2 The not-so-great escape

"So let me get this straight.", Brylle was in a serious conversation with Kudo.

"You're a great thief that snuck into a crypt and stole an ancient relic.", he continued. Kudo nodded his head in response.

"And that relic turned out to be that stick over there that looks like it's been snapped off from some dead tree.", he pointed towards the stick that was laying on the table. Kudo nodded his head once again.

"And when you hit the wolves chasing you, meteors suddenly fell from the skies, and that's when you found us… AND you were transported to another world?", he added.

"You finally understand!", Kudo nodded enthusiastically, seeing as how he finally understood everything.

"So you're not just a lunatic… you're also a criminal, huh?", Brylle said.

"Margaret, let's turn this guy over to the authorities.", Brylle stood up and slowly approached Kudo to apprehend him. Kudo immediately jumped back.

"Wait! I swear I'm telling the truth! Look at the things in my backpack. There are things that don't exist in this world.", Kudo said as he opened his backpack and took out some random things, one of which intrigued Brylle.

"What is that?", Brylle pointed towards a cylindrical can which had some sort of ring above it, which looked like it was meant to be pulled.

While rummaging through his backpack, Kudo heard a click from Brylle's direction. In Brylle's hands was one of his smoke grenades that contained sleeping gas.

"Quick! Throw that thing away!", Kudo had an extremely panicked look on his face.

Brylle, seeing the panic from Kudo's face, became panicked as well. The same happened to Margaret. The panic was extremely contagious. When Kudo started to scream, the other two did as well. Brylle threw the grenade out the window. When it landed, smoke billowed from the canister. The people on the streets that were unfortunate enough to be in its vicinity all started to fall down one by one.

"A-are they all dead?!", Brylle asked Kudo, panic clearly shown on his face. He might have accidentally murdered a dozen people.

"No… they're just asleep… the smoke makes people sleepy.", Kudo responded. Brylle let out a sigh of relief.

Suddenly, loud footsteps came from below the inn.

"The attack came from upstairs!", a loud shout could be heard from outside. The three of them looked outside and saw a few soldiers going in the inn.

"We need to run!", Kudo immediately gathered all of his belongings and put everything in his backpack. He was considering leaving the stick behind, after all, it was just a stick, but he decided to bring it along in the end.

He climbed out of the window and went up to the roof. Brylle and Margaret followed him. The soldiers were already outside their door. As soon as the three of them were on the roof, a loud bang could be heard from their room. Their door was probably kicked open.

"They climbed up the roof!", the soldiers outside the inn that spotted us immediately called out our position.

Kudo had plenty of experience in being chased, so he was in a comfortable spot. He examined his opponents and saw that they had no firearms or any long-ranged weapons at all, so everything was considerably easier.

"B-brother! Are we criminals now?!", Margaret asked Brylle, who also had a panicked look on his face.

"I-I don't know!", Brylle responded.

"Both of you, just follow me. We'll get out.", Kudo confidently told them. The soldiers were now climbing up to the roof.

Kudo immediately jumped towards the roof of the building beside them. The Sutton siblings followed him as fast as they could.

The three of them continued moving from building to building, trying to chase off the soldiers that were chasing them.

When Kudo saw that the number of soldiers behind them was considerably lower, he dropped down towards a small, dark alley, along with his two new companions.

"Look, since we're all fugitives now, we need to shake them off so we don't get punished, okay?", Kudo told them. The siblings nodded. After all the running, they knew that if they were caught, they wouldn't be let off easy.

Kudo started rummaging through his backpack, trying to look for something. He considered using another sleeping gas grenade, but the siblings behind him would also be victims. He finally brought out a clear plastic bottle and thought of an idea.

"Margaret! When I give you the signal, I need you to knock them out.", Kudo told Margaret.

Margaret reluctantly nodded and pulled out the sword that was hanging from her waist.

"N-no! I meant 'knock them out' as in make them unconscious! Don't kill them! Just slap them like what you did to me.", Kudo added. Margaret nodded once again and put the sword back in its sheath.

"Brylle, you tie up the people that Margaret knocks out.", Kudo instructed Brylle while handing him a few rolls of rope.

The soldiers were close. The three of them could hear them coming.

"Get ready!"

Kudo opened the bottle and spilled its contents on the ground in front of them. The liquid coated the entire alleyway with a shiny thin coat, but it was hardly visible due to the darkness of the alley.

"They're over here!", the soldiers rushed towards them with swords and spears in their hands.

As soon as they stepped into the alleyway, the soldiers started slipping and falling down. It didn't take long before the small number of soldiers that were chasing them were lying on the ground. They were in pain from the impact of hitting the ground with their heavy armor.

"Margaret! Now!", Kudo gave the signal.

Margaret rushed towards the soldiers with Brylle behind him. Kudo's plan was flawless. Throughout his life, he has planned plenty of robberies and escape routes. One could call him a peerless strategist… but he forgot one thing.

As soon as Margaret approached the closest soldier, she also slipped and fell. Brylle also did the same.

