Rightful Place

The team began to make serious progress as more substations were recaptured. Fighting had broken out along the tops of the outer walls as the army breached the True Order's makeshift defenses. The battle between the elite wizards from both sides had broken out above them, but was in a stalemate.

Determined to take back their city, armed civilians joined the team as they went from substation to substation. Those civilians arranged guarded the retaken substations. They weren't that skilled, but they at least kept the other civilians calm. That small army grew every minute.

Just as Daren finished restarting another substation, a civilian ran over from further inside the city. Suspicious, the small civilian army blocked them.

"Who are you and what do you want?!"

"I'm Jane! I stayed to guard a substation a couple of stops ago. I have an urgent message for the resistance. Please, I need to talk with someone now!"

"If it's that urgent, you can just tell us."

"I'm not sure what's going on, but it's really bad. People have started fleeing towards the outer walls. The magic beasts have pulled back from the inner city to grab people! They've been forced to go towards the inner city! The substation was retaken by them."

The civilians blocking Jane looked at each other. This did sound serious, but they refused to budge. Instead, one of their fellow guards hurried inside the substation to notify Daren and his team. Daren, Chris and Jacki were in the middle of fixing the sabotaged parts further inside.

The Halcyon Guards refused to let anyone near them, so Aayla received the messenger. After learning of the situation, Aayla began to feel uneasy. The guards behind her also had troubled looks on their faces. If the True Order started attacking the substations, their young master could get caught in the crossfire.

"Are the others finished with this substation yet?" Aayla turned towards the guards behind her.

"Not yet, miss. The young master needs more time. We also need to fix more substations to really make a difference on the front lines."

Aayla fiddled with the tips of her hair. They needed to figure out what the True Order was up to, but they couldn't delay bringing the defenses back online either. But is the messenger trustworthy? Aayla carefully thought for a moment before deciding that someone needed to investigate no matter what.

"I'm not really helping here, so it should be alright if I went out to investigate. This isn't something that we should just leave alone. I'll be back soon."

"Be careful, miss."

The guards nodded in acknowledgement as Aayla left the substation with Jane. They didn't even consider going with her. Daren always took priority. Aayla pulled the hood over her head as she walked with Jane towards the commotion off in the distance.

"Your name is Jane, right? What kind of magical beasts attacked the substation?"

"Bears and wolves mostly. There were some boars, lynxes and panther types as well."

"No flying types?"

"Yes. Well, I didn't see any."

Aayla sighed in relief. Hopefully all of the flying magical beasts were off somewhere else. Handling them would be much trickier than the others. Jane led her through the buildings

A couple of streets down from the commotion, Aayla began looking at the buildings. None of them had anything resembling a fire escape. How did these people escape during fires?! She finally found one with an elaborate ornaments and decorations.

Aayla quickly climbed the building. It was only three stories tall. Jane stared, dumbfounded at her speed. Who just climbs a random building?! When Aayla arrived at the top, she stayed low on the roof. Fortunately, it wasn't that steep.

She peaked over the edge to look at the commotion. Houses a couple of streets down had their doors and windows blown open. Terrified civilians hurriedly moved along the roads towards the inner city. Magical beasts corralled them forward while insurgents barked orders at them.

The True Order agents cleaned the street out of people then brought up the rear. They didn't seem interested in any other streets for now. Aayla carefully crawled back across the roof then descended the building.

When Aayla hopped down to the ground, Jane appeared stupefied. This girl was definitely… unique.

"Those insurgents are forcing an entire street of people towards the inner city. For now, they don't seem to be taking anyone else. Let's follow them from a couple of streets over. Where does this road lead?"

"The outer city is organized into a grid system. This street leads directly towards the inner city. If we follow it, it should take us to the destination of those kidnappers but keep us far enough away from the crowd."

"Excellent. I'll need to hold onto you for few minutes to activate a special ability of mine. It should hide our mana signatures from those far away. Sound, sight and smell won't be blocked though."

Jane guided Aayla down the street while Aayla kept a hold on her arm. As they neared the inner city, the roads began to converge. The commotion next to them got louder as the distance between them decreased. The angry roars of the magical beasts caused the windows of nearby buildings to shudder.

"Move it you pieces of trash! If you all don't hurry up, I'll feed you all to the magical beasts!"

"Tch! Just keep moving. You talentless garbage should just be happy to be of any use to any wizard, let alone our great cause."

Aayla and Jane peered through alleyways to check on the situation. Everyone was moving towards the inner city. Magical beasts burst into houses and throwing people out onto the streets. Men and women. Young and old. Healthy and disabled. No one was spared.

If someone didn't move, then they were killed without hesitation. The magical beasts were on edge. Fortunately, the smells of the city and crowds kept them from noticing the duo. Aayla decided to try another route to get a closer look without notice.

She helped Jane up onto the top of a two-story building. From there, they hopped from one roof to another. The magical beasts and enemy wizards stayed on the ground to avoid notice. Still, Aayla occasionally kept an eye on the sky to watch out for flying enemies.

They could only get so close before they risked discovery. When they neared their destination, Jane noticed several figures flying in the air. Aayla quickly broke a window and opened it. The duo hid inside the dusty attic of a three-story building.

The entire house seemed empty and devoid of people. Signs of life from the other buildings were non-existent as well. The True Order agents had gathered hundreds of people near a gate that led into the inner city. A horrible feeling told Aayla that something was very wrong.

A giant platform was set up in front of the gate. A small magic formation was set up on the platform. Several well-dressed people stood on the stage. Two of them gave off a familiar, obnoxious air. The defenders glared down from the walls as the True Order agents forced the people into the plaza below.

When the civilians were all gathered near the plaza, a man stepped onto the magic formation.

"Greetings insufferable fools of Halcyon's inner city." His voice reverberated for miles. "We have a couple of familiar people who have a message for your lord. Bring him out immediately. I guarantee that he will be interested in what they have to say."

The formation stopped glowing after the man stepped off of the formation. Minutes later, guards in shiny armor led a dark-haired man on top of the wall. A woman accompanied him on the walls.

"I, Innello Forolan, City Lord of Halcyon, have arrived. What do you foul dogs want?"

His voice echoed throughout the city just like the other man's voice did. When Innello finished speaking, the obnoxious looking couple stepped onto the magic formation.

"Hehe, hello my dear younger brother. Did you miss me, the rightful heir of the Halcyon City Lord position?"

Aayla instantly recognized that obnoxious voice. It had been months since she first met them, but it was difficult to forget that couple.

"Jaime Golding. What are you doing back in Halcyon? Grandfather was very clear when he kicked you and your wife out of the family and the city years ago."

"I'm here to reclaim my proper place. I've gathered these good people to witness this momentous occasion."

"You mean as hostages?"

"Like these mongrels are worth enough to be used as hostages, though you surprisingly seem to like them. Surrender and hand over the City Lord position, and I might be persuaded to spare you, that delusional airhead you call a wife and those brats you share with her."

"Never. I will never hand over the city and its people to someone like you."

"Someone like me? Please. You are the one running this city into the ground. Commoners being educated? Even becoming wizards?! How preposterous. Those dirty animals should stay in the mud where they belong."

"Your lack of moral integrity, intelligence and self-awareness astounds me. Just hurry up and bring it on! I don't have time to waste on speaking with a rat like you."

"Hmph. So eager to die? Fine. I'll fulfill your wish and purge this city while I'm at it."