Rise of the Godking - Chapter 158

Chapter 158 - Flee

"So what did you give them, anyway? I saw them on our way back. They were running headfirst into all the walls and doors on their way! Half of them looked like they didn't even remember who they were! Good job, really."

Seeing the faint blush creep into Alex's cheeks, Daneel grinned.

All of them were striding along one of the islands three teleportations away from the beggar king's city. Behind them, one group of slaves were carrying one of the wooden chests filled with vajrams, and the other four bore a peculiar burden.

On each of their shoulders was a metal block above which was nothing but air. They were standing in a rectangular formation, and between them, looking as if it was held up by an invisible giant's hand was a large, wooden box that was double the height of a normal human.

This was their main payload. All the objects they had stolen from the beggar king had been stored inside it, and the whole point behind the box was that even if they were seen, no one would know what they were transporting until it was too late for anyone to find them.

"Burlep. It's a drink distilled from, among other things, human urine. I would never touch it even if you offered me all the money in the world, but it's a popular drink, especially for those who consider the city their lover. They don't really think about the fact that they're drinking the excreta of their fellow citydwellers, and I really have to say that its potency is incredible. It is often used by innkeepers to fool newcomers who have no idea about how it's made. Whenever anyone asks for the strongest wine there is to show off their toughness, they're given a shot of burlep. They're soon addled enough to not understand that they might just be handing over their entire purse to the innkeeper. Something similar definitely didn't happen to me the first time I went to Marillein, of course…"

Mors and Daneel both burst out laughing as they heard him, and even some of the former slaves behind them chuckled. The Larefans were, surprisingly, all merry folk, despite their towering sizes that made them seem intimidating to anyone who stood beside them.

The blush deepened on Alex's cheeks, and Daneel grinned while thinking back to everything that had happened. It had been carried out pretty flawlessly, and he was confident that no matter who was put in charge of investigating the entire thing, they would have a field day trying to sort out all the conflicting details they would find when they began to look into the matter.

The reason behind his change in character between the two meetings he had had with the beggar king was to muddy the waters even further, by making it seem as if there was a possibility that the actual scammers might have infiltrated the Ushanbos after the first meeting. As for his motive behind making the smoke stink, Mors had told him that some of the trackers who could be called upon from the Mainland actually used their noses to sniff out things. The presence of such a scent which would not fade for weeks would definitely make it harder for them to use their noses in whatever manner was necessary to catch a hint of the ones who had been in a location before, and besides, there might even be a sequence of events where a sniffer might be called, then sent back to be replaced by a different kind of tracker from the Mainland which would give them even more time for the trail to disappear.

The only part where they had struggled a bit was the one where they had had to lure away the backup team of the central island so that they could be drunk while the team of slaves who replaced them would happily carry out both the chest of money, and the items they needed. What helped them in this endeavor was that more than a decade had passed since the last time they had been called upon to evacuate anything, so after a good bit of cajoling and with the help of an elvish spell that was meant to damp down the inhibitions of a target, the team had been scuttled away to one of the bars in the surrounding islands.

As for the boxes of vajrams…Daneel had used the oldest trick in the book to make them seem genuine. Their entire wealth had been converted into those diamond-like objects at a slight loss, and after that, the real vajrams had been arranged on top of both the boxes while fake ones had been placed beneath. Of course, this had only been possible because it was public knowledge that such items would always be stored and then checked later.

The wooden chest that had given rise to a fake fire had been Daneel's own creation. All it did was turn air into smoke repeatedly, over and over again using a few acids and a dye to turn it black. Mors had also used his magic to create a formation that effectively made a mini-tornado appear when it was time. This was likely the main reason behind which the smoke had been able to spread so quickly throughout the pyramids, and in all the confusion, the evacuation team had been given as much freedom as they wanted when they were seen carrying out what could only be the precious items stored in the beggar king's vaults. 

From there, there had been nothing else to stop them. Noraldin had not been given an opportunity to send the message to the exit teleportation matrixes that they should be barred, so the guards had just waved them through while frantically staring at the central island, wondering whether to abandon their posts to provide help.

Hence, in the end, even the feeling of togetherness that had been inculcated in the city by the beggar king had ended up helping them. After all, it was common procedure for such large containers to be approved before being allowed to leave the boundaries of the island, but after combining the fear that was wielded by all Ushanbos and the distraction caused by the fake fire, their exodus had been carried out without any trouble.

30 minutes had passed since then, and they had quickly made their way through the islands surrounding the city. They hadn't been able to take a straight route, as they had to rely on Mors' scouting abilities to once again let them know when the path was clear. It would be the easiest thing for anyone searching for them to just look for anyone nearby who might have seen them while they are fleeing, so just like when they had arrived, they had to take the road that was empty of all travelers.

It was a bit infuriating to go back and forth between a few islands, sometimes, whenever Mors said that someone had recently teleported onto an island they just stepped foot on. Apart from that, though, everyone was in high spirits, but ten minutes later, Daneel felt the communication crystal in his robes vibrate.

Pulling it out, he saw that it was the one given by the beggar king. Wondering whether the man simply wanted to send them a congratulatory message, he activated the crystal, and froze in place when Noraldin's frenzied voice burst into the area around them, making everyone present freeze, then stare at Daneel's hand with horror.

"Listen quickly, because I don't have much time! Ten minutes after you left, a contingent of Ushanbos arrived! They have informers I didn't know about in the city, who alerted them about you lot! They've picked up your trail! I don't know how, but they're after you! They just set off! Be careful!"