Chapter 122: Chapter One Hundred and Twenty-Two: The Long Walk Back

At first, we walked across the fields that surrounded the capital for a few miles in every direction, but after an hour or so of walking we reached the outskirts of a forest.

“Is it going to be safe walking through there?” I asked.

“Yes. There’s nothing to be found in here that would be a risk to us.” Answered Altria.

“That’s a relief.”

I thought back to the bear monsters as we stepped inside. I’d grown stronger since that encounter, but I was glad to hear that we would find anything like that in this wood.

“The wood isn’t that vast. We’ll have passed though it in a couple of hours. I guess a little before dawn.” Explained Altria.

The three of us entered the dark forest. For the next couple of hours, it was hard going as we made our way through. Both Altria and Celine had good night vision, but with the tree cover and only the weak light from the moon to guide us it was difficult for me. Even after my eyes had adjusted somewhat to the darkness under the trees, I could still only make out what was right in front of me. I had to follow Altria closely. I didn’t want to think about how lost I would get in here if I was somehow separated from the others.

Eventually we passed through and came out the other side. Altria’s guess turned out to be pretty accurate, and I could see the first signs of dawn appearing on the far horizon. We were back to wandering across grassland, it was now a lot easier for me to see, but I still had no idea of where we were or where we were going. I just hoped that Altria did.

“There’s a small town about six miles up ahead. We should make it there early this morning.” Altria said as if she guessed what I was thinking.

“Good. I hope we’ll be able to find some food and supplies there.” I replied.

“We should be able to. Last time I visited they still had a small market. I think we’ll be able to obtain everything we need there.”

“Do you think word will have reached them from the capital yet?”

“Probably not, but either way we’re just going to have to risk it. We can’t go on much further without picking up supplies.”

“That’s true we can’t avoid it. We’ll just have to try and draw as little attention as possible.”

“Yes… About that, it’s going to be light very soon and we’re going to have to join the road before we reach the town. What do you want to do about her?” Altria said while motioning to Celine.

I’d almost forgot. The last thing we needed was someone seeing her.

“Celine, I’m sorry but you are going to have to stay hidden for a while.”

“But what about her? You aren’t going to make her go anywhere, why me?” Complained Celine.

“She can’t hide herself like you can and besides, there’s nothing particularly unusual about a Catkin visiting a town. Then again if you walk in with us people will instantly recognise a demon. Things are bad enough for us as they are.”

“I can change my appearance.”

“Can you keep it up indefinitely and can you guarantee that no one will be able to see through your disguise?”

“I can’t keep it up forever and there might be some that can see through my ability if they have the right skills.”

“Then we can’t risk it.”

“But…”

“Sorry Celine you’re going to have to hide.”

“Fine.” She agreed finally with a pout.

A moment later and Celine popped into thin air.

“She really can just disappear. I suppose that was how she escaped back in the dungeon. Where does she go?” Asked Altria.

“I’ve no idea.”

“So, she could still be here and listening to us?”

“I guess she could be.”

“Then we should probably be a little careful what we say.”

“I think we can trust her, but yes you’re right.”

 Altria sighed.

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“You know, you should've told us about her sooner.”

“I know, but I wasn’t sure how you’d all react, and I was leaving it until a better time. At least until we left the capital.”

“How long has this been going on?”

“She found me the night before we left…”

“I suppose I can understand that. You know you’re going to have to tell them after we all meet up again.”

“I know, I will.”

“Good… And well, I think we should decide what happens to her as the group. It won’t only be you that will be affected if we get found out for harbouring a demon.”

“Is that a crime?”

“Of course, it is! We’re at war with them.”

“I didn’t know… Okay, I understand. We’ll decide what happens to her among the party. But I don’t want her harmed, not while she hasn’t done anything to me.”

“She did try to kill you, twice. But I understand what you mean, she did save both our lives back there. There was no need to do that if she was an enemy.”

“Thanks Altria.”

“Just don’t assume that the others will be as understanding.”

“I won’t.”

“Good. Come on we should probably get moving again.”

Altria looked as if she was getting a headache as we made our way across the fields and towards the road. I guess it was a lot extra to worry about on top of everything that was already going on. After about thirty minutes of cutting across country we joined up with the road again. This wasn’t the main road that headed to the capital, so fortunately it was fairly quiet. But this being the heart of the kingdom it wasn’t entirely deserted and from time to time carriages and carts passed by. Luckily for us Altria picked them up before they came into view. We were able to keep out of sight for most of our walk into the town.

We couldn’t stay out of sight forever though. Eventually we reached the outskirts of the small town and from there on we had no choice but to walk in plain view. Hiding from every passer by would only serve to draw more attention to us.

The town really was a small one. It was probably only a few times bigger than some of the villages we had visited and looked as if it served as a local hub for the surrounding settlements. There was no wall surrounding the place and just a couple of guards on patrol where the road entered the town. Luckily for us they didn’t seem that interested in stopping travellers that were passing through.

“Looks like word hasn’t come from the capital yet. Those guards didn’t look to be on high alert.” Altria said once we had passed inside.

“That’s a relief.”

“Yes, but there’s no telling how long it will stay like that for. The news will come out of the capital soon enough. For all we know, we could end up being wanted.”

“I hope that’s not the case.”

“Me too, but we should still hurry.”

“Yeah, let’s get what we need from the market and get out of here.”

It was still early in the morning the morning, but the market was already up and running. It wasn’t exactly bustling, but there was more than handful of people doing their shopping. We quickly gathered the food and supplies we would need to travel back to Dunshelm. We spent most of the money we had on us, leaving just enough for passage on a carriage if the chance came up. Realistically though we had to plan like we would need to walk the entire way.

The last stall we came to was selling clothing, nothing fancy, but they did have cloaks that looked good for travelling and like they would serve well to keep unwanted eyes from us. They were tatty looking and made from coarse material. I could see that it wasn’t something that Altria wanted to wear, but she knew the use of not standing out for us. Once we had everything that we needed, we followed the main road through the town until we reached the other side. Before long we were out into the countryside once again and heading in the direction of Dunshelm.

“How long will it take us if we have to walk the entire way?” I asked.

“A week if we’re lucky.” Replied Altria.

“That’s a long time. Word of what happened in the capital will have got out by then.”

“Yes… I hope we can find transport along the way. I just don’t want to try and pick up something so close by. At least if we board from further away, they won’t think we’ve just come from the capital.”

After leaving the town we kept to the road for a while. Altria thought it was easiest for us to follow the road for a bit before we cut across county. It was relatively quiet this time in the morning, and we had been a good half an hour before we met any traffic on the road. As usual Altria picked up the sound of an approaching carriage before I could even sense it. We both got out of sight in the undergrowth and the edge of the road.

A few moments later and a carriage rolled into view. It was making haste and travelling down the road at quite a considerable speed. At first, I thought it was going to fly past without noticing us, but as it came close to our position the driver suddenly pulled on the reigns and tried to bring the carriage to halt as quickly as possible. It slowed to a stop only a few feet further down the road from where we were hidden. As soon as it stopped the carriage door was flung open.

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