Sol's Shine and the Kingdom of Terra

Chapter 16 Chasing Shadows

 As soon as night fell again, Lilac and Nico made their move to explore Junistar City in hopes of finding Sol or anyone else that went with him. Even as dark as it was, the city was still very well lit thanks to the use of electricity that the dwarfs were able to generate to keep several buildings still viewable. Though to get around, Nico kept hold of Lilac's wrist, practically dragging her along through the shadows.

"You're tugging my wrist too tightly. Slow down and actually look around instead of just jumping from shadow to shadow." Lilac complained in a soft voice. "You need to be quiet. I don't need you to get me caught." Nico said to her as soon as they arrived on top of one of Junistar's tallest buildings. "I don't want to get caught either. But you need to learn how to actually work with me, not drag me around like some unwanted pest."

"I don't see you using shadow magic." Nico said under his breath. "I get that you're probably not used to having a conversation with another person but it does not matter if you can traverse this entire city in no time flat if you don't bother trying to look first." Lilac said to him as plainly as she could. Nico rolled his eyes. "Fine. We'll try things your way." Nico sat at the ledge of the building, looking out over the city. Lilac went to sit along the corner and just a bit further away from Nico.

"Has anyone ever told you how unbearable you can be?" she asked Nico as she continued to look over the city with him. Nico didn't answer her. Having a pointless argument was one of the last things he wanted to happen. Junistar City was well lit but it didn't take a genius to figure out that there were still plenty of places to hide. The city itself wasn't too accustomed to intruders from another kingdom. The people lived in luxury here. For as long as Nico has been in the Kingdom of Terra for, he could understand that the bell towers were to just signal for terrible weather like tornadoes. He assumed that since he heard them go off before when they actually had good weather that they were starting to use them for other means because of the war.

But Lilac and Nico were just suddenly startled by the sounds of the bells going off again. "That has to mean someone we're looking for has gotten caught. Nico, we need to move quickly." Lilac told him as she put her hands on his shoulder. As soon as he got up from where he sat, the two of them were suddenly greeted by another person that seemed to have popped out of thin air. Bila was so incredibly close to Lilac's face that Lilac couldn't help but fall backward. "WHAT THE F-" "Are you sure those bells aren't just for you two?" Bila laughed. Archers could be seen trying to fire at them from other buildings that weren't as well lit. It was an attack that neither Lilac or Nico could see coming.

"We tried things your way! Now we go back to my idea!" Nico grabbed Lilac's wrist again and disappeared into another shadow with her. Using Nico's magic for sneaking around was perfectly ideal but dealing with Bila's bilocation and unpredictable nature could make situations go in any direction.

Going in any direction was exactly what Nico tried to do now that they've been caught. He tried to do his best to keep Lilac close to him so that he wouldn't lose his chances of finding Yvonne. "Over here!" Nico pointed at a bridge so that they could both cross it. As soon as they tried to approach, the bridge appeared to be going up revealing a split in its middle. The draw bridge that he had attempted to cross was now blocking their path. "No matter where we go they're going to try and find ways to corner us, shadow magic or not!" Lilac released herself from Nico's grip and held onto her axe with both hands.

Several dwarfs approached them with strange rustic looking guns with gears along the side. As soon as the guns were pointed at them, Lilac stopped where she was. Another step forward or any signs of hostility could get Nico or herself instantly killed. They were outnumbered and outplayed with technology. "We're going to have to let Miss Bila have the pleasure of killing you." One dwarf said. "But that doesn't mean we can't shoot ya down if you try anything stupid." Lilac and Nico's backs were now up against the drawbridge that came up to form a wall. Nico only became frustrated from this encounter unlike Lilac who suddenly got nervous looking down the barrel of the dwarf's guns.