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New Reality: 31 August 1525, Paris
It was about nine in the morning and Elisa was about to get through the finishing touches on her fashion article. Satisfied, she put the flourished signature on the bottom of the page, and sighed, looking longingly out of the window. The morning light, still soft, and the warmth of the first day of August reminded her of a likewise pleasant morning in July, two weeks prior. The one when she got her powers, after…
Thinking of Ardent brought tears to her eyes, her heart beating like mad. They had exchanged SMSs regularly, every other day, but she had promised herself she wouldn't write him if not for a good reason. This was the third day without a message.
Hands trembling, she picked up the magic smartphone. What to write? There was no good reason to send an SMS. She began writing a 'Hi', hoping to find inspiration on the way, then stopped, her ears picking up some unusual noises outside. Her desk, near the window, obliged her to raise and stretch her neck to look into the courtyard.
"Hurry, before the witch notices." Marie, her housemaid and Valerie's nanny was in the process of opening the gates for a bailiff and ten men at arms. Her plump face had an unmistakable expression: the self-pleased joy of a fanatic doing the greater good.
"What's the meaning of this?" Elisa shouted.
"Elisa de Bourgogne, you are hereby arrested for practicing witchcraft," the Bailiff yelled. "Surrender peacefully!"
The young woman wasn't going to let herself be intimidated, though, and yelled back: "Go away. Our house is under the protection of the King."
"The King is under house arrest, it is not unbeknownst to the proper authorities you and other witches had enthralled his mind," came the answer.
No! Trembling, Elisa grabbed the edge of the desk. A coup? By who? The Amboises? Francis was supposed to get rid of them.
"Marie? What are you doing?"
Thomas, the factotum servant of the house, had appeared in the main door's frame. Behind him, Valerie's head was peeking out to observe the scene. Meanwhile, the men at arms had taken positions around the yard, weapons at the ready, either halberds or crossbows.
"Valerie, come here, sweetie," Marie called, leaning forward, candy in hand.
"Don't touch my child!" As she screamed the words, Elisa pushed the desk out of her way and jumped out of the window, enveloping herself in her forcefield and casting a Glide. She had never fought a battle in her life, but if Valerie was on the line, she was going to use her newfound powers to the full extent.
As she landed gracefully to a side of the main door, the question 'What powers?' came to her mind. She had no combative spells or skills, only a huge Mana Pool and a Forcefield she could maintain almost indefinitely. Maybe using Persuasion? She grabbed a garden broom, holding it with the handle forward, like a spear, to buy some time to think.
"Have you seen? She flies using a broom!" Marie yelled.
"We take everyone to the Conciergerie," the Bailiff decided, unsheathing his side sword. "Let's the higher-ups decide—"
"Leave us be, or we'll fuck you in the ass!" Valerie screamed, stepping forward, her tiny hands balled in fists.
"Valerie, language!" Elisa snapped.
At the same time, the doors of the stable burst out of their hinges, falling on the ground, and a dark shape stepped on the cobblestones of the alley. Its neigh resounded like a trumpet, making everyone freeze.
The Dragonling Battlesteed has used an Intimidating Debuff: Promise of Death.
The horse's form started to change, growing scales, wings, fangs, and claws. He let out a long plume of smoke and fire up in the air, over the soldiers' heads. They screamed and ran as one, throwing their weapons to move faster. Marie fell on her knees, hands together, praying.
"Don't kill her… even if she deserves it," Thomas called, interposing himself between the steed and the woman. "Why did you betray us, Marie?"
"…merci of my soul," the woman fell, fainting, after meeting the Dragonling's eyes, peaking from over Thomas's head.
"She must be a fundamentalist," Elisa said. "But she didn't show any signs…"
"I think she did, only if we paid attention. She's in church all day," Thomas said.
Meanwhile, Dragon had changed back and was munching on an apple Valerie offered. Back in the stables, Elisa's gray mare was looking at him with indignation. 'This is not a proper behavior for a horse!' her eyes were saying. Or maybe 'give me an apple too'. Reading animals' expressions was not easy.
"We have to run," Elisa said. "We'll take the portal to Rome. Where's Ana?"
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"I have no idea," Thomas turned his palms upward. "She left her phone behind."
"Auntie went to buy clothes in Paris," Valerie said.
"We can't afford to wait. Thomas, grab Ana's phone and anything valuable, and meet me in the back garden, in five. Put Marie on a couch…"
Fuck… She's been fifteen years in the family, and betrayed us without a blink… I hate religion.
"I'll pack my comics," Valerie exclaimed, rushing into the house.
Elisa hurried, following in the girl's steps, going up the stairs, back to her office. She kept her money and jewels there, but the object she needed now more than anything was the phone. Her fingers began tapping the message as fast as they were able to:
'I was almost arrested for witchcraft but Dragon scared them away. Francis has been taken prisoner, don't know more. We're flying to Rome. I hope everything is safe for you.'
She added her usual signature emoji, the one blowing a kiss in the form of a tiny heart, and blushed hard, her cheeks on fire.
Ten seconds later, there came the answer, short, but with the same emoji at the end:
'OMW. See you in Rome'
Elisa's body moved on its own, her lips kissing the screen, and then she tucked the phone into her chest, near her heart.