Kudo was in a state of absolute disbelief.

"Are you two idiots?!", he shouted at them, but the two were on the ground, groaning from the pain of suddenly falling.

"Ugh… do I have to do everything…", Kudo mumbled angrily while trying to look for an object to knock the soldiers out. He took out the stick that he found in the crypt. He recalled that the stick was sturdy enough to knock out one of the wolves without breaking, so I guess it was good enough.

He slowly approached the soldiers, being extremely careful as to not slip. He hit the soldier on his head with the stick, but the soldier simply groaned in pain. He didn't get knocked out yet.

Kudo delivered another swift blow, but this time, something weird happened again.

The bright blue window that appeared in the crypt appeared before Kudo once again.

[Activated: Petrify]

The soldier that Kudo just hit suddenly turned into stone. Kudo couldn't help but be shocked as to what just happened.

"D-did I do that?! Did I just kill him?!", Kudo panicked.

"N-no… he's just petrified… he can be cured.", Brylle, who was watching the entire thing, responded to Kudo. The two siblings slowly got up. Compared to the soldiers, their fall wasn't as painful, since they weren't wearing any heavy armor.

"I didn't know you were a mage.", Brylle told Kudo while tying up the unconscious soldiers.

"I'm not. I don't know what just happened either.", Kudo hit two other soldiers, but the window didn't pop up again. Margaret easily knocked out the other soldiers.

"This guy's the last one.", Kudo told the siblings while sitting beside the soldier who was still on the ground, groaning from the pain.

As Kudo delivered the blow, the bright blue window appeared once again.

[Activated: Thunder Bolt]

Suddenly, a dark cloud formed above the soldier. The weather was very nice moments ago, but just above the alleyway, the clouds became dark. The sky rumbled, and after a few moments, a streak of lightning fell from the skies and hit the soldier on the ground.

The soldier yelped out of pain and let out a few sobbing cries before getting knocked out.

"W-what?!", Kudo jumped back when the lightning struck the soldier. When the clouds cleared up, he approached the man on the ground and checked if he was still alive. Thankfully, he was still breathing.

"Are you really sure you're not a mage?", Brylle asked again.

He looked at the stick in his hand. Could this stick be the source of everything? Did he really get powers after being transported to another world?

Kudo's childish side was intrigued. Fantasy! Magic! This was really just like all of those novels he read! And he was already able to conjure such strong spells without training!

"Kudo… we should get out of here.", Margaret warned him. The sounds of the soldiers' footsteps could be heard coming from a mile away.

The three of them climbed up the wall in the alley and ran straight through wherever the path led.

It didn't take long before they arrived in a street filled with people again. The three of them looked at each other.

"We have to be discreet. Let's look for a way to leave this place.", Kudo whispered to the other two.

"I have an idea, but Margaret and I have to get our stuff first. We left them behind at the Adventurer's Guild.", Brylle whispered.

"Well, I have to come with you since I have no idea how this world works!", Kudo told them.

"Oh, right… you're from another world.", Brylle finally seemed to believe Kudo. After all the gimmicks he had seen Kudo pull out, it seemed plausible.

"But don't you think they'd recognize us?", Margaret asked the two, which seemed to have forgotten that they were now wanted criminals.

"Leave that to me.", Kudo got up and walked back towards the dark alley and signaled the two of them to follow him.

The siblings looked at each other and shrugged. They had no other idea so they might as well follow Kudo.

As they stepped into the dark alley, Kudo pulled out things that they did not recognize.

"Brylle, sit down and close your eyes.", Kudo said while pointing to the empty space in front of him.

Brylle obediently complied. Kudo seemed to be doing something to his face, but he didn't know what it was.

"Don't move. I'll tell you when it's done.", Kudo added.

Moments after Kudo was working on him, he suddenly heard his sister burst into laughter. Kudo also let out a small laugh after hearing Margaret laugh, which made Brylle even more curious.

"Okay! It's done!"

Brylle opened his eyes. In the corner of the alley, his sister Margaret was on the floor trying to stifle her laughter, tears seemed to be In her eyes out of laughing too much. Kudo didn't look at him at all. He also seemed to be stifling his laughter.

"W-what is it?", Brylle asked. Kudo pulled out a mirror and showed Brylle.

Brylle was surprised. He isn't a braggart or anything, but he knew his face was above average. Back in his hometown, plenty of women sought after him. While on adventures, there were women from towns that asked him to stay, but since his heart is set on adventuring, he refused all of them.

Now, he could no longer recognize his face. His perfectly shaped nose was now flat. His large eyes were now droopy. His smooth skin was not riddled with wrinkles. He also seemed to have facial hair, which he's never had before. He looked absolutely ridiculous.

Brylle shook his head and sighed in disbelief. His sister was still laughing.

"Kudo, you have to disguise her as well.", Brylle glared at Margaret, who immediately stopped laughing at the thought of her face being changed just like Brylle's.

"N-no, it's fine! I'll just wear a hood or something.", Margaret got up and slowly backed off.

