Chapter 314: Harold of Ailing Omens

Harold resisted the urge to wipe his sweaty palms on his jacket. It was a nervous tic he was growing, one which he might in poor health afford.

He spared a discreet look over his shoulder. The road was crowded, however he might nonetheless select a couple of distinct faces that he acknowledged from a few minutes in the past. They trailed behind him, inconspicuous besides for his or her unshakeable presence. He turned off right into a random alleyway that had few individuals in it and walked rapidly. As he moved he hunched his shoulders, pulling his coat up and taking his hat off to vary the form of his silhouette in an try and lose his pursuers.

He needed to succeed in up and scratch the itchy beard on his face however stopped himself once more. To an observer, it might look unusual to see him scratching the supposedly clean-shaven face that his Glamor was displaying.

Proper earlier than he reached the top of the alleyway, he stepped to the aspect. He ducked behind a younger couple to interrupt the road of sight. As a substitute of stepping out to the road past, he slid sideways by means of the brick wall. He ended up in what gave the impression to be a retailer room with no home windows and a shut door.

Inhaling deeply, he relaxed, releasing a number of of his abilities. His look returned to regular, albeit nonetheless hidden by his clothes. Harold shook out his fingers, making an attempt to get feeling again in them from how clenched his arms had been.

These final a number of years have been arduous. Actually, that they had sucked. Certain, he had gotten nearly as many ranges throughout them as the remainder of his life mixed. His class evolution to The Void Wraith was harrowing. Nonetheless, after speaking with the Warden, he determined to go for it. Harold nonetheless wasn’t satisfied by this so-called god, however he might no less than acknowledge its energy.

Now, a good a part of that energy was Harold’s, and it labored completely into his spying capabilities. However even having unbelievable new abilities like Glamour and the power to stroll by means of partitions wasn’t value all of the dangers and hazard he had been in.n0ve(l)bi(n.)co/m

Harold pressed his ear to the brick wall and heard a few pairs of toes run previous. The faint splashing of a puddle on the opposite aspect let him know that he had, the truth is, been adopted.

Harold touched his collar, feeling the small tube containing the paper he wanted to ship nonetheless there. He felt a little bit little bit of stress depart his shoulders. He waited for a depend of 300 earlier than slipping again out by means of the strong wall and heading again to the road. Hopefully, he had misplaced them, however he’d must do a couple of extra laps to ensure. His lifeless drop was too essential to mess up.

Strolling previous the fountain, Harold averted putting the small cylinder he had tucked in his hand underneath the statue’s sandal strap as a result of he thought he noticed a flash of movement from above. He was in all probability only a crow, however possibly not. He could not danger it. Pulling out a mirrored piece of glass, he checked over his shoulder and noticed that the chicken watching the fountain from the rooftop throughout the sq. was no chicken in any respect. The enchantments laid on the mirror uncovered it because the leathery-faced cranium with flapping wings that it actually was.

Harold stifled a curse and stored strolling, stopping briefly to purchase a loaf of bread and observing one of many massive cathedrals being constructed. This info wanted to get out, and it could not wait for an additional day. It had already been delayed two days due to the near-constant surveillance he was underneath. He was fairly positive that they did not know who he really was. Nonetheless, his place as an outsider made them suspicious sufficient, particularly in a totalitarian place like this.

He’d been despatched to Barleona to analyze the extent of demonic affect. Nonetheless, that they had all underestimated the duty. The nation’s ties with demons went again for hundreds of years.

Harold, whereas he was at it, whipped up a number of false studies. He’d have the ability to plant them in numerous places that may hopefully throw counterintelligence off the path.

Coming again out of the protected room, he talked with the person behind the counter in a pair extra fast exchanges of code phrases and handed him a bit of paper. It will fly out with the pigeons tonight, delivering common information correspondence. Hopefully, the person ought to have the ability to slip it in if he wasn’t being watched. It was dangerous, however much less so than the options. It needed to be sufficient.

Harold then left with a stack of papers. He was capable of make a number of drops at numerous spots, with info flagged as false, earlier than his tails caught up with him once more. How that they had discovered him, he wasn’t positive, however he did not have the magical power to verify on his earlier messages to see in the event that they’d been picked up and by whom.

So he stored going, leaving false drops in typically even utterly random locations. Hopefully, this may throw them off the path. Actually, he was shocked he hadn’t been scooped up by pressure but and even accosted. Maybe they had been nonetheless hoping to observe him to another a part of their group that they might uncover. If that’s the case, then that was additionally worrisome. The demons had been appearing too artful. One thing wasn’t proper.

As soon as Harold was utterly out of decoys, he modified instructions and picked up pace till he was working. Now, he needed to get out of town rapidly sufficient. In the event that they’d caught onto him once more this rapidly, then ready till extraction would not work. Even worse, the extraction itself would possibly expose their operation additional. He needed to get out. Possibly it might additionally function a distraction away from the true message.

As he approached a metropolis gate, Harold took a shortcut. Dashing by means of alleyways, he narrowly averted working into the 2 massive thugs blocking his approach. Skidding to a halt, he began to again up together with his fingers up.

“I haven’t got any cash,” he stated, hoping that they had been simply muggers who would attempt to take his purse and permit him to depart. However, after all, he had no such luck. The depraved blades they had been out of the blue holding stated so, no less than. He half anticipated their faces to separate open and reveal purple scales or shadowy maws of the demons that had been chasing him to this point. However no, they appeared to be simply regular human cultists. This time.

They did not say something as they walked ahead. Harold backed up for a little bit earlier than out of the blue stepping ahead himself. He swung his hand in a chop, smashing one’s wrist apart. On the identical time he grabbed the person’s shoulder and threw him into his companion earlier than dashing previous, yelling a few mugging as loud as he might.

The individuals within the space appeared shocked. This was a reasonably prosperous neighborhood, in any case, and there was a patrol of guards close by. He pointed them down the alley, and so they ran after the 2 burly males working away. As he continued his personal escape, Harold glanced on the necklace he’d ripped from one of many males. A fast look revealed the identical unusual crisscrossing sigils of the newest cult he’d unearthed. It informed him all he wanted to know.

He tucked it again in his pocket and sprinted for the gate. Panting, he ducked and dodged between individuals and carts, and shortly, he was on the metropolis wall, utilizing the final little bit of his power to part throughout it. A second later, he was out working by means of the forest. It will be a good distance dwelling, however no less than he’d gotten the knowledge out. He’d ship one other copy in a day from a protected location, and hopefully, that may be sufficient.

Hopefully, it might be pointless, nevertheless it was higher to be protected than sorry. The Theocracy wanted to know and act, or the long-lasting peace would quickly come crashing down.

Alternate chapter titles had been: Mission Inconceivable, Herald of Ailing Omens, Sin Metropolis