Arrival in Icla

-Around 10-

Travis was walking next to Leaf, stepping on the cobbled road again. The air was a little humid, and it made it a bit nicer to walk while bathed in the sun. It might’ve been just the beginning of the spring season, but the sun was already starting to heat things up during the day. This was, however, a false ray of hope; the air was starting to slowly become denser, meaning that there would be rain later in the day.

‘Let’s hope we can reach Icla before that happens.’ Travis hoped inwardly. If he calculated everything properly, they should be reaching the gates of the city within the next 3 to 4 hours. The thought made him breathe a sigh of relief. Maybe it wasn’t a perfect start, but his journey was finally blossoming. Or at least, it seemed to. There was no telling that something wouldn’t happen, and he was well aware of that now.

The sound of the wind howling lightly between the trees, weaving like an intangible string, was enveloping them both. For a brief moment, it seemed like Leaf started to shiver at the sensation, but didn’t comment.

Meanwhile, Bill (or was it Jay?) flew from far up ahead and perched on the arrow in her bun, cawing quietly a bit for a moment before he decided to go down and stand on her shoulder. A light chuckle escaped her mouth as she raised a finger, encouraging the bird to sit on it, which it promptly did.

“Surveillance around Icla seems to be rather neglected,” she said to Travis. “There’s only a handful of guards by the main gate, and they don’t really care enough to check anyone’s MIDs.”

“Are we close to it?”

“Roughly 11 kilometers,” Leaf replied. "We'll reach it soon."

“Is it safe to let your summons out? I haven't seen Berry in hours.”

“Don’t worry about it much. I have an eye on him. If anything happens, I’ll recall him immediately. And Bill is keeping a safe distance from the guards, so he won’t be found out, either.”

‘Who’d have imagined that Necromancer of all classes would have such scouting ability…’ Travis shook his head a little as he felt a small smile appear on his face. ‘It was definitely a good idea to get Leaf on my side.’

The elf woman smirked a little seeing his reaction but didn’t say a word. For the next long minutes, they just kept on going forward, following the road. They passed by a few people on the way, but nobody even batted an eye at them (except a few men at Leaf, but she didn’t seem to mind).

-About 3 hours later-

The scenery gradually changed from a dense forest to plains. When Icla’s gates finally came into view, the two travelers were already marching through some fields outside the small city. Some farmers were working the fields, either herding groups of animals to their pastures or going through the fields and spreading something on them, presumably to help the grains grow in the future months.

Travis averted his gaze from the few people in sight and focused on the city. Even though they still had to walk for nearly 3 kilometers, Icla was already visible, with its numerous storage buildings sprawled all around. Houses for the population were concentrated in the western part and the eastern and north were taken up by buildings that took care of raw products to process them. Most notably, there were 4 huge, round structures placed by the very wall. They were slick despite their size, dark gray in color, and seemed to converge at their highest point a little, making them look a little like arrowheads pointing into the sky. Travis was already familiar with those buildings, as he had worked in one similar to these, albeit much smaller. It was a mill. After the invention of magic-powered machines, mills were created much larger than before and could shed their windmills at the front in favor of the machine inside them to take care of everything.

‘No wonder Icla became a city despite only having 5 thousand people.’ he mused momentarily. ‘A city has protection provided by Central Fornian Militia Service, so that way Icla can focus on processing the grain into flour. And thanks to that, a lot of towns all around bring their harvests in here to process them. Cheaper to do this than build and maintain your own mills.’ He nodded at his thoughts.

“What’re you thinking about so much?” Leaf asked, taking note of how Travis was completely unfocused on walking, and almost bumped into her a few times.

“What? Nothing,” he shook his head. “I’ve been in here a few times, but those mills never stop impressing me.”

“Yeah, they do look… imposing.”

“Anyway. In here, I hope we can get some food to last us until we reach another town,” he said, glancing toward the structures up ahead again.

“I can take care of that,” she smiled.

“It’s alright. I can shop on my own,” Travis shook his head. “You, in the meantime, can go and look for anything to shield us from the rain.”

“Alright then!” she replied. “You can leave it to me.”

“Then how about you meet me by the northern gate in two hours?”

“Will that be alright?” Leaf made a little worried expression. “You know… avoiding attention and all? I think we should hurry a little.”

“Don’t worry about it. You said yourself, the guards don’t check MIDs when you enter, so I’m sure it’ll be fine.”

“…I see,” she didn’t seem to like that idea but didn’t object to it. “Just be safe. Don’t hesitate to look for me if anything happens.”

He nodded with a small smile.

