Chương 11: A Night Out in the City

Boots rested on the bed while Kitten walked around making a lot of noise. He watched her with mild curiosity, as this wasn't her usual ritual before getting ready to sleep. She bent over and whispered in his face as she liked to do sometimes.

"I'm going to go out for a bit. I wish I could take you with me, but it's dangerous and there are catnappers about. But don't worry, nothing can possibly happen to me, and I'll be back before you know it, okay?" He swatted her gently on the nose to let her know that she was being silly, but she only giggled. She cast a spell on herself to silence her footsteps and then quietly opened the door and slipped through, locking it behind her.

He remained there for some time, proud of Kitten for exploring her natural curiosity. There was a moment when he sensed some activity by the Outsider in the other room, and then everything went quiet. Too quiet. He was alone again and hadn't had a chance to stretch his legs since they arrived in this jungle of mud and stone. During the day it was noisy and there were too many of these smelly humans around. But night seemed like the perfect time to roam. Perhaps Kitten had the right idea after all.

He went by over to the windowsill and pawed at the hook holding the shutters closed until it came undone. Then all he had to do was nudge them open and he was staring at the outside. It was a frightening drop to the ground, particularly in this form, but he'd done worse. He shortly picked up Kitten's scent and decided to follow it. He just wanted to see what she was up to. But it appeared that he wasn't alone on her trail.

Ahead of him were three humans wearing dark hooded cloaks and whispering among themselves while they tracked her from a distance. The indignation of a parent swelled within him. Nobody stalked his Kitten. He pounced at the closest figure, his claws sharpening to tear through the cloak. He was still small and was easily swung away, but not without taking a chunk of fabric with him.

"What the hell!" the stalker cried in hushed tones to his companions.

"I just bought this cloak."

"That cat isn't normal," a second stalker said, looking over to see where he'd been thrown. Boots had the satisfaction of hearing the man's surprised yelp on seeing that he'd already pounced again, this time as a mountain lion, and landed on him before he could react. This would have been immediately deadly, had the man not been wearing armor beneath the cloak.

He swiped furiously to tear his way through the thick fabrics and leather protecting his target's neck while the other stalkers tried to pull him off their friend. He heard the third one mumble, "Sod this," and this was followed by a burning pain in his side. He leaped down to the ground and turned to growl at the mage.

"Did you just use fire magic on me?" the second stalker cried, patting at a spot where his cloak was still smoking.

"I got it off you, didn't I?" the third one replied. All three were staring at him fearfully, and he noticed that they'd pulled out their knives.

"That's no cat," the first one said.

"Why did I think it was a cat?" He weighed up whether it was worth going to the effort of killing them or if he'd done enough to send a message. He would have to do it the slow way because it would be a waste to burn any essence on these small fry. But he didn't get the chance to decide because he abruptly found himself shrunk down again. Feeling his stomach fall away, he turned his head up to the street, dreading what he would see but at the same time knowing it was the only possible explanation.

There she was, Kitten, staring at them. She didn't seem scared at all, but that had to be because she couldn't see the knives. Humans had poor eyesight in the dark, and unfortunately Kitten had inherited that disadvantage when she got stuck in that form. He had to warn her of the danger. He had to get her away from these stalkers. He did it the only way he knew how. He ran toward her, screeching, hoping she would get the message. As he got closer, her eyes widened in surprise.

"Boots?" He swiped at her ankle as he passed and then he kept on running. Luckily this time she seemed to understand, and he could hear her following close behind. But he could hear the stalkers following too, and they were closer than he'd like. While he was trying to think of what to do, his nose picked up a familiar scent. Making a quick decision, he turned down another street and followed it, hoping it wasn't too far away.

Amberlin stepped out of the inn to find the usually lively streets completely deserted. This wasn't unexpected, as Lorelark didn't have any streetlights, and the moon above was completely dark. But the stars in Kalimor were completely different from those on Earth, and they provided plenty of illumination on their own—enough that she didn't need to bother with magic. It was better this way, and she spent half her time looking up at the sky. Since she was a city girl, she never got to see a pure night sky.

A few times her brother spoke of taking her out to an observatory, claiming that away from the light pollution of human settlement, the sky was so filled with stars that there wasn't a single patch of true darkness to be found. She didn't believe him, and that trip never happened because he was always busy with work. But she liked to think that what she got to see since her isekai was the sky he'd always wanted to show her.

After she realized she'd just walked around in a big circle, Amberlin forced herself to focus. She was looking for the entrance to the sewers. Her goal tonight was to put an end to the catnappers. Initially her plan had been to find the missing people. But Havlo had convinced her that it was best to leave that to the watch. While the abundance of missing-persons posters up at the guild had her a bit uncertain on that front, she had to admit that she wouldn't even know how to start helping.

