Round 30: Triangular Relationship (Part 1)

Affected by the riots in the port area, even the commercial streets were much less bustling tonight.
Although the city gates weren’t closed, it took some effort to slip in unnoticed amid the vigilant guards.
“Moriel, ignore Nancy. It’s all her fault, isn’t it? That crazy woman, Himb, might show up again at any moment. Let’s go back first…”
Moriel stopped Kani from continuing with a cold gaze.
The Sword Spider, carrying the unconscious Nancy on its back, sensed Moriel’s anger and anxiously scratched the ground with its eight blade-like limbs. Acidic saliva dripped from its claw-like jaws. The scent of human flesh emitted by the guards of Deepflow City nearby made it hard to control itself. From the moment it was created, it was meant to tear people to pieces and absorb their remains, not to carry around a unconscious “food” so carefully as it was now.
But Moriel controlled it. The female mage’s will surpassed its desires and instincts, even its innate nature. It had to obey its creator—this was an inevitable fate for every summoned creature.
Kani didn’t dare say anything more. Though both of them were at a severe disadvantage in front of Himb, just a few of the spells Moriel used to fight the Storm Queen were enough for Kani to realize her strength—Moriel was already a high mage capable of casting level nine spells!
The female dwarf could only do her best. Illusions created by magic surrounded them, blinding the guards’ vision, hearing, and sense of smell. They didn’t even notice when Moriel used telekinesis to push aside the roadblocks.
The two female mages avoided the main streets. Although the shops and taverns still open late at night were less crowded now, they became key targets for the guards. People who thought they were safe also gathered there, looking out through doors and windows to discuss what was happening in the port area. Most of it were baseless rumors. They were like domesticated dogs that had lost their wildness and fangs, only daring to bark at the evil darkness outside from their warm, bright dens, never daring to step outside.
As they approached the Red Robe Mage’s stronghold, perhaps due to the jolts or the fading effect of Himb’s spells, Nancy woke up. She struggled to get off the Sword Spider’s back, causing the eight-armed monster to tremble in displeasure, all its claws twitching.
Kani frowned in disgust, resentful of being held back by Nancy and unable to return quickly to the safe stronghold—What’s the use of keeping such a useless thing around?
“Wait… wait a moment.” Realizing they were invisible as they headed toward the stronghold, Nancy, ignoring Kani’s attitude toward her and her own weak strength, hurriedly spoke up to stop them.
Moriel stopped, using her wand to halt Kani as well. Often, you don’t need to listen to another Red Robe Mage, but it’s best to listen when a Tattooed Warrior speaks. This usually means they believe something is more important than maintaining humility in front of a Red Robe Mage—often, it’s the Red Robe Mage’s life.

“The outpost sentinels have been equipped with simple magic eyes that can detect invisibility…” Nancy gasped for breath. It was unclear what spell Ximb had cast on her—now Nancy appeared extremely weak, barely able to move normally. “Once they detect invisible creatures approaching, they’ll immediately sound the alarm, and the magic crossbows will fire right away, without distinguishing friend from foe…”
“When did this happen? Why don’t I know?” Kani turned around, glaring angrily at Nancy. She was about to step out of the alley and into the sight of the outpost sentinels!
“It was Lord Jiali’s order… You were busy those days…”
“Shut up! You should have reported to me right away! You wretched thing…”
Molier waved her hand to stop Kani from continuing to blame Nancy and her futile defenses. By now, she seemed to be the undisputed leader among the three of them. “Let’s go ahead.”
The light of torches, shifting shadows, vigilant eyes, and hidden surveillance—all formed a vast network under the night sky, centered around the red-robed mage’s stronghold. Any reckless movement could disturb those already on edge. Molier led Kani, with the Sword Spider reluctantly following behind—Nancy was once again riding on it under Molier’s orders.
Molier moved like a dragonfly dancing in the drizzle, silently passing by a thief hidden in the shadows. The magic eyes floating atop the outpost sentinels rotated back and forth, but the route chosen by the female mage kept them always out of the detection range of those eyes. It seemed almost impossible—after all, there were three living people and a giant spider nearly ten feet long… But with Molier’s leadership, “almost” was enough.
They had reached the limit of proximity. At this distance, the watchers at the outpost couldn’t stop them in time. Molier snapped her fingers, and a burst of magic flame ignited, lifting their invisibility and startling everyone—she could even hear several longbows being drawn at once.
Fortunately, everyone was professional.
“Mage Molier! And Mage Kani!” the guards on the sentry tower shouted. “Open the gates!”
The tattooed warrior led the mercenaries out, quickly forming a protective line on both sides. They held shields to cover the two red-robed mages as they entered the stronghold. The archers didn’t relax their bows but adjusted their angles, aiming their ready arrows at the shadows in the opposing buildings.
Nancy also jumped off the Sword Spider again. Though she staggered upon landing, she still managed to stand straight and took a shield and longsword from one of the warriors. Though she held no status before the red-robed mages, at least she could choose to maintain a bit of dignity by fulfilling her duties.
There was some movement in the darkness of the streets and houses, but ultimately nothing significant happened. It seemed they hadn’t been able to catch the red-robed mages in the port area, and now, with just these watchers, it was even harder. The prey had boldly returned to their lair—what else could they do but report back?

