The Veil of Darkness -
Chapter 123: The People In Cloaks
Chapter 123: The People In Cloaks
’Do you think otherwise?’ Instead of answering her question directly, the little snow lion questioned her in return.
Annalise just took in a deep breath as she had nothing better to say in response. It was pretty clear that the incident at the Millerville Portal Hall was even shadier than she was initially predicting.
"Fine, let me see what happened that day at the Portal Hall." She told the snow lion and stood up as if getting prepared for whatever was coming next. However...
’You can’t...’
"Huh?" Annalise stared at the little lion in confusion. "What do you mean by I can’t? Didn’t you just say that I can see your memories?" The snow beast was now contradicting its own words.
’What I mean is that you can’t see my memories right now, you aren’t prepared to cast the spell that will allow you to connect to my memories. You have to learn it first.’ The lion beast explained to her.
Annalise just stared down at the little thing with a frown on her face. From where did the spell thing suddenly jump into the situation? "You must be kidding me, right? I mean... you are already connected to me, so why do I still need a spell to connect to your memories?"
The deep sigh that the little lion let out answered her question more clearly than the words that ranged in her mind the very next second, ’Master, your lack of knowledge on such important matters is really eye-opening for me.’
Talk about getting insulted by the last person... or animal in this case, she would have expected.
"You..." She couldn’t find any proper word to respond to the insult that was a matter of fact and a truth that she had almost accepted after the continuous ridicule that she had been facing these past couple of days. "It’s just a spell. Just wait for me, I’ll learn it and return in no time." It was a promise both to herself and the little snow lion.
’I’ll be waiting...’ The little beast responded with a tone that was hard to read but still made her glare at the little thing.
The smoke suddenly started rising and she was made to close her eyes when a sudden whiff of air sent the smoke right at her face. She was expecting to be choked by the smoke or at least to be attacked by its smell but the only thing that she felt was the soft breeze passing across her face.
When she opened her eyes next, she found herself in the bed inside the room of the inn where she and her husbands were staying in the Lakeshire Town.
Talking about her husbands, it seemed like they hadn’t returned yet as she couldn’t feel their presence anywhere near her. It made her question just how much time had passed since she went to sleep and as she looked out from the window, she realized that barely an hour had passed since their departure for the Mer Court.
Deciding that she had nothing better to do, she changed into a proper white dress with beautiful rainbow-colored flower patterns embroidered all over the hem, waistline, and sleeves of the dress.
It took her a little while to style her hair in a simple braid before she used some golden jewelry and put on her shoes before she walked out of the room and headed downstairs.
She decided to first visit the most popular restaurant in the town and taste their most popular herbal tea and some snacks. She sat inside a private room on the third floor as she not only enjoyed the famous tea but also the beautiful view of the town’s main market street.
She was busy observing the people, mostly married couples and the children that were either passing through the market or, in the latter’s case, playing on the streets. It was after several long minutes had passed when her eyes landed on a particular group of people who were walking out of a small alley before they hurriedly disappeared inside a building that was located beside the pawn house.
What made those people stand out the most was not only their sneaky attitude but also their attire. There were three or four of them and all of them were wearing long dark cloaks with the hoods hiding most of their faces.
Annalise hurriedly took out five silver coins and put them on the table before she headed outside the private room. The money that she was leaving behind was far more than the total amount of bill for the tea, snacks, and even the private room, but considering that she enjoyed her time there, it was worth the five silver coins.
She headed outside the restaurant and hurriedly walked in the direction of the building where she saw those men entering. It was only when she was standing right in front of that building that she realized that it was also a small tavern that appeared way too dark and shabby compared to any other store or inn built around it.
This particular tavern was in a state that made it stand out the most when compared to the other buildings around it but on second thought, Annalise realized that it was actually the least one to stand out when compared to other buildings... which didn’t make any sense to her but was a truth that she analyzed with her very eyes.
Most of the windows of the tavern were covered with dark clothes so she was unable to get a glimpse of the inside, the only option left was for her to enter the tavern and search for those people.
However, one look at herself and she knew that she couldn’t just barge inside the tavern in her current state. Thankfully, she knew the right spell for the situation, the only problem was that she had no idea if the spell would work or not as she had never used it before.
She hurried into the same small alley from where she had seen those people in dark cloaks coming out.
Once she made sure that no one was watching her, she placed both her palms together and moved her fingers in sync to cast the spell.
As she started chanting the spell a bright silver light surrounded her joined hands and started forming rings of magical energy around her hands. Right at that moment, she felt the change in the energy present in the air around her as the spell started working.
She felt the magic working on the outer layer of her body and also on her attire which gave her the confidence that she had cast the spell somewhat correctly and there was a possibility that it would work out just fine.
A couple of seconds passed before the energy surrounding her body finally dissipated and the air returned to normal. She slowly opened her eyes that she had closed at some point and hurriedly looked around to make sure that she was still alone.
Once she made sure that no one was observing her, she finally took a look at herself and found herself covered in normal dark clothes and a matching cloak.
Her body looked nothing like hers as it had become a little bit taller and physically strong. And as she brushed her hands over her face, she felt facial hair covering her chin and jawline while her nose felt way bigger than her original one. Not only that but even her long platinum blue hair had turned into a mass of short black hair that only reached her stiff and broad shoulders.
Since there was no mirror, she couldn’t take a look at her new but temporary appearance but she had a strong feeling that she looked nothing like her true self which was more than enough for her plan to barge into the tavern.
Once she was confident with her appearance, she walked out of the alley and headed in the direction of the tavern. This time, she showed no hesitation as she opened the door of the building and stepped inside.
A strong smell of alcohol, sweat, and people greeted her along with a dimly lit room that was packed with people who appeared like vagabonds.
She took a quick look around the room from under the hood of her cloak but didn’t catch any sight of those she was looking for. So instead of standing near the entrance for too long and pulling unwanted attention toward herself, she started moving toward the back of the shop where a couple of tables were sitting empty.
She chose one in the farthest corner and took a seat before she found a man appearing in front of her from nowhere to take her order which startled her as she had no plans for ordering any booze or the sort.
"Give me your best jar of wine." She muttered the first thing that came into her mind.
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