But the catnappers were another matter. There she knew something that the watch didn't. There was an early quest in the game that featured animal traffickers in Lorelark. And she remembered very clearly that they'd gotten the animals past the gate guards by sneaking them out through the sewers. While the traffickers in the game had been pretty weak, she wasn't sure how that would translate into real life. The monster that attacked Liana back in the Restwood had definitely been way stronger than it should have been.

That's why she didn't want to burden Havlo with helping her on this quest. He had his own training to focus on, and there would be plenty of time to put him to work once he'd gotten a little stronger. Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. The book she'd gotten for him turned out to be pretty basic. She'd taken a peek inside while wrapping it up.

Apparently the fireball spell she'd been using on the slimes around Restford was considered Tier 3, and she'd figured that one out on her own. This made her feel like maybe book-learning wasn't the best way to approach magic. When she had some time, she was going to have to figure out some practical exercises for her apprentice. She'd gotten distracted and walked around in another circle again. She'd expected a sewer entrance to be easier to find than this. In the game she'd had no problem finding it at all.

She heard some noises behind her and turned around. There were three people flailing about. No, they weren't flailing about, they were grabbing at something. Was that a cat? It was running at her, and then it came out from under the shadow of an awning and caught the full sparkle of starlight from above, and she would have recognized that tuxedo anywhere.

"Boots?" she gasped. He sped past her, and she acted without hesitation. She turned and chased after him. How did he even get out? Did she forget to lock the window? She thought she'd been extra careful, but she'd always been a bit absent-minded. It was possible she meant to lock it and never got around to it. This always happened when there was too much on her mind. Little things slipped through the cracks. The three hooded figures were also chasing after Boots. She could hear them close behind her.

By the way her shadow danced ahead of her, one of them either had a really unsteady light spell or his cloak was on fire. There was only one explanation for this. Why they'd been grabbing at Boots and were now chasing him. These were the catnappers, and they wanted to nab her cat. She wanted to turn around and confront them, but then she would lose sight of Boots. She didn't want him to get lost in this big city like she had, or worse—run into another group of smugglers while she was busy fighting.

So she continued to chase after her cat and ignored the bad guys behind her.

Havlo's room at the inn was on the second floor, but that wasn't a problem as he cast [Flight] and took off above the city. From that vantage point he cast [Infravision] and surveyed the streets below. While most people had locked themselves safely away indoors, there remained pockets of activity. He could see the armed guards of the watch going about their patrols, and more lone individuals wandering around than he expected, given the rumors circulating through the city.

From up here it was hard to see all the little details, and there was a surprising amount of obstructions, with all the awnings and shop signs that poked out of the buildings. He descended for a better view, but that then restricted the number of streets he could observe at a time. No matter. From the way Captain Hughston had described some of the crime scenes, he was confident there were mages among the criminals. If anyone used magic, he could follow the mana flux.

He heard the sound of a man's voice, pleading and frightened. He cast his eyes about and saw at the next street over, a man cornered by a hooded figure with a knife. He dropped down in the alleyway behind them and released [Invisibility] and [Flight] before emerging. The knife wielder spun at his sudden appearance, but he was swift with [Force Wall] and a series of [Air Strikes], knocking the knife from the assailant's hands and then bringing him down.

He followed this up with [Earth Bind], causing the criminal's hands and knees to sink into the ground, which then hardened to keep him restrained.

"Are you all right?" he asked the victim.

"Y-yeah." The man appeared shaken but otherwise unharmed.

"Did he say where he was taking you?"

"N-no. He just said he wanted me to hand over all my valuables."

"He was just mugging you?"

"What do you mean just?" He didn't have time to deal with this. Every minute he was standing here, the kidnappers were roaming the city.

"This criminal needs to be taken into custody by the watch," he said.

"There's a patrol just a couple of streets over that way. If you could kindly go and fetch them, they'll sort everything out for you." The man looked where he was pointing.

"You want me to go all the way over there on my own?"

"You didn't seem bothered walking these streets on your own before I got here," he pointed out.

"That was before this mugging made me realize that something bad could happen to me," the man admitted.

"All right, then you stay here and keep an eye on the mugger while I go and fetch—" That was when he sensed it. A mana flux. A very small one, probably a Tier 1 or Tier 2 spell, and he might not have noticed it, had it not been just a couple of blocks away. He looked up at the sky. No, he couldn't fly or turn himself invisible when there were witnesses around. He had to proceed on foot—at least until he was out of sight.

"Sorry, but I've got to go," he said and took off running. He ducked back into the alleyway he'd come from, but the man followed him.

"What are you doing?" he demanded.

