109 Girls talk (1/2)
After detailing what happened the last couple months, and introductions, Leo moved on to the more serious topic.
”We need to decided our travel arrangements, I don't think taking the labyrinth is the wisest choice right now.” Those present were confused, and Jack asked,
”Isn't it the shortest way to get there? And we need to worry about soldiers if we take another route.” Leo nodded, what Jack said was the exact reason he started using the tunnels to begin with, but Leo then stated his reasoning,
”Yea, but unlike the situation where we started using them with the dwarves, these people have been chained up, imprisoned, and have experienced a living hell for who knows how long. It wouldn't be good if they were then trapped underground for several weeks right after escaping that situation, the dwarves would be ok with it, but I bet the rest won't. Plus above ground we have better chances for hunting game, and replenishing our necessities. As for the soldiers, at the moment the human kingdoms would be more confused, and scared. I doubt they'll quickly send people after someone who wiped out the heart of a kingdom singlehandedly in a single night. Any soldiers we find on the road shouldn't be too hard to take care of.”
They digested his words for a while, before deciding he might be right. Even if it was with the help of a goddess, Leo destroying a kingdom overnight is a feat living people could only attribute to Arthur, until they get more information, they shouldn't be rushing to antagonize Leo. What Leo didn't say was also the fact that being underground wouldn't be healthy for Iris in her condition. Given what's happened so far, he wanted to ensure she was not at all stressed out when he could help it. He then turned to elder grandma and Hilda, and said,
”With this situation though, I expect that the kingdoms would now be aware of our existence. Elder grandma, I'm guessing you know the areas around Asdarge best, can you lead Agmundr and some other dwarves to build watch towers on the mountain tops to the south of Asdarge? It's time we start worrying about real defenses.” Elder grandma was surprised Leo brought it up, and was more than happy to comply. They discussed a few more details, before deciding to retire for the night, beginning the long walk in the morning.
***
They had been on the road for nearly two weeks now, and Alice was pretty miserable. She had practically lived in the library her whole life, so she was completely unbuilt for this kind of lifestyle. She tried not to complain about it though, to avoid troubling Leo as much as possible. As she walked along she heard some whispers,
”That's the former princess.”
”She was part of the royal family.”
”Her father ordered my peoples deaths.”