<~> Chapter 198Talis pulled the chair away from the broken door and peered outside at the guards and Tamin priests who walked by. There were patrols, even here in the slums. If we were caught sneaking through the city there would be some pretty inve questions to aop of the list would be the five colrless pantharians in roup, eae past the first would add suspi troup, and sneaking through the city with five would draw attention.

  "Are you sure this is a good idea?" Raya whispered.

  "No," Lorriene replied. "But leaving is a better idea than staying here. After all the beastkin iy who didn't own homes or property were pushed to stay in the slums, tensions have gotten high. While merts aired adventurers may have gotten away with sleeping in their shops or small mansions, rookie beastkin adveook the hit on the hey were forced to move into shacks and hostels by the authority of the king. What do you think happens when a bunch of people traio fight monsters for a living barely accept that they o stay in the slums for a while? Then what happens whehority behind that edict disappears o gets out that the king is dead? The Tamin church are fanatics, they'll bme the king's death on the beastkin guaranteed, whether the guards go along with that is a toss-up. The wound is still fresh and a lot of beastkin iy are still pissed off about it, if the church or city guard starts pushikin around after f most of them to move here, it's only a matter of time before one of them snaps and someoarts another riot. I'd rather not be in this part of towhe oil catches fire."

  Lorriene had ged into a different outfit. It was mostly made from a dark grey fabric, simir to something a traditional mage would wear, but it hung loosely on her body and made her silhouette difficult to read. Her back was covered up by an attached cloak with a hood made from the same material and she wore a ask that hid most of her face. The cloak hid her ears and tail too, the outfit was clearly made with those features in mind but they didn't allow for them to be exposed. She would be identifiable as a beastfolk but the outfit didn't reveal much else.

  Raya frowned. "I saw what happened wheried to stay in that hotel oher side of town but are beastfolk really treated that badly here?"

  Sibyl patted her on the shoulder. "They are. That's why I decided to retire in Goldeh. Aside from the Ruby Vixen, it's one of the easiest pces for beastfolk to live in this try. Maybe aside from the frontier, but that's a newer development."

  "e on, it's clear," Silva told them before pushing through the door. "This way."

  Silva was once again leading us through the dark streets only to duck us into cover befuards or Tamin adherents passed by. We hadn't gohrough this part of town before but we made fast progress through the city.

  "Do you know where we're going?" I asked.

  "Yes. I've beehe pce before. The political embassies of the nearby tries are in the district where the fanobles live. It's unfortunately on the opposite side of the city and we o travel around the barricaded alleys again. I don't want to go back the way we came though, best to take another path this time," Silva replied.

  "There's someone up ahead," Lorriene whispered to Silva.

  "Where? I don't hear—"

  A Tamin padin walked onto the street in front of us with silent steps. He stopped and looked over at us with mild surprise on his face. His hand gripped his sword. "Where—"

  Before he could say a sed word, Lorriene appeared right behind him in a wisp of bck smoke. One hand covered his mouth pulling his head back, and the other shoved a glowing red dagger upward through his ned into his skull. The man died instantly and fell limp. Lorrieruggled to hold the armored man up and nearly dropped him on the ground before Silva ran forward to ease the body down onto the stoh. Lorriene anting and looked fatigued from what she had just done.

  None of us standing there in the alley save for Silva was ready for what had just happened.

  "Shado..." Torien whispered in awe. Man didn't say anything but her knuckles turned white as her fiightened arouaff.

  "This padin is wearing a silence charm," Silva said after pulling a yellow piece of paper off the corpse, "that's why I didn't hear him."

  Lorriene nodded. "What do we do with the body? that one eat it?" she said gng back at Mimi.

  I turo Mimi and frowned. "Mimi... I don't know..."

  She nodded with a grim look on her face. "I don't have enough space to keep the body... I'd have to eat him entirely..." She took a breath. "I promise I won't get a taste for it. If we don't have better options..."

  "No," Silva interrupted. "Let's just drag the body into the alley. It won't matter if it's found. Lilith, you put up a [Zone of Silenbsp;please?"

  I could feel Mimi's relief through the bond and I felt quite relieved as well. I'm not sure what about that exactly repulsed me but it felt... wrong. It was something that couldn't be undone.

  I snapped up a retively rge [Zone of Silenbsp;and used my magitrol to keep it taio the street and alleys themselves without bleeding through the walls. It would be dumb to get caught by casting this kind of spell in a way that garnered someone's attention.

  Silva dragged the body behind some knee-high crates and covered him up with a worn bhat had been inside of one. "Not perfect but it should be enough for now. Do you think they'd be able this wound Lorriene?"

  She shook her head. "No, it should be fine. I'm not the only one who would kill someohis way and my dagger shouldn't leave any sting indication it was me."

  "Good. Let's keep moving then," Silva said gruffly.

  The two pantharians that were ing with us had their eyes glued to Lorriene's back as we tinued on. I suspected that I was missing the full text but it seemed like I wasn't the only ohat was impressed by Lorriene's sudden atta the guard. Torien and Man also seemed rather astounded but they kept their gawking to a minimum. Sihey were trained as advehey went right back to sing the area for threats as we followed Silva through the maze of streets and alleys in the slums. The time ent walki lohan it probably was but we were eventually led to a spot where the barricades had already beeroyed by someone else.

