Darkness

-----Mai's POV

We eventually arrived inside a tavern of some kind. This may be the furthest town of Yarene, but I have to say it's quite big compared to Azalea. I did think about just grabbing Lilith and running off towards the capital, but I'd like to know who these people are.

I did find it weird to see the people working in the bar refused to come near us, not even welcoming us into the building. My guess is these people escorting us are well known and potentially have a higher status, much like how the nobility are back in Inasdale.

After some time walking through the bar, we slowly approach a guy that wore similar attire to Neri and others. Their mask however was quite different with gold engravings similar to the ornament on Neri's cloak.

Neri: "Captain."

Captain: You're back? Did you find out what those readings were?"

Neri: "Yes. This one here was responsible for the mana fluctuations."

Readings? I guess I wasn't really trying to hide my magic, but to think that we'd be detected. And by the sounds of it, it might be some kind of device.

Captain: "Well they don't look like a monster."

Neri: "They say they came from Inasdale. Wanting to take refuge in Yarene."

Captain: "What? That far?"

Neri: "I'm not sure. It's why I brought them to you."

Captain: "Hmm."

The captain sat up from his chair, putting down his glass before having a look over me. Honestly, I'm quite scared since I have no idea if he's building up mana or not, and if he is, then at this close of a range I won't be able to evade in time. I gently start to erect a barrier around Lilith and I as he approaches closely.

Captain: "Ah? You're a weary one. Don't worry, I won't start something in this bar. Relax."

Could he be the one that detected my mana? He must be a highly skilled mage to be able to detect my mana before I even came near this town.

Mai: "Who are you guys?"

Captain: "Firstly, who are you? And who's she?"

Lilith: "M-my name's Lilith!"

Captain: "Hello Lilith. Now who's your friend here?"

Mai: "I don't have a name personally, but I have been given the name of Mai."

Captain: "And who gave you that name?"

Yeah I'm not just going to sit back and let this guy dominate this conversation. We introduced ourselves, that's more than enough. I start to build up mana around me, creating an intense, dense aura of light. The captain, along with everyone else took a defensive stance. Seeing as they're not going to attack, I tone it down a little, but still keeping some of the pressure.

Mai: "That's none of your business."

I use the same line Neri gave me when we were found in the forest.

Captain: "That's quite the potent mana you have there."

Mai: "You have your secrets, I have mine. If you won't tell us who you guys are then that's fine. But we need to head to the capital of Yarene."

Captain: "And why is it that you want to go to the capital? After what you just pulled just now, I don't think we can allow-"

Lilith: "Wait!"

Cutting into the conversation, Lilith steps up to my side, confronting the captain alongside me.

Captain: "What?"

Lilith: "..."

Suddenly, she turns around before lifting up her shirt, exposing her back to the captain. I watch the captain carefully in case he tries something.

Captain: "Is that-"

Lilith: "The mages in the city of Inasdale gave this to me. It seals my mana."

Neri: "We use that same crest here, but never have I seen it carved into skin, let alone a human..."

Captain: "...Why did the mages do this to you?"

Personally, I think it'd be wise to be honest here. These guys aren't from Inasdale, so they shouldn't know about her crimes she committed back there.

Lilith: "Roughly 10 years ago, I tried to save my daughter. Inasdale wasn't a safe place for her, so I tried to smuggle her out to the Kingdom of Yarene-"

So she's tell them the whole thing? You trust these guys too easily, Lilith.

Lilith: "I got caught in the process and had been imprisoned for life. I was tortured for answers, but I never told them where I sent her. It was when the torturing stopped that I figured they must've found her. Since then they let me free on the condition that they carve this into my back..."

I get what she's doing. She's trying to garner their sympathy, but we still don't know these people, or how they operate. It's risky, but I won't stop Lilith.

Neri: "And you're wanting to go to our capital in hopes to get rid of that crest?"

Lilith: "I'll be honest, I did think that. But really all I want is to live a normal life again... To be able to sleep in my own bed without stressing about soldiers assaulting me."

Neri: "..."

Captain: "Is that how you got that scar on your face?"

Lilith: "No! This is actually from my daughter before I tried to save her."

Captain: "Hmm. Then am I correct in assuming this, Mai person, is you're bodyguard?"

Lilith: "Yes!"

Captain: "Mmmm."

The captain sits back on his chair, resting his head into the palm of his hand.

Captain: "Okay. I'll take you to the capital of Yarene."

Lilith: "Thank yo-"

Captain: "But! On the condition that your bodyguard wears this."

He takes out of his bag, the same kind of magical bag that Kaede uses, some sort of bracelet with the same similar engravings that are on Lilith's back.

Captain: "Put this around your wrist."

Mai: "I don't have an option here do I?"

Captain: "Not unless you want your friend to go to Yarene."

Actually, this could be useful in and of itself. I'm still unsure exactly how this magic works since it's created by humans. This could be quite the opportunity to learn some valuable information. Happy with the situation, I extend my left wrist to the captain as he clamps the bracelet down around my wrist, locking it in place. The engravings on the bracelet began to glow before I start to feel my mana draining.

Captain: "Okay good."

Neri: "Did you want us to come with you captain?"

Captain: "Yes. Our job here is done now."

I'm not really paying attention to their conversation now, and instead entirely concentrating on the bracelet. I'm not sure how long they plan on keeping this on me, so I'd like to get to work on studying it.

Lilith: "So we're going to the capital?"

Captain: "Not quite."

Suddenly, as I was focusing on the bracelet, a bag was thrown over my head, causing my vision to go black.

Lilith: "Mai!!!"

I feel my arms being pulled back before being tied up with some sort of rope. I'm not particular worried, but hearing Lilith scream like that does get my heart pumping.

Mai: "Don't hurt her!"

Captain: "Let's go. We leave immediately."

Neri/Others: "Yes!"

Lilith: "Mai! What's going on?"

Mai: "Just calm down. I won't let anything happen to you."

From the sound of it, seems as though Lilith also has a bag around her head and is being escorted alongside me. Just what the hell have we gotten ourselves into...

I feel myself being lifted up onto something before being laid down on my stomach. It feels warm and also seems to be moving around slightly. Is this a horse? I don't question it further as I use this time to study the bracelet some more. I wasn't using my vision to begin with, so I should still be able to make some progress.

My question would soon be answered as the thing I'm on began to move. It's for sure something like a horse from the sound of it's hooves galloping along the cobblestone road. Even with the bracelet sucking up my mana, my body is still producing mana just fine. But whenever I try to use magic in between the small crack of an opening, it just get redirected straight to the bracelet. Quite an interesting device these humans have made, I'm impressed. But I wonder to what extent this device can manage.

Now I'm not just going to try and overpower the bracelet and cause a commotion for Lilith, so I take my time, slowly adjusting how much I let the bracelet feed off of me. We've been riding now for 10 or so minutes, but I've already mapped out the structure of the crest imbedded into the bracelet. Now I'm not sure if I can undo it, but I more or less know how to create it. I guess I'll continue to push the breaking point of the bracelet, but not too much for it to break... Not yet anyway...