They continued their walk, a smell of dirt in the air slowly being replaced by a somewhat dry scent of… Travis wasn’t exactly sure what it was, but he did know this smell from his hometown.

As they came up to the main gate, Travis tensed up a bit. In all honesty, even if what Leaf told him was true, there was no telling if the situation didn’t change over the time it took them to reach here.

But… it seemed that he didn’t need to worry. The two guards standing outside of the gate looked at them both but didn’t seem to react. The one person sitting behind a counter under the gate, possibly the one responsible for checking their MIDs, watched them from head to toe (also taking a momentary stop at Leaf’s breasts and thighs, to nobody’s surprise), and then simply shrugged, letting them in. Just like that, they were free to roam the city like any travelers.

‘…but why?’ a thought erected in Travis’ mind. ‘The guards at the gate are the main sieving **** to not let anyone suspicious into the cities. Their higher-ups will be furious if they just let in anyone… wait… could it be that every one of Inspector rank or higher is still in Poiri?’

He pondered for a long moment as he made his way to a bakery. Standing in a small queue, he kept on thinking. It just… didn’t make sense, did it?

Truthfully, even if higher-ups were not present for whatever reason, it didn’t mean that guards and others below them were allowed to suddenly become lazy. They would still have to report what happened in higher-ups’ absence… unless…

‘When they’re not watched, they’re free to do what they want… so long they report what higher-ups want to hear, nothing will move out of ordinary… which means… I need to find Leaf.’ he felt his heart stop momentarily as he rushed out of the shop.

Now, after piecing it together, it started to make sense. If guards were lenient, travelers who entered would lower their guard. In a way, they would become… much easier targets. Targets for what? Ambush, for one, but for the other… well. We all know what happens in back alleys, don’t we?

Travis rushed through a few streets, walking fast, but not breaking into a run just yet. No need to attract too much attention to himself. So long he could avoid meeting any guards on his way, it would be good fortune for him.

He passed by a few shops and started looking around as far as he could. He had reached the marketplace, which, surprisingly, was almost entirely empty. One or two stands were present, but the rest of nearly a hectare of space was empty. In the middle, a fountain was standing, with a small figure on it, depicting some kind of a person. But Travis cared little for the statue. What mattered to him was the fact that Leaf was nowhere to be found.

-15 minutes later-

He finished walking through another road in Icla and visited every shop there was. He had already checked more than 40 locations and even asked around if anyone saw an elf woman but to no avail. For some reason, the reactions to him varied, the people becoming more on guard when they realized once they realized he was from outside the city. Some of them became snarky to him, some became a bit fearful, and a blacksmith even straight up asked him to leave (albeit politely, but with urgency in his tone). This only proved that Travis’ initial realization was at least somewhat correct.

‘…it seems that problems with guards have been running in this city for longer than just a few days.’ Travis soon came to another conclusion. Of course, it was a natural one to assume since guards wouldn’t just go wild instantly. If their supervisors didn’t return for some time, then sure, some leniency would start appearing, much like with anything, but for it to happen so quickly, there must’ve been roots of corruption taking place in here already. Travis trembled at the thought. In all honesty, he was worried.

‘I know Leaf is much higher level than me, but… guards are probably around levels of 20 and above. If she came across 4 or 5 of them, she won’t be able to fight back. And considering how everyone was ogling her before, 5 would be a generously low number…’ Level 71 had its limitations, much like any other number. Especially when she wasn’t in a strength-oriented class like a Warrior. Necromancer’s lifeline was their summons, and if Leaf didn’t want to be chased down for her class, she had to keep hers down. It meant… possibly even just a single guard could overpower her.

Travis kept on rushing between the buildings, going from shop to shop, visiting every alley that he came across, until suddenly… he heard a caw. For the briefest of moments, he dismissed the sound, until…

‘Bill and Jay!’ his eyes glimmered with their golden color at the realization. If he could get to either one, maybe they could lead him to their master. The Apostle took his steps forward quickly, following the sound of the bird which croaked in the distance.

Step by step, blacksmith’s shop, clothing shop, food store, apothecary, and then… the marketplace. A crow was sitting on the roof of a building across the place, between some pigeons. The distance Travis had to clear was just shy of 40 meters. However… he noticed a few guards going about their business in the place. Instinctively, he hid by a wall (not that it did much for him anyway) and looked around.

Going out into the place only would invite problems. So far, guards let him be, especially when he walked into different shops in search of his companion, but… if he just waltzed in there, they were sure to follow him around, and that… wouldn’t end nicely. No, he needed a way to bypass the guards, and yet bring the bird’s attention to himself. It was clearly standing in one spot, awaiting him to come around, but… right now, there was no way. Walking around the marketplace would take too long on its own… think, think!

