3137 Stalking the Prey (Part 1)
"Also, if I didn't trust you, do you think I would have let you do me those things during our stay at the Crystal Cauldron?" Kamila blushed a little, her voice fading in a whisper.
"Point taken." Lith nodded and looked around to check that no one was close enough to listen to their conversation.
He really didn't want anyone to ask him about the Crystal Cauldron.
"I'd say we should wait a bit, though." He said. "My homing instinct toward Elysia is still quite strong and if we make a baby, I might be locked in the house with you for nine months."
"Gods, no!" Kamila said in horror, remembering how overprotective and overbearing Lith had been during the previous pregnancy. "Fine. As soon as you-"
"Hold that thought. I have to take this." Lith raised his hand to stop her and took his communication amulet out of his robe's pocket. "Is everything alright, Strider?"
"I'm fine, if that's what you're asking." The Zouwu replied. "If instead you were referring to the investigation, it's more than alright. I got ourselves a lead. It's a few days old so I've set up the energy-preserving arrays to not lose anything while I wait for you.
"I'm in the Zeneka region. I've tracked our man to a small village along the coast called Xant. When can you be here?"
"Give me one hour." Lith shrugged apologetically to Kamila. "I have to tie up a few loose ends."
"Take your time." Strider showed him a messy room.
The floor and walls bore signs of a struggle and several marks left by blades. Blood spats were everywhere and judging from the shredded mattress, someone had tried to murder whoever was in the bed in their sleep and failed.
"If Vidun Phorr is still alive, I doubt he can have gone far and so his assailants. Also, they have no idea we are on their tail. Whoever got Menadion's grimoire is going to hide like a rat until the dust settles, making it easier for us to find them. Strider out."
"I'm sorry, Kami, I have to go." Lith said once the hologram of the Zouwu disappeared.
"Why are you apologizing?" She tilted her head in confusion. "We've already prolonged our stay here and I knew that you would leave the moment Strider called. Now go, be nice with him for once, and come back soon."
"I know that the baby is off the table for now, but does your offer for sex still stand?" Lith had the pensive, serious expression she recognized as his perverted face.
"Yes, silly." Kamila chuckled. "Just be quick."
"Are you talking about the mission or the sex? Because both can be arranged."
"The mission, smartass!" She playfully punched his shoulder. "I demand my share of fun."
"So needy." Lith sighed in mock annoyance, making her chuckle again.
Lith and Solus would have liked to leave everyone at the Hot Pot, but without their protection, the rest of the family would have been an easy target. It took them a Warp to reach the tavern and pay the bill.
The owner insisted on taking a photo of Lith near the plaque before he left, pleading for him to also sign it. Lith obliged both requests and a few Warps later they were back to Xaanx.
From there, the local Gate brought everyone to the safety of the Verhen Mansion. Lith had asked Strider to wait one hour because he wanted to give Solus time to conjure the tower and regain her full strength before leaving.
Once she was done, Lith and Solus moved to Zalma. The coast city was the closest Gate to Xant and from there they had to move by flight.
'Keep your eyes open for mana geysers.' Solus said. 'We've never explored the Zeneka region and this is an opportunity to get new Tower Warp points as good as any other.'
The flight was uneventful and during their trip, they didn't find a single geyser.
They followed Strider's signal to Xant and the sight of the small village was a dive into the past for both Lith and Solus. The place reminded them of Lutia back when he was a small child.
No paved roads, no traffic.
Just a few dozen wooden houses surrounded by cultivated fields that extended as far as the eye could see. Not one building was made of stone and Lith could tell at first glance that aside from the farmers, the village's population was barely in the hundreds.
'This is the kind of backwater place where I'd hide.' Solus pondered as they landed at a safe distance from the village to not cause panic. 'It's just one dot among dozens on the map and if not for Strider's signals, Xant would be easy to miss.'
Lith nodded, shapeshifting his Magus robe to something less flashy and asking Solus to do the same. They wore merchant clothes, shapeshifted into average looking people, and Solus also erased every colored streak from her hair.
They were still welcomed by suspicious glares on their arrival but at least no one bothered them or threw them a second look. Their backpacks and muddy boots gave them the appearance of passing peddlers, something all villages experienced from time to time.
Lith and Solus used the Eyes of Menadion, scanning their surroundings for anything noteworthy. They only found human life forces and none of them had a mana core stronger than bright orange.
The Eyes didn't find any artifacts or arrays, not even dormant.
There was nothing magical in the village except for a bright light coming in the direction of Strider's amulet. They followed it to the outskirts of Xant and into the nearest farmer's house.
Inside, there was an Assistant Constable wearing his badge on his breast pocket, allowing anyone to read his name: Strider Vahn.
"Lith. Solus." He nodded at them in greeting after using Life Vision to confirm their identity. "This is a damn mess. Please tell me you can get something."
"By my-" Solus bit her tongue. "Great Mother almighty!"
The house was similar to how Lith's looked near twenty years ago, but only after being used as a set for a slasher movie. There was blood, entrails, and the corpse of what Solus could assume had once been a couple of farmers and their children.
Their bodies had been cleaved with a strength that no normal human could possess and there were no bites or claws marks. It was the work of an Awakened.
"I'll see what I can do." Lith channelled mana and elemental energy into his eyes while also turning on and off the call of the Void.
It was his to-go cover for the Eyes, using the multiple layers of energy to hide the presence of the artifact.
"How did you find this place?" Solus asked after Hushing them to pretend Lith needed focus.
"To be honest, I didn't." The Zouwu scratched his head. "The villagers found the scene as you see it. They puked…" He pointed at a few stains near the entrance.
"They fainted…" She could see with mana sense the marks left by fallen but still-living bodies on the ground outside.
