The Achievement Junkie

With shared glances, Daliea and Keela both sighed.

Keela asked, "Can you at least tell me what I'm being accused of?"

"You… You're enemies of the state!" shouted the lead woman. "You and your friends have already been called out and there's no going back for you! Just come peacefully and let us get our husbands back!"

"But why are we enemies of the state?"

"I… I don't know. But I do know that if you go to trial and you're innocent, then you'll be fine and I'll get my husband back," reasoned the woman, trying her best to keep things from getting out of hand.

"I'm sorry, but if the state is going to such extremes do you really think she would get a fair trial?" stated Daliea, taking the wind of the woman's sails.

"W-well…"

"I'm sorry for what they've done to your husbands, but this really has nothing to do with me. Can you please let us pass?" Keela took a few steps forward but the mob made no moves to clear a path. "Ladies, we need to pass. Will you please let us go?"

The women around started to gather behind Daliea and Keela as well. And in place of sharing any more words, they each took out some makeshift weapons ranging from kitchen knives to cheap swords bought for bargain prices in the market.

Both Daliea and Keela frowned when they realized how determined and desperate the women were.

Dahlia did her best to persuade them. "Ladies, please don't do this. Please…"

"We'll do what we must in order to get our men back home," replied the middle-aged woman.

Keela hesitated. She clutched her fists tightly and took a deep breath, preparing to do something she would abhor.

'On the count of three, hop on my back, Keela.'

Those words shook Keela even more, fueling both her anxiety and her curiosity.

The mob of women took the first step toward the girls, marking the point of no return.

'1…'

Gaining speed, the mob marched to close the distance while staying on guard.

'Daliea…'

'2…'

"Now, ladies!" The woman in front gave the command, leading the charge with her dull, chipped sword.

'Daliea!'

'3!'

Following Daliea's lead, Keela leaped onto Daliea's back and closed her eyes in suspense.

Unseen by Keela, dark energy gathered around Daliea, thick enough for her and Keela to become hidden in broad daylight.

"World of Shadows!"

Suddenly, the orb of darkness that surrounded them burst and expanded more than times over, encompassing the mob and all their nearby surroundings in complete and utter darkness.

"W-what happened?!"

"M-mommy! Mommy!"

"Where did they go?"

"Don't let them get away!"

Shouts came from all directions, confused and disoriented in the newfound darkness. Only two people weren't left abandoned by their senses, and they were already exiting the dark world.

'Keela, you can open your eyes now.'

'Okay.' As she opened her eyes, Keela noticed the change of scenery and the surprising lack of women around them. 'What happened to the others?'

'Look behind you and see for yourself. Also, you can get off now,' Daliea chuckled as her companion hopped off her back.

When Keela looked back, she struggled to believe her eyes. 'What in the world? What did you do?'

While being interrogated by Keela, Daliea led the way through the allies to get out of sight. 'It's a spell called World of Shadows. It's a peak-tier dark spell that Jack got at an auction a while back. This was the first time I've needed to use it outside of practice.'

'Whoa… You know, sometimes I forget how amazing you are, Daliea.'

'Wha! Where did that come from?'

Keela laughed at Daliea's shyness to compliments. 'Well, we rarely see you use dark magic and I forgot you have three magic affinities. That's amazing!'

As the two weaved in the back streets, an announcement sounded loudly in their minds.

'Everyone, be careful! They're already onto us!'

Hearing the seriousness in Jack's voice, both Daliea and Keela almost laughed at the late warning. But what Rydel added afterward brought kept them from joking around.

'Listen up, I've got to warn you all. Apparently General Toms has had no fear in involving the citizens in the matter. Someone had noticed our fire-test while we were here in town and that led them toward the innkeeper who rented the place to us. They used his memories in order to create wanted posters for each of us, connecting the white fire from the test with the fire from the camp.'

Everyone was dumbstruck, feeling terrible about being caught in such a way and shocked that the general was both cruel and fast-acting to such a degree.

Rydel continued, 'Also, they've hired someone I assume is an experienced bounty hunter. So we need to hurry and accomplish our goal so we can get out of Limneer.'

'Do you know where we can find the army?' asked Jack, cutting to the point of the matter.

Rydel chuckled a little, 'Luckily, I was able to meet the same assistant that delivered the bounty before he made his final delivery. Thanks to his final message, I know exactly where to find them.'

'Well, where shall we meet up?'

'Meet me in the northwest part of town, near the largest manor in town,' directed Rydel.

Putting it all together, Daliea chimed in, 'Oh… So that's where they're hiding the troops.'

'Exactly. But we need to hurry,' added Rydel. 'I'll be going silent for the next few minutes, but if something comes up, then let me know. See you soon.'

'Daliea, Keela, how close are you?' asked Eliza.

'We're quite close. We'll be there in a couple of minutes,' Daliea responded confidently.

'Good, then we'll see each other soon. Be careful,' Jack warned them one last time before he went silent.

As he and Eliza left the city square, they passed through an empty ally and came back out as two completely different people. With Sterfen's Cloak, Jack easily became someone else in the blink of an eye.

Eliza, on the other hand, was wearing a new cloak, one of the many things that her father had given her during their last pass through Federal City. It masked her aura and could change her face to that of an old woman. Though it was nothing compared to Jack's legend-tier cloak, it got the job done.

Both of them followed the flow of foot-traffic, getting closer and closer to the noble's manor.

'Where are your two? Don't tell me that you're off being lovey-dovey.'

Eliza giggled a little bit at Keela's playful tone, 'Don't worry, we're about there. We saved the fun for the bedroom later.'

'Where are you two?' Jack interrupted them, not wanting to continue the awkward conversation.

Daliea's reply saved him. 'We're to the west of the main gate.'

'Oh! I can see you.' Eliza waved, still maintaining her elderly look and shocking the girls in the distance.

'If you see an old hag waving, just know it's my wife. Ow!' Jack's joke was interrupted by a smack to the back of his head. 'Hey! I thought you'd be happy I called you that.'

Eliza pouted, 'I'm not some old hag!'

'But you are my wife, aren't you?'

'...'

'Eliza?' Stunned to see Eliza go silent, Jack to the moment to return the favor. 'If you don't like me calling you that, then I guess I won't--'

'As your wife, I'll always be happy for you to call me yours,' Eliza proudly stated. 'Just… Please be nice to me while you do so. Otherwise, my massages might not be so nice either.'

'When you two are done with your lovers' quarrel, can we get back to the task at hand.'

With that being said, all four of them went silent and waited for the invisible yet present Rydel to explain some things. 'Since everyone's here, let's make a quick battle plan. The troops should be in the back garden to the rear of the manor. That way they can enter and exit the city directly without alerting the rest of the city.'

'So how should we enter without being seen, and how can we attack while guaranteeing a clean getaway?' asked Jack.

'I think it would be best to strike all at once from different sides. Jack, let Keela have that bracer so she can remain hidden and only act when needed. Eliza, you should stick close to Jack so you can work together. Daliea and I should be able to work alone since we're both ranged fighters,' explained Rydel.

'We target the captains and the officials and then we make a break for it. With the help of Ayden and your tiger, we should be able to break in and break out without too much worry. Any questions?'

Jack was already handing off the bracer to Keela, who quickly went invisible. With her out of sight, each party member was completely unrecognizable compared to their wanted posters.

With preparations complete, Rydel gave the final shout, 'Good, now let's strike hard one last time!'