Chương 20: Chapter 19 - Tracking Down Some Bastards

It took a moment for Eli's brain to reboot as he watched Astra sashay off to the forest with a pep in her step with a dazed expression. Elias shook it off with a wry smile, damn that smile is dangerous, before taking off himself to catch up. Astra glanced back with a knowing look as she watched him approach and asked." So which way?" Elias pointed in the direction of the wagon tracks he found earlier before trotting into the gloom, " This way, come on!"

Elias set a quick pace as the wagons cut a wide swath through the underbrush, making it easier to race into the gloomy darkness beneath the canopy. After a few minutes the tracks turned to parallel the river path while heading north, even further downstream. I guess even assholes are wary of the monsters in the deep forest, Eli thought with a smirk.

As he glanced back at Astra his eyes widened in surprise, I guess she wasn't kidding, as she was swiftly following only a few steps behind moving at what should be a blistering pace in full armor, the only sound the soft panting of her breath as she followed after him. Terrifying, Eli grinned, I can't wait to see her in action. Eli dropped back to pace along next to her Eli gestured ahead." I imagine we'll catch up sooner rather than later, unless their base is closer than I expect.

In addition, given the confidence Mr. Daggers "touching the scabbards at his waist" displayed earlier, I bet they expect him to have captured you and be in the process of dragging you back."" That being said I'm betting they are used to operating with impunity and will have stopped to set camp while waiting for Daggers and his crew to return." Astra shrugged as she ran." No way to tell."" I guess we will."" Have to see." Eli nodded, " Well stupid is as stupid does, I bet I'm right."

Astra choked down a laugh while trying to keep quiet, " What in the Abyss does that mean?" Eli smiled, " Eh, stupid people do stupid things, and attack a well armed patrol wearing the marking of the noble house this territory borders?"" I would be surprised if they can find their ass with both hands." Astra snorted in response, "Fair."

"Ok couple questions, you told me that they never would have succeeded if Mira wasn't restrained before she woke up. I'm guessing she is really strong?" Astra scoffed, " Strong."" Is an."" Understatement."" She could."" Shatter one of."" These trees."" To splinters."" In a moment." Taking a deep breath she eyed Eli." To borrow one of your sayings."" You have no frame of reference for what kind of power she possesses."

Astra gasped to catch her breath as Eli nodded, " Ok, assuming we can find her, how do we remove the restraints?" Astra gestures at him to slow the pace for a moment, finding her breath at a lighter jog." They will use a dampening collar, they are enchanted to block access to your System. It will be made out of a metal the same color as my armor, they are very expensive for someone as strong as her so I doubt they will have more than one." Eli nodded, " What about other restraints, ropes, chains, handcuffs?"

Astra shook her head, " They might use some of those too, but trust me, if you can remove the collar, nothing else will matter. If we can take it off, Mira will handle the rest." Eli looked at her dubiously before Astra rolled her eyes and snapped, willing a flame into existence above her palm before banishing it with a wave of her hand again. Eli snorted and shook his head and waved her off." Got it, crazy bullshit magic powers, sorry still new to this. Ok how do we get the collar off?"

A pained expression crossed Astra's face, before she fiddled a part of the wrist of one of her gauntlets and a small metal ring with a straight bar of metal extending from it popped free from the bottom edge. This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author's work. Astra showed him the trinket before returning it to the slot in her armor with a complicated expression."

A universal key for dampening collars, they're illegal to carry in the Empire but so is carrying collars for anyone but Imperial Wardens." Astra took a few deep breaths to center herself as she jogged next to Elias in silence before shaking her head." I always thought it was unnecessary, but Father insisted I carry one at all times. He refused to even commission this armor unless it was included in the design.

He always told me there was more to this world than adventures in the stories I read as a child, I guess there was more darkness than I expected."" I never thought I would need one, but here we are." Astra cleared her throat and continued in a more cheerful, if slightly bitter, tone." As Father would say it's better to have it and not need it.

The device is simple to use, simply insert the bar into the keyhole on the back of the collar and twist, the enchantment within will manifest a key in the correct configuration and deactivate the collar." Elias tapped a fist on her pauldron and smiled at her." Well it's good you came prepared. Don't worry we'll get there in time." If Astra's returning smile was a little shaky and her eyes a little watery, Eli gave no indication that he saw it as he gave her a wink and smacked her shoulder, " We got this!"

Eli faced forward and upped the pace again, please don't make me a liar, Eli thought with a worried expression. Unnoticed to either of them, a cool breeze blew down from the mountain peaks gently swirling around them before passing onwards to the forest depths. As the breeze swept past carrying the gentle coolness of a mountain stream, they slightly picked up the pace as their fatigue lifted just the smallest amount.

