Discover L (Book 2) | Complete |

~ Elves Are Stupid ~

Bryce briefly let them in on everything he'd done while they ran through the forest. His plan mostly involved using a complex duplicate, one that wouldn't be found out before they got back. But he also needed a way out of Eldercrest without being noticed, and a beanie wouldn't have helped this time. He explained that he knew it would be impossible to get through as himself, which is when he realised he needed to be someone else.

"... That's where my clever little disguise came into play." He finished with a grin.

L arched her brow, "And nobody stopped to ask where you were going?"

Bryce shook his head, looking a little smug. "No, nobody questions the royal guard, they pretty much do whatever and go wherever they want."

"Doesn't everyone know what the royal guard look like?" Robbie asked, attempting to keep up.

"No, not really, they have new members join regularly and alternate who does what. Kinda perfect for what I needed them for." Bryce was grinning from ear to ear, looking pretty proud of himself.

L knew it was more complicated than he let on, the magic for the duplicate was extreme enough. But he'd also had to mask his body, his voice, even his scent, from his own kind. They would have been able to sniff out the ruse in a heartbeat had he not gone to those extra lengths.

"Alright, I'm impressed, but don't get a big head about it." L said when Bryce was about to speak. "If we get back and they still haven't noticed, then you can take the praise you deserve."

She wiggled a brow at him this time and Bryce chuckled.

"That's fair," he said. "Now, do we know where we're headed?"

L stopped them with a gesture, they were far enough from the boundary to set up their next move. She took out Dryden's tunic from her bag, his scent was still in the clothing and she knew if she mixed that with a little magic she could track him from his last known whereabouts. Thanks to his parents they had a rough idea of where the scouting party were patrolling, and Bryce led the way.

They soon left the forest behind and Robbie took his opportunity to transform; he would follow them from overhead. L grinned upon hearing his excitement at being back in his Dragon form, soaring high above it all.

"Robbie enjoying himself?" Bryce asked as they began their run.

"Yeah, you'd think he'd been grounded for a month the way he's acting."

"Felt like it being in that place," Robbie joked and L rolled her eyes.

It did feel freeing to be away from the pressure of constantly being watched, having to follow all of their rules and not wanting to accidentally offend anyone. L relished the feeling of the wind in her hair and challenged Bryce to a race as they made their way towards their destination. He won, but only because he stopped them before they reached the spot.

"The party last stopped here, they would have scouted for Trolls separately before regrouping down there."

He pointed towards a hill that overlooked the rocky landscape. Trees and caves scattered the hilly area, great hiding places for an ambush.

"Why would they split up?" L asked, scanning the area for signs of Trollish activity.

"It takes less time, and they still think two Elves can defeat a bunch of Trolls. They think of them as more of a nuisance than a threat, not that they'd publicly admit to it. They have to show they're taking it seriously or risk criticism."

L knew from the scowl on his face who the 'they' he was talking about was. She scaled back her anger at the snobbery of the Elves, and repeatedly scanned their immediate vicinity.