The fortress itself was dilapidated, the smell of dust rot and stagnation in the air, so intense that Ash worried she might contract some status effect or disease just from being in this area.
This is... Without a shadow of a doubt, one of the grossest places I've been in. Ash noted.
Still, she walked past ruined wooden racks and tables, old unlit sconces and candles, and through various stone halls. She could barely see, but the darkness wouldn't last for too long though. As she continued, eventually she reached a door. Every couple of seconds, flashes of white and violet would come from the cracks around the door, indicating something creating light behind it.
I'm going to take a wild guess and say that the necromancer's there... Ash thought as she cautiously opened it and peered inside. Immediately, she spotted two figures standing at the room's center. One belonged to an exceptionally pale woman dressed in a suit of black feathers. The other was that of a short woman who, although Ash could only see her from a distance right now, appeared to fit the bill.
Indeed, she had hair that was a white-rose color, so long it covered most of her thin body. Her eyes, a clear pink, were slightly glowing in a way that reminded Ash of her own. She shook her head though.
Focus. Ash thought. All she needed to do was get this girl out of this place and Ash would spend the rest of her days lounging in Jade. That little dream of hers was necessary because as she looked around and saw different skeletons standing by, she noticed their levels.
Fuck... They're all around level 20. Ash cursed. Okay... All of a sudden, that whole "you don't need to fight her" part is sounding pretty fortunate.
Even with her Demon Form, Ash wasn't confident she could take out multiple level 20 skeletons, all while contending with a level 30 necromancer at the same time. So, she needed to come up with a strategy. Something that would allow her to escape this place with the girl, without fighting the necromancer directly.
The best scheme that came to her mind was to make use of one of the items she usually carried, and hope for the best. Ash crouched and reached into her bag. Here, she had almost half of the food that Kaori had made for her and a few tools. Most were basic things, knives, ropes, satchels, a map, basic utility. One, however, was something she used in situations like these. An invention of Onyx called a "smoke bomb".
Once she had it in her hands, she briefly plotted an escape route. Okay... So, I'll take her, carry her out here, jump over the table, run out the building. Should be easy enough.
The smoke bomb itself wasn't enough to guarantee success, but that was where another of Ash's tools came into play. During her time in Amber, another person aside from Kaori who tolerated her presence was an illusionist by the name of Kasumi. The two were not friends, but for a small fee, Kasumi taught Ash a few spells.
Five level difference... Either it'll just barely affect her, or it won't affect her at all. Still have to try though. Ash thought.
Taking a couple of deep breaths, Ash nodded to herself. It was time to put these ideas to work. First, she threw the smoke bomb into the room, landing it at the center. It exploded, covering the room in a grey fog.
"An intruder!? Find them!" Vermia yelled at her skeletons.
Ash then closed her eyes.
"Blanket of reality, cover our visage."
And when she reopened them, she saw her body turn transparent.
Nothing ventured, nothing gained. She told herself and as the skeletons opened the door to look for the threat, she slipped into the room behind them.
Almost instantly, a bolt of black lightning struck the wall right next to her.
"Camouflaging?" Vermia asked. "An amateur's trick, that won't save you!"
"YEAH? WELL, IT SURE LOOKS LIKE YOU MISSED TO ME, BITCH!" Ash yelled back and the woman launched more lightning at her, which also failed to hit.
Ash did her best to stay calm.
She can just barely see me. The skeletons can't see me at all. I can do this.
So, she sprinted forwards, towards the girl. A few undead were standing between them. Ash pulled out her daggers from her belt and planted one right in a skeleton's skull. Another went to stab her, but Ash easily dodged and tripped it, crushing its head under her foot afterward.
The necromancer scowled and raised a hand. Ash's eyes widened.
Vermia launched multiple bolts of dark lightning towards her, each one barely missing and cracking the very ground she stood on.
Ash continued moving, trying her hardest to reach Keiko. This was the point where fighting was not really an option anymore.
"W-WAIT!" The girl yelled but Ash was moving too fast. She ran into something that made her freeze.
What!? Ash looked down and saw a glowing symbol painted around her left foot.
"HA! YOU'VE ACTIVATED MY TRAP RUNE!" Vermia yelled.
Dammit! How could I be so careless!?
"I figured a few heroes would come to save her. Precautions were, of course, taken."
Ash heard the skeletons start to return to the room. Vermia was raising a hand, about to launch a spell at her that would surely hit.
Oh. I'm fucked. Ash realized.
She tried to move but was unable to. Sighing, she waited for Vermia's spell to end her.
It was worth a try.
However, before Vermia was able to do so, a ball of rose-colored flames struck her head.
Did... Did Keiko do that? Ash asked herself. Holy shit.
Vermia cried out, but the attack didn't do any real damage. Ash, however, took this as an opportunity. She took one of her daggers and lifted it up.
