Diosia, Part Six

{Caitlyn}

[Hm, what will we do once we arrive?] Caitlyn wondered as she walked ahead of the others.

"You think we may be able to get something to eat soon? I am starving," the drasen said, behind her.

[The Inquisitors might still be looking for me. Or, my family. I hope they didn't run into any trouble after we split up.]

"Eh, maybe," Liri answered. "We could take a second to ask for some food if we manage to find some friendly people."

[I mean, they chased after me. Surely, they would not have-]

"That would be nice!" Arisa responded. "It would be great if-"

"COULD YOU TWO SHUT UP ALREADY!?" Caitlyn barked out.

"Huh? Were we being too loud or something? Sorry."

"You two fools haven't stopped chatting since we began walking. Honestly, I am beginning to understand why you were taking so long to reach Diosia. You can't get anything done when you move so leisurely."

"Oh, it wasn't because we kept talking, it was because we-" Arisa had her mouth covered by Liri, who reached up high to keep her from speaking further.

"Um, i-it's okay, chill out, we're nearby, aren't we?"

"I will *not* 'chill out' as you say. This is a tense situation, a tense mission we are on, and I will not have myself be put in danger by you two acting as though you are on a friendly walk along a beach. We are trying to save lives here! Could you be a little more serious about it?"

"Okay, fine, fine," Liri replied. "I guess we'll just be quiet."

"I would appreciate that very much. As strong as you are, it would seem to me like there is no strategic mind accompanying that strength. Or, are you just so powerful you do not need one?" She asked. Liri shrugged. "Whatever. Now, look, Diosia is just up ahead. Come, so you can see what it is like."

As Caitlyn had said, the walk to Diosia did not take too much time from this position. Moving past sickly dying trees, which were a normal sight these days, the three of them went down the same path Caitlyn had taken in her attempt at escaping the officers who chased her, retracing her steps.

They ended up lurking behind a pair of thin trees. Arisa didn't even bother hiding, as her freakish frame made that impossible. Sighing, Caitlyn decided it would be best just to focus on what was ahead of them, for now.

"Look, up ahead. That is Diosia," Caitlyn stated as she pointed at the town's walls.

"Looks... Yeah, looks like a town."

"Of course it- you- AGHHH! You are so frustrating. Anyway, yes, Diosia, previously an elven town and now one run by humans, is sitting right there, in front of us."

Caitlyn turned toward Liri and flinched.

She hadn't realized the woman was so close to her. The two of them had been hiding behind the same tree, so perhaps she should have, but she hadn't, so when she found the woman's big, round eyes looking back at her, Caitlyn momentarily paused.

[Ugh, Caitlyn, get a hold of yourself. What is happening to you?]

She swallowed and said:

"You're the strong one here. What do you propose we do?"

"Uh..." Liri narrowed her eyes, appearing like she was deep in thought. "I dunno."

Caitlyn blinked.

"You don't know?"

"Yeah," Liri shrugged. "I was kinda thinking I would just walk up and fight my way in if we ran into trouble. Would that not work?"

Out of everything the woman had said, this was by far the most confusing. Supposedly, Liri had prior experiences with humanity, so the mere fact that she would even suggest doing something as stupid as walking in and fighting the humans like that was insane.

It made every single individual brain cell in Caitlyn's mind burst into flames just hearing it. Sure, the woman had taken down those guards somehow before, on her own, apparently, but there was no way she wielded the kind of power necessary to do that.

The worst part was that the other woman, Arisa, was just standing there, nodding slowly as though Liri's words were making perfect sense.

As for Caitlyn, however, all she could think to say was:

"I understand now. You are actually stupid."

"Hm?"

"No, no, I apologize," Caitlyn exhaled deeply. "Up until this point, I had assumed you were pretending to be a fool to mock me for not being on the same level as you. Now, I see your skull is as hollow as a human's chest. Shit."

"Hey, why are you being so mean?" Liri asked. "If you help me, it's honestly not that bad an idea."

"Not that- are you serious?"

"Yeah," Liri nodded. "I mean, I think. I have this one ability, actually, that creates armor and I've been looking to-"

Caitlyn turned toward Liri.

She placed her hands on her cheeks, pulling her face in so that she could look into the eyes of this woman and try to get her words through the girl's dense skull.

"We are not walking into a barrage of guns and heretical sorcery, do you understand? We cannot do anything without a proper plan. Do you understand?"

"Fine, fine. Sheesh," Liri said, as she pulled her face away. "Well, what kind of plan do you have in mind?"

Arisa interrupted them then.

"Um, Liri," she whispered.

"Yeah?"

"Before we talk any longer about this, I think you should know there is a guy behind us."

"What guy?" Caitlyn asked, turning toward the drasen, feeling exhausted.

"That guy," Arisa pointed at someone in the distance, behind them. "The one aiming at us with a-"

Before she could finish that sentence, a dart shot out and struck Arisa's chest.

"Ow," Arisa whined mildly. "That kind of..."

Then, the big oak tree of a woman fell over, landing on a bed of leaves.

"Huh?" Liri asked, looking in the same direction. "Who-"

Before she could ask that question, a similar dart landed on her left shoulder.

"... Crap."

Then, she fell back in much the same way.

Caitlyn didn't even bother trying to run away.

[I cannot believe fate would have the indecency to put me in the same place as these two fucking-]

And, before Caitlyn could insult her partners any further, a dart found her as well, embedding itself in her butt.

And her consciousness quickly faded.

---

"Agh..." Caitlyn stirred. Her eyelids felt heavy as she tried to wake herself up. "Where...?"

"Ah, Caitlyn. You are finally awake," Arisa said.

"I... Am I dead?" Caitlyn asked as she opened her eyes and looked around.

"Nope. We may be dead soon, though."

"Huh?"

Finally, Caitlyn got a good look at the area around her. She knew this place. She'd been here before.

They were in Diosia's dungeons.

"... Crap."

"Welcome, rebels~" A voice said from outside the cell that she, Liri, and Arisa were all currently sharing. "I hope my boys weren't too harsh in transporting your unconscious bodies here."

As Caitlyn looked ahead, she found a familiar woman wearing a gaudy white dress looking back at them with a smile.

Caitlyn glared hard at her.

[The Duchess.]