As she ran, Eva took the time to extinguish her lingering flames. While she wanted to burn down a good portion of the area, she didn’t want to start an uncontrollable forest fire. Or field fire, as the case was. Taking the time to do so wasn’t that big of a deal either. It didn’t take long and, more importantly, Eva doubted that they would be attacked. At least not immediately.
They only just started watching.
“We don’t want to run into them on our way out,” Eva said, turning towards Srey. “Which direction are they in?”
“There are actually two separate ones. Both started looking at us around the same time. Not exactly. Maybe a minute or two difference.” He pointed a hand towards the direction of the prison. Perhaps slightly to one side. “There and over there,” he said as he swung the hand. It didn’t actually move all that far. Still in the direction of the prison, but on the other side.
“How far?”
“Not very. Not right on top of us, obviously, but maybe five minutes of walking out.”
“Both of them?”
He gave a curt nod of his head.
“Great.”
“Is it?” Vektul cocked his head to one side, almost pressing an ear to his shoulder. “Friends of yours?”
“No. Great as in: Great, they’re setting up to ambush us on our way back to the prison.”
“Oh.” His head snapped back to a straight position as his smile spread across his face. “Great!” he said sounding perfectly genuine about being happy.
Eva turned away from him, ignoring his antics for the moment. “You hear that?” she asked as Arachne ran up to her side.
“Ambush? Are we running into it? Maybe going around and flanking one of the groups?”
“If they can hear us as well as see us,” Eva said with a glance at a shrugging Srey, “they’ll know we’re coming. There are twelve demons back at Brakket. I’d rather not have us get picked off in small groups. Best to avoid them for now and try to fight as a larger group.”
“Might not be so easy,” Srey said. “I think it is safe to say that they can hear us. Both sources started moving as soon as you said to avoid them. Or maybe as soon as you said not to get picked off in small groups. Either way, they’re coming closer.”
“While still scrying on us?”
Most methods of scrying that Eva knew about required the scryer to sit in one spot. Away from her altar and incense, Nel could only get what were essentially still images. The methods she had used to test her anti-scrying packets also needed someone to sit around still pools of water. Moving the water would disturb it and break the scrying effect.
Srey’s nod at her question was somewhat disturbing, though not wholly unexpected. Eva didn’t know every method of scrying after all. They might not be scrying at all. All she knew was that they were being observed by someone who did not wish them well.
“Right. Arachne, we’re moving. Follow me. Srey, Vektul, stick close.”
Eva took off in a run.
She could teleport away with Arachne so long as they hadn’t set up any wards. It was doubtful that they had. Srey would have said something the moment that he noticed any observations. Without observations, they couldn’t have known to set up wards.
Still, while Eva could teleport, she wasn’t sure about Srey or Vektul. She couldn’t ask without giving information to the enemy so long as they were being observed. It was something that, in hindsight, she should have asked before.
Too late now.
Either they needed to escape without teleporting or they needed to get far enough away fast enough that they had a moment of privacy.
“Only one of the two are following us. The second is staying where it was. Still observing, but… wait, no. Whoever it is just stopped.”
“But the first observer is still following?”
“Matching pace. Not gaining any distance, but not losing it either.”
Eva didn’t stop running, but she did hum in thought for a few minutes.
“Shall we turn and fight?”
“No,” Eva said, glancing over at Arachne. “Not yet. We just need to distract them a little longer. The others should be almost finished by now. At least drawing them out here was a success.”
Vektul, still running, tilted his head to one side. He opened his mouth for just a moment before snapping it shut.
Eva’s glare ensured it stayed that way.
Whoever the demon hunters were, they
Unfortunately, even after running for another few minutes, Srey didn’t give any update about their observers.
They were still being chased.
To fight or to flee?
Eva slowed down, motioning for the others to follow her lead. She continued in the same direction. It was just at a walking pace.
“They’re keeping pace with us. No significant distance change as far as I can tell.”
“How far back?”
“Still about five minutes of walking at their current pace, were we to stop moving.”
“And direction?”