She aimed it, holding her breath.
Then, she threw it straight at the necromancer, and it stabbed right in her throat.
"Aghg!" Blood came out of Vermia's lips and the spell that was trapping Ash released.
Ash wasted no time though. She took Keiko by the forearm as Vermia fell to the ground, clutching her throat, and the half-demon ran out of the room.
"Blanket of reality, cover our visage." Ash cast the same spell, this time placing it over herself and Keiko. The skeletons ignored her, walking right past her and into the room. Ash smirked.
Holy shit. I did it.
---
"Oh my goodness, you did it!" The girl said.
The two of them stood outside of the fortress, Ash was tying her bag to her horse as Keiko spoke behind her.
"You actually killed her!" Keiko said.
"No," Ash replied. "She probably lived."
"... What?" Keiko asked. "But, how...?"
"She's a necromancer," Ash explained. "The instant one of those skeletons reentered the room, she probably drained it of whatever life it had left to heal herself. Which means," she picked the girl up, earning a yelp, and placed her on the horse, "we need to go."
And so, Ash spurred her horse to move as fast as it could, and the two promptly escaped. She took a dirt road that would eventually lead back to Amber, and she allowed herself to calm down when she noticed that Vermia wasn't chasing after her.
Ash would then take Keiko back to Amber, where the Arcane would reward her with all of the crowns she deserved for such a dangerous task, and Ash would go on to finally leave Amber. She could finally leave the dangerous lands of the south behind and Ash would live the rest of her life in pleasant isolation.
Or, that's what would have happened. If a group of riders hadn't intercepted Ash on the road.
"What the...?" Ash muttered as she saw a few men and women dressed like Amber officers, wearing brown coats with violet emblems on their chests. Ash narrowed her eyes. What the fuck is this?
One horse among them moved towards her, and that was when Ash noticed Jacob. What is... Oh.
She realized what was happening as the man smiled at her. I see.
"Ash! Old friend," Jacob said. "What? You aren't happy to see me?"
Ash replied with a deep glare.
"I see your exploits have been fruitful," Jacob said, gesturing at Keiko.
"What do you want, Jacob?" Ash asked, though she already had an idea.
Mostly, she just wanted him to start talking so she could figure out a way to escape.
"Oh, come on," Jacob said. "You didn't seriously believe I would let 15 white royal crowns slip out of my grasp so easily, did you?"
"So, what's your big idea?" Ash asked, again, already knowing the answer.
"You know, I see now that your ruthlessness and persistence is simply compensating for a lack of intelligence, isn't it? Ash! It's obvious!" Jacob laughed.
Yeah, yeah, go ahead, get your monologue out of the way. Ash thought as she snuck a few glances at her surroundings.
The land to the left is too open. Even if I tried to cast an illusion spell, there's too high a chance his archers could kill me.
"The Arcane is willing to pay all of those crowns to whoever returns his daughter. Who rescued her doesn't really matter, does it?" He cackled. "Ultimately, it's a simple matter, really. That money... Who would make better use of it? A half-demon like you who would take it and do nothing but laze around all day? Occasionally toss a few coins onto whatever whore would keep you company? Or me, a businessman who can improve the lives of others? I'll let you choose, Ash." He said.
To my right... Ash looked beyond the trees, knowing what remained at the other side of this small patch of land.
The idea that came to her was almost suicide, but it was starting to seem like the only viable choice.
"Come on, Ash. Do the right thing," Jacob told her. "There will be other jobs. You can just take other missions. Give us the girl, and we'll let you walk away. I don't dislike you, Ash. I really don't. I'd rather not have to kill you."
Ash thought about it. In part, he was right. If they really wanted her dead, they would have just shot her as soon as they saw her. And, if Ash gave the girl up and came back, there would be other jobs and she'd go right back to saving money up slowly.
But, she didn't want to do that. She was too tired. She had no intention of living like this for much longer. So, Ash rolled her shoulders.
Someone then came to her mind. The girl who this situation was all about. Ash looked back at her and saw that she wasn't even looking at them. Her arms had been half-heartedly held around Ash's waist. Her eyes were half-closed and she looked like she was almost going to faint.
Ash muttered:
"Sorry."
The girl raised her head.
"Hm?" She hummed. "What do you...?"
"Sorry," Ash said again. "For what I'm about to do. I don't think you're gonna like this."
And then, Ash spurred her horse and with it, went to the right, between the sickly trees. She heard Jacob issue an order and soon, arrows were flying out towards her, but they only hit the trees she used as cover.
Ash's horse cleared so much ground so quickly, leaping over roots and winding between trees, that her pursuers struggled to keep up.
And eventually, they let her go altogether.
Why? Probably because they realized what Ash's plan was.
She decided to take Keiko and herself into the Mist Realm.
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