Reflections on the Warpath - [An Isekai Progression Fantasy]

The alleyways surrounding Red Sands' city centre weren't as overcrowded as the ones along the parade route. Jay didn't have to squeeze past people for every step, although he still caught several shoulders as he followed Nelly away from their old spot.

Even though he had a mission to focus on, Jay couldn't stop thinking about the sage's crystal.

How exactly did he place it inside the vault? More importantly, how did he expect Jay to take it out?

Jay scanned the sparse crowd for anyone too observant before leaning in slightly closer to Nelly's ear.

"Hey Nelly, was that guy telling the truth about the vault?"

"Probably. The vault's contents are often shown, although it hasn't been opened in generations. I think they'd make a bigger deal about it if they'd acquired the Griffin armour since it's only ever been worn by great protectors of Whispertide. If a directorate member wore it, it would go a long way towards swaying the islanders that are divided on whether to support them."

Nelly kept her voice hushed, not wanting her rebellious words to travel through the street. Although she hid it well, Jay could sense her distaste for both the Directorate and the Islanders who supported them.

"Why can't they open it though, surely they have the resources?" asked Jay. Evidently the storm sage had entered the vault, so why couldn't the directorate.

Nelly shrugged. "They say it only opens when Whispertide is in great danger, but nobody knows really."

Well if it opened for the sage I guess this battle won't end peacefully…

"Well, if the float's full of fakes I guess I won't just jump on it and steal them all!"

Jay grinned, Nelly didn't.

"I thought you were under specific orders not to cause a scene? You might be able to fight off the gladiators they send your way, but if they find me I'm done for. I'd prefer it if you didn't make jokes with my life on the line.

"Caruso will probably leave after the parade's over," said Nelly, swiftly returning to their mission. "Let's head to the end of the parade route and wait there. Corinne should warn us if anything changes."

After walking to their second position, a rooftop bar opposite the parade's endpoint, Nelly and Jay leaned against the railing overlooking the street. The parade's back half was nearing the end of its route while Caruso and everyone else in the front had already entered a grand hall across the street from Jay.

The late afternoon sun washed the hall's red brick facade in a warm glow, vibrant music poured out of its every open window, audible even across the road from Jay.

Since they expected their target to leave the after-party soon, Jay and Nelly awaited Caruso outside rather than try and sneak in after him.

Nelly had ordered them both drinks since she had access to the Titanic Shores' mercantile system. Based on the glimpses Jay caught of it, it was rudimentary compared to the one he was used to at the coliseum. Jay sipped on his drink, engaging in some meaningless small talk more for the sake of any observers' ears than his own.

"So what are you doing after the parade?" he asked.

"Depends what you're doing, pretty boy." Nelly replied with a wink.

Jay rolled his eyes.

They'd been acting all day, yet the resistance spy was obviously more practised than Jay at playing a role. After repositioning themselves out of the crowd, she'd decided that they needed a better disguise.

After she made a suggestive remark that caused Jay to stutter for half a second in response, Nelly had decided that their aliases were now on a date.

And even though Jay implored her to stop through a series of irritated glares, she simply responded with innocent-looking yet rage-inducing smile. Clearly enjoying her revenge for Jay's remark about stealing the fake artefacts.

KEEE-ark!

A few people nearby turned towards the nearby flock of seagulls, but none stared for as long as Jay. The bird he recognised as Corinne flew at the front of the flock, erratically flapping her wings in a way Jay hadn't seen her do before.

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A signal to leave?

Jay decided it was.

"Say, what do you think about going somewhere more private?" he asked Nelly. She nodded, seriousness flashing over her face for a second before her alias returned.

"I thought you'd never ask," she replied with a wink.

"You know a spot?"

"Don't you worry, pretty boy. I'll show you everything you need."

Jay leant against the base of a tree as the gentle sunlight filtered down through its wispy branches. He awaited Corinne outside the city limits, away from the eyes of any Directorate spies who were surely still focused on the soon to be finished parade.

Nelly had left him alone after guiding him to an unguarded exit on the north-east side of Red Sands. The road to Red Rock cut almost directly north, so Jay wanted to be as close as possible to it without drawing too much attention.

Jay felt footsteps approaching before he heard them. Even though Ping wasn't beside him, Jay had spent enough time with the shield to learn some of how she perceived the world. Similar to how he used his tactile sensitivity to aid his grappling, Jay amplified it again to sense his surroundings.

