[Leela] Chapter 5: Xalaster Orthodoxy

[Ella]

Leela Steading

Since the adventurer had continued on to answer her question, she ignored the comment about Efrit's face.

"I see. Thank you." She replied, wondering if the guild was an adventurer's guild and if it was adventurers who had taken Ashaki or the hero. If it was adventurers, perhaps there was a chance that the guild had her. Otherwise... she worried that the demon child was locked in the capital's prison. That was assuming she was even still alive, considering this country was supposed to be an Orthodoxy. Leela decided it might be safe to inquire if they adventurer knew anything about that.

"I heard a rumor that there were some troubles with demons coming into the boarders recently and then one of the demons was captured and taken to the capital. Is that true?" She inquired, wondering aslo if the adventurers were heading east for that reason.

[Throndir]

"I heard about that... It was the rumour spreading through the capital, and I bet many of the surrounding villages. Anyways!" Flynn grinned as he bowed low.

"When you get to the city, try out the Sleepy Inn! I'd say is one of the better ones so far."

[Ella]

Leela Steading

"I see." If it was just a rumor and not more well known, she hoped that meant that they were keeping it under wraps. She would have assumed that the capture of a demon would be made public if they intended to kill her, since it would most likely improve moral and hatred towards demons.

"We shall, thank you for your recommendation." She gave a nod of her head when he rose from his low bow. "I hope you and your companions have safe travels."

[Throndir]

"Oh of course! We're actually about to do a dungeon found near here. The Guild said it might be difficult for just the three of us, but I couldn't really find any others to join. I was planning to ask you to join, but since you're someone important, hahaha... Probably not?"



Heading back on the road, the frequency to the next stranger was becoming more and more. The closer you got to the city, the more roads intersected, and also the more travellers were appearing.

[Ella]

