Sneaking out

The trio's exit from the city was less than graceful, but, thankfully, the Sanain royal knights did not follow them too far into the desert. Theo had lost the knights by the end of the day.

The knights were already stretched thin from fighting the basilisk and the chaos caused by the explosions.

It was also insane to go this far in the desert without proper supplies, so Theo was sure a second wave of knights would be pursing them soon.

Theo had some magically enhanced clothing that would help him handle the extreme temperatures of the desert, but they would struggle to make it to the next town with their current water reserves.

They would have to keep an eye out for edible vegetation to help them stay hydrated. Theo remembered a pale green melon that could work as a makeshift water source.

He had forgotten its name. Something with a "c" maybe…or was it an "r". Regardless, he was sure he would recognize the plant when he saw it.

Speaking of which, they were passing a small patch of the melons.

"We should stop and eat some of these." Theo hopped off of Carrot's back.

"I don't need any." Carrot sniffed.

"Don't be stubborn. I can't carry you to town if you pass out from dehydration."

Theo split open one of the fruits and placed the halves in front of Carrot. Then he split another and kept one half for himself and dropped Scourge in front of the other half.

"But they're so bitter." Carrot complained as he took a bite of the fruit. He overdramatically acted like he might vomit.

Theo rolled his eyes.

"It is not…delicious…" Scourge nibbled at the fruit. "Are you sure this is edible, Mortal Theo?"

"Yes, and we would probably die without it. So eat." Theo tapped the fruit in front of Scourge.

Internally, Theo had to admit that the fruit was 'not delicious' as Scourge had put it. The chartreuse flesh of the fruit had a distinct bitter flavor that wouldn't be his first choice of substance ever. But it could be worse.

After they finished eating, Theo picked several of the fruits and filled the saddle bags with them. He also took a cloak from one of the saddle bags and tied it into a sling to carry even more of the fruit.

With this they should have enough provisions to survive a couple of days in the arid climate.

"Let's go." Theo said when he finished packing. "We have to keep a fast pace if we don't want the knights to catch up with us."

Carrot bobbed his head up and down.

He and Theo had learned on their last trip to Sanain that the knights kept packs of supplies ready in order to decrease the amount of time it would take for them to get ready for a man hunt in the desert.

Theo and his group may have gotten a head start from all the chaos and from the knights needing supplies, but the advantage wouldn't last long. Especially since the knights were better at navigating the terrain.

"Are we going to try to go to the portal in Sumian?" Carrot asked. Sumian was the closest city with a portal. It was about a week's journey from here.

"No. They already know that we wanted to take a portal and that we wanted a portal to Lyresis. They've probably already contacted every portal in Sanain and Lyresis to watch out for us." Theo sighed. "I think we have a better chance of hiring a private mage to teleport us a ways."

"That's a pain." Carrot stomped a hoof.

Carrot was right. Individual mages could not teleport nearly as far as a portal and the process could cause terrible nausea if the mage was unskilled. There was a high chance they would end up being teleported by at least one unskilled mage because it would take a chain of several mages to get them close enough to base to meet Dullahan's deadline.

"I wish Dullahan would let you learn some basic magic like how to teleport. Or how to summon water. Life would be so much easier if you knew some basic life skills."

"To be fair, teleporting is hardly a 'basic life skill'." Theo pointed out. "It's a highly advanced spell that requires huge mana reserves-"

"Which you have." Carrot continued to grumble. "It's a shame. If it weren't for Dullahan, you'd be one of the best mages of the century."

"I'd still be a warlock." Theo sighed. "Nobody would want to teach me just on account of that."

***

The Sanain knights had predictably reached the next town before the trio. It was an inconvenience, but nothing that Theo couldn't overcome.

He just left Carrot and Scourge in the desert and snuck over the city walls during a gap in the patrol.

The plan was to find a mage who didn't have a problem transporting a group of suspicious travelers who happened to match the exact description of the criminals who had robbed the royal treasury.

Theo broke into a building where he remembered a loan shark staying. They were always predictable sources of information.

A short scuffle later, and he had access to the information of plenty of desperate, broke mages who would be more than happy to earn a few gold without asking too many questions.

Hmm. It looks like this one should be fairly skilled.

Theo tapped a paper with a finger. Chaya Amian. A mage in her thirties who used to be a professor before her life fell apart due to medical debts.

She should be sufficiently skilled for Theo's purposes.

Before he left, Theo shoved a few extra files into his coat before burning the files he didn't need. Maybe they would forget about a few of their victims if their files were lost.

After leaving, Theo stopped by a few stores to buy more provisions. It was unlikely that Chaya would be able to teleport his crew completely out of the desert, and more rations would make the journey much more pleasant. He could also use a few more maps.

Theo then stopped for a meal. Carrot had been nagging him to eat more again.

Once all his tasks were accomplished, Theo was finally ready to go catch a mage.