers would be coming back anytime soon, Riva snuck over to the carriage that the man, woman, and girl had stepped out of. She rummaged around in the front seating area, looking for anything that resembled a map. She then came upon a rolled-up beige of beige paper, tucked underneath one of the seats. The woman opened it up and… bingo. It had everything they would need, at least for now. Including, 400 miles away and taking up only a tiny piece of the map, the Umbra Waterfalls.
She quietly rushed back to Azim and Leone, showing off what she had pilfered while she had been gone. Leone was impressed, and Azim gave her a calm acknowledgment of her achievement. The group then snuck off, making their way out of Plumrose before the people of the east tower gave them any more trouble. They now had a lead and a direction of where to go. The travelers were on their way.