Accomplice of the Arsonist

Sleepy. I felt so sleepy.

And I was floating...?

Was I dead?

It felt warm. That was strange. The swimming pool wasn't supposed to be heated. The manager only turned on the heat during the winter, and I was used to far more frigid temperatures the last time I was sent for a swim. The water could be so cold.

...but this was almost welcoming?

I opened my eyes.

There was unfamiliar scenery around me.

My vision was still foggy, and I wanted to nap for longer.

"Great! You're awake!" An unfamiliar person shook my shoulders like a rag doll. "We need to run! Hurry! Let's go!"

"—Whaa?" My voice cracked, as if I hadn't spoken a single word in decades.

That was strange. Why did I feel so different?

"I'm being chased! Those damn hunters from the Mainland!"

There was a certain degree of urgency to that person's voice. However, I was completely lost. My feet stumbled and tripped, completely without any coordination. Why were we running? My thighs burned and my muscles ached as I was pulled through tropical undergrowth.

"Okay! This is far enough! You can distract them for me, right? Anyways, thanks!"

"D-Distract who?"

I didn't receive a response. The person who had irresponsibly dragged me along had already disappeared without a trace. There was only the faint flutter of palm trees that swayed in the salty air. The surrounding area was completely silent.

However, my confusion did not last for long.

Minutes later there was a crash through the undergrowth, and a party of several men charged in. All of them were wielding crossbows and dressed with impressive shiny mail armor. There was some kind of crest on their tunics, although I did not recognize it at all.

Someone unceremoniously seized me and promptly delivered a knee to my stomach.

"—Oof!"

I buckled immediately.

That hurt! And without warning, too!

"We got the accomplice! Take this one back to the ship's brig!" One of the men said.

My head spun. What in the world was happening?

"There... There must be some kind of mistake." I protested. "I just got here!"

"Nonsense! You are an accessory to terrorism, and shall be charged appropriately for your crimes. The Kingdom of Nostros does not tolerate vagabonds and criminals."

"My name is Maren Stilze. I come from Daerolos. If you'll just put me down, I can show you my (magi-carriage) driver's license and my citizenship token... if only I could just get on a magi-phone with our embassy so we can talk this through..."

A different man shook his head with disgust. 

"He's rambling! I've never heard of any kingdom called Daerolos! A liar, this one is!"

"...But!"

Suddenly there was a cough that came from several feet away, interrupting the scene.

All of us turned our heads towards the trees.

There was a tall brown-haired human man standing by a grove of palm trees, holding a basket of coconuts in his arms. He was dressed casually, and his attire clearly betrayed the fact that he was an outsider. Apparently, he had coincidentally witnessed the entire exchange.

"The boy is with me," the stranger spoke up. "I can vouch for him." 

Confusion washed across the crowd of crossbowmen.

I was lost as well. I had never seen this person in my entire life.

"And you are?"

"Rio Magriel, representative of the Adventurer's Guild of Myrtle Island. And should I remind you, you are trespassing on the land of the Merfolk."

A scowl appeared on the face of one of the men.

"Insanity. This is insanity. I will not bow down to fish people!"

One of the other men tugged on the leader's sleeve. "Sir, we are not authorized to antagonize other human factions on this mission. We are just looking for the arsonist."

"Terrorists! Traitors! They're all traitors!"

"Unfortunately, I know nothing about this 'arson' or 'terrorism' that you speak of," the man named Rio Magriel responded calmly.

"Why was the boy running, if not guilty? And where is the girl?" The leader barked.

I spoke up hesitantly at this point.

"She... she just grabbed me. I have no idea why. She pulled me along and left me here."

The crossbowmen turned their gaze towards me and stared, their eyes carrying all their heavy suspicion. They seemed to think about this for a few minutes, weighing my words in their minds. Did it really seem plausible?

"Fine." The leader sneered. "I'll put this is my report. The Adventurer's Guild, was it? I'll remember this. As fellow humans who belong on the same side, I hope we can have a cooperative relationship in the future."

He stressed the word "cooperative" almost sarcastically.

Then, the band of crossbowmen turned around and left without a word.