Chapter 666 - We Didn’t Start The Fire

"I think that's probably for the best," said Gareth softly. Despite not wanting to push Kat into a decision, her suggestion was certainly the one he was most comfortable with. This would get Lily off the field and allow Kat to completely focus on whatever was ahead of her while also making sure that the rest of the team wasn't likely to just be completely overwhelmed. The round of nods he received from everyone other than Kat solidified his stance.

Kat brushed her tongue across her lips trying to remove the dry feeling in her throat. *Why is this so much tougher now that we're in agreement? I know it's not the thought of being restricted, that's something I can deal with… but even knowing it's the best idea I can't be completely comfortable just leaving Lily with time. Dammit. I trust Thyme with my life, why can't I trust them with hers as well.* 

"Ok. Do it," said Kat with as determined look as she could manage while holding Lily out towards Thyme.

Thyme saw this and nodded, first carefully taking Lily before conjuring up a pillow made of leaves for her to sleep on. It was wrapped nicely and compressed quite significantly as Lilly sunk into the pillow. Lily shifted a bit, moving around to find a comfortable place though giving off a sense of slight disappointment somehow. Still, the fact the pillow was currently floating off to the side made it look fancier than it was, but it was comfortable enough. Once that was done Thyme pulled out a thick band and held it towards Kat. "Either hand will work. The band will shrink to fit your arm as well. It's quite sturdy, though not immune to your demonic fire. Just a warning, if you break your promise and use it, you will be penalized, and if you use it specifically to destroy that bracelet, not that I think you will, the cost will be coming out of your winnings."

Kat nodded and slipped the band onto her right arm. The band constricted in place to the point where she could feel it ever so slightly digging into her skin. Not enough to restrict blood flow or cause any damage… but certainly noticeable and not all that comfortable. "I can agree to that… how careful do I need to be though? I can take some pretty decent hits and I'd hate to break it if I used my arm to block."

Thyme waved off Kat's concern. "Demonic fire is simply a very dangerous thing, especially for delicate enchanted work of this level. Even though it's enchanted against damage, demonic fire disrupts a lot of mana constructs. I could use my full strength to slam it into a rock or something and the rock would break first. It's really no concern. I don't think anything other than your fire has the potential to damage it in this tournament." Thyme then shrugged before continuing to speak, "it's fine anyway. As long as the damage isn't intentional on your part I don't mind."

"Thanks" said Kat.

"Indeed, thank you time for this option," said Gareth.

"Indeed, well I have one more thing to inform you of before sending you back. Because 'The Numbers' have a number of potions instead of a healer, I need to inform you that if they lend you any of them, they'll be retrieved before the next round. Even if they trade you a potion for something you will not be able to keep them. It is simply part of the rules for this round. Is that clear?" said Thyme.

Thyme got a round of nods which seemed to satisfy them because with a wave they were engulfed in green light for a few seconds before being dumped back in the tent. Kat instantly looked around for Lily, but found the floating pillow Thyme had conjured for her was actually on the table. *Ok. I should not have been so panicked about that. Lily is safe with Thyme… still it's nice she's here.* 

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Some time later, Thyme returned to announce the start of the round. Before anyone could even say anything against it, they disappeared in a blink. Kat frowned in that moment when she noticed the teleportation felt nothing at all like Thyme's usual affair, but it was over so quickly she wasn't certain of that.

When the light vanished, Kat found herself alongside the rest of the group on a hill. There was a door in the side of it and standing nearby was a new Thyme kitted out in old style fireman's gear. They had a thick coat on with a massive belt around the waist. Thick pants and a metal hat painted red. They also had a walrus moustache. This Thyme spoke in a gravelly voice like the smoked regularly… based on the outfit it might be a different kind of smoke though. "Listen up newbies. The town just over this hear hill has been set ablaze. We suspect arson, but that remains unconfirmed at this time. I don't rightly care how true it is. We've got one job to do. Put the damned things out and save the town. You'll be judged based on how many buildings are left standing at the end and how many civilian lives have been saved.

"I've called in some backup as well. When they arrive, I'll be expecting one of you lot to take charge. As the first responders you'll have a better idea of what's going on. When they arrive you'll have one earth mage, and two water mages as well as another eight fire crew. They can take instruction well, but the mages ain't that powerful and the other eight are thicker than a sack of bricks. They can follow simple instructions well enough but I hardly trust them to think for themselves. I don't want to hear about any of them getting hurt either. Just because they ain't civilians doesn't mean I won't hold it over your head if they end up hurt.

"Now" Thyme shooed them away, "Get the hell out of here. You're wasting time and the fire's a burning!"

The group looked at each other with confusion but signalled Green to climb ahead. The rest of the group ran up the hill in her wake. When they were about halfway up, they could hear Green's panicked gasp. Kat sped up and dashed the rest of the way up the small hill. As she sped up, she felt her limbs grow heavy, as if the gravity had doubled. Shit the bracelet. There wasn't anything to be done though. Kat reached the top of the hill and suddenly she was hit by a wave of sound and the smell of burning.

*There has to be some shenanigans going on. I didn't smell even a hint of smoke before and I KNOW I should have been able to hear this. My ears are more than good enough to hear the screaming. There's way too much noise for that little hill to prevent it all. I wonder why Thyme bothered putting up a sound barrier? If that's even what he did.* 

The hill they were on was quite small so she couldn't even see over the roof of a two story house. What she could see was the sight of rising smoke somewhere deeper in the village, and quite a few people running away from the fire, streaming out from between houses. "Kat!" shouted Nixilei as she climbed up, "Can you fly me up? I need to start planning this out and for that I need a proper idea of what's going on,"

Kat nodded, grabbing Nixilei easily and kicking off the ground… forgetting the bracelet. She hadn't put all of her effort into the jump and was severely punished for that. She hardly got any height from it with Nixilei on top of the bracelet. Cringing she let herself fall back down quickly taking the full impact on her legs and sinking into the nearby dirt. Stepping away from the hole she'd made, "Sorry" was all that was said before Kat kicked off the ground, this time with all her might.

The ground cracked as she pushed off but that was fine, she was flying high, certainly not as high as she'd like, but perhaps it was enough. Kat beat her wings and felt the band kick in again, her wings straining against the weight. *Dammit! I can still fly but I'm not sure if I can actually ascend with Nixilei as well.* Kat flapped her wings as hard as she could, causing a sharp jab of pain that her regeneration took care of between each wingbeat. Sadly it wasn't enough. "Dammit. This is as high as I can go while carrying you. The bracelet is restraining me too much."

Nixilei frowned at that, but shook it off. She'd have to make do. "Frankly the angle is horrible but I'll do what I can.. I might get you to fly up just by yourself afterwards… I'm not sure if we'll have time. Now… let's see what we're working with…"