…WAIT! ‘Didn’t Berry react when I tried to use <Suggestion> on him?’ Travis felt his heartbeat hasten momentarily as he realized what he could do. The question, however, was, will Leaf’s summon know where he is? ‘It’s better than nothing. <Suggestion>.’ He cast the spell, looking straight at Bill (or was it the other one?).

<Here I am. Come here.>

Immediately, he felt the barrier around the bird’s mind, and received a notification, just as he expected. What he actually only paid mind to was its reaction.

The crow suddenly stopped giving off sounds and looked around, seemingly confused. For a solid few seconds, it seemed to try and locate Travis, but as it seemingly failed to do so, it flew from one building to one on another side of the place. Seeing how his idea was working, Travis repeated his attempt, and thankfully for him, the bird flew not far from him on the second try. With a bit of relief, he stepped closer to the building, and stood in one spot for a few seconds, until the crow suddenly plummeted down to him, and cawed at him quietly, sitting on his shoulder.

“Lead the way,” he said, immediately understanding what the crow meant; much like Travis suspected, something happened to Leaf.

Within the next minute or two, having followed the crow, Travis stepped into an alley behind some buildings and was greeted by a sight of Leaf pinned to a wall, arms behind her back, and 3 guards behind her, one holding her in a defenseless position while another was groping her massive breasts. She constantly attempted to squirm out of the attacker’s hold but with little success. Pants still on her bottom, Leaf tried her best to sway her hips to not allow the final guard to pull them down.

There was no thinking from Travis. He simply reacted to what he saw. Without even hesitating, he drew his dagger and rushed at the guard holding Leaf. In the short moment when he felt like he would rip the three of them to shreds, he could only feel one thing: fury. He couldn’t, he wouldn’t forgive anyone trying to toy around with his companion.

The time seemed to slow down as he closed the distance of about 10 meters within seconds. None of the 3 guards even noticed his presence until it was far too late. The Apostle bashed the guard in the side with his shoulder and immediately made a strike at one holding Leaf’s breasts.

He grabbed Leaf by the shoulder and pulled her back. Feeling his hold on her, she immediately relaxed, if only a little. With her now freed arms, she pulled up her pants completely while the guards made a bit of distance from the two.

“Who are you to dare interrupt?” a guard asked, taking a step forward.

“Someone who doesn’t appreciate you trying to **** my companion,” Travis replied, his tone full of animosity that sept from his gaze.

“****? We were merely attempting to perform a thorough search. This woman stole something that belongs to us.”

“Bullshit."

“If you’re going to stand in our way, we will be **** to put you in your place,” the guards pulled out their swords, reading themselves to fight.

“Try it and you’ll regret it,” he replied and immediately sent one <Suggestion> to each of the main guard’s companions.

<He’s very confident. He may be strong. I don’t want to fight.>

One of the guards seemed to resist the spell entirely, but the other’s mind was just open enough for the spell to connect. As Travis locked his eyes with the man, he flinched and took a step back. However, his attitude changed momentarily when he looked over his companions and saw that none of them dared to take a step back.

‘Seems like <Suggestion> can only accomplish so much. A fight is inevitable.’ Travis thought with dismay. His MP was gone now, and even if he did have any more, he doubted he had enough Willpower to work through guards’ minds with brute ****. No, he needed to stand and fight in here. Suddenly, a notification sprung forth.

[Skill ‘Suggestion’ leveled up!]

But he dismissed it immediately. What was happening right now was more important. He stole a glance at Leaf, who had fixed her attire and was holding her bow. The guards were roughly 10 meters away from them, so she would only be able to pull off a single shot, but it would most definitely hit its mark.

The guards were not moving from their spots just yet, clearly waiting for them to make the first move. It seemed that they weren’t afraid of Leaf, perhaps because of the mail armor they were wearing, or perhaps because they had some skill to block projectiles. No way to know until you try to shoot.

But before Travis managed to take a step forward, another notification sprung forth.

[You have received a quest!]

[[Name: Travis Salliv
Class: Apostle of Tricks & Manipulation
Level: 10
HP: 300/300
MP: 12/70
WP: 37/320]

[Strength: 31
Agility: 36
Intelligence: 35
Endurance: 30
Wisdom: 18
Sense: 25
AP: 0]

[Possessed abilities: Suggestion lvl.2, Hypnosis lvl.1]

[Current status: No anomalies]]