"Please don't leave me on my own!" the man cried. Where he was going was dangerous, particularly now that he knew the criminals could use magic. He didn't want to bring an unnecessary civilian into it. He could leave the man in his dust with [Haste], but that was a mid-tier spell and he wouldn't be able to completely suppress the mana flux. If the kidnappers were sensitive enough, they would be alerted to his presence, and that could potentially endanger their victim.

He came to a stop, and the man did too beside him.

"I'm headed toward a fight," he warned.

"You'd best stay away lest you get hurt."

"I've really inconvenienced you, haven't I?" the man bemoaned.

"It's all right. Just—""And I forgot to offer you a reward for saving me. It's most ungracious—""It's fine," he said.

"At least allow me to make it up—""Keep your reward," he snapped. He turned to leave the alley, and at that moment spotted a familiar cat running past on the street ahead. It couldn't be. But then it was followed by a young woman whose hair shone brilliantly in the starlight. He was so shocked that he ran out of the alleyway without thinking to stare after her, and collided into the group of hooded figures that had been chasing her. For some reason one of them was on fire.

He reacted quickly with [Force Wall] to cut off any further pursuit of his master. The miscreants quickly turned on him, two of them brandishing knives, flanking from the sides while the third send a [Fireball] directly at him. This maneuver immediately marked them as a well-trained crew. He blocked the [Fireball] with another [Force Wall], and the back-blast set a second miscreant's cloak on fire.

Both knife-wielders came at him while ignoring the budding flames on their backs but were struck down with a rapid-fire series of [Air Strikes]. The enemy mage was preparing another [Fireball] until the knock of an [Air Strike] shattered her concentration and the mana she'd begun forming into the spell dispersed into the ether. Before the criminals could regain their footing, he restrained them all with [Earth Bind] and then doused the flames with [Hose Down].

There was something about being soaking wet and stuck up to the ankles in the road that snuffed the fighting spirit out of them. Even the mage didn't bother casting another spell even though their hands remained free to do so. He checked on the man who'd been on fire longest and found some burns, so he cast [Light Heal] on him. The man he'd saved from the mugging came up beside him.

"Did you just heal that miscreant?"

"Why not?" The man didn't reply, and instead turned his gaze up the street to the sound of heavy boots. It was the city watch. The loud blast from the first [Fireball] must have attracted their attention.

"What's going on?" the lead officer demanded.

"I caught these three trying to abduct a young lady," Havlo replied.

"Did you, now? And where is this lady that you saved?" He looked around. Lady Amberlin was nowhere to be seen. The officer was waiting for his answer.

"You should speak with Captain Hughston," he said.

"I'm helping him with his investigation into the missing persons, and I believe these three are the perpetrators."

"Yeah, maybe we'll have a nice chat with the captain," the officer replied.

"But that won't happen until morning. In the meantime I'm going to need everyone to come to the station with me."

"If I may," the mugging victim interjected.

"I can confirm that these hoodlums were chasing after a young lady, and that this gentleman here acted in good faith. In fact, one of them was on fire, and he was kind enough to put him out."

"And you are?" the officer asked.

"You don't recognize me?" The officer looked at the man and then at the two officers behind him, who both shrugged, before turning back to the man and saying, "I'm not sure that I do."

"Has my family's renown fallen so far that you don't recognize Jacob Wanderbilt?"

"You're Lord Wanderbilt's son?" The officer looked him up and down. One of the watch officers carrying a lamp held it up closer, giving them a good look at the young man. His clothes were made of soft, expensive fabric and were finely tailored. His boots were polished to a high shine, and he wore a gold bracelet on his wrist. But what really made it undeniable was his blond hair being styled up into a pompadour and held together with pomade.

Such extravagance was the mark of people with money to waste—or at least appear like they had—making it a signature look among aristocrats and real estate agents.

"I'm very sorry for not recognizing you, sir," the lead officer said.

"Not to worry," Jacob Wanderbilt said pleasantly.

"I take it we no longer have to accompany you down to the station?"

"Of course not, sir. With your corroborating testimony and you vouching for this gentleman's virtue, we have enough to hold these three on suspicion of criminal mischief. The captain will be in touch if he needs anything further in this investigation."

"Before you go, there's a fourth miscreant on the other side of that alley there," Jacob said.

"An attempted mugger."

"Very good, sir. We'll sort him out for you, sir." Havlo was watching all this silently until Jacob turned to him and said, "So, do you still want to turn down that reward?"

When Havlo got back to the inn, Lady Amberlin's door was locked. He knocked on it gently and there was no reply. He cast [Enhanced Perception] and listened closely to pick up on the sound of her sleeping. He could also sense the chaotic essences inside her cat. Had he just imagined seeing her running through the streets tonight? Had it been perhaps a vision from Amberfina to help him nab the kidnappers? No, that was ridiculous.

He would have a proper conversation with Lady Amberlin in the morning about her nighttime escapades.