  "This looks like a trap," Sibyl said. "One random unguarded break in the barricade?"

  Silva frowned. "I don't hear anyone nearby and we o get through somewhere. All of the buildings on this edge of the quarter sound occupied so we 't gh a building this time."

  "I'll go first," Lorriene whispered before moving forward and peeking her head through the hole. She stepped through and looked around before signaling to us that it was clear.

  Silva signaled for us to stay put befoing through and also took a look around. It seemed that we may have been too paranoid. A few moments ter she waved the rest of us through. Oher side of the street, roup slipped through a space between two buildings and ended up in a narrow alley.

  Talis noticed me looking at the tight fines. "This part of town is an upscale business area targeted at he streets and shops are rger but as a result, the space between the buildings is a little more narrow and easier to move through without being seen at night. They're also on more of a grid so you move through this area without getting lost, uhe slums if you're not familiar with them. None of these buildings have doors in the rear for security reasons though so people will find it really odd if you e out of one of these alleys in front of aalis whispered.

  We walked down the long narrow path between the buildings and stopped occasionally to let the patrols searg the streets pass by. Now that we were out of the slums we were able to move faster but the times we o pass through the rge open streets to get to another of the narrow alleys was more nerve-wrag. More than once we also had to take a detour and wait between two of the buildings as a patrol of guards walked the alleys as well.

  Eventually, we made it to the northern quarter of the city where all of the noble houses and try embassies were statiohere wasn't ao hide this time so we had to walk openly ireets and trust that Silva would be able to navigate us around any more of the patrols.

  "We're close," Cecilia told Silva. "It's down this street on the left. The building with leaf and viifs."

  Silva nodded in aowledgment and led us forward. The two elven guards outside noticed us right away and readied their spears as roached. Cecilia signaled for us to wait befoing up to the guards by herself and having a versation out of earshot of me. The guards seemed skeptical but sent a runner into the building behind them and waited for their returhan half a mier the runner came back with another elf who sighe guards to stand down and spoke quietly to Cecilia.

  With a nod, he gestured for roup to e into the embassy. The elven guards stepped aside and roup ehe courtyard. A lot of the tension faded as we stepped through the gate of the Northern Greens Embassy. The elven guards retook their posts behind us after we passed.

  Cecilia stopped and waited for me to catch up with her. "Master Routil Tangleleaf wishes to speak with us while everyos settled into the guest rooms. He accepted us for the night but we'll o vince him to allow everyone else to stay longer."

  "Is there anything I o be worried about?" I asked.

  "No. You be did with him... within reason. I wouldn't reveal too many of your personal secrets but we tell him about your e to Silvergrove and your assassination of the king."

  I frowned. "It's not like I had pnned for that, Silva took it into her own hands."

  She shrugged. "It doesn't matter. The elves were never fond of the st few kings here and will be perfectly happy to shelter everyone once we expin things. Bringing so many pantharians will also help our case as the elves felt the pantharians were wronged by this kingdom. e, we ot keep Master Tangleleaf waiting."

  Cecilia led me through the main embassy building to one of the offices on the sed floor. She seemed fortable with the pd seemed to know where she was going. I had known she had a e with the elves but it seems she has been here before too. She held the door open for me and closed it once I walked into the elf's office. The elf had near-white blond hair and green eyes. He was wearing green robes but I suspected it was because we were here in the middle of the night instead of normal w hours.

  "Master Tangleleaf." Cecilia bowed. "This is Lilith Baphomet. Tarkli me with her to keep an eye on her for reasons you'll o discuss with him. Part of my job was to keep her safe iy and now that the king is dead, I've determihe only way I could do that was by bringing her and her rades here. Tarklin made it clear to me that proteg her was of the utmost importand now that I know more about her, I agree with him."

  The elf shifted his focus from Cecilia to me and I shifted my weight awkwardly under his gaze. I wasn't sure if I was allowed to speak right now so I kept quiet and waited for a question.

  The elven man finally broke the silence. "Yes, Tarklin Silvergrove sent me a letter about her retly. Are you the one who killed the King?" he asked after shifting his attention to me.

  I scratched the base of my horn. "One of my friends did. She was a crime sve who forcibly removed her colr with magid killed him as well as the captain of the guard before I could react."

  The elf folded his hands and leaned ba his chair as he looked over me. "You o knowledge yet you still cim this one as a friend?"

  I shifted my weight again. I wasn't sure what he was getting at with this or how much I should admit. "I had no love for the King here and while my retionship with her is a bit tenuht now, she's saved my life in the past so it's hard not to keep calling her my friend."

  "I see..." He sighed and gnced out the window. "I believe this will require a longer versation with a few of my subordinates present. You and everyone yht with you stay at the embassy for now but I'll require you and your former crime sve to have a meeting with me tomorrow m once all of us have had more sleep. You are dismissed."

  Cecilia opehe door and herded me through it and dowairs. "That went well!" she said happily.

  "Really? How could you tell?" I asked fused.

  Saine

  Hello! Got to see some of Lorriene's skills this chapter. There's a bit more to her thahe eye, seems like she's not the simple maid the twins thought she was. I hope you enjoyed reading!

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