Wandering Agent
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Chapter 100 Making Tracks
🕑 Added 2022-03-09 01:49:42 +0000 UTCI wanted to bolt from here as soon as was possible. Unfortunately I had a few problems. Firstly I was running on fumes of mana, and if I got caught out again in any kind of fight I was done. Second, Kala was still recovering. The priestess had gotten the drug out of her, but even without it she was nowhere near fighting shape yet. There were also the twin issues of needing to let Dras know I was bolting and all the bloody people now hanging around at the emergency exits.
We were still waiting on the administration to show up or whatever, though who knew how long that would last. As it stood, there were no sounds of fighting, or any indication anyone was trying to get into the dorm. That would normally be rather comforting, but our invaders had somehow managed to get into what was supposed to be our very secure school, so I was feeling less than confident that the next set of wards would stop them.
There was a series of tones from the entry and Professor Sasha went to go undo the wards. Apparently that particular series indicated that the staff were here and everything was secure.
We were shortly called to the main room. Our main emergency exit was in our baths, a roomy, and well out of sight, room. The dean stood there, looking rather more tired than I'd seen him before. He was normally a rather amused looking old man, like everything around him was a joke. Now though his eyes had bags and he seemed to be looking his actual age.
"Do we have any missing?" He asked as his eyes flitted over us.
"No sir, what happened?" Professor Sasha asked.
"We were attacked. We're not sure how they got into the city, much less the school, but we think that they're gone for now and we're calling a few guards go aid with things here," he said, rubbing his forehead.
These statements brought a whole series of questions from the room. There were demands to know if we were safe, who attacked us, what they wanted. The whole dorm was basically in a stir about the night's activities, and wanted to have a full rundown of things.
"Enough." Dean Lorrae let his aura fill the room, instantly silencing everyone. "from what we can see they are obviously from the army attacking the city. There is also evidence that they were here to capture students, ostensibly as leverage against their families. We do not believe that there is any danger at the moment, but will be investigating tomorrow. For now, several teachers will be staying in the dorms for the night so everyone can rest. We'll also be organizing shifts for the older students and staff to back them up."
That all sounded well fine and good, but I had my own problem. They'd designated me as "Primary" as in "Primary Target" and that was no good. I needed out of here and as quickly as I could manage it. If I stuck around either the staff would eventually figure out what our enemies were after, which couldn't end well for me, or they'd come back, which might well end worse. I didn't know why I was being sought, but I suspected they might have gotten wind of some of my research and decided that I needed to work for them, or at least be taken from the kingdom as a safety precaution.
Therefore, I needed to go to ground, at least until I could figure out what they wanted. There were a few things I'd like to take along, gold, some personal effects, my armor, Kala. Sadly that would all have to wait, because my chances of getting out of here bone dry on mana were practically zero. I might manage to if I told the school that I was going to head off to the temple, and got an escort, but that would be just putting another target up. I needed to take a page from my old friend Jackson and make tracks before the heat got any higher. Before I could go though, I'd need to sleep for a couple of hours.
So I headed up to my room like everyone else and went straight to my bed. I feared that I would have issues getting to sleep but the day's events had been quite a bit and I fell right out like a light. My dreams were a bit fitful, seeing again and again the people coming after me, or catching me, or prison cells.
Eventually I stirred, sitting up and finding my room pitch dark, which suited me just fine. A quick call of "Illuminate" fixed the darkness and I set to work. I packed my things, donning my armor and prepping a bag with some clothes and other necessities, along with my few personal effects. I put on one of my dresses over the armor, trying to hide what it was, a poor camouflage, but it would do from a distance.
I also wrote a few notes, one to Dras telling him I was heading off, but would meet with him again later. One to the school authorities, telling them basically that I thought that there was too much danger and was leaving. Finally one for Dora. I left a glowing review for any future employers, and a few gold to make up for my swift exit.
I heard the door open and the subject enter my chambers just as I was finishing the last one up.
"Am I to assume that you intend to flee the school miss?" Dora asked as she looked me over, seeing my clothes and packed bag.
"Yes Dora, I do. Will you try to stop me?"
"No miss, I quite understand your decision. Have you packed everything?" She was taking this remarkably well, but I suppose she was a professional, and would return to Pinea's family afterwards.
"I have a few sets of clothing that I'm having to leave. Other than that I've got everything. This is for you." I handed her the note, and the money.
