The Trickster Demon looked quite energetic as it lugged a crystal twice its size toward . Its tiny muscles bulged as it moved the heavy crystal. The newborn demon only stopped when it stood before , chest pushed out, trying way too hard not to breathe loudly.
Maybe, if not for the exhaustion in its eyes, I would have been fooled.
"We cannot bring that much with us. It will only slow us down." I tried to explain to the Trickster Demon, but my words t deaf ears. All the demon did was return to the pile of goodies and co back with more shimring gemstones. It waved them before , which made curse.
And when I took its valuables away to return them to the pile, it snapped at and snarled, shouting in Demonic, which I still wasn’t proficient in.
Do I have to learn their language? I sighed deeply, studying the little bugger who leaped back into the pile of gemstones and ca back with an even larger handful.
"Okay, okay. Let’s make a compromise." I had to take a deep breath to retain a calm head. "You can bring a few gemstones and crystals with you. BUT only the amount you can turn invisible later. We need to leave this place without getting discovered."
The stuff was going to weigh down and slow my escape, yet I needed the Trickster Demon’s help. As long as it did what I wanted, I could take a few more souvenirs. Not like it mattered since the eggs were probably the most valuable.
The Trickster Demon nodded eagerly and rushed back to the pile to return with even more treasures. It covered the eggs with gemstones and crystal shards, filling the duffel bag. Then it snapped its claws and the bag turned invisible in my hands.
Satisfied, I transford into the soldier with Ignite.
Shift didn’t trigger right away. It took several seconds before the transformation started, and it took even longer before a small flalet was conjured in my palm. That flalet was enough to set the Trickster Demon’s eggshells on fire. I had them placed far enough from the tent so it would take so ti for it to catch fire but close enough to ensure that it would actually go up in flas—once I was at the edges of Camp Ashborn.
"Make sure nobody can see for twenty heartbeats." I called out, then looked at the Trickster Demon’s complexion. The little bugger was already on the verge of collapsing. "Then make it ten. Or five. Just make sure the bag stays invisible."
A bead of sweat trickled down my left cheek as I stepped out of the tent.
"Did you see that?" soone to my left asked, making my heart jump.
"What are you talking about?" an annoyed voice responded snarkily.
Looking to the left, I saw a group of soldiers around a campfire. The sll of barbeque was dangerously delicious. It only made hungrier than I already was, but my stomach remained silent. For now.
"The tent just moved."
A collection of laughter resounded. "Yeah, and your mother is a Najad. Fuck you and your stupid pranks, Brenton."
The soldier—Brenton, I guessed—stood up, eyes narrowed. I half-expected him to rush over to the tent and look inside. He didn’t. Instead, he cursed the other soldiers before mumbling sothing about taking a dump.
"What a brickhead." One of the other soldiers shook his head as I walked by them with hurried steps.
Then my stomach growled.
"Are you hungry again, Silas?" yet another soldier chuckled, but the man in question looked around, confused.
"That wasn’t ," he said truthfully, but broke into a bright grin. "But I feel like eating an entire Esar Boar!"
"Don’t lie, dude, we don’t hold your gluttony against you. It’s fun!" the other soldier bantered again. By that ti, I was already past them.
Not even two heartbeats later, I reached the next-closest row of tents when the Trickster Demon collapsed in my left palm. It lded with the Insignia of Dominance, which burst through the transformation montarily. My heart nearly skipped when the Insignia popped up, but it faded after a few more heartbeats. At that point, I rged with the surrounding tent.
That worked as well as I could have hoped for. It was like Fortuna was on my side until I realized that the duffel bag was clearly visible. That wasn’t great at all. Even worse, soone took note of .
"What are you doing here, soldier? Shouldn’t you be with your unit?" a middle-aged soldier asked when he noticed from a distance. He was with yet another group of soldiers, which turned to look at .
"Oh no!" I heard from behind and knew exactly what was happening.
"The tent with the treasures was set on fire!" I shouted frantically. "Captain Anthea ordered to bring these things away."
Turning away from the soldiers, I pointed in the direction of the first group and the tent I’d set on fire. The flalet had spread much faster than I’d expected, but it was probably for the best. "The others should be behind . Soldier Brenton just left to ask for help from the Water Magician."
The soldiers turned in the direction I was looking at and jumped to their feet. They leaped into action right away and rushed over to help. So cursed and stumbled, but they left, leaving alone. Except for one. The middle-aged soldier was already on the way to follow his comrades when he slowed and turned.
"Wait a mont. We don’t have a Water Magician. The only one with a Power related to Water died in the skirmish against the Hnoll." He muttered, more to himself than anyone else.
I’d considered attacking him, killing him, for a mont. Instead, I disappeared into the rows upon rows of tents while his head was turned away. The soldier swung around by the ti he seed to realize that sothing was amiss, but I was already further away.
That, however, didn’t an there was no more danger. If anything, the entire situation looked like a mission dood to fail.
The duffel bag was exposed, and I didn’t look like a soldier at all. At least, I didn’t feel like I looked like one. If anything, I was a thief. A bad one, at that.
Walking through Camp Ashborn with quick strides, I expected to run into soone at any mont. Fortuna returned to my side when I evaded soldiers and a lot of army staff mbers for the next few minutes. Nobody bothered with my existence. That changed when I reached the camp’s outskirts, heading toward the Eserian.
There was quite the distance between Camp Ashborn and the Eserian I’d have to cross—without getting exposed if possible. That promised to be quite difficult, especially with hundreds of soldiers watching the Eserian like hawks. They were prepared for yet another strike of the Hnolls.
Should I hide the bag sowhere and join the soldiers again? I could do that, but now that the treasury tent was in flas and several things were missing, Captain Anthea’s pursuit would be my smallest issue. The entire camp would be searching for and the eggs.
I had to leave now. But... how?
Looking around, my heart skipped a beat. Shouts echoed in my ears, followed by screams, one more desperate than the other.
The Eserian was on fire, and from amid it erged a massive creature. Its majestic wings spread dozens of ters, looking as terrifying as they were graceful even from the distance.
I instinctively knew what was coming at us, and I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
A Nature Dragon was coming for Camp Ashborn.
Please don’t tell I killed your child. I scread in my heart, but knew better. Dragons were rare. There was no way I hadn’t killed its young.
Fuck.
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