Chương 101: Book 2 Chapter 53 - Finding Her People

Kiara made her way through the city. The streets seemed normal at first, albeit with a hint of tension that she didn't normally see. By the time she reached the center of the city, the tension was much more palpable. People hurried about with downcast eyes, avoiding drawing attention to themselves. There also seemed to be less people out and about than one would expect in the center of the city in the early afternoon.

As she moved from the city center towards the Benson district, the drop in the number of people on the streets was stark. Pretty soon the streets felt deserted. A city news sheet blew lazily down the street ahead of Kiara, pulled along by a gentle breeze. As Kiara passed an alleyway, some forms huddled in the shadows pulled back instinctively. She only noticed them because [Magical Sense 4] was on full blast.

Kiara herself was avoiding moving too fast to avoid drawing unnecessary attention or trigger any kind of reflexive response from someone who thought she might be an aggressor. Even so, the feeling of the empty streets was eerie, and she increased her pace a bit. Arriving in the Benson district, signs of life picked back up, but not the normal hustle and bustle of the city. Instead, small groups of armed guards watched from store porches or alleyways, keeping a wary eye on her and on each other.

She didn't know the liveries of all of the houses in Easton, but she spotted quite a few that she recognized on the uniforms of the groups of guards she passed. Each house was protecting their most valuable areas. Some of the groups even contained insignias from multiple houses, banding together to watch over higher profile buildings. [Magical Sense 4] tagged most of the guards as tier 1, some as tier 0. A few tier 2s were interspersed, mainly near the larger groups of guards and more important buildings.

Kiara followed the map towards the storefront Dustin had indicated he couldn't get to. As she got within a few blocks of it, the road was blocked off. Open backed carriages had been dragged sideways to block the roadways themselves, and armed guards sat on or stood around them. The cordoned off area was small enough, and House Goren's faction was large enough, that they easily fielded enough guards to watch every entrance to the area.

Kiara understood now why Dustin and Jaden had been unable to get in without permission. After walking a circuit around the entire area, she found that each of the entrances was guarded by multiple tier 2s and a few dozen tier 1s, and a few of the groups even had a tier 3. She was sure that any fighting would draw reinforcements from the nearby streets as well. Lord Goren's faction had fortified their primary position, which didn't bode well for what might be coming.

She approached one of the blockades, and a guard held up his hand for her to stop. He was a tier 2, and Kiara's danger sense, one of the upgraded features of [Magical Sense 4], pinged him as mid-strength compared to most tier 2s she had encountered.

"Stop right there!" He called out forcefully, walking toward her.

"No entry without permission from Lord Goren." Kiara ignored the man and glanced around. The tier 3 watching this street was a tall woman with long golden hair. She wore a light blue uniform with House Goren's livery, tall black boots with the pants tucked in, and had a short sword strapped to her waist. She was under an awning, leaning casually against a pillar, watching the scene play out. Kiara pointed directly at her, then motioned for her to approach.

The tier 3 gave off a surprised look at being picked out so quickly, then pushed off the pillar and made her way over. As the two guards got within twenty feet of her, their weapons both lit up from [Artifact Compass] as enchanted items. The enchantments seemed fairly standard, durability and sharpness like her own. They seemed more akin to the sword she had purchased though, rather than the one Victor had gifted her.

"You're in charge here?" Kiara asked the woman. The woman shrugged.

"Suppose so. Name's Jess." She thumbed towards the tier 2 that had approached Kiara first.

"Haden's right though, no entry without permission from Lord Goren." Kiara glanced at Haden, then back at Jess.

"How do you know that I don't have Lord Goren's permission to enter?" Jess laughed lightly.

"Just asking that proves that you don't. If you did, you would know what you needed." Well that's cryptic, Kiara thought to herself. Outwardly, she pursed her lips. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

"Where is Lord Goren, then? I would like to request his permission to enter. I have business in this area."

"What business?" Haden asked gruffly. Kiara side-eyed him.

"I have people inside the area. I need to make sure they're okay."

"As long as they don't cause any trouble, they'll be fine," Jess replied. She looked Kiara up and down.

"What house are you with?" Kiara didn't recognize either of these two from the parties she'd been to.

"I'm Shian Yountal, head of House Yountal."

"Ah," Jess replied with a nod.

"You've sent a few people over already, did they not relay the message back to you?"

