System Change

Derek and Silvi were extra careful when transporting Alanah and Edgar. Derek made sure to hold Alanah with both hands, one gripping the top back of her plate armor, and the other on her side. While Silvi was able to make her void creations without having to be in contact with them, Derek had yet to try, so he was very focused on not breaking contact with Alanah when carrying her through the void.

Silvi, on the other hand, had still chosen to clamp the top of her pot lid down, just on the off chance that something happened and it tried to come off.

The whole time they spent traveling between the Great Hall of the palace, and their destination was mere minutes—much less time, and much shorter distances than they had traveled while doing their experiments. Soon enough, Derek created an opening, and they quickly stepped out onto a beautiful wooden floor. Making sure that they were all clear, Derek closed the opening behind them, then removed the void covering from Alanah.

Silvi did the same with Edgar, but in a more unceremonious way. Instead of removing the lid and allowing the prince to climb out, she just dismissed her creation altogether—leaving the man to fall on his backside from a few feet in the air. Derek looked over and hid a smile that was trying to form. It was quite comical.

Finally, he took in his complete surroundings and realized that they had ended up exiting the portal and entering what looked like a bathroom. In front of them was a woman turned around and shouting something about storage rings at another quivering woman crouched down in a corner of the room.

Derek looked over at Alanah, then back at the scene and half whispered, “Looks like we came at a bad time.”

“Y-you!” The woman managed to turn around and pointed at Derek. Her face was a flurry of emotions—fear, embarrassment, anger… it seemed she couldn’t settle on one.

“Yes,” Derek said lightly. “Me. And there is also Alanah Swan, Silvi, and Edgar Cydaria. You should know them. They are quite famous.”

“Y-you… wha… how?” the elven woman managed to squeak out. Surprisingly, she had yet to scream or shout loud enough to draw attention to their arrival.

“How about you put some clothes on first? It’s rather indecent for a woman of your standing to be addressing her guests in nothing but a towel,” Alanah chimed in. “And a short one, at that.”

Finally, with her embarrassment and Alanah’s command, Sabrina’s face went red as her eyes went distant. She turned back to the woman on the ground, who now seemed to be back in control of herself, at least a little, and held out her hand, requesting the storage rings once again. The human woman patted her pockets, then produced two rings and handed them to the elven woman without saying a word.

Moments later, Sabrina Elras was dressed in a gold-trimmed green robe and a pair of sandals. She faced Derek and the others once again, but before anyone could speak, they heard footstep a rapt knocking sounded from the door next to her.

“Miss Elras,” a man’s voice came through. “Are you sure everything’s okay? We felt… something. Now it’s gone. Did you see anything?”

Sabrina, eyes still distant, stood stock still and quiet, but Alanah quickly flashed over to her and whispered something in her ear. Surprisingly, after the woman ground her teeth, she spoke up and said in a half yell, “I told you that everything is fine! Leave me be while I bathe!”

“Y-yes, ma’am. Sorry, ma’am,” the voice apologized, then stopped.

Everything was going much better than Derek and the others had expected. Worst-case scenario, they expected to come out of the void tunnel in a room full of people and instantly draw alarm. Instead, they appeared in a secluded bathroom with a woman who seemed to be too emotional and confused to sound an alarm or give them away as soon as they entered. Then Alanah was able to take care of the rest.

Derek waited a few moments to give the person on the other side of the door enough time to leave before saying, “It’s been a while, Sabrina. You look good. At least a lot better than your father did the last time I saw him.”

Alanah whispered something else into the woman’s ear, and she spoke. “My father?” the elf answered mechanically and at a low volume. “When did you meet my father? No, how are you out of that dungeon?”

“I told her to answer as she normally would, but to keep her volume down,” Alanah moved back over to Derek and told him.

“She seems to be quite uninformed,” Alanah said as she took a step forward. “I guess Osian is trying not to create widespread panic.” She looked over at Sabrina. “Have you heard nothing about the raid party returning, or your father losing on the front lines? Or of Astrus losing their king?”

“I have heard nothing of the sort,” Sabrina said, eyes still distant. “And there is no way my father could lose? He is much too good of a commander for such a thing to happen.”

“She definitely has faith in her father,” Derek said.

“Yeah, and it was probably warranted,” Edgar spoke since the first time after standing and brushing himself off. “That is, until you two monsters joined in.”

Derek shrugged. “What do we do now? It’s been a lot smoother than I thought it was going to be.”

Alanah looked around, then her eyes landed on the woman in the corner. She moved forward, then crouched before her. “Tell me your name.”

“Jessica,” the woman said.

“And what is it you do here?”

“I am Miss Elras’s personal maidservant.”

Alanah nodded, then stood. After that, she moved back over to Sabrina. “Tell me.” She started. “Do you have a way to bring us before King Osian without rousing any suspicion?”

“I do not,” she answered mechanically.

“Do you have a way to bring us close to the king?” Alanah asked.

“I… do,” she answered.