"You're quite kind. Most wouldn't have thought of their staff."
"They should. Anyway Dora, if you would please cover the fact that I've left until the rest of the students get up I would be quite appreciative."
"Of course miss. I wish you the best of luck." With that she moved out of the doorway, letting me pass.
I deactivated my lamp, and began to hum. By the time I was past her I was quite invisible, and silent as a passing breeze. There were a few people here and there in the halls, but none were really equipped to deal with my level of stealth, another point against staying here.
Kala's room was right just so close that slipping to it and in was almost trivial. I moved to her bedside and woke her gently.
"What's?' She took a moment to look me over as I dropped my spell. "Ah, leaving are we?"
"Yes, and you need to get ready to go too. It's not safe here for us anymore."
"Seriously? Sure, they came after us, but they were after the whole student body."
"Kala, please trust me, I'll explain on the way, but we need to go now." That got her attention, and got her to start moving quickly. I helped where I could, putting her things in a bag and helping her into a warm traveling dress.
I was happy to see her follow my lead in leaving a couple of notes explaining her absence. She even left one for her temple, on the off chance that we didn't end up there for awhile. Neither of us really wanted to cause problems with our getaway, but some would doubtless appear anyway.
I gave her a brief primer on hiding her aura, took her hand, and started tossing the stealth on. We moved down the stairs silently and made our way quick as you will to the baths. I could see just the faintest bit of energy coming off of her, but to anyone not paying attention it was unlikely to register. There were still a few tiny bubbles coming off of me too, but there was little to do about it.
As we slipped into the baths I was amused to see that we weren't the only ones to have had the idea. There were already several girls behind a small silencing wall who seemed to be getting a firm telling off by one of the teachers. There were gesticulations and pointing, and if I could read lips I'm sure I'd have seen the standard admonitions being repeated. Again though, they weren't prepped for the amount of stealth I was bringing to the party.
I waited until the professor had turned her back to activate the secret door. It was simple enough, just pushing a bit of mana into the right place. As I did so the wall slid back and we hurried in. I thought I saw a smile flash on one of the girl's faces who could see our exit, but hopefully she wouldn't say anything. I closed the door behind us, and we began our trek through the tunnel.
Within a few hundred yards we found a faintly glowing barrier. We'd been told of these back when the emergency policies had first been handed out. It was a simple enough spell. It functioned as a one-way door. You could leave, but once out, there was no coming back in. It also appeared as a black surface to the other side, though we could see through.
On the other side was a tunnel, much like ours. The passage was about ten feet across and the same in height, clearly designed for people to move quickly along it with smooth floors and walls. It had one light near the doorway, since light on our side wouldn't be visible over there but was otherwise empty.
I quickly pulled out my lamp and we passed through. After a few minutes walking in silence Kala squeezed my hand. I dropped the invisibility, the floating light would have given us away anyway, but I had been nervous.
"So, care to tell me what this is all about? Not that I mind running off with you too much."
"Kala... I'm sorry I got you into this."
"I suppose you'll have to find a way to make it up to me later then. What am I into?"
"Um... so after you called my name and went down the leader told his men I was their primary."
"Oh." She stopped walking for a few seconds. "That's bad."
"Yeah. I would have wanted you to come along anyway, but... they know who you are, so..."
"Well, nothing we can do now. If we get to the temple The Lovers can protect us, or The Shield for that matter." With that she started up again.
"I'd like to stop by Lucien's first. The Shield if my official guardian, so it seems likely they'll be the first to get checked if they realize I'm not at the school anymore. The Sky isn't much better, but I'm fairly sure it's more off the record. He said he had somewhere to hide too, so I think it's good to check."
Kala frowned. "Alana, I think we should go based on where we come out. If we come out closer to the entertainment district, we head to The Starlit Sky, if we're nearer the temples, we head to The Lovers."
I pouted a bit, but she was right. "Okay, but let's not tell The Shield okay? I think their asshole bishop might just lock me in a room if he finds out there are soldiers after me."
She snorted and put her hands on my face. "Deal, and feel free to continue pouting like that. It's terribly cute on you."
Our course decided we made our way swiftly down the tunnel. I was glad I brought my lamp along, it would save me a decent bit of mana depending on how long this trip took. A quick check confirmed that it was nearly full. That was great, I had no idea how long exactly that charge would last, but saving anything right now was a good choice.