So while Jay appeared to simply be sitting down and basking in the sunlight, he was actually filtering each of his senses through Eye of the Storm. While Jay could barely hear Corinne's footsteps, she didn't bother altering her rhythm. Jay had walked with her enough to recognise her gait over the past few days so didn't panic when she neared him.

If Corinne was shocked that he'd noticed her, she didn't show it. She didn't show much other than being royally pissed off as she spat out a white feather and brushed several more off her moko.

"Gifts from your transformation?" Jay asked.

"Gifts from the bird next to me," replied Corinne. She spat out another feather. "We flew over the road and Caruso ordered his guards to take us out. Half the flock went down."

"Ouch… did you learn anything from the fly by?"

Corinne shook her head. "Nothing, I know he's using the main road but we suspected that anyway. Come on, let's get closer. I don't think there's too many guards.

The creatively named Red Brick Road was the main route between the Directorate's seat of power at Red Rock and the largest, most prosperous city on the island. Guards patrolled its entire length and constantly searched the forests surrounding it for any threat to the traffic flowing between the two cities.

At least, they usually did.

The parade and its many after-parties took precedent over the passage through the forest. Samira had predicted this, however. She'd instructed Kestrel to look for any efficient ambush spots along the road while trailing their targets. Jay reckoned that that aim was more important than following Caruso himself, the road would likely never again be this unguarded, especially not during the daytime.

Enhanced with bat ears and eagle eyes, Corinne's perception matched even Eye of the Storm. The two gladiators trailed the team of archaeologists from a distance, far out enough that they wouldn't be spotted, yet close enough for their enhanced senses to keep track of their targets.

Luckily, Miranda's forest was relatively sparse. Jay caught glimpses of Caruso though the trees and occasionally heard snippets of conversation whenever the the river running alongside the Red Brick Road fell into a momentary lull.

"The road curves around a cliff soon," Jay whispered to his teammate.

The river muffled everything Jay said, but he still kept as quiet as possible.

Corinne thought to herself for a moment. They'd decided that she would lead this segment of the mission since she had more experience tracking and ambushing. Plus, while Jay could silently walk across the forest, his running and climbing weren't nearly as stealthy as Corinne's.

"I'll check it out," she said. "Stick close to them but don't cross the river."

Jay nodded. Corinne's hands became green and scaly as she peeled off from Jay, gecko-like suction cups forming on her fingertips.

Their first hour trailing Caruso had been relatively uneventful, the flat terrain didn't offer much to challenge them and they could freely trail the team of archaeologists while overhearing their conversations. Not that they'd heard much. After the guards managed to spend thirty minutes talking about what they wanted to eat for dinner, Caruso commanded them to stay silent, describing their conversation as 'asinine, insipid drivel.'

At first, Jay wondered why someone like Caruso would even suggest walking back to Red Rock, but it seemed like the archaeologist was somewhat of a hiker based on his lack of heavy breathing compared to the rest of his troupe.[[ Condense.]] They were in the final stretch of their journey now and Jay was forced to draw closer to the travelling party as the terrain became more mountainous.

Jay tried to spot anything of interest beside the road but caught nothing that might help a future ambush. That still might be useful however, if Corinne saw an opportunity from above then Jay could confirm that it was hard to see from the road.

After clearing the passage, the land became smoother, although still noticeably more rugged than before it. The forest beside the road had also been culled, forcing Jay further from his targets while he waited for Corinne to rejoin him.

"The cliffs look good," she said once they were back together. "Better than anything here anyway."

Jay agreed with her. It looked like the Directorate was far more cautious closer to home.

"Think we should keep going?" asked Jay.

"Yeah, let's learn as much as we can."

Every step closer increased their risk of being spotted, Jay felt apprehensive about continuing but ultimately continued. So what if somebody spotted them? Jay hadn't properly fought since facing off against the queen of the skies back on Saulin; the storm sage's advice would be useless if he never got to put it into practice.

So they kept going, even as the trees grew sparser and the night grew dark.

A few minutes after rejoining each other, Jay and Corinne spotted a tiny wooden cabin amidst the trees. Although perhaps even 'cabin' was being generous.

After making sure there was nobody around, they snuck towards the structure.

It was tiny, with a circumference only slightly larger than the trees that surrounded it, and barely had enough room for Jay to stand inside. He did notice a strange sort of enchantment as he entered the structure. Similar to the Lookout on Saulin, it felt isolated to the outside world. The forest somehow seemed quieter when he was inside.

Jay made note of the strange lookout, realising there might be even more deeper into the forest, and once again asked Corinne whether they should keep going.

She said yes.