Moonlight Demon

By the time the night rolled in, Ash managed to increase her Dexterity just a couple more times. 

Level 75

MP: 330/330

EXP: 300/750

---

STR: 50 

DEX: 36

CON: 34

INT: 28 

WIS: 33

L: 100

Everyone trained till late. It was soon going to be time to pack things up and go to sleep. 

For now, however, Ash and Keiko continued to trade blows. 

Ash swung her naginata from one side to another, as Keiko either dodged the attacks or deflected them. The Zayama moved with a grace that, although clearly a little rusty, was reminiscent of the mastery that Keiko had once shown. Ash was glad to see it. 

Keiko bent over backward, avoiding a horizontal swing, and then brought her feet up, flipping back. Then she ran forward and Ash was genuinely caught off-guard, as she put her sword right next to Ash's neck. 

The half-demon froze, seeing Keiko smirk a little as she leaned up close. 

"I haven't lost a step," Keiko bragged, retracting her sword as she kept her lips inches away from Ash's ears. 

"Yeah," the half-demon replied, breathlessly. 

Holy shit, Ash smiled.  Why was that so hot just now? 

"Well then," Keiko wiped away a bit of sweat. "Do you want to take the rest of the day off? I think we'll be... quite active tomorrow." 

"Sure. Sleep in, maybe at around noon or so we can head down to the underside and see what's up. Then, well, whatever happens, happens." 

"Yes," Keiko sheathed her sword. "I think we'll be alright." 

"I don't know," Ash shrugged. Depends on the plan." 

After that, both of them called it a day. Everyone in the group sat down by the gardens then, for just a few minutes as they discussed what was to come. 

"So, uh," Kasumi said, standing in front of everyone. "Real quick, I just want to ask. If we get caught," she crossed her arms, "there's no way we're staying here, right?" 

"Why?" Ash asked. "Even if we get caught, what are they gonna do?" 

"That's a valid question in your case, Ash, as strong as you are right now," Kasumi replied. "But, as far as everyone else is concerned, yeah, we," she gestured at herself, Satsuhiro, Metsumi, Luvine, and Opah, "are at danger." 

"..." Ash admittedly hadn't considered that. 

Now that she was, though, it did present an unfortunate situation. All it took was for Zafir to take someone hostage, and she wouldn't be able to take his head off in the event that he became hostile toward them. 

"You're right," Ash quickly nodded. 

"Hm, well, yeah," Kasumi shrugged. "If we get caught doing this, I think the best choice is probably to hightail it out of here right next to that girl." 

"Right back to living on the dirt," Metsumi chuckled. "Well, if that happens, it was good while it lasted."

"In the event that you don't get caught," Satsuhiro added, "we've only got a couple more weeks before we have to head up to Pearl. By now, actually," Satsuhiro looked away, "if the Council's been sending letters here and receiving no responses, then they've probably already noticed something's off. Meaning, if I were a betting man, which I'm not, but if I were, I'd wager there's a high likelihood that things are going to get insane here regardless of what happens to us." 

That's true too,  Ash thought. 

"Especially if they hear about the Arcane somehow," she muttered. 

"Yes," Satsuhiro agreed. "I can imagine they'd send an army immediately. Anyway, the point is, I'd argue we shouldn't spend much more time here regardless of how tomorrow works out." 

"... No point in overthinking it now, though, right?" Ash asked, standing up. "I'm heading to bed. See you all tomorrow." 

Keiko stood up after her, and one by one, everyone went back inside the Manor.

---

The next morning, Ash woke up with her arms wrapped around Keiko's waist. The girl was turned away from her and the two were spooning. Which, although she was almost used to it by now, was consistently a great start to her day. 

Burying her face in Keiko's hair for a moment, she let out a low groan. 

What time is it?  She wondered. 

"Ash? Are you awake?" 

Keiko's voice surprised her. 

"Yeah," Ash replied, with a slightly raspy tone. "You?" 

"Evidently," she giggled. "I've been up for a few minutes now." 

