We rushed to get dressed. Let me tell you, my bunny armor was easier getting off than it was to put on. I wasn’t surprised because the idea for it came from hookers. It just had so many straps. Amy was ready way before me and was asking the lady what was going on while I adjusted my ‘assets’ before tightening the straps. I listened on how her husband had been planning on peeping in on us and maybe forcing his way in when he saw our faces. He then ran off to try and get the reward. Of course, he wasn’t the only person claiming to have seen us, so they pushed him off and said they would check in on us sometime today. She had found out about it last night when he got drunk. When she went to warn us, he knocked her out. She only managed to get out of the room when she woke up. He had passed out but there was no telling when the guards would be here or when he would wake up.

I wasn’t too worried about this towns guards but if the adventurers got involved, it would become troublesome. Not to mention that if they could confirm our location, they may send even more people. The fact that they returned kindness with hatred still irritated me, to no end. I was planning on running away before changing forms because of that. We just needed to shake whoever was chasing us and change our appearance… or kill everybody in town. I shook my head to get rid of that violent thought and moved closer to the battered lady.

I went to cast ‘Minor Heal’ on the inn keeper’s wife but had to switch up to ‘Minor Healing Light’ because the first one was grayed out. I didn’t want to leave the shopkeeper’s wife injured so I took the extra minute to heal her. I patted her shoulder as a way of showing my sincerity as I passed by. Her clothing hid the yellow circle that was forming where I just touched. With a thanks, we made our way out of the cellar and saw the guards coming in as we walked into the main room.

I tried to keep a poker-face but Amy began to hop from foot to foot and I soon echoed her as my nervousness increased from seeing her doing it. The guards eyed us. I felt their scrutinizing gazes on us and I tried to walk normally but it ended up more of a hop-walk. They didn’t say anything but their eyes never left us. Even as we walked out the door, I could feel their stares on us. We got about three steps when the inn keeper’s voice broke though the calm, “That was them! It must be an illusion spell.”

I grabbed Amy’s wrist and we took off. We ran down the road with the guards chasing. We were currently in the residential area. The town of Smelt was divided into two selections. Each were in the shape of a giant oval. The houses were built on top of a hill. The sides of the hill were dug up to create a steep incline that ended with guarded walls. The other oval butted against the sea and only two thirds of it had walls around it. To make up for the lack of walls, sturdily built warehouses with guards on top lined the outer areas, near the sea was for unloading boats and construction while the center was the market area. Both ovals had moats around them.

We only had a few normal options and of course, my ‘plan’. We could try getting over the bridge that connected the areas, try and ditch the guards between the houses, or fight. The issue was none of them were great options. The town wasn't very big so the likelihood of hiding wasn't great, the bridge had more guards in case of monster attacks and I didn’t want to kill people who were just doing their jobs. That’s why I had come up with a plan the day before. I nodded and both Amy and I began to toss tiny clay pots behind us. 

Smoke began to billow out as they broke. These types of potions were cheap and easy to make. The ingredients cost less than the pots I put them in. Clay didn’t store magic well so you would never put expensive potions inside them but they were perfect for these cheap ones. I smiled as I heard the guards cursing. I felt the wind speeding up. They were too late though as I tossed a glass vial at their voices. Their curses got louder as the sticky webbing spread everywhere, locking them in place. I could hear doors opening in a hurry because of the noise. In this type of town, everybody fought in times of trouble and that was what I was counting on. I changed Amy and my forms into Hawk-Kin. We grew a set of wings, our nails elongated and strengthened, and while we didn’t get beaks, our lips hardened a little and became a bit more pointed. Soft feathers replaced our fur. I tossed a dress over my leather corset and hoped Amy was doing the same.

As the wind blew away the smoke, we walked into the crowd that had formed and tried to look curious. I noticed more guards were posted at every exit and even the docks as we made our way through town. That wasn’t really the problem. The adventurers had figured out that we might be in this town and now they had joined the hunt. Guards tended to rely on their enchanted equipment. Adventurers were all over the place. We needed to leave before it became a free for all. I pulled out my green adventurer’s crystal. My plan to take a boat was not going to work. I needed to leave before they brought clairvoyant mages here. Amy and I made our way to the gate. We never made it. A dozen people had stealthily surrounded us. They came out from stalls and alleyways and before I knew it we had nowhere to go.

I stared at the twelve men, woke up Pumpkin and began to silently cast. Their leader stood a little behind them and his voice held an excited tone when he finally spoke, “We found you. Surrender and come with us if you wish to live. Fight if you want your friend to die.” The ones with bows shifted them to point at Amy and I felt my anger growing. ‘THEY DARE!’ I raised my hands and the man smiled at my gesture of surrender.

He sent two people forward to capture us. I had placed the orange summoning portals above and behind them since they were focused on me. Well, they were orange before they threatened Amy. I saw them turn black and wondered why. What came out was not the ‘Magma Rats’ I was trying for. Dozens of portals became three. It was like watching water droplets join together. They became bigger and six foot tall humanoids fell out of them. They landed in that three point stance, super hero pose you always see. Disbelief filled my eyes as I looked at the three demons that came out of the portals. All were male, big and had huge muscles but that was where the similarities ended: one had bull hooves, a muzzle like a dog and patches of frizzy fur all over his black body, another looked almost human if you discounted that he was seven foot tall, had red skin, and lizard eyes, and the last one was pure white, even its eyes were white and the only varying color was from the bloody skins it wore as clothing.

Fear oozed off them like a creeping aura and I felt the hairs on the back of my neck rise as they turned to look at me. The men surrounding us had already taken a few steps away from the new threat. They took a few more as the demons turned their gaze from me to them.