Breaking Into the Town

At first, I didn't know if I should approach the town that casually. What if there were more hunters capable of identifying me? Anyhow, my options were limited now. Coming back would be unsafe, since my trick would probably not work again.

Luckily, from my perspective, I could see that there was some kind of festival going on, therefore, it would be a good opportunity to blend in with people, as an inhabitant of this place. That was when I got down the tree and walked towards the town.

Thanks to the damage done to my body earlier, they ended up tearing my clothes and they were also dirty from the little blood that had dripped. It is worth mentioning that even after healing, I still had some bruises and small cuts, in view of the fact that regenerating them would take some time for a fight. Hopefully, that would add up into my disguise.

The town was also different from the ones I am used to, not only on its size, but also, one its design and defense. Mostly, from what I can remember, they were only inside of the walls of a castle, or inside a dense forest. Even though this one was more like the second type of town, it had notable divergence.

Completely surrounded by stone walls, with towers, made to defend it. Strangely, it was like a mix of the both types. Also, despite having security buildings, such as the towers, no guards could be found there. Perhaps they were enjoying the festival as well.

Without any guards on the town's gates and walls, breaking in was easy. Still, I was a newcomer around, so they'd probably be intrigued about my presence. Having a twelve year old look became a trouble now.

It would be okay to say that my parents don't allow me to go out that often, however, I was already too old for this excuse. Obviously, you can't expect a twelve year old child, even with restricts parents, not to be known by society. Additionally, having this story didn't give me any assurance that they'd believe me. Even if they find me, and I end up lying, who knows if they are going to trust me?

To put it simple, the story consisted on telling them that my family had mistreated me and also committed severe offenses and, thanks to a fire, which ended up taking their lives, I managed to escape alive. With this story, I would have to do my best to look severely traumatized by it, which would be the complication this time around.

As I approached it, the gate was closed, so I had to find another way in. Obviously, all the citizens would be at the festival, so my arrival would be unnoticed. Nevertheless, passing through that gate would be nearly impossible with my current condition. Even with my high agility, I very much doubt that jumping above the walls would be an easy task.

While I tried to have any ideas, I recalled something useful. It came to light that normally, demons have wings made of dark magic. Of course, creating them would take a large chunk of mana, but since it was just for a few seconds, it wouldn't be an issue.

My mana was completely restored, and immediately, I activated my magic once again, and started to cast the spell of the wings. A dark aura emanated from my whole body as the spell was being prepared. Until the moment the wings were finally created, and at the same moment, I used them to give height to my jump.

Luckily, it was enough for me to fall right on top of the wall. Ordinary houses, made out of bricks and wood, as usual. Though, if I wanted to get properly inside of the town, I had to get down, but using the wings was not an option anymore as a consequence of the fact that using them for such a short time was already enough to drain all the remaining mana I had. For guards to get on the towers, they usually have ladders, so my best bet was to look for them.

Shortly after, I found some of them, from which I got inside the town. No signs of any resident nearby, indicating me that my arrival was unseen. Even though, I should stay alert, since being found now would be rather suspicious.

The corridors between the houses were quite wide, giving a good spacing between them and also, a dark place so I could hide for now. In view of the fact that the gates were closed, showing up now would be risky, as there would be no possible explanation as to how I got inside. Besides, the only last resort I had was to tell them that story, and as for what could happen with me by telling that, it's uncertain.

Through the shadows, I watched the people on the festival. They had a huge fire pit, and they were dancing around it. Not only that, but also their clothes seemed to be seasonal, made especially for that occasion.

Around two hundred and fifty people were celebrating, which sort of bothered me, taking in consideration that, obviously, more people lived there, so the probability of being seen jumping the wall was high. But I disregarded this fact, because that was not my priority.

The festival was about to end, however, I got extremely distracted by it, so I wasn't prepared to react. Even if I remained in the shadows, having that much people around, I could be found with ease. There was no other way out for me, except for a small window, which led into the basement of a house.

Since there would be no other alternative, I should just be glad to have found it and get straight inside. Usually, my eyes would be used with darkness, for obvious reasons, but that basement was so dark that I couldn't see anything in front of me. Because I was still out of mana, magic gazing to see in the absence of light would not work.

Though, my instincts told me to keep going, instead of remaining still. Thinking about it, if there were people living in this house, they'd probably be going to bed now, due to how close this house was to the square.

After wandering a while in the complete dark, I finally found a staircase, from which I could go to the upper floors. My plan now was to hide away from people, as not to be found while they returned from the festival.

For the fact that this house is the closest to the square the festival took place on, it was expected that the owners would get back here sooner than any other. Thanks to this, staying silent inside of this house was my best option, instead of trying to hide outside.

Fortunately, when I felt their blood scent, they were really far from me now, not only to mention that most people had already returned to their houses. My relief was clear, knowing that my plan worked out better than what I expected. However, before I managed to get out, an odd smell caught my attention.

The owners were expected to be asleep now, so, there was nothing to worry about. Carefully and slowly, I made my way towards that weird smell. Again, I had to make my way upstairs, so I kept myself undetectable. My eyes got used to dark after a bit, showing me that the smell was coming from a bedroom.

Even for me, a restless creature, it felt like a nice and cozy place to sleep. A bed of the finest fabrics and a remarkably comfortable mattress, along with the decorations of a predominantly male bedroom. A window that was right next to the bed, through which I could gaze upon the glow of the moon in the sky, and such a strange, but attractive smell.

After investigating, I decided it was better to make my leave, for once. However, at the same moment I turned around, the owners of the house were there, staring at me with curiosity.

Letting my instincts guide me in this case turned out to be extremely prejudicial, as my plan of not being located had just been ruined. And, unfortunately, I admit this won't be an easily avoidable situation.