Brylle quickly subdued her before she could get too far.

"Kudo! Quick!", Brylle shouted at Kudo, who nodded and rushed towards them with his tools at hand.

Brylle couldn't see anything since he was holding her from behind, but seeing Kudo stifling his laughter, her face was bound to be funny as well.

Moments after, Kudo put back his tools and pulled out the mirror once again.

"It's done… pfft…", Kudo let out a laugh. Brylle looked at his sister and also fell down out of laughter.

Margaret opened her eyes and looked at the mirror.

Her large eyes were now thin and slanted. Unlike her brother's, her nose didn't become flat… it became larger… much too large for her face. She also had wrinkles and a large mole beside her mouth.

Even Margaret herself couldn't help but laugh at her own appearance.

"After we leave this place you have to change us back… this is too much…", Margaret managed to form a few words while laughing.

"What are you talking about? I can't change you back.", Kudo's tone became serious. The laughter suddenly ceased.

"W-what?", the two siblings asked together.

"The change is permanent.", Kudo added.

The two siblings fell down knees first. They were both fond of their appearance, and so they felt extremely distraught. Seeing the two of them in that state made Kudo laugh once again.

"I'm just kidding! Of course I'll change you back.", Kudo told them. The two siblings sighed out of relief.

Then, the two of them had a realization.

"What about you? Aren't you going to disguise yourself?", Brylle asked him.

"Y-yeah! We should do it for you!", Margaret added, but her evil intentions were clearly shown on her face.

Kudo pulled something out of his backpack, which seemed to be a thin layer of what looked like plastic. He put it on his face just like a mask and massaged it to remove the crinkles.

Unlike Brylle and Margaret's appearance, Kudo looked like a noble. He looked extremely attractive.

Brylle and Margaret angrily glared at him. The two of them looked at each other and seemed to understand each other's intentions. Margaret moved quickly and subdued Kudo while Brylle took his tools. They ripped off the mask on Kudo's face and started working on it.

"No! Wait! You don't even know how to use those- Mmph!", Margaret immediately covered Kudo's mouth before he could say anything else.

Brylle tested the tools on his hand to find out what they were for. It didn't take long before he understood how It worked and used it on Kudo.

Kudo tried to struggle, but against Margaret's immense strength, he couldn't even move. All he could do was resign to his fate.

Brylle didn't even try to hide it. The moment he finished and looked at Kudo's face, he immediately burst into laughter. Margaret took a peek and also burst out into laughter.

Kudo took his mirror and looked at his own face. His eyes were now extremely droopy. His nostrils got much, MUCH bigger. His upper lip was now protruding, showing his bucktooth.

"Y-you guys went too far…", Kudo told them.

It took a while before the two of them settled down, but they were finally ready.

The three of them had a serious look on their faces since they were not very confident that they could slip through without being recognized. People that passed by them and looked at them couldn't help but to let out a giggle, so the disguise seemed to work to some degree.

Finally, they were in front of the Adventurer's Guild.

"Okay, guys… just act natural.", Kudo told them. The siblings nodded, and the three of them walked inside the Adventurer's Guild.

The place was filled with lots of people, but no one seemed to notice them. Everyone was too busy choosing a request and handing over finished ones.

The siblings led the way towards a room upstairs. Kudo followed them, hoping for everything to go smoothly.

The two siblings stopped in front of a room and opened the door with a key. The three of them quickly got in and locked the door. They all let out a sigh of relief.

"Did we even need to disguise ourselves? No one seemed to even look at us…", Kudo let out his thoughts.

"Well, it's better to be safe than sorry.", Brylle responded.

"Let's quickly pack our stuff so we can leave.", he continued. The two siblings packed everything they could.

It didn't take very long before they finished, and they signaled to Kudo that they were done.

Suddenly, a large bang came from downstairs.

"We're looking for the Sutton siblings. They caused a scene earlier and harmed the safety of the public, along with another person that seemed to be a mage.", a loud voice exclaimed.

"I haven't seen them, but their room is upstairs, you can go check.", somebody responded.

There were now footsteps on the stairs.

"Quick!", Kudo opened the door and got out. The siblings quickly followed him and closed the door behind them and walked towards the stairs.

"Don't say anything, okay?", Kudo whispered to the two of them, who nodded in response.

The three of them were now on the stairs and saw the guards walking up the stairs, along with some adventurers and a staff member of the guild.

As all of them crossed paths, the guard in front suddenly stopped the three of them.

"Halt!", the guard exclaimed.

The staff looked at the three of them, trying to examine their appearances while holding back her laughter.

She tried to gather her composure and cleared her throat.

"I don't seem to recognize the three of you. Why are you in the area meant for A-class adventurers?"

Kudo knew things were going far too well. As he was about to respond, he suddenly heard Margaret's voice behind him.

"I'm the A-class adventurer Margar- mmph!", Brylle quickly covered her mouth before she could say anymore, but the guards seemed to have picked up on what she was about to say and pointed their weapons towards them. The adventurers downstairs also seemed to be ready for combat.