TTIGRAAS: Predator

Chapter 17

It was the middle of the night when we cautiously cracked open the secret door into the inn. There was no sign of anyone near us, but that might not last long. So we all went to the room to retrieve our gear.

There was a buzz of anxiety and activity in the town despite the lateness; I could sense people frantically running down the streets.

"What the heck's goin' on?!" Russell blubbered as he poked his head out of the inn room's window.

"No time to explain. We need to move. Now!" Blake urged.

"Even though you're not the leader, Blake-"

"Russell, now is not the time for that!"

We quickly grabbed our stuff and snuck down to the carriage with as much stealth as we could manage.

Tossing all our gear in the back without regard for organization, we piled in and Eli, still kinda groggy, guided the upset horse into the streets, where we made a beeline for the town gate.

Screaming, shouting, panic, chaos.

That's what filled the little settlement as we made our escape.

I didn't realize things would get this bad this quickly after consuming that demon. It was clear by the words I could make out from the panicked cultists that they could tell that the demon was long gone and they were searching for the person responsible for their disappearance.

That, and I was sure other people fell into a similar state to those robed fellows that were dying from magicule poisoning.

_____

Once we were out on the dirt road we took to get to the town, we encountered our first real problem.

Eli cast light magic from the driver's seat, just enough to get some visibility and hopefully not attract attention–but a thick fog had settled in and the spell diffused into a halo that I can only imagine made seeing harder for him.

I was able to see fine with [Magic Sense], but a quick switch to human senses proved that it was nearly impossible to see ahead of us with how things were.

"I don't like this," Eli muttered to us, slowing the carriage nearly to a halt. He was looking alert enough now but was squinting his eyes at the road ahead, struggling to see.

"Here," I said, scrambling through the little window at the front of the carriage and flopping into the driver's seat next to Eli. "I can help."

"That's cute, Rimuru." I cringed and frantically covered my hair as Eli patted my head, "but you shouldn't promise help you can't give."

"I can give it, though!" I argued, quickly coming up with an excuse. "I've gotten lost in this area a few times, so I bet I can get us somewhere safe to rest for the night."

"Wait, hold on!" Eli abruptly stopped the already slowed carriage to stare at me. "You've gotten lost this close to Jura?"

"I've gotten lost in Jura!" Gotta keep it honest, haha. Not that I've been very honest with them so far.

Eli shook his head. "You're something else, Rimuru."

"So, you'll let me help?" I pressed.

He sighed, rubbing his brow with his free hand. "I guess there aren't any cliffs or lakes close by you could drive us into..."

"Hey!" I complained, kind of annoyed by his lack of faith in me–especially since I just saved his life earlier tonight! Not that he knew that yet since I hadn't gotten the chance to explain.