Netori: Stealing The Hero's Party!

"That was stupid..." Raven huffed, having just been told about the stunt pulled by Helga’s daughters.

"Young hot spirit, I bet they think their mother is invincible, and that’s why they went so far without worrying about any injury," Mel explained, baring her mind.

"I think I saw Helga crying," Amedith whispered in the background, yet still managing to draw everyone’s attention to him.

Few people had seen Helga cry: Raven, her late husband, her daughters, and now a handful of others. Perhaps Moeria was amongst that small group as well, but who could tell but the spirit herself. Trying to move past the topic, Raven cast his gaze down on the map of Hamleth’s scattered kingdoms.

A plan was already underway, with the armies set off into the distance to guard Aurum from beyond Charlotte’s Territory–Charammer. A walled city with an iron hold in terms of defense. Only one entrance and one exit, and the walls stood as tall as the skies, with supporting columns thicker than ten times a dragon’s hide.

By morning, the armies would scatter at the far end of the territory, keeping Charammer and its people unaware of their allied forces being disarmed and taken hostage just a few miles away from them. All news from the empire’s capital city would have to wait until the region was locked under Athenia’s control. Even now, travelling with the army spiritually, the goddess was creating an illusionary mask that prevented the other gods from seeing the army moving through their region.

Had Charlotte been a devotee follower of Hamelth, such an illusion would’ve never been possible, but that is where their blessings would stop, as Athenia could not prevent the gods from spying out the hero and his group as they venture deeper into the territory while the army simply acts as a wall of defense.

"We will split right at the edge of her influence. Should give us enough range to disguise ourselves." Lifting his head off the map, Raven looked around at everyone in the room. "Try not to enter the territory alone. Fetch a ride, slip into a group migrating inward, or just hide in merchants’ wares until you can get inside the city walls."

"Any religious charms will have to be left behind, unfortunately," Erika added, undoing her ankh necklace from her neck with a sigh.

Right then, a sudden knock on the door broke the following silence. Before anyone could turn to address it, the door opened wide, and beyond it stood Charlotte. Hammer in hand and a toothy grin on her face, she lowered her head to move into the room through the doorway that was far too small for her height.

"The hero, finally, I get to see you," she said, propping herself upright.

Looking down at Raven, her body shifted its weight on the back of her hammer’s handle. Giving him a thorough look from head to toe, the duchess hummed to herself before opening her mouth again.

"I’m heading back to Charammer soon; Tatiyana and Stella are coming with me. I have to uphold my end of the deal with them. But, of course, I couldn’t leave without meeting the hero of the play. I do admit, however, I expected you to be more fierce–at least taller than me."

"You must be Charlotte..." Tapping a finger on the desk, Raven turned halfway to face the woman. Lifting his head, he matched her glare. "That little game of yours, let’s hope you won’t be repeating something like that again. For your own sake."

"Or else what?" The woman challenged, wearing the same snarky look as before.

"Or else what?" Repeating her words, Raven looked down at her hammer and then turned his attention to the other end of the room. Linkle was standing at the far corner with her hands folded beside Gallaria. "Linkle, take her fucking hammer."

"Alright." Having heard of its origins already, the witch activated her teleportation ring to blind the attendant with the bright violet light. Shielding her eyes, Charlotte let go of the hammer, and by the time the light retreated, the hammer was gone, and Linkle was back in her corner with her hands still folded. "Soul-bound stone, you should be more careful with such a precious item. If it dies, you’ll lose part of your soul, but I guess someone like you is too much of a dunce to realize what they have."

"What the fuck?!" Squeezing her fist around the non-existent handle of her hammer, Charlotte gritted her teeth shut and growled through her teeth. "GIVE IT BACK!"

"I teleported it to the city border; go on, find it before someone else snatches it." Linkle’s words fanned the flames of anger in the duchess, but even as her lips trembled with curses, she swallowed that vain pride of hers and quickly rushed out of the door to get her weapon back in her hands.

"THIS IS THE LAST TIME YOU’RE GONNA PLAY WITH ME! TRY SOMETHING LIKE THIS AGAIN AND FORGET THE GODSDAMNED DEAL!"

"Always a character," the hero mumbled, tired of meeting eccentrics wherever they go.

But with her now gone, it was time for everyone to start preparing for their departure. Everyone would head into different territories with a single partner at best, perhaps a few underlings, but for the most part others were going alone. A kingdom per person; how and what they did to seize control of the territory was entirely up to them–so long as the number of casualties remained to a minimum.

The deadline was strict since the army at the other end of Charammer could only hold off the forces of Hamleth for so long. Eventually their strength would weaken, and the only friend they had at hand was the time for the enemy soldiers to travel up to the sight of said ambush.

Yet at the end of the discussion, Raven wasn’t worried about the scattering of his group or the army already on the move, but instead his mind drifted to Helga and whether she was ready to move with him. Being one to infiltrate the capital itself once the others had cleared a path towards it, he planned on laying low with her for a while before moving further and confronting the emperor of Hamleth together.

"Alright then, get ready; we’re leaving tonight!" Pushing past his reservations, he slammed his fist on the table and got up.

And while everyone had noticed his look of hesitation, they had their own instructions to follow, and their trust in their leader allowed them the luxury to leave him to sort things out alone.

’That deal with Charlotte...’ Thinking back on it, he would pass Charammer on his way to the cities further. ’I guess Helga and I can stop there, and her daughters can talk to their father if that duchess truly can uphold her end of the deal.’

While doubtful of her claim, Raven remained hopeful, after all–as an orphan himself, what wouldn’t he give to have and talk to a parent he’d lost before he could understand what a family even meant.

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