Chapter Two Hundred and Eighteen: The Search Begins

We had stopped at the door as soon as we saw Rosa, but now she was defiantly blocking the path to leave. It was clear she was adamant about coming.

I had to do something. “Look, we don’t know what’s happened to them and it’s dangerous out there. You should probably stay in the guild.”

This seemed to irritate her.

“Really? After everything we’ve been through, you’re going to tell me that.”

“I just don’t want you to get caught up in this or get hurt.”

“I don’t want any of you to get hurt either, and I’m already caught up in this!” She had a leather strap across her chest, she slung the item strapped to back around and into her hands. A crossbow. “I’ve come prepared to help. Surely an extra pair of eyes watching your back can only help?”

She wasn’t wrong, but I was still worried about pulling her into this.

Aetherin grabbed my shoulder from behind. “Theo, she’s right. Nowhere is entirely safe right now. With us is as good as anywhere, I won’t let any harm befall her.”

This brought a smile to Rosa’s face. “Thanks Aetherin…” Rosa fixed her gaze on me. “So, where are we heading to first?”

I knew I had lost the argument. “We’re heading to Liz’s shop first as it’s the closest.”

“Okay, that’s a reasonable plan.” She stepped to the side. “Lead the way.”

A quick glance to Ameri and Lucy told me that they both found the situation amusing. I didn’t say anything more and simply stepped through the door.

Rosa walked at my side as we crossed the square. “When was the last time you heard from them?”

“Earlier tonight, before the horn blew.”

“Haven’t you tried to get in contact with them?”

“I have… That’s why we’re going to check.”

She grasped my hand for a moment as we walked. “They’re probably all just too busy preparing for what’s to come. Even if that’s not the case, they’re all strong. They’ll be okay.”

“I know, I just can’t help but worry.”

“That’s not surprising considering how close you all are.”

We quickly crossed the square and were soon heading down the side roads towards Liz’s shop. As soon as we were off the main street there wasn’t a single person in sight. Hardly surprising considering the current state of affairs.

As we reached the top end of the street before her shop, we were stopped in our tracks by the sound of glass being broken somewhere in the distance.

I turned to the others. “What’s that glass? Do you think people have started looting?”

Ameri shrugged. “I hope not. Whatever it is, it doesn’t sound promising. We should probably pick up the pace.”

“You’re right, come on let’s go.”

We set of again. This time breaking into a slow run.

When we reached the street, there was signs of some disturbance. Shop windows here and there had been smashed in. There were pieces of glass strewn about the floor. Whoever had done it had left and the street was now deserted, not even shop keepers were out checking the damage. We picked up the pace again, not stopping until we reached Liz’s.

Her shop hadn’t escaped the damage. The store front glass was smashed, and the door had been kicked in. There was no sign of anyone from outside and the lights were off.

I quickly headed towards the door.

Ameri got there first, waving her hands in front of me. “Hold it, let me have a look before we head inside.”

I hadn’t been thinking.

“Please do.”

She crept up to the door, her steps barely making a sound. She peered into the shop for a moment before relaxing her posture and turning back to the rest of us waiting behind. “Come on. Just watch out for the glass, and the body.”

A jolt shot up my spine. “A body! It isn’t…”

She cut me off. “It isn’t Liz. No idea who it is, only that they’re an elf. You might not want to look. They aren’t in a good state.”

I didn’t want to look, but I needed to check out the stoor for Liz.

I followed Ameri into the shop, with the rest of the girls coming after and watching our backs.

Ameri really wasn’t joking when she said the body wasn’t in a good state. Their skin had bubbled up all over the place and was heavily charred in one point.

Seeing this, I felt a little hope. I could guess at who had cause this damage, Liz. There was no other sign of the fight, no blood, no damage inside the store. If she had fought here, it looked as if she had won the upper hand.

It didn’t take us long to search the entire store. There was no sign of Liz or anyone else other than the dead elf we happened across when we first entered. This left the rear of the shop and Liz’s quarters.

Ameri gave me a look as she approached the door. “Do you know where this leads?”

“Yeah, it leads to the storeroom and Liz’s private rooms.”

“Okay, I’m going to give it a try… You should stand back just in case.”

“Right.” I took a couple of steps backwards.

Ameri gave the handle a twist and tried to open the door. I didn’t budge.

She looked back. “Seems to be locked.”

“I suppose we should’ve expected that.”

“What do you want to do now? I can probably break it down.”

“I don’t think we have much choice. Go ahead, I’ll settle it with Liz once we meet up.”

“Okay.”

Ameri stepped back giving herself a little run up. She prepared herself to lunge at the door, but just as she was about to move it swung inwards.

The store was suddenly illuminated. It was dazzling bright, the switch from the darkness with only the lamps in the street for light was startling.

The light disappeared just as suddenly as it came.

“Do you two know how lucky you are?” Liz strode out through the door, with her staff in hand and a full bag on her back.

I was just glad to see her alive. “Liz! We were worried something had happened to you, so we came looking.”

“I can see that… Something did happen, I guess you saw the body over there?” She pointed her staff in the direction of the dead elf.

“Yeah, we found them when we walked inside.”

“Well, you were both lucky you didn’t end up the same way. I barely cancelled the spell in time. I thought you were more of them coming for me.”

That explained the bright light. I looked across at the dead elf, I was more than happy not to have met that end. It looked like a particularly painful way to die.

“I’m glad you stopped it in time!”

“I was so close to hitting you both, why didn’t you say something if you were coming here? I would’ve been more careful if I’d know.”

“I did. I sent a message through the party system.”

Liz glanced away for a moment. “There’s nothing here… Actually, there seems to be some interference.”

“No wonder you didn’t reply. What do you think caused it?”

“Probably something to do with that army camped outside the walls, although I’m surprised someone is able to interfere with this. The system should be tamperproof.” Liz leant her staff against the counter and then place her bag on the top. “I’ll have to look into that later, now isn’t time… What about the others? They don’t seem to be with you.”

I shook my head. “No idea. The same problem, no contact and they didn’t return to the guild.”

“So, you decided to come out looking for us all?”

“I couldn’t just stay and do nothing.”

“No, you should’ve stayed at the guild. I was going to head there next. What do you think will happen if the others go there and find you’re gone?”

“Jules knows where I’ve gone. If the others turn up, she’ll let them know what happened. Anyway, after what happened to me earlier and now at your shop, I think they might be in trouble too.”

“Hold on, do you mean you were attacked too?”

I nodded. “Yeah, by the wall… Before you say anything, we had to check on the movements outside for the harpies.”

“Okay, okay, so what happened?”

“We were attacked by an elf. My guess is they were an assassin of some sorts.”

She lent on the countertop. “Then this probably wasn’t a coincidence. Someone could be targeting the members of our party.”

“That’s what I’ve started to think.”

“Okay, we’ll go and look for the other.”

“I was going to anyway.”

Liz opened the top of her bag and rummaged around. She produced a handful of potions and pushed them across the counter to me. “Here, you probably need to replenish your supplies.”

“Thanks, I am running a little low.”

Liz looked across the shop to Ameri and to the other girls that were still standing outside. “You should all stock up too while you have the chance. Seems there’s a chance we’re going to run into to trouble.”