Elias slowed to a halt and ushered Astra into the nearby brush with a finger to his lips before crouching below the ferns. A notification flickered in the corner of his vision, Ding [Congratulations! [Observant] has reached Lv 7] Ok, that could be a deadly distraction in the heat of the moment.

With a mental flex of his will, Eli shifted his notifications to a combat setting he had found the night prior to stay minimized and only provided two small chimes and no visible displays, one ring of a bell for a level change and a second for a kill notification. As she softly caught her breath he shuffled over to whisper into her ear." Stay quiet, I saw a light up ahead coming from around the next bend, and the sound of footsteps. Let me know when you've caught your breath."

Excitement glittered in her eyes as she nodded, steadying her breathing." Once we go loud there is no going back so once we get closer, no talking, here look at me."

Astra was laser focused as Eli walked her through some basic handsigns: he made an Ok sign, "Understood or acknowledged", a thumbs up "Up into trees", a thumbs down "Down flatten yourself on the ground", a finger on the lips "silence", a fist "stop", a motion as if patting the air "wait", one pump "go", two pumps "double time or move fast this will usually mean it's time to start the slaughter."

Astra grinned at the last one as Eli rolled his eyes, he was beginning to gather she was a bit of a battle junky, "Ok killer, hold on." He pointed at his eyes and then outward, repeating with a different number of fingers, " I see one, two, three, enemies, etc.", and he dragged a thumb across his throat, " and that's kill, understood?" Astra flashed him an ok sign with a cheeky grin, Eli smiled." Ok we need to be smart about this, we're most likely outnumbered and with less firepower."

Eli eyed the pommel of the massive greatsword over her shoulder before chuckling under his breath." Ok maybe only me on the last count, either way we scout forward, find out how many are on watch and find Mira if we can. Once we have an idea of what we are working with, we withdraw far enough that we can talk and come up with a plan of attack." Astra's eyes danced in amusement at first before schooling her expression into a serious expression with a nod. Eli took a deep breath."

All right, last sign" he made a fist against his chest and pointed into the bushes." Use this if you see Mira to point her out to me, give me the ok when you are ready." Astra nodded and closed her eyes taking a series of deep breaths until she was steady, opening her eyes once more with a serious expression she gave the ok. Eli smiled and pumped his fist once before padding off through the ferns.

Elias kept an eye on Astra as he slowly crept forward, she wasn't the best at sticking to shadows or avoiding soft dirt, but she kept her head down, kept behind cover and paid attention to her steps, although he wasn't sure if her armor wasn't taking care of the last one. As they slowly crept forward he could hear a pair of soft foot falls treading down the path in their direction as they followed it on a parallel course through the brush just past the treeline.

Eli could make out faint voices as a pair of silhouettes bearing a torch approached, and he signaled stop, down, and silent to Astra as they both settled onto the soft earth below. The silhouettes resolved into a pair of figures in worn leather armor of roughly similar make to the group that Astra had dispatched farther upstream.

The closer man wore a small buckler strapped to his back, a battered 'mace' dangling from his waist that was little more than a stout club banded in rough iron and sporting some dubious stains. He also had a torch in one hand, while gesticulating down the path with the other.

"Fecking areshole making us double back, betcha the lazy cunt is just napping in his tree, eh Flint?" The second man just grunted in reply while he cradled a heavy crossbow in his arms, a quiver of bolts hung from one hip while a dirk swung from the other, clearly taking his duty more seriously as he scanned the path ahead as the pair trudged along. The first man scoffed, " Get on wit ye, how long could it take to track down a single soft, pampered bint?"

Eli arched a brow at the thought that Astra of all people would be considered soft, maybe she's different from the other noble ladies? Her armor has definitely taken a beating before and unless it is second hand, I would hardly describe that kind of action as 'minor'." It's Rosco we're talking about, the cunt's already broken through to the third tier. If anything is slowing him down, it's prolly cuz he decided to stop and dip his wick."

The man waggled his eyebrows at his partner while making suggestive thrusting motions with his hips and the torch while his partner snickered. Eli turned to arch a brow back at Astra as she recoiled slightly in disgust before rolling her eyes. Eli pointed at himself before signing up, pointing at the crossbow wielder, signing kill, before pointing at Astra, the comedian, and then kill again. A flash of brilliant white teeth shone in the darkness as a bloodthirsty grin crossed her face before she signalled ok.