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New Reality: 31 August 1525, Rome
A late sleeper, Raphael moaned in displeasure when the woman shook him. "Led me sleeb…" he begged.
"Wake up!" she repeated the offense. "We're in danger."
"Is he back?" Raphael widened his eyes, suddenly returning to full awareness. He was her husband. A jealous one. Nevertheless, the feared thug was nowhere to be seen or heard. The woman had left him and was looking outside, peeking through a crack in the curtains, taking care not to be seen. "Err… M… My darling, what's happening?" Raphael asked, replacing Monica or Miriam, he wasn't sure of the name anymore, with a generic word.
"An army broke into the city," she said curtly but didn't offer more explanations, looking outside.
The first step was to dress. His shirt was still on, and for whatever reason, his shoes as well. All that Raphael needed were his pants.
C'mon, I was not so drunk… I didn't throw them out of the window again, did I?
With a relieved sigh, he found the trousers under the bed, put them on in a hurry, and pulled the woman back to be able to see outside. On the narrow streets of Rome, monsters were advancing in a single line, going on forever. Jaguars, as big as horses, mounted by small humanoid warriors, two of them for each animal, alternating with giant crocodiles, thirty feet long, each with a scaly-looking person riding on their shoulders.
Quest: Survive. Rome has been invaded by an army of unknown origin. Avoid contact with the presumed hostile forces.
"Fuck…" He knew he could hide easily, but what about M… the woman? Raphael was a womanizer, but he wouldn't let a lady be eaten by monsters, even if they met only the prior day. "We hide in the attic, and if there's trouble, we'll move on the roofs until we find a safe place," he proposed. Hoping they don't burn the city, he added in thought.
They exited the apartment. In the corridor, they met the old man living across the aisle, exiting his apartment. "Leave the door open, if they come for the loot, they might settle for the apartments and forget about the attic," the elderly said.
People were passing by, going upstairs, everybody in the building had the same idea as Raphael. At least no one was bothered by his presence, an affair in Rome was no big deal.
"You don’t look afraid to see a monster army outside," the artist observed.
The old neighbor shrugged. "Have you paid attention to what the Pope published these last months? Heroes with special gifts appeared? Magic is good? We can take a hint, you know."
"I say it's the Luther guy's fault," a large woman said, panting as she passed them and went up the stairs.
Raphael bit his lip. There was nothing to do but follow the crowd. The attic was full of dust and pigeons, that was about it. No one trusted their neighbors enough to leave some ham or dry their clothes in the common areas. Children began to sneeze, and the adults scolded them, asking for silence. They all spread around, trying to be as silent and inconspicuous as possible.
Raph pulled his partner to the farthest corner, near a small window giving on the roof, and they waited. He did not dare peek outside, but the noises of the moving army—grunts, growls, and hisses—were still going on. Fortunately, there were no noises in the building. No monster was thinking about looting, murdering, and raping. Yet.
All of a sudden, he remembered he had left his magical smartphone in the room. "I need something," he told the woman. Ignoring the neighbors' objections, he rushed out of the attic and down the stairs again. The phone was on the nightstand. He dialed Salvatore's number, with feverish fingers. No answer.
Cursing, he dialed Ardent. He answered. "Rome was taken over by monsters," Raphael blurted. "I don’t know how, but it looks bad."
"I know," the condottiere replied. "Clemy told me. He's in the Sant'Angelo fortress."
"Are you coming to help? This looks bad. Hundred of giant cats and crocodiles."
"I'm trying. Salvatore's not answering, and the main portal to Rome is not working. I guess it's a Mana surge stuff. I'm on my way to another portal, but have some… complications."
Raphael started to bite on his fingernails. "Any ideas about what to do?"
"I'll think of something and let you know… Sorry, have to go. Check your messages."
"Hey, did you hang up on me?... Fuck!"
An SMS arrived a minute later:
'A friend traveled From Paris to Rome through another portal. The arrival point is on a hill somewhere, use your minimap. Go there and protect her. I'll join you ASAP and we'll take it from there '
"Her? What kind of friend are you talking about?"
Job Quest: Check on Ardent's "friend". Secondary quest: Ensure your "friend" takes refuge in a safe place.
Job Buff activated: Your Dex Stat is raised to cap value for the day.
"Aha… That kind of friend… You dog!"
After putting the smartphone in its sheath and securing it on his belt, Raphael erupted out of the room. It took him five seconds to arrive back at the attic level, jumping from railing to railing, using his hands and feet. The object of his previous night's lust was waiting on the landing, looking at him in amazement.
The first thing he did was to put a camouflage spell over the door, making it appear just like any part of the dilapidated wall.
"What's… t-that?" the woman stuttered.
"Magic. I hid the entrance. We have to move… sorry…"
"Sorry about wh— hmph!"
In his storage, there was some magical rope and a gag he used on the woman, moving in a blur, spending only two seconds to tie her. Taking her on his shoulder, he opened a window; in no time, they were on the roof. Running on it, he somersaulted on the next one, then continued south, running faster than a horse, while invisible and soundless. The woman screamed, but the gag muffled the sound.
Ten minutes later, he reached the end of the block, and jumped down, directly from the fifth story. The woman tensed at first, then went limp, fainting.