Leela Steading

"As interesting as it sounds, I am afraid not." She agreed to his question with a small smile. She was relieved to hear that they were not going to the boarders to fight off demons. She also wondered if by dungeon, he meant something like the sort of dungeons one would expect in a fantasy game or novel in her home world. Between being summoned by demons to be their hero, all her "blessings", and magic, Leela would not be surprised if dungeons of this world were exactly like what she was thinking of. Perhaps, once her mission was done, she could look for some dungeons and see if she could farm for levels.

~~~~~~~~~~

As soon as the adventuring group was out of sight down the road and she could see no one else, Leela led Efrit, Abi, and the nightmares to where Zavan was hiding with the rest of the imps. They needed to sit down have a chat before they moved on any farther.

"Zavan," She started with a frown and crossed her arms in front of her. "Those adventurers said that we are heading to the capital city. This isn't just a mere human settlement, its the center of the whole country. That makes everything much harder than I had anticipated when I was making plans for this mission, especially since it is much more likely that their hero would come here when not defending boarders. We are going to have to change our plans around if we are going to make this work."

[Throndir]

Zavan nodded as his eyes flashed.

"A human settlement... and a capital too. These humans are quite possibly more connected than we previously thought. I shall ensure lord Ghorat is updated with this information." Zavan announced. "Aside from Lord Ghorat's and Lady Ashaki's adventure to these lands, this would perhaps be the one of the few times any from our domain was gone so far into this territory."

"As I see it... The problem would be the opposing hero first and foremost. If we can solve that, we should be able to retrieve Ashaki safely."

[Ella]

Leela Steading

"Capital cities are usually huge. If this was a true settlement, it would be small and the leader would have been a mayor or governor. But with a city, we will be lucky if we can figure out where she is being kept, even with Zephyrus' help, or given an audience with whoever is in charge of keeping her to try to settle things peacefully. Since this country is an Orthodoxy, I imagine the church has control of keeping her, but I do not know enough about Orthodoxies to know for sure. I don't know if they have a king or queen who also rules, but if there is, then there is a chance that they have her. Or the adventurer's guild could have her." Leela had not realized that the demons were so... uninformed. She guessed if they did not even know how "weak" most humans are or even what bread was, she should have known better. But still. She would have hoped that they would be able to tell the difference between a settlement, a village, a town, and a city.

"So. Here is what I learned from the adventurers. The city is called Olodeen, City of Saints, and is only about two hours down the road. They were not sure who we should talk to for diplomatic negotiations, so they recommended going to the guild - I'm assuming that means the adventurer's guild - where they can point us in the right direction. The capture of Ashaki is only a rumor about the city, which is a good indication that she is still alive. I believe that if they intended to execute her, it would be more public so that the general public could watch. This is a tactic that humans use to bolster the morale of their people to justify war with the 'enemy' or to set an example to instill fear in the people so that they do not try to oppose the government." She explained what she had learned.

"With this new knowledge, our plans might take longer than one or two days to take the diplomatic route. But we still need to figure out where Ashaki is being kept before we can actually rescue her, so we still need to attempt diplomacy. My idea is that you, Zavan, and the imps will still camp outside of the city in case I need to send Abi for your assistance, making sure that none of you are caught. Efrit, Abi, Zephyrus, and I will still enter the city. We will seek out the adventurer's guild and learn what information we can and hope that they can get us an audience with whoever we need to about freeing Ashaki peacefully. In the event that we cannot gather all the information we need in one day or must wait a day or two to get an audience, do we have money to use for payment to get a room or two at an inn?" This whole thing was turning into more work than she had thought.

The more she thought about it, the more work she realized had to be put into it. She was going to have to ask for something big in exchange all this. She already had to deal with the fact that she had been unwillingly brought to this place with no way back to her old life and family and friends. She was already upset with the living conditions and the capabilities of those she had to work with. And what she thought would be a relatively easy rescue mission with a possibility of establishing good enough relations with a small human town to establish trade was quickly turning into a monster of a mission with little hope for diplomatic success. It was truly more of a nightmare to her than the nightmare horses themselves.

[Throndir]

Zavan nodded as he pulled out a small sack.

"I have prepared this earlier. These were the money I kept decades ago around when I was first... brought to Lord Ghorat." He handed you the sack then as it jingled in his hands. "The currency of the country that used to be the most prevalent... I'm not sure if they would still accept it, but you could try. There are 100 mithril pieces in there."

"The nightmares, imps, and I will be waiting outside the city, hiding among the forests or trees. Send forth Abi when you need us summoned. How far would you like us to camp from the city boundaries?"

[Ella]

Leela Steading

"Mithril?" She questioned, opening the sack and pulling a coin out to look at. "Was it common where you are from? It was considered a made up material in my world... Actually, in my world, we didn't use coins for everything. Specially made paper bills and plastic cards are what is used to exchange currency there. Metal coins there aren't worth as much... Anyways. Thank you for preparing this for this mission. If it ends up not working, perhaps I can trade some of the mithril for their own currency. Or sell some of the fine clothing that we brought if I must."

"Preferably, stay close enough that the imps can teleport in as needed in one go, but far enough away that anyone patrolling the boundaries won't notice. Or if they do notice, that they won't be suspicious enough to investigate. I shall let you decide what that would end up being. If you end up needing us, send one of the imps for us and we'll come back out as soon as we can."

With all that settled, Leela remembered one more thing. "Also, I think with as busy as the road seems to be getting and our proximity to the capital, it might be best if we travel off the road until we get closer to the city. When we are closer, Efrit, Abi, Zephyrus, and I will go back to the road without the nightmares, since if we end up having to stay in the city, we would have to come up with a reason why our horses disappeared if we tried to stable them."

[Throndir]

Ensure you updated your Items sheet with 100 mithril pieces

Zavan shook his head.

"Mithril is one of the rarer materials. These coins themselves aren't pure mithril, creation and circulation of them isn't very often either, however, they should be worth plenty." Zavan nodded at your suggestion.

"Then we have a plan."

Anymore preparations, and we'll move scenes.

[Ella]

Leela Steading

Double checking the location of the sun in the sky, Leela realized there was still plenty of time left in the day. If it was only about two hours to the capital, then they would not have to camp out for the night and arrive in the morning like she had thought might be the case. With that in mind... she realized it might be best to change into the outfit she had intended to wear upon meeting with the humans now while she had trees to hide in.

"Before we head out, I need to do something real quick. Please stay here until I get back." She said as she dug around in her bags for the change of clothes. Of course, they were another set that she had taken from the room Zavan had shown her full of clothes. These ones were much more fine quality than the ones she had been traveling in and she had managed to find a crown to go with it. Her only problem with it was the brooch that looked like it was a bunch of skulls clumped together that held up the shawl. But she figured she could take that off when they were in town or if she got to warm, so it wouldn't be as much of a problem compared to some of the other outfits she had found in there.

Finding all the pieces to the outfit, she rose with the bundle and her backpack. She gave a warning look that seemed to encompass all of the males in her party, especially Zephyrus. "If I catch anyone trying to peep, I'll make you regret it."

"Abi, come with me." Leela told the imp, then moved off to a place where she could hide to change clothes. She made sure to keep her senses sharp in case someone decided to try to follow to peep. When she finally found a spot, she told Abi to keep watch as well.

[Throndir]

You changed soon enough without incident, at the very least none of the imps, and especially your other companions decided to peek. Abi kept a close eye on everyone as she stood watch with her hands on her hips and berating any of the other imps who came near.

[Ella]

Leela Steading

Relieved that no one decided to try to take a peek, Leela finished the last touches on her outfit and then walked back to the others with Abi. She wondered if she even needed to bother warning the guys, but then figured it was better safe than sorry.

When she got back to the others, she put the clothes she had been in before in the bags. "Alright, we're ready to go."

[Throndir]

Soon enough the rest of your group was ready. And in no time at all, you began making your way towards the capital of the Xalaster Orthodoxy, Olodeen, the City of Saints. You decided not to take the main roads at all, as the traffic was getting thicker and thicker. Thankfully the imps didn't alert of you anything else. There was a clearing up ahead as well, and soon enough you realized that it was farms and farm buildings that surrounded a walled city.

"This is where I take my leave, my lady." Zavan said as he bowed. "I will ensure the rest of us are hidden here, but if there is any sign of danger at all, ensure that you send Abi or Zephyrus to us. If we detect any large explosions, I will be heading in however. Even with all the humans about, with my abilities, I should be able to sneak through if I were to assume the hero of Orthodoxy isn't around."

[Ella]

Leela Steading

"Best to maintain your disguise, just in case." She frowned when Zavan said he would try to sneak in if he detected any issues without her sending the others in. "Also might be a good idea to have the nightmares continue to take shifts, just in case we need to make a quick getaway or in case we need the extra help in battle."

"One last thing, Zavan. Please show me all of your abilities again so I know that I'll be able to use them at least until this time tomorrow. I'm hoping I won't need them, but I would rather be safe than sorry." She watched intently as he went through each form and showed her each part.

Making sure she had her backpack, all the spare clothes she had brought along to show the humans for a chance of entering a trade alliance bundled up, and anything else she thought she would need, Leela bid her farewells to those she was leaving behind. She then turned towards the road and led Efrit, Abi, and Zephyrus away.