"They did," Kiara countered, "which is why I'm here personally now. Refusing them entry is… well, it's probably illegal, for one thing, but it's definitely rude. We just want to check on our people, offer them to come live at my estate temporarily until it's safe to return here." Jess shook her head.

"No one leaves, orders from Lord Goren." Kiara exhaled sharply.

"Well then can I come in to speak with Lord Goren and arrange for their release?" Jess shook her head again, more apologetically this time.

"No entry without permission, I'm sorry Lady Yountal. No exceptions." Kiara pursed her lips in annoyance.

"I can't come in without permission from Lord Goren, and I also can't talk to Lord Goren to get permission? How does that make any sense?" Jess shrugged.

"No exceptions. Sorry, Lady Yountal, but I'll have to ask you to leave the area. We can't be distracted at our posts." Kiara glanced behind her. There wasn't really much for them to keep an eye on apart from her. She understood Jess's comment for what it was. They didn't have the authority to let her in, and any further discussion was simply a waste of everyone's time.

"Fine," she snapped, letting her annoyance show through. She turned on her heel and walked away, frustrated. She found an empty alleyway, used [Magical Sense 4] to confirm that she was alone, then activated [Invisibility 2]. The ability turned her completely invisible, along with her clothes and anything else she was touching, rendering her completely undetectable by any means, certified by the World Engine itself.

As long as she didn't touch anyone or interact with anyone, the effect would remain active until she manually turned it off. She moved back towards the entryway where Jess and Haden were standing guard, before thinking better of it and moving to a different one. If she was found out for any reason, it was probably best if it wasn't by the people who had just told her to get lost.

Guards filled the gaps between the carriages fairly well, but there wasn't any form of formal organization to their placements or movements. Kiara easily found a gap large enough to squeeze though, moving quickly but not so fast as to kick up any dust. She tried to stick to hard ground and the shadows as much as possible, since her footsteps through loose dirt or standing water would still be visible. A minute later, she was past the blockade, and working her way through the area.

She kept [Invisibility 2] active, since she wasn't wearing any kind of uniform or insignia that associated her with House Goren's faction, and she wasn't sure how Haden was able to tell so easily she wasn't allowed in. It must be some kind of visible identifier. She double-checked the map, then made her way to the storefront. It was closed and shuttered, and the door was locked. That was good, that meant the family that ran the store had likely decided on their own that it wasn't safe to be on the streets anymore.

She checked the paper where their address was written, then made her way there. The Benson district was primarily manufacturing and industrial in nature, but it had been built around existing homes and small neighborhoods that had been there first. The family that worked at the store lived in a modest home two blocks away, with a nearly non-existent yard, and old, wooden window shutters and doors. Kiara squoze between the house and its neighbor to get to the backyard.

The two buildings were so close together, and at such an odd angle, that she had to turn sideways at the end to make it through. The back yard didn't exist. Behind the house was another house, and Kiara realized that these homes had been crammed in anywhere they would fit. The walkway between homes was haphazard, and in no way wide enough for a horse or a carriage, leaving foot traffic as the only way to get in and out.

She dropped her invisibility once she was off the main road and out of sight of the patrolling guards. A small child peeked at her from the window of one of the other homes, but was quietly reprimanded, and the shutters were quickly snapped shut. Kiara wanted to help as many of these people as she could, but knew that wasn't feasible. If she drew too much attention, she would end up helping no one. She hoped none of them were suffering too much.

She wanted to find Lord Goren and see if she could get his permission to bring her employees out of the area, at the very least. That would be much easier than trying to sneak them out. If he seemed open to the idea, then she might ask if she could take some of the others as well. First though, she wanted to check in on the family and see how they were doing. She had come back here to knock on the back door, but now realized there wasn't one. Instead, she rapped lightly on one of the closed window shutters.

There was no response, so she knocked a bit more loudly. On the third try, a window on a different house, the same one that the small child had been peeking out from before, opened just a crack.

"Psst. Over here, miss." The voice was barely a whisper, but sounded very urgent. Kiara moved closer to the window.

"You know the Jensens?" the voice asked, still a whisper. Kiara nodded.

"I'm Shian Yountal of House Yountal. The Jensens work for me at a nearby shop. I've come to check on them." Hurried whispers from multiple voices sounded from inside, but Kiara couldn't make out what they were saying to each other. After a few seconds, the latch on the door clicked, and the door cracked open.

"Inside, miss, hurry!"