Bound and Broken: An Isekai Adventure Dark Fantasy (Melas Book 1) by V.A. Lewis (autobiographies to read .TXT) 📕

for the city walls. I was far more quiet than before, trying to run silently through the forest gave me a lot of time to practice. I still made a little bit of noise, but it was not enough to alert any of the guards.

I was the last one to reach the walls, but it was not an issue. We hugged close to the walls, hiding under the battlements as the new guards came up onto it; light shone in my peripheries, although it did not cast a shadow. I could not see what they were doing up there, but the restless footsteps of boots and the mundane chatter told me they were bored.

I heard a guard complaining about being overworked because of what happened in Bys. He said that Besha was too far away, so nothing like that would ever happen here, and his extra duties were thus pointless.

It sounded so… normal.

It almost reminded me of my friends complaining about school back when I was on Earth, chatting with... myself. The conversations were rarely about anything serious. We just… talked. Just like the guards while they were at work.

They eventually went away, and Karna got to work. He kneeled by the wall, two hands held together to the other Goblins up. The first went, then the second. I blinked when it was my turn.

Now’s not the time, I snapped myself out of my hesitation. I took a few steps back, and with a running start, Karna threw me up the wall.

One of the Goblins— the one who was waiting for me in the woods— reached out and grabbed me as I was mid air. He pulled me onto the ramparts as I tried to land on my tippy toes. It was not a graceful landing; I could hear a soft thud as my feet impacted the wooden floor. But it was quiet enough not to alert any guards.

I turned slowly, and saw Karna back up away from the walls. He took off in a short running start, and leapt into the air. He was three quarters of the way through when he began to lose his velocity, and he kicked off the wall to clear the rest of the way. The Goblin vaulted over the crenellations by himself, and landed right next to me without a sound. I stared at Karna as he walked past me with a smug grin.

Yep. Just like a ninja.

I sighed internally, and followed after him.

We dodged in and out of side streets, creeping through alleyways, and stayed away from the lamps illuminating the night. The roads were mostly empty; the only people we saw were drunk and heading home from a night out. There were some patrols of guards, but that was incredibly sparse too since most of them currently on duty were probably posted at the walls.

Karna led the way through all of this. I simply followed his cue since I didn’t want to mess anything up. Eventually, we reached a richer area of the city. The houses got bigger, as did land surrounding it. They were not massive mansions, but they were definitely more luxurious. They were spread further apart too, so we had to stick close to the buildings.

We rounded a corner, and came face to face with what looked like a three storey shop. A small hedge surrounded it, with a gate barring our path. There was a little road for wagons that led to its front door, with a sign hanging above it.

I squinted, but I still could barely make out the words. However, I was pretty sure it had the word ‘Alchemy’ in it, and Karna’s nod confirmed my suspicions. This is the place, I thought.

It was fancy: it definitely looked like the place a rich Alchemist would live in. We climbed over the front gates, and this time, I did not need any help!

Karna brought us around the building to a back door. There, the two other Goblins stood at a distance keeping watch, as he took out a set of lockpicks and began to fumble with the doorknob. Only ten seconds went by before I heard a click, and the door gently swung open.

The Goblin held out a hand, and waited to hear any sound. When nothing happened, Karna slowly peeked into the room.

"All clear," he called out in a hushed voice.

He stepped into the room followed by me and another Goblin. The last Goblin stayed put, staying on lookout.

We entered into what looked like a kitchen. Since it was an Alchemist shop, I was expecting to see test tubes and beakers strewn about, full of glowing liquids. But, it was just a regular kitchen.

Karna turned to the Goblin to my left. "Look for a storage room— a place where the potions are kept," he said. Then he pointed at me. "You, stay with me."

The Goblin split off to the right, while Karna and I continued to a door straight ahead. We entered a hallway with a few doors on both sides. "Wait out here," he ordered, before entering the first room.

Fine. I waited impatiently as the Goblin went from room to room. I stared beyond the hallway, and saw the storefront, but it was empty. From what I could see, the display shelves were cleared of potions, except for a few empty bottles on the counter. I narrowed my eyes.

That’s suspicious.

I looked back, and saw Karna was still busy checking every nook and cranny in a room full of books. He was even pulling out books as if it would trigger a trap door to open. While he’s busy, I’m just going to investigate.

I mean, I’ll still be out here, so there’s no problem, right?

I poked my head into the main room of the store. It was almost like a jewellery shop; there were glass