"Huh?" Ash took her hands off of her and sat up, stretching. After a yawn, she asked, "and, you're still in bed?" 

"Indeed," Keiko nodded, looking a bit smug. 

"Why?" 

"I was too comfortable," she shrugged. "You were holding me just the right way. I didn't have the willpower to pull your hands off." 

Ash chuckled. 

"Alright, alright, come on," she helped her sit up. "We've got shit to do." 

"Unfortunately." 

A while later, after they got ready and got dressed, the two of them were on their way back to Bin's bar. Again, they were dressed casually, trying not to stand out. The bridges leading down to the underside weren't quite as nerve-wracking this time. Soon, the two of them were walking inside that place again, and this time, the establishment was almost empty. 

Bin was at the back of the bar, sitting at a table, with a large paper spread out on it. 

"Hey!" He greeted them. "Come in, come in. How are my favorite smugglers doing?" 

"What?" 

"That's what we're doing, isn't it?" Bin shrugged. "Anyway, I set something up for you. Just finished laying the plan out. Here you go." 

He presented Ash with what looked like a bunch of incoherent lines, drawn with colored pencils, that Ash could not understand. 

"What the hell am I looking at?" 

"This is a sketch of Amber, isn't that obvious?" He asked. "Anyway, listen. I found a guy who's taking some civilians up to Jade tonight, at midnight, when the guards will hopefully be too tired to do their jobs correctly. Your person," he gestured at Ash, "is going to be squeezed in with them. However, the guy isn't going to wait for longer than ten minutes. There's a lot at stake here. If those people get caught, chances are they won't be seeing the sun again for a long time, if you know what I mean. Still, this is the best I could do for you. How does this sound?" 

"..." Ash thought about it for a while, looking down at the drawings. "Seems fine." 

"Fine?" He asked. "This is much better than fine, for being on such short notice." 

"I guess," she shrugged. 

"Hard woman to please," he shook his head, light-heartedly. "Anyway, where's that second crown?" 

"Told you," Ash said. "Once the job's done, I'll come down here and hand it over." 

"Hm. Alright." 

"So, what are the details? Where is this guy going to be?" I doubt he's just gonna set this trip up right outside the walls." 

"The caravan is going to be right down here," Bin said. "By the front entrance of the underside."

"This place has a front entrance? What the hell do we use those bridges for, then?" 

"People use those because the front entrance is dangerous. There are monsters in these canyons, and if it rains, then the water goes up and you can outright by those parts. Hell, if it's a particularly bad storm, we all have to go up to the upper side and wait it out. Those days are especially fun, for all involved," he stated, with a tone carrying some heavy sarcasm. 

"So, how do we get there?" 

"Remember that path I showed you the first time you came here?" 

"Yeah." 

"Keep heading down that path, then take a left, and head straight until you're out of the canyon." 

"Okay. We do that," Ash looked over at Keiko, "until we come out of the canyon, then, we keep heading straight until we find a caravan?" 

"Exactly. Then, you come back down here and we'll share a few drinks to celebrate this little business transaction. Sounds good?"

"... Sure," Ash replied. 

Both girls turned around then and walked out without another word. 

Hm. Guess the plan's simple enough. Now, I just have to see it through. 

---

The night came so much sooner than Ash had anticipated. But, after half a day, the twin moons looked enormous in the sky, as Ash and Kasumi waited in the garden. 

"Ah, fuck," Kasumi yawned. "Think she's coming tonight?" 

"Maybe," Ash replied, keeping an eye out. She wasn't just checking for the Arcane's daughter, she was also trying to make sure there weren't any guards or servants listening in. 

"She might have gotten held up." 

Or,  Ash thought,  her luck might have run out. 

Thankfully, however, that concern was soon gone, as she noticed something moving out of the corner of her eye, and when she looked to her right, she found the rose-haired girl jogging toward them. She slowed down as she got closer, looking around, nervous. 

Finally,  Ash thought, standing up. 

"Let's do this."