D.E.M.O.N.S: Getting Summoned Weekly isn't so Bad

--- Lily ---

Mint and Lily found themselves dithering until the area started to light up. The sun hadn't truly poked up over the horizon because of the caldera but some light was leaking through the lowest gaps and brightening up the city. The pair… hadn't really come up with any great plans.

The main problem was that Thyme couldn't be contacted. Lily had worked out he was fighting something serious, but she was under the impression that the foe was much stronger then they were in truth. Regardless, there was the understanding that Thyme should be left to his fight and disturbing him wouldn't be a great idea…

But it meant that between the two of them they lacked a good deal of political and more literal might. If Mint was known to regularly speak on behalf of Thyme or just had some sort of reputation of her own that was spread across the various kingdoms she could leverage that… but Mint was just some random dryad to the people in charge. Sure people coming specifically to Thyme's meeting spot could believe she was a servant but projecting what little political power that gave her was basically impossible.

Lily was in a similar position. She was strong, but not outrageously so. Her magic and spells were fine for a Rank 2, weak for a Rank 3 and the prisons were exceptionally well reinforced. Which… was really besides the point. They didn't WANT to fight the entire damned city. The reason they had continually backed off and taken the less combative options was due to just how much shit could get stirred up if they started to fight.

Which meant they were both just waiting for Kat to show up. It was… not the best plan but Kat was Rank 4, and imprisoning the rest of the team gave her an excuse to really flex those muscles. Of course… in order to do so Lily would need to get back into the prison and ensure that none of the group could be used as hostages. It had taken an embarrassingly long time to reach that conclusion, but Lily was finding her thoughts were fraying more and more. Her body wasn't tired, but her mind was used to a far greater amount of rest.

It was coming to bite her in the ass too. Lily had left Mint behind and returned to the jail assuming it would be easy to break in while the sun hadn't properly risen… but she had grossly underestimated the scope of the problem. The night guard rotation had clearly been swapped out recently and the current shift was bright eyed and ready for trouble. It might still have been manageable…

But the number of guards had doubled and the whole place had been lit up like a Christmas light contest. The enchantments that passively guarded the area were no longer quite so passive, feeling like an oppressive wall to Lily's senses. Lily couldn't even pick up any sounds coming from inside at all because that too had been cut off. It was a major problem because Lily had been counting on her sense of hearing to sneak past the less visible guards. She also wasn't even sure that she could sneak in through the windows anymore.

*This… is a problem. They've gone on war footing or something like it and I can feel the enchantments are a lot more… aggressive. I'm not even sure if I can sneak through the windows. Oh sure they look like they have gaps between the bars but I'm not sure those gaps are useable now. Even if they are… there HAS to be a tripwire enchantment or whatever that sort of thing is actually called?

Would it be set up to detect animals though? There's a chance for a lot of false positives but beastkin are one of the major races here. If there wasn't something to detect them in animal form originally they'd be so valuable for infiltration that they'd need to come up with one in short order. I suppose the problem could still stand, that they register as a normal animal and that leads to false positives… but it might be worth the effort? Especially with all the extra guards.*

Lily slithered along the rooftops to get to the back of the jail. The back was a rec yard though only for the guards. It meant that the grates letting in sunlight had no real cover around them and plenty of guards to watch them. These were in fact, the grates she'd used to sneak in the first time. There were a few guards already out training but not too many that sneaking inside would be impossible…

But the fence felt like it had a magical barrier extending above it. Climbing over it might not be possible anymore? Did it have a roof though? Lily could fly and while it risked her being spotted it was still looking like one of the best options for getting inside at this point. The grates might all be sealed off though…

*Ok this is actually a major problem. I can't hear anything to figure out if the others are safe… and I don't think there's any carts with food and stuff I could slide inside to sneak into the compound. Kat should be awake soon but that doesn't necessarily matter if she's going to stay locked up for the rest of the morning and I don't know if it'll be worth waking her until I sneak in…

Of course if I get caught it will very much be time to get Kat up and ask for help but I'd really rather I get in somehow. Surely there's some weakness in these wards. Well, no the obvious one is time. If they could keep up this level of defence at all times they probably would. Something is the limiting factor, be it the ink in the enchantments or the mana requirements for such a thing or something else. The question is… how long?

On the one hand, a city this large and established should be capable of footing the bill to 'keep the lights on' for quite some time if push comes to shove… but I don't know what the limiting factor is and ultimately this is just a jail. Likely not one for the super scary people either…

And we might find other important individuals coming to sniff around if it remains on high alert overly long. I'd love to get one of those three to help out but I have no idea if one of them is actually the problem or where I'd find them. Heck, I don't even know who I could go to help. If I get caught doing that I might end up in a similar position and we're trying really hard not to start a fight.*

Lily decided to move back to the side of the jail building. The cells were all underground but she could at least test the defences at a little bit. Carefully reaching her shadow across the gap she poked at one of the barred windows… only for her shadow to meet some resistance. It was sort of squishy and Lily was sure she could press forward and break it… but also felt like that was a good way to get noticed.

*Interesting. Is it because I'm Rank 3 that it feels so weak or is that just the detection layer and my shadows don't have much 'weight' behind them? Or perhaps just the fact I was pressing so lightly? I was trying my best not to break any enchantments that might have been there no matter how light and basic they were... could it have been an alarm enchantment? I honestly have no idea how shadow magic interacts with that sort of thing. I really should… but I don't.*

Lily chewed on her lip, wincing a bit as the sharp fang cut into her lip. Apparently she'd applied a bit too much force in that… but she was finding it hard to care. The guards here had some of the best security she'd ever had to dealt with. It seemed impenetrable. Sure it probably wasn't in truth but Lily was new to magic and a complete novice when it came to being stealthy. So far she'd just relied on her small size, natural instincts and touches of shadow magic.

Heck, it was entirely possible that this lockdown didn't have some big plot behind it. Perhaps some trace of her passing to check on everyone originally had been detected and they locked things down in response. Perhaps to try and catch her, or perhaps it was simply routine. The problem was the lack of knowledge. *Urgh. I'm starting to realise why demons always send someone overqualified for the job. The lack of local knowledge is biting me in the ass hard. I have no idea how normal this is… and I might just have to wait for Kat to get here. I really don't want to… but I may have no other choice.*