“How?”

“If you come as my servants or guards, I can bring you into the palace. But you won’t be able to enter the Throne Room,” the elf answered.

Alanah turned and looked at Derek and Edgar. “Sound good?”

“If she can do it,” Derek said. “That’s more than enough. If we can get close enough to the throne room, there’s nothing or nobody that could stop us from entering. You may even be able to command the guards to let us the rest of the way in—depending on their ranks and levels.”

“That’s what I was thinking,” Alanah replied, then turned back to Sabrina. “Sabrina, how would we present ourselves as guards and servants?”

Soon enough, Derek and Edgar found themselves in servant garbs, walking behind Sabrina and Alanah with their heads down. Since both Derek and Edgar were human, it was only natural for them to pretend to be servants. As for Alanah, she had covered herself in a robe and walked half a step behind Sabrina. She also kept her head down slightly, but not as much as Derek and Edgar.

Jessica, Sabrina’s personal maidservant, had been commanded to go back to her business in the manor and act like nothing was out of the ordinary. Considering the difference in strength between Alanah and the servant, the command could last for hours. As for her commands on Sabrina, Alanah had reinforced her voice for them. She would eventually break out of it, but it should last long enough for them to make it to the palace—they hoped.

Sabrina led the trio—and Silvi, who were hiding inside Alanah’s robe—out of the backside of her manor. Going this way, they didn’t run into any of Sabrina’s other family members, and only passed by a few servants who wouldn’t even meet their eyes, much less ask any questions.

The group soon found themselves walking along the streets of the Indrian Capital, which Derek had only recently found out was named Eloria. When Derek first stepped outside of the elven woman’s home, the first thing he noticed was the refreshing fragrance that wafted into his nose. It was a nice floral scent, and was in great contrast to the smells of the various cities he’d been to during his stay in Cydaria. The entire city almost smelled like nature.

As he looked around, he believed that he had to have been in the rich part of the city, as everything was sparkling clean and beautiful. The city itself wasn’t so different from Cydaria’s Capital, aside from the cleanliness, rich fragrance, building material, and space between buildings. However, as he traveled behind Sabrina, he began to notice that no matter where he looked, he found that he couldn’t find an area that wasn’t taken care of.

Sure, he managed to see some older buildings, but they were just as clean as everything else. And it even looked like some of the older buildings were in the process of being renovated. He had to admit, if not for the ridiculous elitism shown by the majority of elves he met, he could get used to living in a city like Eloria.

They continued this way for around half an hour as Sabrina led them through the streets. Luckily, the Duke’s Manor wasn’t extremely far from the palace, and they eventually arrived without drawing any untoward attention to themselves.

Just like the rest of the city, even the palace was made from trees and wood. Other than some of the partially shaped stone streets leading to the palace, it seemed the entire city was built with different types of wood and nature. That would explain the pleasant scent throughout the city. Especially if they’ve somehow kept most of the material alive.

Sabrina led them through the gates to the palace, and none of the guards even batted an eye at her. It seemed that she had done the same thing often enough that it wasn’t unusual for them to see her strolling in with her servants. She was even able to lead them through many parts of the palace before coming to a halt in front of a certain man standing between two guards.

“Jerum,” she casually spoke to the elven man.

“Miss Elras, what brings you to the palace this late in the evening?” the man asked.

“I’ve important news and must report it to the king immediately. If you would, please inform His Majesty that I need to meet him in the Throne Room.”

“Miss Elras,” the man began. “I’m afraid the king is not currently available.”

“Of course he isn’t,” Sabrina said. “It is late. I would not expect him to be in the Throne Room. I’m saying that I have information that he needs to hear. Otherwise, it could have waited until the morning.”

“No, Miss Elras.” Jerum shook his head. “That is not what I mean. His Majesty is in the Throne Room, however, he is not accepting visitors at this time. He is very busy.”

“Oh?” Sabrina said. “Then he is inside?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Jerum said.

Once that was confirmed, Sabrina turned to Alanah and mechanically said, “This is as far as I can take you.”

“Sabrina?” Jerum asked with concern.

“Silence,” Alanah spoke with a command for Jerum and the two guards next to him. “Do not move.” Then she looked at Derek, and he nodded.

Derek quickly opened his Time Prison, and before the guards or Jerum could break out of Alanah’s command, he and Edgar quickly tossed them inside before closing the door and space. Then, the three of them removed the servant and guard disguises they were wearing. That done, Silvi hopped from Alanah and onto Derek’s shoulder.

“That went better than expected,” Derek said.

“Keep your guards up,” Alanah told Derek and Edgar. “We don’t know who Osian is meeting with. They could be powerful.”

Derek and Edgar nodded, then, they all stepped forward—Sabrina still in the lead. The elven woman placed her hands on the two giant doors leading to the Throne Room, then, with a push, they swung open. Every head in the room turned to the arrival of their new guests. Derek smiled as he looked around. Things were about to get interesting.