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3137 Stalking the Prey (Part 1)
"Also, if I didn't trust you, do you think I would have let you do me those things during our stay at the Crystal Cauldron?" Kamila blushed a little, her voice fading in a whisper.
"Point taken." Lith nodded and looked around to check that no one was close enough to listen to their conversation.
He really didn't want anyone to ask him about the Crystal Cauldron.
"I'd say we should wait a bit, though." He said. "My homing instinct toward Elysia is still quite strong and if we make a baby, I might be locked in the house with you for nine months."
"Gods, no!" Kamila said in horror, remembering how overprotective and overbearing Lith had been during the previous pregnancy. "Fine. As soon as you-"
"Hold that thought. I have to take this." Lith raised his hand to stop her and took his communication amulet out of his robe's pocket. "Is everything alright, Strider?"
"I'm fine, if that's what you're asking." The Zouwu replied. "If instead you were referring to the investigation, it's more than alright. I got ourselves a lead. It's a few days old so I've set up the energy-preserving arrays to not lose anything while I wait for you.
"I'm in the Zeneka region. I've tracked our man to a small village along the coast called Xant. When can you be here?"
"Give me one hour." Lith shrugged apologetically to Kamila. "I have to tie up a few loose ends."
"Take your time." Strider showed him a messy room.
The floor and walls bore signs of a struggle and several marks left by blades. Blood spats were everywhere and judging from the shredded mattress, someone had tried to murder whoever was in the bed in their sleep and failed.
"If Vidun Phorr is still alive, I doubt he can have gone far and so his assailants. Also, they have no idea we are on their tail. Whoever got Menadion's grimoire is going to hide like a rat until the dust settles, making it easier for us to find them. Strider out."
"I'm sorry, Kami, I have to go." Lith said once the hologram of the Zouwu disappeared.
"Why are you apologizing?" She tilted her head in confusion. "We've already prolonged our stay here and I knew that you would leave the moment Strider called. Now go, be nice with him for once, and come back soon."
"I know that the baby is off the table for now, but does your offer for sex still stand?" Lith had the pensive, serious expression she recognized as his perverted face.
"Yes, silly." Kamila chuckled. "Just be quick."
"Are you talking about the mission or the sex? Because both can be arranged."
"The mission, smartass!" She playfully punched his shoulder. "I demand my share of fun."
"So needy." Lith sighed in mock annoyance, making her chuckle again.
Lith and Solus would have liked to leave everyone at the Hot Pot, but without their protection, the rest of the family would have been an easy target. It took them a Warp to reach the tavern and pay the bill.
The owner insisted on taking a photo of Lith near the plaque before he left, pleading for him to also sign it. Lith obliged both requests and a few Warps later they were back to Xaanx.
From there, the local Gate brought everyone to the safety of the Verhen Mansion. Lith had asked Strider to wait one hour because he wanted to give Solus time to conjure the tower and regain her full strength before leaving.
Once she was done, Lith and Solus moved to Zalma. The coast city was the closest Gate to Xant and from there they had to move by flight.
'Keep your eyes open for mana geysers.' Solus said. 'We've never explored the Zeneka region and this is an opportunity to get new Tower Warp points as good as any other.'
The flight was uneventful and during their trip, they didn't find a single geyser.
They followed Strider's signal to Xant and the sight of the small village was a dive into the past for both Lith and Solus. The place reminded them of Lutia back when he was a small child.
No paved roads, no traffic.
Just a few dozen wooden houses surrounded by cultivated fields that extended as far as the eye could see. Not one building was made of stone and Lith could tell at first glance that aside from the farmers, the village's population was barely in the hundreds.
'This is the kind of backwater place where I'd hide.' Solus pondered as they landed at a safe distance from the village to not cause panic. 'It's just one dot among dozens on the map and if not for Strider's signals, Xant would be easy to miss.'
Lith nodded, shapeshifting his Magus robe to something less flashy and asking Solus to do the same. They wore merchant clothes, shapeshifted into average looking people, and Solus also erased every colored streak from her hair.
They were still welcomed by suspicious glares on their arrival but at least no one bothered them or threw them a second look. Their backpacks and muddy boots gave them the appearance of passing peddlers, something all villages experienced from time to time.
Lith and Solus used the Eyes of Menadion, scanning their surroundings for anything noteworthy. They only found human life forces and none of them had a mana core stronger than bright orange.
The Eyes didn't find any artifacts or arrays, not even dormant.
There was nothing magical in the village except for a bright light coming in the direction of Strider's amulet. They followed it to the outskirts of Xant and into the nearest farmer's house.
Inside, there was an Assistant Constable wearing his badge on his breast pocket, allowing anyone to read his name: Strider Vahn.
"Lith. Solus." He nodded at them in greeting after using Life Vision to confirm their identity. "This is a damn mess. Please tell me you can get something."
"By my-" Solus bit her tongue. "Great Mother almighty!"
The house was similar to how Lith's looked near twenty years ago, but only after being used as a set for a slasher movie. There was blood, entrails, and the corpse of what Solus could assume had once been a couple of farmers and their children.
Their bodies had been cleaved with a strength that no normal human could possess and there were no bites or claws marks. It was the work of an Awakened.
"I'll see what I can do." Lith channelled mana and elemental energy into his eyes while also turning on and off the call of the Void.
It was his to-go cover for the Eyes, using the multiple layers of energy to hide the presence of the artifact.
"How did you find this place?" Solus asked after Hushing them to pretend Lith needed focus.
"To be honest, I didn't." The Zouwu scratched his head. "The villagers found the scene as you see it. They puked…" He pointed at a few stains near the entrance.
"They fainted…" She could see with mana sense the marks left by fallen but still-living bodies on the ground outside.
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