“Stay at your posts!” Once inside the stronghold, Kani clearly relaxed, her attitude toward the “inferiors” less hysterical: “If there’s an emergency, you can attack!”
By emergency, she probably meant Himb chasing after them. Seeing Nancy still trying to force herself to follow, Moriel signaled her to rest first—it seemed to be some kind of spell that drained victims of their strength. But Moriel wasn’t a priest and hadn’t thought of a suitable countermeasure yet; she’d have to figure it out tomorrow.
“It’s dangerous, but tonight has been a huge success!” As they walked, Kani looked up at Moriel eagerly. She now had to plan how much she could claim from this thrilling act of betrayal: “You’re really something, Moriel. Did you figure out that the Church of Xirek has pushed the bigwigs in Deepflow City to their limit?”
“No, it’s just a coincidence,” Moriel replied while walking. “I didn’t expect it to be this dangerous tonight. But it’s good—at least we don’t have to worry too much about the Church of Xirek’s retaliation. The Storm Queen isn’t just after us.”
“Yes… Himb actually came to Deepflow City!” At that name, Kani instinctively shrank back, as if a sudden chill enveloped her: “That crazy woman! Given what she’s done, letting her be raped to death by a hundred demons would be the kindest punishment!”
Moriel almost laughed at that. What kind of punishment should they deserve then? Fraud, betrayal, murder… During the fight with Himb, Moriel had almost without hesitation taken on the role of a Red Robe Mage. The immense pressure from the Storm Queen had forced something buried deep in her memories to surface—any means necessary, survival of the fittest. Moriel was almost certain that if the magic ring containing the portal had been on her hand, she would have abandoned Kani and Nancy and left on her own! The prison-like stronghold could be deliberately avoided, but those deepest, most ingrained habits and mindsets would sometimes, like reflexes, burn her soul. At that moment, Moriel even had a fleeting illusion that the years she spent away from the Red Robe Mage Order were just a long, leisurely dream—that she had never really left and had always lived in this dark, enclosed castle-like stronghold…
“Do you think we should consult Old Jiali?” Kani’s voice interrupted Moriel’s wandering thoughts. “That woman, Himb, isn’t easy to deal with!”
Yes, Jiali. Moriel glanced toward the tall tower on the other side of the stronghold’s square. That was Jiali’s residence, where he still temporarily held the position of chief Red Robe Mage in Deepflow City. Things were indeed too strange—he had welcomed her warmly upon her arrival in Deepflow City and expressed a desire to cooperate, but once she started causing trouble, he disappeared without a trace. Such hot-and-cold behavior wasn’t like Jiali, who was usually so subtle.

“Let’s talk about it later.” Moriel decided to wait; perhaps both she and Jali were waiting for the other to make the first move. “Don’t you want to check out what we’ve gained tonight first?”
“Oh… yes, of course!” As soon as she heard that Moriel was at least willing to share the profits with her, Kani immediately became happy.
It seemed the female dwarf could never get rid of her petty, trivial habits—after passing through three secret doors protected by spells and traps, they finally entered Kani’s private chamber.
“You store all your belongings here? Why not use the Half-Plane Warehouse of the Mage Council?” Moriel looked around with her magic lantern, surprised to find that Kani had an enormous amount of stuff stored. Metal shelves and cabinets filled almost all four walls; even a dragon might be tempted by Kani’s treasure hoard—compared to Moriel, who had barely anything but a few spellbooks, the female dwarf was incredibly rich.
“Hmph,” Kani snorted. “Can we really trust those ‘colleagues’ of ours? Who knows when those ‘temporarily held’ items might be seized all at once? I certainly don’t want to die without even money for a proper burial.”
Moriel resisted the urge to say that storing these things here might make them more accessible to outsiders. She placed the drugs and money on the stone table in the center of the chamber and signaled for them to return to their normal size. Thanks to the Magic Web, these items wouldn’t suffer from absurd magical errors that would reduce them to tiny sizes forever.
Kani eagerly opened her money bag, and the bright light that spilled out immediately illuminated her excited face. To the female dwarf, it was simply the most beautiful thing in the world. “Look, look! How bright! How dazzling!”
She picked up a rainbow stone, which changed colors miraculously amidst the glow filling the chamber, from fiery red to deep purple. “The guys from the Shirek Church really went all out to meet my price… Well, it seems things won’t be that easy to settle.”
Watching Kani’s joyful yet worried expression, as if she was holding a hot potato, Moriel couldn’t help but recall her own indescribable feelings after completing her first independent deal. She still remembered clearly—it was a magic missile staff infused with her own magic… made by Isabella.
If she had never left the Red Robe Mage Council, would Kani before her be her mirror? Or… Isabella? A wave of dark pain surged toward her, nearly knocking her down, but she held onto the stone table, stubbornly not showing it to the female dwarf.
Kani was completely immersed in the glow of the gold coins. Perhaps the light of gold was the most irresistible illusion, even for mages. It wasn’t until she started sorting them into the cabinets that she remembered Moriel again. She sheepishly put down the handful of platinum coins in her hand and smiled at Moriel. “Oops… I got a little carried away. Tell me, how should we divide these profits? Oh, is there anything else here you like? Go ahead and ask!”

“Kani, what I need is…” Before Moriel could state her request, a magical device in the secret room emitted a buzzing sound, interrupting them. Guests had arrived outside.
“In the dead of night—who could be so reckless!” Kani angrily silenced the device’s noise and walked toward the door with Moriel. After a moment, she turned back and cast a illusion on the wealth still on the table, making it seem as though nothing was there. Only then, feeling a bit safer, did she lock the door carefully, take out the trigger stone, and put it in her pocket before heading to the next door.
“Mage Kani, if you could shift half of your interest in wealth to spell research, you would surely excel just like Miss Moriel.”
The guests waiting in the living room surprised them slightly—it was Jali.